abcde...FD
 

With more free time as of late, figured I would post a little build thread...

** First time rotary owner here, and just wanted to put a blanket thank you out to everyone on this site providing their time and knowledge to help out scrubs like myself. These forums are filled with tricks, resources, and expertise...all free. I don't have much info to share, but hope I can shed some light on anything I come across.

Purchased this FD about a year and a half ago from a forum member. Got a great deal and the previous owner was super awesome to work with. Was really happy that there was plenty of aspects making it a great project moving forward, but also most everything was functioning property and reliably. Bought her with 142K on the odometer, and have probably only put about 2 thousand miles on it since.


Per the previous owner, here are some mods that were done or added:

Engine rebuild from Mazdatrix, has about 28K miles on it since (water pump replaced, flywheel resurfaced, clutch replaced as well)
Vertex front bumper
Knockoff rear bumper
Knockoff RE sleek headlights
ARC Intercooler
Fujitsu Exhaust
Enkei 17"wheels
R1 Dual oil coolers
R1 newer seats
Defi Gauges
Upgraded Brakes
Suspension overhaul replacing control arms, front and rear bushings, link bushings.
New sun roof seal and window seals.

Having stored it for the winter, my first big projects were cleaning up the interior underneath everything, removing the turbo timer and car alarm, and getting the heat working again.

**Did not document photos during these fixes like I should have...sorry in advance!

The wiring was a mess underneath the steering column for the alarm system and the turbo timer. Took my time to remove all the tap in's and button up the wiring harness with some Tesa tape, making everything safe and looking as OE as possible. During this process I ended up stripping the entire interior, cleaning up wiring as needed and putting a clean layer of Dynamat throughout the vehicle and cleaning up 25 years of dirt and grime beneath carpet and panels. I found in the rear that there was also some sort of impact/tracking device in the rear of the vehicle. It was very old and had to do some digging to find out what the unit was (forgot to take a photo).

Ended up taking the entire dash out, draining the A/C lines and coolant so I could add the hoses for the heater core. Was a lengthy job that took forever...but was worth it in the end. Not sure why the heater core lines were cut and bypassed previously, but there have been no leaks and heat is now working. Tried to get all that old, dirty and flaking foam off all the interior pieces on the dash, blower motor housings, A/C and heater units. Re-wrapped everything with Tesa tape, sanded and painted the dash bar, then cleaned off all the ground areas for the wiring harnesses.

Of course like everyone else, broke plenty of small little tabs in the process on various plastic pieces. Tried to JB weld various pieces on that of course broke with any screw/bolt tension applied. Going to have to go back eventually and replace some interior pieces. Also replaced the shifter boot and e-brake boot with some simple black leather, as well as the rubber housings and sound proofing material in there.This definitely got rid of the exhaust smell in the cabin which was a plus.

Once the defi gauges were unstuck from the dash, the dash peeled away in a few spots. Tried my best at some bondo repair, then light sand and dash paint on the area. Was working great for a while, but recent noticed it has started to peel and crack a little bit. May need to revisit that or down the road look at a new dash housing.

Next big undertaking was to relocate the battery. Wanted to clean up the engine bay and put the battery in the rear passenger bin. Ended up going with a Deka ETX20L battery, which has been great. Haven't had any issues starting the car, with only one time it being dead after sitting for about 3 weeks with no start. This was definitely an undertaking, and thank you to the many write ups on this task.

In addition to the relocation, wanted to re-do many of the negative grounds in the engine bay with the battery re-direct. Cleaned up the main ones, as well as re-attached the ground underneath the car by the exhaust. For reference, I re-did a ground from the engine to the factory grounding spot by the fuse panel, as well as a ground from the battery to the body underneath the bins and ran a ground from the battery to the motor. I saw a video from DNA garage how they went to an automotive electrical class and this was recommended. Was tough running all these wires, but cleaning up the grounds, removing the turbo timer, and alarm system has greatly improved the smoothness of the vehicle. Obviously still has the 3K hesitation due to the stock ECU, but much better all around.

Looking into the future as far as plans are concerned. Would love to have a clean setup for the street pushing anywhere from 330-400 HP. I originally thought about going single turbo, but after looking at Banzai racing's thread about bolt ons, will most likely stick with the stock twins until they have issues. The vacuum lines all appear to be working great and have been replaced with some nice silicone ones at some point.

Further plans:

V mount
New tires
Stock headlights
Stock rear bumper
Stock or 99 spec bumper
ABS delete
Cruise control delete
New steering wheel
Stock Cat delete/new DP
AST delete
OMP delete
New clutch
Frame bracing for added HP/torque
Maybe new coilovers
Sakebomb IGN-N1A coils
New injectors
New full pump
Modern sound system
**I'm sure there will be others


Lastly, here are some photos of a Formula Mazda from the late 80's (Rotary) I was able to drive at the Bondurant Driving School in Phoenix. Military takes care of you sometimes. What an awesome machine, can't imagine what these race cars new handle like.


Open to any criticism and suggestions moving forward on what other guys have done. Thanks again in advance for any knowledge and advice! With two kids under 5 and one on the way, free time is limited. Will always try to sneak some updates in.

Military never took care of me like that! That’s awesome. Car looks nice congratulations on the purchase. As far as the build, I’d go with AST delete, fuel pump, and tires. The other stuff can wait (if you can). Sticking with the twins is a good call as well imo. Looking forward to seeing the progress and all stuff you get.

Jason

Thanks for the advice. Sometimes you get lucky! haha

Hey, congrats on the FD. Amazing effort your putting into the car. Yes the forum has tons of information - some conflicting, but at least you get both sides of the story. Just remember in the end, make it to what YOU want. Good luck with the build.

Kind words. Thanks for the advice!

Glad to see another nice build. Car looks good. Lot of detailed time invested already. It will pay off. I look forward to some updates!

Thanks for the kind words! Going to be a long slow run, but appreciate the support. Will post more updates as they arise.

-milly

Glad to see an FD getting some much needed love. : ) Looks like a good roadmap.

Appreciate the love.