F1Eng

This car isn't really a project, at least not right now. I have a 93 Ranger 5.0 which I'm putting a couple turbos on and setting up for standing mile racing, that is enough project for now. This car I just want to enjoy.

If you have nothing constructive to say, please don't. Thanks.

I picked this FD up about a month ago from some fellows who didn't really know much about cars. They were the first importers 2.5 years ago and I think they lost the throw out bearing after a couple months and put the car in the garage for the last 2 years. The previous owner did some tasteful mods:

- Rays MS01's. These are the Gen 5 Competition version. In perfect shape other than brake dust and with all the center caps.
- HKS FConV Silver
- HKS FMIC
- HKS Boost controller
- HKS turbo timer
- Jasma catback
- Knight sports boost gauge
- Brand new Summitomo HTR Z3 tires (not the best, but they'll do until I wear them out)
- Mazdaspeed shift and e-brake *****
- Steering wheel (not sure the brand, but it's pretty decent)

And as I am in the process of replacing the throw out bearing I found out it also has an HKS GD Max clutch.

The car is in really good shape, the paint is near perfect, and there is very very little rust under the car. The only body issues are the front spoiler was cracked pretty badly and the wing is pretty faded. I have ordered a CF 99spec front spoiler from Shine, 5 weeks wait time.

At home with the ranger

after paint polish with 3M

MS01's before cleaning. Would like to restore these to look factory this winter (light gold spokes with black fasteners)

F1Eng

So the stock cat is gutted. There is what looks to be a thermocouple installed in the cat though... Not sure why anyone would put a thermocouple in that location though. Still need to trace the wire to see if it goes to the FCon.

F1Eng

Removing the clutch. There is a bracket for the clutch line that is bolted to the trans that isn't mentioned in the FSM, so must not be on the USDM cars. Had to remove the oil filter to get it off

HKS clutch




Rear of the rotor housing, will be replacing rear main seal and tightening the housing bolts while I have it apart. If anyone is reading this, it says in the FSM to not touch the front transmission seal unless needed, why is that? Is worth doing as a preventative maintenance even though it isn't leaking?

F1Eng

Forgot to mention, this car also has Aragosta coils and HKS air intake.

Got some parts before I started my clutch job, so I have an Exedy that I will either be shelving or selling.

Mazdatrix aluminum AST, Magnecor 10mm wires, New OEM fuel filter, spark plugs, trans front and rear sears, rear main, cat gaskets, etc.

Braille 2317r that I have mounted in the hatch. Will take pics this weekend. I got this battery new from Braille through Amazon for $117 CDN... not sure if they were clearing out the right post version, but I'll take it!

The fuel filler door was ripped off during inspection into Canada, so I glued it back together and have re-installed. We'll see how long that plastic JB weld works..

Also got some Idemitsu pre-mix and Royal Purple coolant additive.

Notice how faded the rear wing is, planning on wet sanding it and re-polishing it to see if it brightens up because regular cutting polish didn't do the trick.

04G35S

iTrader: (10)

Those are great wheels, I would change the color for some contrast but thats JMO.

Great work with all of the reliability mods while you are under there! Post up some pics of the Ranger too!

F1Eng

Thanks. With the wheels, I'd like them to look the same as on the 787b, so light gold spokes and black chrome fasteners. Will be a winter project.

Some pics of the ranger:

When I first got it... 14 years ago... omg



At one of the local car shows, my friend's Silvia in background (450whp, runs 10.9's in 1/4, is solely a drift car now)



at the start of the tear down



new wheels. 18" x 9 in front and 18" x 10.5 in back



I rebuilt the engine with mostly stock stuff. ended up not using those turbo headers as I would have had to move not only the brake booster but would have had to chop done the oil filler neck on my stock valve covers. So got some other ones that I had to modify to clear the steering box.



roll cage tacked in. Is fully welded now and painted satin black.



Engine in place before I started on the turbo piping. Looks pretty open and easy right now..



With turbos



Cut out a custom dash.. it kinda sucks, but I couldn't get a carbon fiber one shipped to Canada... Still working on wiring the chassis and engine.

04G35S

iTrader: (10)

Looks pretty damn fun to me! No wonder your keeping the RX7 stockish, thats a big project.

F1Eng

Yup, gonna limit it to 450rwhp with this block. But yeah pretty much everything is custom fab, and plenty of road blocks and safety items needed for full mile racing.

Judging by your list of cars you understand big projects too! Do you have a build thread/pics of all of yours?

04G35S

iTrader: (10)

I do understand it for sure! I have sold everything other than the RX7... damn thing is expensive. I do have some photos of the RB swap in the 240 and just some photos of the TL and G35. When I built all of these I was younger and never took time to document the process.

F1Eng

I hear ya, well modifying anything properly is expensive in its own right..



So got the clutch out finally, some good pics here

http://https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-g...emoval-880047/

My mistake in the first post, it is a GD Pro, not a GD Max



Nice unit none the less.

Also got the Braille battery mounted in the hatch, looks pretty clean but the plastic ammo box I bought wouldn't fit, so I'll have to look for something else. Pics forthcoming.

F1Eng

Haven't been able to get the HKS back in, and probably a good thing I didn't because I destroyed the pilot bearing seal trying to get the trans in. Would hate to kill that pilot bearing!! So ordered a stock flywheel from Adam @ RX7 Specialties in Calgary along with a new seal, and will put in the Exedy I bought (single disk HD version). So will be an HKS for sale soon if anyone is brave enough to try it out. Someone obviously smarter than me was able to get it in, because it came with the car haha.

Battery swap to the hatch is almost complete, but I want to have the trans in before cutting lines just to confirm cable placement and tie down. Later.

DnlCappy

If you plan on putting that cat back in the rx7 there should be a wire underneath with a long sensor that bolts up to the side. When the cat reaches proper temp it stops the air pump injecting air into the cat.

F1Eng

Good to know, thanks! I'll likely pull the air pump during the winter, so I'll have to block that off too.

F1Eng

Replaced oil pressure sender, as was getting a low signal when the car was warm. All better now. Car seems to be running very good aside from a kind of rattling sound when I just barely touch the throttle. It dies down as rpm increases, and is most noticeable in 3rd gear. Will unplug the air pump next time out, to try to narrow down the problem. The only other issue is some pretty serious backfiring if I've been off throttle for awhile. Shouldn't be difficult to clear up.

F1Eng

Haven't updated this in quite a while! Been a busy year between moving to an almost acreage and the projects that come with a new house. And having a toddler is pretty time consuming too, in a good way

So I had the car down for about a week while I installed some gauges (water temp, WB02 and boost/vacuum), and cleaned up the wiring and install on the turbo timer and boost controller. Just got her going again and shined up and on my way out for my birthday supper I clipped a deer on the highway. Great birthday.



So the front bumper, passenger side fender, and the bracket that they both bolt to took some damage, but everything else looks fine.




I bought a CF 99 spec front lip from Ken @ shine and luckily it was not installed at the time, so no damage there.

So I decided this a great opportunity to go full '99 spec in the front. Ordered a plateless front bumper and depo 99 spec bumper lights (will go with LED bulbs), as well as a new fender. Really would have loved to go with the Car Shop Glow LED bumper lights, but funds are low after installing solar panels, going to San Jose for Stanley Cup finals, and spending $ on the house.

Also picked up a set of Rotary Extreme sleek headlights some time back, so going to install them now too. Really looking forward to the way the car will look when I'm done.

Now for the hardest part... waiting on parts.