Driving home from school one day, I heard a very slight tick from under the car.  The fact that it was so slight and that I couldn't hear it from under the hood, made it seem like a piece of string or something on the drive shaft.  The next day I came out and started the engine and it was a very pronounced knock inside the engine.  The oil pressure was also low- cool engine, cool oil, needle barely rose.  After a blown head gasket and a loose exhaust manifold that ballooned into a major repair, pushing higher boost with a wastegate controller, and almost 190,000 miles, my engine is finally trying to give up the ghost.  Hopefully any cylinder scoring will be small.  This problem has forced me to buy another vehicle- a 90 4Runner.  This may be a blessing in disguise as my Supra is no longer my only vehicle and I can do the work I have always dreamed of.

As I can now leisurely build the engine of my dreams, I intend to go all out. 

For the top end this will mean having the intake/exhaust manifolds and the head fully ported and polished, oversized valves, dual springs with new seats and titanium retainers/locks, and ARP head studs. 

For the bottom of the engine I am going to bore it out (removing the cylinder scoring), install .040over JE pistons, Crower rods, Clevite bearings, ARP rod bolts and main studs, and new water and oil pumps.

I'm sure that a few other things, like the HKS metal head gasket or having the block "O" ringed, and an EGR block off plate will end up going in as part of this repair.

1- Parting with this money as kind of tough

2- As this is the third time I have had my engine out, I had it out in one day and completely disassembled the next.  No difficulties here.

1- It turns out that I spun the #1 rod bearing.  The pictures show where the ends are overlapping and actually worn together

2- The end of my crank, immediately under the balancer was under spec.  I am now in the market for a new crank

3- The number 5 and 6 cylinders were blown again!  This is the third time.  Good thing part of this engine repair/build is a MHG

TBD

We all know that this inline six is a great engine, and capable of major horsepower with little internal modification.  It seems the only thing that really must be done is a metal head gasket, head/deck resurfacing, and torqueing the head bolts to 72 in/lbs.

With the mods that I am doing, this engine should be capable of almost anything that I throw at it.  Including nitrous- an on again, off again dream.