A Supra To Own All Supras, Built As The Successo To One That Nearly Did
Think of all the places you might find a 1,600whp Supra. We've got three: On a dyno at a TX2K highest-hp pissing contest; at any given drag strip within a 50-mile radius of MSP Racing in the Baltimore area, Titan Motorsports in Orlando, or L.A.'s SP Engineering; or on a trailer en route to said destinations. It wasn't until we met Jamie Carter that we'd expect to find one in Ohio, in the quaint Cleveland suburb of Chagrin Falls . . . at an elementary school soccer practice.
"I don't drive it on the streets regularly," Jamie clarifies. In stark contrast to some of his other rides that have only seen the pavement of public roadway-a 715whp Porsche GT2, 900whp Z06 'Vette, and 580whp S4, to name a few-he built this Supra specifically for the strip. In fact, it was Jamie's former MKIV Supra (a 1,135whp beast dubbed "Top End") that garnered the self-proclaimed adrenaline junky and part-time soccer dad infamy in street racing circles by beating nearly every car brave enough to line up next to it. Eventually only boosted street bikes would run against the Supra, and they lost, too. After time, no one would race him, save for a certain domestic muscle car you'll learn more about later, and building a machine potent enough to take it out meant building one that would pose a serious threat to the established import drag racing community. The only reasonable option would be to do just that. But the decision wasn't cemented until Jamie found himself in trouble with authority. "My wife 'strongly urged' me to stop street racing," he laughs. "What could I do?"
Rather than build "Top End" into his dream track threat, Jamie decided to part with it and source a fresh platform. His search for a clean-titled, straight-bodied MKIV chassis took him all the way to Florida, where a non-turbo, hard-top version was purchased and shipped back home to begin modification. It was in solid running condition, but wouldn't stay that way for long. Jamie blew its engine up the day he received it. "I just can't keep my foot off the gas!" he laughs. By the end of the following week the car was taken to Toledo, OH's Accelerated Performance, stripped to the bare shell, media blasted from top to bottom, given a competition-legal Gary Reese 25.5 roll cage (with supports for a fuel cell, parachute and custom pro-stock rear wing), and affixed to a rotisserie at World Class Finishes in Uniontown, OH, awaiting a full BASF Spectra Blue Mica colorchange. This was to be a full Street Class dragster; a car that would retain at-a-glance street legality, yet still be able to put on slicks and run down the big boys. Its rear fenders were given a "mini-tub" to this extent-re-worked just enough to fit 29.5x11.5-inch slicks, but still retain stock interior trim.
Accelerated Performance-the shop responsible for the creation of "Top End"-handled the new car's complete re-build. And this is where things get crazy, for more reasons than the obvious: every piece of the car was ordered new. The engine block and head, glass, control arms, interior plastics, every nut, bolt and washer, head- and taillights-as you see it here, no part of this car, save for the unibody, was included with it when its original owner was first handed keys back in '98. Every stock piece on the car was ordered new, from Toyota. The car's entire build is estimated to have cost $200K, with roughly $100K invested in restoration. The remaining $100K was dissolved into the performance aftermarket.
Accelerated Performance's Donald Summerton and Russell Maskey rebuilt the powertrain completely from scratch. A brand new block was ordered from Toyota, re-worked in-house by the Accelerated crew with a quarter-fill (in layman's terms: reinforcing the bottom of the cylinders with a cement-like mixture) and machining to accept half-inch headstuds and a Crower/Carillo/CP Pistons rotating assembly, for a final displacement of 3.4 liters at 9.5:1 compression. A factory-fresh cylinder head was shipped to Dave Localio of Headgames in Ewing, NJ, for a full race port, Ferrea +1mm valvetrain and machining to accept custom-spec Crane cams. Once back on Accelerated grounds, the crew joined the combination and fitted it with a Full Race turbo manifold and Precision Turbo GT47-88 snail, and fabricated nearly every other engine peripheral from scratch: a custom intake manifold to support Bosch 150lb/hr fuel injectors, a turbo-back exhaust, a Garrett-cored air-to-liquid intercooler setup, a fuel cell housing a massive Weldon 2345 pump, and plumbing of the Peterson/Moroso dry-sump oiling system. Coolant, oil and fuel lines were switched to Earl's or Aeroquip stainless-covered Teflon and rubber replacements, and the cooling system itself was completely worked over; upgraded to an AFCO radiator, dual Earl's transmission coolers and Flex-a-lite fans-telling signs that more than just drag strip duty would be in store for this ride.
The stock chassis wiring was scrapped-this car wouldn't be using all the amenities it was born with, so why keep heavy wiring to them? Instead, Russell Maskey and crew kept only the necessary components, wired them in-house using only mil-spec components, and employed a Motec M800 ECU and CDI-8 for engine management and ignition duties, respectively. Using a large turbo is great for making big power, but inherent lag and poor throttle response could all but kill acceleration in a manually shifted car. Thus, a custom Nitrous Express direct-port system was fabricated to help spool the turbo, and the venerable Getrag six-speed transmission was ditched in favor of a TH400 automatic, sourced from a '70-something Suburban and re-worked by Rossler Transmissions in Girard, OH. With the addition of Driveshaft Shop Stage 6 axles and a TRD limited slip differential, it forms a bulletproof drivetrain that allows the 2JZ's Accufab throttle to stay wide-open from the tree to the traps.
Since this would mainly be a track-dedicated car, a road-worthy suspension wasn't much of a concern to Jamie; he followed Accelerated's suggestion to install an HKS drag-specific coilover suspension, and cut any unneeded weight . . . like sway bars, strut bars and chassis bracing. Owners of time-attack Supras, dry your eyes-we'll wait. To curb wheel hop, stock rubber bushings were replaced by semi-compliant urethane or non-compliant aluminum alternatives. Lightweight custom Wilwood Dynalite brakes replace stock all around and iForged wheels and BFG drag radials see duty only in Street Class racing and street driving; Weld Racing mags and Mickey Thompson rubber handle the rest. And if that interior looks like it was pulled from a show car, don't be so foolish-the dash, center console and door panels are all one-off fiberglass pieces, covered in Alcantara, in the name of unassuming weight reduction.
After a few break-in miles courtesy of the Accelerated crew, the Supra was ready for its first trip down the strip. This time when Jamie took it for a spin, its motor didn't break-it propelled him to an 8.64 @ 175 trip down the 1320, on low boost, with no nitrous. Six passes later and he was running 7s, with a backed-up best time of 7.81 @ 187, producing in the neighborhood of 1,300 whp. Now flexing around 1,600 whp courtesy of an upgraded GT55-91 turbo and nitrous-with an even larger turbo on reserve-Jamie's out for blood. His first stop will be to a Maryland International Raceway "Imports vs. Domestics" event, to settle the score with a certain '70 AMC Hornet-the only car to ever beat "Top End", and one the owner of which is rumored to brag, "will never be beaten by an import." After that, it's on to break the current stock-bodied Supra quarter-mile world record E.T. of 7.71 seconds. And then it's on to the Texas Mile, to break the current 246mph Fastest Standing Mile world record. "After that," Jamie explains, his eyes scanning the terrain for his wife, "maybe I'll just take the 'chute off and drive it on the street a little . . . to 'soccer practice', of course!"
'98 Toyota Supra
Output 1,600 whp @ 8,500 rpm; 1,355 wnm @ 7,000 rpm
Engine: 3.4L 2JZGTE (87mm bore, 94mm stroke, 9.5:1 compression); Crower billet 4340 crankshaft; Carrillo H-beam connecting rods; CP pistons; Hastings piston rings; Moroso oil pan; Headgames race port, half-inch head studs, headgasket, machining for cam lobes; Crane cams; Ferrea +1mm intake and exhaust valves; Accufab throttle body; Fidanza cam gears; Accelerated Performance intake manifold, exhaust, intake, water-to-air intercooler, intercooler piping, custom Nitrous Express direct-port nitrous injection, custom Peterson dry-sump oiling system; Precision Turbo GT55-91 turbocharger; Full Race T6 Gen. 2 manifold; Tial 50mm blow-off valves (x2), 44mm wastegates (x2); Motec M800 ECU, CDI8 ignition; AFCO radiator; Aeroquip radiator hoses; Flex-a-lite fans; Earl's transmission coolers; Tuning Concepts tuning; Bosch 150lb/hr fuel injectors; Weldon fuel pressure regulator, fuel pump; Ross Machine fuel rail; Painless wiring
Drivetrain: TH400 transmission, re-built by Rossler Transmissions; Driveshaft Shop Stage 6 axles; TRD limited slip differential; B&M Carbon X shift lever; Neil Chance torque converter
Suspension: HKS drag launch coilovers; R2 urethane bushings; custom Gary Reese 25.2 roll cage; custom billet rear subframe mounts
Wheels/Tires: iForged Aero street wheels (18x10.5 front, 18x9.5 rear); BF Goodrich KDW street tires (285/35-18 front, 315/40-18 rear); Weld Alumastar drag wheels (17x4.5 front, 15x10 rear); M&H Trackmaster front drag skinnies; Mickey Thompson Drag Slick rear drag tires (29.5/10.5-17)
Brakes: Accelerated Performance/Wilwood Dynalite brakes (four-piston front, two-piston rear); Accelerated Performance stainless/Teflon brake lines
Exterior: Modellista Design front lip; Top Secret carbon-fiber hood; custom front bumper block-offs, pro-stock rear wing, mini-tub rear fender modification; Stroud parachute; BASF Spectra Blue Mica paint
Interior: Sparco Evo2 front seats, steering wheel; custom carpeting; custom Alcantara/fiberglass dash, door panels, center console, headliner; custom removable transmission tunnel; Stroud six-point racing harnesses, window net
Electronics: Motec SDL gauges, shift light; Auto Meter gauges, shift light
Gratitude: Accelerated Performance, James Mohr (logistics), Shawn Casselberry (polishing), Crazy Clyde, Johnny Akers, HeadGames Motorworks, Tuning Concepts, World Class Finishes, Gary Reese Race Cars Inc.
Name.
Jaime Carter
Age.
37
Hometown.
Chagrin Falls, Oh
Occupation.
Executive Search Consultant
Build Time.
2 Years
Hobbies.
Drag Racing, Audio/Visual Equipment, Soccer Coach
Favorite Quote.
(flooring the throttle): "Cops? what cops?"
Har haft ett stort intresse av Supran sen 00/01.
1.25 i 60-ft..