progress so far.... also since I'll be using his flywheel i should stick with his front counter weight right?

 

Makes no difference as long as the flywheel and front counterweight match the rotors. '74-82 or '83-85.

 

I'm in need of a rear rotor now.... I don't have any good ones to use.... anyone out there have one?

 

That doesn't look unuseable from the damage on the side. Will need a new bearing, obviously, but that isn't insurmountable.

Where in PA are you? If you're close to Ohio, we can meet up and I can rebuild it for you if time is not stupid critical. Winter's coming after all.

 

I'm near Clarion pa which is like an hour from Youngstown..... if you got one that's usable without having to press out and replace the bearing in interested and no need for you to rebuild it. 👍

 

Nope, no good rotors. Pressing in bearings is not difficult, I have a tool that I made with an old front pulley hub to draw them in place, and the bearings are fairly cheap.

I grind the tabs off and install them with red Loctite. I have many, many miles on a pair I rebuilt this way (maybe 70-80k?) with lots of high RPM abuse, no problems.

 

I have this rotor that had an apex seal leave town.... has surface damage.... but I couldn't slip the max allowed feeler guage between any spot on the three apex seals with a new apex seal used. Guage i used was the .006 std..... book calls for .059 std. I know the scarred surfaces will attract more carbon buildup but he's all in on premix from now on so there will be better oil burning than the omp supplied engine oil. Could just run seafoam at every oil change and remove any deposits? But first, what's the take on this spare rotor to get the show moving?

 

and I see now what you were referring to about rebuilding, the rotor bearing that is right? And I'll keep you in mind.... you ever replace the rotor gear? That looks like a whole heap of trouble trying to replace?

 

And side post.... here's a part mock up of the intake and carb setup were going with for his build.

 

That rotor you posted looks great.

 

so the face surface damage is ok? Only one apex groove got some damage but filed down nicely and still passed the spec.... just wanted to make sure before using it and thanks!

 

long as it's still in spec, use it.

 

this car is an 80 but has the more modern crank style moonroof and electronic ignition but with metal bumpers and sa taillights. Is this in a small group of cars in the transition period from the sa to fb? And anything special to note in the ignition system or others to pay attention to? Not familiar with these "hybrid" gens. Lol I've been mostly involved in just the fb s2 or s3s. Thanks!

 

79's were the only year to have the flip up style roof latch. In 80 they switched to the rotary ****. 79 and 80 both have the same body / bumpers and tail lights. The door mirrors and window trim was more of a black color in 80 compared to the 79's metallic grey. 80's have two small rubber bumpers on the bottom of the rear bumper and is about the only way to externally identify a 79 from an 80. In 80 they also switched to an electronic ignition with the ignitors mounted to an ECU box on the drivers inner fender. In 81 (intro to the FB cars) they changed the ignition again, mounting the ignitors directly to the distributor.

1980 also marked the beginning of the 55 MPH speedo. In fact, all three instruments in the 80 cluster have finer graduations (more lines) incorporated around the tach, speedo and clock than the 79. The chrome trim ring around the shift boot became a separate piece from the shift surround as well as the infamous (for breaking) chrome trim pieces they applied to the top of the door handle / pulls. 80's incorporated a few "one year only" parts on them. 79 and 80 are both SA cars here in North America.

 

this car has the two rubber bumpers on the rear and the electronic box on the inner fender but had the 85 speedo.... I'm guessing you meant 85mph? An thanks for all the great info!

 

Yes, 85 MPH speedo is what I meant. Mazda changed from 120 MPH in 79 to 85 in 1980 after the Feds mandated a 55 MPH maximum on the interstates in the interest of our own safety and reducing gas consumption. Sounds familiar doesn't it? That was a long 13 years of 55 MPH.

 

My 85 has the 140 speedo and I remember my 82 had the 85 so at some point they brought it back up but none the less I have some interesting issues having needed to replace most of his irons to the "Y" stamped Era irons. Did the 80 models really have no oil pressure sensor and there's 2 oil pan sensors? Is this a Cali sold car? And what the heck are the two threaded ports below the coolant hose? I don't remember if or what I removed from there. I took pics but apparently not enough. Thanks for so much great info and guidance! Old iron first and newer after.

 

Yes, SAs did not have an oil pressure sender. No gauge or idiot light, just a low oil level switch.

The other thing in the oil pan is a temp switch for the cold start assist system.

Save that coolant nipple, it is NLA and needed for all '81-earlier rear housings. '82 and up had press in. '81 was one year only for threaded coolant nipple and threaded for oil pressure sender.

 

the engine i got the rear iron from to put on his engine then was for sure an 81 then? And what are the two holes below the coolant nipple?

 

Who knows? Something from some application, or maybe part of the machine fixturing during production. I have never seen anything attached to them.

 

anyone else ever run across these type of rear housings? Very interesting.

 

I found in my parts pile a good rad to replace his which was shot.... it's from an s2 or s3 so you can see in the Pic the two sensors in different spots with different thread size, but with a wiring mod, is this the same sensor just in a different location and would it work the same?

 

You have some confusion.
The 55mph NMSL was in 1974. It lasted for a lot longer than 13 years.
It was strictly to reduce oil consumption in response to OPEC's oil embargo. (The first one) It had nothing to do with safety. Highway fatalities did drop but only as a total figure, because fewer road miles were being driven. Per road mile driven, it stayed roughly on the same slow downward trend it had been on as certain safety devices started to be made mandatory in 1968, and again in 1973.
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All vehicles were required to have 85mph speedometers at some point. IMPORTS were allowed to have non-85mph speedos after '81 or so.

What is funny is the XR4Ti had a 130 or 140mph speedometer, but Ford stopped numbering the hashmarks after 85. Not sure if it counted as a domestic or import, and I'm not sure Ford was sure either.

 

I admit, some things from that far back can run together. I didn't fact check myself, but I got my license in 1975 and was able to cruise 75 and 80 on some roads. Or maybe it was the year before when I had my permit? It wasn't too long after, that the interstate limits changed. At least where I lived. Some states may have implemented it before others. This was a Federal mandate, that threatened to penalize states that didn't comply by withholding Federal highway funds.

Yes, it was officially in the name of saving gas (reducing oil consumption) but was also pushed by law enforcement as a safety benefit for all. I seem to remember that when it ended, I did the math and it had added up to 13 years. Could be wrong about that, I was just going off the top. The point was the 1980 Rx-7 speedo max changed to 85 MPH, due to the 55 limit. In my original post, I had a "freudian slip" and said it was a 55 MPH speedo.

 

i heard a clip recently of Nixon announcing the 55mph speed limit, which was a small surprise, i didn't know it was that old.