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:

Attachment 647520

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:

Attachment 647521

Attachment 647522

Attachment 647523

Attachment 647524

Attachment 647525

Attachment 647526

Attachment 647527

Attachment 647528

Attachment 647529

Attachment 647530

Attachment 647531

Attachment 647511

Attachment 647512

Attachment 647513

Attachment 647514

Attachment 647515

Attachment 647516

Attachment 647517

Attachment 647518

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

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

Attachment 647519

Attachment 647499

Attachment 647500

Attachment 647501

Attachment 647502

Attachment 647503

Attachment 647504

Attachment 647505

Attachment 647506

Attachment 647507

Attachment 647508

Attachment 647509

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:

Attachment 647347

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).

Attachment 647348

Attachment 647349

Attachment 647350

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:

Attachment 647351

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

Attachment 647352

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:

Attachment 647353

Attachment 647354

Attachment 647355

Attachment 647356

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

Attachment 647357

The Rotary Gods will be pleased indeed.

Cool deal brotha ray but isn't the correct sticker for an 83 say 82??? Personally I wouldn't care but heck-- I have a little 85 sticker on my 82. Shhhhhhh don't tell anyone. Lol

Sent from my iPad using RX7Club

Nice call 'Sip, I knew somebody would catch that.

But you never know, a late 83 on the showroom might very well have received an 83 IMSA/GTU sticker, if the poor thing had only gotten there.

We've been doing some research, it turns out the train that hit the lowboy car carrier in Rowland NC back in '83 was a nasty dude.

On the same trip to NYC that it demolished the RX-7's in Rowland, it hit a pickup truck, killed a lady fishing from a trestle in Savannah and, on the return trip, killed a motorist in Kenly, N.C.

AROUND THE NATION - Troubled Amtrak Train In a New Accident - NYTimes.com

Very scary. Could it be the Antiwankel the Rotary Gods were telling us about?

Looks like a perfect fb in the making.

Yeah ray, sounds like its going to be really nice, ill have to come down to an ogta meeting and check it out when its on the road. Have you decided what yeah dash your going to use in it? 83 or 84?

Maybe you should get a sticker made that says "I survived the Antiwankle-83"

Once you have the car running, Ray, we need to have a special debutante cotillion OGTA meet, like southerns often do. Maybe we can get the guy from the junk yard to come.

Agreed on the special debutante cotillion OGTA meet Mike, complete with mint juleps.

And Banzai, I'll take one of those Antiwankel stickers!

I'm still not sure on the dash P7, I think this is probably for the Rotary Gods to decide. I've always been partial to the S3 interiors and have a bunch of mint S3 interior parts that would plug in nicely, but this being an '83 GSL, I think the Rotary Gods would want it to be the old style S2 dash and interior. In red leather, of course.

Robert had some ideas about how to restore the dash that's in the car already, which is a poorly installed dash cover with incorrect maroon paint. We could either go with another dash cover, properly painted and installed, or else try that Dash Restore outfit people have been talking about.

In any case, I'm going to save the interior for last, after installing the TW12A and all the mechanical work, so perhaps by then the Rotary Gods will deliver a minty red S2 dash to my back door.

Robert sent me some pictures of the TW12A as it was being prepped for assembly, I think I've got everything labeled right but Robert let us know if not.

Rotor housing, as it came from the junk yard:

Attachment 647278

Rotor housing cleaned up (I believe he sand blasted it):

Attachment 647279

Rotor housing ready for paint:

Attachment 647280

Rear iron, dirty:

Attachment 647281

Rear iron, cleaned up:

Attachment 647282

Intermediate iron, dirty with lapping compound applied:

Attachment 647283

Intermediate housing, cleaned up:

Attachment 647284

Intermediate housing, cleaned up, other side:

Attachment 647285

Front housing, cleaned up:

Attachment 647286

Front housing, ready for paint:

Attachment 647287

And here's a few more pictures of the TW12A assembly process, courtesy of Mike:

Engine parts:

Attachment 647265

Attachment 647266

Attachment 647267

Rotor tear down:

Attachment 647268

Hylomar:

Attachment 647269

Apex seal spring and corner seal plug:

Attachment 647270

Attachment 647271

This is pretty much the coolest story i've ever heard. I can't wait to see what it looks like when it's finished! Good luck guys the Rotary Gods are surely smiling upon you! :)

OMG, I love stories like these. It makes you daydream away to a far away past... :icon_tup:

I'll keep my eyes out for a nice red s2 dash and send it out your way if I find one. if it were mine, I would have to keep the inside all s2, even though like you I like the s3 dash better.

That's just an amazing story. Glad to see that you've got it Ray and the engine will be happy once again.

I wonder what happened to the other engines? Did the junkyard get them all and this one was the only one left, or did I miss that part of the story?

The guy had two engines, he was sure this one came from a train wreck car, the other he was not sure about. I got both, the second one is in my basement, I have not taken it apart yet.

Wow! That's just the coolest story ever right there! Glad to hear you got your hands on it! Know it will be taken care of!

Mr. Wood, that's exactly what I thought when Mike and Robert first told me the story: What happened to the other 12As???

I mean, what if that old dude at the junk yard is holding out on us? Or Robert, for that matter?

All I know is he won't tell either Mike or me where that junk yard is, so if that's what some of you guys are thinking, forget it.

After conferring with my coconspirators about the dash options, we all agree:

It would be foolish to risk angering the Rotary Gods by putting an S3 dash in that '83 S2 interior, so we'll be working with what we've got:

Attachment 647065

Attachment 647066

I need to find a good interior spray paint to match the red leather seats and door panels, might take some custom mixing but if that's what the Gods want, that's what they'll get.

Or, maybe there's is a mint original 1983 maroon dash out there someplace just waiting for its rendezvous with Destiny?

If any of you guys hear of anything, this is your chance to get in good with the Rotary Gods.

We got some disappointing news on the research to find the train wreck that took out all those brand new 1983 RX-7s.

I looked into the lowboy train wreck in Rowland NC on August 25, 1983 and found a few photos, including this one from the Fayetteville NC Observer, of the low boy and its cargo:

Remember This? - Train Wrecks | Remember This? | FayObserver.com

I studied the photo for about an hour but couldn't find a bit of evidence of RX-7 debris.

It appears instead that the cargo on the lowboy in the Rowland wreck was a construction crane, not a rack of shiny new RX-7s.

So the search goes on to find the wreck that took out the Mazda RX-7s back in '83.

However I do have some good news, independent evidence that confirms without a doubt that the Train Wreck 12A indeed came from a brand new RX-7.

Last night I was checking out the engine and I noticed that the plugs Robert put in were old and very dirty:

Attachment 647067

This made me think they were probably the plugs that came with the engine from the junk yard, which Robert confirmed.

So I pulled the plugs and cleaned one of them up.

Sure enough these are original stock NipponDenso W25EDR14 spark plugs as installed in all new Mazda RX-7s when they came from the factory back in 1983.

Here's a couple photos, with a new Denso plug added in for comparison:

Attachment 647068

Attachment 647069

Attachment 647070

Attachment 647071

So this pretty much confirms that the Train Wreck 12A is a factory fresh engine.

We're going to leave the other three original plugs dirty and donate them to the RX-7 Museum someday.

Ray, try the SEM burgundy color, it lacks the orange of Mazda's red, but its the closest match out of a can, trust me i looked!

IMO it would be neat to do the interior JDM style, where its S2 dash, with everything else S3

Thanks J9, I'll give the SEM paint a try, I've heard good things about it for 1st gen interiors.

I've always been a purist about interior parts, refusing to paint them out of principle, but finding pristine interior parts is getting really difficult.

And a good paint job may help create a like-new looking stock interior.

You've also got a good point on the JDM interior. All the Rotary Gods, with the exception of Felix of course, are most likely Japanese.

And I think they would be pleased to see the Train Wreck 12A planted in an '83 GSL with the JDM interior of the Furusato.

http://www.jdmlegends.com/wp-content...6/IMG_5044.jpg

As a bonus, I already have a nice pair of S3 JDM-style red leather door panels, contributed by Nebraska Dave:

http://i764.photobucket.com/albums/x...psc7100c88.jpg

And a NOS red shift knob with the pattern inset as found in the JDM interior, courtesy of Ohio Dave:

Attachment 647056

I even have an original three-point maroon leather steering wheel in mint condition, although I'm not sure this is the type you'd find in a JDM interior back in the Furusato.

Attachment 647057

I've been hoarding these parts to use for an 84/85 GSL interior, but perhaps the Rotary Gods wish to see the Train Wreck 12A implanted in an '83 JDM SA instead.

I'll conference with the design engineers to see what they think.

Ha. That sounds like a church choir

Sent from my iPad using RX7Club. how bout that!

Awesome read! Indeed the Rotary Gods have smiled upon you!

Thought I'd check in on this thread. Some interesting stuff has been added.

Ray, I was with you on all of your ideas until I saw that red steering wheel. Please for the love of all that is rotary, don't use that steering wheel. Yamamoto'san must have had too much saki the night before he approved that color. Maybe it is just the picture.

Did you build this engine in a hospital waiting room?!? If so thats one CLEAN engine build!!!

And I thought I was crazy having my 13B on my kitchen counter for a year. :lol:

LOL.......

Thats the lobby at work. Thats where the big sandblaster is. This piece was just about to get blasted.

Was that before or after sand blasting Robert? Still looks pretty rough in the picture.

Mike, there's nothing wrong with the steering wheel.

It's a mint condition leather covered maroon steering wheel for the S3 GSLs and SEs, possibly the only one left in existence.

It will be perfect for the JDM version of the '83 that the TW12A is going in to.

Here's a couple more shots, maybe you'll like the color better in this light:

Attachment 646679

Attachment 646680

Attachment 646681

I did some poking around the dash yesterday and peeled off the cracked "maroon" dash cover that was installed.

It looks like an early version of the replacement S2 dash covers, actually molded in the maroon plastic and has sound holes for a speaker that doesn't exist, at least in the '83 FB's.

Attachment 646682

Attachment 646683

Attachment 646684

The condition of the original dash underneath is really poor, here's a couple shots:

Attachment 646685

Attachment 646686

Since original S2 dashes in decent shape are Unobtanium, I'm thinking our best bet might be to purchase one of these black dash covers off ebay:

New Molded Dash Cover Top Pad Cap for 1978 1983 Mazda RX7 | eBay

Mazda RX7 1978 83 New Molded Dash Cover Cap | eBay

Then paint it, along with all the rest of the plastic trim, to match the maroon color of the door panels, seats and steering wheel.

It should be possible to mold the dash cover pretty tightly to the surface of the old dash, given enough prep work and a really good space-filling mastic to bond it down.

Has anybody had any experience with these aftermarket dash cover units?

Are they all made by the same manufacturer? Or are they different and some are better quality than others?

Any hints on installation?

Man, If that dash cap works out I'm gonna get one! If nothing else just to protect my perfect one.

Got a dash cover from Black Dragon. It fit pretty good, but warped in some places. Unless you installed it, you wouldn't notice. 2 summers of brutal southern sun, and it started to crack. I mean the dash gets hot enough to fry a damn egg. So I painted it white, and did the door panels in white, and bright orange. Also replaced the black carpet with orange.

And then did a half assed tint job on the rear hatch. If it helps the heat situation, I will spring for a $200 professional job. The tint is 20% vtl but 35% is legal. So I'm ticket bait. The tint film was left overs from when I did my apartment windows.