|
FrankenRex Will Rise: stuffing a GSL-SE into a'79 SA
I've actually been working on this for a month or two, posting on another forum, and realized that I should probably post here, too. I've gotten a lot out of RX7Club, so I hope someone finds something useful here.
The first bunch of posts are going to be copy-pasted from the posts on the other forum, so please forgive any oddities that carry over. I'll try to edit where appropriate. I have an old web page for the car here: 1979 Mazda RX-7 And additional photos here: 1979 RX-7 GS To begin with, I've had this '79 RX-7 GS for... a lot of years. I bought it in 1994, from a friend who put an '81 engine in it, but never got it to run. I fixed that, drove it daily, blew that engine, put in an '80 engine, drove it daily, then managed to run that engine out of oil due to bad oil control o-rings on the rotors, and forgetting to check the oil one day. I parked it in 2008, and it sat there until April of 2018, at which time a local rotary friend offered to buy both of the blown 12As from this car. That involved pulling the one that was still in the car out, so: Apr 10, 2018 I pulled the blown engine out of my '79 RX-7. Before: https://i.imgur.com/Quguapil.jpg?1 6 hours later, after: https://i.imgur.com/BouePP0l.jpg It's been sitting for 10 years, since losing compression. Amazingly, the coolant was still green. Oil was a bit thick, though, no water. I have and '84 GSL-SE that has a Series 4 FC RX-7 engine that had coolant o-ring issues. I used what's known as the "Block Seal Trick" on it years ago to stop from leaking compression into the cooling jacket. It seemed to have worked at the time, and I removed the intake to put the proper one on back then... and got distracted. I'm going to pull that engine, check it over, and dump it into the '79, hopefully with the EFI, and run it until it pops or I find another FC engine I can afford. Probably strip everything else from that GSL-SE chassis (my '79 is already wearing it's suspension) and scrap it if no one wants the shell. That'll be one more RX-7 gone, and one more (currently zero) running. |
Apr 16, 2018 When last we met, I had this: https://i.imgur.com/lOTKxPWl.jpg I also have this: https://i.imgur.com/eprNTGzl.jpg which has this: https://i.imgur.com/AMHdEIpl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/e8OCZlxl.jpg[/url As you can see, I've already robbed parts from it. In addition to the master cylinder, it has no diff in the rear axle, and therefore no driveshaft, either. This was a runner, of sorts. That's an FC 13B in there, and it has coolant o-ring issues. For those not familiar with rotaries, because of their construction, there are giant o-rings separating the outer coolant jacket from the combustion chambers. This one leaked a little. It still ran, but overheated because exhaust gasses were getting into the cooling system and heating it up. Paul Yaw had a procedure for fixing it, until one could rebuild the engine, known as the "Block Seal Trick" involving Permatex Copper Block Seal. It actually seems to work. I did that, and then removed the intake because the GSL-SE (series 3) intake that was on it doesn't really fit quite right on this series 4 engine, and I had a spare series 4 intake. I just... never got back to it. I did plug the intake ports with rags, though. https://i.imgur.com/56OD13yl.jpg ...oh. Well, shit. The white paper shop rags are clearly inferior. Engine is stuck. I'll have to see if I can get it unstuck. If not, rebuild! (At which point I will likely just rebuild the series 5 engine I have, instead.) I can use this as a mock up for everything, since it was already in a first gen RX-7. Onward, therefore! On Saturday, first I blew all the leaves and crud out of the engine compartment, then I got everything disconnected except the oil cooler lines, and the speedo. It's just sitting there on the mounts. https://i.imgur.com/zgMZwoYl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/ZQleqiUl.jpg On Sunday, I disconnected those, hung it from a chain, removed the shifter and the transmission crossmember, and started pulling: https://i.imgur.com/1CWTKUFl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/cNZjOpMl.jpg Amazingly, it came out with little resistance. https://i.imgur.com/oixyeNBl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/gIXeMQFl.jpg As far as I can tell, that's an FC transmission as well (the ridges across the bellhousing are the telltale. FB transmissions are smooth), which is interesting, since those supposedly have the shifter position a bit further rearward, enough so that it doesn't fit in the hole correctly. This one seemed to be exactly where it needed to be. As I recall, it drove fine before I parked it. That done, I rearranged the pavers it sits on to move it a bit forward, and another 8" away from the fence, for better access. https://i.imgur.com/dW34Rbil.jpg I'm probably going to be stripping it, so being able to open doors and such is important. |
Then, with the aid of my newly-purchased Harbor Freight 120V AC winch, I dragged it back and forth a couple times to get it lined up properly and slotted into its spot. https://i.imgur.com/maePTl9l.jpg Then I put a bucket over the engine because I needed to head out to my nephew's birthday party: https://i.imgur.com/sJESXqhl.jpg I'll drag it into the garage when I have a moment this week. |
Apr 17, 2018
As it turns out, it's not bad, and wasn't really stuck. First I had to move it into the garage, so I loaded it onto my garden cart, which handled the load fine despite me not checking the tires and having only 10 PSI or so in all 4. It was a bit harder to turn and pull than it should have been, but it made it the 25 feet to the garage. https://i.imgur.com/eqa2yaKl.jpg I pulled the plugs, and only one had a tiny bit of rust on it. Then I pulled the exhaust manifold and had a look inside the chambers as best I could. Bunch of gunk collected under the manifold: https://i.imgur.com/xxYKHWOl.jpg Not a bunch of rust, thankfully, but some white powder. Possibly corrosion, possibly from the Block Seal I used. https://i.imgur.com/FLvjvFOl.jpg Tough to get a picture of without a borescope (which I need to get one of these days.) Front rotor was better, just a little of the powder (not visible in the picture): https://i.imgur.com/gHXqHgLl.jpg Rear rotor surface: https://i.imgur.com/x06Ry0wl.jpg I feared that the powder was actually a solid chunk or something, but a little air hose action cleared that up: https://i.imgur.com/q8x0J8vl.jpg?1 ...and also let me taste that it was almost definitely the Block Seal. Blech. Big pile of powder dust, plus whatever leaves happened to be nearby: https://i.imgur.com/NqD6EA4l.jpg (finger for scale) Still believing that the engine was stuck at that point, I got out special tool MZ/FUCKINGTURNYABASTARD-7: https://i.imgur.com/JmzIWKSl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/ccc02Mjl.jpg It's the business end of a rotary starter with the bendix welded solid, the shaft cut short, and a support and nut for turning added. Built from a description of an actual Mazda tool in the service manual for my '79. The idea is that a lot of the time when a rotary gets stuck, it's from carbon chunks getting wedged at the apex of the rotor. Turn it backwards to un-wedge it. The mechanical advantage of the starter drive gear is much better than any prybar on the flywheel. I used this successfully on my '90's engine, and it got my spare series 5 engine turning, though that one still has the apex seals stuck in the rotor, causing a lack of compression. Installed: https://i.imgur.com/QLvXIrql.jpg Put the ratchet on it... and it turned over with almost no effort. Turns out the engine wasn't stuck. The accessories (water pump most likely) were. Once that broke loose I could turn it over as normal from the front e-shaft bolt. I dumped some transmission fluid in the chambers and cranked it around. Put the plugs back in and got 3 reasonable chugs from the front rotor, and one from the rear, meaning I still have one aper seal on the rear rotor stuck in the rotor. I know which one, given which face it actually has compression, so I put that apex seal at the bottom and squirted a bunch more ATF into the chamber. I'll let it soak a few days and give it another try. Worst case, there's enough compression on the front rotor to get it started. The stuck apex seal should loosen up with a little heat and flamen-bangen. If I had any diesel handy, I'd probably try that - good thought. I do actually have a diesel fuel jug, so I could go grab a gallon, I suppose. I also almost forgot I have a complete '86 SE which has a running engine I could pull. I don't have a title for that car, so... I was thinking about making a pickup out of that one, but I'd have to deal with the bonded title process, and it's a little ragged. And I obviously have the unique-to-GSL-SE parts on this engine. For that matter, I think I have another set of the front cover and oil pan elsewhere. Holy shit I may be able to drive my '79 this year! |
As far as I can tell, BTW, the transmission is an FC transmission, with an FB tailshaft and shifter tower on it.
May 7, 2018 Sunday, after doing the needful re: house and lawn, I decided to clean up the engine bay of the '79 RX-7 in anticipation of a replacement engine, previously seen, which is still soaking in ATF and LC20. I've been rotating the eccentric shaft 3 full turns every so often to keep the stuff coating everything. 3 full turns because I got it to where the offending apex seal is pointed down so it can be immersed in the liquid as much as possible, and 3 turns of the e-shaft = 1 full turn of the rotor. It's how rotaries work. Look it up. Before: https://i.imgur.com/N2EMyk7l.jpg https://i.imgur.com/xj8wgxbl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/SsR9MAHl.jpg Sorry about the deep shadows. It's out in the driveway, and it was a bright mostly cloudless day. I hosed it down with Simple Green, and then went to town with my power washer. https://i.imgur.com/cue5YMcl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/Ye8nuqIl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/eXjn1hyl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/PeuB3W8l.jpg https://i.imgur.com/u77bQ7El.jpg I'm annoyed at myself for accidentally getting the radiator with the power washer on "needle". May have to replace the radiator anyway - the outlet and inlet are super soft and got mangled trying to get the hoses off. While I was blasting, I went after the underside of the hood. There was some schmutz on the underside from a leaking shaft seal on the AC compressor, and the poorly-prepped red paint has been falling off the white hood since I got the car. So I helped it along. https://i.imgur.com/paLf0Ccl.jpg There's still some stubborn bits. Closeups of the underhood stickers, in case you have an '80 RX-7: https://i.imgur.com/PwkT2a4l.jpg https://i.imgur.com/NlVAzbpl.jpg Mine's a '79, and no longer stock, exactly, so I don't even need these, actually. Also, my driveway is dirty. https://i.imgur.com/Pv7ysA4l.jpg |
May 9, 2018
Threw the starter back on the 13B out of my GSL-SE parts car. Engine is actually an S4 13B, and so is the transmission, though it appears to have had the shift tower replaced or modified to put it in the correct place for an FB. I cranked the engine over to get a better feel for how the compression was. Jumper cables to my wife's (running) car for power. https://i.imgur.com/cWkIpzil.jpg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0Jlw4-PpFk I moved the ground cable to the starter itself, and got a bit more cranking oomph: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SpdIHw58nM ('S got a good beat, there.) As you can see from the sound and the way the rags move, the front rotor is healthy (steady pulses - 3 per crank rotation), and the rear still has one stuck apex seal (one "chug" per crank rotation.) Should be enough for it to start in the car, I think, which should free up that remaining apex seal. Hopefully. If not, it'll be a mockup, and get rebuilt. Now, for the rotary knowledgeable, can anyone tell me what I forgot about? https://i.imgur.com/jV21phal.jpg
Spoiler
|
I'm happy to see another local first gen. will watch your progress. Hopefully I'll meet you at one of the cheddar's meets in the future.
Matt |
May 15, 2018
I had enough energy after work to do a little prep work on the RX-7. I noticed a bunch of surface rust after removing the engine and power washing the bay, particularly on the "frame rails". I want to take care of that before I put an engine back in. Here's what I'm talking about: https://i.imgur.com/UmkmfKJl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/agkEXzfl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/dvGpXkml.jpg https://i.imgur.com/ByTeKqcl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/2sZRagxl.jpg All surface. No scaling, flaking or holes. So out comes the die grinder with roll-loks: https://i.imgur.com/Slsexwgl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/52QaXLAl.jpg (ugh, I can see surface rust inside the frame rail in this picture. Dammit. Now I know it's there...) https://i.imgur.com/jdCEBrKl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/mYI4lqXl.jpg Painted with cold galvanizing (though I actually meant to grab the etching primer and brain farted): https://i.imgur.com/jAklJ9Xl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/cxp4KbCl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/2wAMUdYl.jpg There's some surface rust on the firewall and transmission tunnel, as well. Probably going to end up painting the entire bay, which means I need to just bite the bullet and strip all the removable bits out. Also noted that undercoating is falling off under the car, and there's surface rust there, too... Thank God I'm not in the rust belt. That would drive me to drink
Spoiler
Guess I need to buy a quart of Joyful Red. And reducer. Primer. Hardener... |
Originally Posted by highnitro12187
(Post 12284498)
I'm happy to see another local first gen. will watch your progress. Hopefully I'll meet you at one of the cheddar's meets in the future.
Matt You know that the meet has a FaceBook group, right? |
May 18, 2018
I just spent $250 on primer and paint for the RX-7. Epoxy primer + hardener, Acrylic Urethane high-build surfacer primer + hardener, Acrylic Urethane single-stage topcoat + hardener, and some reducer just in case. All from TCPGlobal. So we'll see how badly I can mess this up. I'm going to try doing this with the cheapest of cheap HF HVLP guns (the $10 special) which actually worked well when I shot Rustoleum satin black on my '90 RX-7, but I may step up to their not-quite-as-cheap gun, just so I can get a touch-up gun and another size tip. As I understand it, epoxy primer is pretty forgiving. It's the topcoat that I'll probably need to up my game for. Only bought a quart of each for the moment. That probably should be enough - if I don't have to repaint everything. So, last we saw, it looked like this under the hood: https://i.imgur.com/Ye8nuqIl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/PeuB3W8l.jpg plus a little rust removal on the passenger side: https://i.imgur.com/jAklJ9Xl.jpg Tuesday after work I got up the gumption to start stripping it for paint, and got to this: https://i.imgur.com/olF6AcFl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/S8wBt4il.jpg https://i.imgur.com/vKkvqJjl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/6EsMfWol.jpg https://i.imgur.com/HrTxjJ5l.jpg (Sorry, it was dark, and the phone was getting confuded by the garage lights.) (I see the typo, and I've decided to leave it, because it made me chuckle.) Wednesday evening, I had some more time: https://i.imgur.com/OuuGAEWl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/wsxBD2Pl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/1SBEVckl.jpg Pile of parts removed: https://i.imgur.com/9yhfnJel.jpg There are literally parts of my car I've never seen. It's kind of scary. The header panel definitely needed to come out because they didn't prep parts of it properly and the paint is flaking off just like on the underside of the hood. You can see the yellow under the leading edge of the hood in the earlier pics. There was a goodly pile of leaves and junk in the panels that close out under the headlights. Fortunately no significant rust, though my 1/4" cordless impact driver did twist the heads off of 3 of the bolts. Thankfully all super-common 10mm head M6 body bolts. I have a stash already. A few little bits left, like the hood bumpers, then the fenders and bumper come off next. Will remove the transmission, probably the steering box (which is annoying because there's no coupler. The shaft goes straight from the box to the steering wheel,) and shortly before I paint it, I will probably drop the crossmember and struts. Going back together, I will most likely use the steering box and shaft from the donor GSL-SE, since it's power-assist, and therefore has a u-joint and coupler. Will probably clean and paint the crossmember while it's out, as well, along with any steering and suspension bits within reach. I'm going to have to add another hole in the firewall on the passenger side to accommodate the EFI harness. I'm also going to have to cull both harnesses to just what I need, and do some repair work. Guess I can remove the choke knob and cable, too. The harness has already been, well, not modified, but unused plugs tied back, when I converted to electronic ignition and internally regulated alternator. I'll see if I can just remove those wires and pins from the main plugs and such. I'd prefer not to cut anything, but I think at this point that the car is never going back to stock. I try not to hack original stuff up too much, but I think I'm moving into hot rot or restomod territory now. I will have to research the emissions-delete, AKA "rats' nest removal" mods, and see what I actually need for the GSL-SE EFI. Eventually I'll have a MegaSquirt on it, and probably won't need any of the solenoids. Won't have the air pump and associated valving, for example. I would like to get ti running on the stock ECU first, though. Starting from a running position is much easier than troubleshooting an engine transplant *AND* a new, untuned EFI. |
May 25, 2018
(Here, a person on the other forum asked about the nature of the GSL-SE EFI) Yeah, fuel only for the 84-5 GSL-SEs. They still run a dizzy, though with the MegaSquirt, I can use it to drive ignition triggered by an FC CAS if so desired. If the engine was actually a SE 13B, it wouldn't have the EGR on the top of the center iron, but this one is actually an FC engine fitted into a GSL-SE. It's already got an EGR blockoff on it, and I have an ACV blockoff set for the intake manifold. Initially, I'll most likely do as you say, and just get it running as standard, then pare it back. Primer came in: https://i.imgur.com/Bx20xOSl.jpg Got the right fender off: https://i.imgur.com/YHyGlcXl.jpg And discovered some body work I didn't know about: https://i.imgur.com/sAhUrzol.jpg Also don't know where this dent came from. https://i.imgur.com/QE1RQ2Rl.jpg (It was worse - I popped it out somewhat with my palm.) Probably got bashed into while in the backyard under a car cover. Nekkid on this side: https://i.imgur.com/e5xBh0ll.jpg Note the pile of leaves and junk that was in the lower rear of the fender. https://i.imgur.com/bn4WUs6l.jpg Dammit. https://i.imgur.com/cBerxrQl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/TSOgkEOl.jpg Made that discovery while under the car unbolting the bottom of the fender. Noted that the undercoating was flaking, and poked at it. That's the drain plug in the driver's footwell. The seals on the door are dried up and useless, so the car's been taking on water a bit. Still nothing like NE cars, I guess. I should take pics of the mangled frame rails, though. Previous owner apparently either jumped curbs a lot, or didn't understand how to place jacks and jack stands. DAMMIT. https://i.imgur.com/T1y6jCxl.jpg Funny thing is that isn't sealed. I guess the car was leaning just right to retain water there. I'll probably just grind out the rist and seal it. No need to weld in new there. It doesn't penetrate the cabin. Checked the passenger drain plug after I found the rust in the driver's side. No problem there, thankfully: https://i.imgur.com/31uaYPll.jpg https://i.imgur.com/8IYJvgnl.jpg Passenger fender off:https://i.imgur.com/hpqhlsDl.jpg |
May 25, 2018 Part 2:
LEAVES :shakes fist: https://i.imgur.com/sARQiZal.jpg https://i.imgur.com/UoOk6v3l.jpg https://i.imgur.com/FZJwdG2l.jpg Bumper off: https://i.imgur.com/mD1H3QQl.jpg Bumper shock (retaining bolts already removed): https://i.imgur.com/DgyYlqyl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/lO8xcRkl.jpg LEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAVES https://i.imgur.com/3brAiqFl.jpg Here's a mod I made many years ago. The '7 has fixed hood bumpers, but mine wasn't exactly lining up. I noticed that E30 BMWs had these nifty hood bumpers that screwed in and were adjustable, not with a threaded rod, but with the bumper itself, so I nabbed a pair from the wrecking yard and fitted them: https://i.imgur.com/A8A1tSFl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/Jl3NB9jl.jpg (iPotato phone. Didn't realize it was blurry until I uploaded) |
May 25, 2018 Part 3:
All nakey: https://i.imgur.com/QrwgqQhl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/jfwHES4l.jpg https://i.imgur.com/pS5mr3Ul.jpg Stuck the fenders back on with 2 bolts each fro safekeeping: https://i.imgur.com/MTy6TYRl.jpg Next up: lots of sanding, I guess. Good thing it's a 3-day weekend, eh? |
May 29, 2018
Got a little further on stripping out the engine bay of the RX-7. Removed the brake master and booster, clutch master, brake lines, washer hoses, wiper assembly, throttle cable, and choke cable, and removed the clips holding the fuel and rear brake lines in place. I'm going to have to look at where the brake and fuel lines are next joined under the car. I may have to remove the entire line back to the rear axle, or I may just remove the clips under the car and let them droop until they are far enough away from the firewall to work around them. This is after hitting the bay with purple cleaner and hosing it down again, mainly to clean up the spilled brake fluid, but also to clean up where some stuff was still mounted when I washed it last. https://i.imgur.com/oY8GdnPl.jpg (brake fluid + purple cleaner ate the cold galvanizing paint. I've since hit that spot with self-etching primer.) https://i.imgur.com/ghYm0qIl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/AH9AYfnl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/vaWj1xPl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/xr331O0l.jpg Lovely pile of leaves under the cowl vent. This, despite having window screen in the cowl vent slots: https://i.imgur.com/ROZz2vGl.jpg After a scrub and rinse: https://i.imgur.com/tOMjzeXl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/vwdzweol.jpg (there's normally a windshield wiper mechanism in there, BTW.) I tried to pull the wiring harness back through the hole into the interior, but it's so damned stiff that it's just not going to happen without removing the dash and unclipping other bits of the harness inside the car. I may still do that, since there's a nice big crack in the dash vinyl to repair, but current plan is to bag and tape the harness, and then suspend it out of the way somehow. I did that with my Cutlass, and it worked out fine. Just a bit more labor, and something to work around while painting. |
Jun 1, 2018
Paint came in! https://i.imgur.com/7WGtwS5l.jpg Here's a neat comparison of what color it should be versu what it was, versus what it is: https://i.imgur.com/kIBlVIYl.jpg The inner ring is the original color. The orange is apparently what it faded to after years of neglect. The outer red is what it is now, but as can be seen, was cheaply done, and the pigment is oxidizing out of the paint. That greyish color you see isn't primer. It's the red paint without the red. The whole hood is almost white because of that. The new paint seems like a decent match for the original color: https://i.imgur.com/zqIKF2Hl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/HaWyCAtl.jpg With a little water to gloss up the original paint: https://i.imgur.com/fd3MH9Hl.jpg Since all the good toys seem to be made for 4-1/2 grinders, and my little Makita is a 4", I bought a new 4-1/2" "Porter Cable" and a couple accessories: https://i.imgur.com/GiPJM9Pl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/WRoEgTul.jpg It was $40 at Home Depot. The Harbor Freight cheapie is $15 and their "Hercules" is $40. I figured this would do. It's actually got a 3 year warranty. My Porter Cable contractor's saw managed to build my shed and is still going, so I feel good about it. I rather like that it's designed more like a 7" in terms of the grip and switch. They had a smaller 5A version (this one is 7A) built more like my Makita and the HF ones, with the side switch at the front, but it was only $7 cheaper. I shall now flap disk the hell out of all my ugly welds. Hopefully, some progress will happen on one of my shitboxes. 'Sposed to get close to 100 degF, though. |
Jun 4, 2018
Progress! On the RX-7 at least. Saturday was predicted to be 100 degrees F and sunny. Up yours, Texas sun: https://i.imgur.com/SjJFJ2ll.jpg That and a couple of fans, plus plenty of hydration stops kept me from dying out there. There was a decent breeze, which helped a lot as well. Mostly the canopy, though. I swear I'm going to get the garage to actually fit an entire car in there at some point. then: lift. 'Cuz I really wanted one this past weekend. First thing: I need the steering box out of the way. Got it all unbolted fine, but the steering shaft wouldn't come out of the tube. You'll see in a minute why that's important. I figure the collapsable bits inside are hanging up on the step where the two sections of the tube come together to make it collapsable as well, so I figure the hole in the firewall is big nough to slide th whole tube out as well, if I remove the ignition and combination switches. Hurdle: https://i.imgur.com/iN3Lzcel.jpg Security screws. Well, Mr. Dremel has something to say about that. https://i.imgur.com/e3MY180l.jpg No problem. They loosened right up with a flat-blade screwdriver after that. https://i.imgur.com/5KeEkail.jpg Also seen in that picture is the mounting bracket, which also conveniently comes off. Smooth naked tube. https://i.imgur.com/iMjQxr7l.jpg And this is why all that. The steering shaft is permanently attached tot he worm gear. No rag joint on this year/model. The 84-5 GSL-SEs had a rag joint, possibly all power-steering equipped models. The one from the donor SE will be going back in on this one, I think. Big gaping emptyness, like my soul: https://i.imgur.com/H29x5GVl.jpg And then, another 20 bolts/nuts and: https://i.imgur.com/O0oNakul.jpg https://i.imgur.com/BNuwoHFl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/oTTJ80tl.jpg Next I got the exhaust out of the way. https://i.imgur.com/CSnTfwil.jpg?1 https://i.imgur.com/P2Bvxq1l.jpg?1 |
Jun 4, 2018 Part 2:
I was going to leave the driveshaft connected to the transmission and just lower it enough to get it out of the way, since I'm only painting to the pinchweld at the firewall to floorpan join. The transmission jack rolled forward a bit and started the process, so I went ahead and let the yoke slide out. https://i.imgur.com/Srm8cGKl.jpg Oh, yeah, right. Transmissions make a mess when you do that. https://i.imgur.com/DdlxHpgl.jpg ...and I forgot to take the shifter out. RIP the shifter seal to the body (it was trashed anyway. Nearly 40 year old rubber.) Pretty much cleared out. https://i.imgur.com/yEdnsy1l.jpg Shortly after this photo I undid the clamps under the chassis fro the fuel and brake lines and let them droop out of the way. At this point it's just the wiring harness, heater core fittings, and evaporator fittings that are the only things in there not getting painted. The wiring harness will get masked and supsnded out of the way, and the heater and AC fittings will have the rubber grommets removed and be masked. Full speed ahead! Helped a friend install speakers in his Sunfire (it was free, and in surprisingly good shape. Did you know that GM was using a cam-in-block OHV 4-cylinder as late as 2002? I didn't,) so this is as far as I got on Sunday. https://i.imgur.com/umVg6irl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/jGAqEK4l.jpg I'm probably going to need to break out my pressure blaster to media blast some of the harder to reach nooks and crannies like those brackets by the round cross bar, but I'll get as much as possible without scattering blasting media all over my driveway. Need to pick up some scotchbrite pads to scuff up the factory paint, or maybe just 320-400 grit. I have some phosphate solution to prep the bare metal, and then the epoxy primer goes on. Lots of sanding and scuffing first, though. |
Jun 5, 2018
Got these from eBay yesterday: https://i.imgur.com/ji01uVvl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/jax1zaZl.jpg Those are releasable cable ties that mount in a hole. I broke the mounting posts on a few when removing everything. I have PDFs of the parts fiches, so was able to look up part numbers for them. There are several sizes. Thankfully, Mazda continued to use this size, which is the largest, at least through the Miata, and, according to the listing, Honda uses them as well. These were a lot cheaper than directly from Mazda (best price was from Tasca online.) Also broke a few of the non-adjustable cable clips. Some of those are still available from Mazda as well, so I'll order a few of each that are available, maybe. I also found these things: https://www.delcity.net/images/photo...20170424183128 https://www.delcity.net/store/Push-C...801513.h_27610 Which I could use instead with a standard zip tie. Del City sells on eBay, and had a sale start right after I added them to my watch list. $6 off of the usual $18 for 100, so I pulled the trigger. I figure that they'll be useful beyond this project. Frankly, I'd love to have the $$ to just spend a few hundred bucks at Del City for a bunch of cable, sleeving, and connectors. |
Jun 11, 2018
Weekend was hot, and I decided to see Solo (good fun) on Saturday and Won't You Be My Neighbor (just plain good. You will have feels) on Sunday, so time-limited, but got a couple things done. I needed to remove the EFI wiring harness from the donor GSL-SE in order to measure the size and location of the hole in the firewall, so I can reproduce that in the '79. Got to do it *before* I paint the engine compartment, or I'll feel stupid. First, a few shots of the EFI wiring harness in situ, for reference: https://i.imgur.com/Y43K8JYl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/Iz7Fv1Xl.jpg That little dingus mounted just above where it goes through the firewall is a vacuum switch and related to the two vacuum solenoids that are supposed to be on the firewall nearby, All three of those items will be eliminated - they all relate to the ACV (air control valve) that directed air from the air pump into the intake and catalytic converter. This car won't have an air pump or a cat, and thus won't have the ACV. These things, but as you can see the rubber in the shock mounting studs fatigued and broke: https://i.imgur.com/ADpM9XJl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/RrrZBe5l.jpg https://i.imgur.com/zyaFlUxl.jpg Harness routing going forward, and a few needed brackets. The nearest bracket is fo the windshield washer. I may need to relocate the '79 one, because I think it's where the second bracket with the little gizmo, there. The little gizmo on the bracket is a potentiometer that influences idle, called the "variable resistor"in diagrams, and the bracket is for one corner of the air filter box which also supports the airflow sensor. You can see another of the airbox brackets in this picture, just behind the headlight motor. https://i.imgur.com/HhQkEwZl.jpg The third and final airbox bracket is this one mounted to the radiator support, and also integrating the radiator overflow bottle mount. https://i.imgur.com/8Wl4XHIl.jpg I removed all three of those brackets, and the radiator support side panels, since they are all unique to the GSL-SE. It'll be fun drilling holes and putting in threaded inserts for all those. The EFI harness all unclipped, and ready to pull through the hole: https://i.imgur.com/OUhY84yl.jpg OK, the ECU and harness are in the passenger floorboard which is...well, shit. https://i.imgur.com/uE9wROWl.jpg There, under that plate. https://i.imgur.com/TDeCQbcl.jpg Thankfully, those wheels were easy to get out, and that gave me plenty of space to work. Speaking of, does anyone have a need for a very nice set of 81-85 12A (4 x 110mm) 13" factory "plus" alloys? They've been polished and repainted. I've had them stored in the car for 10 years or so, and already have another set on a different car. https://i.imgur.com/cqM4fe4l.jpg https://i.imgur.com/zax7SkZl.jpg |
Jun 11, 2018 Part 2
ECU exposed after the floor plate is removed: https://i.imgur.com/0pjnD90l.jpg Something on the lens there. Sorry about that. These images are mainly for my reference. I have to cut out the mounting points for the ECU and cover, and weld them into the '79 chassis. Right lower cover mount: https://i.imgur.com/DWrKjJTl.jpg Left lower cover mount: https://i.imgur.com/EKsZuDzl.jpg Upper mounts with ECU in place: https://i.imgur.com/5J0dxFXl.jpg Inside of firewall harness entrance (lower wire bundle): https://i.imgur.com/z4vN7Mcl.jpg Note that the HVAC blower and evaporator housings are not present. The grate at the top right of the picture is the outside air entrance from the cowl area. Overall pic of ECU and wiring: https://i.imgur.com/aGouKM0l.jpg Large tan/yellowed connector at the lower left (not the one on the relay - the big multipin one) is where the EFI harness ties into the rest of the car harness for power, ground, fuel pump control, etc. I'll have to replicate that in the '79. ECU and harness out. https://i.imgur.com/BxvnDR0l.jpg All four lower mounting points. Upper two are for ECU, lower two are for the cover plate. https://i.imgur.com/xXqEMxKl.jpg Upper mounting points. The ECU and cover plate share these. https://i.imgur.com/OT01zTql.jpg Almost useless closeup of the upper left mount: https://i.imgur.com/0qdA5lPl.jpg Upper right mount: https://i.imgur.com/ZWHzqXdl.jpg |
Jun 11, 2018 Part 3 (seriously, this picture per post limit is really annoying, especially since they're hosted offsite...)
Lower left ECU mount: https://i.imgur.com/N73BTySl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/mRoeEECl.jpg Lower right ECU mount: https://i.imgur.com/MoJ8AXJl.jpg All of the mounts in one picture: https://i.imgur.com/vyaXcdtl.jpg Fun thing to note: if you look closely, only ONE of those mounts is actually spot-welded. the other 5 are tack welded, meaning I could only use my handy-dandy spot weld cutter on one (which it worked a treat on). The rest I had to work at with a Dremel cutoff wheel, which was annoying. Firewall hole is 2-1/2", or 65mm. https://i.imgur.com/XvPKULJl.jpg Confirmed: https://i.imgur.com/gc4tvyHl.jpg General positioning: https://i.imgur.com/agkMqyGl.jpg All the mounts removed: https://i.imgur.com/U7V5Jwwl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/iGWBdyCl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/wey6bypl.jpg (Got a little happy with one of the drill spots for centering the weld cutter and went all the way through) https://i.imgur.com/EIWZB5ql.jpg All the removed bits and pieces went into their own tote so I can keep track of them. Beyond that, I cleaned up my tools and put a bunch away (I had just been throwing them in a bucket at the end of the day), and I changed out the glass beads that were in the media blaster with a more aggressive black beauty (coal slag) since I'll be doing paint and rust removal on a lot of steel soon. Maybe I'll have nough energy after work this week to do a few small things. I *really* need to clear out the garage so I can keep this thing in the shade, at least. |
Jun 12, 2018
Originally Posted by Dagen H
Will the ECU harness grommet play nice with a sawn hole that has no lip?
I have some plastic edging for grommeting large holes like that. Might be the solution. I have no idea how to put a lip on it if that doesn't work. Reeeeeaaaally don't want to cut it out of the donor and weld in. My welding isn't good enough yet, especially with fluxcore. Need to get some C25 and .020 wire... I decided after work yesterday to tackle mounting the airbox/air flow meter. Here's a comparison of the '79 radiator side panels/supports versus the '84 GSL-SE panels: https://i.imgur.com/yXqv6pwl.jpg Primary differences on the right hand panel are the cold air intake provision, threaded inserts for the combination airbox and overflow bottle mount, and reliefs at the bottom for AC hose routing, rather than one hose at the top, and one at the bottom, as on the '79. The left panel is a little different, too, mainly at the bottom to allow for different oil cooler hose routing. First up, some measurements for the height of the mounting holes for the airbox brackets. Strut tower (rear bracket): https://i.imgur.com/xbQj6R6l.jpg Forward right bracket: https://i.imgur.com/5MY9lx7l.jpg And then, for reference, some measurements of the wiring harness hole location: https://i.imgur.com/iQL8EGml.jpg https://i.imgur.com/3cUuBQYl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/ZiHsXG7l.jpg https://i.imgur.com/wFZYHgWl.jpg After a bit of fiddling about, the airbox temporarily mounted with self-drilling screws: https://i.imgur.com/RGrttjel.jpg https://i.imgur.com/WWQY8Nil.jpg https://i.imgur.com/gPa08Hkl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/OL0IFKql.jpg Brackets removed, ready to drill holes for the threaded inserts: https://i.imgur.com/1YjBYYll.jpg |
Jun 12, 2018 Part 2
Installing threaded inserts. https://i.imgur.com/8QmOUJYl.jpg The proper tool makes this so easy, ther than the lever arms sometimes being a bit cumbersome. https://i.imgur.com/ttZgYA6l.jpg All mounted up: https://i.imgur.com/CvqPUSNl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/ebwFRgYl.jpg I did actually make sure that the hood closed properly before installing the inserts, BTW. A look at where there will soon be a big hole: https://i.imgur.com/g2O7g0xl.jpg Hmmm. Maybe I can tack weld a narrow strip to the hole to replicate the lip on the original. Fill in between the tacks with epoxy or seal sealer. |
Jun 18, 2018
Progress! This past Wednesday, I felt the urge to brave the heat and work on the RX-7. I decided to work on the mounts for the ECU and cover plate. Realistically, this meant getting parts of the HVAC out of the way, as well as the carpet and padding, of course. Starting out: https://i.imgur.com/P1ctubDl.jpg Oh, hey, forgot I had stashed the crossovers up in the original 4" speaker location. https://i.imgur.com/6zfwBaDl.jpg I don't even remember what brand the speakers are. I do remember that they don't match the crossovers. https://i.imgur.com/rporxqdl.jpg They appear to still be in usable shape. Tweeters are up on the dash. Dang it. Guess I'll be getting new carpet. https://i.imgur.com/x1GUsX0l.jpg Shit's tearing like tissue paper. The padding is holding up better than the carpet. https://i.imgur.com/vHVwAYsl.jpg Floorboard is OK. https://i.imgur.com/HUOBgftl.jpg Need to remove the glovebox to get to the bolts for the blower and evaporator boxes. I forgot I had a Tenacious D CD. https://i.imgur.com/RoQ5qw8l.jpg 10-year-old throat lozenges. Nifty. Most of that went into the trash. Glovebox removed: https://i.imgur.com/kvo8cdHl.jpg This is part of the temperature probe for the AC control feedback. It cycles the compressor off if the evaporator gets below freezing to prevent icing. https://i.imgur.com/xSUkNpml.jpg HVAC boxes out. Evaporator on the left, blower on the right. https://i.imgur.com/0by2i6ql.jpg And vice versa: https://i.imgur.com/LjWlf1Fl.jpg |
Jun 18, 2018 Part 2
A look at the inside of the firewall with the boxes removed: https://i.imgur.com/6sX7fABl.jpg And with the insulation peeled back: https://i.imgur.com/Vak70gOl.jpg Approximately where the cover will sit: https://i.imgur.com/thvNRzml.jpg That was it for Wednesday. It was dark, an hot, and I was tired. |
Jun 18, 2018, also, but a different post
Now on to Saturday. Gotta measure about where those tabs were before I can put them in the other car: https://i.imgur.com/ARpV2wzl.jpg About 5/8" down from the AC drain hole. Horizontal location to be determined by the mounting holes in the plate. Locations marked out by bolting the tabs to the cover plate and lining it up with the vertical mark. https://i.imgur.com/8CzWvbvl.jpg Remove oversized chunk of asphalt sound deadener. This chunk came off remarkably cleanly. https://i.imgur.com/GbHOSNPl.jpg The others were pretty clean, but required a bit more lacquer thinner to remove the remains. https://i.imgur.com/xgYedZ9l.jpg A little whizzing with the wire wheel on a die grinder: https://i.imgur.com/0i8LonIl.jpg Little bit of extra rust up at the top, so I hit that with the wire wheel while I was at it. Then we re-mark the tab locations. https://i.imgur.com/KupXJcfl.jpg Tabs were bolted back to the cover plate, then the exposed ends were tacked. Remove cover plate, then tack the other end, and viola! https://i.imgur.com/HRQC7ckl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/EvENjJyl.jpg My welds are still shit (but solid). Only caught the asphalt on the lower left tab on fire once - the tab got a little askew, and closer than it should have been to the sound deadener. |
Part 2
Same procedure for the ECU mounts: https://i.imgur.com/rEWwyQQl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/cJektYVl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/DzIvPAjl.jpg It fits!: https://i.imgur.com/vBW0bPRl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/abso8NHl.jpg I gave all the exposed metal the Rust Off phosphate treatment, etching primer, then a coat of semi-gloss black. https://i.imgur.com/MvOYwTil.jpg |
Also originally posted Jun 18, 2018
Sunday, after Father's Day stuff, I got a little ambitious. The rust that I couldn't reach or wouldn't come off easily with a wire wheel was coming off. As it happens, I have a Harbor Freight pressure-pot media blaster. Here we go. This is our starting point: https://i.imgur.com/1dYuhaSl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/y1Fbryrl.jpg I think I've highlighted the trouble areas before, but to recap, there's a rust colony at the top of the driver's door in the cowl, and surface rust in pockets where the bumper and the sway bar attach that I can't reach with a wire brush, and the area under the battery tray doesn't want to brush down to clean metal. I could just hit it all with the phosphate treatment to kill the rust and seal it, but if I can get the rust off, I want to. And with a media blaster and Black Beauty (coal slag) I can. I forgot how incredibly messy, dirty, and generally annoying blasting without a cabinet is. Well, not forgot, exactly, but cognitively distanced myself from how nasty it *feels*. I put down a tarp to collect what I could. The shit still went everywhere. I might should have use a little less pressure. This was after spending some time and effort tot get the blaster working correctly. It was set up for glass bead (you can see a pile where I made a mess emptying the pot.) I needed a larger orifice, and that meant swapping the nice dead-man style gun out for the original ball-valve gun, because I didn't have a large tip for the dead-man, for some reason. Will have to stop by HF and rectify that at some point. It still like to clog up, but only at the tip, which was fairly easy to remove and clear. Thankfully, coal slag isn't near as sensitive to moisture as glass bead, because there was a lot of moisture even with water traps at the hose reel and on the blaster itself. https://i.imgur.com/qCEDqcDl.jpg That was about a gallon of media collected on the tarp, which was under the car at the time I was blasting. Shit went everywhere https://i.imgur.com/YUzIjqal.jpg https://i.imgur.com/RgqUisTl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/JXv8T4Pl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/1DP0OKKl.jpg But the rust is gone. https://i.imgur.com/PkXEIxMl.jpg?1 https://i.imgur.com/qh0Egw9l.jpg?1 https://i.imgur.com/a68xbvYl.jpg?1 https://i.imgur.com/xCLdM18l.jpg https://i.imgur.com/7fGjFsal.jpg I'm not happy about that spot. I'm going to have to epoxy those holes up - that's straight into the passenger cabin, and probably assisted with the rust hole in the floorboard, along with the dead door seals. |
Part 2 (sigh)
did find some crash damage ont he right side frame horn: https://i.imgur.com/VNxh2gvl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/wn6RycQl.jpg Not surprising given that the bumper, hood and the panel between the hood and bumper are different colors under the red. It's not enough to throw the bumper off kilter. I forgot to tape the AC drain hole back up after I painted the mounting tabs inside, and even got some grit inside the car as well: https://i.imgur.com/ZQTvAn4l.jpg I did make a mistake. I wore a long sleeve shirt, gloves, and blasting hood. I did not, however, wear long pants, and friends, let me tell you, coal slag is *sharp* and bounces off sheet metal at high velocity. I had little blood spots all over my legs. Burned like nobody's business later in the shower, too. In retrospect, I also should have used my welding gloves. The shorter cuffs on my work gloves still let a bunch of grit into my sleeves. That shower after was lovely. I hit all the newly-bare areas with Rust-Off to keep them from rusting up, and called it a night. I need to hit all the remaining paint with 320-400 grit sandpaper to rough it up, and smooth out some of the transitions, then I can spray everything with epoxy urethane primer, after which I can spray the engine compartment areas with the catalyzed urethane color coat. Should only take a couple more |
Jun 25, 2018
Sunday I got back on the RX-7. More de-rusting. Just wire wheels and sandpaper this time. Started with the front fenders - there was some rust on the bottoms, and inside. I think a lot of what was on the inside was mainly just staining, but I want to be certain. Just surface rust at the worst, though. https://i.imgur.com/GTYZV0hl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/eXKQk53l.jpg https://i.imgur.com/kjNjFUFl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/UmGCjUwl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/L1enk0vl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/Nkb9qAUl.jpg After some quality time with a wire wheel and a roll-lock abrasive pad: https://i.imgur.com/25VUA9gl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/j70rPpJl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/P5g2sROl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/rRbbmsOl.jpg I guess there's a little bondo on the other side of this. Looks like a wrinkle from the accident that claimed the hood, bumper, and header panel: https://i.imgur.com/OUZqzdvl.jpg There's also a pulled crease further back on that same fender: https://i.imgur.com/2NljlFTl.jpg |
Jun 25, 2018 Part duex
Oh, look, more blasting abrasive: https://i.imgur.com/2QhkUzpl.jpg <sigh> I decided I didn't want to work around this bracket for the windshield washer bottle, so I decided to make it bolt-on, like on the '84 I'm using for parts. No idea why they decided it needed to be spot welded on, given the obvious bolt holes. Still less, why it needed four spot welds at varying heights. https://i.imgur.com/B6E2SXwl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/B6E2SXwl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/ZMS5GMsl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/PQVJ5Nll.jpg Missed one of the spot welds when I center punched them the first time. Also punched locations for the threaded inserts to be added after the bracket is removed. And off! https://i.imgur.com/GFrRTQDl.jpg Got a little too aggressive with the cutter on one weld, and still somehow missed part of the actual weld. Had to chisel that one loose: https://i.imgur.com/Fdh9EwYl.jpg Good thing I pulled it off. There was some rust hiding back there. De-rusted, and threaded inserts installed: https://i.imgur.com/Fdh9EwYl.jpg |
Jun 25, 2018 Part tres
The fruits of my labor for the day, besides the fenders. The right half of the engine bay is smoth and rust removed: https://i.imgur.com/r1Qrls2l.jpg https://i.imgur.com/VGBs5eFl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/yWy0juNl.jpg https://i.imgur.com/Yo9dh7vl.jpg I still need to do the core support, and get more down into the transmission tunnel, as well as the other half, of course. To finish up for the day, I applied Rust Off phosphate solution to all the bare-metal areas. Shortly after I finished up for the day and had a shower and some food, I realized that I could have probably used my oscillating tool for a bunch of this. :doh: The engine bay is too lumpy and convoluted to use a disk/DA or jitterbug sander, so I was doing all this by hand. I can cut triangles from the rolls of PSA sandpaper I'm using easily enough. I was cutting strips and folding them in half, sticking them to themselves as it was. Will try the oscillating tool next time. Man, I just want to paint the thing, but I know if I don't do a good job with prep, it'll suck, and I'll hate it (and myself for doing it.) Next post, I'll do both here and there at the same (approximate) time. This is probably going to take a while. |
What else do you need for the build? I can dig around the garage and see what I still have left for a 1st Gen for sale. Most of it already went to Texas (carb, ignition, emissions equipment, etc). I'm sure I have something that could help though.
|
Originally Posted by SirLaughsALot
(Post 12284861)
What else do you need for the build? I can dig around the garage and see what I still have left for a 1st Gen for sale. Most of it already went to Texas (carb, ignition, emissions equipment, etc). I'm sure I have something that could help though.
Right now, nothing, really. I have 5 of these things, of varying years, and several storage totes of spare parts besides. :) I've had this one (the one that got me started on rotaries) for almost 25 years. I'll let you know if I come up short for anything. |
Nothing new this weekend, I'm afraid. I had to work on the daily driver, and spread a little love on my '87 Corolla AE86 that I've been neglecting recently. I'll get back on the SA this week. Probably do some more sanding on the 4th.
|
Wow! Just read through your thread and it looks all too familiar!! My 79 was a NE car and I did basically the same thing - started with blasting the front end of the car in a tent I built in my garage and used the black beauty also. I didn't experience the painful cuts on my legs tho - I wore a cheap tyvek suit. It was hot as mess tho! You may find that sand blast grit everywhere as I did. It was in the frame rails and inside the cabin and came out literally everywhere. Bad thing was that it got into my first layer of POR-15 that I painted my engine bay with after treating it with the metal prep. I was determined to not have anymore rust issues, or try like hell to prevent them. Had to sand that mess down so it was a bunch of rework. Crazy how similar your build is to mine with the body work (just sent a shiver down my spine thinking of all the work involved). Keep it up - you're gonna love the results! Can't wait to see how it ends up.
|
Thanks!
Thankfully, 90% of mine is surface rust only, since I'm in North Texas. The rust in the floorboard is my fault, I think, for not keeping water out while it was parked. I've no idea why it got so much rust at the top of the cowl near the door hinge. That's just weird. I'll be laying on epoxy urethane primer, so it shouldn't ever rust again, in theory. |
Sorry for the lack of updates. It's been stupid hot and humid here in the Dallas area for the last week or two, and it's hard to motivate myself to get out there and sweat my keister off.
|
4 Attachment(s)
Didn't really do anything to the '7 this weekend, but I noticed something while puttering around with other stuff:
Entire front suspension, plus bonus exhaust: Attachment 749588 (The crossmember is upside down, BTW) Hmmmm. Attachment 749589 HMMMMMM. Attachment 749590 DAMMIT. Attachment 749591 Those *were* polyurethane bushings. I don't know if that's a normal thing that happens or mine were just crap. They're over 20 years old at this point. Guess those will need to be replaced along with everything else. |
9 Attachment(s)
A tiny bit of progress!
I want to move the power steering from the donor GSL-SE to the '79, not least of which because I'm tired of "armstrong", but also because I believe that the newer box is in better shape, and it's getting almost impossible to find parts or rebuilds for these things. I also need the jointed steering shaft if I convert to rack and pinion. I'm not sure why Mazda put a jointed shaft on the power steering GSL-SEs, but they did, despite everything being in the same spot and orientation as the manual-steering cars. It may be that the power steering box was not available with the straight one-piece shaft. The '79 column and tube just goes straight through the firewall and is gasketed to the box Attachment 749487 That grommet down at the box end seals up the firewall hole. The hole for the column and shaft is the circular one covered by the orange plastic bit from the inside at the right of the picture: Attachment 749488 By comparison, the '84 has a larger round hole: Attachment 749489 Attachment 749490 which has a mounting plate with a recess, and bell on the end of the column tube: Attachment 749491 Attachment 749492 Attachment 749493 That recess and bell contain the flex joint. To get the stupid thing out, I had to loosen the clamps on the bell end of the column tube, remove the bolts for the box, which then let me slide the whole assembly forward far enough to expose the flex joint so I could unbolt one of the shaft retaining bolts and remove said bolt, which then allowed the column to come out via the interior side. Helpfully, there was a spring to push out the column end of the shaft from the flex joint. An odd setup. The whole assembly, plus the cooler loop: Attachment 749494 I ran out of day and f*cks, so the mounting plate is still in the car. The mounting nuts are removed, but it's still solidly in place. I suspect that whatever gasketing it has is well-stuck. Attachment 749495 So I will need to enlarge the hole in my '79, and weld in some 6mm studs. OK. Maybe next weekend. |
10 Attachment(s)
Moved a tiny bit forward on the RX-7. A week ago, it rained most of the weekend, and I attended a funeral (brother-in-law's wife's father - I only met him like twice, but family, you know?) out of town, and was lazy, so Sunday evening was my only window.
Last time, I had gotten the steering column and box out of the donor. I still needed to get the firewall mount out. The bit inside the whole in this picture: Attachment 749439 I had the nuts removed from the studs that you can see welded to the sheet metal, but the mount was being stubborn. Turns out it has a rubber gasket, and the gasket was just pretty stuck on there after 34 years. A little working at it with a gasket scraper got it off, finally. Attachment 749440 Attachment 749441 Then I needed to measure the hole in the donor, since it's a bit larger than the one in the '79. Attachment 749442 Attachment 749443 ...and then I remembered I had an actual tool designed to measure things like that. Attachment 749444 Both instruments agreed, and the measurement lined up with marks on the gasket Attachment 749445 so full speed ahead. A little CAD work: Attachment 749446 The bolt holes were 15mm away from the hole. The top pair were 90mm apart, and the bottom pair 70mm, with the bottom pair 90mm from the top pair, so I just laid out a 15mm (radius) larger circle then marked the respective distances starting at a largely arbitrary point. The holes for the center points lined up with the actual holes in the mount, so I guess I did it right. :) Marked out the outside perimeter from the actual part, then cut it all out. The hole in the '79 is 62mm, and the hole in the '84 is 92mm, so I marked 15mm out in several location s to help center the template, and stuck it down. Attachment 749447 It's actually level, aligned with the tab from the frame rail there at the bottom of the template. The picture is from an angle due to a wiring harness in the way. All marked up and holes center punched: Attachment 749448 Was starting to lose daylight at that point, and was tired, so cutting will waited until the past weekend. I'm got an air nibbler from Harbor Freight to deal with this one. Been meaning to get one for a while, anyway. |
8 Attachment(s)
I've discovered that there is such a thing as a "weld stud", deigned to be spot-welded in similar to what's in the donor car. I measured the ones in the donor:
Attachment 749431 About 15mm long. Really, anything 10mm or longer would likely be fine, possibly less. Rough cut on the hole with the nibbler: Attachment 749432 Opened up and cleaned up with a rotary (heh) file and stone: Attachment 749433 Holes drilled to 6mm (15/64", actually.) Lines up nicely with the gasket: Attachment 749434 The reason there is no bolt in the upper right is that part of the brace for the brake master cylinder extends over that area: Attachment 749435 Attachment 749436 Attachment 749437 I'll need to trim off that bit. It should not affect function. The '84 bracket has that corner cut away: Attachment 749438 The annoying bit is that to cut that properly, I'll need to remove it from the car, and that's the bit that supports the upper end of the steering column, and the brake and clutch pedals. Fortunately, it doesn't look like there are that many bolts holding it in there. Now off to order the appropriate length weld studs, and hopefully do those and trim the bracket next weekend. |
12 Attachment(s)
This past weekend, I continued with the steering column mounting project.
We left off with a gaping hole in need of studs (awwwww, yeah.) Attachment 749347 I discovered that there was such a thing as "weld studs." They have little raised points to facilitate them being spot-welded on by a special stud welder. I f I had one of those, I would have used it. Since I don't, I ground off the points. Attachment 749348 And then hit them with weld-through primer to prepare for traditional welding: Attachment 749349 As you may recall, the pedla hanger bracket in my '79 fouled with one of the mounting holes for the column lower mount. So this thing has to come out: Attachment 749350 Took a bit to figure out where it was hanging up once I got the three big nuts off. It was this little bracket for some relays still tying it in to the dash structure. The rusty bit attached via a stud and M5 nut. Attachment 749351 Pedal hanger and hanging pedals (heh) out: Attachment 749352 Attachment 749353 Attachment 749354 This is where the column bracket is supposed to go: Attachment 749355 Attachment 749356 Just need that curve cut into an inside corner: Attachment 749357 Attachment 749358 Had a handy drill spot from drilling the hole in the actual firewall to line everything up. |
11 Attachment(s)
Pedal hanger/column area without the pedal bracket:
Attachment 749336 First: remove pedals and any other hangers-on: Attachment 749337 Attachment 749338 Reference photo for order of parts on the long bolt that the pedals hand from. How my custom pedal covers are mounted. Covers and brackets were cut when I worked at a waterjet cutting service. Attachment 749339 Attachment 749340 Bit of corrosion from moisture in the car over the last 10 years. Wish I still had access to a waterjet. Pedal hanger cut: Attachment 749341 And then smoothed with a flap wheel. Attachment 749342 Attachment 749343 Attachment 749344 I'm not a fan of sharp edges in tight areas, so that was a must. Test fit of the bracket (again) with the studs just taped in place: Attachment 749345 Attachment 749346 Looks like it lines up OK. |
8 Attachment(s)
Test fit of the pedal hanger with the column bracket, and a trim of the firewall mat:
Attachment 749328 Attachment 749329 Attachment 749330 Firewall prep for welding: Attachment 749331 Attachment 749332 Weld-through primer. Studs welded: Attachment 749333 Attachment 749334 Looks like decent penetration. And welds cleaned up: Attachment 749335 I forgot to take pictures after I primed inside and out, but I did actually do that. |
5 Attachment(s)
Sandblasted the pedal hanger and pedal arms to get rid of some rust that was scattered about on them:
Attachment 749323 Attachment 749324 Attachment 749325 Attachment 749326 I didn't completely blast the entire pedla hanger, since most of the original paint was fine. I just scuffed it up with sandpaper, and then primed with etching primer, and painted with appliance epoxy enamel gloss black: Attachment 749327 I'll let those harden for about a week before I touch them. The epoxy gloss black is super shiny, and stays that way, because epoxy. I have a tendency to use it in under-chassis stuff because it's tough and easy to clean because it's glossy. Here, I just had it on hand, and was almost out of satin black. Nuts. I just remembered that I need to blast and pain the return springs for the pedals. They were rusty. Guess I will need to run a couple screws into a board to stretch the springs a little so I can get in between the coils. |
8 Attachment(s)
Had a few hours free this weekend.
Just as a sanity check, I compared the two steering columns, to make sure it would come out in the right place and the combination switch and ignition cylinder would fit. Attachment 749111 Attachment 749112 If it's not obvious, to top one is the '84 power steering column. Looks good. Only issue I see is that the locating pin for the combination switch is on the top of the column on the '84 (see the little hole in the tube about an 1-1/2 from the top) and on the right side on the '79 (actually '81, since I converted it to the FB combination switch many years ago. The '79 switch arrangement made no sense to me at all. For those that don't know, on '79s and '80s, the wipers are a twist knob on the turn signal stalk, and the lights are the left stalk. Except for high beam switching, which is still on the turn signal stalk. See what I mean?) All I need to do is drill a little hole in the right side of the '84 tube, and all will be well. Actual test fit: Attachment 749113 Attachment 749114 Oof, Potato phone. Looks good. Mind at ease, I set out to remove the dash. I decided to do that because a) the dash pad is in dire need of repair, and b) I really wanted the wiring harness out of the engine compartment, and to do that I needed to get it loose from all the cable ties and such, up inside the dash. Instrument cluster out. Attachment 749115 Oh, hello, *that's* where I put the alarm brain. Lower bits removed. Attachment 749116 That shit was crispy as F. Going to be doing quite a bit of repair when that stuff goes back in. The surface rust on the sheetmetal is annoying me. Mirror crumbled when I pulled down the window shade a while back. Attachment 749117 Attachment 749118 Going to have to look for a replacement. |
11 Attachment(s)
WHAT HAVE I DONE?!
Attachment 749100 Attachment 749101 Attachment 749102 Attachment 749103 Dash pad removed: Attachment 749104 Air ducts are a bit crispy, too: Attachment 749105 That's supposed to be riveted to a metal bit that screws to the dash pad: Attachment 749106 Then this bit broke of when I grabbed the piece to move it (sigh): Attachment 749107 Dash wiring harness: Attachment 749108 Dash wiring removed: Attachment 749109 Back in the car, I need slack to pull the harness in. Mostly a bunch of thos bent metal tabs, and a few cable ties. I could unplug these relays, but there's only one nut holding that bracket up there: Attachment 749110 This bracket was also connected to the pedla hanger earlier, keeping it from coming out, the little shit. |
6 Attachment(s)
(Holy COW that 12-picture limit is frustrating.)
Had to remove the driver's kick panel, which meant the dead pedal had to come out. Both bolts sheared: Attachment 749094 Attachment 749095 Attachment 749096 Dang it. ALL CLEAN AND BARE: Attachment 749097 But: Attachment 749098 Attachment 749099 The mess just moved. So now I can get on with sanding that side of the engine bay, tape up all of those holes, and paint away. I do still need to patch that one bit of rust at the top of the cowl under the driver's fender, but that should just be a little epoxy, and possibly some seam sealer. Now I'm debating how to handle the wiring harness. I could strip out the emissions stuff I don't need, along with some additional wiring related to the choke, and external voltage regulator, and such, and add a few circuits to make wiring in a modern stereo and such easier (I had to pull power for the radio memory from the cigarette lighter, for example, and tie into the radio switched lead for the added power mirrors and gauges, not to mention grounds for all of that.) As an alternative, I could buy an aftermarket "hot rod" style wiring harness and rewire the whole car. Brand new wiring and connectors, and a modern ATC fuse box is tempting, not to mention the possibility of a bulkhead connector rather than the entire harness going through the firewall in one piece. Not sure which way I'll go on that. The '84 may get it's harness pulled and scavenged, or some other mid-'80s or '90s Mazda if I find something in the wrecking yard (to try and keep similar colors to factory, and OEM connectors.) I'll settle this after I get the engine bay painted, but a little thinking about it beforehand is probably a good idea. Going to spend some quality time with wiring diagrams to confirm what is necessary for my needs. I will also likely eliminate most of the tape wrap and use split looming instead. I like the easier maintenance and troubleshooting, not to mention changeability with split loom. I discovered that there is such a thing as a split loom version of the mesh looming, so I'm going to look into that as well. Progress! |
12 Attachment(s)
OK, got some stuff done! (whoop!)
...and found more stuff that needs to be done (ugh.) The targets for the weekend were the rust holes in the cowl, and the hole in the firewall for the EFI wiring. With the fender off, the back side of the broken off bolts for the dead pedal were revealed, so I took that as a target of opportunity. Attachment 749021 also hadn't noticed this rust hole near the door hinge: Attachment 749022 This thing is rusting in the weirdest places. That one may be due to the reinforcing just below it on the other side: Attachment 749023 But it's not even right up to it... Close up of the aforementioned rust in the upper cowl: Attachment 749024 Several penetrations, plus the vertical bit there should be solid. We shouldn't even be able to see in there at all! This is the same area on the other side (above the hinge, which also has some rust. More on that later.) Attachment 749025 Inside of the cowl dust (up through the round hole. You can just see the penetrations. Must get a snake camera some day...) Attachment 749026 I can't just stick the phone into the speaker hole, because there's another reinforcing bit above the speaker: Attachment 749027 That black tube is the drain for the sunroof, going up into the A-pillar. Needless to say, all of this got a coat of rust converter, and I'll probably slather POR15 all around, since I have a 6-pack of the little tins. I attacked the stubs of the dead pedal bolts with vice-grips. One came out, one decided to be a bastard. Attachment 749028 Fine. I ground it flat and flush with my Dremel, then drilled it out. Got a little off center. I tried to chip it out, but not lucky: Attachment 749029 So I got it closer with a round file and a rotary file on the Dremel: Attachment 749030 Then tapped it: Attachment 749031 Attachment 749032 Done! That rust there got wire brushed and converted, as well. |
| All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:17 AM. |
© 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands