81 FB Build
 

Well it looks like its gonna be another long cold winter, and I got just the thing to pass the time...another project car. This is my 81 FB.

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/3...g003541.th.jpg

It has no motor or transmission (not for long...lol) . I picked it up a few months ago and am really eager to do a 12a turbo build on it, but for now it will just get a regular carbed 12a with headers and direct fire upgrades just to get it running until I can save enough $ for the turbo build. The doors are super rusty (hey..its a NY car) but I have rust free replacements, and I will be documenting my attempt at bin rust repair now that I own a mig. Other that that the car is really clean with no frame rot or even engine bay rust. Wierd.

Anyway...stay tuned for some frost bite fun!

Looking forward to watching your project! Good luck :-)

nice! Im building a 79 at the moment too. You doing a blow through turbo set up?

No blow through for me...too much of a noob to turbo...lol . I am going to try to replicate a build from the Old School section from turbo dave...https://www.rx7club.com/old-school-other-rotary-63/rx2-sedan-12a-turbo-project-928917/.

Obviously mine is going into a fb instead of a rx2, but you get the idea. As I learn more about what the setup needs I will prob migrate from the stock computer to some kind of stand alone set up.

More pics of the project...
 

I went out behind the shop today to further investigate what I am working with. I was also trying to get motivated to start with this project. I first wanted to take a second look at the kind of rust I was dealing with in the bin area. I was a little disappointed to find more rust there than I remembered at first glance. here is some pics of what I got to work with...

http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/7...5000511.th.jpg
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/9...5000521.th.jpg

Her is some of the rusty areas I am going to try to deal with. First is the rust doors which will be replaced
http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/8...5000501.th.jpg

I have replacements in the back room of the shop for this...

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/6...5000601.th.jpg

Now on to the bin rust areas...

first the driver side
http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/1...5000551.th.jpg

from the inside

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/2...5000541.th.jpg

and a bit of the dog leg...

http://img341.imageshack.us/img341/9...5000561.th.jpg

the passenger side is not as bad, but will require the same type of repair...

http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/518...5000581.th.jpg

and again from inside...
http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/2...5000591.th.jpg

there is no real rust in the dog leg on the pass side. Although this seems like a significant amount of rust, the rest of the car is really clean with NO RUST at all. I will take some engine bay shots tomorrow to show.

Right now the plan is just to get it running so I can get it home from the shop. Please feel free to give your opinions on the vehicle, but I feel this represents a pretty good starting point for a east coast car, and will probably teach me a thing or two about rust repair...maybe Aaron Cake has inspired me to cut out some rust and make some patch panels...lol IDK. I will try to move away from the thumbnails as the build progresses so the thread can be a bit more reader friendly. :nod:

Just had a look at my oil cooler...looks like someone used it as a jacking point. I doesn't show any signs of leakage, but can I still use this?

http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/5...1300063.th.jpg

i personally wouldnt use that oil cooler.. even though it may not leak.

It looks fine. Use it. Keep an eye on oil temps. But if in doubt, throw it out.

I might have a line on another oil cooler. I feel like its probably fine, but yeah...why take the chance? Got my flywheel resurfaced and installed. Noticed my pilot bearing has no seal in the back. Is it ok to run it with out a seal? After this I just have to repair an exhaust stud hole and it should be time to bolt up the drivetrain in the car. Pics to follow tonight.

Tap the pilot bearing in so you can install a seal. But before you do anything, check the needle bearings inside. Since it ran without a seal for some time, it might be dry and/or worn. If in doubt, change it out. But always use a seal. I've come across several that didn't have a seal because some smart guy stopped requiring them to be included in clutch kits. Instead they include some weird roller bearing. They're not useful except to throw at your friend.

Thanks Jeff, sounds like a plan. I picked another set of "acceptable doors" and they are even the same color as my car. This will buy me a little time in the bodywork dept. Looks like my parts list is coming together pretty quick. I will place an order to mazdatrix tonight for some needed misc items and tow the car back to my garage to put some time in on it.

I have a FC oil cooler if your interested pai.

Thanks Jibaro...I have one in route currently...should be here in a few business days...I may be interested after the holidays since I'm going front mount on the GLC.

Not much has gotten done in the last week or so. Got the car towed back to my garage and am waiting for a delivery from UPS from Mazdatrix to finish getting my engine ready to install. Once its running I want to start on some door replacement and rust repair before the snowy weather gets here. This project has to live outside for now so it would be nice to square some of this away.

Water pump housing mod???
 

I was taking apart the water pump housing to clean it up and replace the the pump etc and then noticed that this hole was plugged intentionally with a quarter and some silicone

http://img841.imageshack.us/img841/7...2300072.th.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

is there any benefit to doing this? I haven't seen it before.:scratch:

Clutch Compatability Issues...
 

Well as I continue to piece together this basket case of an engine with the bits it needs to run again, I have come across what could be an issue. I had my flywheel resurfaced and I noticed that this flywheel didn't have any dowels or "mounting shoulders" for the pressure plate. As I started mounting everything up the first issue I ran into was that when the pressure plate was about to be mounted, there was too much space between the plate mount and the flywheel mount. I went out to get the old set up that came off the engine originally....and then it was kinda clear...I have a 215mm set up and was trying to run 225mm clutch disc and pressure plate!

So am in need of some suggestions...The 225mm flywheel I have is from an unknown year and was a different weight and I was concerned that it would throw off my rotating assembly so I feel that switching flywheels is out. Plus I am really not trying to spent any more money at this point since the holidays are near and any extra cash will probably go to gifts. So buying a new 215mm set up is out aswell...

What I ended up doing is using the only good disc I had. ... 225mm Racing Beat SS and a stock 215mm pressure plate. While I realize this is a less than ideal set up, what want to know is can it work??? The only drawback I can see from mounting it up is that there is a tiny bit of clutch disk that is "sticking out" from under the pressure plate. I assume this will wear a groove in the disk as it is used and make the disk useless for future installs. If this is the case I am ok with it as I am trying to just get the car mobile right now while I gather some parts for the fb's turbo build.

Here are some pics of what the assembly looks like mounted up...I am sure someone has done this by accident at some point...

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/1...2900074.th.jpg

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/4...2900073.th.jpg
This is the best I could show the disk sticking out...

Another thing I was thinking is using some longer bolts and like some spacers to mount up the 225mm pressure plate to my flywheel...any thoughts on how to "get mobile" without spending any more dough???

Well it looks like I have to place another order for a couple of misc items...( thermostat gasket, throw out bearing etc) and rock auto has a 215mm clutch disc for like 39 bucks which is more than reasonable so I will spring for it...lol! I will save the 225mm for the turbo build down the road.
I think it would have worked fine the way it was, but for 39 bucks more I can't justify pulling down the trans again if it didn't. I guess I'm getting old...

Whenever you are ready to go turbo and if you decide on the stock turbo II injection let me know,I can make you a harness so you can just pretty much plug and play,good build BTW.I like how you are motivated to fixing the rust issues yourself good job.

Thanks Dave...I will def hit you up once my funds are right.

werd, just let me know.

Well my replacement oil cooler has arrived in very nice shape and I got my ACV port blocked off and intake manifold installed. Looks like the casting on the manifold was starting to pit a little on the sealing side, but since it was ported I wanted to still use it. So I gave it a light coating of rtv and applied the gasket over...If I end up with a vacuum leak I will know the first place to look...lol.

Also got the water pump housing and water pump installed as well as a fresh coat of black high temp engine enamel on the motor (free and available :nod:).

anyway...on with the thumbnail parade...

replacement oil cooler

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/1...0300084.th.jpg

my old parts car will be donating the following

racing beat springs

http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/5...0300080.th.jpg

215-50-13 brand new rubber and cleaner plus rims

http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/9...0300081.th.jpg

complete dual exhaust with rb road race style headers and prima flow muffler

http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/5...0300085.th.jpg

here is some shots of progress on the motor...blocked off ACV

http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/9...2900076.th.jpg

fresh paint to clean things up...

http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/469...0300082.th.jpghttp://img32.imageshack.us/img32/995...0300083.th.jpg

other goodies making their way onto to the project...

dual electric fans
http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/8...0300087.th.jpg

and fully rebuilt stock carb stripped down...
http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/8...0300086.th.jpg

now I just gotta get some time to work and a couple of rain-free days...(it always rains on my days off!):(

nice i like it

ok...clutch disc came in today and will go on the engine tomorrow morning before I go to work.

http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/1...0800089.th.jpg

Hopefully tuesday it doesn't rain and I can install the engine and trans in this little beast!

the project is coming along really nicely. Whats your ETA before its running?

If nothing else comes up it should be running in a week or two...fingers crossed.

nice!

Managed to get up early this morning and get to the gettin'! Got my new clutch disc installed and got the motor off the stand.

http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/6...1300091.th.jpg

and mated the trans...

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/3...1300092.th.jpg

Then it was time to move the party outside...no rain today means that this baby was going in!
I realized after mating the engine and transmission that I never stripped out the engine bay and that the install might be a tight fit.

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/8...1300093.th.jpg

Since I was gonna be changing out the oil cooler anyway, I pulled the radiator and cooler together to make a little extra space. Gonna need some new oil cooler mounts it looks like.

Ahhh thats a little better

http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/5...1300094.th.jpg

It still took quite a bit of angling and my sloped driveway really didn't help the situation...

http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/6...1300095.th.jpg

But it is in and mounted...

http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/2...1300096.th.jpg

In retrospect...it would have been much better to have mounted the trans first and then drop the engine in and bolt the two together. The transmission is being held up by a jackstand currently, and will be mounted tomorrow morning. Ran out of time and had to pick up the kids from school. Still a productive day all in all.:nod:

It was another great weather day in NY so I dragged my ultra hung-over body out of the bed at 7am. In my fog I was able to get the trans crossmember bolted up as well as a number of odds and ends on the engine.

As I was bolting up the headers it became quite evident that I would only be using 3 studs for the install. One of the studs broke off in epic fashion taking the helicoil repair with it as well as any chance of future repair without a little aluminum welding. :(

http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/1...1700065.th.jpg

I may be able to thread some kind of oversized bolt to hold pressure on the manifold flange and keep the exhaust leak to a minimum, but it will be ugly and probably upset me everytime I look at it.:crying::crying

Also found a bit of chaffing on a wire harness in the front of the car.
http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/9...1400098.th.jpg

At this point it was time for a coffee break...lol.

I got back at it soon enough and installed the carburetor and distributor and starter. I got my alternator on as well and found a double pulley from a Subaru I took apart a while back. I was wondering if it would work on the rx7's alternator so I put it on. Not bad! Now I can run dual belts.

http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/5...1400099.th.jpg
http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/4...1400100.th.jpg
http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/665...1400101.th.jpg

I finished out the day with a fresh set of plugs. Still have to switch out my oil cooler and cleanup and paint my radiator, then those bits can go in. Its starting to come together though.

http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/2...1400103.th.jpg

Hope this good weather holds out!

i am willing to bet that without something in place of that stud, your going to have exhaust leak issues

For sure...

I will make an attempt at threading an oversized bolt with a spacer of somekind for now. This engine had all kinds of issues when I picked it up a couple of years ago. Nearly all of the bolt holes were stripped in one way or another and one of the bell housing ears was broken. When I bought the motor I was so concerned with turning it and listening for good compression that I barely noticed anything else wrong with it. It was a rushed purchase and I overpaid for it...I had been using it as a mock up engine for other builds, but I would like to see if it will run for a bit in this car.
I have other plans for this car anyway...so this may be a short lived install if things go my way.
Right now I just need the car be able to move around under its own power.

Just scored some wheels on ebay...old school american racing. I was looking fo Libre's but these might fit the bill nicely....and for the price you can't beat it.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/170751072843...9#ht_500wt_969

Thanks man!:icon_tup:

Not much to update lately...the holidays have a way of draining all my time (and wallet) and we have hit a pretty good cold snap of weather. I have been going back and forth between needing to buy a new radiator and breaking out the jb weld and using an old one I have that needed the mounting brackets to be put back on. My oil cooler mounts are also barely useable as the rubber is pretty cracked but still holding together. In my haste I realized there was a broken oil cooler mount bolt in either side of the radiator mount brackets AFTER installing the radiator. This only left one attachment point on each side for the oil cooler. The result is an oil cooler with way too much movement upon the final mounting.....Soooo it will all come back out again for a repair and fresh oil cooler mounts. The redo should give me a very useful radiator and cooler with the only cost being the new cooler mounts. 37 bucks each.

The day wasn't a total wash however...I found some mechanical gauges I wanted to run so I modified the radio surround to mount the gauges...still not sure if this car will even get a radio.
http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/8...0400125.th.jpg

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

good score on the rims!

lookin clean. i like

Thanks. Wheels came in the mail yesterday...super clean! Not sure about the width or offset...we'll just have to see. 90 bucks and 39 for shipping I'm not complaining.:lol:

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/750...0300124.th.jpg

Thanks!

looks pretty good for what you started with! keep it up!

Thanks zaridar...it won't be a show car by any means, but it will be fun to drive and that is all I'm after. I live in Bklyn NY...if you make it too nice...it disappears!

Got a bit more done today including cooling system plumbed and oil system plumbed, fluids filled and ignition system installed. Waiting on a rear tranny seal, oil metering blockoff plate. Still trying to figure out the layout of the wire harness...I will not have emissions and a stripped down nikki for now so there is a ton of extra connectors that have no home. I should also replace the fuel filter since I have no idea how long the car has been layin' around. Once those items arrive it will be time to put in the drive shaft and an exhaust and hopefully post up a start up video. The car needs tons of other work like replacing siezed brake calipers and such, but it will be a relief to hear it run for now. Also gotta figure out if I will run an e-fan right now or not since the ones I have are all too big to mount on my radiator so it just might be a mechanical fan for now too.

lookin good man keep it up

It lives!....kinda...well only on starter fluid. I am really hoping that the gas in the car is flat. Once its sorted the video will follow. I got a kick outta watchin exhaust smoke come out of my damaged exhaust stud hole on the header...will be addressed shortly. Sounds strong though. I am pleased.

Ok...update, car is running on it own now. OE fuel pump lost its prime I'm guessing. I wanted to keep it running to take a video, but the cops showed up and ended my day of work by handing me two tickets for 115 bucks each. Noise pollution. What a bunch of shit! Anyway...it looks like the next phase of the project will be cobbling together my exhaust so my neighbors can go back to watching Maury Povich in peace.

I started by setting up the install for the Racing Beat PP Muffler...

http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/898...1800128.th.jpg

http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/1...1800129.th.jpg

Progress is slow...got a bunch of stuff going on and looks like I'm gonna have to move by march, maybe its a good thing. Hopefully I will have a little time and money left over to play, but the family needs always come first.

Guess who learned to weld...yesterday...lol
 

Well I finally grew enough balls to turn on the mig yesterday in an effort to put together an exhaust system for the fb.
http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/5...2012600135.jpg
By cfamilyfix at 2012-01-27

The exhaust I am using came off my parts car I used for my GLC build. Headers, dual pipes all the way back to a Racing Beat prima flow muffler.
http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/5...1120300085.jpg
By cfamilyfix at 2011-12-03

There were no flanges in the sytem where they were supposed to be so that was going to have to be addressed as well. First off I had to re attach the over axle pipe to the muffler...
http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/8...2012500132.jpg
By cfamilyfix at 2012-01-27

And here it is...first arc weld I have ever laid down...ugly...yes, but its got a good bite and the grinder may help to hide some of my inexperience. lol:lol:
http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/392...2012600133.jpg
By cfamilyfix at 2012-01-27
http://img804.imageshack.us/img804/8...2012600134.jpg
By cfamilyfix at 2012-01-27

I had a flange that came with my parts car, but forgot to bring it to work with me, but I did have a flange from some headers I had cut up a while back. Just had to cut the pipes off to get at it.
http://img802.imageshack.us/img802/9...2012700137.jpg
By cfamilyfix at 2012-01-27
http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/2...2012700138.jpg
By cfamilyfix at 2012-01-27

all that was left was to grind it down and knock out the pieces of pipe still in there. Then it was on to fitting and welding and grinding...
http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/934...2012700139.jpg
By cfamilyfix at 2012-01-27
http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/9...2012700140.jpg
By cfamilyfix at 2012-01-27

here is how it will bolt up to the intermediate pipes, which still need to get sorted
http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/6...2012700141.jpg
By cfamilyfix at 2012-01-27

I switched to bigger pics as promised, but boy they sure show my fugly welds...go easy on me guys...:blush:

As Dwayne from American Hotrod once said " you dont have to be a good welder, just a good grinder" :)

Good try with the welds, but............. they're pretty bad and i'll think they'll give you trouble down the track. I recomend you practice some more on some scrap, then redo these once your a bit better. ;)

Thanks Adsy...I was messing around with wire speed and amp settings today and have a little better handle on it, but going by the user manual reccomendations was no help...just gonna take practice and patience i guess...for now these will do. Look for a nicer system to get put together once I go turbo and start the 3in single pipe system. :nod::nod::nod:

the rims look nice......:)my friend is selling a full racing beat exhaust...call me if you are interested....

ahhh...thanks Joe, but I have made a couple of big splurge purchases already (a set of libre's and a weber set up) so I am pretty much outta cash for this build right now.

Well I had a vacation day from work today and the weather was damn near perfect today...almost 60 degrees in end of january! So I took the opportunity to fit up the rear muffler with the over axle pipe and flange connected...what a disaster! The extra length caused a lot of trouble when trying to install rear muffler. I ended up unbolting the right rear shock and jacking up the right rear side of the vehicle...proved to be pretty dangerous with the front of the vehicle on jackstands and the left rear on a ramp platform...in a very sloped driveway:lol::lol::lol: It seemed to do the trick and so I bolted it up.
With the muffler installed and the headers in place, all that was needed was a flanged intermediate set of pipes. Since I am using exhaust pipes from a scrap heap (free) it became a challenge to make things fit in a bolt up fashion. I realized I was gonna need two more flanges (no problem 1 I have ready to go and the other I cut off and grinded from an old system)...very time consuming.:mad: Here is what I ended up with before calling it a day...
http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/9...2012800143.jpg
By cfamilyfix at 2012-01-28

fitting up a middle pipe for measuring
http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/2...2012800142.jpg
By cfamilyfix at 2012-01-28

flanges and pipes ready for welding then fitting
http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/9...2012800144.jpg
By cfamilyfix at 2012-01-28

This is turning out to be the most time consuming part of the project, but it sure is a lot more fun than just buying a bolt up system.

[QUOTE=cfamilyfix;10956630]but it sure is a lot more fun than just buying a bolt up system.[/QUOTE..........:nod::icon_tup: