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2Tall's1985 RX-7 GSL Build (tall man, tiny car how to)
So it's time to start documenting my 1985 GSL build I guess. Let's start with the car
Looks good right?
Purchased for a reasonable price, the body on this car is very good. I have spent years building ice racers from cars that have suffered from Ontario winters and I can't do it anymore. When your build time is 25% welding up rusted out floors and 50% extracting bolts that rusted solid, it has a way of crushing your soul.
As it stood when I purchased it in May, the brakes were pretty seized up, suspension was super soft and the bushings were on their way out. The engine started but did not sound like it was happy doing so. The seller thought it might be the carb but I didn't fool myself into believing I was going to get out of this without pulling the motor.
Did I mention I don't fit in this car? Well, I don't fit in this car. I am 6'6", my head is against the roof, my legs jam up in the door and don't fit under the wheel. In it's current state, I cannot drive this thing 10 feet.
So, my plan is this:. I am looking to turn this into a summer driver/track day toy. I have my WRX wagon as a DD, but I never modified it because I needed at least one reliable car. This one doesn't need to fit that bill. I am going to mold this car to my needs, and while it will stay rotary resale value can suck it. The fun part will be fitting in it, and if I have to cut the roof out of it, I will, because sunroofs are a tool of tall man oppression!
More posts as I get time!
I hear you loud and clear. I'm 6'4" and pretty much just fit. I redrilled the seat rails to get the extra 1" of space behind the seat. I recline the seatback just enough, and then I don't hit my head for most of the bumps.
I will have to try that. I'm not a fan of the learned back driver position myself but sometimes you don't have a choice. Where do you redrill? Does it allow the sliders to go further back or just reposition the rails relative to the floor mounts?
Oh, the headliner is going down alright. My plan for "Operation Sardine Can" is to get rid of the headliner, drop in 2nd Gen seats (already acquired), new smaller steering wheel and steering wheel spacer. From there I will see if I fit with a helmet comfortably. If that still isn't enough then I might bolt straight to the floor, though I heard turbo 2 rails might give more drop. If I am still not comfortable, it's time to break out the plasma cutter and weld in a solid roof panel.
I will have to try that. I'm not a fan of the learned back driver position myself but sometimes you don't have a choice. Where do you redrill? Does it allow the sliders to go further back or just reposition the rails relative to the floor mounts?
I removed the seat from the rail and bracket assembly and moved the seat "backward" about an inch. I'm away atm and working off my recollection. I had to use some standoffs on 2 of the 4 new connection points to maintain the seat level. I'll have to look again.
So now that the summer is over and I'm actually at home more, it's time to get back to work on the car.
I began by swapping out the carb for a spare one that came with the car, which didn't prove fruitful. Whenever the car ran for more than a few seconds the fuel started to overflow everywhere. I took a look at the return line and turns out the check valve was on backwards. Flipped it around and the flooding stopped but it still sounded like *** anyways and it began barfing oil out of the crankcase breather line. Not great. In addition to there being no compression in the rear rotor, I also found out all the plugs we're finger tight. Engine removal now on the list.
Hot tip:. If you are planning on taking forever doing brake work, don't leave your wheels beside you car.
Those wheels look secure enough.
Had the rear calipers off for a while and didn't secure the wheels. Didn't take long for the scrappers to come by and steal them. My own fault but still, people are jerks. Goddammit. On the plus side, perfect excuse to buy new/used wheels. Got these ones from a gentleman off this site. 14 x 7 Cheviot. Aussie as mate.
What? I always joke about wheel locks on factory wheels, but never thought anybody would actually jack some. People suck.
X wheels are super common if you wanted to stay with the look its not hard to source some for REALLY cheap/next to nothing.
I've recently had some cockpit time in a moon roof car, and its cramped as all get out in there. I'm only 5'10 and my head was hitting the ceiling. Cut and weld a new roof might be your only option to fit inside the car.
In the future I will probably start looking for a couple of stock wheels so I can have a complete set of street tires. They are so light, makes tire changes a breeze.
My plans to take the roof out are still in effect, but the realities of getting the car running again are taking priority. Some day the title of this thread will be accurate!
So now that I have wheels, I can finally finish of the brakes. I went with Stop Tech pads and rotors as they were a nice little upgrade on my WRX so I figured I would give them a shot on my rx7. I put on new calipers in the front because the old ones were seized solid and I chose to rebuild the rears. As a side note, why the hell are the rear parking brakes on this car so f-ing complicated? Roller bearings, really? It took me the better part of an evening swearing and sweating trying to get the things back together again.
With the rear brakes together, I went to put on my nice new wheels and found that not only were they not hub centric but the wheel bolts were not long enough either. Solutions were needed.
Working somewhere with CNC lathes and 4130 tubing has its advantages. I made up some hub rings at work and gave them a budget black oxide finish. I solved the bolt issues by putting in Gorilla wheel studs (77737XL). They don't have a shoulder on them so I put loctite red on them and cranked them down. They will be checked frequently, as I don't feel like having a wheel fly off on me. Yes those tires are studded, no I am not going to drive on them. They are just holding the car up until I get real rubber.
I'm 6' 7" and I daily drove a sunroof 82' for over 2 years. I used turbo 2 seats on FB rails with a smaller aftermarket steering wheel. I had to remove the door pull handle to have enough room to operate the clutch properly. I thought it was pretty spacious after that. I've always been a tall guy who loves small cars, it provides all sorts of fun challenges....
Good luck with the build, I need to start my thread. I'm 6'3" and already swapped out the steering wheel and added a spacer. I'm going to try new seats next because even if I manage to lower the factory ones, the leather is too slippery for the track and the headrest is far to low for someone of my height.
07-16-17, 01:07 PM
