My 1985 Rx-7 GS: Project "Gus"
02-17-12, 07:46 PM
#81
You have to get one of the mounting bolts from an FC since it is a little bit longer than the bottom FB starter bolt. Once you have that longer bolt though, everything is pretty straightforward to my knowledge. Haven't actually installed it yet, but lots of people have done this same swap before apparently. We'll see how it goes. I don't anticipate any problems though.
02-17-12, 08:04 PM
#82
Okay guys, I know I promised an update several days ago but I got busy during the week and decided to wait until the weekend where I would have more time to do a better writeup. So.... here we go! Topics for this writeup will include, carb stuff, suspension stuff, oil cooler swap, and an unrelated bicycle restoration. 
Sterling will hopefully be sending my venturis, throttle body, and emulsion tubes back soon so that I can button the carburetor all back up. It sounds like he's trying to get his orders finished up, so hopefully I can get this carb all put back together. It's all organized and ready to go as soon as I get the parts. I'll be calling it the Glazed Sterling carb.
Here is a spare carb that I have laying around that I actually might strip down and rebuild as the final carb. I learned A LOT the first time thru and would like to do another carb over the exact perfect way that I want. So there is a possibility that when I get my parts back from Sterling they will actually go into this carb after I rework it. We'll see how ambitious I get though. The best laid plans of mice and men.
Here is a picture of a jet kit that I put together on my own. Sterling modifies the emulsion tubes of the Nikki carburetor to accept 10-32 UNF air bleeds from a Holley Dominator carburetor. This allows you to tune the Nikki to a level that is previously unattainable with the stock Mazda parts. Unfortunately, a full Holley Dominator air bleed kit from Summit racing costs about $250-$300. Too rich for my tastes. So I made my own! I bought a WHOLE bunch of micro sized drill bits from McMaster Carr and about 4-5 packages of air bleed blanks from JEGS. I used the drill bits to create my own air bleeds from 0.023" up to 0.067" just like Sterling recommends on his website. I bought this little jewelry case at Hobby Lobby to store them in, printed some labels on the computer, and PRESTO! A complete tuning kit for my Glazed Sterling carburetor for a total cost of about $50-60. That includes purchasing the case, drill bits, and air bleed blanks. Not too shabby.
Here are the jets all tucked away in their little separate compartments. If I ever drop this thing with the lid open I'm going to sit in the driveway and cry.
It would be nearly impossible to sort them all out again because the jets are so similar in size.
I made this little card also that shows Sterling's recommended tuning setups for Fuel Economy, Stock Tuning, Street Performance, Track Performance, and Drag Racing. I am going to use all of his recommended air bleed and jet sizes as a starting point when I tune this thing. I would have no idea where to start on my own, so it's awfully nice of him to give us these baseline setups to work from. It will no doubt be a big help to me down the road.
Sterling will hopefully be sending my venturis, throttle body, and emulsion tubes back soon so that I can button the carburetor all back up. It sounds like he's trying to get his orders finished up, so hopefully I can get this carb all put back together. It's all organized and ready to go as soon as I get the parts. I'll be calling it the Glazed Sterling carb.
Here is a spare carb that I have laying around that I actually might strip down and rebuild as the final carb. I learned A LOT the first time thru and would like to do another carb over the exact perfect way that I want. So there is a possibility that when I get my parts back from Sterling they will actually go into this carb after I rework it. We'll see how ambitious I get though. The best laid plans of mice and men.
Here is a picture of a jet kit that I put together on my own. Sterling modifies the emulsion tubes of the Nikki carburetor to accept 10-32 UNF air bleeds from a Holley Dominator carburetor. This allows you to tune the Nikki to a level that is previously unattainable with the stock Mazda parts. Unfortunately, a full Holley Dominator air bleed kit from Summit racing costs about $250-$300. Too rich for my tastes. So I made my own!
I bought a WHOLE bunch of micro sized drill bits from McMaster Carr and about 4-5 packages of air bleed blanks from JEGS. I used the drill bits to create my own air bleeds from 0.023" up to 0.067" just like Sterling recommends on his website. I bought this little jewelry case at Hobby Lobby to store them in, printed some labels on the computer, and PRESTO! A complete tuning kit for my Glazed Sterling carburetor for a total cost of about $50-60. That includes purchasing the case, drill bits, and air bleed blanks. Not too shabby.Here are the jets all tucked away in their little separate compartments. If I ever drop this thing with the lid open I'm going to sit in the driveway and cry.
It would be nearly impossible to sort them all out again because the jets are so similar in size.I made this little card also that shows Sterling's recommended tuning setups for Fuel Economy, Stock Tuning, Street Performance, Track Performance, and Drag Racing. I am going to use all of his recommended air bleed and jet sizes as a starting point when I tune this thing. I would have no idea where to start on my own, so it's awfully nice of him to give us these baseline setups to work from. It will no doubt be a big help to me down the road.
02-17-12, 08:13 PM
#83
Here is a closer view of some of the air bleeds that I drilled. I left the drill bits for each size in the case in the event that I need to make more of them in the future. It's always possible that I could drop one and lose it. So I thought it was a good idea to leave the drill bit right there in case of an emergency.
Here are some of the undrilled air bleed blanks that I saved in case of emergency. They come in packs of 10 and I ended up not using all of them. No reason to throw them away when they could help you out in a pinch some day.
Here are some random pictures that don't really fit into any certain section of the project. I bought a used Pineapple racing engine stand mount for the 12A. It is a really nice piece and make the engine fit on the stand much much better. If any of you have considered buying one in the past I would highly recommend getting one. It is a really solid nice piece. I think I got it for about half price compared to new. I cleaned it off and shot it with a quick coat of black rattle can paint to prevent rust. The engine is just kind of hanging out on the stand for now. I'm trying to decide if I want to do a street port on it, or just clean it up and put it back in the car for the time being.
The Pineapple racing bracket mounts to the engine using lug nuts. It's a pretty clever idea.
Here is my best find lately. I got an unused Racing Beat presilencer on e-bay for half price. Can't beat that! I was going to try using a Magnaflow muffler to cut down on costs, in place of the RB presilencer. But, nothing holds up to the heat of the rotary as well as the Racing Beat exhaust products. I couldn't pass it up for the price that I got it at. My exhaust setup is going to be the RB streetable header into the RB presilencer into a straight pipe back to a Magnaflow dual tip muffler. It might be a little bit loud, but that's my plan for the time being.
Here are some of the undrilled air bleed blanks that I saved in case of emergency. They come in packs of 10 and I ended up not using all of them. No reason to throw them away when they could help you out in a pinch some day.
Here are some random pictures that don't really fit into any certain section of the project. I bought a used Pineapple racing engine stand mount for the 12A. It is a really nice piece and make the engine fit on the stand much much better. If any of you have considered buying one in the past I would highly recommend getting one. It is a really solid nice piece. I think I got it for about half price compared to new. I cleaned it off and shot it with a quick coat of black rattle can paint to prevent rust. The engine is just kind of hanging out on the stand for now. I'm trying to decide if I want to do a street port on it, or just clean it up and put it back in the car for the time being.
The Pineapple racing bracket mounts to the engine using lug nuts. It's a pretty clever idea.
Here is my best find lately. I got an unused Racing Beat presilencer on e-bay for half price. Can't beat that! I was going to try using a Magnaflow muffler to cut down on costs, in place of the RB presilencer. But, nothing holds up to the heat of the rotary as well as the Racing Beat exhaust products. I couldn't pass it up for the price that I got it at. My exhaust setup is going to be the RB streetable header into the RB presilencer into a straight pipe back to a Magnaflow dual tip muffler. It might be a little bit loud, but that's my plan for the time being.
02-17-12, 08:32 PM
#84
On to the mega find of the year. I scored a nearly complete race suspension setup for Gus for about $350-400. I got a Racing Beat front sway bar, 4 Tokico Illuminas, Ground Control front coilovers, Eibach rear springs, and Ground Control camber plates. I was going to buy most of this stuff anyway, but finding it used saved me a ton. I went ahead and got the Energy Supension polyurethane bushings to go along with all of it. I have never used the Illuminas, or any type of adjustable suspension on my previous Rx-7s, so I'm pretty excited to see how well this stuff works. I've always used Racing Beat springs and Tokico Blues in the past, so I'm looking forward to trying something more aggressive this time. I will eventually be making my own triangulated strut bar for up front, but that's a long way off. I also scored a complete GSL rear end in Louisville for about $100. Another great deal that put my project ahead of schedule. I was able to drive down, take it off the donor car, throw it in the back of my Protege and drive home. The whole operation took me about 4 hours and saved me tons on shipping costs. So Gus will be setup with a nice LSD rear end instead of the drum disc crap he came with from the factory. I've got a nice start to the collection of suspension parts. Here are some pics...
02-17-12, 08:41 PM
#86
I'm running out of storage room in the garage, so for the time being I'm using Gus' passenger side floor board as the suspension parts staging area. It's not like I'm driving him around at the moment anyway, so I can keep the stuff here and off of my garage floor. I hate having stuff laying around to trip over. I can function properly without a clean work area.
I'm also currently working on finishing up a front mount FC oil cooler swap. I started by using a nice sharp flat file to face the areas where the copper crush washers go. They were pretty pitted and uneven, so I used my file to get them straight, flat, and smooth again. I then flushed out the cooler using paint thinner to get the oil out, then hot soapy water to get the rest of the oil, and then regular hot water to get the soap residue out, and then acetone to drive out all the water. I probably ran 1/2 gallon of paint stripper thru it, several gallons of hot soapy water, several gallons of clear water, and about 12 oz of Acetone. After all the flushing was done I ran air thru it with the air compressor to dry it out the rest of the way. I have since been working on straightening all of the bent fins as much as possible. I'm using a round pick, and two flat head screwdrivers to straighten them all. It's a long slow process, but it's kinda fun to sit and do it while you listen to the radio.
I'm also currently working on finishing up a front mount FC oil cooler swap. I started by using a nice sharp flat file to face the areas where the copper crush washers go. They were pretty pitted and uneven, so I used my file to get them straight, flat, and smooth again. I then flushed out the cooler using paint thinner to get the oil out, then hot soapy water to get the rest of the oil, and then regular hot water to get the soap residue out, and then acetone to drive out all the water. I probably ran 1/2 gallon of paint stripper thru it, several gallons of hot soapy water, several gallons of clear water, and about 12 oz of Acetone. After all the flushing was done I ran air thru it with the air compressor to dry it out the rest of the way. I have since been working on straightening all of the bent fins as much as possible. I'm using a round pick, and two flat head screwdrivers to straighten them all. It's a long slow process, but it's kinda fun to sit and do it while you listen to the radio.
02-17-12, 08:50 PM
#88
I have also been working on some new oil cooler lines to go along with the oil cooler. I started with the old stock FC oil cooler lines and cut the fittings out of the end of the hoses with my dremel. I was wanting to mainly save the banjo fittings to reuse. You have to be very careful not to nick the fittings on the end, but it's possible to cut them out if you go very slow and are patient. I managed to save the banjo fittings and will be reusing them. In the past I have just purchased some transmission cooler hose and used hose clamps to attach it to the Banjo fittings. It works great, and is a super cheap solution. There's really no need to buy the expensive crimped hoses IMO. Just use some nice hose clamps and be sure to get them tight. I bought some transmission cooler hose from NAPA. It is about $2.50 per foot, but it's good to 400 psi, 300 degrees F, and is safe for oil. It's very soft and flexible, and is a LOT nicer than the junk they sell at Autozone. Don't try this with heater hose. It gets gummy and breaks down from the oil. The banjo fittings were cleaned up on my bench grinder with a wire wheel and then clear coated. I will be mounting the oil cooler to the front frame tube using Trochoid's 1-7/8" muffler clamp method. Another great trick. I still need to figure out the rubber isolator mounts for the oil cooler, and the back half of the oil cooler lines. I also got new crush washers for everything from Mazda. I tried to find them at Autozone, Advance, Napa, and no one had them.
02-17-12, 08:56 PM
#89
Here are some little protectors that I put together with some standard Lowe's hardware and a scrap of rubber hose. The 1/2" oil cooler lines will fit thru the inside of these and allow them to be mounted to the frame rail. This will keep them from bouncing around, or rubbing a hole in themselves. A great simple solution for a problem that can be easily overlooked.
The oil cooler will be finished up with some Radiator Black paint from Eastwood. It is a thinner paint that will allow heat transfer to still take place, while cleaning up the oil cooler and making it look nice. A regular spray paint is too thick, and keeps the oil cooler from really doing it's job of dissipating heat. This stuff was a little expensive, but it's worth it IMO. I think it was about $8 for a can.
I've also been storing the oil cooler supplies in the back hatch area. Again, space is at a premium. I'm trying to keep things as organized as possible.
That's it for now everybody! I'll post some more pictures as I continue to progress with the project, but that's pretty much where I stand at the moment. Let me know your thoughts! I'd be interested to hear what everyone thinks thus far.
Jamie
Glazedham42
The oil cooler will be finished up with some Radiator Black paint from Eastwood. It is a thinner paint that will allow heat transfer to still take place, while cleaning up the oil cooler and making it look nice. A regular spray paint is too thick, and keeps the oil cooler from really doing it's job of dissipating heat. This stuff was a little expensive, but it's worth it IMO. I think it was about $8 for a can.
I've also been storing the oil cooler supplies in the back hatch area. Again, space is at a premium. I'm trying to keep things as organized as possible.
That's it for now everybody! I'll post some more pictures as I continue to progress with the project, but that's pretty much where I stand at the moment. Let me know your thoughts! I'd be interested to hear what everyone thinks thus far.
Jamie
Glazedham42
02-17-12, 09:04 PM
#90
Almost forgot about the bicycle! Here is an old Schwinn that got off of Craigslist and rebuilt. I was wanting to get a nicer bike to ride and got mad when I saw that they cost several thousand dollars. What a ripoff! Especially for someone like me who wants to do some casual riding, but doesn't want to use a junky $100 Walmart mountain bike. So I bought this old Schwinn with a tall frame and just rebuilt it using better parts from the local bike shop. I changed it from a 10 speed to a 5 speed, put new tires on, rewrapped the bars, new brake levers, polished the chrome, painted the frame, new pedals, and a new bottom bracket. It really rides nice now! Probably have about $250 invested in the whole mess. Three cheers for the average do it yourselfer! I love this bike. I can't remember exactly how big the frame is, but it's quite tall and works great with my long legs. I'm about 6'4" tall and I've never really had the privilege of riding a bike that is the right size for me before. What a difference it makes...
Here is an old Schwinn that got off of Craigslist and rebuilt. I was wanting to get a nicer bike to ride and got mad when I saw that they cost several thousand dollars. What a ripoff! Especially for someone like me who wants to do some casual riding, but doesn't want to use a junky $100 Walmart mountain bike. So I bought this old Schwinn with a tall frame and just rebuilt it using better parts from the local bike shop. I changed it from a 10 speed to a 5 speed, put new tires on, rewrapped the bars, new brake levers, polished the chrome, painted the frame, new pedals, and a new bottom bracket. It really rides nice now! Probably have about $250 invested in the whole mess. Three cheers for the average do it yourselfer! I love this bike. I can't remember exactly how big the frame is, but it's quite tall and works great with my long legs. I'm about 6'4" tall and I've never really had the privilege of riding a bike that is the right size for me before. What a difference it makes...
02-19-12, 09:56 AM
#91
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do you have suspension mount rust issues on your 85?
Quick question about about gen 1 rust issues - didn't see anything listed.
Is there something specific to look for in the shock towers or other parts of the undercarriage that would cause the car to fail a safety inspection?
The inspector basically stated that there was structural rust and it would not be repairable. The car doesn't feel like it's about to fall apart.
Any thoughts on where and how to check it out? I don't know of any common failings do you guys? On early Lotus Elan +2 it can be common to have the shock towers rust out and cause suspension failures. Hopefully it's not the same story here!
Is there something specific to look for in the shock towers or other parts of the undercarriage that would cause the car to fail a safety inspection?
The inspector basically stated that there was structural rust and it would not be repairable. The car doesn't feel like it's about to fall apart.
Any thoughts on where and how to check it out? I don't know of any common failings do you guys? On early Lotus Elan +2 it can be common to have the shock towers rust out and cause suspension failures. Hopefully it's not the same story here!
08-18-12, 07:50 AM
#95
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I hate to dig up the past, but what happened to this project? With the amount of work already put in I cant believe you just stopped... did this become a new thread someplace else?
Leks
Leks
09-06-13, 09:16 AM
#97
The project is still alive. I'm trying to finish up my master's degree by next summer, so that has really been cutting into my project time. Once the master's degree is done then I'm hoping to really tear back into the car and finish up my project. It's sort of on pseudo-hold right now though. I have been working on rebuilding the GSL LSD that I got about a year or so ago. It has some kind of gritty sand substance in it, which made me pretty nervous about just bolting it up and using it. So I decided to tear the LSD down and rebuild it. I've also been remodeling our bathroom at home, and I am almost done with that. So I haven't had much spare time for projects here lately. Hoping that will change soon.
