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Old 07-15-16, 05:29 PM
  #76  
It Just Feels Right

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Oops

Here's the con for silicone. Good thing I noticed this (turbo actuator)

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Old 07-15-16, 07:07 PM
  #77  
It Just Feels Right

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PITA #4: Shifter Engagement

So went to install my new REA shifter and was stoked at finally starting to the light at the end of the tunnel



Then I went to try to move it and it wouldn't budge out of 1st.

F^%%$!!!!

Can't believe this. This was like around 10 pm and I just wanted to get this thing done. I've been working on it for well over 18 months and wanted to get to the end.

I knew I screwed something up when I redid my synchro, so I was looking at having to pull the transmission out and break it down to figure out what I did wrong. This was extremely depressing to say the least

Of course I couldn't end the day like this, so I had to get to a place where I was in a better shape. I decided instead of pulling the transmission, I could get the extension housing off with the transmission on the car. Holy crap was this a pain. It might have been easier than pulling the transmission, but had to get all the sensors off as well as the shift select spindle and the opposing spring as well as the the upper mounting bolts (which are a lot harder to access than the upper bell housing bolts). Oh, and on top of that, another bout of automobile bodily fluid all over the place.

The problem was I didn't have the control rod (#15) correctly mated to the doglegs





And in the process of wrestling with that under jack stands at around 2 am in a really pissed off mood, I broke a rib

A couple days later, I got the extension housing back on and mated correctly.

Lesson learned: Make sure things work before you put them back together and if you F something up, give it some time before you deal with it.

Last edited by TomU; 07-15-16 at 07:12 PM.
Old 07-24-16, 09:39 AM
  #78  
It Just Feels Right

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No A/C!

The large condenser before the radiator can't help with cooling, so I yanked it. Also gained some room in the engine bay for an oil catch can or coil relocation. I really can't stand A/C so this was a no brainer.

I left the evaporator in for now (capped off),



but scored one of the last, if not last, evaporator delete ducts for if and when I decide to remove the evaporator



I have a bunch of the caps left over (you can't get just a couple from McMaster Carr) and will ship for cost of shipping. PM me if interested (PNs are 84735K93 & 84735K95)
Old 07-25-16, 05:26 PM
  #79  
It Just Feels Right

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Exhaust

While titanium is awesome, goal on this build is the 85% solution. To me, the benefits aren't worth the cost. Instead went with a used Peter Farrell exhaust and barely used Bonez high flow cat. The mild steel downpipe came with the donor car so I painted it with exhaust paint and went crazy with DEI titanium wrap (ok, I did go with titanium)

Weight savings is around 35 lbs not counting weight of exhaust wrap and paint





Old 07-27-16, 12:42 PM
  #80  
It Just Feels Right

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OMP Tank

As mentioned in post #51, I went with the Rotary Aviation OMP adapter.

https://www.rx7club.com/build-thread.../#post12063132

Now, I just needed to figure out how to feed it. I mounted an aluminum expansion tank to a thick piece of aluminum tapped to the frame rail.



Doesn't look pretty, but hope it does the job (function over form). Only concern is with the tank full, there may be tendency for the tank to create a moment where the plate is bolted to the frame which may work the bolts loose. I'll probably zip tie the top of the plate to provide a little added stability to the top.



I am using Legend ZX-2SR for both the OMP tank and pre-mix.

ZX-2SR | Legend Performance Inc.
Old 07-27-16, 01:55 PM
  #81  
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When you say you broke a rib, it wasn't your own right?
Old 07-27-16, 09:36 PM
  #82  
It Just Feels Right

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Originally Posted by Rocketeerbandit
When you say you broke a rib, it wasn't your own right?
It was. Certainly a low point on the build. More so because of the transmission, but this was definitely icing on that **** cake
Old 07-29-16, 09:27 AM
  #83  
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Oil Catch Can

Had a catch can before. It was an ebay el cheapo, but it worked. Problem it only held a pint or so and I was emptying it after every run



Since I've got some added real estate from pulling the A/C and PS, decided to go with a bigger unit (did I just say that???). The space next to the vacuum chamber seemed like a perfect spot, and there's already a couple mounting points



Fabbed up another mounting plate. Problem was the vacuum chamber protruded ever so slightly that I had to cut a cutout



and a nut behind to keep it straight



With the added space, I now can go with a larger can. I wanted a quart capacity with baffles and some kind of level indicator. Problem is there's not a lot of baffled cans out there and most are rather pricey (Radium & Mishimoto) or too small. Decided to get a Prosport. It fits all my criteria except it does not have a sight glass or dipstick. Oh well, guess i'll have to figure out how often I need to dump it through trial and error.

Prosport billet Aluminum baffled Oil Catch can - Black. Vented Dual Baffled Oil Catch Can





Mounted...





Another problem was routing the hoses. I wanted to go with rubber due to it's resiliency to oil, but I already had a silicone hose connected to the metal tube that runs under the UIM/rat's nest to the primary turbo and I couldn't get to that w/o a lot of removal. Figured if the can was doing it's job, it would only be vapor and not oil going through this line so I left it silicone until I have an opportunity to get down there. Only other problem was the size of the hose. Had to go with an adaptor to bump up the size to fit the 3/8 barb fitting on the can.

Old 07-31-16, 12:06 PM
  #84  
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You should just do the evap core now, took me maybe 20 minutes to put the one I got from you in and just needed to take out the glove box. The hardest part is just the one nut at the top but I got it with an extension. Funny how you took all your out and I am putting it all in mine.. ~__~
Old 07-31-16, 09:35 PM
  #85  
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Did you notice the aftermarket steering rack bushings? Driven the car since installing?
I have pretty decent access to mine at the moment. Oh wait that's a manual rack?
Old 08-04-16, 10:00 PM
  #86  
It Just Feels Right

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Originally Posted by Houstonderk
You should just do the evap core now, took me maybe 20 minutes to put the one I got from you in and just needed to take out the glove box. The hardest part is just the one nut at the top but I got it with an extension. Funny how you took all your out and I am putting it all in mine.. ~__~
Unfortunately instead of cutting to the chase, I take the journey (because I'm a masochist)

Originally Posted by ZoomZoom
Did you notice the aftermarket steering rack bushings? Driven the car since installing?
I have pretty decent access to mine at the moment. Oh wait that's a manual rack?
Went with the Super Pro bushings all around except for the front sway bar which I went the same as yours but got the installed zerk fittings (similar to the below). Super Pro does not make non-standard bushing sizes (could be special ordered??)


Last edited by TomU; 08-04-16 at 10:03 PM.
Old 08-04-16, 10:15 PM
  #87  
It Just Feels Right

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Emissions/Intake

In Northern Va, emissions are required until 25 yrs when you can register as an antique. That pretty much means stock intake, cat, and air pump. I've got a '94, so that means I've got 2 more emissions tests to pass. I decided to keep the stock ECU, intake, cat and air pump to pass my second to last emissions. Also the stock ECU will tell me if I screwed up anything putting it back together. On the next one, i'll take more risk (aftermarket ECU, intake, and cat)

All that said, I thought I could get by on the stock ECU and pass emissions with the PFS exhaust and a "cheap bastard intake"

So I proceeded to cut up my intake ala https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generati...intake-628764/, but w/o the fresh air duct


Last edited by TomU; 08-04-16 at 10:29 PM.
Old 08-04-16, 10:21 PM
  #88  
It Just Feels Right

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Uim

The UIM runners were pretty grody, so I honed them with a flex hone (Flex Hone, Cylinder Hone)



To keep the UIM from getting heat soaked, I glued some heat fabric to the underbelly. I also installed a Triumph fast acting IAT sensor.

Old 08-10-16, 05:26 PM
  #89  
It Just Feels Right

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Ignition

Went tried and true HKS Twin Power. This should be adequate for my current config (stock twins)

Mounted on the firewall behind the cruz control



And glued some rubber to isolate vibrations (a little?)

Old 08-25-16, 07:33 PM
  #90  
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A break from the build

If you have never been to the Rolex Reunion at Leguna Seca, I highly recommend it.





The Mazda tent...




Did not know the Spirit R was LHD


767B


787






RX-7 GTO


792-P


Last edited by TomU; 08-25-16 at 07:48 PM.
Old 08-25-16, 07:36 PM
  #91  
It Just Feels Right

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...and they raced them






















Old 08-25-16, 07:47 PM
  #92  
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Even more

I have no idea how many hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cars doing what they were intended to do






















Getting gas...



The more mundane cars were relegated to the parking lot...

Old 08-25-16, 09:26 PM
  #93  
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Went last year. What a great event! Did you go to concours?
Old 08-28-16, 09:03 PM
  #94  
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Originally Posted by Narfle
Went last year. What a great event! Did you go to concours?
Nope. Those guys are posers

More on the Mazda cars...

Motorsports Journal: Motorsport News, e-Media Headline News
Old 08-28-16, 09:10 PM
  #95  
It Just Feels Right

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Ecu

Back to the build. Went with tried and true PFC and Datalogit. May update to a more modern ECU when I go single, but for stock twins, this is the way to go.

Got the TurboJeff PFC holder. That's certainly a well crafted item


And got a patch harness since I did not want to cut the factory harness


All buttoned up

Last edited by TomU; 08-28-16 at 09:20 PM.
Old 09-01-16, 07:58 PM
  #96  
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It Started!



Unfortuneatly, haven't figured out how to embed a video
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Untitled.wmv (2.41 MB, 41 views)
Old 09-02-16, 09:57 AM
  #97  
It Just Feels Right

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Pulled out of the garage under it's own power for the first time in over 2 years....



and another GD leak....

Old 09-02-16, 02:30 PM
  #98  
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That's progress right thur.
Old 09-08-16, 12:41 PM
  #99  
It Just Feels Right

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Originally Posted by Narfle
That's progress right thur.
It's a game of inches
Old 09-08-16, 12:52 PM
  #100  
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Idle

So I put back on the stock ECU and cat on to pass emissions but it produced a real lumpy idle and bucking around 2k. This wasn't too surprising since it had an aggressive street port. What was surprising, was it passed emissions

Passing emissions, I reinstalled the PFC and exhaust. While the idle smoothed out somewhat, it surged from 500 to 1300 rpms. I played with the bleed air and got it somewhat stable (but high). What I really need is a tune

Last edited by TomU; 09-08-16 at 12:58 PM.


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