Lonetlan's Dream FC is go!
 

I'm making this thread to document progress and help people who may do the same in the future.

My dream is coming true!

I've had my first FC/first car since Febuary 09. Its an 87 Rx7 GXL I got it with 179,776 miles and drove it until 180,991 miles. I'm the third owner so its been around the block a few times. My transmission died a week ago, so I posted,"should I go turbo, or swap transmissions?" I checked it and everyone said to swap the tranny, I thought to my self, if I do that, the engine will quit out, I can't have that. So I'm going to do my first ever major engine transformation, TII swap. I know,"get a blown usdm engine and fix it." I would, but time is of the essence. I have until August 18th to Swap, bodywork, and show off my car. I've been thinking of doing this swap like a week after I got my car. Only until now, I've been looking up on how to cover my bases and do it correctly.

So, I have made many calls and sent many e-mails to many JDM importing facilities. The one that I chose is Tigerjapenese because a member named 2rotorspeed had success with his. JSA motors is also a good choice if anyone wants to get a motor from them, but if you just want to know how they inspect an engine, they try to make you buy it right then and there. Tigerjapense and JSA Motors, in my research are good, because they visualy inspect the engine, and hand crank them to check if the engine is seized. I hate that on all importing sites,"Rotary engines are not covered with a warranty."

What I need to get and plans:
S5 TII and transmission(I can't find any S4s, whats done is done)
Resurface flywheel
Blow-off valve
Turbo fuel cut(essential for tuning)
Street/Race clutch(it will be stiffer)
pilot bearing(always change with a new clutch)
Solid mounts(engine and tranny)
poly bushing set(obviously mine are worn)
S5 drivetrain(driveshaft, and diffrential)
S5 ECU and harness(its a N/A harness and a TII ECU)
Apexi Power FC(want to learn how to tune)
Exhaust system(downpipe is included)
Gauges(oil pressure, EGT, Boost, AFM)
Convert to 4 pot on the back(also mess with the brake booster and remove ABS)
Intake(going to try AAI style)
New locks and alarm
Re-locate battery
Fix window and do amp mod
Seats
Seatbelts(if you yank on my seat belts as hard as you can, they don't lock up)
Strut tower bars
Sway bar(bigger one in the front)
Wheel spacers(I got 16x7 wheels, front need 5mm, back need 20mm)
Steering wheel(Mabe nardi)
Fix or get new seats(20 year old seats are worn)

I will have pics, and some videos of what I'm doing.
Woohoo!

AHHH! Wait.
Look up a member japan2la for a motor. Do not go tiger japanese. It's nothing but HORROR stories from them. Search for yourself.

all of this is going to be done by 8-18-09?

ill watch and see.

stupid laggy computer today, caused me to double post.

beefhole- sweet sig

o.p.- good luck

The plans seem nice. Where the engine is coming from turns the list into:
"S5 TII and REBUILD"

Pics of what it looks like now...
 

Its rough...
I'm not a pro photographer, so these may look like an eye soar:

mileage
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r...d/SANY0261.jpg

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r...d/SANY0255.jpg

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r...d/SANY0256.jpg

+3 bodywork skills
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r...d/SANY0257.jpg

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r...d/SANY0259.jpg

interior
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r...d/SANY0263.jpg

tomorrow, I'll do bodywork

if I am about to fail, than I will learn next time.

the only reason it seems like your going to fail is because you chose a finish date of 8-18-09..thats 13 days away.

you chose goals that are realistic, but then you chose a date that is near impossible.

ill still watch until the 18th.

i would suggest ordering all of your planned parts asap, because chances are some will not be in your hands within 13 days. bodywork can wait until the car is worthy of "bodywork".

yeah the date.... a little lofty... check my build thread, and this is my 5th turbo swap, and my 17th overall engine pull/install.

DO NOT BUY FROM TIGER JAPANESE!!! I can't say this enough! Please do your research here, on these forums, rather than somewhere else!!

On RCC:

http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_foru...ead.php?t=8675

If you still buy from them after reading this, I will roll on the ground and laugh at you!

Also:

What I need to get and plans:
S5 TII and transmission(I can't find any S4s, whats done is done) Will most certainly need a rebuild if you buy from Tiger Japanese or other dodgy importers! You might have to replace everything!
Resurface flywheel
Blow-off valve
Turbo fuel cut(essential for tuning) Not needed if you have a Power FC
Street/Race clutch(it will be stiffer) Also make sure the clutch hydraulics are in good condition, in case you go with a very aggressive pressure plate
pilot bearing(always change with a new clutch)
Solid mounts(engine and tranny)
poly bushing set(obviously mine are worn)
S5 drivetrain(driveshaft, and diffrential)
S5 ECU and harness(its a N/A harness and a TII ECU) ECU not needed if you have a Power FC
Apexi Power FC(want to learn how to tune) Buy a wideband O2 also, be very careful about the tuning!
Exhaust system(downpipe is included)
Gauges(oil pressure, EGT, Boost, AFM)
Convert to 4 pot on the back(also mess with the brake booster and remove ABS) Not necessary, IMO
Intake(going to try AAI style)
New locks and alarm
Re-locate battery
Fix window and do amp mod
Seats
Seatbelts(if you yank on my seat belts as hard as you can, they don't lock up)
Strut tower bars
Sway bar(bigger one in the front)
Wheel spacers(I got 16x7 wheels, front need 5mm, back need 20mm)
Steering wheel(Mabe nardi)
Fix or get new seats(20 year old seats are worn)

Dude trust me Rx-7s are plannings worst enemy, Either funding isn't what you planned or weather is not compliant.. You'll run into a list of problems :dunno:

Do us all a favor and change the due date

good luck? deff wanna see how it turns out by the due date/goal

well at least you made a list. That at least tells us you have goals and you are not lazy.

throw some coilovers on the list =)

THANK YOU SOO MUCH FOR THAT LINK!! Tigerjapenese sucks, but they were so nice, how could they?! I searched ,"Do not buy from Tigerjapenese" on google, seems like all their engines are blown. So I'd hate to ask this but, where is it safe to get an engine? Oklahoma junk yards are firm on their bad prices.

The date given is one day before school starts. Since I have 6 of my friends that are willing to help, I could get it done by then, maybe. I work more efficient on something I want to be proud of. And they hate riding in my "fade job" car. Its gonna be a lighter blue though.

Money is not an option, at all. Ok, my budget is $10,000, but I don't want to break $5,555(yes, five thousand,five hundred and fifty five)

I am so excited to get started. I'm gonna be waking up early and go to sleep late for this!

Coilovers sound like a good idea, I may, I may not. My goal for this machine is track and gymkana, but mostly track. I'm not a fan of going as fast as you can on a one way street. I like to explore the capabilities of how the car reacts in turns.

I left some stuff off the list I made here ,its on my paper, like a fuel pump, brake rotors, subframe bushings, and stereo(basic one, I don't bump)

Oh yeah, off-topic, but where should I post a thread when I make my spray booth? Some people would maybe like to see how to DIY if they don't have space in their garage, like me.

Haha, at least some of you believe in me!

Man, you could have bought a quality built turbo 2 with that budget!

I am going to have to say :BS:

Hope to be proved wrong...

Also you Mentioned Gymkana, yet you do not have an appropriate suspension listed on you build... Also a Cage is really needed for that type of motorsport.

Also if you are planning on dumping $5555 (silly number BTW, i mean seriously) into your car, the #1 thing you should do is buy a motor from a reputable source, and ontop of that I wonder why if you have $10,000 why you wouldnt just break the bank and order one you knew was good, not a $650 motor from the bottom of the barrel importer... Next you will post up that you are going to buy a motor from OSAKAJDM...

With your budget- even the $5555 you can buy a nice T2 or swapped car...

To throw a wrench in the gears, did anybody else notice he's putting a S5 motor into a S4 chassis? And he expects to have a PFC wired up in less than a week AND RUNNING.

If you were only swapping the motor, I think it MIGHT be possible if you knew what you were doing and devoted all your time to it.

But you want to swap the drivetrain also. You better slap at least another week or two on there. You know the only semi-easy way to get the old subframe mounts out is to burn them out with a torch, right?

4-pots on the back is completely unnecessary. Is this going to be a road-race car or something? Wheres the 8-pot endless front brake upgrade? Are you modifying and installing a 929 master cylinder too?

You want to do Gymkhana? Your going to need some coil-overs. Body roll will be hell and a half without. While your there, you might as well change your tie rods and steering knuckles. Like RRTEC said, and I completely agree, a cage is going to be very much needed.


Not to be mean, but you need to be realistic about your goals. You probably won't even be done getting all the parts till after the 18th. This project should have a deadline of a couple months, not a couple weeks.

i did my swap in 10 days, S4 GXL to S4 Jspec....that includes; N/A motor pull, rebuild of jspec, full drive train(cleaned and painted) swap, struts/springs install, custom intercooler/piping, and installing Microtech LT10s....took a day and a half to get it to fire up. that was all in 10 days at about 10 hours a day. rotary mechanic + myself(very inexperienced at that time)

the motor drive train swap will be done but honestly man you would have to log some serious hours each day somewhere in the number of 15-20 to come close to everything you want to do. by all means tackle this shit running but the more time you spend on here less likely you'll get it done. Good luck dude.

and just like g14novak said it will take a couple weeks just to get the parts....i had all mine on hand before i even started the build. it took about 17 days to get all the parts in....

I have worked from 5am to 3pm(im on my break). In my opinion, I am definatly putting alot of my time into this considering my short timeframe. Honestly, my budget is $5555, but thats cash on hand. the $4445 is if something goes horribly wrong(you guys want to see that, I don't)and I need to cover it. I got that crazy number roughly figureing out what I need.
I'm not shooting for a full on track car, i'm more on the lines of,"stock, with a little Umph". I know I sound stupid, but let it slide(or not).

true, I really didn't want to list everything I was gonna do because some of it is stupid and has been seen, and is generally asscociated in some builds. The 4 pot brakes sound like a good idea, but I still have to remeber that it is a sports car and that it is fully capable to preform its best in almost any situation. Right now, my suspension is Tanabe GF, Monroes, So I didn't really want to go the coilover route just yet. But i will.

I got sturnly talked to by TigerJapenese when I called them out. So I indeed did more research and found an S4 13bt for a reasonable price, and it comes with ECU and harness. So a couple things are scratched off the list.

Today, Off and on rain. when it rained, I was in my car taking screws out. When it stopped, I was straightening metal, and grinding. It doesn't sound like the progress you all imagined.

well my budget was about 4500 i already owned the engine though.....i ended up spending about 6K 2200 was for the rebuild kit, microtech, and harness.

the S4 13BT will speed up your build as long as it is in good running condition.

I guess a factor I am not considering is the "quality" of the build too.. Not knocking your build, but when I pull an engine, tranny ect, I sand and paint the engine bay, undercoat the chassis, replace all soft lines, ect.. Basically eliminate every possible weak point.

I am a project manager by trade, and you always have to OVER estimate the time needed when you plan to meet a deadline..

I am stoked to see your build, and NOONE here wants to see you fail. Also regardless what anyone thinks, it really shouldnt matter to you..

I'll be checking in. Also for some inspiration and to put things in perspective, look at JuiceH and his thread.... Mine is a halfass build compared to his, and I am spending a lot of time on detail work on mine.

so, you have 9 days left until 8-18.

do you have a swap in your hands yet?