The Saga of the Train Wreck 12A
 

Here is a story straight from the Rotary Gods.

Thirty one years ago, a car carrier filled with brand new 1983 Mazda RX-7's crossed a railroad crossing in rural South Carolina, bottomed out on the elevated rail bed, and got stuck. A train came along and scattered the RX-7s all over the place.

To avoid damaged goods on the market place, Mazda arranged to have the remains of the RX-7s scrapped, with the agreement that the parts would be scrapped and not sold. A junk yard in Alabama took the contract.

Fast forward 31 years. Robert (rwatson5651 on the forum) is driving home from an exhilarating day of racing at Road Atlanta and stops at a junk yard in Alabama to ask, as he often does, if they have any RX-7 stuff. The older gentleman who was minding the store said no, then seeing that Robert was traveling through, offered him a cup of coffee, as southerners often do.

When he got his coffee in a real mug instead of a paper cup, Robert figured he'd be hanging out for awhile, so he made himself comfortable. Robert and the old man talked for about a half hour about nothing, as southerners often do. But then, as Robert was about to hit the road, the junk yard guy remembered that yeah, there was a Mazda engine out there someplace, left over from the train wreck of '83. So they went out to have a look.

And sure enough, out in the lot in the back of a truck they found a 12A, a crusty old thing that didn't look like much. Robert paid the gentleman $50, took the engine home and invited Mike, another dedicated Rotor Head, over to Alabama to witness the tearing down of a virgin 12A. Here's what they saw:

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Not much to look at, but underneath that scuzz they soon discovered pristine rotors, rotor housings and irons. The old man was right, this was a virgin 12A from an unsold Mazda RX-7 that was in a train wreck in 1983 that had sat in an Alabama junk yard for 31 years.

So Robert and Mike hatched a plan, and here's the most amazing part of the story. They decided to rebuild the Train Wreck 12A and give it to me.

You heard that right, they gave me a virgin, freshly rebuilt 12A from a 1983 RX-7 that never made it to the dealer's lot to install in my recently acquired craigslist 1983 GSL.

Friends like that are hard to find.

So long story short, we had a 12A rebuilding party. Robert did most of the prep work, which was extensive and carefully done. Then a couple weekends ago Mike and I went over to Alabama "to rebuild a junkyard 12A".

Neither Mike nor Robert gave a hint of what they were up to. (They also split the cost of the soft seals and springs from Atkins, a cool $500. And no, they wouldn't let me reimburse).

So anyway, I wouldn't believe this story myself, except that the Train Wreck 12A is now sitting in a wheel barrow in my back yard, waiting to go into the white '83 GSL.

Here's the pics to prove it:

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Click the pic to see the video of the tension bolts being inserted:

http://i764.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps8f9df61e.jpg

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The insides are beautiful! I wonder how many miles were on it. Probably just enough to drive it onto the car carrier.

Love Illustrated works of Fiction!
;)

Congrats Ray. Best. Resto. Story. Evah.
Thanks for the Share...
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

Daaaaaaaaaang!

Wow Ray absolutely amazing!

I can't wait to see that beauty in your car!

-Tim

I wonder what they did to the side plates. That doesn't look new. It looks glass beaded. I've torn down engines that sat for 20 years with a few miles on them and they don't look like that. I've seen new in box side plates that don't look like that.

The rotor housings look weird on the sealing edges on the sides too, like rounded on the edges from dare I say sanding? I'm sure they said it had corrosion and this was the only way. Right. I hope it holds water (I'm sure it will but I gotta mention it).

Oh and the front lifting hook is on the wrong side and needs some help to pretty it up. Otherwise I'm curious to see how it runs (if it smokes on startup, and for how long, and whether it smokes every time even after break in) and if it holds water.

This is a very unique engine and the circumstances of you getting it are awesome.

When we first tore the engine down it was looked so grungy we thought that it was not as new as the junk yard guy said it was. Everything was grungy. But then I started measuring everything. All the measurements indicated a new engine. Now, I haven't built alot of motors but when I put the dial indicator on the side plates, the needle didnt move at all, even at the place on the side where it wears the most. Likewise on the other parts. (I documented everything in a notebook and gave it to Ray) . The final appearance on the side plates comes from the way I cleaned them. I put them through a parts washer first and then put a little lapping compound on the surface of each plate and rubbed them against each other just to clean them, I did this for about five minutes per side. I didnt want to do it enough to remove any nitriding that may be left but I did want to clean them and leave a proper surface. (I have before and after pics) It seemed to me that there was carbon everywhere, even on surfaces that see no combustion. Would the oil on the surface do this after 30 years? Im not sure. Anyway, The cleaning process was difficult to say the least and I did sand the sides of the rotor housings a little using 600 or 800 grit paper on a sanding block being carefull to keep it flat, hopfully there will be no sealing problems. Other than the gunk that was everywhere the insides all appeared to be brand new so we think the story is true. We are looking for additional documentation on the train wreck to verify that part of the story. Any way Mike (username - msimonov) and I hatched this plan to put it together for Ray since we felt this motor needed to kept stock and as original as possible and neither of us have a use for a stock motor, but it was just what Ray needed, we are tickled pink that it has worked out (thus far anyway) I will feel bad if it blows water however!!

Great story, I think we would all like to see video of first start up, and it driving around

That's an awesome story. Maybe ray will get it running before too long.

cool story!

I suspect it was August 25, 1983 in or around Rowland North Carolina. Near SC border.

Very nice Andy, that's the hint we were looking for. A date and an event, remembered by a local old guy who was there. Very cool.

Here's what I got already with a simple Google search:

http://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/recletter.../H84_66_68.pdf

Accident Investigations - NTSB - National Transportation Safety Board

Collision Of Amtrak Train No. 88 with Tractor Lowboy Semitrailer Combination Truck, Rowland, North Carolina, August 25, 1983. NTSB Number RHR-84/01, NTIS Number PB84-917005.

Nice detective work, I'll bet that's it. We'll check into it and report back. I'd love to see some pics of those '83 RX-7s scattered all over the place.

Yes there will be a video of the start-up, attended by Mike and Robert of course, who will turn the key and spray in the starter fluid, respectively.

And yes we expect lots of smoke from all that lube we put in there to make sure things worked right at start up. I suspect it'll look a lot like doing a Sea Foam treatment, without the revs:

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...th_May3073.jpg

And Jeff, I'm betting you $10 it holds water. Robert does good work and we put enough hylomar in that thing to seal Hoover Dam.

J9, RJ, PJ, Tim and Stu, thanks for the compliment on the story!

A story is easy to tell if you've got a good story and Robert and Mike get all the credit for making this one up.

I'll post the progress photos and the ultimate start-up video here, but this might take a few weeks.

Did you paint the irons? If so what color is it?

I knew that Ray would want it stock so I meant to leave it that way, but this engine was at sometime close to a fire. It was coated with ash, melted stuff, a layer of stuff that made it look like it came from a shipwreck and then 30 something years worth of corrosion. I sandblasted the housings and irons but could not get rid of all the stains so I kept with a stock theme and painted it with "cast iron coat" engine paint on the irons and "aluminum" engine paint on the housings and front cover with a coat of engine paint clear to help make it easy to maintain. I think it was duplicolor.

I like the choice of color for the irons. They look really close to factory. Nice job.

HOLY COW!
Jelousy extreem.

Congrats on the motor Ray, it's nice having such great friends.

The Rotary Gods have blessed you Ray. Congrats! You should hold a special OGTA re birth celebration when ready.

Awesome story! Good way to start a dreary Monday morning :)

Ray its good to see you get this. You deserve it after the countless times you've donated parts
to many of us for our projects.

I want to hear all about it on Friday night at DGRR.

Beautiful! Enjoy the gift of great friends.

I'm very interested to see how it runs. Please keep us informed!

This is certainly a story for and about the Rotary Community, thanks for the comments folks.

And Rotary Karma has a lot to do with it, that's for sure. It's all about giving and sharing in the Rotary Community.

So if you have something in the parts shed that you're not using and somebody else could, give it away, the Rotary Gods will be pleased.

But Robert and Mike have set a new standard with this one, it's like winning the lottery. We'll be raising a toast to those dudes at DGRR for sure.

For you motor builders who have never experienced the joy of doing the specs on a factory fresh 12A, I'd recommend taking a look at Robert's notebook on the Train Wreck 12A, it's got all the details. Notice especially his marginal notes and glee as each measurement matches the factory tolerances, something few of us will ever experience. Check it out:

Roberts Notes Photos by Silver85rx7 | Photobucket

Robert also said he has photos of the engine and parts as they went through the cleaning process before assembly, I hope he'll post more of them here for the rest of us to see.

And I'll update the Train Wreck 12A project with photos and videos, so watch for further developments in the coming weeks and months, including the start up video.

For now, I have lots of prep work on the '83 GSL shell that's receiving the TW 12A, starting with the engine bay. Here's its current state, needs cleaning, prep and paint before the Train Wreck 12A will feel at home:

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Here's a couple shot's of the car, a rust free '83 GSL with 125,000 miles on it, found on the local craigslist for $350 a few weeks ago (the seller didn't know what he had, so I talked him up to $400; the Rotary Gods notice that kind of stuff).

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As luck would have it, I already have some hard to find items to upgrade the car to the Limited Edition LE for that year, including a nice set of 14" LE wheels:

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and a mint pair of red leather seats, which also came from an '83 GSL:

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Performance upgrades will include Tokico blues all around, some progressive Eibach springs, all new steering links, new suspension bushings and a brand new RB exhaust system:

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I even have an original uninstalled IMSA/GTU sticker, correct for the 1983 GSL, that's been waiting for installation in the right car:

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The Rotary Gods will be pleased indeed.