Hi my name is Al and I have been tinkering with an '85 SE for a few years now. The car was my dads, in the 90's he drove it daily after having the 13b street ported by Jay at RX For Your 7 in Tucson, AZ.

I came to a point 3 years ago at age 18 with no car and no money and this SE was sitting in our driveway having not run for 7-8 years. With brute strength and ignorance I was able to get it going after only a couple of months, battling a completely gummed up gas tank, fuel lines, and everything that goes with a car that has been left sitting for 8 years unkempt.

I loved and drove this car for over a year, constantly fighting fuel issues in the hot AZ summer and still managing to daily drive it.

Managed to run it into a puddle at one point and cracked an iron. Tried to rebuild myself and ended up sending engine to RotaryEvolution in Vegas because he was willing to customize an S4/S5 iron to fit.

The firs two pictures show the engine bay of the car before and after rebuilding the engine.

Ultimately, I got tired of fighting the fuel issues and driving with a worn out limited slip differential. I enjoy drifting the car and driving it to its limits and have realized the best place to do that is at the track.

In the next post I will detail where we are now and where we are going with the build..

Peace,
Al

 

Alright,

Looking good so far. I am putting up this thread to help me remember all the obstacles I have overcome with the car and to hold myself accountable to the project and getting it rolling by Apr-May.

Hopefully I can compliment all the other awesome build threads on here. I feel very inspired when reading about all the hard work fellow members put in wrenching.

The car has been stripped in my garage for over a year now, the only pieces left on it are the rear lower control arms for the axle, I haven't been able to bust those bolts loose yet.

I went a little crazy taking everything off and luckily remembered to bag and label all bolts.

I also went a little over board with the angle grinder a while back and cut a little too much of the rear spare tire well out (pictured), this will be fixed by a local race shop SPS Autosport.

Luckily I decided to hold off cutting the front clip from the struts forward as that would be a hell of a project to fab up.

I have been in a frenzy this past month ordering parts and getting things organized. It is an awesome feeling to direct all the "moving parts" and organize this build from beginning to end.

I just received everything to rebuild the axle with a Kaaz 2-way, 4.88 gears, and Moser 5-lug axles. I will be using the stock GSLSE brakes all around as it has been a chore to find 5-lug BBK and the SE brakes are quite sufficient. Axle is just waiting on me to go to Tucson Differential for rebuild.

I will be ordering a hydraulic hand brake soon and plumb that inline to the rear. Have already received Hawk Pads and stainless brake lines for all four corners.

In addition I ordered almost every suspension piece Techno Toy Tuning has to offer for the FB including coilovers, control arms, etc etc etc and will be bolting those up as soon as they arrive.

The other day I put in an order with Aeromotive for a front to back fuel system including fuel cell, pump, filter, and regulator. This system will provide the ability to expand all the way up to a turbo in the future if I decide to go that route. Good thing I already cut a big *** hole for the fuel cell! LOL. That should all be in mid Feb.

In addition to the small welding jobs I have, SPS Autosport will be bending a tube and tab setup to hold a big 'ole Mishimoto radiator for me.

My goals for this project are to get it running by May and get to drive it at one drift event before moving to TX, I will put everything back together myself excluding things like the axle and welding which I do not have the knowledge or tools to do.

I appreciate any and all input on the build.

Thanks,
Al

 

Hey man I have an 83 I drift up in Phoenix. I've been using it for almost a year with my current setup. One big issue I find is getting steering angle. What you going to do to help that?

 

That is badass, hopefully once this is running I will be able to get up there!
I will say first off I am not super good drifting so I will have to get to a point where I need more angle first, I do realize it can be an awesome tool though to avoid spinning out at some point.
I read your thread in the first gen section and you said you removed the stops on control arms, have you considered shortening the part of the front coilove/spindle that connects to the tie rods?
I am talking about the cast piece that is mounted to the bottom of your strut and connects to the tie rod, find a good welder and you can probably have them shorten that piece by a little bit thus increasing your angle.

 

I am frikkin' thrilled to report Techno Toy Tuning came through with most of my order so far! I am still waiting on control arms and front coilovers!

You can tell these folks love what they do, easy to work with, and turn around was maybe 2 weeks. Very excited there is someone out there willing to make quality aftermarket parts for these cars still.

Will report back once installed, hopefully this weekend!

 

I am a certified welder. I was going to go that route once I get my power steering and build my adjustable control arms in the front

 

Love t3 they are great people and make even better products. If I wasn't a welder/fabricator I would use them. I am going to get there ciolovers though. There are some things I obviously can't do. Lol. Did you look at my Facebook page? Nya drifting. You'll see a lot of pictures and videos of my car.

 

Checked out the Facebook, some videos were hard to see and I enjoyed it, thank you!
Jealous of your mad welding skills, if I could weld I may have bought their front coilover kit, however it would cost almost as much to pay someone to weld the kit on as the prebuilt cost and it wouldn't color match.

So today I got a few small things done. Torched some pesky 4-link bolts, got them loose finally and installed all the new rear suspension. Should have the axle back from Tucson Differential by the end of this week and will bolt it up. Forgot to order Watts link bushings so will be doing all of that soon, will order new sway bar bushings all around because I've forgotten the last time they were replaced.

I know there is question as to whether using heim joints for the rear upper control links is reliable or whether it will jam up during driving and possibly break. I have read from a member I respect, mustanghammer, that this is an issue and also been told by my local mechanic at RX For Your 7 that it can bite. All I can say is it's pretty and I will report back after driving the sh*t out of the car on track as to whether it works for me or not.

Also put "engine brace thing" (completely forgot the name here) back in with new motor mounts and bolted the new adjustable control arms to it.

I have yet to see how it drives with all these new suspension parts but I am so excited about them because only 2-3 years ago when I started all this there weren't so many different suspension options from aftermarket companies.

You all enjoy the rest of your week and weekend!

Peace,
Al

 

What are you going to do with the stock arms and rear links? I'm always in need of spares especially while I'm trying to improve the angle. Need parts to test on.

 

Sorry about the craps videos. I keep telling my brother to put it outside yet he insists in having it there so he can " see the driver".

 

Hey man, haven't seen any updates lately. Go check out the Facebook page. Just had an awesome event. After the extended control arms my car was phenomenal. Got some new videos and pictures up. Enjoy.

 

Very nice, this was a route I was considering, I can't wait to see what your car comes along.

 

Wow! I love the suspension setup you have for this...makes me want to look at my RX7! I do have a question. I just sent off my original axles to Moser to have some made, GSLSE but with a 5x4.5 PCD. How did you order your axle? When I called them they just told me to send the dimensions and they would make it...so I decided to just mail them the axle instead.

 

I will definitely check out the new videos! You asked previously what I am doing with the old control arms I am willing to sell if you decide you need a pair, just PM.
Glad to hear on the extendable control arms! Makes me super excited.

Thanks for the kind words! I highly recommend T3 products, so far they have gone above and beyond on the product quality and service. I often wonder if Gabriel at T3 sleeps... LOL.

Thank you very much for the compliments, see above comment ^^^.

As far as the axles go I was able to purchase them from a fellow user in the classifieds over a year ago, I have no idea how they were ordered. I am almost positive that user bought them from RESPEED back when they were a credible company. You may want to post a thread up about RESPEED specifications for axles... I may not be perfect here so don't quote me I think they are 31 spline with a 5X114.3 bolt pattern, they are hub centric if that means anything to you. After lining them up with brakes and everything it looks like a lot of measuring went into making them perfect.

Hey all, I am so excited for this to be rolling soon and I am almost done buying / receiving parts for it. Currently I am waiting on the Aeromotive fuel system to arrive along with the T3 front coilovers. Gabriel was having trouble sourcing the spindles for the front so I sent my old MacPherson struts and he will modify.

Other than that I just need to buy a few misc. brake parts, fuel lines, and some diamond wheels.

Also if any of y'all have some cheap race seats to sell PM me pictures!

Tonight I spent some time drinking a few beers, putting some suspension back, and adding SS brake lines. I will be installing all front suspension and accessories again and then put the engine / trans back. Axle has been finished at Tucson Differential for a few days now, I haven't had a chance to get in there during business hours and I will install it as soon as I pick it up. Really pumped about the new gearing and Kaaz!

Loving all the other build threads and being able to help out with peoples questions, thanks for reading!

 

Thanks for the info. I didnt think my Chinese measuring equipment was up to measuring the axle properly so I just mailed it to Moser...they got it in 2 days and said they will mail the new axles back to me Tuesday! Nice insurance for $20 shipping. I talked a bit with the shop manager and he is very knowledgeable and had great advice.

I am probably going to have to upgrade my rear suspension to T3 stuff next winter...for now I have to limit my project creep and get the thing back on the road!

I like your build and keep the updates coming! Thanks for sharing!

 

Thanks! Great to hear they are an easy company to work with.

Got axle back from Tucson Differential and it looks great, so happy I sandblasted and painted it before sending off.

Was able to mount the passenger brake caliper, I am looking for a brake caliper bracket if anyone happens to have one. Will also be making a WTB thread.

Progress is coming along, I am going to focus now on getting everything back in just to drive at a track once before May, hopefully after an alignment. It will not be perfect, it may have doors, and it will be awesome!

Looking forward to shredding some tires. Aeromotive fuel system shipped today, still have to buy some bucket seats and wheels. Other than that its up to me to put everything back together.

Best,
Al

Pics are upside down... LOL... hope you can flip your monitor!

 

Here are some things I am excited about!

A few things left to acquire are wheels/tires, a mount welded up for the fuel cell, have injectors cleaned, and having the front rotors turned down on a lathe.

I am so pumped for this, I just need to stop buying parts and start putting things back together!

Peace,
Al

P.S. has anyone reading this mounted Kirkey seats to an FB with the seat rails? I would like to maintain the sliders and it looks like I need to make a metal brace to connect the seat rails to the Kirkey seat mounts. Any input is appreciated!











Excuse my demon eyes.... ha ha ha...

 

This has been a crazy few weeks! Really seeing this build come together now and gaining a lot more confidence as parts go back. It can be extremely daunting having the car stripped the way it was, I went a little over board removing so many things so it's good to see some of them finding a home again.

Just got done cleaning the garage and working on the RX7 a little bit.

Today I mounted the front coilovers to control arms, still waiting for camber plates which are in the mail from T3, they were forgotten in the last shipment and should be here within the next couple of days.

I also had the awesome guys over at Trail Boss Offroad in Tucson turn the front rotors, press in new bearings, and then bolt it all up so I didn't have to worry about doing it wrong. That about wraps up the front suspension.

Was able to mount the Kirkey seats to the 1985 GSLSE stock sliders the other day, that took quite a few hours positioning things. The Kirkey seat mounts you can buy from Summit Racing do NOT fit a first gen RX7, what I had to do was buy some stock metal about 1" wide and create horizontal connections to the stock seat sliders like this |=| I was then able to mount the seat by drilling holes in the 1" metal connections. Right now the passenger side looks a little wonky because I didn't realize the mounts are not level, I will add more metal support on the right-hand seat rail in the future to compensate for this, right now it is functional and I am happy with it.

I ordered a set of 15x7 Diamond Racing wheels with 4.5" of backspacing the other day. I am hoping these will fit, the stock wheel is 14x5.5 with 4.8" backspacing, so I think they should be alright.

Once these arrive I will throw some use tires on them and take it somewhere to have a mount for the Aeromotive Fuel Cell fabricated and welded in, brackets fabricated for radiator, and radiator plumbing options addressed. The Mishimoto radiator I have uses mismatched hose connections for the in and out flow, I will at least need to have these matched to the RX7 size, alternatively considering AN radiator hose.

Before then I plan to throw the engine/trans in, begin bolting engine ancillaries back, and plumb the fuel lines to engine connecting to the fuel pressure regulator. Does anyone know off the top of their head what stock fuel pressure is on a GSLSE? If not I will look in manual.

Once all this is done I can plumb the rest of fuel, have the fluids drained and replaced, and then take it out to break the axle in! Thanks for reading!

 

Nice build.

A word of caution regarding your front brakes. The stock iron GSL/SE rotors are prone to cracking at the lug holes in track use which causes the hub and rotor to separate. When they fail on the track it never ends well. To me the only way to safely use these rotors would be to inspect them often and replace them often. Rotors are a consumable item anyway on a track car but with these rotors the concern would be more than just wear.

A great alternative is the aluminum hubs that KC Raceware - KC Raceware - developed. They were designed by a couple of first gen E Production racers in response to repeated GLS/SE rotor failures in competition. They are spendy but I have never seen one fail. They use a Coleman Machine rotor, stock bearings/seals and use GSL/SE calipers. Talk to Charlie Clark

The other solution is the old RE Speed Big Brake conversion which is what I am using on my STU/ST3 build. I went this route because FC brakes are bigger and the class I am building for allows that. Also the rear hub bearing are bigger.

 

If I can get my hands on a BBK I will probably go that route. Alternatively I appreciate your recommending Charlie and KC Raceware. I spent a lot of time on the phone with Charlie a month or two back after reading your thread.

I will probably grab a set from him at some point in the near future, will make sure and mention you recommended!

On that note, I want to say thank you to everyone on here with a build thread, how to thread, or who just comments on things. I wouldn't have ever got this thing running if it wasn't for all the awesome people and info on this forum. Thank you.

Today I made a lot of progress on a little stuff. Installed the engine and transmission, this is the first time they have been back in the car in about a year!

Way excited to have things coming together, I move to TX in May and my goals with the car are to drive it at P1 Kart Track a couple times before then.

Have all the steering, brakes, and suspension bolted up. Waiting on wheels to come in the mail, will throw tires on them immediately.

Next is having the car towed to Trail Boss Offroad who have agreed to weld up a basket for the fuel cell as long as I draw up a contract saying if I rollover and burn myself to death they are not responsible. LOL.

Getting excited! Peace.

 

Well I hope you can get it running soon so you can come up to Phoenix and we can slide together. It would be sweet to have two fbs sliding in tandem. You seen my last videos? Just got done with an event last Saturday. It was awesome.

 

That would be great! I haven't had a chance to see the more recent videos, will check out. Happy sliding?

 

LOL. I meant "Happy Sliding!"

I am excited about this report, have mounted the fuel cell and I am getting started on the plumbing for fuel.

I have to make a plug for RC Engineering, I have had my fuel injectors cleaned at a local shop before and they didn't do half the job RC Engineering did! These injectors previously had "the drip" and now they are back to a beautiful flow, this could have been the source of fuel issues all along. Not all injector cleanings are the same, don't waste your time doing it twice, RC Engineering did these for half the cost of the local shop and did a visibly better job.

I will be running -8 an hose as feed and return using a bypass setup for the fuel pressure regulator. Since the fuel cell has the pump mounted internally I will be able to mount the fuel filter where the stock fuel pump goes, this should end up being a clean looking system. In addition, I will use the Aeromotive wiring kit wired directly to the battery with the stock electric triggering the Aeromotive relay.

The fuel cell mount is currently just bolt in, I will end up paying someone to do a better job welding something in that also serves to strengthen the rear end at a later date. This setup will allow me to get it drivable.

I need to "fabricate" (redneck engineer) a mount for the radiator and install all the accessories (ECU, intakes, exhaust, harnesses, etc.) and at that point it should start. It has been over a year with the car torn apart so this is all getting quite exciting.

Thanks for reading!

Peace,
Al

 

Concerning the rotor failure at the lug holes, would a custom aluminum hubcentric spacer also help combat this as the weight of the car is supported on the hub lip rather than the lug holes? I noticed stock SE wheels fit over the hub snug taking the weight off the lugs, where most aftermarket wheels are rarely the same diameter. I plan on tracking my car when it is done as well and this lug hole cracking deal concerns me.

nice build by the way!

 

Another great option is to swap the front hubs, struts and brakes from a fc. As I have done.