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ehhh, more tearing **** apart because I forgot something...lol
I wanted to put some misc things on the engine and it turned out to be another woopsy daisy day.
I forgot that the oil feed line goes BEHIND the ps/ac pump bracket. took it all apart and now I know why I had to shim the front lower bolt with a washer, that is where the bracket goes to hold the front of the rear feed pipe.
I realized I need to install the front oil line too or I would not be able to have proper access for the wrench after the rear line is on. Now I know why my old pics show the rear line bracket is rotated down, at one point it was off and not put back on correctly.
After getting both lines on with new copper crush washers I wanted to install the filler cap and neck, starter, and clutch line assembly.
I cleaned up the filler neck and starter with the eagle one mag/wheel cleaner - this stuff is great!
Installing the stater went fine with no issues.
The filler neck with the OEM cap and new o-ring went on fine too. Yes I want to keep my AST and I have a pressure cap for that.
Next was the clutch rod assembly. The top bolt went in fine but the bottom bolt was a mess. The threaded part on the transmission was caked with dirt and the bolt did not want to thread in. I chased the threads and a ton of dirt and rust came out. The bolt went in fine after that.. I took off the inspection window to make sure the rod was seated properly in the clutch arm. It will be much easier making the top clutch line connection vs trying to hook it up to the tranny when the engine is in.
Thank goodness Im documenting everything so I have all these pics for reference.
All in all, despite the problems it was a good day.
Last edited by rotaryextreme; Dec 20, 2020 at 07:11 PM.
Thank you for this post! I did the same thing! I installed my PS pump and AC already, only I dropped the motor in already. I have to remove these in the car no with my freshly painted engine fine bay. Doh!
Thank you for this post! I did the same thing! I installed my PS pump and AC already, only I dropped the motor in already. I have to remove these in the car no with my freshly painted engine fine bay. Doh!
Oh man, at least its an easy fix!
Maybe you can tape some card board to the engine bay to prevent scratches. If you do get scratches just grab a sharpie...lol
Glad to hear you got the motor in already.
For me, I will finish routing the main battery in the back and put a few more things in the engine bay then I can finally drop my engine in.
Last edited by rotaryextreme; Dec 22, 2020 at 08:19 AM.
I went to investigate the fuel pump relay mod and discovered the fuel pump was on the other side of the car - which resulted in me updating my dual battery schematic.
The main batt and aux batt have also been flipped. Version 2.
Day 62
1. Fixing more rips
2. Rotary Extreme rear harness bar
3. Cleaned up the interior
Let's get started.
Day 59
1. LRB spare tire cover
The LRB spare tire cover came in its own box with instructions and all necessary hardware. At first I wanted to keep the rear trunk panels but it was discovered that they have to be removed for the back shock tower divider panel in the LRB rear interior delete kit. I took advantage to show you how it looks with and without the rear panels.
It does fit over the spare tire with the provided spacers. You will have to trim the panel support on one side to get the cover to fit correctly.
You can pull up the panel and place the cover underneath but it will bow a lot over the tire. It's best if you do not have the spare tire for that option.
You can remove everything like I did. I also found out the back straight edge of the panel rubs against a harness so I cut that section out.
Overall it fits damn near perfectly.
On a side note - I found more bondo near the taillight on the driver's side. There are a few other questionable places of damage which leads me to believe something happened to the car - more than a fender bender. I'm just happy the body looks straight.
Day 59
2. LRB un-boxing
The LRB battery kits and rear interior delete came in one big box. It was packed really compact and nice. The instructions are very clear and all the hardware was provided. I like the finish on the aluminum, it is a nice brushed look.
Day 59
3. LRB dual rear battery install
The rear battery kits are really nice. The biggest problem is the instruction tell you to use a 13/32 drill bit to drill the holes for the rivnuts - this turned out to be a mess. Continue reading - all will be explained.
To fit the LRB trays you need to pop out the black harness retainer on both sides where the tray will end up sitting. The front part of the tray sits under the lip of where to pieces of sheet metal are tacked together on the car. This lines up the tray to sit at the right height and you just use your sharpie to mark your holes to drill.
First I drilled a pilot hole and then followed up with the 13/32 drill bit. I had pre-ordered a rivnut kit that came with various mm sizes along with aluminum and steel 6mm rivnuts. I was thinking the steel ones would be better because they could support more weight and the threads would hold better so I used those. This ended up being a fail for 2 reasons. While inserting the rivnuts I noticed the drilled hole seemed larger than it should have been but once the rivnut was pulled tight it felt secure. Once I started to tighten the bolts in the rivnuts, 4 of the 7 popped out. **** - the holes were TOO BIG ! The ones that held I left them and used the aluminum rivnuts for the ones that popped out hoping that the softer metal could be pulled to a larger backing surface area - and it worked. Should I have used the aluminum ones provided - probably. After bolting in the tray it felt solid.
Next was to fit the battery in the tray to find out where the all thread post need to be. My small dolly from harbor freight worked perfect for this task. I set the tray down with the grooves in the center of the dolly and set the battery on top and bolted the all thread in place with some red locktite. The battery tray sits close to the floor so you just want a few threads past the bottom nut. You will also want to cut about an inch off the rods to clear the battery covers.
I bolted the battery tray back in place and routed the harnesses to clear the tray. I installed the battery and the top bracket. I pushed the top bracket towards the back of the car to use the end of the slot to press the all thread against the battery and I pulled the backside all thread towards the back of the battery and screwed it down with the wing nuts provided. I gave it a good shake and the whole set-up feels like it's part of the car. The LRB rear battery trays worked out perfectly with no issues other than the wrong drill bit size called out for the supplied rivnuts in the provided instructions.
I went ahead and test fitted the rear bottom panel and battery cover. This is when I found out about cutting the all thread to the right height and I also wanted to verify the battery post were clear from all obstacles. Fitment was good so I went ahead and installed the second battery.
Since I did not want to repeat this mistake for the other battery I measured the diameter of the rivnut body and it measured 8.86mm and the top flange was 12.2mm. I can see why the 13/32 (10.3mm) was thought to be ok but it's not. When the rivnut is compressed the body will not expand that much so you need a smaller hole. I ended up using a 23/64 drill bit which measured out to 8.91mm - perfect.
The second battery went in flawlessly. The LRB battery kits are really nice but the floor near the tunnel is shaped a little different between the 2 sides which results in right side of the car battery kit fitting much better.
Bonus pics - without a shop, limited space and a little frustration - it gets messy...lol.
Day 60
1. Cusco 8pt D1 roll cage
20 years ago I owned my 1st FD and I installed a RHD 4pt Cusco roll cage into my LHD with a sunroof so I knew what I was up against for this current installation. I knew I had to cut the carpet, remove the visors and drill holes - but this time I did not have to bend the front of the roll cage to clear the dash. I had a huge advantage this time - Cusco makes LHD cages now!
I got the 8pt D1 cusco LHD roll cage. I know it says no sunroof - but I have installed it twice now in a car with a sunroof so I can tell you it is possible - pictures do not lie. The cage was packed really nice and comes with all the hardware for installation. There is also an inspection hole for the thickness of the cage for track inspection. It's ok for the lower level class at the track. The instructions are clear with measurements on were everything should line up but the bottom plate placement did not match the diagram on the instructions. For the rear bottom plates you would have to bend or cut them to clear but you can flip them around to fit. I have included pictures of how the bottom backing plates are mounted.
It was a challenge to get the rear hoop in since my doors could not fully open and the seats were still in the car but I got it done. You have to put the driver seat up and forward and the passenger seat also needs to be forward but with the seat back. This will allow you to get the hoop in the car. Once it's in go to the passenger side and push the seat back and pull the hoop towards you. The hoop base will slide towards the tunnel behind the driver's side and then you can pass the passenger hoop base past the lower pivot section of the passenger seat. Now push the passenger seat and back forward.
IMPORTANT - DO NOT DRILL ANY HOLES YET !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There is a small flap the covers the bolt on the floor for the rear seat belt, that is where you need to make one of the cuts. The other 2 cuts are where the carpet folds up against the frame rail and the rear cross support. There are plastic underbody trim piece that come off the bottom of car which use clips to hold them in place that need to be removed. You can line up the whole cage with these holes. I used some screw drivers that had thick shafts (that's what she said - giggity) to line up the rear hoop base plates. This is also where I noticed the floor was pushed up on the driver's side which I had to beat back into place.
Now you need to remove the front visors and test fit the front bars to see where you need to cut out the carpet and remove the thick foam padding where the plate needs to make contact with the floor. Once the front bars are in go ahead and install the front cross bar. Lastly remove all the carpet and insulation and install the back bars and swing them to where they want to sit naturally with no tension.
Now that the cage is installed you can perform checks for any other aftermarket items you want to install. I had a feeling my A-pillar triple pod would not work and I was right - I ordered up some roll cage gauge pods for my roll cage diameter of 40mm.
If you do this install - it is normal that the driver's side door panel where it sticks out for the vents in the dash will rub against the cage when closing the door.
Now that the cage is installed you can secure it in place. Here are the steps that I did it in.
1. Make sure all bars are installed and keep the nuts loose - very important. This will allow you to properly bolt each section in with minimal tension.
2. Align the back hoop in place with the holes previously used by the factory clips under the car. There is one hole on each side. Drill the remaining 2 holes in each base plate. Take the bottom backing plate and make sure it fits the contour of the bottom of the car, if it does not then tap the floor with a rubber mallet until it does. You want to make sure that the roll cage foot and the backing plate line up and will not have any play. Tight all the bolts for the hoop.
3. Now it is time for the front bars. Make sure the roll cage plate is flush with the floor on both sides and now you can tighten where the front bars attach at the rear hoop. Go back and verify the front feet are still flush with the floor. Now tighten the front upper cross brace, now the front part of the cage is sitting in its natural position. Drill the six holes (3 each side) and bolt the cage in place with the bottom backing plates.
4. Now it gets tricky. Last we need to get the back bars lined up so we can drill the holes. I have included 2 detailed pictures for the placement of the back feet . The back side of the plate will line up with a hole on the inside of the quarter trim. The front outside edge of the plate will line up with it barely hanging over the wheel arch as it curves down. Once you have it in this location tighten the top bolts where they attach to the hoop only and verify they are still in this position. If you were taking notes you would have noticed this rotated the back post a tiny bit under tension. Now secure the bottom cross bar and then the diagonal bar. Verify the back feet are still in position. Now the cage is under its natural tension and free from flex. The cross bars block the single back hole from being drilled so you will have to drill the front 2 holes on each side and do the best you can to accurately mark the last hole. Don't be lazy and try to install the backing plate and drill up through the slotted hole hoping you'll hit the hole on the roll cage plate - just don't do it. Now you need to take apart the back section to drill the last 2 holes and then reassemble it in the same sequence you did for lining up the holes. Remember the holes were drilled with the cage secured under tension. The easiest way is to put everything back together loosely and bolt the rear part of the cage up while verifying the feet are still flush - you should see the back feet start to rotate to get that 3rd hole lined up. It's a lot of back and forth but it's the best way to verify fitment.
Now that everything is bolted in place you can vacuum up the mess and if you cut the carpet right you should be able fold it downward near the cage.
Day 61
1. LRB rear interior delete kit
Ah-yes-now back to the final install of the LRB rear delete kit.
Now that the roll cage is in I can line up the rest of the rear panels. Apparently the lower base panel was not bent perfectly straight at the top which ended up shifting the bottom edge towards the roll cage - about 3/4 of an inch. You can see where the top side tabs need to be bent for the wheel arch panels - that bend is off center. Luckily I was able to notch the top holes to make it work and everything lined up. The whole time test fitting this thing was like bringing a ginormous razor blade in and out of my car.
Next it was time to install the wheel arch covers, this is where I'm guessing that LRB designed this on a car with no sunroof or a Cusco 8pt roll cage for that matter - lol. It was time to put my shade tree fabrication skills to the test.
On the driver's side there is a bracket with a ground and a relay on it. The relay will get pulled off and the bracket gets removed and the ground wire is re-secured to where the bracket was bolted in place. Next there is a white connector that needs to be moved from one hole to another to clear the wheel arch. The trick is the original hole is slotted vertically making the connector face up but the new hole it slotted horizontally allowing the connector to sit sideways allowing it to clear the panel.
I test fit the panel and made my marks where the drain hose and wire are. I cut out a small section for the hose and used the rubber edge protector provided by LRB. For the roll cage I used a hole saw for the rounded edge and used my band saw to cut the straight lines up the outside diameter of the hole. Then I used my belt sander to smooth it all out. Amazingly the rotating section of the belt sander fit inside my cut-out allowing me to have a uniform finish between the left and right wheel arch panels. I test fit the panel and it fit NICE!
I was tempted to make a mirror image cut out for the roll cage on the other side but I knew the lower panel was off which would throw off my cut after its bolted in place so I test fit it to be safe, made my lines and cut it the same way as the other side. I went to install the passenger side wheel arch panel and it fit NICE.
I was so happy they both went right in after the first cut, I guess all that experience from making vm kits paid off...lol.
The back upright panel that separates the rear bins from the trunk area is next. I wish there was another way to make this piece attach. This is the piece I had to remove my rear trunk panels for. This piece secures to the inside most shock strut bolt on each side and the lower 3 bolts where the top of the lower panel goes. I got the RX7 name plate addition - looks sharp.
Finally on to the last upright panels of the LRB delete kit - before I was guessing LRB designed this on a non-sunroof car but now I can bet it was. I don't think LRB would expect us to do this much cutting to make these panels work. I bet the extra drain hoses, side harness, relay and bracket are all related to the sunroof.
You have to unbolt the shock struts from the inside of the B-pillars and pull them towards each other in the trunk area so they are not in the way. I supported the rear hatch with my hood prop. Next was to insert all the nylon tabs for where the screws will secure the panels in place. Also the instructions say to fold the door sensor back onto themselves - it sounds like they want them behind the panels. Nope not me - I'm putting them on the outside so they can move freely in and out with no stress to the harness.
The driver side panel needed a good side notch made to match the lower notch for the drain hose. Maybe I could have tried to route the whole line differently - but this was a surprise so I ran with it in its current place. Then there was the ground wire with the door ajar sensor harness that needed a notch cut for too. I tried a small hole saw and it worked but it was a pain to screw the ground in place. I used some rubber cement and glued some more of the LRB supplied rubber edge protector. I actually colored in the aluminum sections between the rubber with a sharpie to make it look cleaner - from a distance.. hahahaha.
The passenger side was a little bit easier since I already knew the issues. There was not a relay or a bracket on this side but there was a ground screwed into the same location. The drain hose on this side runs along the bottom so I had to just cut a upright channel for the ground and longer lower section for the drain and antenna wire. Again I did the edge protector and sharpie trick.
Once you test fit all the panels you can see where all the screws go. One thing to note is each panel has one screw that is longer and that will go to the insert that is deeper inside the B-pillar - it is the 2nd one from the top closest to the door. Screw them all in until they are snug. The Allen bolt provide will bring the panel in more. Make sure not to pinch anything. Now you can install the shock mounts and when you tighten these it will really snug the panel down allowing you to tighten down all the screws and bolts. Do not over tighten - just pull the panel down with your hand and tighten until snug.
p.s. Don't worry about braking your door sensors - they have an updated better stronger design.
I did pull the harness trying to unplug it and then I got shot in the stomach by a plastic bullet. You have to squeeze the black connector to release the copper spade and then unscrew it from the body.
Lastly I added a couple zip ties to keep the seatbelt from hitting sensors once they are installed. It's ok to be ghetto every now and then - gives it character.
Day 62
1. Fixing more rips
I posted it somewhere before but I thought I would show them again. I have these dope factory pink and grey camouflage floor mats with the gold RX7 badge on them. My driver side A-pillar had some rips on it so I broke out the leather repair kit and hooked it up - came out good enough to forget about it once it's in the car. I also had some epoxy in the corner of the dash. It took me a good 15 minutes of scraping it away to prevent cutting the dash, I felt like an archeologist. I also put the foot rest and panels back in now that I will not be routing any gauge wires in that location.
Day62
2. Rotary Extreme rear harness bar
I also installed my Rotary Extreme rear harness bar. I was surprised to see I did not have matching bolts and due to the pointed bolt it barely captured the nut by 2 threads. I put new hardware with stronger bolts and nylon lock nuts. I wanted to keep the rear trunk cover too. I was happy to see there are metal tabs in the trunk area where the rear cover can rest on so I don't have to fabricate any holders.
Day 62
3. Cleaned up the interior
I was so excited to get the cage and the rear interior kit done by the end of the year. I vacuumed the car and cleaned up the seats and dash. I even took my shoes off to sit inside - I just wanted to sit inside now that's it's all cleaned up. The floor mats work good enough with the cage in place and I had to take one last picture - It felt so good to look at the dash as if I was driving it.
2020 you beat the **** out of us, but we are here to take back our lives in 2021.
I have to remove these in the car no with my freshly painted engine fine bay. Doh!
