wolfswest

Hi guys,

My first post here. I’m from Belgium, Europe and I’ve bought a stardust blue metallic FB 2 weeks ago. It’s a weekend / hobby car with a few good points but also like always some details that need attention. The goal is to build a nice Japanese classic on a budget. Not that I want to go super cheap but I have limits, or in other words, the girlfriend has limits. HAHA! I know a bit of mechanics, I had a Volkswagen notchback 1500S and a Alfa romeo GT junior lusso before where I turned some wrenches on. Not that I can rebuild engines but I know every part and what it does and I’m not new to basic trouble shooting, mechanics, syncronsing carburetors, dialing the ignition and stuff like that. The rotary is new to me but I kinda dig the concept for quite a while now… I’ve already read some topics in the FAQ pages.

The paint is a 7/10, some different shades in the blue due to some bad repaint(s) but no visible rust or major dents. The interior is 90% perfect, quite unusual over here. No rips or stains on the seats, nice carpet, nice dash…
The 12A starts right away every time, shifting is good, all the electronics work.

The bad:

I guess the fan clutch is seized, I can stop it with a broom but with quite some force, I wouldn’t try it with my hands… if the engine is cold I can turn the fan but not that very well, but yeah, what’s okay? I don’t know…
As soon as I start the car the fan starts to blow like a maniac, I can’t hear the engine anymore. I used the search function but this forum is BIG!! Can you buy these fan clutches new? I don’t want to go the electric fan way straight away…
Any leads?

Next, I want to upgrade the bushings and see to improve the steering. The steering is bad! I also read before that this is a typical “problem” with these cars but what the heck? A beetle with 1940 technology steers better!
Is there a kit out there to renew every bushing or problem areas for the steering aspect? I hope you guys can point me in the right direction.
The bushing right now on the suspension and sway bars are old and cracked, that can’t be good…

For the suspension I saw that I can order some bushings from racing beat… Good choice? Maybe other leads? Cheaper/better? I’m willing to buy all over the world, the shipping from the usa costs me a damn arm and leg!

The plans for the future if I can get the car MOT’d I want to lower it a bit. (it already has koni struts in the back so that’s a good thing!)
A nice period correct set of 15” wheels with I guess a 205/70/15 tire on them.
A full racing beat street port exhaust, alternatives? Again, the shipping is killing me…
Racing beat air filter (white cone) a nice upgrade or rather a market stunt? And play around with the opening of the butterfly’s and jetting maybe?
New motor mounts, stiffer
Maybe new disc brakes and pads if they turn out to be bad but I hope not…

But first I try to upload some pictures of the new ride, a new topic is always nicer with pictures, isn’t it?

Dem

wolfswest

some cell Phone pictures...

I don't have a clue why they are up side down, moderators, do you have a clue?

thx,

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

nice car! how do you drive it upside down?

fan clutches are available new still, although they were very expensive ($300ish depending on model/year). they do have a low failure rate, so used is probably an option

have a search through here, the steering box has several adjustments on it, so that is the first place to start. you should check all the other steering components too, but if its "worse than a 1940 beetle" than its probably the box.

the US shop manuals are here Foxed.ca - Mazda RX-7 Manuals the euro cars are 90% the same, biggest difference is/are the trim levels.

MosesX605

Good color choice.

I just did the fan clutch on my 7 and was lucky enough to snag one of the $50 units from Rockauto. I was going to suggest one for you, but they've sold out.

As for the steering, the problem areas are the steering box, as j9fd3s mentioned, but the other major item to check is the idler arm. If the bushings are bad there, you'll have very vague and unresponsive steering. If you do get a nice set of 15 inch rims, don't go with 205/70/15 tires. That's way off the stock circumference and you'll have issues with fender rub and the speedo will be ~15% off. You'd be better off with a 50 section-width tire.

Cookboy

iTrader: (10)

Beautiful car. As stated above, it's best to renew the bushings and idler arm before you touch the steering box.

wolfswest

hi guys,

thx! yeah, I already did the quick and dirty fix with the screw on top, it's not a power steering model so I adjusted the screw counter clock wise to the max but that doesn't change much... The other steering box "fixes" doesn't look easy...

how can I check the idler arm? I hope to get under the car next weekend so any input would be nice.

wolfswest

OMG, that's a huge typo! I mean 205/50/15 NOT 205/70/15... Those are tires for a tractor.

Yeah, with my calculations the 205/50/15 would almost be the same height as a 185/70/13...

wolfswest

I've found a "moog idler arm" online. Is that a nice upgrade or just a replacement part? It's not THAT expensive so any thoughts on this?

MosesX605

That's the one you want. It uses a ball joint rather than a bushing, so it should last quite a while.

midnight mechanic

right idler arm bushing might be worn. The bushing is like $10 and it is easy to replace.

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

open hood, go to the passenger side (right front wheel), grab steering center link and pull up, if it moves you need an idler arm or the 2 bushings. the bushings are super easy to do, you just loosen the nut on the top and pop em in and out.

wolfswest

okay, I will check out the idler arm this evening. If any of you guys have other tips and tricks... please feel free to share them.

Banzai

iTrader: (13)

Congrats and welcome! You have the rotor wheels. Those are super rare here in the US. You've come to a good place for advice and knowledge for these cars.

wolfswest

Yeah, I have the rotors, I HATE them... They are the common FB wheel over here. The “plus” wheels are rare in europe and I like the plus wheels way more…
I guess you always like the “exotic stuff” the most… HAHA. If you guys like the rotor rims so much I’m always in for a swap!

Something else. I’ve also read some topics about direct fire ignition, sounds interesting for the future. For starters, I have some MSD blaster II coils laying around so I want to swap them with the old ones. Can I just swap them or do I need to do something else? I’ve read some stories about frying some parts… A nice upgrade because I have them laying around or shouldn’t I bother?

Cameron38

iTrader: (2)

You didn't say how many miles are on the car. If it's high mileage, it's probably the steering box. Sometimes an adjustment works but if the box is too badly worn, you just have to replace it like I did.

wolfswest

the car has 120,000 km's, so that's app. 75,000 miles on the odometer but I can't verify if that's true... Some parts like the interior suggests it's true, others don't...

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

once you know what to look at, its actually very hard to fake mileage on these cars. or i should say doing a real 100% correct restoration is very hard. for example we know which hose clamps are correct, AND the direction they are supposed to face, and they are supposed to face a certain way, that changes with the year (79-80 is different from say a GSL-SE)

things like the interior are difficult to reproduce