level7

iTrader: (3)

Hey guys welcome to my build thread! I'm currently in between contracts for my job so I finally have time, and some side monies to get my FD to a respectable state. When the project started last week it looked pretty dire, my 1993 BB R1 had been sitting in the back/outside portion of my friends shop for quite awhile. Poor thing got pretty dinged up being shuffled around and got too much weather exposure so it's time to make amends to the ol' girl and give some deserved TLC.

Quick history:
I purchased the car in 1998 right before my 21st birthday...as my daily driver...lol if I regret one thing about purchasing this car it's that. In hindsight it did hasten my education on fixing and maintaining rotaries properly. After putting in a Reman in 1999 the car ran great for years with mild modifications and knowledgeable maintenance. Man we had some good times! I got critically ill in 2007 and didn't fully recover until 2009, but during that time I couldn't work so I had to consider selling her if I couldn't find a way to keep it and not cost me money. Luckily for me, a good friend that owns a repair shop offered to store it in the back while I got my life in order and I registered it as non-operational. Fast forward to 2017 with life work and health all running optimally, I decided to pull her out and prep for smog so I could get registration and start planning the build that's happening right now. Shortly after accomplishing those goals I blew a coolant seal which wasn't totally unexpected as the motor had very high mileage and did sit for a long duration. I put in a low mileage JDM motor I got from a forum member in 2018, got it running exceptionally well then had to store it again briefly because I was traveling away for my job and moving homes. Last week was the big compression test and it was solid plus boosting at a 10-8-10 pattern so I feel confident enough in the drivetrain to move forward.

Project Goals:

• Driving intensions are for some aggressive weekend street driving and going to car gatherings.
• Engine reliability is my main focus, there is more concern for keeping cool temps rather than making big power. (I'm 50/50 right now but leaning toward deleting emission devices)
• Kill the various electrical gremlins that have taken residence from exposure.
• Replace important broken interior plastics.
• Update the look and aero to be a bit more modern. Looking to paint the car Black Grey, a non-metallic Porsche used on the 997 GT3 RS, paint code 7A1
• Keeping the stock twin turbo setup. Yes, I like 90's tech, pop-up headlights and overly complicated sequential turbo systems are here to stay.
• I want a semi-aggressive suspension/wheel setup (something like 18x10-11ish with a lower offset on 285/30 squared) that will require some over fenders up front but I do not want any body kit parts on the rear panel so that will need to be rolled/pulled. Will post intended alignment specs later.
• Keep on budget lol. I like to do the work myself and I'm not a huge name brand guy unless the quality and performance vastly exceeds it's less expensive counterpart, so don't expect a long list of expensive genuine (unless I can get OEM) parts through this adventure.

Current Modifications:

• Tein Adjustable Coils
• Upgraded Control Arms & Toe Links
• Apex-i Intake
• Apex-i Boost Controller
• ACT Clutch
• Koyo Radiator
• Pettit AST
• GReddy Turbo Timer
• Pettit Downpipe
• GReddy PE Exhaust
• FC Thermoswitch
• Poly Motor Mounts

Parts I've accumulated over the last 2 years for Phase 1:

• Shine Auto FEED Replica Front Fenders (Thanks dannng)
• Shine Auto FEED Replica Side Steps
• Shine Auto Burnout Front Bumper (Thanks Ken)
• 99 Spec Combo Lights
• RB Dual Tip Exhaust (Thanks Rotary Yo)
• Apex-i Power FC (Thanks aicrotary2)
• Rotary Works V-mount Intercooler Kit
• LRB Speed V-mount Undertray
• LRB Speed Dash Vent Replacement
• GReddy Fan Extension Wires
• GReddy Intake Elbow
• Alpha Garage Floor Mats
• Carbon Fiber Dash Cover
• New OEM door sill trim, hood spacer *****, front cowl bolt covers, seat rail bolt cover and on and on $$$$$$...
• Power Steering Cooler (Thanks for this idea DaleClark)
• Basic Twin Intake Filter set off ebay, (way better quality than the Apex-i filters IMHO)

OK that's it for now, super pumped to get going and hopefully this journey evolves into a contribution for future forum lurkers.

level7

iTrader: (3)

She's seen much better days but this is what I'm starting with

Snipe G

iTrader: (2)

Great story. I too know what it’s like having a long term down fd. Good luck with the build. Looking forward to seeing it come together.

R/Jason

level7

iTrader: (3)

Thanks Jason it should be a good time and hopefully rewarding once it's "finished."

Last week after passing the initial shakedown, I replaced the brake master cylinder because it was leaking pretty bad and moved the battery to the trunk so I have more room to work with.

Today I removed the front bumper, intakes, intercooler, radiator, AST, power steering cooler and related hoses. The whole time I'm side eying that crusty old air pump, it's like begging me to retire it. I knew going in, the Rotary Works kit (or CX Racing I guess now?) will take some custom fabricating but I love doing that stuff so I picked the kit to save money and to be able to locate certain parts where I want them and create custom ducting. Two videos on youtube (top 2 videos if you search cx racing intercooler install fd) helped out the most and I just filled in the blanks with what seemed logical. All the welds look great and the thickness of the radiator looks bigger than my koyo.

I didn't experience all of the issues these guys had but I certainly had some of my own so I think each experience is unique based on what's been modified already. Here's a list of recommendations before installing this kit:

• Get better hardware. What's provided will probably work fine but for a couple bucks more I would upgrade to stronger bolts.
• Kit doesn't have a solution for fan extension wiring so either make your own or buy a premade plug and play kit like I did from GReddy $40. It was worth it having clean connections and no need to modify the harness.
• There will be some gap at the bottom of the V where air will flow through and straight to the engine. Its not huge and all you really need to do is cut a small sheet of metal to attach to the bracket that's already there holding the back of the intercooler in place.
• You're going to need new radiator hoses. You can't and shouldn't reuse the old ones. What I did was take a hanger and make the bends I needed to make sure the outlet and inlet get to the right places with minimal bends and staying clear of belts & pullies. Autozone has a bunch of randomly shaped radiator hoses, find the one that best resembles what you need.
• You will most likely need to come up with your own turbo to intercooler pipe. The kit provides one (second pic bottom right pipe) for some single turbo applications but most likely wont fit yours.

The install was relatively painless, all brackets for the radiator matched up perfect with the crossbar provided on the kit. Also was able to throw on the Greddy elbow so I can start test fitting the intercooler pipes.



The only real challenge was getting the intercooler inlet to the top of the y-pipe. With the air pump there it would require a real snake job (You see where this is going...). Single turbo guys wont have too much of an issue with the inlets location. With the battery gone, I was able to move the intercooler a few inches to the right giving me more room on the turbo side for intakes and stuff. The bolts connected to the front of the frame just needed to be moved and realigned, no drilled required. However...



...I did need to re-drill the crossbar to accommodate the engine side intercooler brackets new location. Ugh that rusty air pump...



I feel like I made good progress today, looking forward to tomorrow to figure out how I'm going to avoid making a crazy intercooler pipe with a million welded bends.

estevan62274

iTrader: (32)

Good work!
I'm using the same v-mount, its a budget kit but if you're will to do a little bit of work it's a sound set-up.
I kept my battery in the front and have working A/C too👍

Looking forward to more updates.
Steve

Molotovman

iTrader: (49)

Bets of luck with the resurrection! There's nothing better than a functioning FD- maybe you should stretch the budget and get some BNR's

level7

iTrader: (3)

Thank you Steve, that is really impressive. My AC didn't work so I removed most of it for now but plan on replumbing and fixing the issue at some point. I've been lurking on your build thread, if my FD ends up half as good as your silver or red I think Ill be in good shape.

Thanks appreciate that, although my budget does allow for extra parts, it's not enough for that and the supporting mods but damn it's tempting!


I decided to go for it and removed the air pump.



It was quite liberating actually lol. This does slightly deviate from my path to glory but only slightly and it was somewhat planned as I did the research ahead of time. I went ahead and ordered Banzai's block off kit but I should only need to block off the ACV and cap the lines going to it, the ACV and AWS tubes and the EGR valve. Since the new BOV is located on the throttle plate side I also need to remove the ABV and cap it at the y-pipe. I believe the CRV needs to stay since my turbos still run sequential. Since I have a Power FC I wont need to worry about throwing a CEL so no resistors needed. Please correct me if I'm wrong about any of this.

I spoke with Pineapple racing and inquired about their idler pully that I will need to keep good belt contact on the water pump. I have read some threads regarding poor longevity but they were convincing enough that their updated pully was superior, so I decided to go for it as I've done good business with them in the past. So while I wait for these parts, I prepped by removing the UIM hardware and while I was in there, remove and inspect the throttle body. The gasket was crusted on so I ordered a new one from Atkins and chiseled and gently sanded down the surface.



I also had time to get the FEED replica fenders on. The fitment is good with lots of adjustability. I'm keeping everything loosely bolted for when the front bumper gets put on. I made sure to get the wiring harness tucked up high because look what I found on the passenger side...



Unraveling some loose electrical tape and oh hi there. Going to have to handle that tomorrow. Good progress today.

Snipe G

iTrader: (2)

Solid decision on the air pump. Looking good so far. I’m sure you are tracking Ray Crowe as an awesome parts source as well.

level7

iTrader: (3)

Thanks, yes Ray is my best source for OEM and if he doesn't have it, ebay or Atkins might.

I got the parts that I needed on Friday to proceed so I was able to get in there this weekend and make some good progress. All the block-off plates were easy to install, the only real pain in the *** was having to get under the car to remove the turbo inlet bolts to lift out the split air pipe. Less is definitely more in this case as this dirty engine bay looses some clutter. The idler pulley was another easy bolt on but I do want to point out that it might be tempting to throw some Loctite on a nut and thread that bad boy on the top stud (picture below) for a good few turns and leave it be. Don't do it, most likely not enough thread space, go the extra mile and remove that stud and use the long bolt provided in the kit. With that on, I was able to get all the belts back on and torqued to spec with no issues. Water pump is happy.



I relocated the AST to the nose, left of the intercooler and I was also able to get the power steering cooler installed. I had two small issues with that, where was I going to locate it and I needed to get an adapter for the kit I bought as the outlet tube on the new cooler requires a bigger gauge hose than what's coming from the PS unit. I ended up sandwiching it between the sway bar and the upper portion of the radiator. Should get plenty of air through those fins seated there.



I was able to work further on fitting the new body pieces on Sunday. Test fitted the Burnout front bumper onto the "new" Shine FEED fenders. Literally the only thing I needed off the old stock bumper was the 2x, 3 holed brackets that mate the corners of the fenders. I was pretty impressed with how the pieces came together, there is a bit of pinching on the corners but nothing I can't fix with a little adjusting. The bonnet also closes perfect with no gap so that means less body work I have to do later. I'm really happy about the fit and the quality of Shine (thank you Ken) products.



Tomorrow I put everything back together after a final inspection of the cooling system, and hopefully fire it up after installing the PFC. I'm nervous just thinking about it lol. I've never tested so many modifications at once

alexdimen

iTrader: (13)

Glad you're doing better and in a good place to get back into the FD game. Looking good and should be a really fun street machine. The stock twins have great potential if you're willing to put the work in to make them function properly.

Not sure if you're on the stock PFC map, but all those flow mods would have me looking for a tuner or wideband!

Since you've been out of the game for a while there is new PFC companion software called FC Tweak that is amazingly helpful for reliability and performance. It automates map and setting analysis based on your setup (catches lean cells, bad injector settings, etc) and then suggests changes which you can accept or reject.

level7

iTrader: (3)

Thanks for that info I just recently started going through all the big PFC threads I need to know. I am running the base map on a newer PFC which if I remember correctly allows for more flow mods then previous versions but none the less should get it tuned. FC Tweak sounds like a great feature, I'll look into it and see if it needs a datalogit, which I currently do not have ATM.

No starting the car today but I did find a future headache that needed to be addressed before anything else. I decided to check out the overflow tank since it's been overlooked since ownership and yeah, that was a good call...



The tank has accumulated some serious sediment breakdown over the decades and looked on the brink of not being able to perform it's function. Took it all apart and made sure everything could be reused after a thorough cleaning. At this point every aspect of the cooling system has been inspected and all hoses replaced. I should be in good shape for starting it up tomorrow. I knew I was going to run out of daylight today after cleaning the overflow tank so I shifted focus on smaller tasks like replacing the old light bulbs with newer LEDs and swapping out some old weather stripping.



I used these part numbers from superbrightleds.com:
1157-CW27 Dual function for the rear and rear turn lights and front combo driving lights
921-W19-T Combo driving light turn signal

Still researching what I want to use for the main popup driving lights. A lot of people used to recommend the Sylvania Silverstar 9003ST, wondering if that is still the best stock replacement bulb for my buck.

alexdimen

iTrader: (13)

FC Tweak does require a DL, but is well worth it IMO. It solves so many driveability/performance/reliability issues with the stock PFC map and even has an autotune feauture now. There is a free version available for if/when you get a DL.

A lot of people are going with true HID projector conversions now and Sakebomb has a plug n play setup for like $1k. Personally I just got the $100 clear RHD headlight housings off ebay and put in Philips RacingVision H4 9003 bulbs. No doubt better than stock after a good aiming, but still not on the same level as HID.

Nice catch on the tank. Could have been bad if that went unchecked.

level7

iTrader: (3)

Finally getting around to updating this thread, really busy week but full of good news. The best of it being she started right up! I have to admit I was pretty nervous and was thinking if I had missed anything or reassembled anything wrong but after going through the PFC learning process she purred at a steady 800RPMs. Must have adjusted that idle adjustment screw in the TB perfectly lol Nice not having the warm up system on cold start. Changed the AST cap and bled the air out of the system using a sealed funnel, those things are amazing for getting out trapped air bubbles. Temps stayed at a nice 83 degrees until heat soak set in and fans came on at the correct temps with the FC thermoswitch.



With the car now ready to be test driven, I started getting the front end body stuff ready. I had to cut much bigger holes in the rebar to fit the 99 spec combo lights, then re-install the front bumper, drill the holes for the lights and install the lights for fitment purposes. Next I had to do some refurbishing on the FD headlight covers as ALL the brackets have been broken off. Luckily I could see where it was broken so I could easily measure where I needed to place them. I went to Home Depot and bought a thin sheet of metal, cut it in small pieces, bended them to 45 degrees using a vice and drilled open slots for adjustability. Slathered it in JB Weld and let it sit for a day.



Surely not the prettiest way to do it but it works great and saves me $$ from getting new ones. If I could give anyone advise doing something like this, don't screw the 4 adjusters that hold the cover on too tight. It puts too much stress on the brackets especially if they are still all plastic. The plastic light cover will do the job of keeping it nice and snug. I must have spent at least 5 hours just adjusting the position of the light assemblies so the back of the cover wouldn't snag on the hood when popping up the lights. Finally got it dialed in and must say I'm pretty happy with how everything is coming together so far.

level7

iTrader: (3)

Work is starting to heat up for me a bit so I wasn't able to update last week but I did get a bunch done over the weekend with the rear fenders. This was my first time ever doing this so I was a bit nervous, but after watching a few video tutorials I took the common points and went to work. My friends shop has a bunch of wheels laying around so I found a set closest to the sizing I want to run and starting from there. Here is a quick breakdown on the steps I took:

1. Measure how far the new wheel/tire is sticking out from the fender so you can get an idea on how much you need to pull. In my case I wanted to do about an inch and a half.
2. Clean the inside lip of the fender, get out all the rocks and pebbles and built up dirt. Be thorough, if you leave a tiny pebble in there it can pierce through the metal. Do this regardless if you are or are not doing bodywork and paint after.
3. Make clear markings on the left and right of the fender half circle to indicate where you want the pull to start and end.
4. Use a heat gun to get the fender nice and hot. Mostly recommended to save paint from cracking but I recommend this step highly regardless if you are or are not doing bodywork and paint after. The metal is so much easier to work with and decreases your chance to make vertical creases that you don't want.
5. Rolling - Set your rolling tool close to a 45 degree angle so that when you start to roll, the lip will start to fold in toward the outer fender. Keep the heat gun going as you move the tool back and forth and adjust the roller toward you (head still at an angle) until the lip is folded all the way into the inner fender.
6. Pulling - Now adjust the head of the roller closer to 90 degrees and do the same as above. Make sure that fender is hot when you are passing with the roller. Refer top your previous measurements to see where you're at, you will need to test fit a couple times if really close.

Before




After

Not perfect but good enough so that there is minimal bodywork I need to do when the time comes.

DaleClark

iTrader: (55)

Long term you'll want new headlight covers. They're about $80 each from Mazda, they come primered and ready for paint. I've never seen a fix for broken covers that lasted long term.

Also if you go to LED turn signals you'll need to modify the CPU#2 to disable the fast-flash. I have a writeup on that from a few years back, should be easy to find with a search.

Glad she started right up, that's a great feeling!

Dale

level7

iTrader: (3)

As a matter of fact I was about to list all the electrical issues I am experiencing and that is on the list! I found your thread here I believe, and I should be capable of doing a bit of soldering. I was thinking in my head "do I have a tail light out or something, why is everything blinking so fast?" but everything was turning on and off correctly. Your thread explains why brilliantly thank you sir. As proud as I am of my little headlight cover brackets, deep down inside I know you are right, probably wont be the best long term solution but they hold on nice and tight for now.

Issues I've noticed while driving the car:

Speedometer
Registers 0 speed on the gauge and 0 on the PFC while driving and at idle.
On a couple of occasions but very few it would register at 20MPH while idling and driving at any speed on both the gauge and PFC.

Tachometer
Registers 0RPMs at idle and driving but PFC is registering correctly.
On a couple of occasions the tachometer either worked fine or is really slow to move but still worked accurately on the PFC.

Power Steering
PS seems to not activate while at idle or slow speeds, wheel is really heavy to turn. Does not make any audible PS noise.
At speeds of over 50MPH car steering becomes super nimble like the power assist is activating as speed increases.
This may be related to my speedometer problem, I need to verify.

Passenger Door Window
Drivers side switch panel can control driver's side window only. (Safety lock off)
Passenger side switch will not control passenger side window.
Giving voltage to the passenger switch successfully activated the switch to allow opening and closing of the window.

That about covers it, otherwise the car runs ****. The power steering thing is sketchy but as far as the motor, it's strong and giving me healthy enough readings from the PFC (400inhg@750RPM) at idle. Once I can get a handle on these gremlins everything should be in proper working order. I have a basic idea what could be wrong but I have some research to do this weekend to confirm suspicions.

level7

iTrader: (3)

It's good to be able to have time to update again, a lot has happened since my last post. Lots of work, which as a freelancer during covid is a fortunate thing, but I have been able to split the time here and there and work on my FD.

My turn signal rate is correct now thanks to a little soldering and the guide provided by Dale in my previous post.

As far as the Tach and Speedo issue, I took apart the gauge cluster to find no visible signs of bad capacitors or anything that had leaked out from exposure. I cleaned the connections on everything very thoroughly and followed the wires down to the harness, everything looked ok. Whatever I did got the Tach working perfectly but the Speedo still has an issue. At idle it sticks at 20MPH, the PFC is getting the same reading. When I reach speeds over 20MPH it accurately tells me my MPH on both. Still have some work to do on this.

The passenger side window issue was fixed by buying a new OEM driver side switch panel from a 94, which has the added bonus of automatic rolldown on both windows instead of just the driver side. $22 on eBay new too so I thought I was getting away with a relatively inexpensive fix but I inadvertently found that the passenger window switch up button doesn't work now that it gets power. Still on the high of being able to control both windows from the driver side finally, I called it a win and ordered a new OEM passenger switch for $50. A switch with less complexity yet double the price, got to love supply and demand.

Finally the power steering issue lol. I think my mind went there because of how heavy the steering felt not moving. The "rollers" I am using for fitment have 285/30/18 squared, the size I intend to use, so going from a 235/40/18 to a wider contact patch logically would create more turning friction. As far as the instability at higher speeds, after reading through a few threads I narrowed it down to the alignment. I think the last time it was aligned was 2005. Had some toe and camber specs that needed to be addressed to have a more balanced feel.

Started with according to alignment shop -

Front
L Camber: -2.8 R Camber: -2.6
L Toe: -0.08 R Toe: -0.12

Rear
L Camber: -2.1 R Camber: -2.2
L Toe: -0.04 R Toe: -0.06

Left the alignment shop satisfied with these changes -

Front
L Camber: -2.2 R Camber: -2.2
L Toe: 0 R Toe: 0

Rear
L Camber: -0.8 R Camber: -0.8
L Toe: 0 R Toe: -0.01

Everything else was within factory specs and the car is now driving with good stability at higher speeds. I didn't know the guys at the alignment shop so I stuck around and told them I will do the test driving, they did not seem too pleased by that haha. After all I've done to get this car back up I get nervous leaving it with anyone but I know it will have to go away for a few weeks to get painted. THAT, I do not feel comfortable doing myself...yet.

level7

iTrader: (3)

The door panel had a bunch of little dents that were pretty easy to pull/fill and the fender is getting a little messaging. Sanding sanding and more sanding...



Sadly, the bonnet was having a tiny issue being too close to the front bumper when closed so I thought with a few new layers of paint and clear its going to rub for sure. With some reluctance, I shaved a bit off the bumper to give it the perfect amount of space and was happy with the end result.

Snipe G

iTrader: (2)

Awesome work! I also have the dead tach, and possessed speedo. I’m not looking forward to that one but glad to hear yours is sorted. Can’t wait to see how the paint comes out.

Jason

level7

iTrader: (3)

Thank you! After having plenty of time to change my mind, I stuck with the original plan and went for the non metallic grey (7A1) as the base color, with black accents and even smaller red accents. I was shopping for something solid but not perfect as I wasn't up for spending perfect paint job prices. My good friend recommended one of his guys who rents a local paint booth in Santa Ana and does freelance. I was hesitant but then he showed me a nice forest green mustang he did and it was impressive enough to roll the dice.

Teaser pics from the painter -

Primer




Paint

level7

iTrader: (3)

Under all that fuzz is a pretty big grin as I give my official approval on a job well done. Definitely got the value I was looking for in this paint job. Couple of blemishes to be expected but nothing I cant easily fix on my own. Jams and inner hatch look good, no major overspray except for one piece of molding I wanted to keep black but ended up getting painted because of my lackluster espanol lol. I was pretty satisfied with it just running great but now my adoration for this car has hit new levels seeing it in all it's shiny glory.






I carefully put the lights back on and drove to her new home where she will no longer be neglected and have plenty of space to be well maintained.






Now with most of the mechanical stuff out of the way I can really get to my favorite part, the details. The first being the door sill window trim and replica FEED sides. More pics to come!

Snipe G

iTrader: (2)

Sweet.

estevan62274

iTrader: (32)

Looks awesome!
Congrats man she's come along way!
Will be following for more updates!

Steve

level7

iTrader: (3)

Slowly but surely getting things done on my FD. I accumulated quite a pile of parts in the last month so it's time to get to it. The FEED replica side steps were an easy enough install. I've read about 3 different ways to secure the center section between the front and rear bolts. Self tapping screws into the body, using the side drain plugs, or using an adhesive. I went with the latter because one, I didn't want to drill any more holes into the body and two, the plug way seemed a bit overkill. Knowing I have some really good adhesive strips and paste made the choice easy. There are plenty of great threads explaining how to do it but if I were to give any advice, drill the front and rear holes large enough for you to have at least a 1/4 inch of play. It will make fitment so much easier just make sure you use a proper washer. I let the adhesive combo sit for a day and it feels very sturdy...as long as nobody uses it as a step to get in heh. To keep the tri color theme going I used a vinyl pinstriping tape to carefully lay down a clean red accent along the side.

The carbon steps and red piped hand pad/floor mat combo from Garage Alpha really made a huge aesthetic difference to the interior. Its got a long way to go but I am very happy with the results so far. Got to love Garage Alpha sending us awesome car key blanks, key chains and stickers with purchases. I will admit, I reluctantly drilled 2 body holes for the carbon steps but I felt that it was the best solution to keep it securely in place and to be able to remove it if wiring needs to be accessed. I used some good looking self tapping screws with a thin rubber washer to prevent any cracking.









New brakes coming up next!

Snipe G

iTrader: (2)

NICE!

Looks awesome!

You have to be happy with that.

Jason