Just to add this: The intercooler looks like a (heavily) modified Mitsubishi Starion/Chrsyler Conquest (same car) intercooler... I'm using the same one on my car.. The weld work isn't the best ever, but you're probably not anywhere near the air flow levels with that stock turbo that it'd be a restriction/problem, either.

your s5 TII is faster the the s4 TII so stock for stock you have a good platform already.

only 20hp faster then the s4 but that was 20 years ago:lol::lol::lol:

I came to my senses and decided for sure to keep the car. Now I am on the hunt for a good donor interior and other misc stuff I will need. In the meantime, I'll start tearing out the interior and checking the wiring. I need to rebuild the brakes, clutch master and slave and about a million little things. Should be fun. You all will probably get tired of all the upcoming questions, but I'll do my best to read the archives first!

thats why were here to help each other. i learn and teach on here.mostly learn:lol:
but good choice man. my TII has been on stands for 3 months now.lol

I premixed my 85 rx7 for years even tho the omp was working i think that's Y i had 225000 miles on it.

but ya good thing you are keeping this car. its worth more then u can think. my 85 rx7 has no interior just a dash board gauges, seats some carpets and door panels looks like crap but runs ok :D
i consider that stuff last things on my list. and its extra $$ i can spend on more HP.

once the car is ready for the road you should get a wide band o2 sensor so you can monitor how the exhaust gases are that's if it don't have one already?....

baldpuki - I know this sounds really obvious, but it sounds like your first project of this caliber. Before you really start tearing into anything, make a list of everything you need/want to do to the car.

Then, when you're tooling around on the car, you have some direction on what systems to focus on, what's the next thing to do, etc.. It will keep you from tearing something apart only to get distracted by something else. Plus, it's really satisfying to cross things off a list like that :)

Great advice all. You are right that this is my first attempt at something quite like this. I have restored a Jag XKE, 1963 Thunderbird and a Turner (look that one up!). However, I am a points plugs and condenser kind of guy and these new fangled electronics make me nervous. I put the car on the lift last night and made notes of some of the obvious areas that will need work. It isn't in quite as bad of shape as I thought it was...but the PO was pretty sloppy and lots of things are half assed. I'll make my lists and set my priorities and chew threw it a bite at a time. I really appreciate all your input!!!!!

If you can get a Jag to run, you can deal with the Mazda's electronics.

Before I came to my senses I owned four Jaguars- two XK 120's, a XK 140 and a Series 1 XKE.
Most beautiful cars ever but the build quality was appalling.
The only quirkier car I ever owned was a '67 Morgan but most of that was due to the extensive amount of woodwork necessary to restore it.

My '91 NA is the most "modern" car I've ever owned and indeed, the extensive electronic and vacuum/EPA control systems are daunting at first but can be understood with patience and application.
In fact, once you get beyond the engine block ("keg"?), most everything else is pretty standard automotive tech of the era.

It's not as bad as it looks.

i cant believe i missed this thread.. dont come in the 2nd section much anymore though.

i have a haltech e6k car that runs like a top and im in salt lake. if you need help or want to compare vehicles then just hit me up. you can recheck all your wiring mess with mine.

and not to knock on brandon at all but he isnt what i would call a rotary guru. he is relatively new to the world of rotary and im glad you didnt trade your car for his but im sure he is disappointed.

even though you want a stock car, haltech is a good place to start. its 100x better than the stock computer system and id consider it more of a reliability mod than a fast and the furious racer guy mod.

"Getting with the times", so to speak.

Alright, I was reading the thread completely wrong... You honestly won't have any problems with the Mazda once you get the hang of it.. I agree with Clokker, once you've dealt with Lucas Wiring, everything else in the world seems awesome. I mean, what else can make a 80s chrysler look like an electrical engineering masterpiece?

Surprisingly, I never had a single problem with Lucas electrics.
You wanna talk about SU carbs or rust, I could go on and on.

Ahhh, the stories I could tell about SU carbs and rust. Speaking of rust, the only rust on this 7 is on the brake rotors. It looks as if it had sat quite a while, the rotors have a LOT of surface rust. No big deal as I was going to replace the pads and rotors (if necessary) and rebuild the calipers if I had to. Question is...how in the world was the car able to start so easily if it had been sitting for months? Second question...is it ok to sandblast rotors?

I am assuming that you want to sandblast the rust off the rotors? If that is the case, play it safe, and get them turned, if there is still enough meat left on them.

Personally, I have never heard of sandblasting rotors. Even when they are turned, they don't have a mirror finish, so I can't see sandblasting leaving a rougher or uneven surface that turning. If you turn them though, you get rid of any warping on the rotor, which, as you know, sandblasting will not get rid of.

The car could have been started and run without actually moving.

No, it is not OK to sandblast rotors (at least not the working surface).
If the car has been sitting for an extended period, I'd just go through the entire braking system and be done with it.
Start at the master cylinder and rebuild/replace everything.
It's a very critical system and doing it all at one time not only ensures full functionality and peace of mind but also has you working at all four corners of the car and therefore gives you a pretty good look at the big picture.

Plus, you only have to bleed the brakes once.

can you post pics of the car? i saw engine and interior shots.. if i could see the body i may be able to give you info on the previous owner if it spent a good amount of time in utah.

Amen on the brake overhaul thoughts. I have already bought the kits and pads are due to be in today. The rotors have a lot of meat so I think turning will be ok. No more important system than brakes so I will just do them stem to stern. I'll get more pics of the car up today. My garage is kind of dark but I'll do my best. I've got a line on a spoiler to replace the one missing for $50. Only a couple of trim pieces missing now.