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Many times, we are so focused on the parts, the engineering, and the finances that we leave out one huge aspect to a build, people.
There's only so much one can do on their own.
In this case, I would be totally lost without my friend Jason. This guy has the patience and guts to take on any task, even if its flipping a car upside down like a rotisserie chicken, just to make sure every nut and bolt is painted. (Look at the dash bar in the background, a part you can't even see, he insisted must be red, for those that take the car apart to appreciate,..... wtf man, next level thoughts!) When you meet someone more insane then yourself, its inspiring. Guy is a total lunatic when it comes to projects.
We can't fear what we've read is hard, or told is not possible. Just do it.
Master painter demolishing the rx7 chassis, whatever it takes for moar boost!
Pic of his paintjob today, FD soon to be on this level.
Mocking up rear fender flares. PERFECT fit. Ken at Shineauto is a boss.
Fender liners made from 26ga steel, painted on the backside, and screwed into the wheel well to prevent rust. A lip is left over the edge, to prevent water/debris from traveling up the fiberglass panel. The lip will be tack welded to the body, and sealed with seam-sealer. Then a little strip of weather stripping.
Inside shot. The screws will be replaced with low profile stainless sheet metal screws. Then, because we are insane, we will come back with undercoating, base, and clear. Nothing like super shiny, and hard finish. Lately, we ask the question, "would you eat scrambled eggs off that? no, ok then it needs to be cleaner"
Only one minimal setback. When we removed the tape from the cage, half the paint came with it. But in Jason's words, "that means we get to put another layer of clear on it"
Thanks for following. Up next, we'll be priming/blocking the rest of the chassis and the doors, then time for that black paint! And, prepare for some screwed up, chaotic, radical non-sense when it comes to the intercooler setup....
Dumb question... whe do you need to weld that Quill?
Not a dumb question,
To be honest, I'm not even 100% sure of my answer. But, the power steering is deleted, because there's no room for all that with all the non-sense in this engine bay. When you delete the power steering, the rack now has no power assist from the rack/hydraulics side of the rack. So, now, all the stress/action is fully taken on by the quill which is the shaft that connects the rack to your steering column. So when you're making those hard steering inputs, like in a parking lot, all that stress is transferring through that quill. And from what I've been told, that thing needs to be strengthened with welds or you risk breaking it and dying.
^I ran my old VR FD with a looped PS rack for many years. It didn't damage the rack--- but it was a tremendous pain in the *** to turn, and once I installed my Maval depowered rack I was kicking myself for not doing it sooner.
Unrelated, but do my eyes spy your buddy Jason wearing a Mazdaspeed hat?
If its anyone that can knock this out its you bro! Honestly can't wait to see this thing up and running. Lets get the 3 rotor and the 4 rotor up and going
Air file the chassis to ensure a smooth and fresh surface for adhesion.
2k primer, starting to look like some sort of automobile
mmm clean
According to the roll cage fabricator, our doors were supposed to close, and only the door panels would have to be removed. LOL, good one. Well, they didn't. So, first step to coming up with a solution. Get our minds right.
If its anyone that can knock this out its you bro! Honestly can't wait to see this thing up and running. Lets get the 3 rotor and the 4 rotor up and going
Let's get your monster running. 7 rotors in one room
The door bars on the cage dont look like they would protrude into the door THAT much. Having good looking door cards on a race car goes a long way to making a nice overall product. I am curious to see what you end up doing for this.
The bars do protrude that much, door cards will not work
I contemplated having the bars redone, but have decided I like the fact that the door bars stick out so far. They allow getting in/out easier, and more room for arms, legs, and seats.
We will be grinding the edges around the cut out section to smooth lip, then weather stripping around the edge. The inside of the door will be primered and glossy black. We are debating painting the crash bar red or black. I have decided this will look better to me than a flat door card, as now the inside of the door, with its curves will be stated against the rest of the interior curves.
A race type pull strap will be mounted to the crash bar inside the door, and the latch mechanism will be activated via just a single pull cable. No need for handles or switches or anything.
A friend is currently fabricating a window frame that will be welded with tabs to the top of the door frame, allowing a lexan window to be bolted on/removed in quick order. The lexan window will have a slide into the center section. This will be the last focus on the build as windows are least of our concerns.
I personally hate having the windows up in an RX7, too small and can't hear the engine enough
My friend's design will be similar to this, but more simplicity. It will be available in the coming weeks, and anyone that is interested will have a chance to order.
With all these mods, how much $$$ obtained from the previous Rx7 you had/built/sold is left?
I cannot image after purchasing the 4rotor, redoing the entire car's paint/body/Rims/etc. that you have much left of the $55k.
It does not look like its even close to being running yet :p.
I have not seen if you have or not, but have you thought of getting sponsors? I mean I cannot image you going through all this work just to use stock FD transmissions and then the stock diff? Maybe you could save money if you get sponsors (I have no idea how that stuff works though).
Several questions. If you answered them already my bad:
1) What are you doing for brakes,
2) What are you going to do for oil cooler/pan/etc,
3) What are you going to do for transmission once your 4 blow up,
4) what are you going to do for the rear diff setup to handle the 4 rotor, and
5) how much power are you even trying to go for?
With all these mods, how much $$$ obtained from the previous Rx7 you had/built/sold is left?
I cannot image after purchasing the 4rotor, redoing the entire car's paint/body/Rims/etc. that you have much left of the $55k.
It does not look like its even close to being running yet :p.
I have not seen if you have or not, but have you thought of getting sponsors? I mean I cannot image you going through all this work just to use stock FD transmissions and then the stock diff? Maybe you could save money if you get sponsors (I have no idea how that stuff works though).
Several questions. If you answered them already my bad:
1) What are you doing for brakes,
2) What are you going to do for oil cooler/pan/etc,
3) What are you going to do for transmission once your 4 blow up,
4) what are you going to do for the rear diff setup to handle the 4 rotor, and
5) how much power are you even trying to go for?
Hey buddy, thanks for commenting!
Yes, some time to go before start-up. Slow and steady wins the race when it comes to a build. As long as progress is being made, and the vision is relentless, things will happen.
Stock trans:
Yes, 4 transmissions ready for destruction. Cash liquidity is important at the most crucial stages of the build. When the build is finishing up, and engine is ready to idle, then there's reasonable time to think about $5k expenditure on trans. No. 1 goal, get running!
Diff:
The diff is Carbonetic 1.5way, shouldn't have much of an issue.
Brakes:
Rebuilt calipers, new pads, rotors, abs delete. Would be nice to have big brake kit, etc, but again, unnecessary at the goal of getting engine running.
Oil Pan:
Dual sump designed pan, to clear over rack, stock sub frame, with leveler line between the sumps, direct oil feeds to each iron
Coolers:
25 row coolers in bumper, and another 2x 25 row coolers for intercooler system, along with some other things, have to wait to see
Power:
Power isn't a big deal. 600rwhp is plenty. Anything more than that is insane to drive on an rx7 chassis. The 4 rotor swap is done for the appreciation of the sound, the frequency that travels through your body from the vibration / harmonics of the engine created by 4 rotors firing at 90*, and the turbo to have the extra juice in the higher gears. Anything between 600-800 will do just fine!
Goal behind the swap, is more of a concept rather than a specific performance purpose. To demonstrate the following:
- a 4 rotor can be made to look clean and run reliably
- a car can be build in a reasonable time period
- this type of thing can be done by saving your money, working with good friends, having patience, and a strong heart
AND whats the worse than can happen? I fail? Better to chase the dream then to be afraid to try. If the budget is overrun, and a second job is needed / time to save more money, so be it. But for now, all we can do is shoot as high as possible and go.
The cost is high, and sponsors are appealing. However, I cannot commit to specific timelines/shows nor will be willing to run parts that are not agreeable to the vision of the build. Definitely open to ideas when things get rolling.
Progress is steady. We repainted the roll cage a second time, as we were dissatisfied with the color. A new "safety" red was sprayed and cleared. Doors have been primed and blocked and fitted. We will mock all of the panels, drill holes for the rear fenders, then proceed to remove all of the panels off the car. Chassis will be painted, then each panel separately on its own stand. Each side of each panel, even inside of the fenders and hood will be painted. This allows us to wetsand more carefully, assuring that no orange peel can be found and we do not burn through any corners. If you have the guts to do it, panels off is the way to go, but damn does it take some time!
We fitted the stock front end, to check fitment, utilizing the hood and headlights as placemarkers by which to mock the aftermarket fenders, hood, and new bumpers. Here's a last look.
Starting to look like an rx7 at least!
We are excited for the transformation
Paying Final Respects to the Stock Panels before the mock-up begins
Thanks for following. Your CYM is looking amazing. And curious to see how things go with the radium FPD. Interesting product and information that has just popped up on the pulsations / tuning.
02-05-16, 02:33 PM
