Pickup Flipper’s 900-HP Dream Supra Includes Jeep Brakes, Honda Paint

With all the stress and excitement that occur during your first day of high school, the last thing you’re expecting is to fall head over heels for a random senior’s car as he heads out to lunch. That’s exactly what happened to Jose Gutierrez back in 2000, and though he had no idea what kind of car he’d just been floored by, he knew that he’d one day have one of his own.

“I didn’t know what kind of car it was, all I heard was a rocket ship,” he recalls. He eventually figured out that it was a 1998 Toyota Supra and, like most of us, he didn’t have the sort of cash on hand to run out and pick one up, especially at such a young age. Seventeen years after that initial encounter, this 1993 Supra Premier Edition was all his, but it wasn’t in nearly the same sort of condition as the one he’d seen years prior. He adds, “It was all beat up and barely ran but I didn’t care, I wanted it. It was a gift to me, from me, on my 33rd birthday.”

No, it wasn’t a perfect example, but there were big plans for a complete build up and he only needed a suitable foundation. Still, even in a less desirable state, the MkIV Supra demands a premium and to generate the sort of funds to bring it home and jump into a full-blown project, Jose became efficient and buying, flipping and selling Toyota Tacomas. Those profits provided the seed money and as soon as the car was obtained, it was stripped and sent off to paint.

Thinking back to that first interaction with that senior’s black Supra, Jose opted for a black finish on this dream build and borrowed the Crystal Black Pearl paint code from Honda’s Civic Type R. The deep paintwork is offset by substantial hits of carbon fiber that have taken over the Supra’s front end and include Seibon’s hood and fenders, while the rear was given a Pro Spec trunk lip and TBT spoiler. More carbon fiber is also found in the panel above the cabin in place of the factory targa top. Additionally, the headlights, taillights, and signals were all updated to 1998-spec versions.

The use of a Honda color code isn’t the only cross-platform touch on Jose’s build as he pieced together a braking system that included parts from three different models. Brembo 6-pot calipers from a C7 Corvette, and 4-pot versions for the rear sourced from a Jeep Cherokee SRT8. Custom brackets were used to mount the brightly power coated stoppers that bite down on Lexus ISF front and rear rotors and sit just behind matte black TE37.

The stealthy black and carbon, broken up by hits of glowing green, make their way into the car’s interior, too. Recaro buckets with toned down black Takata harnesses are surrounded by a powder coated Titan roll bar to match the wheel decals and calipers. Carbon fiber is also found on custom steering wheel stitched in red and a series of dash panels to mirror the outside theme.

Rather than trying to patch up any issues on the engine, Jose decided to pull it and have it freshened up and fortified for some additional boost. The bottom end is now good for over 1,200 horsepower should he get the urge to go completely nuts, but for now, power checks in at 900 hp at 45 psi. To ensure that sort of pressure wouldn’t wreak havoc on the 3.0L, Brian Crower H-beam rods and CP pistons replaced the originals and familiar Real Street billet caps and trusty ARP hardware were included in the rebuild.

A single Precision turbo and a pair of Turbo Smart wastegates were added to a DriftMotion Street Fighter turbo manifold to set up the hot side, while a Sleeper Design billet intake manifold with 90 mm Ross Machine throttle body makes up the cold end of things. In between, GSC’s proven stage 1 cams and Power House adjustable cam gears are backed by a complete Ferrea valve train and shimless buckets for high-rev duties. The engine room was sprayed with a matte black bed liner before the completed engine was set back in place.

Even with a plan of attack and the funds to make it happen, the build took longer than Jose expected. “I didn’t get to enjoy my Supra until about four years later, after it was all done,” he says. “Unfortunately, the Coronavirus didn’t help the situation and added on an extra year because the machine shop had shut down, so the engine was put on the back burner for a while.”

In 2021, Jose finally got to put his Supra on the road and he’s continued making changes since then. “You’re never really done with it cause there’s always something more you can do,” Jose adds. “My future plans would be a bigger turbo set up or maybe a twin turbo set up—something different, but we’ll see. Oh, also, some more carbon fiber, done tastefully, of course.”

Owner Jose Antonio Gutierrez

Engine CP Pistons 10:1; Brian Crower HD BC625+ H-beam rods; ARP main bolt, head studs; Real Street billet main caps; modified oil pump, water pump, custom power steering reservoir tank; Fluid Damper pulley; billet belt tensioner; ported and polished head; GSC stage1 cams; Power House billet cam gears; Ferrea valves, valve springs, retainers; Toyota shimless buckets; Precision 6466 ball bearing turbo; Turbo Guard; DriftMotion Street Fighter turbo manifold; 4-inch downpipe, mid-pipe, external dump tube; Power House Racing 4-inch titanium exhaust cat-back, battery relocation kit; Turbo Smart Hyper Gate 45 x2; Sleeper Design billet intake manifold; 90mm Ross Machine throttle body; TiAL blow-off valve; Mishimoto 4-inch black intercooler w/custom piping; Koyo Radiator; Vibrant Vanjen clamps; Radium dual fuel pump hanger, fuel filter; Walbro 255lph fuel pump x2; Fuel Injector Clinic fuel rail, 1650cc injectors; Fuel Lab pressure regulator; XRP hoses; 1UP Fabrication coolant reservoir tank, catch can; carbon fiber wiper cowl; Pro EFI management

Drivetrain Os Giken triple clutch kit, flywheel; Clutch Masters hydraulic release bearing; solid tri-pod shifter bushings; Toyota 220mm differential; TRD LSD; Driveshaft Shop 1-piece aluminum driveshaft, solid diff mounts

Suspension KW V3 coil overs; TRD front/rear sway bars; Battle Version sway bar end links; Titan Motorsports roll bar; Megan Racing front tie rod ends, rear camber kit, rear tow arms, rear traction arm

Braking Corvette C7 Brembo 6-pot front calipers; Jeep Cherokee SRT8 Brembo 4-pot calipers rear; Lexus ISF front/rear rotors; steel braided lines

Wheels & Tires Volk TE37 18×9 front, 18×10 rear; Toyo Proxes R888R 265/35 front, 305/35 rear

Exterior Civic Type R Crystal Black Pearl paint; Seibon carbon fiber fenders, hood; TBT carbon fiber targa-top, V2 spoiler; Pro Spec carbon fiber trunk lip; custom carbon fiber exhaust exit shield; 1998-spec Supra headlights, taillights, corner lights, signals

Interior Recaro seats; Takata 4-point harnesses; Rennscot harness collars; custom carbon fiber steering wheel, carbon fiber dash kit

Thank You special thanks to gorilla garage for helping me start off my build when I first got into the supra game and special thanks to Patrick at PBR racing for helping me finish up my supra couldn’t have done it without them, my family for always supporting me and my beautiful wife for always allowing me to spend all our money on the supra lol, and always down to cruise the Supra