laujesse

iTrader: (19)

Back story: My son is now 13, he as been getting interested in cars, and is a GranTurismo addict. So I decided to teach him the real thing. Last year I picked up a few project FD's from irresponsible twenty-something American military members that were neglected to nearly the point of no return with the mission of putting them back on the road. Rotaries are getting very few and far between here in JDM land in comparison to what it once was, and I am happy to say we put 3 back on the road last year finding them responsible adult owners. I would have made money shredding them for parts but was happy to take a small loss and do it this way. Over here in Japan buying RX-7's is cheap, but the overall cost of ownership is much higher, so this results in a high percentage of young FD owners that have no idea what they are getting into, and needless part outs. Try to mentor when ever possible, but when it gets out of hand I buy them and try piece them together. Wanted to start sharing the build experiences.

This car:

The bad:
Was left to sit for one year close to the ocean, which is a death sentence for a car on a tropical island. This one had an adult owner, but he was military and deployed. Not only do we have the ocean mist, our roads are made of corrosive coral. It had a vented hood which allowed sever oxidation under the vent, they are great if you dont live near the ocean. Was in a minor front end collision just before it was parked, so it had a silver bumper with no back brace. A Trust SMIC was installed improperly damaging the air box, poking a hole in the intercooler itself by the stock air duct, pressed up against the radiator fan forcing it press into the radiator. The radiator was just dented not leaking but it was bad enough that I did not trust it. The brake lights were constantly on. The passenger door handle did not work. Dead Battery. The window switch was in pieces. Windshield Wipers not working If you are reading this getting overwhelmed, you are not alone...

Pic of the car


Pic of some of the parts I removed


The good: Sky high compression 8.3-8.6 on all sides. Cold A/C. Good Clutch and transmission. Good boost pattern. Coolant as clean as a new car, clean oil, cranked right up no problem every time. Rare OEM side steps. Other than the window switch a clean fully functional interior. CD player with nice speakers. Despite rust on all non painted surfaces, the body and frame remained fairly clean. Despite the ugly scene under the hood, the wiring was corrosion free. I had most of the parts it needed from a car that was crashed in the passenger door with only 29,000 Kms, and the stock bilstiens from my old '03 Spirit R, and a black non vented hood.

Parts changed:
Window Switch
Windshield Wiper entire assy.
1999 OEM Front Bumper with back brace and lights.
OEM Hood
Radiator
Radiator Fans
Intercooler and piping
Air intake box /filter
RE Yomammamia AST
Belt pullys
Spirit R OEM Bilstien Suspension
Front right upper A-Arm
Front left upper A-Arm
Front right Hub Assy
Front left Hub Assy
Front right Brake Caliper
Front left Brake Caliper
Front right Brake Rotor
Front left Brake Rotor
Front right lower A-Arm
Front left lower A-Arm
Rear Right Hub Assy
Rear Left Hub Assy
Rear Right Brake Caliper
Rear Left Brake Caliper
Rear Right Brake Rotor
Rear Left Brake Rotor
All brand new OEM brake pads
Passenger door handle
Brake switch
Both headlights bulbs'
Headlight covers
Spark Plugs
New Battery

Bottom Line: It is now up and running 100% functional, not one thing is malfunctioning, featuring several small blood, and tear stains in the suspension and A-arms from my son learning the hard way. Made him do 80% of the work on this one, just mostly stood by was very proud to see it done. Will get the paint touched up soon. Hope to have a new owner for this one soon, will be the first rescue of 2014 so far.

tt7hvn

iTrader: (5)

I appreciate your service. USMC here so I know what you mean when you have young kids neglecting cars.

laujesse

iTrader: (19)

Was able to snap a few more pics after a wash.

Ceylon

iTrader: (3)

Nice work saving another FD .

The intercooler in the before picture was a Greddy SMIC, would be worth buffing up and sticking it back on, its much more efficient than the stock unit .

Cars looking great, cant go wrong with the '99 nose .

laujesse

iTrader: (19)

Thank you.

The Trust SMIC was installed improperly, destroying it, the air box, and the radiator, and the radiator fans. More detail in the original post.

In theory they are more efficient... very rarely in practice is that the case. Unless proper air ducting is in place, it is a harmful heat soaking mess. Add in that you need a intake that sucks radiator air and it is even worse. Auto-exe is the only one that fits if I recall that takes the air from the outside.

DaleClark

iTrader: (55)

Very nice! Makes me happy every time I see an FD saved from idiots and brought back to where it should be. Glad you got your son involved, too!

Dale

laujesse

iTrader: (19)

Thanks.

I should have been more clear up top, this particular owner was not an idiot, or a kid. Just not around. He was also special forces... ; ).

Another factor to American cars getting like this, is that logistics are very difficult in Japan, even for Japanese. Throw in a language barrier, making it harder to find pro mechanics that will work with you, and it gets even harder for average Joe. Lot of things you take for granted as freedom in the US, such as having summit racing, and home depot. Just as an example, it is impossible to order a kitchen sink and a counter top here, as consumers are forced to buy a premade kitchen set. If you want a oil line for your turbo kit, order a whole new turbo kit from HKS, or wait for 2-3 weeks for it to come from the US. I can also buy JDM engines cheaper on US ebay than I can in country most times because of the ridiculously expensive logistics of its storage, and transport while in country.

Johnny Kommavongsa

iTrader: (13)

very cool and neat that you and your son have this bond. My dad got me tinkering with cars and we have a great realtionship from it.

Mraxg7

iTrader: (2)

Are you on okinawa? I just got back from there this past Saturday and I think I saw your car. I was there on business for almost 2 months and I've seen a few real nice looking FD's. Something about rhd classics that make me have neck pains, I was constantly breaking my neck trying to look at all of them passing by on the roads. Man that oxidation looked horrible!

laujesse

iTrader: (19)

Yes Okinawa. If you let any car just sit unprotected for even a couple months that is the result. Coral roads + sea spay is a tough combo.

cr-rex

iTrader: (114)

the end result is always so worth the work.... when it comes to the fd. people should be inspired by things like this...

people that take the time to do this stuff see more than a tapped out car thats ready to be parted out and junked.

the entire fd community should be thanking you

4g63rotary

iTrader: (5)

Dude I would have gotten the chills just looking at the oxi I'm glad someone is up to the task of FD search and recuse good job! I would have never thought FD motors would be cheaper here in most cases, how odd. Can't wait to see more!

laujesse

iTrader: (19)

It was hard to look past the oxidation on this one, about 2-3 more months or so and it would have been gone, caught it just before it ate the chassis. This island has prepared me for it though, very similar to medical triage training. Have seen enough of these repaired properly, that the initial gore no longer phases me.

laujesse

iTrader: (19)

Found this one a new Japanese owner.

Almost ended in the black on this car until the clutch started slipping under heavy boost during the test drive. Overall we broke even financially, and built a really reliable vehicle that should be around for a long time to come.