Thanks, I'd love to get a new set eventually.

 

Hey man, super long time! You need to come out and visit

Yeah, so far been having a lot of fun with the FD. Feel good getting a rare R2 back on the road. Trying hard not to go crazy like I did with the CYM so I can drive it this summer.

 

Here is one of the few mods I am doing to the FD: upgrading the oil coolers. The existing oil coolers were pretty badly beaten up (most of the fins were bent flat and the driver's side must have taken a sizable rock at one point). So I decided in-lieu of sending them out to get rebuilt, that I would try the Sake Bomb Garage oil cooler upgrade. Even a small drop in oil temperature will improve the longevity of the engine and components, so I bucket this as a good reliability upgrade over the OEM setup. Overall impressions: the hoses are very well made, use quality fittings and hose. So far, the fitment is perfect as well, no complaints.

Here is a picture of thermostat union:


and the hose from the oil filter pedestal:



The only part where I deviated from the instructions was to add a small amount of high temp thread sealant. This stuff is super expensive, but its added insurance against chasing down oil leaks from all the fittings:


More good stuff to come...

 

Front suspension and brake restoration is done. Konis with Racing Beat springs. New OEM shock mounts. Brembo rotors, new OEM calipers, hardlines and upgraded stainless steel lines.

 

and I also got the water pump installed. Progress!

 

Really good build. Once the original engine gives, I'll definitely be following this route so I look forward to seeing how this one progresses. Sticking with the stock fuel system?

 

Yep! Stock fuel system. Found a good used set of low mileage injectors and rails. Going with a new pulsation damper and pressure regulator, but thats it.

 

Question for those actually reading my crummy build thread: Have any of you reinstalled the motor with the downpipe bolted up? I wanted to see if could drop the engine w/transmission together with the downpipe bolted up. Or is it too tight of squeeze and I should leave it off?

 

I have dropped a motor in w/ the downpipe, though its a tight squeeze. It'll be good to have an extra set of hands to maneuver the engine around and line it up. Otherwise, it's not a huge PITA to install the downpipe once the engine is in.

I talked to Mike last week and we plan on making a trip to see you and Justin once I get back from Central America. I have some parts to drop off for Justin. I have some fender liners if you need. Also, might think about getting the FC thermoswitch if you haven't done so.

Build looks great so far. Did you rebuild the engine or just clean up the accessories?

Kevin

 

Totally, be great to see the gang again! You guys can swing by the house and see the project...though its not much to look at right now lol. I had the motor rebuilt, it was tired. When do you get back??

 

Hey! Just want to say this is a great build! I love that your going for that oem look and feel! Will be following closely. I will probably have to get the engine out for a refresher but have never done it, especially on a rotary...

 

Really slow progress, been upgrading the chicken coop and built a raised vegetable box at the house.

Heres what I got so far: Intake and efini y-pipes installed. All new OEM rubber joints, elbows and hoses. New harness is sort of installed, mostly placed in there until i get rats nest done.

 

Heres a shot after cleaning up the power steering system and new radiator. New inner, outer tierods, oem boots. Rack cleaned up nice. All the power steering hoses are new. Hard to see in the picture, but I am running the AWR (Sway Bar Bracket - 7304 ? 1993-1995 RX-7 - AWR Racing Store) sway bar brackets. They come powdercoated in silver, so it looks OEM-ish.

Swaybar not installed yet, but I'll be running an OEM sway bar with new OEM links.

 

Last update, my rats nest in progress. As crazy as it sounds, I bought all new OEM solenoids. So the rats nest should be good to go for another 100k miles lol

 

This is going to be such a nice car! I'm all for new stock solenoids. No sense in having and old one go out on you. The rat's nest is no fun when everything is in the car.

 

Thanks man. Mechanically, the car should be super solid when I'm done. The paint on the other hand is looking really tired. That will be a later project to deal with lol.

But yeah, totally agree, I'd rather do it once and not have to chase issues down the road related to the rats nest. I hope I didn't just jinx myself...

 

Took me long enough, but I finally got the lump back in the car. Have not yet fired it up. The bumper is still off so I can leak check the oil coolers.

Airbox lid is new, all the connecting hoses and clamps are new. New intercooler duct, isolaters and hardware. Also for those of you still running the stock intercooler and duct, those plastic snaps that connect the intercooler brackets to the duct (and brace) are NLA from Mazda. However, these snaps: Mazda Trim Panel Retainers B003-68-865-00 are a perfect fit and look exactly like the OEM ones. So if yours are broken (mine were), order a box of these or ask me to mail you a few

What do you guys think so far?

 

Amazingly clean Seth. Wouldn't expect anything else from you! Nice!

 

Went to start it up after work, and no joy. Tons of cranking, not even an attempt at starting. Checked spark, good! Checked the plugs, perfect (not flooded). Not even a whiff of fuel smell. So I narrowed it down to fuel. Fuel pump works when I ground the diagnostic pin (f/p).

But the strange thing is, when I turn the key ON, the fuel pump does not prime. I get silence. So my hypothesis is, the fuel pump relay circuit is borked. Going to bypass it and give it a go tomorrow. Hope this works. If it does, will need to investigate why the fuel pump relay circuit isn't working :|

 

welp, I was wrong. Fuel pump and relay system is fine. Did a flow test while cranking and fuel is definitely flowing to the rails. So, I need to plug a noid into the injector connectors and see if I've got signal going to the primaries. But with a new harness, I'm guessing thats OK. Bad primaries? Stuck closed?

 

Can't help with your problem, but very nice job on the car!

 

So I pulled the rats nest out and plugged an injector harness node ( ) cranked it over and the wiring is good. Going to pull the injectors out tomorrow, must be something up with the injectors. Regardless, I'm going to drop in a new set of primaries when I'm done troubleshooting this mess.

 

Tested both primary injectors with a 12v source. injector #1 started clicking after a few minutes of tapping the wire with the battery. Injector #2, never activated. So frustrating, but at least I got to the root of the problem. New injectors on order.

 

subcribed ! very clean!! wanting to see more

 

that sucks! i know the feeling of relief though, when you figure out the source of the frustration. are you buying NEW injectors, or remans? also, did you considering a cleaning service? people seem to have good luck with sending the injectors off for cleaning, and most send back flow analysis sheets.