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Years and years ago when Jason Poco was barely a teenager, his dad did what all of us dream of when we're young: Jason's dad bought him a car. But before you think this is some spoiled kid situation, the car he brought home was a 1985 Toyota Celica Supra, one that he bought for a mere $600. For one generation in Toyota's bloodline, the Celica and Supra merged into the '82-86 MA6 Celica Supra chassis. The car wasn't running and had both quarter panels rusted out. No, this wasn't some kind of sick joke. Growing up in the Philippines, Jason's dad always wanted a Celica, but couldn't afford one. So after seeing a local Celica Supra for sale, he knew it would be the first car for his son Jason.

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Jason happens to come from a family of car lovers. Nowadays everyone in his family has two cars, one weekend car and one daily driver. Even his mom has a project car! And to help aid everyone's addiction, they recently added a car lift in their garage at home (every grease monkey's wet dream). Jason must have the coolest dad ever. With dad and two brothers, this became a family affair.

At one time, one of Jason's brothers had a Mark III Supra ('86-92), which was eventually crashed and totaled. The only thing salvageable from the wreck was the 7M-GTE engine.

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This became the perfect donor car for Jason, and heart surgery for his Mark II Supra was on its way. Mark II Supras came with a 5M-GE engine and so going to a 7M-GTE is the perfect choice. Going with 1JZ or 2JZ really wasn't common or simple in the older Supra. Staying in Toyota's M family of engines made the swap much easier then it would be jumping to the JZ engine series. Turbo 7M's are more old school and perhaps more fitting. Coming turbo and being the best of the M motors, it was an option that was since some modified 7Ms have been able to make over 700whp. The new block has two different mounting points, and so factory motor mounts were just moved to the rear points. Another problem was the new oil pan would not clear the car's front crossmember. The original 5M oil pan had to be swapped over to make things fit. With all factory parts, the swap was complete and running smooth.

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Through the years, Jason has added more modifications and the car has gone through many different setups, cosmetically and mechanically. It's still black, as it was originally, but fresh Spies Hecker Jet Black paint was laid over the car covering the original Toyota fender flares, only available on the P-Type Supra. Making the body cleaner, the rear wiper, keyhole and antenna hole were shaved off. To keep it durable the entire undercarriage is coated with bedliner. Underneath, new control arm bushings were also replaced, to complete the suspension restoration.

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Now if you're not familiar with the 7M-GTE engine, it has an intake that runs across the valvecover much like on a naturally-aspirated 2JZ-GE or a RB25DET. To maximize air, a custom Ron Ramirez intake manifold was installed, along with the notoriously large Q45 throttle body. The engine block is now overbored and now houses forged JE pistons. A cast HKS turbo manifold feeds the badass Garret TO4Z turbo, all of which were coated in Jet Hot black. Fuel supply comes via Siemens 720cc injectors and a Lipp fuel rail, governed by a Aeromotive fuel pressure regulator. An Aeromotive A1000 fuel pump was installed on the restored gas tank, with a custom sump. Exhaust gases get left behind with a Raptor Racing 3" stainless system. All in all, the car put down an ass-kicking 470whp on the dyno.

Not many of us are lucky enough to still have our first car, and not many of us have even ever had a car built and restored to this level. With a lot of help from his family Jason has been able to keep his first car, and restore what was once a rust bucket, into the beast you see before you.

Fast Facts

1985 Toyota Celica Supra

Owner Jason poco

Hometown Old bridge, NJ

Daily Grind Student

Power 470hp @ 6500rpm

Under The Hood 7M-GTE; powder- coated wrinkle black valvecover and miscellaneous brackets; Ron Ramirez intake manifold and alternator relocation bracket; Q45 throttle body; GReddy catch can, and MKIV TPS adapter; 4" aluminum piping; Aeromotive A1000 fuel pump, and FPR; Lokar braided throttle cable; T-bolt clamps; ATP quick-tap vacuum fitting, and BOV flange; HKS BOV, turbo manifold (Jet Hot coated), and 2mm head gasket; Garret T04Z ball bearing turbo with 74.2mm/76 trim turbine, .70 A/R housing, and 84mm compressor wheel; TiAL 40mm wastegate with custom adaptor; custom 3" downpipe with flex pipe; Raptor Racing 3" polished stainless steel exhaust and test pipe; JE forged pistons (.20 over); ARP head studs; Titan Motorsports cam gear cover; eliminated EGR; brand new Toyota engine harness; TRD oil cap; GM polyurethane motor mounts; powdercoated oil pan; trans-located dip stick; Lipp Big fuel rail; Siemens 720cc injectors; Gas Tank Renu restored fuel tank; custom fuel sump; -10AN and -8AN aluminum fuel hard lines; Aeroquip Starlite lines; Mallory 500 fuel filter; Ducati Biposta 749 charcoal canister; custom power steering cooler with Starlite lines; Koyo radiator; Flex-A-Lite fans; full silicone hoses and couplers; Mocal 25 row oil cooler and fittings; Spearco intercooler; Odyssey PC680MJT battery relocated to rear; '91 MR2 alternator; ATO/ATC fuse block

Drivetrain R154 5-speed transmission conversion; ACT clutch kit; C's short shifter brains MAP ECU; GReddy Profec-B boost controller; custom VF signal monitor

Stiff Stuff Tokico struts; Suspension Techniques springs; Addco sway bars; new Toyota rubber control arm bushings

Stoppers Jim King front big brake kit; Hawk HPS front pads; Wilwood calipers; 12" rotors; KVR rear pads; Techna-Fit stainless steel lines; LJM front strut bar; FD RX-7 rear endlinks with custom bar

Rollers Simmons 17x8" +10 (front), 17x9" +0 (rear); Yokohama tires

Outside Custom Cressida front lip; Spies Hecker Jet Black paint; shaved rear wiper, antenna, and key hole; bedliner undercoating; new OEM rear Supra decal; all brand new moldings, rocker panels, and windshield; XX marker emblems; JDM rear vents and fog lights; euro front turn signals; JDM Leputa taillight covers; Hella headlights; Kaizen HID kit;

Inside custom reupholstered interior; new custom cut-sewn carpet; OMP Racing pedals and steering wheel; Memory Fab reclineable racing seats on extra low seat rails;

ICE Kenwood KVT911DVD; 12" JL subwoofer; MB Quartz front speakers; Eclipse rear speakers;

Props E-Shift Performance and CelicaSupra.com

WWW aeromotiveinc.com; aeroquip.com, batinc.net, celicasupra.com; e-shiftperformance.com, greddy.com;hksusa.com, raptorracing.com;simmonswheel.com.au, techna-fit.com; turbobygarrett.comhrome.com;www.watanabewheel.com

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