Right now I'm kicking myself for letting my Mazdacomp membership lapse. Need to order about $300 in parts from them, or $400 if I buy them anywhere else.. grrr....

 

Series 4 NA cars had three cats. Two pre cats and a main cat. Series 5 NA cars did away with the second pre-cat.

 

just tell them you're building a RCS car

They actually deactivated mine mid last year because I hadn't updated my results

 

i know, they seem to have gone thru the database and actually shut the people down that hadn't updated in a while!

maybe you should do a couple of auto-x's in this T2? it might be more like yachting, but just for fun

 

I'm using the the bonez 3" core fabbed up to replace the 3" pre-silencer (On an RB RevII system). Passes emissions just fine. No noticeable drop in performance. I suspect I'd get a little quicker spool without it, but I also want to replace the stock flywheel/boat anchor.
+1 for the steel flywheel.

 

Oh, I plan to do a couple autocrosses in it, just for old times sake. But they won't let me buy parts without current results (this is different from their old policy).

 

Eligibility Requirements
TTo be eligible for the purchase of any parts through the MAZDASPEED MOTORSPORTS DEVELOPMENT team support program, including stock and competition parts, you must be registered in our program with current race results, or building a new car and be able to prove membership in a racing organization.


you're building a new car and belong to SCCA.

 

I understand that is what it says, but that is not what they are currently doing. Their website is outdated.

 

we are still waiting for the update to the 1997 competition catalog!

really there are only like 2-3 guys in the competition department, and its a small budget (Mazda usa isn't very big anyways). the other thing is that periodically the dealerships get annoyed, because Mazda isn't supposed to sell direct to customers.

so yeah you can expect them to audit the database once and a while, and not update the website!

 

I think everything will be OK, I just haven't heard back from the guy that I spoke to in a couple days.

 

Minor update. Got all my parts ordered. For the exterior, I bought a new top windshield molding, new hatch molding and new outer window moldings. I removed the wiper arms front and rear as well as the cowl plate in preparation for painting them since they're faded and had some surface rust in spots.

For under the hood, new vacuum lines for under the UIM (the oil injection spider), a t-stat, a fuel filter, a new BAC valve air hose (really odd size, and while I could use some home depot tubing I want the car to look totally original), and some other miscellaneous odds and ends. I made a blockoff plate for the cold-start assist fluid and yanked that tank and the little injector. I also saw the brake master cylinder was leaking so I bought a re-manufactured unit. The car already has a new clutch, new brakes, new plugs and quality wires, and all the other vacuum lines replaced so we're good there. I fixed the sticking throttle body and cleaned up everything.

Got the door handles fixed and working properly so both the doors open. Removed the seats and started to clean the carpets (just minor surface staining, so I'll use a steam vac and get it all spiffed up). I bought new shifter bushings to fix the nonexistent ones causing the shifter to be all wobbly.

Finished cleaning the engine bay (holy ****, what a project). Checked the functionality of all of the solenoids on the emissions rack and everything is good.

Yanked the stock pre-cat (which is in great condition!) in preparation for the RX Rev TII exhaust I bought used from the classifieds. I'm going to put a catalytic converter ahead of the pre-silencer, since I do have kind of a conscience and have access to a welder. I also don't want to put an FCD on the car, so I'm hoping that will help keep boost levels down a little.

I'm on travel in Mexico right now but when I get home I have a few weeks of work to do to get the car looking 100% and running like new. This is going to be a great little car; I still am floored by how solid and original it is and how straight the body is.

 

Awesome man, It's almost like you've done this a few times before . I just really wonder when you're going to get the itch for a bigger turbo!

 

re: outer window moldings. does that include the entire lower horizontal molding? best place to purchase and how much?

re: "I also don't want to put an FCD on the car". as a minimum, an Rtek7 v1.5!

 

Upper and lower are separate parts. Cheapest price without a membership is going to be Malloy Mazda in Woodbridge VA. Ray or Casey will beat any other competitor on OEM pricing and ship worldwide. 703-490-8263 is the parts direct number.

 

Many, many, many times it seems

No big turbo. New tires, fix what's broken, update everything maintenance related (fluids / filters / injectors / thermostat etc), clean it and get it back on the road. I already have way more $ into it than I had planned. But it will be absolutely killer when I'm done, I think.

 

As I would expect from captain OCD

 

Good to find one all in tack with no mods. Good find.

 

Been a busy week back at work, but I got around to finishing a few things.

Yanked the thermostat housing (and broke a bolt in the process) and replaced the OE thermostat with a new one from Mazda. Chuckled that the original thermostat said "Made in Japan" while the new one clearly says "Made in China."

While I was under the car I checked the sway bar links, ball joints, tie rod ends and rear end links. Everything seems nice and tight so I don't plan on replacing any of it. This car didn't see a very hard life - it was a commuter for many years so it had a lot of highway miles on it (if you can call 74k a lot).

Got my injectors back from Witch Hunter. None were particularly terrible and there was only a 2.2% flow difference across all four injectors. But they were all about 20cc low in flow before the cleaning, and they all needed new isolators, o-rings and pintle caps. Well worth the investment for peace of mind. Got the new fuel filter installed and replaced the rubber fuel lines as well. One had a small nick in it, which explains the little puddle of gas on my driveway

I removed the wiper arms and the front cowl piece, blasted them, hit them with some etching primer and sprayed them satin black which looks really nice. Made a huge difference to the look of the car since they were so faded and rusty. Lastly, I replaced the top windshield molding which had pulled away from the car and ripped.

I bought a magnaflow 3" cat and will be welding that into the downpipe of the Rev TII exhaust I picked up. I'd like the car to be able to pass emissions . Hopefully I'll be able to fire it up next weekend!

JV

 

Nice to hear you're making progress, I've still gotta replace most of everything in my engine bay-including the engine.

I'm hoping to hear mine fire up by June.

Rotary >Pistons

 

Any updates John?

It is still snowy and cold here but I have to force myself out to the garage and start wrenching on my.

 

I was out of town for a week. I got to work on it a little today. Got the Racing Beat Rev TII exhaust installed loosely, enough to check for fitment of the catalytic converter that I'm putting in the downpipe. Seems like it should fit.

Installed the rebuilt lower fuel injectors and fuel rail. I noticed what I think is a problem, though. There is a vacuum port that I believe is an air bleed (vertical port) in between the middle two oil injectors. It seems like it's been plugged internally with some sort of goop, that or it got contaminated and filled with gunk, maybe from the sub-zero system. I guess I need to get that opened back up, but I'm not sure how. Small drill bit maybe?

The vacuum diagram on the car shows that line being connected to the second port down from the top on the firewall side of the dynamic chamber. I am assuming this is a critical vacuum connection?

 

I'd try a small drill bit or some tiny wire, then spray it with carb cleaner.

 

Sweet find. Look forward to seeing more on it.

 

Good suggestion. I used a drill bit to get through it initially and then a piece of piano wire to get through the bend in the LIM.

Once I cut my sub-zero blockoff plate I'll be able to get the UIM on and try to fire it up!

John

 

Since you're dealing with the injectors and clearing the bleed vacuum ports, you should consider replacing the orings on the air bleeds. You may have already done it, but I didn't notice you mention it and it can substantially affect your idle quality.

Glad you found such a clean rotary revival project