phantommaggot

my girlfriends dad has a clean completely stripped body in his garage.
it has what im assuming is a 12a (havent really looked)
no glass, hardly an interior.
grey body

id like to build it into a drivable track/hillclimb/auto-x yada yada car
(but only if its rust free in the places that count....
id like to think,
finish stripping it,
cage/ rollbar
suspension overhaul
engine overhaul + power
(stick with ported carbed 12a, maybe attempt carbed turbo?)
new glass

i know theres more involved, but ...
would the cost of parts be worth taking it on? (obviously doing it all myself)
how hard is the glass to come by?

im going over there tonight, and ill check it out.

Jeezus

iTrader: (4)

That is usually the best way to start if you are going to a race or autox car.

I would remove everything but the gauge cluster and seat in the cockpit. Throw some Dry Ice on the tar/resin and scrape it up for about a 20lb save.

DivinDriver

iTrader: (15)

If it's a truly clean body, no bends no rust, it's kind of a shame to waste it in an application that will surely see its share of bending and rending over time, but otherwise, yes.

Kentetsu

For autocross, the first decision should be what class you want to run in. With a stripped interior, you would get dumped right into the modified classes, along with some real monster cars that you really wouldn't have a hope in hell against unless you came up with 300 hp or so.

I would install the interior, which would make it much more "streetable" anyway. Roll cage wouldn't be needed for autocross, so I would skip that and save weight.

Other than that, you're on a good course. Autocross is a blast! If you've never tried it, you'll be hooked after your first event.


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80's old school

iTrader: (7)

Kinda the route I took but my donor car was an old ITA racecar. I have made it into a fun and reliable autocross car..

Here is the link to some of the build of the car... I need to add to this link because a lot more has been done since the last post..

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...ap+autocrosser

phantommaggot

it wouldnt be a dedicated track ****
i maybe make 3-4 auto-x events a year with a proper car and schedule.
lol, and i know all about shitty classing at auto-x
my last vehicle made less than 150hp and was stuck in SM2 :/

i think the most... visually... extreme thing i would do to the car would be a roll bar with a crossbar for harnesses and non stock seating.. if that...

otherwise i like my cars to look clean, and stock, just wheels and lower

defiantly taking out the sound dampening gunk.
i saw a method for taking it out with an drill i may try

the question becomes... will the cost justify the build.
or should i just buy something

jgrewe

iTrader: (1)

The farther you plan on going with prepping a car, the more it makes sense to buy a completed one. For what you have planned right now I would just build what you have access to.

Always look at rules before money leaves your wallet.

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

read the rules first...

mustanghammer

iTrader: (3)

IF any kind of organized competition is your goal...yes, read the rules before you start a big project. The cool part is you can download them for free - www.scca.com or go to NASA's site to see what they have.

If you do a cost analysis on the buy vs build question you will find that in every case it is always cheaper to buy a completed and proven racecar than it is to build it.

80's old school

iTrader: (7)

Does NASA have autocross events??

rusaccord

For everyone worrying about classes, I ask one question, what's your purpose in autocrossing? If you want to compete seriously, then yeah, classes are very important. If, however, you only plan to autocross to race against the clock and improve your own skills, then the class you get thrown in doesn't really matter at all.

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

true, but at some point you may want to actually compete, and in that case it would be lame to have to make big changes.

SCCA is weird about that too, a friend of mine had to replace the A pillar plastic trim, so he could legally race.

Kentetsu

If he wants to race, as he implied, he would be wiser to make a few decisions now. Since he is starting with a "clean" build, he would be doing himself a favor to set his goals before he starts buying parts or making changes. Otherwise, he might end up with that one part that keeps him out of a class he could actually be competetive in.

And I understand what you are saying about just improving his own time by racing the clock, but it's still quite rewarding to compete against cars that are actually somewhat comparable to your own, and winning is even more fun.

I race in CSP class, which in my opinion is a great class to compete in. It allows you to make nearly all of the changes that you would want to make anyway to produce a really nice performing street car. Plus, there's lots of Miatas in that class, and they are very tasty and nutritious (although they can tend to be a bit chewy at times).

So, making some basic decisions now, could save the OP some work in the long run...



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80's old school

iTrader: (7)

This is a very valid question and one I asked myself and anyone competing in autocross should ask theirself..

I am an ex-drag racer... I wanted to do something different and have friends who autocross.

I want to be in a class to judge my improvements in driving and improvements to the car.

I want to keep the FUN in autocross racing, there once was a time in my drag racing that if I was not winning, I was not having fun.

So being said, I am doing my autocross car cheaply to learn the sport and improve.

If I feel I want to be more competitive on anything other than regional and other local events, I will retire the RX-7 and buy/build a car that is competitive.

If you look in the back of an SCCA rules book they show the results of the Nationals for years past.... A 1st gen RX-7 has not been competitive since the 80's and that was only in stock class. CSP and FP never has had a 1st gen to be competitive.

So...IF one wants to become competitive on a larger scale....buy the right tool!!!

1st gen is fun to learn in and just plain.......fun...

phantommaggot

im not trying to be a pro or anything.. i dont think i have the back ground for it.
but i do love me some auto cross and first gen rx-7s
given if another nice hard top mr2 pops up im going with that.

lol, reading the rules usually disappoints me..
mostly because i want a completely daily drivable car out of anything id build.
if i was worried about building something to compete only on the track id build an sv650 or something.

that being said im pretty much stuck in auto-x and other solo events as most others require a cage. and as much as id like to, i think a cage would be a bit ..... extreme... for my taste..

i still havent gotten over there to look at the car as i have been working late.
but i will soon.

if i can ill take pics..

80's old school

iTrader: (7)

Go for it....and give some autocrossing a try....you will enjoy it!!

mustanghammer

iTrader: (3)

You know, I am not sure. I was a NASA member in 06 and at that time they were working on an autocross program. Check out their website. They do some racing classes that the RX7 fits into though.

mustanghammer

iTrader: (3)

80's old school, before you read this, I want you to know that I am not picking on you.

Okay, I just looked over the Champions list in the back of the SCCA Solo II rule book. I have decided that by and large RX7 autocrossers must be whiners and you all give up WAY to early.

First off - CSP. The fact that there are no 1st Gen RX7's in the rule book isn't because no one tried. There were a number of VERY fast RX7's in CSP in the past. They just didn't win but in more than one year they were very close. The fact that an RX3 pulled this off as late as 2003 ought to give you some hope. An RX3 is a great car but an RX7 has a few advantages. For example the engine is placed better in an RX7 and the car sits lower to begin with. With respect to the RX3 that won several times, I saw (and HEARD) that car run and it was really freaking fast. It helps that the driver is equally awesome. He is now kicking *** in E Prepared....but I think the car is different.

F Prepared. I have always wondered why there weren't 50 1st Gen RX7's at Nationals running in the class. I have seen several of them at Nationals over the years and one scored an FPL Championship (it was a really good car too). But there were never allot of them there and I think some of that had to do with the carb rules that used to be in the class. Since the rules were based on club racing rules and a Weber IDA was required in many cases. This was a turn off. Now the induction rules are wide open - you can run any carb or EFI system you want.

In my opinion FP is the PERFECT class for a fist gen RX7 because the stuff you can't change (without a 10% weight penalty) is really good. Such as engine placement that puts most, if not all, of the engine behind the front axle center line. Also, the engine, because if it's design, has a low center of gravity. In addtion, the wheel base is short and the car is relatively narrow even in wide body form.

Mechanically the cars are great because, as we know, a Rotary engine is a reliable piece so it is reasonable to expect a racing engine to last many more years than a competitors piston popper. There are weight specs for a P-Port, Bridgie, and Renesis and the displacement/weight formula is better for a Rotary than a Piston engine.

But the best reason....the cars are CHEAP to get a hold of and rust isn't a big issue because of what the rules allow you to do.

For the stuff that is not so great about a 1st Gen the Prepared rules allow you a way out. For example, you can run a rack and pinion steering box either as a front steer or rear steer. You could even run power steering and a steering quickener. Also, because suspension pickup points are free you can run a 3 or 4 link rear suspension that is fully adjustable and in perfect geometry. The rules also allow you to replace the Mac Strut front end with a double A-Arm suspension.

So...quit bitching about the rules and listening to the guys telling you can't compete. Get out your tools, welders and check books and get after it.

Kentetsu

CSP is fun, but I've always wanted one of Billy's rack & pinion setups, which I can't have unless I move up in class. FP sounds interesting, I'll have to read up on it. I don't know if we even have any cars racing in FP around here.

And yes, I also have wondered why the results listing isn't peppered with RX7s. In my opinion, they are certainly capable of winning.

And, to the OP; In my opinion, my car is set up damn near perfectly to be competetive in CSP, and it is also still my daily driver. It is quite comfortable on the road, and a hell of a lot of fun. The wife and I even took her down to North Carolina and back last spring for the tail of the dragon meet. The wife bitched a bit, but she's required to do that no matter what (otherwise she wouldn't be a woman).

But then again, I've seen a few CSP RX7s that are definitely not streetable, let alone a daily driver. The biggest difference is in the spring rates. I went with springs that most would consider to be pretty soft (275/150), and I use ride height and good swaybars to compensate. I am very happy with this setup, and it seems to work pretty darned good.

So I don't think you need to make your car unstreetable in order to compete. Just choose the right components and you'll end up with a car that can win, and still pick up the groceries afterward.

80's old school

iTrader: (7)

Ha HA....I knew I would get "called out" on my oversimplistic example of RX-7's not being competitive!!!

No offense taken!

You know, who knows where my project will end up... I have really considered going FP simply because I could finally do all the stuff I REALLY wanted to do in the first place..

I will continue racing my RX-7 and who knows???.... we will see what the future brings...

The part I love about autocross racing and especially my car.... You pull the car out of the garage....go race her all day....put the car back in the garage and forget about it till the next race day... This car has been so damn reliable!!!

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

i'll third the streetable CSP thing. my friend has one, and its totally streetable. full interior, muffler, stock carb....

i think he's even running 400/250 springs (something like that) with the panhard/3rd link and it rides really nice, mine is 350/175 and it seems a little soft actually.

80's old school

iTrader: (7)

What kind of springs are you running?? Do they mount in the stock spring perches, or are you running an adjustable coil over setup??

Kentetsu

350/175 feels soft? What shocks are you using?

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

front is coilovers, rear are the rx7 spec eibachs

illumnias, mr2 fronts. i'm still setting things up, so i don't have a lot of miles on it yet...

Jeezus

iTrader: (4)

Man, my 425/200's are enough to launch the car on a nice hill...