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So last summer I had the pleasure of importing a '92 Efini Type R. When originally getting it, I was going to originally go down the route of modifying, but have decided against that. The car was extremely clean when I got it, and I could go down the route of doing anything crazy to it, because they are so rare. I've decided to turn it into a "preservation" project. I am looking to "modify" it, but only items that are something to preserve it, or keep it running longer. I just hit 20k mi over the summer, so she is still a pretty rarely used vehicle. I also took her out to a HPDE in order to really experience what she was truly capable of, but won't be doing that anymore out of fear of harming her. Guys at the track were drooling over her and definitely hesitant about letting me bring her on the track. Actually looking to pick up an FC to continue my addiction I got from that day. I should have been logging everything I was doing with her earlier on, but haven't done that yet (on here though), but looking to fix that. Also, luckily being in Chesapeake, VA, I have Micheal Vargas at Angel Motorsports to help me along the way with anything I might need. Anyways, to go on, here is what has happened since I got the car:
Oil Changes religiously, lol
Full coolant flush
New thermostat housing with tap for aftermarket coolant sensor (Still have OEM)
RE Amemiya AST (Still have OEM)
Full Function Billet Oil pedestal w/ tap for oil temp
3 gauge center speaker mount
AEM boost, coolant, and oil temp gaugues
HKS Turbo Timer (Came with the car, trust me, realize how un-needed they are)
Had to replace driver side window switches b/c they snapped, even after rebuilding
Spark Plug/wire change
Fuel filter change
New windshield (Old one lost seal and was leaking, plus developing rust underneath)
Here are a couple of her first year in America pics, as well as what I am currently working on right now during the winter months. First arriving off the trailer First time in the driveway First bubble bath First Cars & Coffee Tapping the thermostat housing Coolant temp tap Getting a new windshield Getting some nastiness out of the cooling system Multiple coolant flushes Crap, AC bearing seized, and now have to ride with the windows down East Coast Rotary Classic Night out with the guys
So right now, I am currently doing a full on brake system rebuild. Have the parts in from Atkins rotary to rebuild both front and back calipers, and have everything completely broken down. Doing an acid bath of vinegar on all parts since some of the bolts were completely rusted out, so want to make sure every nook and cranny gets cleaned out. Have a few components already out, and wire wheeled to be nice and shiny. One of my buddy's at work let me know that the truck shop there just got a powder coating system, so going to have all of my brake components prepped to go in and get them powder coated vice painting them with rattle cans.
Brakes pulled off Fully broken down calipers and rusty rotors Taking a vinegar bath
Didn't get as far as I wanted to, but a lot is coming along. Calipers are shining up nice, but keep running out of battery charge, so have to keep swapping out batteries. Need to grab some of my dremel bits out of storage to get some of the tighter areas too. Also, while batteries were charging one time, decided to change the diff fluid. Unfortunately the hand pump I used was defective. Was leaking all over the place from the actual pump handle portion. Thought the leak would be small enough to still get the diff filled with 2 bottles, but ended up actually leaking more than what would fill the diff. So had to order 1 more bottle, and an additional pump.
Old vs cleaned Crappy hand pump Starting to shine up well.
So, haven't been able to work on her much lately due to work, and constant rain out here lately. Last few days were awesome though, so got the brake rotors finished up. Put some high temperature paint on them in order to keep the parts that don't make contact with the brake pads from rusting. Unfortunately, I accidentally threw out my old brake pads, so gonna try to scrounge some up that are being replaced from someone here locally in order to take the last bit of paint off of the rotors so I don't gum up the new pads. Also minor thing, but with a bunch of my parts for the caliper rebuild I just got in from Atkins, put an OEM power steering cap to back on, since the one on there wasn't creating a good seal anymore and would leak fluid out the top while turning.
Also, noticed I didn't include any interior pics before. Interior is pretty clean, and all stock (except the center speaker gauges I've put in), even down to the original radio and floormats. I will need to get a new seatbelt guide/holder for the drivers side at some point though.
Gonna be heading out for work tomorrow over the next two weeks, so any further progress will have to wait for now.
So, sorry for any lack of updates, been extremely busy with work, both having to be out of state, and working really long hours while here locally. Also, to top it off, I went full rotard, and picked up a FC in order to fulfill my track itch, so had to get her in working order. Anyways, have an unforseen work trip in the near future, so won't get to keep working on the FD as much as I would like, but did get the calipers back from powdercoating. Looking to take the weekend to rebuild the calipers, and get them put back on the car. '88 Base FC bought for the track Brake Calipers back from powder coating. Can't wait to rebuild them, throw them on the car, and show how awesome they came out.
Well, my snap ring pliers suck, so couldn't finish up the rebuild on the rear calipers. New pliers are on their way though, so they should be finished soon. Here's how the rebuild fronts look though.
Did you find replacement o-rings for the 2 halves of the front calipers? I know some people don't recommend splitting the calipers.
The seat belt strap on the driver's side is available, I bought some a while back from rhdjapan.com. You can actually replace them without totally taking the seat apart too.
Yup, so the rebuild kit from Atkins includes the gaskets that go between the two sides of the calipers. The only reason I took them apart is when my brother was helping me out, didn't realize those were the mounting bolts, and not bridge bolts, since he's only ever worked on floating calipers.
02-09-18, 08:41 PM
Right on!
