My First Build - Video Build Log
08-19-16, 07:17 PM
#151
I finished editing some of the interior swap videos. I took a lot more videos than I thought. Probably because I did it over a couple of weeks due to being busier at work. This is the first part, where I take out most pieces. The second part will be done next week.
08-27-16, 09:52 AM
#154
I use Premiere Pro 2.0. I found it on an old CD from 10 years ago. Before that I was using movie maker but didn't like it very much. I couldn't add any extra layers of video or music apart from the to standard layers in Movie Maker.
There's a small clip on that side of the panel. For some reason mine does not want to clip in to the lower part. I've adjusted things and it now sits about 90% properly but there is still a little bump at the A/C panel. I can live with it but it still bugs me.
There's a small clip on that side of the panel. For some reason mine does not want to clip in to the lower part. I've adjusted things and it now sits about 90% properly but there is still a little bump at the A/C panel. I can live with it but it still bugs me.
09-03-16, 08:58 AM
#155
I finally got around to doing a mod that I've been wanting to do for a long time. I finally got rid of the air pump delete belt and installed a Pineapple Racing idler pulley. I did this because I am not a fan of running a small belt and torquing the alternator to get enough tension on the water pump. I know that some people will disagree with me on this but I think that it puts too much tension on the eccentric shaft.
The original owner of the car torqued the alternator extremely tight. It was literally so tight that you could not tighten it any more (all the way to the top). The car ran like this for three or four years and neither of the two previous owners loosened the alternator at all. I could feel the tension on the eccentric shaft. The engine felt a little sluggish when free revving and cranking over at start. After installing the Pineapple pulley, the engine cranked a little easier and revved a little more freely.
Because this is Canada, and we can't drive nice cars for 7-8 months of the year, the car will go in to storage in October and I will pull & disassemble the engine during the winter. At that point I will assess if there is any damage on the inside and rebuild the engine with new internals.
Here's the video of the Pineapple racing idler pulley install. I made it more of a How-To video so that someone can reference to it if they want to install their own pulley.
The original owner of the car torqued the alternator extremely tight. It was literally so tight that you could not tighten it any more (all the way to the top). The car ran like this for three or four years and neither of the two previous owners loosened the alternator at all. I could feel the tension on the eccentric shaft. The engine felt a little sluggish when free revving and cranking over at start. After installing the Pineapple pulley, the engine cranked a little easier and revved a little more freely.
Because this is Canada, and we can't drive nice cars for 7-8 months of the year, the car will go in to storage in October and I will pull & disassemble the engine during the winter. At that point I will assess if there is any damage on the inside and rebuild the engine with new internals.
Here's the video of the Pineapple racing idler pulley install. I made it more of a How-To video so that someone can reference to it if they want to install their own pulley.
09-23-16, 07:30 PM
#158
I decided to install some aftermarket mirrors tonight. My wife is away for the weekend and I haven't touched the car since installing the Banzai pulley so this was a perfect opportunity to get some work done.
I really like the APR mirrors but the price really put me off. I cannot justify spending $400+ on a pair of mirrors that I'm not even sure I like that much. So, I began searching online for alternatives. I eventually found a company in the UK that sold similar mirrors for kit car like the Caterham. I decided to give them a try.
I'm actually pretty happy with the build quality of the mirrors. I opted for the less expensive resin/plastic housing as opposed to the carbon fiber ones. The base does not fit our FD side mirror mounts so I had to come up with a different way to mount the mirrors. But that's to be expected when you pay $73 CAD for a pair of mirrors and shipping.
Mocking up the passenger side mirror.
Seeing how it looks bolted through the door at the sail panel
Both mirrors in place
Passenger's side
Driver's side
How I mounted the mirrors
I have some work left to do to secure the mirrors to the doors and cover the old holes. Two of the attachment points for the sail panel almost perfectly line up with the holes on the mirror base. I drilled through the sail panel, cut a small slot in the back of the door (behind the sail panel), and bolted the mirrors in place.
The position is not 100% set yet. I need to finish securing the mirrors before I'm done. Two of the bolts are too short to mount through the mirror base, sail panel, and door so I will grab a couple of longer bolts tomorrow and finish everything up.
I really like the APR mirrors but the price really put me off. I cannot justify spending $400+ on a pair of mirrors that I'm not even sure I like that much. So, I began searching online for alternatives. I eventually found a company in the UK that sold similar mirrors for kit car like the Caterham. I decided to give them a try.
I'm actually pretty happy with the build quality of the mirrors. I opted for the less expensive resin/plastic housing as opposed to the carbon fiber ones. The base does not fit our FD side mirror mounts so I had to come up with a different way to mount the mirrors. But that's to be expected when you pay $73 CAD for a pair of mirrors and shipping.
Mocking up the passenger side mirror.
Seeing how it looks bolted through the door at the sail panel
Both mirrors in place
Passenger's side
Driver's side
How I mounted the mirrors
I have some work left to do to secure the mirrors to the doors and cover the old holes. Two of the attachment points for the sail panel almost perfectly line up with the holes on the mirror base. I drilled through the sail panel, cut a small slot in the back of the door (behind the sail panel), and bolted the mirrors in place.
The position is not 100% set yet. I need to finish securing the mirrors before I'm done. Two of the bolts are too short to mount through the mirror base, sail panel, and door so I will grab a couple of longer bolts tomorrow and finish everything up.
10-11-16, 09:18 AM
#160
I took the car off the road last week and began prepping it for a rebuild during the long winter. The car had hot & cold start issues and I knew that a rebuild was imminent. Here's a little video showing what the car was doing before I pulled the engine.
10-12-16, 07:41 AM
#162
I documented the process to remove the engine bout 6-7 months ago. The videos are on my youtube channel. There's also a good thread on there with a step-by-step guide on how to remove the engine. Here's the link:
https://www.rx7club.com/build-thread...hd-fd-1077031/
You just follow the steps in reverse order to reinstall the engine.
https://www.rx7club.com/build-thread...hd-fd-1077031/
You just follow the steps in reverse order to reinstall the engine.
10-14-16, 07:29 AM
#163
A little update on the FD engine rebuild. I've disconnected everything and the engine's ready to come out. We'll be pulling & disassembling the engine tomorrow and then videos will be up when I have a few hours to edit them. I'm curious to see what is going on with the engine.
11-05-16, 03:55 PM
#164
I've been updating my Youtube Channel 1-2 times a week with videos about the build but I haven't posted here in a little while. So...a few things have happened since the last update.
Engine was pulled
Engine was disassembled
Parts were refurbished, cleaned, and painted
And our well collapsed so we've been a busy trying to get things back to normal
Engine was pulled
Engine was disassembled
Parts were refurbished, cleaned, and painted
And our well collapsed so we've been a busy trying to get things back to normal
11-28-16, 08:44 AM
#165
Been busy and haven't had much time to work on the engine. I've spent most of my time cleaning & painting different parts and getting them ready for the rebuild. Last weekend I had some time and got the keg assembled. I should have the rest of the engine done in a couple of weeks.
04-17-17, 10:31 AM
#166
It's time to update this build thread. I haven't posted in here in a while but I have been updating my Youtube channel ( https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL6...pL_bJplbFkFTGw ) if anyone wants to check out what's been happening.
I didn't take any pictures so this is going to be more of a TLDR update.
Since the last update I have done this:
Rebuilt street ported engine
Drop street ported engine back in to car
Hook everything up
Try to start car
Rebuilt street ported engine showed low compression on front rotor (35-65-35)
Checked for stuck apex seals (there were none)
Pulled rebuilt street ported engine
Grabbed the spare rebuilt stock port engine that was in the old R2
Stripped the spare stock port engine to the keg
Transfer everything from the street ported engine to the stock port engine
Dropped the stock port engine in to the car
Hooked everything up
Car fired up first try
---------
Right around this time my wife's car failed inspection. She was quoted $2700+tax to do her brakes, lower control arms, and one brake caliper (~$500 in parts) or the car would not legally be allowed on the road. I thought that this price was ridiculous since this is for a 2005 Honda Civic. So I ordered parts and JP & I did the work ourselves. We replaced everything that was worn out (not just what the shop said). In the end I spent $700 in parts and replaced:
Rear brake drums
Rear brake pads
Front brake rotors
Front brake pads
Front driver's side brake caliper
Complete brake fluid flush
Front driver's side wheel bearing
Both lower control arms
Both ball joints
Driver's side sway bar link
It took a couple of weeks to get the parts and about 10 hours for us to replace everything. JP had to make a wheel bearing tool, which took a little bit of extra time. Her car passed inspection with flying colours and should be good for a while.
--------
After the Honda was done I went back to work on the RX7 and did the following:
Replace clutch slave cylinder (previous owner installed the piston backwards, which ended up ruining the CSC)
Fixed the live positive battery cable that was left from the previous owner and kept shorting out
Moved the intercooler over so that I could put the fuse box back where it belongs
Redid the intercooler pipes
Installed BOV
That's it. Big update over. I still have to secure the fuse box and I want to install a catch can as well, which I will probably do in the next couple of weeks.
The snow has almost all melted here and most of the salt has been washed off of the roads. I think that I'll put insurance back on the car before the end of the month and then break in the rebuilt stock port engine before heading to Halifax in June to get the car tuned. I want to put some mileage on the car and make sure that everything is working properly before having it tuned.
This is the only pic that I took of the car. I took this on the weekend. This is the first time that the car's been back together since October (seven months) and how it's sitting right now. It's covered in sand, dirt, and dust from sitting so long and needs a good wash.
I didn't take any pictures so this is going to be more of a TLDR update.
Since the last update I have done this:
Rebuilt street ported engine
Drop street ported engine back in to car
Hook everything up
Try to start car
Rebuilt street ported engine showed low compression on front rotor (35-65-35)
Checked for stuck apex seals (there were none)
Pulled rebuilt street ported engine
Grabbed the spare rebuilt stock port engine that was in the old R2
Stripped the spare stock port engine to the keg
Transfer everything from the street ported engine to the stock port engine
Dropped the stock port engine in to the car
Hooked everything up
Car fired up first try
---------
Right around this time my wife's car failed inspection. She was quoted $2700+tax to do her brakes, lower control arms, and one brake caliper (~$500 in parts) or the car would not legally be allowed on the road. I thought that this price was ridiculous since this is for a 2005 Honda Civic. So I ordered parts and JP & I did the work ourselves. We replaced everything that was worn out (not just what the shop said). In the end I spent $700 in parts and replaced:
Rear brake drums
Rear brake pads
Front brake rotors
Front brake pads
Front driver's side brake caliper
Complete brake fluid flush
Front driver's side wheel bearing
Both lower control arms
Both ball joints
Driver's side sway bar link
It took a couple of weeks to get the parts and about 10 hours for us to replace everything. JP had to make a wheel bearing tool, which took a little bit of extra time. Her car passed inspection with flying colours and should be good for a while.
--------
After the Honda was done I went back to work on the RX7 and did the following:
Replace clutch slave cylinder (previous owner installed the piston backwards, which ended up ruining the CSC)
Fixed the live positive battery cable that was left from the previous owner and kept shorting out
Moved the intercooler over so that I could put the fuse box back where it belongs
Redid the intercooler pipes
Installed BOV
That's it. Big update over. I still have to secure the fuse box and I want to install a catch can as well, which I will probably do in the next couple of weeks.
The snow has almost all melted here and most of the salt has been washed off of the roads. I think that I'll put insurance back on the car before the end of the month and then break in the rebuilt stock port engine before heading to Halifax in June to get the car tuned. I want to put some mileage on the car and make sure that everything is working properly before having it tuned.
This is the only pic that I took of the car. I took this on the weekend. This is the first time that the car's been back together since October (seven months) and how it's sitting right now. It's covered in sand, dirt, and dust from sitting so long and needs a good wash.
Last edited by H_M; 04-17-17 at 10:37 AM.
05-05-17, 09:44 PM
#169
Small update:
I Finished mounting the front fuse box and I actually washed the car. It looks much better now that 8 months of dirt & grease are washed away. I still have to clean the engine bay and vacuum the interior. I also installed the hood.
Dark picture but the car is clean.
I have only drive the car around my neighbourhood for a short period of time. It was snowing last weekend and now we're supposed to get pounded by 100mm of rain tonight and tomorrow. I'll get out on Sunday, after the rain, and go for a long drive to see how everything runs.
During my short test drive around the neighbourhood I discovered a coolant leak (throttle body coolant return), which was easily fixed and three broken clips on the engine harness, which I will need to fix before I do any sort of hard driving (water level buzzer plug, coolant temp sensor plug, one primary injector plug). I also saw an oil drip under the car around the right engine mount. I will need to crawl under the car and inspect the area. I think that the leak might be from the rear turbo oil return block off plate that I installed or from the oil pan. I'm hoping that it's not the oil pan because I won't have time to drop the subframe and reseal the pan until winter.
I also found that the battery is on its last leg. The cold winter has not been kind to it. I'll need to replace the battery soon.
Here are the last two videos for those following on Youtube:
I Finished mounting the front fuse box and I actually washed the car. It looks much better now that 8 months of dirt & grease are washed away. I still have to clean the engine bay and vacuum the interior. I also installed the hood.
Dark picture but the car is clean.
I have only drive the car around my neighbourhood for a short period of time. It was snowing last weekend and now we're supposed to get pounded by 100mm of rain tonight and tomorrow. I'll get out on Sunday, after the rain, and go for a long drive to see how everything runs.
During my short test drive around the neighbourhood I discovered a coolant leak (throttle body coolant return), which was easily fixed and three broken clips on the engine harness, which I will need to fix before I do any sort of hard driving (water level buzzer plug, coolant temp sensor plug, one primary injector plug). I also saw an oil drip under the car around the right engine mount. I will need to crawl under the car and inspect the area. I think that the leak might be from the rear turbo oil return block off plate that I installed or from the oil pan. I'm hoping that it's not the oil pan because I won't have time to drop the subframe and reseal the pan until winter.
I also found that the battery is on its last leg. The cold winter has not been kind to it. I'll need to replace the battery soon.
Here are the last two videos for those following on Youtube:
05-07-17, 08:38 PM
#170
Finally got out for a drive. I drove about 250Km to start breaking in the engine. The first half was great but then, about 5 minutes in to my way home, The power windows and windshield wipers suddenly stopped working. I have no idea what happened or how this happened. Everything was working fine one minute and then the windows and wipes were completely unresponsive. When I got home I found out that the starter was completely unresponsive too. I'll need to figure out what's going on here. The good news is that the car still runs and drives when I push start it and the engine performed well for the entire 150Km drive home.
This was the only picture that I took. This was 30 minutes in to the drive and you can already see how dirty the car is, lol.
I'll have some videos of the drive up later.
This was the only picture that I took. This was 30 minutes in to the drive and you can already see how dirty the car is, lol.
I'll have some videos of the drive up later.
05-16-17, 11:36 AM
#171
Video of the first drive. Some parts of the road were flooded. You can see towards the end of the video where I had to drive through some flood water to get home. The engine developed a misfire half way through the water, which cleared up when I got driving again. The car performed well for the whole drive home.
I talked to John, the original owner of the car. He said that the electrical problems might be caused by a loose plug on the main fuse box by the battery. He said that the plug was broken when he imported the car 10 years ago and was never fixed (just zip tied in place). I'll have to take a look next time that I work on the car.
I talked to John, the original owner of the car. He said that the electrical problems might be caused by a loose plug on the main fuse box by the battery. He said that the plug was broken when he imported the car 10 years ago and was never fixed (just zip tied in place). I'll have to take a look next time that I work on the car.
05-27-17, 10:45 PM
#172
I pulled the trigger and bought some new wheels & tires. I've been trying to decide on a set of wheels for over a year but haven't found any that would match the car. I wanted something that complimented the lines of the FD and gave the car an aggressive look while still being subtle enough to not overpower the rest of the car. I also had a hard time deciding on a colour. I really think that the only colours that go well with the Montego Blue paint are silver and black.
I saw Farkle's thread and have read through his website several times and loved how the Regamasters look on his FD. So, I began looking for a set of Regamasters but everything that I found was way out of my price range. The bad Canadian dollar and high Canadian taxes & import charges would mean that I would spend almost as much on a set of regamasters as the car had cost me when I bought it.
Our roads here are also incredibly bad. Our main highways have huge pot holes that destroy rims. It's not uncommon to see blown transport truck tires and destroyed rims in the ditch on the Transcanada highway (the main highway through New Brunswick). I did not want to bend or break a rare and very expensive rim so I began looking for alternatives.
After months of searching I settled on a set of ROTA Slipstream rims. I was about to order the rims form the US, have them shipped to Houlton, drive to the border, and import them (a tedious process) when I found a company in Canada that sold ROTAs. I gave them a call and they had two sets of flat black Slipstreams in stock.
I ordered the rims along with a set of Nankang NS-2R tires.
I'm really curious to see how the tires fare over the next year. Many people seem to like the NS-2R tires. I bought the 180TW tires instead of the stickier 120TW tires because I would be doing mostly highway driving. Even getting to the local autocross will take me 45 minutes of highway driving.
Wheels Specs:
ROTA Slipstream
Flat Black
5x114.3
18x9.5
+38 Offset
Tire Specs:
Nankang NS-2R 180 Tread Wear
265/35/18
This is how the car looks now. Goodbye Mustang rims. Hello sexy new rims. I think that the flat black Slipstreams are the perfect (budget friendly) fit for the Montego Blue FD. The fronts fit great but I may have to add a small spacer to the rears...but that's for a future project.
Forgive the large wheel gap. I still have to take the car for a spin and see if I can lower it some more without tearing the underside to pieces. Also, forgive the mountain of dirt on the car. There is construction everywhere and it's making everything dusty & dirty.
Videos of the new wheels & tired:
I saw Farkle's thread and have read through his website several times and loved how the Regamasters look on his FD. So, I began looking for a set of Regamasters but everything that I found was way out of my price range. The bad Canadian dollar and high Canadian taxes & import charges would mean that I would spend almost as much on a set of regamasters as the car had cost me when I bought it.
Our roads here are also incredibly bad. Our main highways have huge pot holes that destroy rims. It's not uncommon to see blown transport truck tires and destroyed rims in the ditch on the Transcanada highway (the main highway through New Brunswick). I did not want to bend or break a rare and very expensive rim so I began looking for alternatives.
After months of searching I settled on a set of ROTA Slipstream rims. I was about to order the rims form the US, have them shipped to Houlton, drive to the border, and import them (a tedious process) when I found a company in Canada that sold ROTAs. I gave them a call and they had two sets of flat black Slipstreams in stock.
I ordered the rims along with a set of Nankang NS-2R tires.
I'm really curious to see how the tires fare over the next year. Many people seem to like the NS-2R tires. I bought the 180TW tires instead of the stickier 120TW tires because I would be doing mostly highway driving. Even getting to the local autocross will take me 45 minutes of highway driving.
Wheels Specs:
ROTA Slipstream
Flat Black
5x114.3
18x9.5
+38 Offset
Tire Specs:
Nankang NS-2R 180 Tread Wear
265/35/18
This is how the car looks now. Goodbye Mustang rims. Hello sexy new rims. I think that the flat black Slipstreams are the perfect (budget friendly) fit for the Montego Blue FD. The fronts fit great but I may have to add a small spacer to the rears...but that's for a future project.
Forgive the large wheel gap. I still have to take the car for a spin and see if I can lower it some more without tearing the underside to pieces. Also, forgive the mountain of dirt on the car. There is construction everywhere and it's making everything dusty & dirty.
Videos of the new wheels & tired:
06-07-17, 07:42 AM
#175
The Maritimes climate is a pretty dreary one. You get snow from November to April, Rain & cold from April to June, Ultra hot & 100% humidity from July to mid September, and cold from September to October.
I love hot weather so July, August, and September is my favourite time of the year. Even with the humidity, we can get a 3-4 week period of nice hot sunny weather where it's absolutely beautiful. Then you get all the fall colours when the leaves turn and the whole province turns red, yellow, & orange.
I lived in Saskatchewan for a year and the weather is better. The winters are cold and the summers are hot but it's dry. There is barely any humidity. Humidity is what kills the weather here. I'll take -35C Saskatchewan weather over -20C maritimes weather with a high humidity. It's a wet feeling so you always feel wet when it's cold and it chills you to the bone.
We had one random day of hot weather about three weeks ago where it got to +32C. Since then it's been around +10 to +20 and rain almost every day. However, the weather looks like it's getting better and this week has been pretty nice.