Supra newbie questions.
 

High all. I considering purchasing an 87 Supra non-turbo from a guy. It has a major coolant leak and he thinks it's the head gasket despite that there is no coolant mixing with the oil. I read on here that the coolant passage can simply leak into the combustion passage and just get burned away so maybe that's what is wrong. It also has a check engine light on. Not sure why, the car seems to run fine. I am a newb to Supras but not to cars nor to turbos. I am considering buying this car and replaceing the head gasket asap, and diagnosing the check engine light. Then I'm just gonna mess around with it until I have the money to do an overhaul under the hood. How much modifying am I looking at to be running 10psi in this thing? I plan to buy a relatively stock type supra turbo, intake manifold and full turbo exhaust. What else do I need to do it. I know the compression is higher on a non-turbo motor. How much boost can this block take safely before I need to start modifying internals?

Also, are there any motor rebuild walkthroughs or guides for a turbo application? Thanks for any help you can give!

10 Psi
 

LOL!

I believe these things run at something like 6.5 PSI, so you would basically just have to buy a $600 turbo that will BOLT RIGH ON. Your fuel system I believe handles up to 12 or 14 PSI without needing to have other stuff done to it. I WOULD NOT run that PSI without doing other stuff though...not smart.

I KNOW I will get corrected on this, but this is just coming out of my mind....so yea!

Does anybody know of a basic engine rebuild guide for these cars? Any recommendations of what parts I would need to rebuild this thing to be able to run a turbo? I know obviously forged low compression pistons is a #1. What else needs to be better than stock?

Well, GE pistons are like 9:1 comp IIRC. Not that high. You can NA-T the thing for cheap using all turbo components. Intake manifold, exhaust manifold, turbo, downpipe, intake, afm, wire harness. It'll plug right in provided that you get the same year harness. If it's an auto, then I'd upgrade that to an R154 out of any MK3 Turbo of any year.
While you can use the W58 5spd that is from the NA supra's, it's not recommended if you plan on making more than 350whp. It's weak to say the least, it'll handle power if you treat it like a DSM trans though.

If your GE is in good health, I wouldn't hesitate to turbo it.
The only thing different between the GE and the GTE block is that the GTE has oil squirters, yours doesn't. Not a huge deal as the GrpA engine's didn't have them either, and they saw relentless abuse.

It'll last a long time if you monitor your vitals. Some water injection wouldn't hurt either ;)

So what your saying is I really don't need to modify the internals? But how much boost can I run safely? And why would I need to change the wiring harness? I am not changing motors if anything I was planning on taking it out, rebuilding it, and putting it back in. Also, it is a 5 speed tranny. How do I know what kind of tranny it is? Is there a way to tell or does anybody already know?