Mitch's Rx7 FD Build
 

Hey Guys,

I've decided to make a build log and go through my steps and challenges along the way for anyone else who may be interested doing the same thing. I'll try to be descriptive when I can but I am in no way an expert.

I bought an 1992 rx7 fd last april that needed alot of work.

Here is a list of the problems that I knew it had:
- Wobbly passenger side mirror
- Drivers outside door handle broken
- oil level sensor wire cut
- no front bumper
- no engine
- brake rotors need replacing
- broken clip on center console
- Electrical issue regarding the flasher CPU
- Rear hatch had 4 holes filled with silicone from previous wing
- Missing rear seats
- and a few other minor things

Below is the first day with the car.

I was able to fix the door handle as I was given a broken spare with the car. All i had to do was take the good parts off the spare and I was able to get it back in working order. As for the wobbly mirror, the metal piece that swivels was broken in half, to fix this I just put some material between the plates and JB welded it back to become one again.


I was able to find a 13B for a reasonable price and was under the assumption that it would need to be rebuilt. After a quick compression test it was obvious it had low compression. I disassembled the engine and checked to see if i could figure out the reason for the low compression. It appeared to me that the coolant seals had gone as there was some build up of junk in the coolant passages. The side seals on the rotors were also flush with the rotor so initially I was worried that it overheated and warped the plates.

Parts Ordered:
Rotary Aviation O-ring kit
Rotary Aviation 2mm Super Seals and race springs
Side Seal Set
Side Seal Spring Set
OEM Corner seals
Thermal Pellet
Bearings

The absolute longest and most painstaking part has been cleaning the parts.
I had a big plastic bin full of varsol and used this to clean the parts, the rotors were caked with carbon so i had these soaking for a while. I found a small brass brush very helpful to remove carbon and filth from most of these parts. The rotors had so much carbon that I actually took a razor blade and carefully scrapped at removing most of it. (No i didnt scratch the rotors). Below you sill see before and after pics of initial cleaning. I used a drill with a soft bristle brush attached to get the side of the rotor housings and a scotch brite pad also helped alot in certain areas.

Man that is in good shape compared to the 93 i just got.... :) looking forward to see the transformation as i go along with my rebuild.

Okay! After everything was cleaned I reassembled the engine. I've also painted the transmission.
After taking apart the stock twin turbos, it appears that there is a crack through the waste gate opening. This was enough for me to decide to go single turbo! So now I was in for a long run as I needed to save up for some upgrades. I chose to stay with the stock flywheel and get it resurfaced while getting an ACT sprung 6 puck clutch.

This car had almost no rust on it except on the fuel sender assembly. So I gave it some love and this is how it turned out.

Nice work so far, I will be following your progress with great interest!

I just finished tearing down a 12A and am in the process of cleaning all the parts.....I sure hope that I can get them as shiny as you did!

Tom

Thanks guys for the positive comments :) I'm a little behind in keeping up on this log as I've been busy with life. Engines in the car now.

I've rebuilt the front calipers with the help of a friend. Luckily the pistons were already in really good shape so it made it an easy task.

For oil cooling, I purchased all new AN fittings from batinc and 10an aeroquip line to mate to the stock coolers. I purchased 13ft of line and still had a couple feet left over.

I've also installed a v mount kit from rotary works. I had to cut out some plastic in areas on the stock fan to mate it to the rad but nothing crazy. Overall Im happy with the way it sits in the car, I don't find that the rad hangs too low as its even with the coolers and with a bit of ducting it should do its job well!

I was planning to use the ffe step up kit for fuel with the stock primaries until I saw one of the injectors had a cracked pintel cap. At the point I didnt want to waste time sending them for cleaning and repairs so I'm going to do a full an line system with ffe's primary rail as well.

i hate to be that guy and start an argument, but did you do a lot of research on those RA super seals and race springs?
i think the general consensus is they score up the housings because they're too damn hard.

I definitely did. All seals get mixed reviews, some good some bad. I'm running premix for this reason, a better oiled internal engine and better cooling capabilities will negate the effects of a harder apex seal. Faster break in time, handles detonation if it was to occur, high boost friendly. Friction will wear any surface down over time. I'll take some reliability now for quicker housing wear

all seals get mixed reviews, but there must be a reason the RA super seals are known for eating housing chrome.
and really, other things, like good tuning on a good ECU, can prevent detonation, and all you're left with is a seal that's too hard and running 2oz/gal premix every fill up.

I hope these work out well for you.

also, full disclosure, I've never personally used the RA super seals! (only RA classic, atkins, and mazda), so keep in mind this is just my two cents. :)