rxforspeed

iTrader: (3)

I've posted a few threads here and there about fuel systems, the fiberglass parts that I'm making, etc, but I don't have a thread to actually show off all the parts, accessories, and neat gadgets I've got for my '83 GS. As of right now, I'm getting ready to drop her off at my buddy's body shop to have the left rear quarter panel replaced and I'll probably shave the door handles, antenna, rain drip channel above the doors, emblems, and a lot of other unsightly features that I can live without. I'll probably do most of my work (like the 13b 6-port swap) there since his garage has electricity and water and my storage building doesn't...

Anyway, here's some random pics that I pulled from my laptop to hold you guys over until I post some more...

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

why shave the body like that??? i personally think it would take away from the looks of the car. other than that you have a great plan for a nice build!

rxforspeed

iTrader: (3)

I've got some pretty big plans for this car, and the engine pics above are of the N/A 13b that'll be going in her soon. I've got another SE 6-port engine that I'm going to slightly port and turbocharge. I've got an aluminum flywheel for it, and I'm kind of unsure if the balance weight is the right piece so I'll probably go ahead and use later model rotors (lighter weight and a bit lower compression from a S5 TII) and have the rotating assembly re-balanced. I still need plenty of parts, but I have quite a collection accumulating so far...

My goal for the engine I'm building is just a bit shy of 300HP, with plenty of low end torque on tap. I'd even be happy with 250HP or less if I can develop the low-end streetable power I crave. The rotary valves/auxillary ports will run off of regulated boost pressure and all the port work will be minimal. I've had plenty of "gurus" helping me decide what turbo to use, so I think I've made the right choice for my application...

I plan on eventually running a MegaSquirt EMS, but I'll keep the 45 DCOE until then. The first incarnation of the turbocharged engine will remain carb'ed...

I'll keep posting info as I post pics, but I'll keep you guys in suspense for a day or two between posts. Here's a few more pics to drool over...

rxforspeed

iTrader: (3)

Thanks for the compliment! I've been an old-school mini-trucker since I was driving and I prefer the shaved smooth look. This '7 is the first car that I've built-all my previous experience has been with S-10's, Mazda B2200's, Toyota PU's, etc. I like my rides to have a bit of everything, show and go with all the bells and whistles, you know? I like the subtle mods like shaving the rain channel above the doors, emblems, door handles, stuff that makes you think the car didn't roll right off the assembly line. I have the heart of a hot-rodder with only an RX-7 to build...But I love the car, from the tight feel of the shifter to the simplicity of the engine compartment (with the DCOE anyway) so I'll pour my custom heart and soul in it...

rxforspeed

iTrader: (3)

Just a quick update for now-I would've posted a few more pics by now but I've been pretty busy cutting up a very unique car to install an air ride suspension on it. Pretty much everything for this car is "custom-built", meaning I have to fab it up myself so my hands have kind of been tied lately. I'll post some more pics and info as time allows, and if I get the owner of the car's approval, I'll start a thread on that-it's pretty interesting if you like 'bagged rides or just one-off customs...

BTW-I've gotten this crazy idea lately to refill N2O bottles for people (since I can get a good deal on a 382cf tank), but I have some more research to do on the subject before I dive right in. Of course, I'd have to have my own nitrous bottle to test it out on and the NOS-brand "Sneeky Pete" system has been looking very tempting lately...

What do you guys think? Should I get the NOS kit? It would only occasionally be used and I wouldn't run any jets bigger than the "50hp" deals. Hell, I need a good solenoid to build a CO2 intercooler spray system anyway-even if I don't run the N2O. Does anybody know a good website with a lot of good "do-it-yourself" nitrous bottle filling?

MattG

iTrader: (2)

Where did you get that front bumper?

RXnos1200

iTrader: (24)

Looking good!!! Love the pulley setup. Where did you get that setup from?

datsun1200

I saw your thread's, that bumper look's great on your car.It looking good,im going to keep looking at you'r thread's.Have fun that the most important part.

rxforspeed

iTrader: (3)

Hell yea, thanks guys! The pulleys came from an Austrailian company, www.tweakit.net. They've got kits for just about any rotary engine...

The front bumper replacement piece is the Extreme Dimensions piece. I have the entire body kit-it's the one with the "boxy" rear bumper piece. The side skirts are cool; I love the rear brake cooling ducts in them but I'm not too enthusiastic about the way they extend up to the body line. They'll take a lot of work to look right on the car...

I've been working on some custom fiberglass parts for FB's also, so you guys should see pics of that **** on my car once the pieces are avaliable. I need to get a business license and the "group buy" deal on this forum, but I just don't have enough parts to justify that expense yet...

Here's a few more pics of some random stuff-I'll try to post some of the body kit test-fitted on the car for you guys, too...

rxforspeed

iTrader: (3)

More pics...

BTW-nobody's responded to the question about the nitrous-should I install a "Sneeky Pete" kit on the car? I still need to research refilling the tanks to see how much of a profit I can make out of the deal, but a hidden NOS-brand kit has really seemed appealing to me lately...

rxforspeed

iTrader: (3)

Here's some pics of the body kit test-fitted. It's going to take a lot of work to get it looking "just right", but I'll tackle that job when I finally get the time. I've got a buddy that's going to replace the left rear quarter panel in the next month or so, then we'll probably spray it all flat black (not the cheap stuff-I'll get some HOK or another quality "rat rod" style flat coat). I've got a lot of **** I'm going to shave on it, and I think I'll wire up my door handle actuators (solenoids) to my alarm system so the driver's door with open when the alarm system is disarmed. I've got a bunch of neat parts, ideas, and tricks that'll be installed on this car, so keep checking out this thread to see what I've done...

perfect_circle

i wouldnt do a sneaky pete, i would run a regular wet kit. sneaky pete is dry if i remember correctly. if you took the time, which it looks like your doing, you could do a decent job hiding the nitrous. for example you could put the bottle in place of a bin, and just have it so the lid opens to where you have it mounted. and as far as solenoids and lines go, you could put the ribbed plasctic electric casings, or rubber hosing over the lines, so they dont look like nitrous lines, and you could descretely locate the solenoids.

rxforspeed

iTrader: (3)

Yea-I'm not sure about that now. I've been researching how to refill the bottles for the last half hour or so and there's a lot more "up front" costs than I had expected. Nitrous Express sells a kit through Jegs to fill your own bottles, but it runs almost $900! I was figuring on making at least a little bit of a profit by the second or third bottle, but I don't think I can do it unless I can find the pump I need pretty cheap. I can build my own lines and buy the adapters to do it, but I'm not going to pay that much for a kit...Zex makes a "nitrous fill station", but I can't seem to find a price for it. I'll have to dig through some industrial supply catalogs and see if I can find a pump capable of 2000psi...

As far as installing the kit on my car, I figured that two of the 2lb "Sneeky Pete" bottles would be perfect and could easily be hidden. My Aeromotive universal FPR has an additional supply port, so I could buy the fuel solenoid, fittings, and lines to convert it to a "wet" system. Edelbrock makes some good nozzles that keep the N20 and fuel seperated until they exit the tip, and could probably be hidden in the LIM aimed at the main ports. I'm not sure though-I want a reliable car and I would hardly ever use the nitrous so it most likely wouldn't be worth it for me. I got the idea that I could fill bottles for people and make some extra $, and thought about installing a system on the car to test it. If I can find the parts I need to fill 'em cheap enough, I'll install the kit (with the fuel solenoid and extra bottle). I don't think I'll mess with it if I don't somehow profit from it...

BTW-thanks for the tips, perfect circle. I'll continue to update this thread as often as I can, but you guys will have to wait a few days for more pics...

rxforspeed

iTrader: (3)

I've got some engine-building questions if any of you guys feel up to the task...

Well, the first is more turbo related. I'm pretty dead-set on a Tial Sport wastegate, but I'm not sure what size to go with. I'm building my manifold from 1.5" schedule 40 pipe and weld els (about 1.625"+ ID), and I don't plan on ever producing over 300HP from 15psi or less of boost. Tial Sport offers 38, 41, 44, 46, and 60MM wastegates-which should I go with? I don't want to run one too small and risk boost creep, but one too big could limit boost. I don't know which to choose...The primary goal of this engine is good streetability, with a broad torque range starting at lower RPMs through the mid-range. In other words, I don't want to have to rev this engine very high to feel the power, hence the small turbo for quick spool up.

BTW-I'm running a T04E turbo, .63 A/R cold and .57 trim on the hot side. There is a hole in the turbine housing at the downpipe flange for mounting a wastegate, but it's only .75" ID (19MM). Could it be enlarged to the appropriate (or at least approximate) size to accomidate the wastegate flow through the downpipe flange, or would I be better off connecting the two primary pipes in the manifold to the flange for the wastegate? It doesn't look like there would be room to enlarge the hole to 1.5"+, so I think I've pretty much answered my own question. I was hoping to save some fab time and utilize the existing hole for mounting the wastegate...

Does anybody have any solid opinions about JHB's "cermet" coating for rotor housings? I've planned on porting my own SE housings and then sending them out for re-coating, and cleaning up the ports after they return. I've never used them before and I've found mixed opinions searching this forum about the topic. This is also the first rotary engine I've ever built, and I'd like it to be as reliable as possible...

Speaking of reliability, what type of apex seals should be used in this engine? Most of it's life would be spent at lower boost pressures, and shouldn't exceed 15psi, but I'd like to see close to 100,000mi from it without having to tear it down for a rebuild. What about corner seals, what kind/type would be best suited for handling the boost and higher combustion pressures and still be reliable? Are Pineapple Racing's "permanent" o-rings/seals worth the money, or should I use a different brand or style soft seals?

Racing Beat advises against using later model rotors in pre-'86 housings due to *slight* variations in the rotor and housing shape (only thousandths of an inch). I know it can be done, but is it a viable and reliable alternative to the heavy and higher compression rotors that came stock in the SE engine? I know the S4 N/A rotors have the same compression ratio as a stock SE 13b (9.4:1), but they're 1.5 lbs lighter. S4 TII rotors have 8.5:1 compression and share the N/A's weight, and the S5 and later rotors (besides the renesis 13b) are about a pound lighter than the S4 versions, with the TII rotors having a 9.0:1 compression ratio. The obvious choice would be S5 TII rotors if they'll be reliable enough in the SE housings, but I have access to free S4 N/A rotors. What modifications (if any-besides rebalancing the entire rotating assembly) are required to reliably run either of these later model rotors in my SE housings, and could the JHB coating affect the operation or reliability of this combination?

I need my irons relapped too, but I don't want to leave them with just the relapped finish. I know the factory finish was gas nitrided-is there a place that I can send my irons to after port work and lapping to be re-nitrided? Is JHB's "cermet" coating a good alternative to nitriding? What other options do I have for coating or protecting the irons from wear? Is lapping or grinding the preferred method for a high performance engine, and is reliability a factor either way?

I know there's a lot of questions here, but I'd really appreciate any help I could get with them. With the help of some of you guys, I feel confident that I can build my own engine-even though I've never rebuilt a rotary before.

I think it would be overkill for my application, but I've been thinking about a twin-charged 13b lately. I've had plans to swap in a 3.4L DOHC 60-degree V-6 into my S-10, and I stumbled upon a wealth of information on the supercharged 3.8L GM engines while researching info for the swap. For example, the Eaton M-90's used on the Series III or IV 3800's had a "bypass" valve incorporated into the supercharger's housing to eliminate parasidic drag on the engine at highway/cruise speeds and at idle. This "bypass" valve could play a valuable role in twin-charging an engine. The valve could be set-up to "bypass" the S/C once turbo boost psi reaches levels above what the S/C puts out, and with the right parts and equipment the transition could be smooth enough to be barely noticible-resulting in great HP and torque levels at low, mid, and high RPM's as long as the turbo is properly sized for the application. If I were to go this route (highly unlikely with my current set-up), I believe I'd opt for a bigger turbo to exceed the 300HP mark at higher RPMs. Of course, the fab work required to make this work would be incredible-added to the fabricated exhaust manifold would be a new upper intake manifold to adapt the M-90, a custom fabbed rear inlet adapter from the M-90 to the intercooler piping, etc. A pulley for the S/C would most likely have to be machined for the application also, like a custom Gilmore drive pulley like I have on my engine. I haven't seen anything done like this previously on a rotary engine (utilizing both a supercharger and turbo anyway), and I thought it would be a great idea and possibly a good project down the road. Any thoughts on this, and has a twin-charged rotary been done before?

BTW-here's an interesting tidbit I thought some of you may like to see: there's a 13b on ebay right now that's set up for natural gas. I've got a propane conversion kit for the Suzuki Samurai engine I have in storage, but I haven't previously seen a rotary set up for it. Here's the link-check this out!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mazda...m290235840212&

Viperx7

iTrader: (4)

Looks good so far. You've definately got one hell of a project on you hands. I've thought about getting the ED kit for my 85, but I just can't stand the rear piece. I'd end up getting rid of it and getting the rear from Mazdatrix. I've got it on my 83 and it looks WAY better. It curves under not boxy at all.
Keep us informed on the fiberglass parts you're making. I might be interested, depending on what your making.

rxforspeed

iTrader: (3)

Hey-I see your from Richmond, KY. You're just a little over an hour away from me. Do you show or race your FB, or are you a member of any club? I'd like to get together with a few other FB or FC owners locally sometime. There aren't too many rotorheads up my way, and I could use a bit of encouragement from other '7 owners to help get mine up and going. If you've got a turbo set-up on your FB, I'd love to see that in person! Are you running a TII engine or a factory N/A? I'm kinda stumped on building my exhaust manifold-I need it to clear the auxillary port actuators on the SE lower intake manifold, and I'd like to keep the hot side clear of all the intake components. Give me a few days and I'll post a link to the fiberglass thread-progress has been slow lately, but I'll have some parts here soon...

Thanks for the interest, and hopefully we can meet up and compare notes and ideas in the near future...

Pocket Trey

Ok

Viperx7

iTrader: (4)

Yes, I'm running a TII set-up in my 83. It's a frankenstein motor with parts from several different gens. You can see pics on my Cardomain site in my sig. There are a few guys over here with rotaries but nobody really does anything.

You get a chance, come on over and I'll hook you up with a friend of mine who really knows his rotaries. He does ALOT of custom stuff. He does most of the work on my cars that I don't do. I'm sure that he could answer your questions.

Later