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Update:
Went down to check out the car and it's coming along. After lots of reading about the 3mm vs 2mm seals, I decided to have Bryan put the rotors from my engine into his rebuilt streetport with 2mm 2pc Mazda Seals vs. his rotors that were machined for 3mm seals. So far, here's what we've fixed/ordered/replaced:
13B Custom (re)built Streetported Motor with 2mm Seals
used 5 speed transmission (with 5th gear synchro fixed)
ACT Heavy Duty sprung Street Clutch
Coolant Level Sensor
Water Pump
Thermostat
(used) Fuel Pump Hanger
Clean and Calibrate Injectors
Denso Competition Fuel Pump
TurboSmart FPR 800 Fuel Pressure Regulator
Fuel Filter
Stainless Oil Metering lines for Oil Metering Pump
This will be rework but might be worth it while the car is out but i would remove the old twin turbo coolant passage, drill, tap and plug them instead of using the rubber plug. Looks a lot cleaner and less likely to fail in my opinion.
Finally! After a few months (and about $12k later), she is running! I have to admit, I have some buyers remorse only in the sense that while the "roller" was cheap, the amount of money she needed (and still needs) is certainly more than what I could have paid for a ready to go one (albeit with more miles). Oh well, it is what it is. I know a few of you warned me.
So what does $12k get you?
Full post sale inspection
Remove/Flush Coolant
Tear down and inspection of the Bridgeport motor
I did not end up keeping this as it had blown side seals as previously posted
New Raidum Fuel Pulsation Damper
Borg Warner 8380 SXE Turbo, .91 A/R, T4 Twin Scroll Housing
New Starter
13B Custom Rebuilt Streetport Motor with 2mm Mazda 2pc Side Seals
Core Exchange
Used Transmission with 5th gear synchro fix
New ACT HD Perfromance Street Sprung Clutch
New Coolant Level Sensor
Used Water Pump
New Thermostat
Used Fuel Pump Hanger
Clean, Inspect, and Calibrate Fuel Injectors
Primaries Passed, Secondaries failed
Used Bosch 1600cc Secondary Injectors
New TurboSmart Fuel Pressure Regulator
New Stainless OMP Lines
New TurboSmart 40mm Waste Gate
New Drivers Headlamp Shroud
New external cooling Fan Controller
cheaper than trying to diagnose why the fans wouldn't come on using the current fan controller
New Innovate Wideband O2 Gauge and Sensor
Street Tune FC Commander
Used A/C Compressor
Used OEM Headlights
Labor to get this all working
While it took a few months, I am pleased with the work Bryan and Scott did at Rotorsports Racing. The car was tuned using the waste gate spring and the Apexi AVC-R Digital Boost controller is not hooked up (yet). Bryan suggested I drive the car a few hundred miles and break in the rebuilt motor before I bring it back and we go fine tune it on the Dyno (and hookup the boost controller). Based on his datalogging, we are getting about 14lb of boost in 3rd gear at around 6k RPM. It's a lot of fun to drive and that BW Turbo is great. There is next to no turbo lag.
The previous owner had 19" wheels on it and I noticed they rub when doing sharp turns. Since I knew I was getting new wheels, I had used tires put on just so I could get it rolling onto a trailer and for Bryan to be able to drive it. I just ordered a set of 18x8 35mm and 18.9.5 40mm Enkei RPF1 Wheels + Michelin Pilot 4s 235/40/18 and 265/35/18 tires. They should be here tomorrow!
My first impressions of driving it: it's raw and definitely a 25 year old car. Very different than the modern cars I've owned, with an Alfa Romeo Giulia being my current daily. The exhaust is insanely loud. When I'm at 3k-4k RPM, it's so loud I want to shift just to save my ears. When I hit 6k RPM in 2nd gear, the rear stepped out ever so little. When the power comes on, man does it come on! I haven't driven her super hard because frankly, I don't trust the used tires I put on there so i can't wait until the new rubber arrives.
So my short term project now is to get the horn working so it's all street legal. As it turns out...I don't have any horns! I went and got some generic ones and got them mounted. Horn still didn't work. After lots of testing with a multimeter, I discovered the OEM wheel wasn't hooked up. Turns out the MOMO aftermarket wheel the previous owner had on wasn't connected so when I had Rotorsports mount the OEM wheel I got, they just mounted it since it was missing wiring. Turns out I'm missing the clock spring. I got one coming from a guy on the RX7 facebook group. During my troubleshooting, I also discovered that I have no airbag sensors (the OEM wheel I bought does have an airbag). While my wife would very much prefer I have an airbag, I think the money, work, and inability to test putting it all on there just isn't worth it. I'm probably more likely to detonate the airbag in the process of trying to put it back together and I assume those sensors probably aren't cheap. Also, the plastic filler neck for the coolant and windshield wiper fluid is falling apart. Someone suggested an easy fix was to replace the plastic neck with heater/coolant hose and clamps since Mazda doesn't make that part and used ones will more than likely fail as well.
My next project after is the seals around the front and rear windshield. They have literally rotted away. From what I've seen on this forum, the proper way to replace the seal involves removing the glass. I called SafeLite Glass and they won't do it. They said I'd have to buy new glass as they don't do remove and re-install services. From what I found here, people have said not an easy DIY job. I'm hoping maybe a body shop can do it?
Anyways, those are the highlights. I can't wait to get her back together tomorrow when the wheels show up.
This is so good to read!
I'd like to have your feedback on your Michelin tires. And if possible, please post some photos of the car
please, let us know for the windshield's seals too, mine is also in bad condition.
I love to read good, positive experience with engine builder that cares about customer no matter what amount of $$$$ is thrown at them. Engine looks nice and clean..
great thread man. thanks for saving another FD. the money adds up quickly but the experience is worth it!
even if you bought a ready to go car, its likely you'd be rebuilding and changing stuff down the road anyway. no better way than to do what you want from the beginning.
This is so good to read!
I'd like to have your feedback on your Michelin tires. And if possible, please post some photos of the car
please, let us know for the windshield's seals too, mine is also in bad condition.
The tires are EXCELLENT. They are the successor to the Pilot Sport, which I had on my BMW M5 and C7 Corvette. The 4s was all the rage when I was coming up for a tire replacement on the M5, but it was impossible to find at the time. The last few days of driving the 4s and I can't say enough good things about it. They grip VERY well. The previous owner has 19" wheels and I had some used Goodyear F1's put on temporarily since the tires on their were rotted. Whenever I hit boost the 19s would break loose. I have yet to be able to get the rear to break loose on these 4s. There is reason they are OEM for BMW M, Porsche, Ferrari, etc. Tire Rack's review literally said there is nothing they'd change about them. I haven't driven in the wet yet, but based on owning the Pilot Sports and the reviews, I have all the confidence that these tires are going to be great if it's wet out as well. Love the Enkie RPF1. They are so light at around 15lb.
As for the glass, it's been tough. I've called around and I'm waiting for a few places to call back. A lot of places want to replace the glass and the ones that don't said there is a 50/50 chance the glass shatters upon removal. Just about everyone that can do it wants me to bring it in for an estimate vs. just giving me a quote over the phone.
As for pics, here are some pics. The engine bay def still need some cleanup aside from the engine/turbo
Wow, she looks pretty clean !! (Grey is definitely one of my favourite FD color)
Thanks for your feedbacks on the Michelin tires, that's what I expected after using the PS3 on my Miata. They're simply the best.
Spent the better part of the last few days trying to get my power door locks (and the locks in general) to work. I removed the driver side interior door panel and as expected, the door had dyna mat all over it, including over wiring harnesses and bolts. Removing that stuff is such a PITA. I got most of it off but the residue it leaves behind is damn near impossible to remove.
I pulled the lock and the latch off, cleaned it off, and gave it a good lathering of lithium grease and boom, she now locks and the power door locks (and alarm) work too! Sadly, there was a causality in this work: the lid for the “map” pocket behind the interior door handle. The part that holds it onto the hinge snapped.
Once I get my molex crimp tool from Amazon tomorrow, I should be able to wire up the cruise control and horn to the clock spring and OEM wheel but I’ll need to put new pin and connectors on because the previous owner hacked the crap out of the OEM harness and it no longer has connectors.
Wow, coming along nicely! I'm glad you got Brian to get it sorted so you can drive it. A project car that's drivable will really inspire you to keep working on it. If you just started by stripping it all down you'd end up with a project that would never get done.
Just chip away at it a little here and a little there. And most of all enjoy it!
You may want to track down a quieter exhaust, it may cost a few horsepower but a car that's TOO loud can be a bit much.
The windshield washer tank/coolant overflow tank are available as whole parts new from Mazda. They aren't too bad - like $100-ish each, I remember one was cheaper and one was more expensive.
Bubbletech has made replacement map pocket lids that are awesome, I think he is making them again. They are damn near unbreakable.
Glad to hear you're up and running! I'm always happy to see an FD that's kept on the road. Hope you can make it to Deal's Gap in 2019, I'd love to see the car in person!
I thought I'd cleaned the car up well. I was trying to get the windshield wipers to go faster so I removed the the arms to try and lube some parts up...and found this under my wiper cowl grill. I hope the owner is long gone but it definitely makes me wonder what I'm going to find when I pull the dash apart to troubleshoot my air mixer (turning the **** to adjust temp doesn't work).
Are the wipers on the highest setting still slow compared to most modern day wipers? They move, but not as fast as I'd want them too. Also, when I turn them off, they don't quite return to the fully down position. I need to "time" when I cut them off to get them to fully stay down.
As for saving this car, based on where it was, had I not saved it, it would have floated/flooded away during Hurricane Florence for sure. It would have been a shame, but it sure would have saved me some money!
Can't wait to break her in and get on the dyne to fine tune. According to my Wideband, cruising and idle are reading around 12.5 and I can tell by the smell and exhaust residue that I am running rich.
Are the wipers on the highest setting still slow compared to most modern day wipers? They move, but not as fast as I'd want them too. Also, when I turn them off, they don't quite return to the fully down position. I need to "time" when I cut them off to get them to fully stay down.
Can't wait to break her in and get on the dyne to fine tune. According to my Wideband, cruising and idle are reading around 12.5 and I can tell by the smell and exhaust residue that I am running rich.
Two weeks later and I still haven't been able to put some miles on. I noticed the old rust on my rear rotors weren't rubbing off evenly and I figured it was time to replace the pads and rotors. I ordered a set of Centric blank rotors from Rock Auto ($85 for the fronts and $35 for the rears) along with some Hawk HPS Plus Brake pads and a set of SpeedBleeders from J-Auto. I figured this would be an easy job I could knock out in a few hours. I pulled the front caliper and noticed that only 1 of the 4 pistons would move freely. Crap. So do I rebuild or go reman? The pads and calipers looked a little rough too.
I decided on reman. I went to O'Reilly's and they said they had front remans that were special order. Great. Went to order them and the system threw an error: no longer available. Lovely. Drove over to Autozone. They said they had front remans that were special order. Great. Went to order them and the system threw an error: no longer available. Both places, along with a some folks I've talked to said the rears haven't been available in a while so I didn't even bother. I decided to check Rock Auto for a front and left set of remans and they literally had 1 left in inventory...so I bought them (sorry everyone else searching)! Only $36 each after core swap. I also got the rear rebuild kit for $10. It has a few less parts than the Atkins Rotary OEM kit, but the few pieces it were missing could be reused as they were not essential to the piston action in the rears. $10 beats $85.
Thanks to the videos from Icon Garage on YouTube, I was able to disassemble the rear calipers but putting them back together is a bit harder. I've bought (and returned) several snap ring pliers because none of them were deep enough or fit down enough into the piston to put it back together. I've got a pair coming from Amazon tomorrow that hopefully fit. In the video, Icon Garage used this rust remover called Metal Rescue. It's not acid, environmentally safe, and non-toxic. I gave it a shot and it's really good stuff. I should have take pictures after I soaked the rear calipers before I painted then black (G2 caliper paint from Amazon).
The molding on the drivers side where the door meets the glass was loose and the defrost vents were so brittle that when I tried to push it back down when it came loose, the plastic just broke. Thanks to Ray Crowe, I got new OEM vents and molding. I also pulled the seats and steam cleaned the carpets. What came out was disgusting.
At this point, I just want to finish the brakes, drive it for a while, get it tuned on the dyne, and be done for a while. I have a spreadsheet to track every penny that goes towards this car (tools, parts, service) and I'm about $18.2k in excluding the cost of the car itself.
BTW, I think someone earlier thanked me for saving this car. Had I not, it would have floated away during Hurricane Florence.
Rear Painted Reman Front Reman front Rear Front Driver -- only 1 piston would more freely The Pads on there still had plenty left The shims look a little rough Here you can see the 1 piston that fired while the other 3 were stuck
Good to see a neglected FD being properly brought back to life and restored. Lots of similarities to my build, which I'll update the thread to one of these years. Bryan is a good engine builder and knowledgeable about rotaries, and a nice guy, but, (and it sounds like you have) make certain to go over your car with a fine tooth comb after a rebuild. Lots of details can be missed by the help in the shop. I'm not one to throw someone under a bus, but I've spent quite a bit of time correcting missed details and cut corners after they did about $7k of work on my car. Keep up the good work. Subscribed.
Good to see a neglected FD being properly brought back to life and restored. Lots of similarities to my build, which I'll update the thread to one of these years. Bryan is a good engine builder and knowledgeable about rotaries, and a nice guy, but, (and it sounds like you have) make certain to go over your car with a fine tooth comb after a rebuild. Lots of details can be missed by the help in the shop. I'm not one to throw someone under a bus, but I've spent quite a bit of time correcting missed details and cut corners after they did about $7k of work on my car. Keep up the good work. Subscribed.
Thanks for the head up. Thus far, I've been happy with my car. For what I paid them to do, the car is great. All the other stuff I'm hoping to handle myself.
Finally found some time (and no rain) to get the car put back together with the new brakes. Since I'm posting here, it's obvious my brakes worked! The first few times I was bedding the pads, I kept thinking "please stop, please stop!"...and it did. These Hawk pads definitely kick off a lot of dust but the car stops really well. Outside of track use, I'm not sure I'd get much more stopping power or need from a big brake kit or with drilled/slotted rotors. Very happy with this relatively inexpensive job.
Now that the brakes are good, I can focus on driving. I've reached the point where I think the car is good for a while. There is nothing mechanically wrong at that I need to fix now (pretty sure AC doesn't work but that can wait until Spring). I still haven't replaced the missing seals around my windshield and hatch, but I don't plan to drive in the rain so that can wait for now. Once I get some some more miles, I want to hit the dyno and tune some of the richness out and get that boost controller working.
My next real project is probably the body and going back to OEM look. I was able to get used front and rear bumper covers but my front bumper cover didn't come with any of the brackets for mounting. I can buy most of it new from Ray (~$300 or so) but I am trying to find it used off a crashed bumper. It's only been a few days, but I haven't found anyone who has the hardware outside of people wanting to sell me complete bumpers, which I don't really need. I've posted WTB here and on the Facebook groups. I guess worst case, I could buy a bumper and keep the one I bought as a spare. It looks like the OEM bumper is going to need to be cut to fit the FMIC. I will either need a new exhaust or have this Apexi N1 lowered a bit because it touches the rear bumper cover and will no doubt melt it off. Back to the Vielside kit util it's time for the transformation.
Also got my first quote to repaint my car...$5000?! I don't know if that's average, high, or low for complete repaint (prime, base, and clear -- no tri-coat or candy color).
My used bumper covers
FMIC hangs below OEM Cover. Hoping R1 Lip will mask the overhang
Where my exhaust currently touched the rear bumper cover. Everything appears to be stock in terms of the hanger and hanger location on the exhaust
Reman and painted Front Caliper and New Rotors (Centric brand)
Rebuilt Rear Calipers using rebuild kit from RockAuto.com ($8) plus new paint. The pink is grease.
Rear bumper cover fits good minus the exhaust. You can also see here that my car was NOT silver originally...
5,000 for a complete repaint is about right from an actual shop. I have seen much much higher. There is a lot of money in the overhead for painting related equipment, and it takes a lot of manual labor hours to get a good paint job. Then the basic materials will be close to a grand for decent quality stuff.
You could ask around your local car guys about painters who may do it on the side. These guys work or used to work in auto body, and will usually have a hookup on the actual materials. Don't be afraid if the guy paints out of his home garage. you save big money by them not having overhead and you are essentially getting their experience at a discount.
90% of the labor is in the prep and finishing work, and the best paint booth in the world wont matter if the prep work isn't done right.
$5k is a very good price if it is done right, by someone you trust. Actaully that's kind of low. As long as you're certain theres no issues/body damage. Body repair and replacing panels can get out of hand VERY quickly. I'm over $10k into a paint and body job on my FD and we're not finished yet. There's always surprises.
I finally got around to getting the Exhaust lowered so I could mount the OEM bumper cover. Sadly, still no dice with the OEM front bumper cover. I found a cover with all the hardware for cheap ($50) and while it was cut for the FMIC, the FMIC on my car extends too far that there is no good way to mount the OEM front without hacking the bumper beyond what I want. So now I'm at a crossroads. Keep the stock look but the Veilside nose or go back to stock but go put a new Intercooler setup (mine appears to work just fine)? Ugh. I know a good V-Mount kit is at least a few grand if I stick with the big names. I can get a CX Racing one for about $800, but I know it require some duct work and effort to make it fit. Frankly, I don't think I can swallow a few grand for a Greddy, HKS, etc. I also know I'll have to mess with my turbo/intake pipes too. I could go with a different FMIC or see if I can cut the pipes to make this one hang less forward (if that's even possible) but then I run the risk of the FMIC butting up against the radiator and causing heat issues. I don't know if my current setup will even work when it gets really hot out. A few people on the Facebook group said as long as I have a vented hood, it may not be an issue. Right now there is a good 6-8" between the radiator and FMIC.
Aside from that dilemma, I bought the door lock shutter kits that were in the Classifieds section of this site and got those put in. Now I don't have any open (a.k.a. no) door shutter on my locks. I also bought the fender vents from Jim T. on this forum and just put those on (the pics below are before). The body def needs some work from where the Veilside side skirts were. Those things were impossible to get off as some of the screws to the custom brackets were so rusted that I couldn't even get a screw extractor to work. I ended up using a Dremmal to cut the fiber glass to take them off. I hoping to order the Shine Auto JDM OEM Sideskits and splash guards if I can get the front OEM bumper on. If not, I don't know what will look good with that wide body nose since I don't want a wide body kit.
As for my AC, I realized that since Rotorsports had to remove the rusted compressor to put a used one on, they either let all the R12 out or there was none left (more likely scenario). They don't do AC work so I called around and also posted on Facebook. Sounds like R12 is hard to get these days and every local shop I called said they don't even have the equipment anymore to work on it if I could find some. It appears my only option is to convert to R134 but there jury is out on whether or not it cools well. Some people say it sucks, others said it's with a 2-5 degree difference. Some said to just take the online "class" to get the certification needed to buy whatever R12 is out there and DIY, but I'm not sure how I feel about doing my own AC work, especially trying to pull a solid vacuum. I actually think my compressor isn't kicking on because the pressure switch is preventing it since they system has to be empty or damn close. This really is a never ending money pit...
This photo is the nose not even all the way on. I'd have to cut that section that goes across the FMIC clean off..
Since you will likely need to mod something whatever way you go, and paint, why don't you try cutting off the lip portion of the bumper and fiberglass if it without it. Might not look too bad.
Get rid of the FMIC. If money is a consideration, you could spray the rear bumper so it at least matches the rest of the car.
I'm going to eventually get the entire car repainted. Money is always a consideration. I'm at $18k into this project (not including the cost of the car). I'm trying to spend where it makes sense with a practical but reliable solutions. Getting it back to stock look was a goal from the beginning. But is a front bumper worth a conversion from FMIC to V? I don't know. If so, is a HKS or Greddy really several thousand dollars "better" than a CX Racing? I don't know either but I'm hoping some people here have the experience to help me make a good educated decision.
Also, why should I get rid of the FMIC? Is there a functional reason based on your experience?
09-06-18, 09:54 AM
And I love the montego !
