So I flew out to Colorado yesterday and ended up sealing the deal on this 82,000 mile rebuilt salvage title (with no frame damage or repair work and just some slight surface rust). I got the compression test done along with the PPI and got a 129 + 89 on the two rotors, which indicated the motor will likely die soon. The car drives, but it has issues where it starts backfiring and having A/F issues at approximately 5000-5500 RPM which the previous owner thinks was due to either an engine harness (electrical) issue. Or it could be due to the downpipe + aftermarket turboback exhaust which is causing overboosting.

I am going to be upgrading all of these: Clutch, Wheels, Tires, replace the aftermarket hood with an OEM one, brakes, coilovers.

I took a few pictures out in Colorado, but nothing in detail yet. The interior is relatively clean on the inside, just requires a bit of TLC and maybe a few things replaced but overall the plastics are relatively clean. Getting it shipped back to my house using Uship, which is booked, but I am still waiting on the shipper to pick it up.

My short term+long term goal(s):
1) Get the title transferred with my DMV here in California
2) Get the car smogged and get/replace all the parts I need to get it to get titled in California since it still drives.
3) After it's titled in California I want to either:
a. Buy a brand new crate engine and get it balanced, aggressive street ported with a new engine harness or
b. Try to rebuild this engine, if the engine hardware is good. Replace the harness again
4) Upgrade the clutch, rebuild transmission (there was a bit of oil leaking from there), rebuild rear diff (if need be) Upgrade intercooler, replace hood back to OEM and replace to popup OEM headlights (due to safety issue w better lighting). New brakes, suspension, maybe new rotors.
5) Upgrade to power fc and get a single turbo tune for 400-500 HP (and have 2 tunes one for stock and one for 400-500 hp)
6) Aesthetics interior and exterior. Including, but not limited to a full paint job (black or white), buy new fender/body parts. New rims and tires

With all that said, I guess the most important thing in the short term is me trying to figure out what exactly I need to do to get this quickly road legal, and finding whether I should rebuild the motor (that the previous owner rebuilt by himself), or just to buy a new one and start over. Any advice on what I may need, and where I can get it to get California legal would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot.

 

Good luck with the project!

Few things from the pictures -

- It looks like it may have had front mud guards at one point, there are screws under the fender that normally hold them in place that aren't there if you don't have them.
- I love the 2 K&N stickers under the hood and it doesn't have a K&N filter
- Before doing much of any driving, get a stock intercooler duct NOW. They should be cheap and plentiful used. Seal up the top hole on the duct that went to the stock air box.
- That does look like a real Greddy cat-back which is a nice exhaust.
- Underside looks decent, needs some cleaning to really know for sure

Some advice for you -

- Drive the car around as it is now for a bit before diving into mods. That will also give you a baseline on how the car is now.
- Full exhaust and open intake on a stock ECU is a time bomb. The high RPM cut out is probably fuel cut. If you can get boost down to 10psi you will be safe on the stock ECU until you go further, you may just want to remove the turbo pills and see what that gets you.
- If you have to smog in in Cali to get it registered, start working towards that, that will be a substantial job. You will need a stock main cat and the pipe going to the main cat from the intake manifold that carries air pump air. You do have the air pump on the car, hopefully that system is all still there and working. But you may have to do some work to get it good enough to pass emissions.
- Do your build and projects in small phases with the car still drivable if at all possible. MANY cars that people decide to do everything at once end up parted out/junked because the project gets too big, time consuming, and expensive.
- I don't know the current status of emissions testing and how it works in Cali. You seriously have to look at any mods you do to the car and how it can pass emissions. Street port may be a problem and I don't know if they will flunk a single turbo on a visual inspection. There's lots of information from others in Cali on this.
- There are a TON of RX-7 owners in Cali. Go to meet ups and get on any FB groups. Having a local network of RX-7 friends is one of the best things you can have.

Good luck!
Dale

 

Hahah definitely will remove the stickers. Just waiting on uship guy to get back to me haha, hopefully they can get it picked up tomorrow. Hasn't confirmed a pickup time even though the booking is confirmed.

Good advice, will definitely drive it around quite a bit, just as I get it to pass emissions here in California. Title transfer shouldn't be too tough, but to get it titled in California will require me to do what you said WRT the main cat and pipe and work on the intercooler ducting. Going to try to find a stock exhaust and OEM intercooler ducting asap. If anyone has any leads, hmu!

Also bought my first part, just happened to have an OEM hood listed on Facebook marketplace for 200$ and swooped it up:

 

Very gold aduce above. You will blow that motor with those mids on an oem ECU. I have a build page so others can use it as a reference. Feel free to check it out. Learn from my mistakes. 93 rx7 improving a great sportscar. You may also check out my market place post. I have three intercooler ducts. There is one that is very cool. It is modded for better flow. I am subscribed to your build and I hope to see your car goes through its stages. Brap on. P.s rotard friends are a great idea. I have plenty and it helps a bunch.

 

Thanks a bunch, I'm not sure if I have to make sure it's from a LHD FD? Also, I will only need one, right? The listing i saw said you had only 1, as the other is from an RX8. If it fits what you and Dale are talking about, i'll buy it!

https://www.rx7club.com/market/1150598

Is the custom high flow one the one listed above meant for the RX7?

 

It is a rx7 intercooler duct. It feeds cold air into your intercooler.

 

The link you listed is to oil cooler ducts.

I'd ask around locally on an intercooler duct. They should be a dime a dozen and finding one locally would be good to save you from shipping, it is a little bulky.

Dale

 

Unfortunately nothing in my immediate area our RX7 community is very very small. I found this just now, I don’t mind paying 90$ for free shipping if this fits the Bill. It’s off of a 93 RHD RX7, I have a LHD. Not sure if compatible

https://www.ebay.com/itm/JDM-OEM-Maz...-/163674572386

 

That would work, the JDM duct is the same as the US duct.

That duct is missing the brackets and stuff though. That seems pricey for what they have.

Post a WTB ad on the forum, I bet you can find a better deal than that on a more complete duct. Also PM TomSN16 or Fritz Flynn, they have TONS of parts and will do a fair price.

Dale

 

Thanks! Will do

 

Hey there, where are you located?
I bought an FD out of state recently and am going to have AAA do the necessary inspection to get it registered. I don’t want to deal with the dmv. Then I was going to either non op it or get the temporary tags while I try to pass smog.

 

Central California. I am going to just go to the DMV to get the brake light and lighting stuff passed, and will get it smogged.

How does the temporary tags work? I will want to do that as well. What is AAA going to inspect exactly?

 

AAA does certain dmv operations, registration, non op, etc. A vehicle inspection that the dmv will normally do for a vehicle to be legal in California. It’s a nice time saver.

The temporary tags give you 2 months I believe it is to pass your smog before you have to pay the full registration pric, which is also nice because it gives you time before your actual registration year starts. Not sure if that makes sense lol

 

Perfect, I have AAA, I'm going to go check them out tomorrow and start that off. Do I need the car physically here to do that? The car just shipped and should be here tomorrow night or day after tomorrow.

I have title at hand too.

Also, does anyone know if declaring the value on the California registration effects the insurance or price down the road? I know declaring a higher value will increase DMV fees, but will it be worth it in terms of getting more insurance coverage for the car?

 

Yes they’ll want the car there for the inspection before you can start the registration process.

The declared value won’t effect the insurance value. I’d recommend going with Hagerty or Grundy insurance and go with a Declared value policy.

 

My car just came in a couple days ago and I am really excited.

So I got in contact with a semi-local rotary shop that seems to do good work out of Porterville. We don't have too many rotary experts out here so if I can save a bit of commute and support local, I'd be *more* than happy to stay local instead of having to go to LA, which was my previous plan. The guy is independent and works within the shop, to my understanding, but is still a part of the shop. Have searched the forum and have heard great things. I had an approximate 2 hour conversation with the rotary specialist who seemed very nice and down to earth to explain the process and my options. I am just waiting on a quote now, but more or less these are the options I was presented with:

1. Rebuild the engine if the rotor+housing and all engine components are okay. Not too expensive.
2. Buy a brand new short block crate engine directly from Mazda. They get free shipping to the shop

Either case he will be doing an entire diagnostic on the entire car to assess what we're working with and we will go from there. Lucky for me he is an expert at wiring and eletrical issues, so I have the option of getting the engine harness rebuilt/refurbished, a new one made by him or buying a new one with no problem.

For ECU and Turbo presented with a couple options as well:

- Haltec or PFC, but he prefers haltec and despite knowing it will likely be a bit more expensive of an investment, I would prefer the haltec. I understand that a build done correctly will be reliable on either a PFC and a haltec, and an engine can still fail despite the more safety features.
- Single turbo setup would be expensive, so I am leaning against this setup. Estimate I think is probably up towards 10K for a proper build with all complimentary parts, but it's still an option...
- Non-sequential turbo setup with a complete turbo rebuild. Was told this setup can easily reach 400HP and have done some searches on the forum and think this would fit what I want out of the car. This is a setup he does very often and says has had a lot of success with, and that's definitely good to hear.


Some things I will push for on my own:
-Standard mount intercooler: RX7.COM | FD Intercooler
-Efini turbo piping upgrade: RX7.COM | FD Intercooler
-Koyo Radiator: Radiators (93+ RX-7) (Will require changing the battery location, and hopefully no A/C delete?)
-High flow CAT or a resonated midpipe. Will likely go with the high flow CAT to prevent boost creep. Already have a downpipe I think.
-Good intake for turbos+ensuring it's pulling cool air and not engine hot air - TY @ Dale for that
-Bosch injectors (as opposed to rebuilding the stock ones
-Silicone vacuum hoses
-Boost controller
-Fuel computer (Not sure if haltec ecu has this)
-ACT Street/Strip Clutch 93+ RX-7: https://www.irperformance.com/produc...lutch-93-rx-7/
-Maybe fix a leak in transmission





Will eventually also change the rims to RPF1's, new suspension and tires. Currently planning on going to San Diego on Monday to pick up an entire pop-up headlight assembly from a forum member, and make a small trip out of it.


Further down the line want to buy 99 spec front bumper with the appropriate complimenting parts (I know this is mad expensive, so will wait) and a 99 spec rear wing. After that will want to get it completely repainted to white at a solid bodyshop.

 

What’s your goal for the car? Fun street car? Some track days?
How quickly do you want the car on the road?
These cars have a way of dragging out the build.

The more parts you can purchase OEM and just install will speed up your build tremendously I promise. Relying on a shop for rebuilds and custom wiring has never worked out for my friends and myself. I suggest buying a new harness and a pfc if you stay twins, or if you go single turbo run the Haltech and the new harness and sensors needed to run it set up with safety features.

I ran non sequential twins for a little bit while I built up my car for the single turbo kit slowly. I did not enjoy it too much until the car was moving along pretty well. Interestingly a friend of mine owns 2 very similarly set up FD’s one sequential and one non. The non sequential car is faster but the sequential is more fun to drive both at 12 lbs of boost.

If you’re passing through the LA area come by I’ve got some parts you may be interested in. Rpf1’s, downpipe etc.

~Michael

 

Fun street car with the off track day. Definitely PM me the parts you have available please, I’ll probably drive through LA tomorrow going to SD.

I will eventually go single too and will slowly build the car to that as well.

If I’m not mistaken he said that we are going to do a BNR stage 3 rebuild kit for the non sequential turbo and will be doing porting work. Noted, I will try to get an OEM harness. He said he can source that no problem and he has some lying around too.

 

If you do any auto cross events you can sign up for Mazdacomp and get discounts on OEM parts. I’ve gotten harnesses, gaskets, all sorts of things really.
BNR now does a different rebuild than the stage 3, it’s actually a better value than before. BNR continues to provide great products for our cars.
I think that’s a great way to go.
I’ll pm you

 

I would avoid going non-sequential if at all possible. It takes the one amazing thing with the twins - a fat powerband - and gets rid of it for a few HP up top. It's really not worth it.

A good set of functioning sequential twins is a blast to drive. If you then want more power, look at BNR's sequential or go with a fast spooling single.

All that said, I would try and go in steps and stages with this project. Don't drop the car off at the shop and just tell them to do everything - that's a good way to have a car sit at a shop for a VERY long time. I would work with them to get a full assessment of what the car needs. If it needs an engine, get it installed and running good as close to stock as reasonable. Some things would make sense to do now like a better clutch, the new radiator, etc. Get it running and driving where you can go out and drive it as-is for a while. Then look at the next stage of mods.

With sequential twins the PFC is hard to beat. Haltech does take some work to control the sequential system, but it's just overkill for a car with stock twins. Also if you go PFC and are going bigger power/single turbo later you can sell it for near what you got it for.

Half the fun of modifying a car is DRIVING IT along the way. A car that sits at a shop for a year is zero fun. Even the best shops get overwhelmed with very large projects.

Dale

 

Well said Dale, it is very important to achieve a solid baseline before diving in to that mod list.

 

Sounds good. Just made a road trip to LA and SD to visit SilverTRD and Tom Smith respectively to buy parts. Managed to pick up popup headlights, the clutch I listed above, an extra downpipe and some mint RPF1 wheels with tires on them. Mentioned your post to both of the guys and they tended to agree. If I end up having to buy a new engine, would the same advice apply? Just keep it stock other than suspension, cooling, ecu and other reliability mods?

Tom suggested to replace all the rubber tubing with silicone and gave me a good contact, hopefully I can get that in order too. Supposedly you can buy every single tubing as one huge kit in silicone through Mazda

since the compression numbers were funky at the shop we took it to in Colorado, I’m still waiting on my rotary guy to stop by my house sometime this week with a few tools to run a compression test and get a general overlook of the car to see *exactly* what we are working with before I take it down to the shop physically.

 

Thanks Tom and Silver, great guys.

 

I'd just run it for a while and enjoy the car. Get some seat time in the car and have some fun and ponder next mods.

 

For coolant hoses, Mazda OEM all day every day. They last forever, fit great, and aren't that expensive.

For vacuum hose, get 20 feet of 3.5mm hose and 10 feet of 6mm hose from boost controller.com - reasonably priced, fits awesome, lasts forever. That will be more than enough to do every vacuum line in the engine. READ UP on doing the vacuum line job - there's a lot of tricks and tips to it.

Get a compression test done and you'll have a good baseline to make decisions from.

Dale