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Finished bleeding the new brakes/brake lines but didn't finish the parking brake cables. All the cable brackets were rusty as F so I brushed them, treated them with rust-reformer and left to dry. Will paint and install in a few days.
In the mean time I'm draining the old gas. Will refill with fresh gas, premix and seafoam. (I don't have an OMP currently, and the motor hasn't started in over a year, hence the seafoam)
$85 for the NLA right cable, $60 for the left (that everybody has 1000 of).
You find that exhaust leak yet?
That's so funny, it is always the right side that's missing, same with the Raybestos brake hoses, the left side ones were really hard to find but everyone had the right side ones for dirt cheap. I ended up never changing them because my lines looked to be in solid shape. .
Can't remember if I am using FB hoses or FC. I think they are FC.
Also: You can use an FB caliper on an FC single-piston setup. BUT you cannot use NEW brake pads. Which is why I still have OEM pads on my car that have like 260k on them and are worn out on the BACKING PLATES where the calipers contact them.
Manual transmission cars are really light on the brakes, I guess, and you never really use the brakes in rallycross, just a tap here and there sometimes. Which is why 80k after I did the FC front swap using all the stuff from a 180k mile donor car, the pads still have plenty of material, but my automatic 3800lb daily driver with Brembo 4-pots eats front pads every 30k. (To its credit, it's a LOT faster in casual driving than the RX-7... 18psi of boost in a 2.4l makes for a lot of quiet acceleration)
In the interest of finding tires I decided to move up to 15" wheels. Installed NB Miata 15s (and adapters) and BFG Comp Sport 2s. Nice stiff sidewalls for steering feel.
Are you running completely on propane?! I'm intrigued.
Edit: I had no idea this was a thing for rotaries. Cool!
Yep, straight LPG. It runs really well on boosted rotaries. Similar to E85 in terms of higher octane and quicker boost threshold, but with far greater simplicity. LPG is delivered as a gas and burns clean making tuning easier and zero carbon buildup. Apex seal lubrication is also more effective as the oil isn't washed away. The major downside is it runs hotter so good cooling is even more important and water injection is highly beneficial.
Got some goodies in the mail today...
*R.B. Streetport exhaust system (ordered March 1st)
*Koyorad aluminum radiator
*Weber Intake from down-unda (RaceCast / Simply Maz)
All these will go in with the new motor. Just waiting for the new tranny to arrive.
Finally no more pollen, so the 7 got it's semiannual bath and wax.
Unfortunately, a towel caught a wiper and broke the bushing. Next on the list to repair in addition to installing the new shocks, struts and ball joints.
I just COMPLETELY rebuilt my front end. New control arms, tension rods, coil overs, swaybar, tie rods, idler and pitman arms, rotors calipers and soft lines. And a so-so alignment until I can get it to the shop. It was a bit overwhelming.
I just COMPLETELY rebuilt my front end. New control arms, tension rods, coil overs, swaybar, tie rods, idler and pitman arms, rotors calipers and soft lines. And a so-so alignment until I can get it to the shop. It was a bit overwhelming.
how's racing beat building those exhaust systems now?
I'm confused about my car. The screeching has gone away, it is still a bitch to start so I cannot tell if my engine is going? Right now, I wonder if getting the driver's door glass replaced is worth it, if the engine is going?
Finally went ahead and took out the dent in my lower valence with the help of some hot water and a vice.
Before:
After:
She still has a long ways to go, but one little thing at a time. I'm debating keeping the OEM style bumper or sourcing a TWR style bumper from New Zealand, we'll see what happens!
She still has a long ways to go, but one little thing at a time. I'm debating keeping the OEM style bumper or sourcing a TWR style bumper from New Zealand, we'll see what happens!
Where in VA are you? I don't see too many fellow Virginians.
Nice work BTW!
Thanks man, I'm up in Fairfax County but I drive up and down I-66 a good bit. I'm headed out to Augusta County this weekend for an Autocross event actually
Wrapping up the front end work, since I had brakes apart a way to do the GSL axle swap, I figured might as well rebuild the front calipers, install new oem hoses, and pads.
Took the opportunity to pull the hubs and clean and repack the front wheel bearings. My passenger side must have had a little hit of water make it past the dust cap because there was some light corrosion on the bearing cages. Rollers and races look good from what I can see.
That side still doesn't sound as smooth as the other side when rotating by hand, so I'm a bit concerned. I might buy a new rotor and bearings and get it ready to go in case I have issues. I have 25k km on them currently. Left a note for future me.
Wrapping up the front end work, since I had brakes apart a way to do the GSL axle swap, I figured might as well rebuild the front calipers, install new oem hoses, and pads.
Took the opportunity to pull the hubs and clean and repack the front wheel bearings. My passenger side must have had a little hit of water make it past the dust cap because there was some light corrosion on the bearing cages. Rollers and races look good from what I can see.
That side still doesn't sound as smooth as the other side when rotating by hand, so I'm a bit concerned. I might buy a new rotor and bearings and get it ready to go in case I have issues. I have 25k km on them currently. Left a note for future me.
I just started doing that....also installed brand new Pitman and Idler arms....plus new drilled/slotted rotors, new brake pads, new braided brake lines and new struts with new TMC Racing lowering springs....Can't wait to finish her...
Messed with emulsion tubes on the DCOE some more to eliminate a slight hesitation with F9 tube.
Over the last 10 years I've accumulated many tubes only to find today that the F16 that comes with it from the factory works best. That definitely wasn't the right tube with the wraparound manifold, been running a straight one the last few years.
Today I installed some new wiper blades. Yeah, exciting stuff. But wait, there's more!
Anyone that has used PIAA blades probably knows that their normal "frame" style blades do not work with pin style wiper arms. While they look like they should, there's no adapter included. Instead you have to buy their "beam" style blades to work with pin arms. These beam blades are what I had been using, but I've always thought they look too bulky and modern on older vehicles. Today I made my own adapter, allowing 3/16" pin wiper arms to be used with PIAA Super Silicone blades (the frame style):
I know I'm crazy for even caring about this. The simple solution would be to buy another frame that works with pins and install a PIAA silicone insert. Although, PIAA is locally based here in the PNW so I'm a bit biased (and their frames are well built). I've also downsized to the OE recommended 16" blade from my prior 17". My wipers have been horribly slow at idle with the headlights, heater, etc. on, so hopefully this aids a little with that by reducing the friction a hair.
05-01-21, 06:21 PM
