Resurrecting the FD or "How I spent a week's vacation"
 

This thread is not so much a build as it is finishing a tear down and reassembling a car that was apart already. There are some small upgrades that are worked in, but this is not a technical thread so this seemed like the appropriate place to post!

Since I got two weeks vacation this year, the wife and I decided it was only right to spend one of them working on the FD. So, I plan to document the progress here.

The original thread when I got this car is located here: https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/finally-got-fd-story-pictures-945045/

Here is what I was working with when I got the car :icon_tdow

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...313_164818.jpg

Most of the junk removed under hood:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...731_192854.jpg

And I rolled it into the shop today to get a real start on this project.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...017_144133.jpg

Got the engine out!

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...017_155707.jpg

The blue badge that instills confidence:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...017_155720.jpg

And I removed this from under the carpet when I was unplugging the engine harness:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...017_145525.jpg

Secret KGB communications device comrade?

And, finally rolled the shell back outside, degreased, and powerwashed under the hood.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...017_182005.jpg

Sparkly bright! Now it is worthy of putting an engine back under there!

Also, bead blasted a few small items so I can paint them.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...703_102636.jpg

END OF PROGRESS FOR DAY 1

I don't know how far I'll get this week, but I hope I'll at least have the engine fully dressed and back in the car. If anyone has a driver's side engine mount let me know as mine is no longer one piece:(

Vince

DAY 2

So, I finished removing everything from the DS of the engine:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...018_101815.jpg

Then, I cleaned and painted it.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...018_142656.jpg

Beadblasted a few brackets.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...018_105929.jpg

The metal parts of the oil cooler lines looked terrible, so I wire brushed them. The one on top is before and bottom is after.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...018_111542.jpg

Accesory brackets, oil cooler lines, new spark plugs all installed, and replaced o-rings under oil filter adapter and all crush washers.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...018_172428.jpg

Also installed cleaned and repainted pulleys, the crank sensor, and the OMP.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...018_172406.jpg

And lastly, bead blasted and painted all the small rusty brackets on the PS of the engine bay.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...019_092507.jpg

END OF PROGRESS FOR DAY 2

Vince

DAY 3

It does not look like I got much done today. Today was mostly spent searching for parts in boxes, cleaning, painting, and referencing the FSM.

First task was blasting and painting the rats nest, cleaning & testing the solenoids on the rat's nest. Suprising all checked out good. Very time consuming though, hopefully it will save much possible trouble later. Also cleaned the coil packs, blasted and painted their bracket.

Finally reassembled the solenoids, coils and routed new silicone hose from Hose Techniques on the rack.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...019_173722.jpg

Also installed the LIM with a new gasket, EGR valve, water pump, FC thermoswitch, new CTS, new thermostat, and replaced the missing heat shield and studs in the exhaust manifold.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...019_173751.jpg

Then I noticed that the front oil cooler hose needed to be changed out for the longer one from the R1 oil cooler set. Fixed that!

Lastly, I installed my freshly cleaned injectors (thanks WitchHunter) into some freshly cleaned rails.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...019_173847.jpg

Then, I hit a small roadblock as the spacer for the primary fuel rail is MIA...

Will have to source one of those so I can mount the rails and everything else that goes under the "Surge Tank."

Vince

I remember the original thread when u picked up this car.
Looks like your making alot of progress with getting it to road ready conditions. For the primary fuel rail spacer, if you can't source the oem part, you can make one out of some kind of plastic material that can stand up to heat. IIRC its 3/16" thick material.

As for the Mazda reman blue badge, that just brings up horrible memories. My reman lasted 8k miles b4 blowing. I'd recommend compression testing it while at operating temp a few times over some mileage. If you see it start to get low, definitely pull the block and rebuild b4 it blows. The only good thing about mazda remans are they all use brand new rotor housings.

Anyways, keep up the great work and best of luck to you build!

^ It's a learning experience for sure on this as it is my first 3rd Gen.

I ordered the spacer from Malloy, only $6.
Will be posting day 4 soon as I get to a PC.

As far as the reman goes, it is from 2002, and has ~20K on it. Cold compression numbers were good even without putting oil into it. Hope.that is a good sign.

With that being said, I will most definitely follow your advice and hopefully prevent a big nasty repair bill.

Vince

looking good.. blaster work coming out like new.

Well, here it is almost a year later, I have finally got another chance to work on it.

I finally repaired and rewrapped the harness, and laid it onto the engine, removed and painted the water pump housing, water pump, and used 2000F paint on the exhaust heat shield.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...-04-25_772.jpg

Rats nest mounted, ACV mounted and beginning to run vacuum hoses.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...-46-43_483.jpg

Coils mounted, plug wires routed.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...-21-10_489.jpg

Turbos, y-pipe, actuators, and inlets mounted.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...-09-52_516.jpg


It does not look like much, but that's 2 1/2 days of working on this beast. I should have the engine finished today, then I can pick it up to reseal the oil pan and put on the poly motor mounts.

I do need an oil filler neck if anyone has one, I will post a wanted add if no replies.

Thanks for looking,
Vince

Got the UIM mounted:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...-09-47_140.jpg

TB, Elbow, Alternator, and assorted tubes and hoses all installed:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...-30-21_635.jpg

Oil pan cleaned, painted, resealed, and two steel motor mount brackets installed for poly mounts:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...-33-32_913.jpg

On the hoist ready to go back into the car tomorrow!

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...-33-17_946.jpg

Vince

Looks nice and clean! Amazing what bead blasting can do!

Dale

That's a great transformation. Almost looks like a whole new car in there.

looking at the pictures of the injectors from a year ago, are the primary and secondary swapped around?

^Now you got me wondering... I don't think I got those backwards, because I remember reading that you would need to have the primary rail milled to accept the secondary injectors. Then again, this would not be my first mistake.

Will investigate this further.

PROJECT UPDATE!!
I should probably rename this to the "SLOWEST REBUILD THREAD IN THE HISTORY OF RX7CLUB."
70hr work weeks do not leave much time to work on the 7...

The engine is finally in the car. All the painters tape was to keep stuff out of the engine, and prevent damage hopefully to the paint.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...-07-27_852.jpg

If all goes well, I may have this finished before my birthday in October.

TO DO LIST

• Blast, paint, install PPF.
• Install driveshaft, braces, heat shields.
• Install exhaust, get catalytic converter andhave extra O2 bung welded in.
• Mount fuel filter, fuel tank and new fuel tank straps.
• Sort out air filters and heat shields.
• Bleed brakes.
• Get tires mounted and balanced.
• Reinstall radiator, mount intercooler & have charge pipes made.
• Mount AC and PS pumps.
• Reinstall shifter, slave cylinder & starter.
• Install R1 oil coolers, replace PS cooler, and reinstall front bumper!

Thanks for looking!
Vince

That is a lot of work all done very fast. You have some talent there...

Does everyone have a SSM FD but me?

i wish i could have spent a vacation working on an FD

^Vacation seems to be the only way I can afford to work on the car since I'm getting "paid" to do it :)

Vince

Looks nice and clean good job

Yup, purple are 550s and maroon are 850s.

Awesome Rebuild !! LOOKS Great !

Well, I guess I'll have to switch those around then! That would have been interesting to diagnose when I try to start it.

Thanks,
Vince

looks really good

ANOTHER MINOR UPDATE

So, time seems to be against me lately with work running 6 days a week and lots of VW mechanic work on the side, there is very little time to work on this project.

Today, my project went in reverse slightly.

I've got the the powerplant frame brace blasted and painted :)

Attachment 692748

Then, I tried to remove the rear subframe today, since it looks like the Titanic wreckage...

Attachment 692749

I got it out, with only two casualties: the bolts that hold the rear wheel speed sensors in place. I will blast and repaint this before reinstalling it.

Attachment 692750

It was too cold to do much outside after that, so I moved onto another project: WHEELS!

This is what I was working with:

Attachment 692751

And 19 years of brake dust build up:

Attachment 692752

Brake dust removed:

Attachment 692753

Primed:

Attachment 692754

Spokes painted black:

Attachment 692755

Masked:

Attachment 692756

And finished... 3 More wheels to go after this.

Attachment 692757

How do you guys like the wheels? I really like all the metallic in the black:nod:

Once I finish the rear subframe, I'll be able to reinstall the PPF brace, driveshaft, heat shields, and exhaust. Then the fuel tank & filter, and hopefully the underside will be done.

Vince

I'm not a massive fan of the original five spokes but I must say you did great with them!

I like how you painted the spokes a different color. I imagine that getting the paint line taped where each spoke meets the rest of the wheel was a tad tedious.

Yet Another MINOR UPDATE

I had some free time for once before I had to go to work, so I almost completely disassembled the rear suspension. The only thing I could not get off were the lower control arms, because the camber adjustment bolts are not budging!

Also, one of the axles would not come out of the hub. A hammer could not persuade it, so I will have to revisit that.

Attachment 691620

Here is a before:

Attachment 691621

AND AFTER:

Attachment 691622

Once I get the lower control arms off I can bead blast the whole subframe and paint it.

Then I can put this mess back under the car and reassemble the rest!

Vince

looking good. i've been wanting to take off many of the parts and blast them myself. unfortunately i've only got access to a sandblast cabinet so i won't be able to do any big parts i don't think. been thinking of getting replacement bushings for the suspension and all so i can replace everything while all the parts are pulled. just don't wanna fork out the $700 for superpro right now while i've got so much more that's needed.

Very cool project, thanks for the pics gave me some thought of what to do to mine like look for a reman or rebuild signs or stickers lol.

you are really scared of dropping anything in any openings,,aren't you?:egrin:

^ I had a motor that would not fully rotate because a ziptie had fallen down the intake, and one time when I was working on my old GXL I accidentally dropped a nut down an intake runner and or took me 2 hours to get it out.

Needless to say I'm more careful now :)

As far as sandblasting the larger parts, I bought a portable blaster from Harbor Freight that looks like a bucket that its open on the top and you put the blasting media in the top.

I haven't tried it out yet but have heard good reviews on it. It was cheap, 35 with a coupon and $25 for 25lbs of glass media.

Vince

MORE DONE!

I finally got the lower control arms off, but had to break one of the camber bolts to get them off... Another part to add to the list!

Bare rear subframe, broken camber bolt circled in red:

Attachment 691109

I finished blasting all the control arms!

Attachment 691110

Attachment 691111

And wire brushed all the heavy rust off of the differential:

Attachment 691112

Tuesday, I'm going to blast the subframe, rear, hubs, and calipers. If all goes well, I'll be able to paint the subframe and reinstall in under the car.

Vince

MORE PROGRESS!!

So, here is the rig I bought to glass bead the rear subframe.

Attachment 690872

The blaster, media, goggles, and masks came from Harbor Freight. The face shield I already had. The only thing not pictured is welding gloves to protect you from the media.

PRECAUTIONS FOR MEDIA BLASTING

Wear long sleeves, and long pants. Wear as much protection as possible. Do it an area where it cannot damage other things.

Never point the gun at anyone/thing or yourself.

Differential cleaned and painted!

Attachment 690873

Differential mount installed:

Attachment 690874

Rear subframe painting in progress:

Attachment 690875


Rear subframe finished!

Attachment 690876


REVIEW OF HARBOR FREIGHT MEDIA BLASTER

The rig worked pretty well, although the hose that attaches to the bucket was kinked. I just cut off the kinked end and problem solved. Other than that it worked well, although the media I bought was not aggressive enough for the rusty subframe. I had some steel grit left over and it removed the rust almost instantly.

As far as durability is concerned, I did not see any noticeable wear on the ceramic tip, but I only put 25lbs of media thru it.

But for $35, it works well enough, and I would have paid at least that to have somebody blast it for me.

PARTS NEEDED AFTER TEAR DOWN
Rear brake pads - Old ones were nearly to backing plate
Hardware kit for rear pads - v-clips were missing
Rear rotors - Old ones were below minimum thickness


Vince

what size air compressor do you have?

25 Gallon, 1.5HP

Vince

great build! :icon_tup: I have a similar philosophy going on with my FC, ie; before buying all kinds of fancy new stuff, first focus on restoring and fixing what's already there.

YET ANOTHER MINOR UPDATE!

I wire brushed all of the rust off the underside, primed, and undercoated the entire underside of the rear of the car.

Attachment 687687

After 2 1/2 hours of the above, I was finally able to bolt the rear subframe to the car.

Here is a before of this disaster:

Attachment 687688

And AFTER:

Attachment 687689

A before of the brake lines:

Attachment 687690

And AFTER!

Attachment 687691

Maybe I'll get some more time to work on this soon and have a MAJOR update soon!!

Vince

was ur rear end under water? nevertheless the progress is amazing. keep it up man, and thanks for the motivation!

Thanks for the compliment.

No, it was not underwater, but spent the majority of its life in Pennsylvania or new Jersey. Apparently it was daily driven even in snow. The body it self had almost no rusty parts, just minor surface rust. The brake and fuel lines were a total loss, and the subframe was pretty bad.

When i looked thru the service records, the factory muffler was replaced twice due to rust and the rear calipers once.

My travel plans have changed slightly this week, so if the weather permits, I may work on it this week.

Vince

Great attention to detail well done!

MAJOR UPDATE!!!!

So, I actually had some time to work on my car today and this is what I accomplished.

Swapped the newest pump onto the best hanger and installed a new fuel pump sock.

Attachment 687156

Replaced these old gasket and sock!

Attachment 687157

NEW Gasket and screws!

Attachment 687158

Cleaned fuel tank and installed the pump assembly:

Attachment 687159

And finally put a coat of black paint on the tank:

Attachment 687160

Then I sanded and painted the rear swaybar, and beadblasted/painted its brackets:

Attachment 687161

Put all the control arms back on the car:

Attachment 687162

<continued in next post>

Beadblasted the rear calipers.

Before/after:

Attachment 687148

Both done:

Attachment 687149

Then, I finally got that stuborn CV shaft out of the hub.

TECH TIP! If you have a slide hammer with a hub attachment (goes on wheel studs and uses lugnuts to hold on), put the part on the hub with the lugnuts, and BORROW the pointed insert from a puller tool set. Put that into the theaded shaft of the slide hammer and SCREW in into the attachment. The pointed part fits into the end of the CV axle, and just screw that in until it forces the CV axle out the back side!!

And this is the repair of the damage I did to it trying to persuade it with a hammer!

Attachment 687150

Rear hub BEFORE:

Attachment 687151

Rear hub AFTER:

Attachment 687152

BEFORE:

Attachment 687153

AFTER:

Attachment 687154

AND the part that is holding me from reinstalling the hubs:

Attachment 687155

Tomorrow, I will tackle the bolts that broke for the rear wheel speed sensors. Once they are out, I can reinstall the differential, axles, and hubs. And the rear sway bar.

Still need to get the brake rotors/pads/hardware.

At least parts are starting to go back ON the car now :nod:

Vince

More Done TODAY!

I managed to remove both broken bolts from the hubs!! Getting them out of something aluminum without ruining the part is very difficult.

Attachment 687079

Got the differential mounted:

Attachment 687080

Rear swaybar mounted:

Attachment 687081

Cleaned and lubed the brake cables:

Attachment 687082

RH side completed minus brake caliper/rotor:

Attachment 687083

LH side completed minus brake caliper/rotor:

Attachment 687084

And I mounted the PPF, but realized the upper bolts on the transmission go in from the top!

I will have to get those in and then I can properly adjust and install the PPF, and the driveshaft.

And once the rotors arrive, I can mount the rear calipers and wheels.

Vince

MINOR UPDATE

I've got most of the other parts I needed to put this rear end back together.

• New Rotors
• New brake hardware, Front & Rear
• Replacement OEM camber bolts
• New rear pads
• Braided front brake lines

Since the weather has been uncooperative, I decided I'd do something I that could be done inside on the couch.

My buddy with the red FD gave me his old Borla exhaust, and I polished that stainless up.

Before of pipe:

Attachment 685566

After:

Attachment 685567

I still have to clean and paint the hangers, and get a 2.5" band clamp where the pipe joins the muffler.

Hopefully, the weather will soon cooperate and I'll be able to reinstall the rear brakes, PPF, etc.

Vince

really diggin the before/after restoration/clean up pics. what product did you use to bring the inside of the wheels back? looks like they cleaned up pretty good.

^ A combination of a wire wheel mounted on a drill, and 3M rust removal disc on an angle grinder

http://images.monstermarketplace.com...le-386x397.jpg


MINOR UPDATE!

Time and weather have not been on my side, so I have had very little time to work on this car.

I did get the rear brakes back together:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...ps6ce42e2e.jpg

And I finished sanding and priming another wheel:

Attachment 682607

Maybe, I will get this thing finished before summer...

Vince

Yet another UPDATE!

So, I finally got the upper bolts for the PPF into the transmission. Which is a little difficult in the car:

Attachment 677522

Installed the mystery short throw shifter that came with the car:

Attachment 677523

And then the RX-8 5-speed knob:

Attachment 677524

Cleaned and painted the driveshaft:

Attachment 677525

Adjusted and installed PPF, driveshaft and rear tunnel brace:

Attachment 677526

I also reinstalled the charcoal canister, and replaced the fuel filter (no picture).

Lastly, a picture of the mystery white face gauges:

Attachment 677527

I do hope to get a chance to work on it more soon, but I've been too busy working on cars collecting as much "tax refund" money as I can.

Thanks to ZE Power MX6 for the knob, and Crispy for the PPF hardware.

Vince

looking good, i would clear coat the sandblasted parts though...

Wow! Great work!

And, YET ANOTHER UPDATE!

So, I finished a timing belt job early today, and decided to take advantage of the fantastic spring weather.

I finally mounted the fuel tank with the NEW straps, fastened all the hoses, and the muffler heat shield:

Attachment 676300

Mounted both undertrays? and the braces that go from the subframe to the body:

Attachment 676301

Hung the BORLA catback, still need a band clamp for it:

Attachment 676302

Mounted the front transmission tunnel brace, still need to get a middle brace as mine is damaged...

Attachment 676303

Mounted the starter and slave cylinder:

Attachment 676304

Exchanged the rusted and rotted PS cooler for a good one:

Attachment 676305

And, mounted:

Attachment 676306

R1 dual oil cooler hard lines mounted and connected:

Attachment 676307

And lastly the coolers themselves need some attention as the fins are mostly bent!

Attachment 676308

HOLY CRAP, PARTS ARE GOING ON THE CAR!!!

After several hours of straightening the fins, degreasing, finally a coat of lo-gloss black, the oil coolers are ready to go back on the car!

Attachment 675875

I had to make the bracket for the PS oil cooler as I did not have one, and installed them with the ducts:

Attachment 675876

AND at that point I realized there used to be rubber filling the gap in the oil cooler ducts... So black duct tape to the rescue!

Attachment 675877

Then as a change of pace, I painted the spokes black yesterday, then today masked them off and painted the silver portion:

Attachment 675878

And then 3 coats of clear:

Attachment 675879

And on the car as a preview:

Attachment 675880

Installed radiator, hoses, brace, and M2 intercooler duct:

Attachment 675881

Lastly, installed the Pettit intake kit (still need to make the heat shield and get the breather for the metal pipe):

Attachment 675882

Things still left to do:

Get a Greddy elbow.
Have intercooler pipes made.
Mount AST.
Swap injectors.
Mount AC and PS, and belt.
Route engine harness inside car and reinstall computer.
Install exhaust, catalytic converter, and O2 sensor.
Install front SS brake lines, rotors, and pads.
Bleed brakes.

Vince

Wow hard working man rite there ! Paint sand paint sand..... Nice build

HOLY CRAP! IT'S NOT ON JACKSTANDS ANYMORE!

Made some progress today.

Got a Greddy elbow, and added the missing fitting to mirror the stock part:

Attachment 674360

Greddy elbow installed and crossover pipe exchanged for one that still has bracket on it:

Attachment 674361

Front bumper support installed:

Attachment 674362

Got the rear tires mounted and balanced:

Attachment 674363

And into the shop to put it on the lift!

Attachment 674364

This is what I was working with on the front brakes :(

Attachment 674365

And after sandblasting, painting and polishing the MAZDA logo:

Attachment 674366

With new pads and hardware (except the pins: wrong ones in kit....)

Attachment 674367

AND on the car with the slotted rotors:

Attachment 674368

Added O2 bung to downpipe, wrapped with DEI titanium wrap, sealed with the silicone coating. Then, mounted, added converter to midpipe, and put band clamp on catback. Still have to make up AIR pipe to go from converter to check valve:

Attachment 674369

Lastly, I rediscovered these intake hard pipes. I think they will undergo a color change before being installed.

Attachment 674370

did you pull that rear subframe from the bottom of the ocean?