Car build thread - 1991 Toyota Cressida - More watts than can compute

[mmoore]

Jorn asked for it in the Automobiles thread... I do document most of what I do to the car so it should be an easy transition into posting here.

I picked up this Toyota Cressida off of a friend in 2016. The friend and I used to be a part of a car club/discussion board for the last 10 or 12 years which has had this car build going for that long. The car itself has been through many revisions from a basic street car with upgraded early 1jz to a big turbo track car with full roll cage (that was never tracked) to what I bought off of him which had a more modern 1jz with variable cam timing and full interior.

The previous owner was really into trinkets and Japanese car culture and the car shows it. There are many little parts that get overlooked that are from Japanese cars so the fit is very good but not normal for our market. These things are generally aesthetic like the bumper cover, fenders with indicator lights, headlights and hood.

Here are some photos of how it was picked up...

Cressida by HellaFab Fabrication, on Flickr
Cressida by HellaFab Fabrication, on Flickr
Cressida by HellaFab Fabrication, on Flickr
Cressida by HellaFab Fabrication, on Flickr
Cressida by HellaFab Fabrication, on Flickr
Cressida by HellaFab Fabrication, on Flickr

[j44ke]

Not what I expected to see after the photos of the engine only!

This might end up going into the Handmade gallery alongside the Porsche thread.

[mmoore]

I drove the car for a summer making sure that nothing would rear its ugly head before I start to build it into something of my own. The plans initially were very minor. I do automotive based fabrication as a hobby and I wanted a few of my own parts on the car. With that said, I sold the intercooler and exhaust system.

That's when I noticed the oem replacement turbocharger was nearing its life cycle and needed replacement and everything went downhill. As well, the rear fenders had been pulled and bondo coated and there wasn't much in the way of inner fender bump clearance, so I cut them off to build some nice fenders with full bump clearance.

Here are some photos of what I have done so far.
BuddyClub in Cressida by HellaFab Fabrication, on Flickr
Low Cressida in snow. by HellaFab Fabrication, on Flickr
Cressida fender work by HellaFab Fabrication, on Flickr
Cressida fender work by HellaFab Fabrication, on Flickr









This is a street car and is being built as such. I am adding a/c back into the car, building a new engine loom to go with a programmable engine computer, finishing the manifolds and then finishing the cooling system before heading to the dyno. The goals are phased. Right now the engine and the drivetrain can only hold 500-600wheel horsepower and that's what the current turbo will put out. So that's what I will run for now but im planning for more. All other supporting modifications are being sized for an efficient 750-850hp. That means a 4" exhaust, large intake manifold, stepped runner exhaust manifold, engine sensors, etc. When I get the inevitable itch for more, the next phase is upgrading to the legendary 2jz bottom end for the displacement increase with some upgraded components in the rotating assembly, clutch, transmission and driveshaft. I believe the differential in these cars can hold the power but I may want to upgrade the internals to an aftermarket differential unit with extra discs and a solid pinion spacer.

I will keep this thread updated as I build it... but its slow because I like to enjoy my family time too.

[mmoore]

Not what I expected to see after the photos of the engine only!

This might end up going into the Handmade gallery alongside the Porsche thread.

Its pretty unconventional. You don't see many of these cars and even less with the aesthetic stuff this one has. Now the engine will match the car

[j44ke]

What I like more than anything is the willingness to pull things apart completely. Of course, one probably gains confidence with that approach when one knows how to put everything back together! But for the viewer it is in a way encouraging.

[mmoore]

What I like more than anything is the willingness to pull things apart completely. Of course, one probably gains confidence with that approach when one knows how to put everything back together! But for the viewer it is in a way encouraging.

I've done this before. Gives me more confidence than I should have maybe.

[Tom]

Honestly, I think you can fit some more motor in there. Tons of room.

[bironi]

I'm certainly not a motor head, but I do take note of cars with good driver visibility. This car appears to have it. Nice work.

[Too Tall]

What a beast. It will break a few minds. I'd love to drive that at a DE.

[mmoore]

How to section a pie cut elbow lengthwise.


Digitize it and make a template and a way to make sure you use it properly.

[vertical_doug]

You are like the old Mid Night Club rides in the Wangan in Tokyo in 90's. You should start looking for an old R32 GT-R to tuned next.

[dgaddis]

This is awesome. Looking forward to watching the progress!

[robin3mj]

I have spent more than a couple evenings diving down the JDM internet rabbit hole.
This is nice.

[mmoore]

I have adjusted my goals for Horses so that I can maintain a nice drivability and so that I wont easily find the weakest link in my powertrain. As mentioned earlier the engine, clutch and transmission are all good to about 600hp if you don't drive it like smokey and the bandit. dropping the clutch with 600hp and sticky tires the Toyota R154 transmission is a time bomb but if you drive it like a normal enthusiast you will be happy for a long time.

That said, here are some of my updates:

Placement of the throttle body


I managed to pick up a second hand Borg Warner turbo that reportedly came off of an Indy car. This is definitely the motorsports version of the EFR7163 so that would make sense. The motorsports EFR uses a cast aluminum bearing housing, lightweight cast stainless turbine housing with proprietary flanges and the inlet to the compressor is also a proprietary flange with inset for the inlet restrictor that im assuming is specified for the teams or to control the powerband... The compressor and turbine housings are high end and very light weight parts. One thing I did notice is that there is very little machined off these turbos to have them perfectly balanced - one could come to the conclusion that the motorsports turbos have a tighter tolerance for natural balance so that as an assembly there is less requirement for external balancing.

EFR vs the stock turbo. Stock being a ~310-320hp capable turbo and the EFR being a ~500-550hp turbo



Being that the turbo uses all of these proprietary flanges and inlets I took the turbo to my local machinist that does aerospace parts being that their contract is at least partially over and are now taking on the outside work. I have a family friend that works there and its really cool to work with people who know their stuff and can not only get you what you need but do a very good job at doing that. I had stainless steel flanges made up for the turbine inlet and outlet (the exhaust side of the turbo) and I had a radiused cone made for the inlet of the turbo with a spacer to remove the inlet restrictor.







While the turbo was at the machine shop I had a little bit of time to tinker with the rear fenders to make sure I will have the clearances I need to get full bump clearance. This is the stage I am at for now, but I want to get another wheel with a slightly larger OD tire so I can build the inner fender to work with an oversized wheel in the rear. That would allow me to possibly fit a drag slick or taller tire without needing to get back into fender work.
As it is, Im well into the door with tire clearances and im as far up as I can go, but a bit of work on the radius to fit the bigger tires would be a good idea too.
I made a set of carboard fenders and wrapped it in painters tape to try to get an idea of what I want to do in metal before I get into that... Im still up in the air about that so im at a stand still until I make a decision with the design.






No great photos and its not much to see, but I have picked up a few different electronic throttle pedal assemblies to try in the car. Im converting to electronic throttle body both to clean up the engine bay and to take advantage of the advantages of modern programmable ECU...
I have a 350z pedal assembly and a Subaru STI pedal assembly of which I expect to use the 350z unit. The 350z unit looks like it will bolt on with modifications needed to only the actual position of the pedal with a little cut rotate and reweld. The STI pedal unit would work too but needs a mounting solution. Additionally the 350z unit appears that it would feel more like a cable throttle and has a stiffer external spring to control the pedal force (which I can add of subtract springs to dial it in)
here are photos of the cable pedal unit vs the 350z.




I've built a few turbo manifolds in between these little jobs and have another to finish before I can get back to my own stuff. For the time being im waiting for the tubes for my custom turbo manifold to suit the new turbo. Since the turbo is so nice and light weight I decided to try to build a light-weight turbo manifold too. En route are a series of stainless bends in 1-5/8" with 0.065" wall. For comparison the pipe I use normally is 1.66" with a wall of 0.108"

Until next time....

[ides1056]

very, very cool.

what kind of mileage do you get?

My next car is a '66-'69 Lancia Fulvia.

[mmoore]

very, very cool.

what kind of mileage do you get?

My next car is a '66-'69 Lancia Fulvia.

Sorry for the slow response. I have been limiting my time on forums these days.

When you ask what kind of mileage are you asking about fuel economy? I expect about 25-30mpg if I baby the car, which is what the car did when I was driving it. that said, there is rarely an instance where I will baby the car - we have reliable, new vehicles to drive in instances where you are just asking to move people...this car is for fun.


I had to search what the lancia fulvia looks like.. shame on me. that car looks really cool. I haven't been much of a historic car guy but that styling really speaks to me.... maybe im getting older.

[mmoore]

Here is a minor update.

I hate that everything takes me as long as it does, but in the end I think its worth it.

I've spent a whole bunch of time getting these coil brackets dialed in. Dimensionally, aesthetically and most importantly functionally. These are for 1jz VVTi engines and the ultra powerful IGN1a coils. Now that I have a great form for each coil in CAD I am going to work out a plate for several other engines that I build my line of exhaust products with the IGN1a coils.


Lets talk about what I did in the design of this "simple" plate.
Dimensionally I had several proof of concept parts made (can probably be seen in some of my earlier photos) to dial in the fit with the modified OEM front timing cover. Functionally I went through a few iterations of the design to allow full removal of the bracket without requiring me to remove a coil to access the hardware and to provide extra area for the plug wires. Aesthetically I changed the size and placement of the "vent" on either side of the plate which is derived from the OE cam cover but changed for aesthetics. Lastly, once the function of the bracket was dialed in I modified the angle of the coils to ensure that they are all the same angle of rotation and placement along the centerline of the engine.

For example, small variances in coil angles and offsets were one concept that I tried to allow use of all fasteners with the coils in place. The final design shares a fastener to act as both the bracket and coil fastener. To remove the bracket you remove one of the coils fasteners on one of the coils.


1jz VVTi IGN1A Coil Bracket Kit by HellaFab Fabrication, on Flickr

1jz VVTi IGN1A Coil Bracket Kit by HellaFab Fabrication, on Flickr

1jz VVTi IGN1A Coil Bracket Kit by HellaFab Fabrication, on Flickr