looking at a straight-six 3.0 litre 7M-GTE turbo engine. It weighs literally twice as much as a "normal" engine (218 kilos vs ~100 kilos for a 4A-GE)

Advantages:
-240 horsepower in stock form (I took a ride in a 600hp version - all that he did to the motor was put a bigger turbo in)
-Much easier to locate transmission/axle for this motor than a 4A-GE. You can't throw a rock in a junkyard without hitting a supra axle, but looking for a rear axle corolla with a bellhousing to fit a 4A-GE is not an easy task ever since initial-D became popular.
-Neck-snapping acceleration
-Standard independent rear with easy access to limited slip differentials from TRD or others
-Needs larger frame, so will fit larger people (I could fit in a pie tin, but at least one in my close family has trouble squeezing into SUVs)
-Utterly humiliating the local detroit iron

Disadvantages:
-The motor is simply enormous. Not only is it 2 extra cylinders long, the transmission is bigger too, and all that turbo hardware makes for a bloody massive motor. A hood scoop might help, but ride height and frame size would probably have to be modified.
-As I mentioned, along with being large in inches, it's also very heavy.
-Terrible gas mileage (um, 240 hp, who cares??)
-Possibly very poor cornering, unless I somehow can mount the engine back/wheels forward to balance the weight distribution
-Needs larger, custom frame, so more difficult to build.
-Most horsepower I've ever had at my command has been 115. I don't know what I'd do with three times the horses and half the weight...
-Changing tires more often than oil filters.

Any ideas on how I might accomplish this task? Do you think a standard enlarged frame plus a bloody massive hood would accommodate this engine? I'm sure a chopped oilpan would help, and I could probably increase the ride height an inch or two.

I'm certainly not against larger frames. I've never planned on getting a kit frame and as I mentioned above, I'd like my family to fit in it occasionally.

The engine dimensions posted elsewhere on the site for the 7M-GTE are as follows:
length ~27 inches
height ~28.5 inches

That's about 4 inches taller than a 4A-GE I'm not sure how it compares in length, but I'm sure it's much more. Maybe I'll have to run to the junkyard with a measuring tape. They have both engines there (200,000 mile specimens, plenty good for measuring, not much else.)

I know it might be uncharted territory as far as locosts go, but I enjoy a challenge. Who out there thinks I should go big?

[Edited on 26/9/05 by millenniumtree]

Sounds exciting! A friend has had a couple of Supras - scared the hell out of him (and other drivers) a few times!

Sort-of goes against the grain of the seven-inspired philosophy though (small, very light-weight cars built for nimbleness rather than brute force). If I really wanted to use one of these, I'd be tempted to put it into something else - maybe Cobra-style?

Still - the name of this game is "do what you fancy", so go ahead if that's what rings your chimes!

I wonder if it would fit in the big Luego chassis...

David

that's a good point on the Luego chassis. If the Jag straight 6 fits then the supra one probably will as long as you can find room for the turbo bits

check your facts, the 7GMTE engine was 240hp (MKIII Supra) and the 2JZGTE (MKIV Supra) was 320 hp

I have owned the 7gmte and my sister the 2JZGTE. HUGE difference between the motors.


But, I will say, the 240hp 7GMTE Engine supra could be down right scary in accelartion as well.

[Edited on 24/9/05 by jestre]

Thanks for the clarification on the hp. I just did a quick search for the stock HP of the '90-'92 supra and that's what seemed to come up. If it is 240 to start with, my friend did have a '91 and it dynoed at barely under 600 to the wheels. (scary indeed)

That's a great thought on the Luego chassis. I'll definitely have to take a look.

if the loom's anything like the one in an 87 with 7MGE, you should have fun trying to get it stripped down.

when we broke the last supra, the loom, laid out in a straight line is two and a half car lengths long, the engine loom is about 3/4 the length of the car, along with about 4 or 5 ecu bits.

i'd go 4age, but good luck anyway
tom

Yeah, I haven't bought anything yet, so I could go either way. I would prefer the 4A-GE because it's so much lighter, but the 7M is an impressive beast, and power train parts are so much more widely available for it... *sigh*

I'll probably hear a voice of reason and go 4A-GE whenever I get around to doing this thing...

I'm still investigating options, and with no purchases in sight for another year or so, I might as well investigate all my options, however extreme they may be.

itll fit in any 442 chassis , the volvo straight six will fit in mine - altho im going 4 cyl turbo with internals at about 500 whp .