I have an '85 GSL with an '83 ish engine in it. I can't get any spark from the coils and I'm tired of fooling with it. I'm going to take it to RP Performance down in Manassas, Virginia. While there I'd like to get some upgrades done. I'm looking to spend about $1500. What should have done?

I already have the suspension rebuilt with a Ground Control kit. Springs, shocks, camber plated, etc. Other than that, the car is stock.

 

rebuild the bitch

 

That's rather vague. The engine I have is supposedily only 60k miles on it. I don't want it torn apart if there is nothing wrong with it.

Oh, I should mention, it will be a fair weather DD and an autox/track car. I will NOT be doing any door to door racing with it tho. 1) I'm not licsensed and 2) I don't want to bang it up. I wouldn't mind going the route of IT-7 with it tho. I know I can't do all of that for $1500 tho.

Another note,...while I had the original engine out, I replaced the clutch so that is one else thing that needs to be done.

 

s5 swap maybe but i think itll require more money

 

By S5 swap, what do you mean?

 

exhaust and carb

 

That's only $1k. That leaves about $500.

 

If you don't have an exahust then go with that first if you still have money for a carb then add that next. If you need tires and rims then maybe go for that if not then just go for a full Racing Beat Exhaust.

 

Def. exaust, some kind of carb, and a TII brake swap. The brakes might be more than 500 bucks, but you can find a used setup and install it yourself, same goes for the exhaust. But id have a shop do the brakes probably.

 

Take the fifteen hundo and buy three more FB's.

 

Do a HPDE at Summit Point.

 

I guess I forgot to mention the exhaust too. I'm going for historic tags so screw emissions. The cat is already empty. The muffler is already rusted out. I'm thinking of replacing all that with just a straight pipe.

What's up with the TII brakes? I don't think I've heard of that upgrade? It's already disks all the way around. Would this require going to the 14" rim? I want to stay in CSP and/or IT-7.

Tires are brand new 215/50/13 Sumitomo HTR 200.

 

That shouldn't be any more than $300

 

T2 brakes are a waste of time in my opinion. Have you ever felt your car "under braked" in any situation you've been in? Nice pads and good fluid lines and stock rotors are more than enough for an Rx-7 that see's anything less than constant track days.

Things I'd do to an 85 on that budget:

Get it running right.

Full RB exhaust.

FMOC and E fan.

Webber, or Dellorto, or mikkuni.

 

Tires (if you need 'em) and maybe a mazdatrix shifter (theys is nice feeelin)

 

If you go with RB exhaust and a Sterling carb, you'd have more than enough left over to get all the little goodies that make the car so much more reliable, tunable, and smooth running:

- 2nd Gen ignition coil ($25 at junkyard) setup with the "Transistor Trick" box (less than $50, can't remember the actual price) (you mentioned you were having ignition issues)
- 2nd Gen Fuse Box ($10 at junkyard, you'll thank me if you've ever blown a fusible link)
- Jets for the carb (split the Summit/Jegs kit with someone and it'll come out to about $100)
- ReSpeed Fuel Pressure Guage and Quick Disconnect (Yes it's $100 on a guage and disconnect but to me it's worth its weight in gold. It helped me find out that I had the wrong regulator and was running 5psi! I never would have known and the problems would have stayed "mysterious carb problems" forever)

- Mallory Comp 70 Fuel Pump and Holley 1-4psi Fuel Pressure Regulator (camp ebay, seriously)


That should all fit in $1500.

Jon

 

^^ what he said, minus the rb exhaust. you can build a nice magnaflow or borla exhaust for much less that flows great and sounds awesome. rb is reliable, but you pay a lot for a name.

 

Thanks Jon. These are the type of things I was looking for. I want to find some HP and clean up the engine bay. And these are the things I never hear about tho I haven't looked much. What about the electric fan (from a Taurus or wome such)?

 

Why does everyone still say to get a 2nd gen fuse box? The fuselinks that fit the 2nd gen box, also fit in the first gen box. Plug and play upgrade from the old wire links to the modern fuses. Added bonus, they are available at most all parts stores, even in the auto section of walmart/kmart ect.......

 

I've not had a problem with fuses. Why change it at all? And what are you guys talking about? The fuses under the dash or the fuses under the hood?

 

I added the 2nd gen fuse block, which gave me ready made spots to tie in my e-fan, extra gauges and line lock. It's the one that goes under the hood.

 

Under hood. The wire fuse links are ~$20/set at Mazda. The later style are ~$2-3 each almost anywhere.......
They usually fit fine, but sometimes the box needs to be relocated, and occasionally the fuse needs to be trimmed in the middle to clear the center divider of the box. That last mod is more fuse brand related......

 

Well, on my 85 with shitty econo tires and OE brakes, I really had to nail the brakes to lock them up. I mean I would have to try and lock them. I can only imagine how much more grip some nice tires would have, and the brack brakes are shitty and unvented. But def only if you track it would I consider it. Ive heard of FBs with TII brakes outbraking the **** outta Z06s and the like.

 

exhaust, carb clutch and flywheel

 

For a car that is completely stock, ya then the brakes aren't needed. But once you actually make the car have some "REAL" horsepower (250-300+RWHP) you need better braking performance. Bigger rims and tires = also need better brakes.