Brian: “Hey. Pop the hood.”
Dominic: “Pop the hood?!”
Brian: “Pop the hood!”
Jesse: “2JZ engine… no shit.”
Brian: “What did I tell you?”
Dominic: “I retract my previous statement.”

Before these famous (or infamous) lines where uttered in the 2001 movie ‘The Fast and The Furious’, the fourth generation Toyota Supra was already amassing a cult-following. The reason for the growing admiration of the fourth generation supra was because the 2JZ engine in it was BULLET PROOF; allowing tuners to reach performance figures that were only achieved from engines with more cylinders or you spent-a- ton of money on modifications. The supra offered power and performance at a fraction of the cost. Match that with sleek body lines and beautiful styling and you have a car that still holds its own 25 years after it was released.

For Joel Leaves, the Supra was loved before The Fast and The Furious hype; for him it was his ‘Hero Car.’ He knew he would own it one day and when an old friend of his mentioned his nephew was selling a 1993 Toyota Supra RZ, he knew he had to have it and purchased the car immediately. The year was 1999 and Joel has owned the car ever since.

When Joel took ownership of the Supra it had slight modifications done to it. It had some ignition and fuel upgrades, a Haltech E6X and a set of Alstadt 1 rims. A simple set-up compared to today’s standards, but enough to blitz anyone on the road at the time. So, as Joel looked at improving and upgrading the modifications on the car, he had one main goal… build an ALL-ROUND street car. He wanted a car that had a balance of power, performance and style.

In 2008 Joel got the modifying bug and decided it was time to make some more power. The goal was to have a 1000hp street car so the motor was stripped and upgraded with new pistons, rods, and fuel system. However things don’t always go to plan, shortly after completion the car spun a bearing.

It would be another 6 years before the Supra would see the road again. Joel had all but lost hope, so he decided to finally take action. The car was towed from its resting place straight to Just Engine Management in Ingleburn. The guys put in a new Toyota short block and all the other goodies from the previous build, comprising of a Garrett T51r, Greddy 5” intercooler, HKS 272 cams and Hypertune throttle body. In December 2014 Joel’s Supra was finally back and packing a punch making 470wkw.

As the story goes, it wasn’t long before Joel wanted more power. Within a year the Supra went back to Adam at JEM, this time to further upgrade the fuel system. A PHR triple in-tank pump hanger, 3x Walbro pumps and 2200cc injectors were put up to the task and the car delivered a hefty 555wkw. Adam then talked Joel into a flex fuel system and re-tuned the Haltech PS2000 to a final figure of 630wkw at 32psi. Remarkable effort for a stock 2jz bottom end. All that power is transferred to the ground via the now legendary factory Supra 6 speed Getrag gearbox with the addition of a OS Giken Quad Plate clutch.

Once the power was sorted Joel got in touch with Jeff Briffa from Briffa Customs to freshen up the paint. The decision was made to paint the car in Ducati Anniversary Red, which was chosen due to its bright and deep appearance. During this process the body was cleaned up, the antenna and rear wiper holes shaven, along with the addition of Prospec Sniper Ring tail lights, Prospec carbon side lips and a Seibon carbon front lip. Quality 3 piece wheels where the only option for Joel, choosing to go for a staggered set of 19” SSR SP3’s with Nitto rubber.

The interior of the Supra is truly special and resembles something out of a supercar. It all started back in 2009 when Joel first spoke to Louie from Lux Marine Auto Trim about having his dash trimmed in Alcantara. This material wasn’t readily available at the time but Joel had managed to find the sole Australian distributor , so he took the plunge and ordered two full rolls and began planning a full retrim. It took some time (as all good things do) but the interior was finally finished in 2017.

Lets just say it was worth the wait, the interior was completely re-done in Alcantara which includes a custom dash, custom carbon door pods, custom roof lining, hidden window controls, rebuilt Supra seats, custom boot install and to finish it all off a custom carbon and Alcantara steering wheel.

In the time Joel has owned the car he has performed very little work modifying the engine himself, leaving that to the professionals. Although, he has tinkered here and there with smaller details, Joel’s personal touches can be seen on the car. He designed and 3D printed a front number plate bracket that holds the plate without to the bumper, as well as, designing and printing front intake grills.

Joel has no plans on getting rid of the car… even after 19 years of owning it. This is credit to the love, passion and dedication he has for his Supra. He does plan on changing a few things though, a big brake kit and 3.4L high comp bottom-end being a priority on the list. But, Joel knows, after you have owned a car for so long, the list of changes will never end… so, a newer turbo, T56 magnum 6 speed gearbox and suspension overhaul is on the list as well.

JOEL WOULD LIKE TO THANK:
– Louie from Lux Marine Auto Trim for the amazing trim
– Adam and the JEM boys for keeping her running right
– Briffa Customs for a respray that rivals OEM
– Justin from ProWire for basically rewiring the entire car
– Ryan from Waves Detail Pro for making her so shiny
– Shane from Gorilla Industries for getting the wheel fitment spot on
– Tony from Pro Spec Imports for giving our community new and quality products
– Alex from Spartan Car Audio for the killer stereo setup
– Oni Class for being the best crew out there
– The Supra Club chat group for the most helpful and detailed Supra discussion
– Lastly fight club, without who I wouldn’t be able to buy all these goodies

MODS LIST

– 630kw\840HP on E85
– 520kw\700HP on 98

– Fresh Toyota short block
– HKS 272 cams
– BC head components
– 2200cc injectors
– PHR triple in-tank pump hanger, 3 x Walbro pumps
– PHR Alternator upgrade
– PHR modified oil pump
– Yaris coil packs
– Boot mounted battery
– Greddy intake manifold
– Hypertune TB
– Garrett T51r turbo
– Greddy 5” intercooler
– Custom 3.5” exhaust
– Twin thermo fans
– Mishimoto radiator
– TRD thermostat
– TRD engine mounts

 

 

– Standard gearbox
– OS Giken quad plate
– Rebuilt diff with TRD 1.5 centre
– DSS single piece tail shaft

– Haltech PS2000
– Eboost street

– Standard

– SSR SP3 19×9.5” front
– SSR SP3 19×11” rear

– Ducati anniversary red
– Prospec Sniper Ring tail lights
– Prospec carbon side lips
– Seibon carbon front lip
– Carbon rear plate garnish
– Shaved rear wiper
– Shaved antennae

– Custom re-trim in Anthracite Alcantara
– Moulded dash gauge pod
– TRD speedo and tacho
– Custom steering wheel in carbon and Alcantara
– Prospec AC control dress kit
– Carbon door sills
– Custom roof lining
– Custom carbon front and rear speaker pods
– Spartan Audio boot install
– Window controls moved to door handles
– Gloss black dash panels with shaved ash tray and cig lighter

– D2 coilovers
– Traction rods
– Whiteline sway bars