Yeah, I couldn't do that even if I had a lift. And then there's those things that seem to always make things difficult when putting on a trans...what are they called? Splines...yeah, that's right. Those suck when you have all the leverage in the world.

fm

 

Oh, god yes, those splines... and making sure the pilot goes into the bearing without buggering it.

 

That is why you bullet nose the end of the pilot.

as for the splines... never give me a problem. Leave the trans in gear and stick a yoke from a dead driveshaft in the tail so you can rotate if necessary. My clutches basically are immortal, I never change then. Transmission life however is shorter than oil filter life, and if they die from severe fraggage it takes out the driveshaft too. All the metal chunks destroy the slip yoke.

with no heat shields in the way it takes me about 45min to swap the trans, a lot of that is adding the new fluid. That is drive in drive out time. It helps that I also hammered the floor up slightly so the shift tower clears the floor.

 

This is all great info! There are always cool tricks to learn. My favorite was taught to me by a older guy on YouTube. If you turn any bolt counterclockwise ( loose) while trying to insert it and waiting until you hear / feel a click before starting turn clockwise ( tighten) , you will never crossthread anything . The thread will fall into place perfectly every time. I have never cross threaded a bolt since ( knock on wood) .

 

it was a lot "easier" back in the day when you could balance the old Muncie 4-speeds on your chest under the car while lining it up and installing it.

 

^This! Such a simple and helpful technique. And I suspect a lot of folks (including myself!) were doing this long before YT existed; likely shortly after threads were invented

 

I wished I would've been able to update this as I went along, but since my last post - Holley red carb, FPR, wheels, BC Coilovers, Front bumper skirt, side skirts (en route), spoiler is getting painted but it's been mounted. Those were the big things, along with some hiccups in terms of replacing igniters, and thus the entire ignition system.

Also vented the oil fill neck appropriately, deleted the start assist bullshit canister and added an AEM wideband o2. Next is putting the aero all together and making it a two tone, and cutting a hole in the passenger side radiator support to draw some air in towards the carb hat.

 

Oh jeez... I swapped a T10 in fifteen minutes once. Fenderwell headers, as they say, FTW

 

Mounted some 7" googly eyes for the Halloween season using wires placed under the bulb retainer rings. They're easily removable by untwisting the wire through the holes in the eyes. Neighborhood kids have already gotten a kick out of them.

 

Was trouble shooting a wiring gripe a few weeks ago and when I put the leg-vent panel back on and was tightening the last screw the top corner of the panel broke off which really pissed me off. Got a temporary fix done and began my search for a replacement panel and if you have searched for parts in a particular color for you interior you know it can be a challenge. Found a panel on ebay that was in good shape but was brown, and I needed burgundy however, I know a guy who has done work for me in the past on my RX7 and my 2000 Acura RL. He stopped by today and dyed the replacement panel for me and it turned out great. It's always a one thing or another, but eventually I find a solution to my RX7 issues thankfully.

Original Panel on Left and Replacement on the Right

 

Got beaten by some muffler hangers.
Location 1 was easy enough, as was 3.
#2 didn't fit, hanger+bracket was too short, it's an old RB muffler.
#4 was the worse. It's right where the rear of the body curves in, between that and the heat shield I really scratched up my hand. (No blood.)
I think the last couple of threads were boogered up on that top bolt because it kept spinning with no progress, but I was able to tighten it back down when I gave up.
Maybe I could spin a die on the tip of that bolt to fix the threads.

I don't think the bolts at 3 & 4 have ever been off. When I installed the muffler in 2008 I just unbolted it from the lower bracket and didn't mess with the hangers.

 

This post inspired me to finally order some RKR's, as well as nice rubber and window seals. Now to post the Kosei's for sale!

 

Glad you got them ordered dude, they will look great on your car.

Also, just got my spoiler painted and mounted! BAM. Now to get the side skirts painted and mounted, then a wrap and it'll be a majority done, but not everything!

 

Finally got the fuel bowl vent solenoid functional, it was missing a spring. I found a few random springs around the house and one of them allows it to snap back and forth perfectly.

 

You know you have had your RX7 for a long time when you have to replace your clutch hydraulic components for a second time. A week ago I had to add fluid to the master cylinder which isn't usual, I checked for dampness on the firewall behind the clutch pedal and it was dry and looking at the lines and slave cylinder I didn't see any fluid. Jacked-up the left front and took a look and could see some clear fluid on the transmission case so I looked up and could see a small tear in the slave boot and could see the piston. I did this evolution twenty-three years ago ( I was a lot younger than) and figured at my age this will be the last time I have to do it. Ordered the required parts and had everything in hand to do it today, Took the strut brace off and realized it's going to be a little tougher this time because of the engine torque brace was installed after my first time replacing these items. Remembering forum members remarks about differences in the master cylinder studs, and soft line washer (thanks guys) I had washers available to do the installation. However, I have the Racing Beat engine torque brace installed on my car and if you are not familiar with the engine torque brace the rod that bolts to the inner fender runs right over the master cylinder reservoir. With the OEM Mazda master cylinder there is jut enough room to unscrew and remove the cap to put fluid in it, well guess what, the reservoir on the new master cylinder was 1/4" taller than OEM and if installed I would not be able to service the reservoir, WTF? Took the dog for a walk and thought about it and decided to see if I could swap reservoirs around, I came back and took the old OEM reservoir off and put it on my new master cylinder. I was then able finish the installation and with the help of a neighbor was able to get the system bled, and it works like a champ with zero leaks. "Improvise, adapt, and overcome" were worlds to live by in the military and it comes in handy if you happen to own a first gen RX7! I will sleep good tonight that's for sure, the top nut on the master cylinder is always a bitch.

New parts

Slave installed

New Reservoir

Old reservoir on, cylinder installed in car and system bled.

Engine torque brace running over the top of the reservoir cap.

 

A SECOND time? I got about a year out of clutch masters. This includes the '80, the '85, and the '84. I pre-emptively replaced the master in my '81 before I put it on the road.

Always keep a spare on the shelf!

 

A year!?! Really?? Dang!!

Mine went out after the extra cold temps last year in Texas. Hopefully it doesn't do the same damn thing. Easy fix, but not wanting to do it every single year.

 

Maybe it was just crappy aftermarket parts. I was also driving 25-30k miles a year.

So, funny story. One time the master died on a Friday and I wanted to hit the drag strip that night. I remembered something someone j9fd3s once told me on AOL Messenger about a friend of his who limped his REPU along by putting gear oil in the clutch hydraulics. With nothing to lose, I went for it.
Note that gear oil is very thick and holds bubbles forever. I ended up having to fill the reservoir with a hose on the gear oil bottle with the hose under the fluid level to keep air from getting entrained. I also bled the system with a tire valve in a 7/16" hole in a spare cap, using a hand pump to pump air in and thus push the fluid through the system.
IT WORKED! It actually lasted close to three years before it started bypassing again.
But.
The first time it got cold, like 30F, I got in the car, pushed the clutch pedal down, and it stayed there for a long time. Mr. REPU Man lived in California, not Northeast Ohio. After it warmed up it was okay, but driving on the highway would make it cool off and turn to paste again. D'oh!

 

Installed the Koyo radiator with little trouble. Tightened up the hoses on a test drive and discovered the water pump is weeping. It seems every time I have to drain the coolant completely the pump seals decide to let go.
Also installed the CSF 8066 oil cooler over the week and now the oil temps are higher!

 

My filter was full of rust and gunk. Pulled the tank and started a restore.

 

Got my side skirts installed about 1.5 weeks ago. Waiting on vinyl.

These were by far the easiest aero install part on the car and out of all my other cars in the past.

 

What brand ? Those look sick

 

All of the aero is kaminari except for the spoiler. That's wings west.

 

https://kaminari.com/collections/maz...kirts-pair-frp

 

Heh, not only the "Rotatin'" custom license number, but a Rotary Club plate. Nice.