gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

Unexpected events over the last year have conspired to lead me to decide redo/restore the drivetrain on my FD. I'm probably one of the few nut jobs on here to replace a fine running motor on purpose but that is the way its happening.

So here is the story...

August of 2008, a bunch of rotor heads and Carlisi friends gathered at Gordon Monsen's house to commemorate the untimely passing of our friend Chris Carlisi. IRP was raffling off rebuild services on a motor. By some freak accident, I won that raffle. First time I ever won a raffle and a sweet prize it was! So here I am sitting on a sweet raffle prize but I have one problem. My motor is actually in pretty damn good shape. Hmmm....

Time goes on. I continue doing more track days in 2008 and the slow oil leak I've had for the last year slowly gets worse. I can no longer pass tech for track days. So I start pricing out what it will take to fix the oil leaks. Turns out more than expected. What to do... Hmmm...

I've had a couple of frustrations with my drivetrain that have progressively annoyed me more and more.
1) My oil metering pump hasn't worked in years. Premixing is a pain in the ***. I hate it.
2) The supposedly good used tranny that I bought 5 years ago has sucked since day 1 and gotten worse. 2nd gear synchro is terrible and 5th is starting to make noise.
3) I hate my pressure plate. I have an ACT Extreme PP with a Bonez disc. The PP is too stiff for my preference and not needed for my target power levels - low 300 rwhp.
4) I HATE oil leaks and the ensuing mess.

What if I spend some of the money that would have been spent fixing oil leaks on a freshened motor? But how do I get around the down time? I definitely want Ihor and Rich to build it since I trust them completely. Hmm...

The final spark...

As some of you know, Mazda Japan built a limited amount of remans with ALL NEW PARTS earlier this year. See this thread:
https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...ighlight=reman
Hmm... The temptation is just too much at this point...

After much deliberation over thoughts/fantasies of a NA 3 rotor and talking to a bunch of different people, I decided to pull the plug and buy the reman motor from everybody's favorite parts man, Ray Crowe at Malloy Mazda. I had it shipped up to Ihor and Rich at IRP in NJ for some porting, oil mods and overall sanity check that the motor was well put together and didn't suffer the poor build quality of earlier remans.

Here is a pic of the new motor sitting in the crate. Shiny new parts are just so pretty.





I had many questions on porting particularly and oil mods that I had to research and discuss with Rich and Ihor. I wanted to stay with twins since I love their spool and streetability and I'm not really a "big power" kinda guy. I do enjoy a nice torquey motor with good low end power. Plus I live here in CA and we have the visual inspection to deal with. We chose a porting size/style that fit my needs. I have some pics but will wait till they say its OK to show them.

I got to say that I really enjoyed working with Ihor and Rich on the motor build. I've never blown a motor in my life (other than on my kart during a race but that is a different story) so have never really had to deal with decisions on porting, internal mods, turbo selection etc. Ihor and Rich helped me with info about different choices and pros/cons of each. Its nice working with a couple of very knowledgeable guys that help you make the right decisions that fit your needs, wants and budget.

Back to the build...

Ihor and Rich did indeed find that the motor was completely built with brand spanking new parts and was properly assembled. Mazda even used the metal front cover gasket. Sweet! The motor then received the following mods and upgrades:
- Street Port (I forget what style/size right now)
- Oil Passage Mods
- Pineapple Racing seal kit
- IRP oil pan brace
- IRP poly urethane motor mounts
- Oil pan properly sealed
- Install of the RE Speed oil filter pedestal that I've had laying around for the last year

I think Ihor did something with the thermopellet. He can confirm when he sees this thread. I also can't remember whether or not we did the solid corner seals... I'm getting old...

Check out the IRP stamp on the housings:



and the Carlisi "Memorial" stamped on the front cover:



Pretty frickin' cool

But should I do anything with turbos??? Hmm...

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

Here I was installing a brand new motor. Did I really want to install a set of old turbos?

I'm kind of **** and try to follow the "Do it right the first time" motto. It just didn't seem right to install my old 99 twins on this motor. The mileage on them isn't too bad but I don't ever want to have to do any deep mechanical work on this car. Or at least not for a good looonng time.

I went back and forth between sequential BNRs and another new set of 99 twins. Checked out dyno sheets, talked to a bunch of people, took many drives in my car paying attention to the boost curve and such. With the short piping of the custom V-mount IC setup that Speed of light built for me (Thanks Joe!), I get boost as low as 2000 RPM with full boost by 2500 RPM. I have been happy with their performance all around so I decided to go with another set. Even with all the rave reviews, I didn't want to try something new here since I've been very satisfied.

Rich sold me a set of brand new 99 twins. More shiny new parts but I haven't taken pictures of these, yet.

I wound up ordering a **** load of new gaskets, studs and nuts to install these on the new motor. Thankfully, I have an account with Mazda Motorsports so I get great pricing on these. Still add up to a lot of frickin' money but I don't ever want to have to deal with an exhaust leak so its worth it. I have had a small exhaust leak for years now that I haven't bothered to fix due to the time and expense involved. I better not have one again after this!


Further thanks to all of the guys I exchanged PMs with regarding BNRs. Your input was greatly appreciated. I'd list your names but I'll probably forget someone and don't want to offend.

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

My car now has 140k miles on it. Thankfully the previous owner replaced the engine harness and all the solenoids and vacuum chambers the last time the engine was apart ~15k miles ago. This has been a solid running car with absolutely no boost issues.

I spent the first year with this car changing all the coolant hoses and changed a bunch more last year so that system was good to go.

However, mileage, age and heat has taken its toll on other parts. Last year, we discovered some ignition issues while on the dyno so I knew I needed to do something about coils. Now would be a good time to deal with this. 2009 has been a crappy year financially and not the best time to get into expenses of this nature so I decided to try and save a few bucks and replace some of my old parts with lower mileage parts.

I got a hold of Japan2LA and ordered a power steering pump, OMP, coils and a spare set of primary injectors. Brian's pricing was pretty damn good. Thanks dude! I also got a low mileage ignitor and replaced that.

I sent the injectors out to Witch Hunter to be cleaned and tested. They were perfect as received. They turned them around pretty quick with a results sheet. I called them twice to ask questions and they provided some great service. Link: http://www.witchhunter.com/index.php4


Small parts

I figured with this much mileage and sticking with my motto, I wound up ordering a ton of small parts from Mazda Motorsports:
- Fuel Hose Recall Kit
- new Fuel Pulsation Dampener
- new Fuel Rail O-Rings
- new Injector baskets and 'gaskets'
- new crush washers for the Oil Cooler Lines
- LIM, UIM gaskets
- Steering Rack bushings
- Throttle Cable
etc.

I'm going to post up my parts spreadsheet soon in case someone ever wants to refer to it for their restoration project. It was a pita getting all the numbers together.


That is all for now.

In my discussions with Rich, I decided to get the manifolds Ceramic Coated. Once they arrive, I'll take some pics and post them up. Heat management is a good thing and now is the time to do it since everything is apart.

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

No worries on a hijack. This really feels like a special project with the history and people involved.

Do post a link, if you have one, so that anyone wishing to make a donation to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation can do so. I know I will be.

More pics here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/2600558...7618871144630/

ptrhahn

iTrader: (9)

Don't underestimate the power and speed on track with just a good streetport, 99 twins, and a good tune. Congratulations, it sounds like it's going to be a great setup.

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

Good to see you posting Alberto

I know I got chills when Ihor sent me a photo text of the front cover on your build.

I ported your engine as Ihor was working on other projects (we usually split the portwork), and you received our stage 2/medium intake portwork on primary and secondary ports and our stage 1/mild portwork on the rotor housing exhaust ports. Being that you're in Cali it should give you a fighting chance of passing emissions. I'll be honest, knowing that it was the Carlisi build I spent some extra time on the portwork and runners....not that I neglect the other motors but being that the money was going to charity and I wasn't being paid anyway I figured I'd put in some extra time

We did install the e-shaft thermopellet so that the rotors receive complete oiling immediately at startup. From the factory there is a spring that remains closed, keeping oil from the rotors and warming up the motor more quickly.

Also, you received the solid 2mm corner seals, in addition to the Pineapple Racing heavy duty coolant o-ring set.

Interesting to note that Mazda isn't using the oil pan gaskets anymore, seems like they finally figured out what most of us have known for years

I just tore down my new J-land mazda motor that I got from Ray the other day, so will be starting my own build thread soon enough

cabaynes

iTrader: (4)

I was so jealous when you won that rebuild Glad to see you're making the best of it.

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

Trust me. I don't. The car is already much faster than I'm willing to push it on track. SM or ITS is hopefully on the horizon.

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

I know the feeling! It was pretty cool.

I usually don't post anything till its done but I've been feeling very excited now that all the parts are here and had to share.

Thanks for the extra details and have fun on your build!

The car is going to a local FD specialist named Ivan soon for the install. I think the locals know him well.

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

Thanks. It was a great feeling winning it. The car is a work in progress and has been for some time. Hopefully this will get me closer to finalizing different things that I've been planning.

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

The one thing I haven't mentioned yet was the tranny.

Like I said, the current tranny isn't in the best shape. It works and shifts but its not much fun to shift anymore. 2nd gear synchro is just plain gone. At the beginning of this project, I was going to just order a new transmission from Mazda. Then 2009 finances killed that idea. I thought of buying a used one from Japan2LA but didn't want the later 5th gear synchro and just didn't want to risk another used tranny and the time and labor involved in removal and install if I was unhappy. I know plenty of people happy with his trannys but I just didn't want to go used again.

I was talking to the Mazda Motorsports guys and they suggested that I speak with John at Evil Genius Racing. John has been around the Mazda racing scene for ages, is local and rebuilds tons of Spec Miata and RX7 trans. He is well known in the area and a lot of his cars are front runners. So I had him rebuild my tranny.

Cost for parts and labor was about $1,200 (much less than the $2,600+ trans new). This is the original trans for this car. It got all new bearings, sliders and many other parts spread over a 2 page invoice...

Hopefully this tranny works well and we will all have a good source for transmission rebuilds.


I also ordered the Wave Bushings and other shifter bushings from Ray.


Clutch
I'm going with an ACT Street/Strip. I loved this clutch in my first FD.

I also got a new friction disc for the Racing Beat lightweight flywheel that is currently in the car.

I already have the upgraded clutch fork so I'll just swap that over.


I am looking forward to nice smooth heel-toe downshifts from here on out! I hope I'm not disappointed.


Anyone want a free tranny or some cheap clutch parts or a reasonably priced, new OEM flywheel? I'm going to have so many extra parts when this is all done...

IRPerformance

iTrader: (41)

Looking good Alberto. Looking forward to feedback once she runs. In addition to the thermal pellet, our oil mod also includes some porting to the oil passages. The oil pickup is matched to the pickup tube and the entire runner is smoothed out. The passages around the oil pump in the front iron are also smoothed out and we remove the rough casting ridges. This helps oil flow more smoothly and increases oil to the front bearing. On the rear iron we port the runners under the oil filter pedestal which helps the rear bearing get more oil. We have found significantly less bearing wear and even the stock oil pressure gauge is more responsive with this mod.

M104-AMG

iTrader: (8)

Great build. Other than the oil passage porting, I take the same mentality on my builds: Do it right the first time.

Yes, having a Mazda Comp membership sure helps, as well as having a best friend who is not only a master ASE tech, but has raced RX7's previously.

Can't wait to see & read more.

:-) neil

MOBEONER

iTrader: (18)

you drove from California to gmonsens house in Pennsylvania for the carlisi memorial?

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

Yes the Mazda membership does help. Mazda really takes care of its racers.

The talented friends are even more important.

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

And on that note, here is a before and after of Ihor's oil passage work.

Before:


After:


Nice work

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

Here are some pics of the Ceramic Coated Intake and Exhaust Manifolds. They look pretty nice and should do a good job of decreasing heat soak's effect on the car's performance. I have always been a fan of these coatings on parts like manifolds. I have seen a lot of racers use this also.







Pricing on the ceramic coated manifolds was very reasonable considering what a biatch it is to install with the motor in the car. It should help the car run cooler when I'm tearing it up on track.

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

No. I flew home to my family's house on Long Island and drove out to Gordon's that morning. It was a sad yet happy event. Wish I could go again this year but I'm tapped out.

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

They really do. The undertone of this whole build and this story really is the people involved. None of this could have happened w/o your memorial event kicking it off and Rich, Ihor, Ray and even Chris in a sad way to keep it going.


I recently discovered that the Racing Beat flywheel I had bought from someone on here 5 years ago isn't a Racing Beat flywheel... Pretty annoyed about that since the friction disk isn't replaceable so I wasted $120 on a part I didn't need....


The car should be back on the road this weekend.


I have to figure out what I'm going to do about re-tuning for the new porting profile on this motor...

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

Mr. Huk was on hiatus during this portion of your motor build, so Mr. Rich humbly took over the oil passage porting chores. I am glad I could be of service :

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

Thanks to you then!

BTW - the intake manifolds you sent me were indeed cleaned at the source which is whey I didn't find any cleaning media in the nooks and crannies when I recleaned and cleaned up the threads.

I lost sleep about that last night having nightmares of a repeat of Gordon's problem...

Sgtblue

iTrader: (16)

Envy just doesn't quite cover it all. Looks great. And congrats on the raffle too.

mrb63083

iTrader: (4)

lookin good!

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

Thanks fellas.

I had an old, used RX7.com / Bonez Downpipe that I cleaned up and sent out for ceramic coating to Goodfella's source. It arrived back this morning. It looks like a brand new part. These guys do incredible work.

I had a local race fab shop TC Designs weld in the EGT bung before sending the DP out. I thought about doing dual EGTs at the exhaust manifold but the timing didn't quite work out.

It seems like TeamRip (howard's recommended source) no longer sells EGT probes so I bought an open element EGT probe from http://www.exhaustgas.com/
Great service and pricing was reasonable.

Pretty nice eh.

gracer7-rx7

iTrader: (16)

Its alive.

Spooky since its the 1 year anniversary of Chris' passing. Just by sheer coincidence that the car is done and running today. Really spooky.

Break-in starts today. Wish me luck.