GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Heya Genvibe. Here's the reason I haven't been on for a while:


It's a 1985 Toyota Celica Supra. The original 2.8 died an unnatural, rod-knocking death, so my trusty machinist and I cobbled together a high-compression 3.0 over the course of almost 4 years.






Almost 500 miles on the rebuild, so far so good, knock on wood! Rings are seating nicely and premium gas is cheap. What more could a guy want.

That's a beast!

Nice! Those were HOT back in the day! The seats need cleaned a bit I bet it is fun to drive.

vibrologist wrote:That's a beast!

Thanks, vibrologist! Yes it is-- it's no screamer by any means (I've gotta lower the redline on the tach with an orange sharpie), but between 3 and 4k it's got more torque than I know what to do with.

tpollauf wrote:Nice! Those were HOT back in the day! The seats need cleaned a bit I bet it is fun to drive.

Oh yeah. It's a future classic for sure, and the extra compression and .2 liters make it even more fun than it was right off the dealer lot. You're not wrong about the seats-- plus, the driver's seat left bolster is completely shot. Anyone know a good automotive upholsterer in the Mid-Atlantic? haha

Nice! I'm obviously loving the Supra.

Nice looking Supra !

My ex had an 88 or 89 non-turbo white with blue interior Supra. Even though it wasn't turbo, it was still a fun car to drive!

ImUrOBGYN wrote:Nice! I'm obviously loving the Supra.

Haha, I can tell-- unless my eyes deceive me, that's an '89-92 you've got there? Dang that thing is clean-- and what are those sexy tires???

vibenvy wrote:Nice looking Supra !

My ex had an 88 or 89 non-turbo white with blue interior Supra. Even though it wasn't turbo, it was still a fun car to drive!

Thanks! I love me some Supras. The MkIIs were 500 lbs lighter than even the non-turbo, five-speed MkIII's, so I figure, why turbo it? Little extra compression, let it breathe, and I'm surprising ND RX-8s on the highway

Very nice. What are the numbers on it as far said Tq and Hp? What is you redline?

triz wrote:Very nice. What are the numbers on it as far said Tq and Hp? What is you redline?

Haven't had it on a dyno yet, so I really don't know. Max torque comes at 4k, max power at 5k. The bottom end is the limiting factor in terms of redline, which is 6,250 rpm (but I'm going to call it 6k even on the tach).

It definitely has a little more power and a lot more torque than the original 2.8, though

Nice Supra! I've liked those since they came out and then my driver's ed teacher bought a brand new Celica GT-S liftback, so it was just like a cheaper Supra to me. I really wanted that Celica that looked like a Supra, but ended up with an Oldsmobile Cutlass instead. I still have a 1/24th plastic model kit I bought years ago that I need to put together some day.

Good luck with it!

trb wrote:Nice Supra! I've liked those since they came out and then my driver's ed teacher bought a brand new Celica GT-S liftback, so it was just like a cheaper Supra to me. I really wanted that Celica that looked like a Supra, but ended up with an Oldsmobile Cutlass instead. I still have a 1/24th plastic model kit I bought years ago that I need to put together some day.

Good luck with it!

Thanks, trb! Yeah, I love my Supra, but it's been the source of plenty of heartache. Sometimes I wish I'd gone with a Celica GT-S coupe-- 200 lbs lighter, IDENTICAL rear suspension, and one of the best-- if not the best-- Toyota motors of all time, the mighty 22RE! I guess it would be a little slower to 60 than this, but hell, I bet even with the hi-comp 3.0, Supra does it in the low sevens/high sixes. And the GT-S would have gotten 30 mpg on the highway...

But at the end of the day, this thing has 80 or 90 more lb/ft of N/A torque than a 22RE and I am fine with that

What model year Cutlass? Because one of the first FF cars I truly lusted after was the 90-91 Cutlass Calais Quad-442... man that thing must be a riot to drive...

steel16s wrote:

ImUrOBGYN wrote:Nice! I'm obviously loving the Supra.

Haha, I can tell-- unless my eyes deceive me, that's an '89-92 you've got there? Dang that thing is clean-- and what are those sexy tires???

It's an '89 turbo hardtop. I've a couple other MKIIIs and a MKI. The tires are some Yokohamas that aren't made anymore. I wasn't a fan of the tire that replaced that particular one in Yoko's linup.

Decent amount of work has gone into it but I'm seriously considering selling this year as my time and my back are severely limiting the enjoyment I get out of it. She's wasting away with nobody to love her...

ImUrOBGYN wrote:

steel16s wrote:

ImUrOBGYN wrote:Nice! I'm obviously loving the Supra.

Haha, I can tell-- unless my eyes deceive me, that's an '89-92 you've got there? Dang that thing is clean-- and what are those sexy tires???

It's an '89 turbo hardtop. I've a couple other MKIIIs and a MKI. The tires are some Yokohamas that aren't made anymore. I wasn't a fan of the tire that replaced that particular one in Yoko's linup.

Decent amount of work has gone into it but I'm seriously considering selling this year as my time and my back are severely limiting the enjoyment I get out of it. She's wasting away with nobody to love her...

Mmm turbo hardtop! Good combination. Sorry to hear you might have to sell it-- the folks on the SupraMania and/or CelicaSupra forums would pay you top dollar if you ever do.

One reason I like the Vibe so much is the upright seating position... dang I love that thing. If only there were people who felt the same way out there

steel16s wrote:What model year Cutlass? Because one of the first FF cars I truly lusted after was the 90-91 Cutlass Calais Quad-442... man that thing must be a riot to drive...

It was an 81 Cutlass LS 4 door, with the gutless 100 hp 260 V8. I got it practically new, with bench seat & hubcaps. I added the optional painted steel wheels and bucket seats & console from a Cutlass Supreme coupe to make it a bit more sporty. Drove it 5 years and 105,000 miles until the timing chain broke. $600 later, I sold it to my sister for $2,200, then painted it Corvette blue for her since the light blue paint was going bad.

One reason I like the Vibe so much is the upright seating position... dang I love that thing. If only there were people who felt the same way out there

Steel16s: I love the upright position too. But look through my thread in the signature to see what I did to make the rest of the ergonomics work barely so.

The upright seating position makes it really easy to get in and out. That's great for our aging bodies. On the road it helps surveying traffic as we find ourselves surrounded by SUV's and the like.

trb wrote:

steel16s wrote:What model year Cutlass? Because one of the first FF cars I truly lusted after was the 90-91 Cutlass Calais Quad-442... man that thing must be a riot to drive...

It was an 81 Cutlass LS 4 door, with the gutless 100 hp 260 V8. I got it practically new, with bench seat & hubcaps. I added the optional painted steel wheels and bucket seats & console from a Cutlass Supreme coupe to make it a bit more sporty. Drove it 5 years and 105,000 miles until the timing chain broke. $600 later, I sold it to my sister for $2,200, then painted it Corvette blue for her since the light blue paint was going bad.

Sounds like you wrung everything you could outta that gutless Cutlass!

vibrologist wrote:

One reason I like the Vibe so much is the upright seating position... dang I love that thing. If only there were people who felt the same way out there

Steel16s: I love the upright position too. But look through my thread in the signature to see what I did to make the rest of the ergonomics work barely so.

The upright seating position makes it really easy to get in and out. That's great for our aging bodies. On the road it helps surveying traffic as we find ourselves surrounded by SUV's and the like.

Oh yeah, I remember looking through your thread-- you know, when I first got my Vibe, as I was still basking in the warm glow of having made the right choice, I thought "man, this seating position is great!" I figure the Vibe's center of gravity can't be that much higher than an 03-08 Corolla's, but the seats are mounted higher off the floor, and the driving position is more upright.

But now that I'm commuting 100 miles roundtrip twice a week, I do notice the odd ergonomics, and I'll be undertaking your seating mod for sure.