V-mount and other stuff. -Pictures-
 

So the third reconstruction of my TurboII swapped first gen continues. Im working from the front of the car and moving back. So far I have removed all bodywork and lights, and have begin removing and prepping everything for paint. The V-mount is about 90% complete, I still have to have my mounts welded onto the radiator. Once that's done I can have everything bolted up and starting shaping up shrouds and close everything up. I also got an idea of how I'm going to mount the oil cooler but ran out of materials and will have to make another trip to my local true value. I also got the remote oil filter mount, mounted onto the back firewall. With the proper filters it should increase oil system capacity by nearly 2 quarts.

Still plenty left to do, the plan is to have absolutely everything in the engine bay either Flat black, aluminum or stainless steel. All visible hardware in the engine bay, from water pump bolts to fender bolts will be Stainless steel hex pan head bolts. The radiator and intercooler will be cleaned up with matching aluminum boost tubes. Fuel and brake lines will be totally rerun in stainless.

starting to mess with the interior a bit. Planning and completely redoing the guages with carbon fiber Autometer units on a stainless sheet, vs the cheapo sport-comps on mild steel (which is rusting). Seams like Im spending a lot of time redoing things that I put together when I was 17 (im 27 now). I also pulled the seat slider off the factory seat. Maybe its because I have an "S" base model, but the seat sliders are beautifully simple. I'm planning on using Summit Racing sport seat and Ill either use the factory sliders on the new seats, or cut the base off them and use them as adapters for the new sliders.

I will be keeping my Hurst pistol grip shifter and Mantiss shifter boot that still looks great after 7+ years.

anyways, here's two more pics

I considered doing this but the intercooler I got was too big, will watch your refresh with interest. What radiator is that - are you going to alter the top hose position or just have a long top hose?

Have you mounted the hood to check clearence on the intercooler? Also, are you venting the hood? Very interested on seeing how that turns out :icon_tup:

I just completed this very task on my Race Car. Except, I have the intercooler almost parallel with the ground on the bottom and the rad angled forward.

The intercooler I have is massive and wouldn't fit between the core support and the engine.

is that a stock wheel? i have never seen a two spoke wheel.

the front leading edge is flush with the hood, which will be vented, and the intercooler will be very visible. Which was the plan. the look of the engine bay will extend out to the exterior. everything will be flat black, stainless steel, or aluminum

the radiator is some universal "chevy style" meaning that it is a passenger low, and drivers side high. It will have a long hose with a fill/overflow/cap in the middle. it will likely be mounted to a strut bar.

My car (well, the body, cuz almost everything else is reworked) is an 1982 model "S", the absolute lowest, cheapest base model that you could get of this car. It is in fact the lightest Rx7 that was ever made, including series 1 cars. this car had Zero options when it was originally ordered. So i guess you only get two spokes instead of three with the base.

The body and the main interior parts of this car are the only things that are original.


I am almost done with the oil cooler mounts, ill post some pics when that happens

Got the oil cooler mounted this evening. Im pretty happy with how it turned out. I strive to have the simplest of solution to every problem. the way I see it, the simpler it is, the less likely it is to fail. The hoses on there are just to keep it from leaking oil all over the place while I fit things up and in no way represent the final positioning of the oil cooler lines. (disclaimer)

anyways. things are moving smoothly, im hoping to have the engine bay empty and start priming in two weeks or less. But I am worried about the weather causing problems with painting. we're having a weird summer here in Minnesota. Save for one horrible day when we had a record 103 degress, its been like 60 and really humid, which is probably not the best for paint. I know it doesn't work well with me. I find myself at work, cold, and sweating like crazy; feels like I'm sick.

Anyways, here's some more pics.

three things
1) love the enthusiasm on the project, I am doing a lot of the same to my turbo FB

2) i would be very carefull in what seats you purchase, measure how thick the ass part of the seat is, unless you like driving with your head out the sunroof the entire time and never being able to wear a helmet

3) why is the oil cooler inlet/outlet on the wrong side of the chassis ? seems like those lines are going to be extra long for no reason

Its the only way I could make it fit the way I wanted. It is usually behind that crossmember and so the mounts face forward and the inlet/outlet are on the Drivers side. Im mounting it on the front of the crossmember, so everything is backwards. Its the same way I had it originally, I just make much better mounts.