DreamInRotary

iTrader: (49)

I totally agree, for the price you really can't lose out. And their return policy is awesome, I totally agree. The other one I shop a lot at is Menard's since I break tool --> bring tool to customer service in front of store --> they tell me to go get an identical one --> I bring back the same tool --> they let me walk out with a new tool, no hassle.

Haha so we are in the same boat with the paint! I planned to use my dad's big 21gal compressor for when I painted. My dad isn't a professional painter by any means, but he painted our big boat and some other projects around the house and they came out pretty well. If you have any spare time I'd love to come see how you paint your bay. I'd really like to be able to do the painting myself and not drop more money on someone else doing the paint job.

A friend of mine who helped me build my car paints his own cars and they turn out awesome, using single-stage paint.

https://www.rx7club.com/build-thread.../#post11638398

That's the post where he painted his most recent project.

Broke_A_Baller

iTrader: (26)

Please do not use single stage!

DreamInRotary

iTrader: (49)

Don't worry, I won't be! I want a nice dual stage to give it that awesome shine. Suppose I should start shopping for paint and such...the list is never ending right now

Broke_A_Baller

iTrader: (26)

Amen!

I'm just going to get mine ready/running then work on body and paint this upcoming year.

Should be broke in another month or two .

I'm going with house of kolors when it comes time.


Good luck!

needspartsnow

iTrader: (10)

I went to welle auto supply in blaine. The guy there was super helpful and put up with me asking tons of questions for about an hour. They have a bunch of stuff for body work too, everything is pretty high quality.
I will definitely let you know when im ready to paint. Come learn from my mistakes haha

DreamInRotary

iTrader: (49)

That's kind of my thought right now too, get it to run and drive and then do body work later. My fiance and I were discussing it because I said I wouldn't have it done in time for May 1st. She replied with, "Well, why not swap the motor in so you can drive it and worry about the body work afterwards?" My dumbfounded response was, "Well...I don't know..." So I think I'm going to do the drivetrain swap first and then get at the body work after I can drive the thing. That should be a pretty fun cruiser when I'm done.

I drive by there at least once or twice a week but I've never stopped in. Good to know they've got a large selection of body work equipment too, I'll have to make it a point to stop in there.

Sounds good man, would be nice to hang out again! Especially if we both get to gain some painting experience. Maybe ^Nick will grace us with his presence

Broke_A_Baller

iTrader: (26)

Muahhaha

Sure. What I can do is lend you my hvlp gun, and adjoining supplies you need (no not paint and ish).

I am not a guy for bodywork, but I love garage paint jobs lol

DreamInRotary

iTrader: (49)

I'm understanding why body work guys get paid so well after tonight...

Finally separated the passenger side rear fender and sideskirt as one piece.




Shouldn't have done it all as one piece, but it worked out alright.


What the passenger side rear fender and side skirt looks like separated.


After the removal, look at the wheel poke!


Serious amount of extra wheel sticking out there.


Driver's side came off much easier after learning how it was attached.


Entire body kit on top of the car after finishing the night.

DreamInRotary

iTrader: (49)

I believe that I'm going to be changing the direction of this build for this year.

The goals of the build will be the same, with the exception of the widebody kit. I do not have enough time to properly repair the fiberglass damage dealt to the kit during the removal, as well as some other measures that would need to be done in order to install the kit in the first place.

There are large parts of fiberglass missing that I'll need to repair myself in order to make the kit usable again. I'm also heavily considering making molds of the kit in order to replicate it and put it back on the market using my Company's name. In order for me to accomplish these things I won't be able to get the car done in time to enjoy it this summer when I was hoping to have it done.

I will be heading in a direction similar to this one for this year:


I've got a bid in for some ZG 240Z flares right now, and I'm actively shopping for a small IMSA 3-piece spoiler. I'm also going to be keeping the IMSA air dam and reusing it for my car since it's pretty much irreplaceable in this area.

UPDATED Chassis Goals

• Install 240Z (or equivalent, universal possibly) fender flares onto the red car
• Small IMSA-style 3-piece wing for the rear
• Repair all body damage on the car, back to flawless factory condition
• New door and window seals from Mazda to get that satisfying "thump" door noise of a new car
• Sand, fill and paint prep for respray after kit installation in RH "Sunrise Red" FB paint code
• Add sound deadener to the interior to keep the road noise down and provide that more exotic-feeling quiet ride
• Clean up the interior to better-than-new condition with GSL-SE seats, new sound system, aftermarket gauges and some other personal touches

UPDATED Drivetrain Goals

• Swap the GSL-SE suspension over from the black car to the red car, front and rear
• Get the Epsilon 3-piece wheels redone with a brushed-aluminum powder-coated-colored center and polished lips
• Put the S4 TII engine into the red car
• Redo the wiring harness to my liking, making it a very clean-looking and fully-functional wiring installation
• S4 TII transmission, FB shifter location modification with a custom FB driveshaft (just ask Mazdatrix to put a TII yoke on an FB shaft, easy to do)
• Front mount intercooler and cold air intake
• Try to push at least 200hp to the rear wheels, but I'm aiming for around 250rwhp or more (that can only be accomplished with some good mods though since the S4 TII stock engine is at 182hp)
• Rtek 2.1 engine management system with the Bluetooth serial adapter to allow for my own tuning
• Full 3" exhaust from the downpipe back (probably an eBay downpipe and I'll fab the rest)

Tentative First Drive Date - May 1st

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

May 1st? You'll be busy!

Broke_A_Baller

iTrader: (26)

Nice!! I like those mini flares.

DreamInRotary

iTrader: (49)

I know I will be, but that's how I like it Already about to pull this black turd out of the garage and pull in the red car to start the suspension work. Then it'll be engine/trans/wiring harness swap after that.

Yeah, I've always been a fan but never had a reason to run them (aka - the right wheels) and I'm glad that I have a solid reason to try them out now. They should look good if I can do them right the first time, I'll learn a lot installing them for sure!

I spent my afternoon/evening accomplishing the following:

Engine out of the black car and on the ground, about to split the engine from the transmission.


That is one bare engine bay now...


Engine on the stand with the new adapter, I can say that I'm pleasantly surprised at how well the adapter fits the front iron. Very glad that I purchased it since it made mounting much easier than the janky way that I was doing it before. I know certain people *cough* Jeff *cough* who can mount them like a pro using just the arms from the stand, but since I already had this at home I figured I better start using it.


That stupid front pulley bolt is really stuck on this motor though, so it's cocked back one notch and has a pool of WD40 sitting in there. I think I'm gonna have to finally shop for a torch now to get this one off by applying heat but I really don't want to do that...it's by far the hardest one I've come across to date though. I have those AC Delco chain-link Vise-Grips from AutoZone that have worked wonders on every other one I've had to take off before. It's just that this one isn't wanting to budge at all right now. Ah well, I'll get it eventually.

I know that I have the driveshaft waiting at home for me that I'll go pick up this weekend, and maybe my new vanity plates are there too (I had to since all the cool kids are doing them nowadays *cough* Nick *cough*). Ordered the full polyurethane kit from Energy Suspension tonight so that will be installed while I'm swapping the suspension from the black car onto the red car.

So it'll have:

• All new poly bushings
• Racing Beat springs
• New KYB shocks and struts
• Re-pack the front wheel bearings
• New front wheel seals
• New rear wheel bearings
• New rear wheel seals

And that should be a pretty good start of a suspension for the future of the car. Still deciding what to do for brake discs and brake rotors, I'm thinking of just having the rotors turned and maybe running Hawk HPS pads if I'm feeling rich.

82transam

iTrader: (18)

Gonna look good with the bolt on flares, I like that look better than full widebody anyway

I'll stick with my single stage. To the haters:

Broke_A_Baller

iTrader: (26)

^ I have no problems with single stage. I just think it's is better to leave single stage to the engine bay or interior where flaws are as big of a deal when comparing to the exterior of the car.

On my old fc I did just that.

82transam

iTrader: (18)

I'm just playing I would do two stage if I had a better area to shoot them in. The single stage is just easier for my setup. I've done base/clear before and it's too difficult to avoid dust etc in the clear and that drives me nuts haha.

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

if i may make a couple of suggestions, i think i would try the epsilons under the stock fenders before you go and put flares on it, you'd be surprised what can fit under the stock fenders.

the second, check out Fungus Mungus's flares look like, he didn't get the 240z flares, and the ones he got actually fit the car, they look great too. we haven't seen too many pics of the car yet, as its not quite done, but he's raised the bar for the 1st gen crowd.

third, 250hp is pretty easy in a 13BT. many ways to do it. best way is some BNR type turbo, with a stock hotside and larger compressor. 3" exhaust. at about 10-12psi. then you will probably need more fuel, lots of ways to do that....

DreamInRotary

iTrader: (49)

That car does look really good for being a single stage. I'll really have to ponder what I'm going with when the time comes. The car is going down to bare metal and being primed properly to start with, then I'll have to work my way up from there. I'll need your painting advice along the way!

Your Tahitian Green (or is it blue? lol) color is pretty unique to say the least, you should do the engine bay in the 20b FD that color. It would set you apart in a big way and make it more personal in my opinion. I'm gonna need to do some serious painting research now.

That's right, you wanted pictures of the car with the Epsilons under the stock fenders! I'll get you some when I can finally get around to doing the suspension swap. Now that you mention it, I wonder if they would actually fit under there...I'm going to have to really try that out. ^Nick just told me he got a fender roller, so maybe he'll teach me how to roll fenders with it some night. That's still a few weeks out though. It would be really cool to tuck those bad boys under the stock fenders with a slight roll though...

I was actually looking at FM's documented flare writeup and was trying to find the exact ones he got - but I can't find them on eBay! He said what to search for and I really did try, but to no avail. Maybe I'll hop on over to his thread and ask him to post a link to the exact ones he used. Because I totally agree, he really raised the bar for FB fender flares. I also love his paint job, it really sets that car apart from the pack.

Believe it or not, I've got one good S4 turbo here and I'm considering getting a JDM S5 turbo tomorrow that's been used up to 13psi in a local guy's build. I'm already planning on going with a full 3" exhaust from the downpipe back, nothing smaller than 3" the whole way. And maybe only one Magnaflow muffler at the end with no presilencer of any sort, but I haven't decided on that yet. Isn't there a way to make your own presilencer at home? I believe I saw a thread about it on here...I'll do a search in a minute. I actually have an Rtek 2.1 on the way from a forum member and the Bluetooth serial adapter from Rtek in order to tune with my phone or tablet. That's how I'll get more fuel to the engine safely, and I'll be able to tune the engine myself as well.

Next on the list is a wideband (probably Innovate MTX-L since it's the most compatible with an Adaptronic ECU and I like the digital numerical readout with the mechanical-style rising gauge action it has going on), I'm working out my FMOC issue with a forum member right now who's being awesome (package was lost by USPS, sucky for both of us), downpipe and exhaust piping, FMIC with BOV, pieces to make a custom CAI, among many other things. I'll make a working list later when I'm feeling more awake.

Got the TII front yoke/FB driveshaft and the emissions block off plates home.


New toy today, gonna clean up some dirty old bolts for the fun of it. This will also be what I use to clean the bolts for my wheels since I'm too lazy to do it by hand.


Lawd Jeezus it's a fire! Just kidding, this was one stuck front pulley bolt!


Pretty cool picture, I really liked this one. The large flame is from the WD-40 that's been sitting in there for a while now.


Got the turd out! With the help of the new air compressor and the 1/2" Snap-On impact gun it wound right out. It wouldn't do it before being heated, good trick to learn!


My 3rd 12a torn down, making progress! Now I have no more engines to tear down around the house. I had to do this to free up space for the 13bt to finally come out of the back room.


JDM S4 13bt finally made it to the stand!


Well that's a weird looking motor swap...compressed air! Got a 21gal instead of the 8gal I had for a few weeks. I can say I'm already very impressed with it and I'm glad I made the swap. I know 25gal is recommended for painting but I think I'll be alright with the 21. If not then I'll just swap my dad for his 30gal for a few weeks.


That's all she wrote for tonight folks, I've got my 3rd test in 3 days tomorrow - I'm exhausted!

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

Jeff20B to the rescue.

There is a way to make your own presilencers at home! https://www.rx7club.com/1st-gen-non-...ncers-1035866/

The thread mostly talks about how to make something similar to the RB design in 2" core with 4" shell but does it with a twist using slightly different materails.

What you want to do is make one with a 3" perforated core and then whatever size shell will fit under the car. You also don't have to stick with round. I'd go oval if I were you. More muffling with decent ground clearance.

Get perforated tubing, pot scrubbers and SS wool from the sellers mentioned in the thread. As for the oval shell, I'd recommend getting a round tube and cutting it lengthwise, then adding a couple inches of flat and there's your oval.

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

the biggest hurdle to power is the teeny stock compressor on the stock turbo. putting a bigger compressor on, adds what feels like 50hp. and secondly the downpipe wants to be big, 3", but then if you like it can go down to 2.5", and or adding another muffler doesn't hurt anything.

if you have the $$ i like to put this in the middle, REV TII Presilencer for 87-91 RX-7 TURBO II - Racing Beat as it is quiet, and then the rear muffler just provides the tone

82transam

iTrader: (18)

Yeah the difference in power between my 83 (S5 T2 with a To4B hybrid turbo) and my 85 (S5 T2 with stock turbo) is huge. It came with the engine, but I'm tempted to find another similar turbo for my 85, it's that much nicer

needspartsnow

iTrader: (10)

I applaud the decision to put the body kit on hold for a bit. That's a hard thing to do. At least you're honest with yourself, I think that's what makes a successful build.

When do you plan on doing poly bushings? Do you have a press? I only ask because I need to do mine too but I don't have a press...yet

DreamInRotary

iTrader: (49)

See, I knew there was a thread about it! Thanks for posting that up. Great idea with the ovular shape too! I'll have to start studying up on making one of these for my build. It would really help with quieting down the car and giving it that awesome rotary rumble.

I'll be going with a 3" downpipe on this car so that's a plus. The rest of the exhaust will be 3" as well, and hopefully I can build my own presilencer or put another muffler in its place.

I'll really have to consider that, since I need to make a Racing Beat order anyways...good recommendation!

Quit tempting me! I need to just get this engine in and running, no upgrades yet. But you know my persistence with pushing the limits...

It was hard to decide not to move forward with the body kit. I really wanted to do it all out at once but have realized that I can't quite make that happen the way I'd like to. I'm trying to be as honest with myself as possible with this one and realize my flaws before they become a hindrance. Body work is definitely not a skill of mine yet.

The poly bushings I bought don't need a press of any sort to be installed, I could just push them on with my hands. They're not super hard like some of them can be, and they come with some installation lube that I use plenty of in order to get them to go in straight and easily. And to get the old ones out I just light em on fire




So my day went like a rollercoaster of ups and downs.

I pressed on the apex seals through the exhaust ports with my fingers and, of the 6, only one was free. Well, after hours upon hours of soaking the rotors and housings in MMO I was able to loosen up all 6 apex seals. So that's extremely encouraging. I'll let them keep sitting and soaking until it goes in the car (rotating the engine periodically and getting all the seals of course).

Full set of polyurethane bushings arrived the other day. I got the black set (graphite lube impregnated) in the full kit that will do the entire car from front to back.


View inside the rear rotor housing exhaust port.


View inside the front rotor housing exhaust port.


Underneath the intake manifold...notice the plugged coolant passage on the front of the engine.


Nasty rust buildup in that front coolant passage. It's the one on the intake manifold where the coolant is just at a blockage so I'm sure that's why there's always such a buildup of nastiness there.


The oil pan actually looked really good though, I'm not complaining about it at all.


Oil pan wasn't full of gunk or debris either, so that's a good sign.


Before, with the super annoying metering oil pump injectors and their respective lines...


...and after, once I blocked off the oil injectors. This engine will be running premix obviously! I wanted this one to be as simple as possible.


Just a few minutes with the wire wheel on the drill can work wonders on a dirty engine!


The left side is obviously not cleaned, the right was wire wheeled for just a few seconds. This setup should look really good once I can clean up the whole engine.

DreamInRotary

iTrader: (49)

$118 - Universal Presilencer, 3in ID

$95 - Universal Cylinder Presilencer 6" OD with 3" ID

I'm really tempted to go with the $95 one since it's $30 off right now and is a nice, smaller, concise package that would be easy to stuff under the car. I'm also planning on running the stock heat shields in this car so it would help to make sure I can fit the whole system under the car going with a smaller presilencer.

woodmv

iTrader: (8)

That's exactly what I plan on ordering for my SA. Where did you get them, of did I miss that part?

Now that's interesting. I haven't seen the OMP (MOP?) lines into the housings directly before. I thought they went from the OMP to the carburetor... Or does this engine have fuel injection? Sorry if I'm playing catch-up. Love the build and your determination!

Broke_A_Baller

iTrader: (26)

Why would you not keep the omp system? This is an s4 t2 right? Mechanical system is pretty nice. Plus if you sell this down the road it'll be more of a selling feature...