As we all know, the Supra is one of those ‘out there’ Japanese cars which never really made it to Australia.

The Big T down here figured we’d all be better off driving Corollas and pretend sports cars like the Celica, so if you want something decent like a Supra then it’s up to you to bring one in yourself.

Sampson obtained his ‘96 model from Bill Andrew in Perth, one of a multitude of private importers around the country.

Now, just in case you didn’t know, there are two basic types of Supra.

The ‘S’ type comes with electric seats, twin air bags and all the usual luxuries, while the ‘R’ type is more sports oriented with Recaro bucket seats as standard and massive 335mm front brakes gripped by six-spot calipers.

With a claimed output of 207kW (280hp) at the flywheel, the R is no slouch, but then everything can be improved.

In search of extra ponies
As with Nissan’s R33 / 34 and BMW’s M3, the Supra is one of those in-line six engined cars which can be convinced with relative ease to produce serious power figures.

A few tweaks here, some forced induction mods there, bolt up a good exhaust system and you can soon be heading for 400 or more ponies at the engine (admittedly the BMW takes a bit more coaxing !).

In standard trim the Supra is also like the late model RX-7, and a few others, in that it uses a twin-turbo arrangement.

These smaller turbos might spool up quickly and get things happening, yet eventually they run out of puff and offer very little in the way of top end power.

It’s much better to do what Sampson did and bolt up a single Trust T78 hairdryer to produce a dyno-proven 432kW (584hp) at the engine

Sampson runs a business in Perth called Garage SSR, which specialises in high performance modifications for Japanese cars.

The T78 Trust blower and its associated plumbing was installed by SSR themselves, although other companies such as the renowned Formaz Performance were involved in some specialist areas.

The Trust T78 turbo on Sampson’s Supra is rated for 800hp and comes as a complete kit, including manifold and external wastegate.

To this, Sampson has added a custom dump pipe and a twin 3" Trust exhaust system.

Techno-tweaks
So far it all sounds like the usual high horsepower nonsense, yet what makes this car stand apart is the list of electronic controllers working hard behind the scenes.

Try this for a shopping list;

Trust / Profec boost controller, Trust / Rebic III injector controller, Trust / Rebic III simulator, Apexi AFC, HKS turbo timer, Apexi rev speed meter, HKS speed limit defenser, HKS fuel cut defenser ......... oh, and a blow off valve that was manufactured by Sampson himself (his dad’s got a joint venture in a machining company !).

Looking through this list of add-ons gives a few clues as to some of the other things going on under that black bonnet.

For example, the two additional Trust 720cc injectors mounted just before the throttle body are controlled by the Rebic III and its associated simulator.

Incidentally, fuel flow is enhanced these days by a couple of Bosch 600lb / hour pumps.

The HKS speed limit defenser meanwhile, allows the Japanese 180kmh speed limit to be by-passed (Japanese import car remember), although we’d imagine Sampson is a law abiding citizen who wouldn’t go much past 110kmh anyway.

Interestingly, the Supra’s stock ignition has remained and as the man himself said,

"We did enquire about a Mines ignition unit and a few others, but most people reckon you don’t need them."

Swapping the cogs (all six)
From Japan in the engine bay to the USA under the car, where a TRD 800hp bonded kevlar button clutch resides next to a lightened and balanced flywheel.

The gearbox too is a TRD item, a close ratio six-speed cog swapper no less, although as we were writing this story, Sampson blew fourth gear for the second time.

"I think we will now go for a Hollinger six speed sequential box," explained Sampson, "Jun, who run a drag Supra in Japan, use a Hollinger and they’ve had no problems."

"I’m actually expecting a Jun mechanic to come down and help train SSR’s new mechanic."

To this point in time, the Supra’s stock tailshaft has survived, as has the 4.90 ratio LSD diff’ which is an up-spec after market unit of ‘unknown’ origin.

Still with the undercarriage and thanks to those massive 335mm front discs and six spot calipers running Trust pads, there’s not much in the way of variety as regards wheels.

There’s barely a mm between the front callipers and the factory 17" rims, although the wheels don’t look too bad and could be enhanced really nicely with a touch of polishing.

Not that this car lacks much in the way of visual appeal anyway, thanks to that replica Veilside body kit.

In the cabin too, things have been lifted onto a higher level with the addition of a sound system and a multitude of gauges associated with the above mentioned control units.

To date, Sampson hasn’t gone inside his Supra’s engine, but with a new business on the go requiring a radical flagship, we’re sure the requirement for more power will see that head come off and a commitment to internal modifications made.

Sampson says that a friend back in Malaysia has similar mods done to his Supra and is already over the 700hp figure for the engine

So long as the gearbox is strong enough to handle it all !

Nuts`nBolts