[IS5043]

Hi All,
As the title states, I have an opportunity to finish an is300 turbo build.

Long story short…..my brother has began this build several years ago and life happen so the car ended up in its incomplete stages for about 2 years. Before the current build had gte rods/piston as a 600HP with an r154. He then began the build for a goal of 1000HP. He’s easily invested over $30k buying all top of the line parts.

I don’t have all the details yet and don’t think I’ll get everything I would like if I had original build the car myself but the car ended up at the 3rd shop it currently sits. The first shop started the build and went through some shit and went bankrupted. The 2nd shop ended up taking the first shops customers and ended up screwing my brother over. Took a lot of money and parts and did a shit job. The 3rd shop where the car ended up seems to be and willing to finish the build.

there is a lot of unknown at the time. The shop is currently working to put together a details list of all the parts it has/needs and what work it needs.

I have this thread to keep track of progress and asking for help as question arises about what I should and need to do. I’m looking for suggestions and any help. A few below to start….

the engine currently Is fully built to handle 1000HP. Issues from what I heard… the 2nd shop the car ended up at, the people there got drunk one night and ended up pouring wine into the engine. It was suggest to pull the engine apart to inspect. Obviously that would be what I want, but keep in mind, I’m trying to only do what is required versus what nice to have in a sense. I am not trying to cheap out but want to listen to suggestion on what I could get away with. Not sure how much wine went in but wine dries up, what would happen if I just leave it as is?

2. Current engine management was a pro efi with a dash display. Shop #2 never finished and did a shit job with the wire harness. He paid over 5k for this job that went unfinished. Now, I’m scrapping it since shop #3 has no idea where to start and wires are all cut up. Basically I would have to start over. I am planning to go emu black with the plug and play wire harness using the is300 oem wire harness. Let me know is this make sense?

3. I was told the r154 is build which I should handle the 1000hp. Unbuilt r154 should handle up to 700. Is there a way to identify the r154, even if I have totake it apart to see if the part will handle the power? I have the clutch already, I’ll get the details, but it’s a triple disc plate clutch.

This is all I know so far and will be meeting with the shop owner sometime next week. Looking for feedback and what I should. For the most part the car is 80% completed if I had to guess.

adding photos of what I can find. What it use to look like and how it sits now. None recent as I found these on my phone.

 

[Thatblueis]

1) Just flush the oil out drain it and add some new oil and run it then change it again until it looks wine free lmao.
2) That works assuming the stock harness is still good. Emu black is a good option if you don't care about can bus stuff. If you do you'll want a panic kit which uses link g4x.

 

[IS5043]

1) Just flush the oil out drain it and add some new oil and run it then change it again until it looks wine free lmao.
2) That works assuming the stock harness is still good. Emu black is a good option if you don't care about can bus stuff. If you do you'll want a panic kit which uses link g4x.

that’s actually a really good suggestion to run oil through it. My only thought is who put the motor together. I know at some point the head was shipped out to another reputable shop to do the head work. Now for the block I’m not sure. Only issue would be if I trust them to torque everything to spec.

 

[Thatblueis]

that’s actually a really good suggestion to run oil through it. My only thought is who put the motor together. I know at some point the head was shipped out to another reputable shop to do the head work. Now for the block I’m not sure. Only issue would be if I trust them to torque everything to spec.

That's up to you you'll need to take the oil pan and cams out to retorque the important bolts.

 

[Kris OK]

Yikes. Who gets wine-drunk at a shop? Then pours wine in an engine. Some people.

Your plan sounds pretty good to me, contingent on the motor being healthy. I would look into using the ProEFI even if you need a new harness. It’s a good ecu and will run dbw and traction control. The emu black will too, but you’d be purchasing a new ecu as well as the harness.

As far as 1000hp on an R154, I’d say that’s beyond the bleeding edge of the transmission. It can prolly do it, but if you really want 1000hp then go T56 - that’s just my opinion, but it’s pretty sound. You can tell if the R154 is “built” by opening it up. It’ll have the billet shift forks, heavier thrust washer, billet front bearing retainer, etc. DriftMotion sales the parts to make the upgrade so you could refer to their pics or Marlin Crawlers as for what to look for.

Ya got any pics of the car? We like pics.

 

[Hodgdon Extreme]

Pro EFI is a solid ecu - especially if you already have it.

I don't think most tuner shops are the folks you want to construct a proper harness. See Panic Wire, Tweaked, Wiring Specialties or some other wiring harness specialty shop to build you what you need.

I wouldn't count on an R154 to handle 700hp, nevermind 1000hp - whether it's got the billet parts or not.

 

[Pnut00]

I think the question should be what do you realistically want to achieve and how much more do you want to spend?

Also i would be wanting to know if the wine made it into the cylinders (man US shops be way fancier than the beer swilling bogan shops down under ) and if not then it will need to be drained and cleaned out. you can make a few calls to limit any damage either way if you dont want to crack the motor open again, oil change/flush, coolant flush, open the plug holes to inspect and drain as best as possible before spinning and finally plugs in and fire up.

If it were me and had been through that kind of hassle i would be wondering about the competency of the engine build, has it all been gapped and sized correctly? Torqued correctly? You could just run it and hope for the best, but you also need to be willing to accept the risk it has a melt down and a full rebuild is needed.

 

[IS5043]

That's up to you you'll need to take the oil pan and cams out to retorque the important bolts.

trying to understand and save where I can

That's up to you you'll need to take the oil pan and cams out to retorque the important bolts.

trying to understand if this requires a full tear down and retorque the entire engine or just the important bolts? I'm do have a budget and am trying to save where I can possible but where it makes sense. any idea on avg. cost?

Yikes. Who gets wine-drunk at a shop? Then pours wine in an engine. Some people.

Your plan sounds pretty good to me, contingent on the motor being healthy. I would look into using the ProEFI even if you need a new harness. It’s a good ecu and will run dbw and traction control. The emu black will too, but you’d be purchasing a new ecu as well as the harness.

As far as 1000hp on an R154, I’d say that’s beyond the bleeding edge of the transmission. It can prolly do it, but if you really want 1000hp then go T56 - that’s just my opinion, but it’s pretty sound. You can tell if the R154 is “built” by opening it up. It’ll have the billet shift forks, heavier thrust washer, billet front bearing retainer, etc. DriftMotion sales the parts to make the upgrade so you could refer to their pics or Marlin Crawlers as for what to look for.

Ya got any pics of the car? We like pics.

I've added pic above of what the car use to look like and where it currently sits.

I've checked and would cost about 5k for a wire harness for the ProEFI where as I can get the EMU Black + Wire-harness for about 2k. I do have a budget and want the car up and running sooner rather than later. I guess I would have to decide on the props and cons.

As for the trans, I already have a built "r154" and clutch. I would prob have to add more $$ on top where as I can get it up and running as is. In the mean time, I can prob just get it to around 700HP. Will do further research but seen that r154 can handle 1000HP. I do want another trans but is not a priority at this time.

I think the question should be what do you realistically want to achieve and how much more do you want to spend?

Also i would be wanting to know if the wine made it into the cylinders (man US shops be way fancier than the beer swilling bogan shops down under ) and if not then it will need to be drained and cleaned out. you can make a few calls to limit any damage either way if you dont want to crack the motor open again, oil change/flush, coolant flush, open the plug holes to inspect and drain as best as possible before spinning and finally plugs in and fire up.

If it were me and had been through that kind of hassle i would be wondering about the competency of the engine build, has it all been gapped and sized correctly? Torqued correctly? You could just run it and hope for the best, but you also need to be willing to accept the risk it has a melt down and a full rebuild is needed.

I do have a budget and would rather try to get the car running with its current parts and only spend where needed. thats the other part i need to consider, is this engine properly build based on these shops competency....

i do want to avoid opening the engine unless I have to as well.

 

[_zaclemore]

Just fill in the gaps, inspect everything and purchase a harness for the ProEFI. Wiring specialties has a lot of drop downs so you can customize the harness for what you have. Also a built R154 should handle a lot of power. I've seen brand new ones make 600 or 700, with Adam LZ's 2JZ Chaser. Your mileage may vary.

 

[IS5043]

Pro EFI is a solid ecu - especially if you already have it.

I don't think most tuner shops are the folks you want to construct a proper harness. See Panic Wire, Tweaked, Wiring Specialties or some other wiring harness specialty shop to build you what you need.

I wouldn't count on an R154 to handle 700hp, nevermind 1000hp - whether it's got the billet parts or not.

I would love to use the ProEFI, but for a proper harness it'll run close to 5K, where as I can get an EMU black with harness for about 2k. I do want quality but budget and wanting the car to run is what I have to balance. I've briefly read that a fully built r154 should be able to handle 1000HP. I do want to use another trans but would like to stick to what I currently have.

 

[Thatblueis]

trying to understand and save where I can

trying to understand if this requires a full tear down and retorque the entire engine or just the important bolts? I'm do have a budget and am trying to save where I can possible but where it makes sense. any idea on avg. cost?

The main things you want to make sure are torqued are main caps rod caps head bolts cam caps and oil pump. I don't know if you can torque the bottom end bolts without pulling the engine. Also where is 5k for an engine harness coming from? Tweaked performance does a full custom harness for 2k with all the goodies.

 

[IS5043]

The main things you want to make sure are torqued are main caps rod caps head bolts cam caps and oil pump. I don't know if you can torque the bottom end bolts without pulling the engine. Also where is 5k for an engine harness coming from? Tweaked performance does a full custom harness for 2k with all the goodies.

I can check on that and ask the shop I guess. Feel like he’ll lean toward taking the engine apart. You are right, I was on driftmotion website and quickly selected the wire harness without realizing it includes the ecu which I don’t need. I’ll need to check on this again and if it’s approx. 2k, than I will probably keep the pro efi.

 

[IS5043]

I’ll also need a drive shaft. Shop #2 lost…. I know I can get one on driveshaftshop and select the 2jz to r154 trans. Do I need to give any measurements or should it just bolt right up?

 

[Thatblueis]

I’ll also need a drive shaft. Shop #2 lost…. I know I can get one on driveshaftshop and select the 2jz to r154 trans. Do I need to give any measurements or should it just bolt right up?

Depends if that shop already has measurements from a pervious is300 with an r154. The important things they'll need to know is transmission diff flange and platform. They may need measurements but if so they'll tell you what they want. You might just have a local driveshaft shop make it and save on shipping and measurements and making sure it fits etc.

 

[DemonIs300]

Like said above, stay with the Pro EFI, the amount of things you can do with that is beyond what EMU Black can do. Given that, talk to the shop on what ECU he's most comfortable on working with. If he doesn't know Pro EFI or EMU Black, then it'll be a waste of money and time having him learn that. As for the wine stuff.....wine has sugar in it and when it dries up, it'll leave a sticky residue. It won't mix with oil very well....I don't know if you want to run the engine and have it mix in. May cause more damage than you want like detonation....turbo engines worst enemy. If you want a 1000hp car, might was well take the time to open and clean and fix things before it gets worst. Will cause more if you damage a piston. Lastly, the r154 built or not will not handle 1000hp. Built, you are looking at 700whp to 800whp max. 800whp is if you are very lucky.

 

[IS5043]

Like said above, stay with the Pro EFI, the amount of things you can do with that is beyond what EMU Black can do. Given that, talk to the shop on what ECU he's most comfortable on working with. If he doesn't know Pro EFI or EMU Black, then it'll be a waste of money and time having him learn that. As for the wine stuff.....wine has sugar in it and when it dries up, it'll leave a sticky residue. It won't mix with oil very well....I don't know if you want to run the engine and have it mix in. May cause more damage than you want like detonation....turbo engines worst enemy. If you want a 1000hp car, might was well take the time to open and clean and fix things before it gets worst. Will cause more if you damage a piston. Lastly, the r154 built or not will not handle 1000hp. Built, you are looking at 700whp to 800whp max. 800whp is if you are very lucky.

You are right, I probably should open the motor and clean everything. As I get more details on the car I’ll update everyone. In the mean time, I do see folks saying the r154 cannot handle 1000HP. I may just push it to 700-750. This will give me time to get to enjoy the car while saving up for another trans down the line. I can always retune the car.

as for the pro efi, initially talking to the tuner he said to avoid it because it was recently discontinued or something as well as the 2nd shop screwing up the wiring harness which consisted of several customization. Also mentioned he had one that he wasn’t going to install and decide on something else. My lack of knowledge of it may have made me just go with it. Maybe I need to ask him specifically what it is. Didn’t go through much details. What would need it I were to stick with the pro efi?
Is it just this 3 items:
1. Proefi ecu
2. Tweakedperforance(or similar) wire harness
3. Oem wire harness

Anything I should ask or consider asking the tuner beside which ecu he’s comfortable with as I believe he’s mentioned he’s tuned other cars with proefi before.

 

[Thatblueis]

You are right, I probably should open the motor and clean everything. As I get more details on the car I’ll update everyone. In the mean time, I do see folks saying the r154 cannot handle 1000HP. I may just push it to 700-750. This will give me time to get to enjoy the car while saving up for another trans down the line. I can always retune the car.

as for the pro efi, initially talking to the tuner he said to avoid it because it was recently discontinued or something as well as the 2nd shop screwing up the wiring harness which consisted of several customization. Also mentioned he had one that he wasn’t going to install and decide on something else. My lack of knowledge of it may have made me just go with it. Maybe I need to ask him specifically what it is. Didn’t go through much details. What would need it I were to stick with the pro efi?
Is it just this 3 items:
1. Proefi ecu
2. Tweakedperforance(or similar) wire harness
3. Oem wire harness

Anything I should ask or consider asking the tuner beside which ecu he’s comfortable with as I believe he’s mentioned he’s tuned other cars with proefi before.

Cleaning the engine shouldn't be expensive in terms of parts you'll just need gaskets it's just alot of time. Assuming the ecu is a efipro 128 proefi still sells them on there website. I assume you already have the ecu if someone was installing one previously. You'll want a proefi 128 harness from someone like tweaked and maybe a factory harness although it depends what they messed with and if your getting a full engine harness or a an adapter harness from the factory harness to the proefi ecu. You should really only need a engine harness as the proefi doesn't need to interact with anything else.

 

[IS5043]

Cleaning the engine shouldn't be expensive in terms of parts you'll just need gaskets it's just alot of time. Assuming the ecu is a efipro 128 proefi still sells them on there website. I assume you already have the ecu if someone was installing one previously. You'll want a proefi 128 harness from someone like tweaked and maybe a factory harness although it depends what they messed with and if your getting a full engine harness or a an adapter harness from the factory harness to the proefi ecu. You should really only need a engine harness as the proefi doesn't need to interact with anything else.

I would be paying the shop to clean the motor. If it time consuming... the shop will prob charge an hour rate .
I'd stick with the proefi if the tuner can work with it, if not i'll see my option on take it to another shop or change to his preferred ecu(emu black).

 

[DemonIs300]

You are right, I probably should open the motor and clean everything. As I get more details on the car I’ll update everyone. In the mean time, I do see folks saying the r154 cannot handle 1000HP. I may just push it to 700-750. This will give me time to get to enjoy the car while saving up for another trans down the line. I can always retune the car.

as for the pro efi, initially talking to the tuner he said to avoid it because it was recently discontinued or something as well as the 2nd shop screwing up the wiring harness which consisted of several customization. Also mentioned he had one that he wasn’t going to install and decide on something else. My lack of knowledge of it may have made me just go with it. Maybe I need to ask him specifically what it is. Didn’t go through much details. What would need it I were to stick with the pro efi?
Is it just this 3 items:
1. Proefi ecu
2. Tweakedperforance(or similar) wire harness
3. Oem wire harness

Anything I should ask or consider asking the tuner beside which ecu he’s comfortable with as I believe he’s mentioned he’s tuned other cars with proefi before.

Given what you and your brother has been through, I was ask to see the cars they are currently working on and their experience with 2jz's. Then search online and read their reviews. Always read the bad ones first so it'll give you an idea of what other thinks. You don't want another fiasco and have to dump more money into it. Sadly with any build, fixing other's mistakes takes a lot more time and money then doing it from scratch.

 

[Hodgdon Extreme]

My buddy bought a Porsche 911 turbo (it's a 996). After spending about $35000 with Hans at the Dallas Porsche dealer to get it all fixed up and "maintaned", he was outrun by his brother's cammed Z06... So he brought the Porsche back to Hans to get a stroker engine built with GT2 crank, custom Mahle pistons, billet rods, big turbos, etc etc... Hans pulled it all apart, ordered a boatload of parts, and then quit being a mechanic at the dealer, leaving my pal with $50k in parts and a torn-apart car.

My point:

Your situation could be worse.