Alex L.

Nice score Mike, and a good price to boot.

It's selfish and destroys the people around you, but, at the same time, can be romanticized. I think it's crossed the mind of most logical people who have gone through rough patches, if for a flitting second. It's the ultimate way out, and the easiest way to rid yourself of all personal problems. People who commit suicide without other medical catalyst (terminally ill/hospice patients, etc.) are most often mentally ill, obviously, and are, by definition, in an unhealthy/poor state of mind. This clouded judgement causes suicide to be their light at the end of the tunnel, and their source of tranquility in what they view as a tumultuous existence. However, it's a permanent fix. There is no coming back, and the toll it takes on everyone around you is immense. There is rarely suicide without fallout. While life can be painful, contemptuous, despondent, or any one of a number of other descriptions, this is the one chance we all get at it, and there is almost always green grass on the other side of the hill. Even if the hill is steep, and the patch is small, it's still worth the effort to get to it. I've battled depression for the past decade or more, and, to be frank, have always viewed suicide as the final option when the point of no return has been reached. I don't view it as a form of cowardice, but rather an exit strategy when there is absolutely nothing left. Fortunately, I've never reached the bottom of the barrel and viewed it as a reasonable option. However, once the thought has crossed your mind with any sincerity, it's always there.

I'm damp.

I'll be at both. It was a good time last year, especially considering the weather and it being the Columbus event's inauguration.

Great news, that sounds like the Jew we know and love.

Thank you for the updates, Chris. It's scary, but any progress is good news.

For sale is my brand new Peterson R4 dry sump pump, part number 04-4066. I had began building my own dry sump system, and have opted to purchase a kit rather than finish what I had started due to time constraints. This is a four-stage drag pump, single return, 1.4" pressure, with 1.400" scavenge rotors. The pump also has a rear drive for a mechanical fuel pump. I also have an additional pump housing should you want to upgrade it to a five-stage pump. I'm asking $1000. Please message me here or email Alex@bpautosports.net with questions or to purchase it. Video of pump:

Fifteen years ago, my dad and I were beginning work on the '82 Supra project that got me into cars. Now, I'm in the midst of build number five I believe on my '94 Supra. I've shifted my mindset on the build, and am beginning to feel a bit of the childlike eagerness and wonder from the early years again, making it a much more enjoyable venture.

You should really get back to work.

Some days it's great, other days it's a chore. I've done this for virtually my entire adult life, and realistically know no different. The amount of sacrifice to get to this point has been huge. I've sacrificed the true golden years of my life, meaning my late teens-mid twenties. I've sacrificed my health, both mental and physical. I've sacrificed a steady paycheck, stability, and free time. I typically work 6-7 days per week, eight or more hour days. I spend the vast majority of my time alone working, which has caused my social skills to deteriorate. I have no boss to answer to, and my effort put forth in a given day is at my discretion. I have the ability to create and do anything I'd like with it, and have the skill set to built virtually anything I can imagine. I'm able to work with very nice tools, apply math and science, problem solve, continually push myself to heighten the quality of my work, and practice a craft I love on a daily basis. However, when problems arise, they are all mine to solve. This has broadened and strengthened my shoulders, but also keeps a seemingly permanent amount of stress weighing them down. I can't remember the last time I've felt truly relaxed, or had a day when work wasn't at the forefront of my mind. I've had the opportunity to build parts for numerous cool vehicles, built wild custom turbo setups and other parts, and developed a reputation as an innovator in the industry. However, working on cars for a living has ruined my enjoyment for them to a degree. Non stop large custom jobs is an extraordinarily taxing way to make a living, and one that is always one step forward, two steps back. I love working with my hands and creating parts, but despise working on vehicles other than my own. The enjoyment I feel from working on my own car has diminished as well, and it's now a battle to "finish" it in order to stop spending money and time on it. I've discontinued offering custom work for the aforementioned reasons for the sake of my wallet and, more importantly, my mind. I have a few vehicle/custom projects to finish before focusing entirely on production work. Going to events and/or races is no longer a hobby, but just another facet of work. Everything I do on a daily basis is related to work in one way, shape, or form. All of my social media accounts are business-centralized, down to my personal Facebook page. This, in turn, has caused me to be much more private with anything personal, which isn't a bad thing. I'm grateful to be in the position that I am, but I often do wonder what life would be like if I had chosen a different path and continued to do this solely as a hobby. I'm grateful to have developed the relationships I have, become a part of this community and others, and had the experiences I've had. However, it's certainly taken a toll on me. I've spent the last decade of my life building this from the ground up, and don't possess any marketable skills aside from the specialized type of work that I do now. I'm extremely proud of what I've accomplished, but also full of regrets because of it; fun has worn off, and it's a job like any other now. The sword is double-edged.

None of my shit runs, although I'm willing and able to come drink beer and watch.

Thank you, all. I'm excited to see it coming together as well.

Thank you for the kind words, all. In regards to the cylinder head switch, the GE heads are theoretically more efficient than the GTE heads. When you consider volumetric efficiency, a forced induction engine has the assistance of a turbocharger, supercharger, or nitrous oxide to force additional oxygen into the combustion cycle, hence its name. A naturally aspirated engine relies entirely on its cylinder head's ability to flow air to accomplish an efficient combustion cycle. In looking at the two heads next to each other, the intake ports on the GE heads sit higher than those on GTE heads, giving a better angle for air to enter the cylinder. The exhaust ports on a GE head are large, straight, and round, whereas a GTE head's exhaust ports are small, oddly shaped, and recessed oddly in the casting (primarily cylinders one and six). While there is more work to be done to utilize a GE head in the form of deleting the distributor and figuring out a different way to have the CAS read, I believe the new head will be more efficient than the old one. In theory, that is.

It's been awhile since I've posted anything about the Supra on here. Since my last post, there has been a substantial redirection of the project in order to start the "final" stages of it for it to finally be "complete", which some of you may have seen on Facebook. These terms are laughable to consider when thinking of a project car, but I'm reaching the end of what I'll be able to do with my budget, time, and ability to compete. While the turbo remains the same 94mm that I had posted about previously, virtually everything else pertaining to the turbo system has changed. I decided to switch to a 2JZ-GE fixed cam head as opposed to the 2JZ-GTE fixed cam head I had previously planned to use, which necessitated a new header and intake manifold. As many of you know, I build exhaust manifolds, and I wanted the header for this setup to be something special. The vast majority of turbo headers/manifolds on the market are constructed of 304SS schedule piping, which gets the job done. The next step is 321SS, an alloy of stainless steel with titanium and nickel added to its structure to increase its corrosion resistance and resistance to thermal fatigue. This, in turn, allows a header/manifold to be constructed of thinner material without sacrifices in longevity. The ultimate alloy to use for this application is Inconel, a nickel alloy used in upper echelon motorsports, aerospace, and industrial applications due to its extreme resistance to thermal fatigue and corrosion. This translates to the ability to build a header/manifold out of the thinnest material possible without sacrificing longevity. I chose to construct my header out of 0.049" wall Inconel 625, the most commonly used Inconel alloy in motorsports, and the easiest to obtain and work with. As with any material, it presents its own unique characteristics and challenges when working with it, but, once the learning curve is conquered, it's a joy to craft with. My header is of stepped tri-Y construction with dual slip collectors used throughout. It's flanged for PTE or Garrett promod turbine housings, and holds twin Turbosmart Pro-Gate 50mm wastegates. On the bottom side and not pictured are bungs for individual EGT sensors. The head flange, turbine flange, and wastegate flanges are stainless steel, as Inconel and stainless can be freely welded together, and sourcing or having custom flanges made out of Inconel would be a pointless use of money in my eyes. If memory serves correctly, the header weighs approximately 23lbs sans wastegates. The intake manifold is a one-off piece I built for this application with materials from RMR, Race Part Solutions, and Sleeper Designs. It holds a Wilson 105mm throttle body with Wiggins provisioning on a flange I hand made. I have a bit more work to do on the intake manifold before it's complete in the form of an additional row of injector bungs, direct port bungs, boost reference ports, making the fuel rails, etc., but it's complete enough to be a place holder for the intercooler tubing for the time being. The intercooler, while not easy to see in the photos, is a design that I've had bouncing around in my head for some time. It's common practice to use 0.1875" aluminum sheet to construct air tanks on intercoolers in high boost applications due to 0.125" sheet metal ballooning/rupturing under these conditions. Most intercoolers you see are either cut and welded sheet metal, or bent out of a singular piece of sheet metal with a press brake. Large flat surfaces are a recipe for an exploded intercooler, especially when constructed out of 0.125" sheet. I wanted to construct my intercooler out of 0.125" aluminum to save on weight while making it as strong as possible. My solution for this problem is to incorporate radii into both air tanks that will be pressure bearing, with strapping over the tank-to-core welds that should be the most likely to fracture under these conditions. In theory, I can use the strength of an arc to more evenly distribute the pressure load as opposed to building it out of cut and welded pieces of sheet metal, as I don't own a press brake to properly bend sheet metal. The inlet/outlet of the air tanks are flanged for Wiggins couplings, while the water tanks are constructed with -20 ORB bungs for the water inlet and outlet. The hot side air tank also houses my blow off valve, a Turbosmart Power Port. The core itself is a 6" Bell air-to-water core, very high quality and designed to be abused. The intercooler came in at under 30lbs for a 6" air-to-water intercooler, minus water, obviously, which I believe is respectable for an intercooler of this size. The intercooler tubing, exhaust, and wastegate dump tubes are all made of titanium pie cuts sourced from Ticon Industries. I greatly enjoy working with this unique metal, and try to incorporate it into my car wherever possible. The exhaust is a 5" fender exit cut to the contour of the fender. The dump tubes are atmospheric and exit downwards rather than vertically, as I couldn't devise a way to bring them vertically without it looking poor. The intercooler tubes are 3" hot side and 4" cold side, and are complete with Wiggins flanges. All of the titanium is either polished or semi-polished, which I did to the best of my abilities on my Harbor Freight bench top buffer. I'll be adding color to the cold side components, but will leave the hot side components polished/semi-polished, and allow them to change color naturally as heat is applied to them. The wastegate dump tubes will receive gussets between them to prevent vibration, as well as allow for easy indexing of the wastegates when the car will inevitably be apart again. I have also built a 6" through-bumper air intake tube, capped with a 9" to 6" titanium velocity stack sourced from Mark at Proper Fabrications. Engine management is a ProEFI Pro 128 system with as many bells and whistles were necessary. I purchased a RacePak drag logger dash to provide telemetry both real time and post-pass as a logging device. I purchased a set of four Motion Raceworks steering wheel mounted buttons and brackets to allow me to keep necessary functions (line lock, purge, bump box, and scramble, for example) within easy reach compared to the dangling switches that I had before. These buttons are aesthetically pleasing as well as ergonomically placed, checking the boxes of both my criteria for them. Wiring will be the next order of business, and I'll need to determine which switches, indicator lights, and accessories will be necessary to make the car function as I'd like. My cylinder head is currently at Headgames awaiting Dave to work his magic on it. We're both very excited to see what possibilities there are with a 2JZ-GE cylinder head, and this should serve as a good test bed. I have a pair of custom grind Kelford cams that will be going in it in addition to Dave's valvetrain. The cams are covered with a pair of beautiful Autobanh Motorsports billet dry sump valve covers, as well as one of their billet coilpack brackets. The front of the head is occupied by a Sleeper Designs billet mechanical fuel pump bracket, with a Weldon 12.5gpm mechanical fuel pump, oversized for my eventual move to methanol. Cosmetically, the car has nearly every carbon fiber body panel that can be purchased for these cars, including a Grannas Racing full-face carbon bumper and Paisley lip. I'll be purchasing a new carbon hood for it, as I cut my previous carbon hood to accommodate the titanium hood exit exhaust and wastegate dump tube during its last running iteration. I have yet to decide which style hood I'll be putting on it this time, and will most likely wait, as there are many more pressing matters at hand. Steering and suspension have both been changed in the form of new IDS drag coilovers and a Grannas Racing manual steering rack. The IDS coilovers offer much more adjustment than the OG HKS Drags I had on the car previously, which should allow the Supra bounce to be tuned out of the car. The Grannas steering rack is much lighter than a factory steering rack, and incredibly easy to install. I still have a number of components and systems to figure out and/or design for this setup (I.E. rear mounted radiators, fuel cell, etc.), and it's still some time from running, but it's complete enough to depict its overall form. I'm happy with the way it's came together thus far, and am excited to continue building this setup. Now, after my rambling novel, on to the pictures:

I’m selling the pair of brand new Turbosmart Pro-Gate 50 Lite wastegates I had purchased for my Supra project. These are black, 14psi units, part number TS-0502-1241. These wastegates are an excellent choice for anyone who needs more valve face than a 44mm wastegate provides, without sacrificing space or having to use a slower-reacting 60mm wastegate. These have only been used for mock up. My only reason for selling is to switch to a pair of Turbosmart’s new compressed gas Pro-Gate 50 Gen V units. The wastegates are missing the inlet and outlet flanges, but all other components are there. Each unit comes with the following: • Turbosmart Pro-Gate 50 Lite wastegate • Firing ring • Inlet clamp • Outlet clamp • 2x fastener assemblies • 2x 1/16” NPT vacuum nipples • 1x 1/16” NPT plug • Locking collar tool • Turbosmart factory instruction disk • Sticker I can supply inlet/outlet flanges for an additional charge, or you can source them on your own. $400 each, or both for $750. These sell for $472.49 anywhere you look. Please PM if interested.

If I finish work early enough, I may stop by.

Tubular Techniques is the best place in town. Steve there is hilarious and a hell of a nice guy.

Every project I've had and sold I regret in one way, shape, or form. 2001 GSXR 600: graduation present to myself, rode it one summer, sold it for car parts. 1986 Buick Regal T-Type: great ambitions for a nice street sleeper, thrust bearings went out, pulled engine with intent of doing an LS/turbo swap, sold it after realizing I didn't have the money to bring my plans to fruition. 1992 Eagle Talon TSi: Rusty 6/5/4 car, but low miles and surprisingly reliable. The most fun winter car I've ever had. It had a destroyed 14B, Thermal exhaust, Spec clutch, and a set of Hankook snow tires, and was absolutely unstoppable in the snow. I sold it after a year or two to buy car parts. Still in the stable are my '92 SC300 and '94 Supra, neither of which I'll ever get rid of. The SC300 has far too much sentimental value, as it was my first car, first turbo project, first welding/fab canvas, and, realistically, couldn't be sold for enough to recoup investment value. It's hard to pick a true favorite, but the Supra makes the most sense to apply this label to. It's gone from a fairly mild street car to whatever the hell it is now. It has the benefit of being able to be sold for a reasonable amount of money, but I don't think I could ever bring myself to do so unless truly dire straits presented themselves. There are so many special, one-off parts on it, so many good memories building it and racing it, and, as much as I joke about it being the bane of my existence, so much sentimental value. Those who have known me for long enough know how often I've changed the car around, and the latest iteration that's underway now will be the wildest and most unique yet, and hopefully the "final" one.

You guys need a better hobby.

I'm sure they'll take my money either way, but I could have missed that part in the fine print.

PM sent.

The front fell off:

White Rice was on a promod 94 at WCF IIRC. It's a wild car, and makes the prospect of a billet block that much more appealing.

I'll pick a few of these up for the shop and racecar at the track day.

2" sch40 4-1 to 3.5" V-band outlet collectors: T3 4-1 collector for a custom Honda manifold: