ray green

iTrader: (14)

Last Monday morning on my way into work, traveling the speed limit out on I85, I experienced a sudden loss of power in the White One. I had it towed home and the diagnosis began:







So the diagnosis is no compression in the rear rotor. Time to switch to the Silver One, which has been sitting in the woods for a couple years and was full of wasps

ray green

iTrader: (14)

So wife Cathy helped me tow the Silver One out with her Jeep and I parked her alongside the White One, in preparation for The Swap





RX-friend Mike came over on Wednesday and helped strip needed parts from the White One and install the intake manifold on the Silver One









On Thursday FC guys Colin and Collin came over to lend a hand

ray green

iTrader: (14)

Then I started cleaning up the engine bay and adding details

ray green

iTrader: (14)

ray green

iTrader: (14)

And here’s where it stands this evening (Sunday)









A few more details after work tomorrow evening

Bleed brakes and clutch
Add coolant
Clear transmission fluid from the rotors
Connect whatever still isn't connected

and the Silver One should be ready to wake from her two year sleep. More then.

FunK73

iTrader: (6)

Aww I'm sorry to hear about your loss of the white one. Im a sucked for white FBs lol. Hopefully your build goes better than mine!

Are you planning on taking the motor out and apart from the white one? Maybe some parts are salvagable

White81Z28

iTrader: (4)

Sorry about your loss.

Are you going to be using the radio in the pick? IF not, I would like to buy it from you. Just radio, not cassette or Eq.

Nice work btw!!!

PercentSevenC

What's to become of the White One? TII swap?

trochoid

iTrader: (6)

Clean the engine bay, I almost fell out of my chair. That engine bay is cleaner, in better shape and less rusty than most 1st gens on the road. Nice to see such a quick and organized swap.

Super82

iTrader: (1)

Damn clean car man, jeeeze your second RX7 behind the garage is cleaner than mine, and by no means is my car in bad shape. For a second there I was worried that you were going to loose out on your clean white one and go to some rusted out junk out in the woods. Any plans to make this one even better?

Directfreak

iTrader: (2)

I figured you would have just swapped the silver cars engine onto the white one.

twinkletoes

iTrader: (17)

Thats what I was thinking...

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

Ray, i was going to ask the same thing as the above two posts..why not take the good engine out of the silver one and transplant it into the white car? i guess its good to get some use out of 7's that are just sitting. is this car the same silver one you had bought with the really little low profile tires?

ray green

iTrader: (14)

Yes that's what my wife said, why don't you just take the good engine out of the Silver One and put it in the White One. The answer is:

1) The Silver One (103,000 miles) is a better car even than the White One (170,000 miles).

2) After three years and 90,000+ miles in the White One, I'm in the mood for a change.

3) Now my 1st gen will match my 2002 MP5, which is also silver

4) Once I get the Silver One road worthy (hopefully today) I can turn my attention to pulling the engine in the White One and start doing a rebuild, which I've always wanted to do. With some help from the local 12A community (Crit, Billy, Holly, etc) I think we could put together something interesting and put it back in the White One, which will then be ready to take over again if the Silver One decides to take a break.

Dave yes the Silver car is the one I bought for $1200 a few years ago from an Atlanta guy named Zach who needed some quick money for a trip to China to do charity work. The one with the almost new go cart Sumitomo HTR 200 195/50/13 tires (never could figure that one out, Zach said they were good for "drifting"; I gave them to RX-7 friend Mike, who was planning to autocross). Here's what the Silver One looked like then:







At the time I had just put the White One on the road and had two complete parts cars so I didn't think I really needed the car, but Zach gave me a fantastic deal and I couldn't say no (the wife and the neighbors weren't as convinced).

The Silver One has some nice mods, mainly a newly installed RB header with 2 1/4" piping all the way back, with a magnaflow cat (never had a cat in a 7, that could be interesting) and a tiny little Borla "muffler". It was loud when parked, hope I can used to it. (If not the RB system in the White One will get transplanted). Also hawk pads all around and a body to die for, not a spot of rust and tight as a whistle.

And I do like that Silver, right up there with White in my book.

So hopefully the Silver One won't throw any surprises and will start right up later today, if so she should be ready to go to work tomorrow. No real plans to do anything beyond getting her road worthy, spiffing things up a bit and posting more pictures.

White81Z28, I noticed a nice looking stock clarion radio on ebay last night, they usually go for around $20-$30, take a look:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...K%3AMEWAX%3AIT

However if you don't want or don't get that one, sure you can have the unit in the White One, just pay shipping (send me a pm with shipping address). It would be better to have it playing music than sitting in the White One for the next year or two, or three, or four....

Thanks for the condolences and compliments guys! I'm taking the day today to see if I can finish the job.

DivinDriver

iTrader: (15)

The swapover actually makes a lot of sense; most of what you moved in the engine compartment would need to come off the White One in order to pull and rebuild the motor, and this way, you only have to pull one motor, instead of pulling two and installing one, to have a roadworthy car.

And it gave you an excuse to halt entropy on the Silver One. And evict the wasps.

Your guys seem to work well together; I've always wondered what it would be like to do a team project. I've always had to be a solo act on my rotary stuff; at most, I've ever had one frined helping, and he wasn't rotary-literate.

Nice job all round; I look forward hearing of the White One's roar of life.

ray green

iTrader: (14)

Thanks DD, and right with the decision, stealing from the White One to make the Silver One whole is making a lot of sense. Only thing is I should have taken it a step further and removed the aftermarket aluminum water pump from the White One while I was at it, turns out the original pump from the Silver car has a leaking seal, which I discovered first thing this morning after installing the upper rad hose and adding water. Duh.

So now all this work from yesterday is undone:



I'm back down to the water pump housing, cleaning up the aluminum pump from the White One and doing a reinstall. Good thing is being aluminum, it will match the silver color scheme.

So so far today, one step forward, three steps back. We'll see what the rest of the day brings.

The rotary community in this area is spectacular, always there to help whatever you need. It has really grown in the last two years, here's a link to yesterday's Event at Crit's Lake House, which I missed because I'm too proud to show up in a boinger. The rotorheads are probably out there hanging in the woodwork in your community too, waiting for you to organize a monthly meeting!

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...76#post9415876

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

Ray, i can really sympathize with you on this change. as an owner of five RX-7's, an RX-8, a 63 Falcon(my first car), a 95 Ranger (work truck), an 88 F-150 (winter vehicle), and a 93 Camry SE (V6 w/ a 5spd), i am all about a change in scenery ever so often. my wife however, is not always so supporting. as Glen mentioned, you are extremely lucky to have friends that are willing to help you. i have one and he's an engine builder for a living and builds race boinger and dynos them and all that happy crap. leaves him vicariously vindicated i surmise...

at my place i am a solo act as well. my wife is too busy with the kids to share my enjoyment in rotaries and when i go cruising through the countryside on my days off, its just me and the 7. i hope when my kids are a little older they'll share the same enthusiasm of 7's as their dad does my daughter loves my 7's and always wants to sit in them and play. its a good start:

Tobias

iTrader: (1)

Is that a freaking beehive? I'm not talking about the oil cooler either! is that a beehive in the car?!

I have a bit of a phobia of bee's. I'd have brought fire with me before starting the restoration on the silver one! Haha!

openshot

sorry to head about the white one. hope every thing goes well with the silver one

ray green

iTrader: (14)

Nothing to worry about Tobias, those are wasps, not bees. They zapped me a couple times but I got the upper hand in the end, thanks to wife Cathy coming to the rescue



The car is all mine now, ALL MINE!

Looks like you've got a suitable heir in place for all those rotaries Dave, now you just need to thin out some of those boingers (not the Falcon).



I got the new water pump in and worked on the tail lights, here's an update.

Tail light and center piece fix:





New Aluminum water pump:

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

wow Ray that thing looks great! you're really making progres! do you plan to have it on the road by close of business today

'87 turbo II

iTrader: (1)

Yeah Ray, I wish I could have helped out on this one, but yeah, I've worked with most of the guys that have helped you out as well, I am very happy us OGTA members can all be so close.

I can't wait to see the silver one next month.

ray green

iTrader: (14)

It's all about the Rotary Love, what goes around comes around.

Dave, no way will the Silver One be off the stilts tonight, but I might get a vid of the first start up in two years a bit later in the evening. I just put in the dizzy and the battery is charging.

Crit

iTrader: (6)

Anything you need up there, Ray?

ray green

iTrader: (14)

Beer.