I at least now have both fenders, the nose, and most of the other little crap i need. Here they are, still wrapped in bubble-wrap.

So here’s the story: first i bought all the parts i needed from a guy on ebay called “mk3House”. He seemed on the level, and the parts were at a decent price. Four and a half months after i sent him money, and about 30 emails and a dozen calls later, he finally returned my money. Now i needed to find someone else who had all the parts i needed, and in decent shape. Again the SupraForums came through for me. mostly.

It’s been about 4 or 5 months since i payed for my parts, and now i finally have all of them except for the hood. This guy’s been really trying to get it to me for a long time, but has just had problem after problem with Fed Ex.

As it stands right now, the hood is apparently sitting in a Fed Ex storage location with it shipping label torn off. They’ve “found” it and are getting it back in route to me now. Hopefully i’ll be getting it soon. We’ll see.

I even managed to get all the parts almost the same color as my car, unfortunately though, they’re flat white and my supra is pearl white. It needs paint anyway.

On April 29th, 11:18pm, my Supra was in a wreck. It now has front-end damage, and it’s pretty nasty, but not too much to fix, and it looks like no frame damage and no engine damage, though the intercooler (stock) may need replacing.

I waited a while to post this, mostly because i just didn’t want to deal with it. I had enough to do with the insurance et cetera. But now i’m filling you guys in.

I’ve already found a guy selling a hood, fenders, bumper, and upper-bumper-lip for a fairly reasonable price; sanded, prepped, primed and shipped. I’ve already paid him, in fact, and he’s just taking his sweet-ass time shipping them.

The car was considered totaled (“$6,500 in damage,” but mostly because parts are impossible to find,) and i’ve received a check for $3,400. I spent much of it on the parts listed above (though i’ll still need to get a lot of sub-frame pieces) and some of the money went to my old Audi 5000 CSTQ to get a new fuel pump and some other stuff i’ve been needing to get done. I also picked up an old 52″ HDTV for $400, so I’m not exactly spending the money wisely.

I’m in fairly good spirits now, and with any luck, my supra will be feeling a whole lot better in just a few short months. For now i’ll just drive around the Audi, and save up some cash to get my baby back on the road. wish me luck!

I’ll keep you updated on any new developments along the way.

My stipulations were that the power to the foglights was switched, I get use of the same (factory) fog light switch to control them, and use the same relay. Luckily IdealSupra wrote up a step by step to do exactly what i was looking for. (Posted to supraforums.com, but you must be a member, so i’m mirroring the steps here.) Even more helpful than that, Dylan Wiggins posted pictures of every step, with annotations. It’s super easy to follow, available here. However, because i dont trust other websites to be there when they’re needed, i’m mirroring the steps and info here.

First, grab your tools and parts. You’ll need Wire Cutters, Wire Strippers, Electrical Tape, and a Phillips Screwdriver. As for parts, grab some Wire, Screw Caps (for splicing) and an Inline Fuse (15A). What’s going to happen is that you’re going to ground the Foglight switch to a different ground (that isn’t attached to the headlights in any way) and then pull power to the Foglight Relay from a switched (and an we’ll make it inline-fused) power source.

The following steps are from IdealSupra’s writeup, but reordered to how i did it.
Prep 1: Remove screw underneath the defroster / foglight etc. switch panel. Pull the switch panel away from dash and unplug the harnesses. Make sure you have a white with black stripe wire coming off the defroster switch. Also find the red with green stripe wire from the foglight switch. (I’ve heard 87s are wired differently, or use different color codes or something. just find these and make sure.)
Prep 2: Pull left kick panel and lower steering column (the part with the air vent) off. There are 3 screws (4 if you include the one you already removed to get the switch panel out) and you might or might not have to unscrew 2 screws behind the hood release lever. (i did.) Find the Fog Light Relay (consult the TSRM if you can’t find it… it’s up and out pretty deep.)

Now we’re ready to start cutting and splicing!
Step 1: Cut the white with black stripe wire on the defroster switch… leaving enough room on both sides to strip it and put it back together.
Step 2: Cut the red with green stripe wire on back of foglight switch. Leave Enough slack from switch to strip and splice. Tape off the other end going into the dash.
Step 3: Splice together the red with green stripe wire coming from foglight switch with BOTH ends of the white with black stripe wire that you cut on the defroster switch. This creates a seperate ground for the Fog light switch.
Step 4: Secure splice and make sure it’s strong. (You dont want it to come loose after 2 weeks of bumpy roads.)

Now we’re finished with the switch panel portion! go smoke a cigarette. This next part is where you strain your back.

Step 5: Locate the Fog Light Relay. Pull the connector off the back of it. Locate the red with black stripe wire. (With the extra plastic harness part sticking off to the right, it’s the wire that goes into the top-right terminal.) Give the wire as much slack as possible off the connector and cut it. (It’s tight, but the more slack off the connector the better.)
Step 6: Tape off the wire going into the dash and strip the wire coming from the connector. If neccessary add an extension wire so that the red with black stripe wire reaches the Junction block by the fuse area. Or to at least about 3 inches from it as the inline fuse will make up for that with that wire. (it’s only maybe 8 inches away at most.)
Step 7: Put the fuse in the inline fuse and attach the wire coming off it to the red with black stripe wire coming from the relay connector.
Step 8: Choose a constant 12v fuse to place the Inline fuse. I chose the Cig Lighter fuse because i never use it and i have other things coming off my IGN fuse. You can use the IGN fuse if you would like. As long as its a constant 12v when the keys in the on position. Not sure? Use a test light or voltmeter to find out. Plug Inline fuse into chosen fuse location. (or wire lead into the fuse location with the 15A fuse as well.)
Step 9: Test your work. You should now be able to turn JUST yuor fog lights on without anything else being on. Key in the on position and you have your fog lights at your mercy
Step 10: Replace panels and enjoy your new rewired fog lights!

Project Complete!

Beautiful. …and safe too! Now i can have JUST the foglights on, or pretty much any other combination.
resources used: IdealSupra’s writeup at supraforums.com, and Dylan Wiggin’s step by step pictoral guide.

I looked all over for a good spot that wouldn’t get accidentally peeled off by any passengers. The faux vents above the glovebox looked like a nice place, and i couldn’t get my knee to “accidentally” rub against it without really trying. Long story short: i stuck the badge there.

Project Complete!

…and there it is. This mod must add at least 20 horsepower. once i put this sticker on, i swear the car feels faster and the turbo spools right away now.

Really though, this is a fun, stupid little mod that was under $10.

Mine, on both the driver and the passenger sides, are pretty torn up. There are little pieces broken off, about the size and shape of a finger. I’m assuming the previous owner used the moulding to assist in getting in and out of the car, and ripped little pieces off in the process.

Now that there are pieces missing, rain drips down into the window and gets the switches all wet. The functionality of the moulding is gone, but it’s also an eyesore. When i put my hand out the window, i can feel the broken moulding and it just bugs me. Replacing them would make the car look a little nicer (or less junky) it would make me happy that when i feel the roofline of the window, it wouldn’t chew on my hand, and it would keep water out of the car. That’s good³.

What is it?

Check out the image to the left. (click to enlarge.) The highlighted red part is what i’m looking for.

I need both the passenger and the driver side pieces. They need to be in really good shape, otherwise replacing them would be pointless. Brand new, from the factory, at factory prices, i can get a set of these for (the outrageous price of) right around $80, but they’re not worth it at that price. I would buy a pair of used ones, if their condition was good, and the price was right. If you have these, and you’re wanting (or willing) to sell them to me, please leave a comment.

STATUS: Still looking for this item.
WORTH: For the passenger and driver side pieces, shipped: $35.

Project Complete!

The difference is pretty huge, in my opinion, and these lenses really clean up the look of the front of the car. Now i just have to rewire these suckers so that they can stay on even when the headlights are turned off.

First things first, i got the replacement plastic grill pieces for an engine importer who had a supra mk3 front clip. they were in pretty good condition, but i went ahead and cleaned them up with hot soapy water and a rag just for the hell of it. After they were dry, i painted them black with a Krylon spray paint made to use on plastics.

Next came the metal mesh preparations. For starters, it’s just Galvanized Aluminum Mesh. You can get similar stuff all over the place. Dont bother with people selling it on ebay or anything, you’ll generally just get 30 cents worth of carpentry mesh for $11, and it’s not worth the hassle. I marked the mesh with a black shaprie, and just cut away. the shape is pretty simple, and the most complicated part is the curved lower inside corner. Make sure you’re cutting the mesh to fit INSIDE the front of the plastic radiator grill pieces. the black plastic border it creates looks professional, and saves your body from getting scratched to hell.

Time to paint ‘em. Not being sure if the mesh might rust, i went ahead and painted it with rustoleum spray paint. (I wanted it a metalic black anyway, so it worked out. If you want to keep yours silver, which for example looks fantastic on a black car, you can get silver colored rustoleum spraypaint, or crystal clear rustoleum spray paint which is basically clearcoat.) Try to spray it even, and make sure to spray from multiple angles to get all the sides of the mesh. (it’s not exactly 2D) Dont forget to paint both sides, or else it could look stupid or possibly rust.

Rustoluem only takes 10 minutes to dry to the touch and 30 to dry completely. After 30 minutes, i took the plastic radiator grill pieces out and attached the mesh to them using small black zip-ties. sure it’s not the most professional method, but if you do it right, it’s near impossible to notice if you’re more than a foot or two away. The less zipties the better. (i only had to use 2 per piece for a good secure fit.) After attached, i put the plastic pieces back in and secured them.

Project Complete!

wow. that looks a lot better. …i’d even say it looks great.

Options:

There are a few things i need to consider when choosing the best solution to getting my iPod hooked up: I want good sound quality. I want my iPod to have power (so charging is a must.) I want my iPod to turn off, or at least stop playing, when my car is turned off. I want to be able to use my iPod easily. I dont want a lot of clutter or wires strung about.

There are a few possibilities. Here are some of them, and their strengths and weaknesses.

FM Transmitters: This solution would work for a lot of people, and it would be nice because i could use it in the house, or in other people’s cars, pretty easily. The problem is that i don’t have and antenna in my car. All of the FM transmitters i’ve tested don’t work enough at all to even consider. …FM transmitters are a no-go. (Even if you HAVE an antenna, i wouldn’t suggest these; the sound quality is too low.)

Tape Adapters: These are pretty standard, but i dont have (nor do i want to have) a tape deck. These wont work.

Interface Adapter: Alpine sells an iPod interface adapter that connects the iPod directly to an alpine face, and treats it like a CD changer. The problem here is that Apple has engineered a wonderful interface for navigating the iPod… why would i want to use someone else’s inferior interface? i’ve used it, and it’s no where near as nice as the interface Apple designed. Nope on this one.
UPDATE: After using my ipod in my car for a long time, i found myself reaching for the “Skip” button on my deck. Having the deck buttons interface with the iPod would be really nice, but navigating menus would still be less than ideal. So the cons that still exist are: Price and Navigation, though if all you do is shuffle, and the only “navigation” you need is “skip this track” then this might be perfect.

Input + Power Adapter: I can buy an adapter for my Alpine deck, that plug into where a CD changer would plug in, that would give me RCA left and right inputs. With a headphone to RCA wire, i could plug my iPod in and use the iPod’s interface to control it. I’d also need an adapter to get power to my iPod (from the cigarette lighter.) If the power being cut turns off (or at least pauses) the iPod, and my cigarette lighter is switched, this might be the best solution. Power adapters usually have an Audio Out jack that is unamplified, so that would be a cleaner signal. The
Belkin Auto Kit for iPod w/ Dock Connector on my Amazon wishlist is probably the one i’ll get.

Update:

I ended up going with the last listed option… the Adapter, car charger and RCAs. It’s worked great, though it’s not all that pretty. The next thing i’ll do with this project is look for an elegant way to mount or store the iPod… instead of using the passenger seat so much.

What is it?

Check out the image to the right (click for the full-sized.) The highlighted red part is what i’m looking for.


The image on the left (click to enlarge) shows the color discrepancy. The grey behind the wheel (left side of the image) is the color on the rest of the car. The blue color only appears on that single piece of moulding.

The one i need is the passenger side piece. It needs to be dark grey with silver bottom-stripes. If it’s blue at all, it does me no good. It also has to be this specific pattern, not the all-over silver stripes from the ’88 and older. If you have this piece, and you’re wanting to (or willing to) sell it to me, please leave a comment.
STATUS: Still looking for this item.
WORTH: For both sides, shipped: $25, though i’ll need to see an image of it first.

Update:

Task Completed. I got both sides on eBay for $13 shipped.

What is it?

To the left is an image zoomed further out to give a better context of what i’m talking about. (click to enlarge.) I need for it to be Blue, to match the blue cloth interior.

If you have this piece, and you’re willing to sell it to me, please leave a comment. Part found.

STATUS: Part Found.
WORTH: Ebay, both sides, shipped: $13.