SimSoph

This should be fun. After living 20 years without an RX7 I took the plunge and bought a 1979 to rebuild. I found a semi-functional 1st gen in Orlando for $800. With parts and tools I'm up to just under $3K.

The fun part is that neither my son nor I are mechanical geniuses, but I need to show him that with some basic skills and a lot of help from this board, We can bring it back to life as a great weekend driver. Of course he wants it to be his daily driver.

Wish us luck.

SimSoph

Steps so far:
1. Removed tie-rod ends for replacement (purchased new)
2. Removed oil pan for cleaning
3. Removed aftermarket carb and manifold (Holley 600) which was flaming (purchased Nikki)
4. Disassembled and cleaned Nikki carb, not all of the screws on the main body yet
Issues found
1. Purchased Nikki carb has 1 broken Venturi
2. Tie rod ends were frozen but came off with some persuading.
Next steps
1. Clean and replace the oil pan
2. Install new tie-rod ends and new boots
3. Replace front disk rotors
4. Replace front brakes
3. Compression test the engine (waiting for parts for the home built compression tester…Thanks for the plans David)
4. Pray compression is OK
5. Foam the engine to clean.

craaaazzy

iTrader: (9)

good luck with the father/son build. my 5 year old daughter tries to help but still a bit young to actually wrench.

one suggestion i do have for u is to use "the right stuff" to seal your oil pan. i've tried permatex gray before without success twice but the right stuff fixed the leak.

SimSoph

Thanks what is the "Right Stuff"?

RTRx7

iTrader: (2)

Looking forward to the progress. Why not just get a general idea on the engine health with a piston compression tester from the auto parts store?

craaaazzy

iTrader: (9)

this:
you can find it at any auto parts store.

Samito Built

iTrader: (38)

If the car has a working holley I would favor that over the outdated Nikki. Easy to rebuild and source parts vs the Nikki.

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

Any pics to share of the new 7?

SimSoph

It's a strange Holley. I believe that it is off a marine engine. It was tough to find specs for it. I believe that it is a 0-80450 or an 0-80451.

When I picked it up, the car would choke out over 4K and fail to idle. The previous owner botched the emissions removal, I'm working through completing that too.

plentymoon

No such thing as an outdated nikki my friend hog one out and take flight

And I too would love to see pictures of the rx7 nothing gets me more excited then dirty pics of a rex in mid tear down.

SimSoph

I'll try to get some pictures up but I'm in a bit of a mess now.

Getting close to running BUT my newly installed rear drums are seized, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to get brand new brake drums turned for sizing. The engine isn't a 79 apparently (H or I cast into the block), has a 80-85 distributor but what appears to be 79 ignition coils. I have leading on TDC but can't even get trailing to even show. I'll be posting for help on the Need Technical Help thread soon.

SimSoph

After running for a while the engine up and quit. So I went back to the Holley with a dlidfis. Now the car is idling and the backfires have diminished. My neighbors are happy.

Problem is that I cannot set the timing. I cannot see the timing marks at all.

Don't know what to do.

manoflego

You're rotated the whole pulley and can't see any marks? Or you just can't see them with the timing light? Have you tried feeling for indents, rather than just looking for red and yellow marks?

NCross

iTrader: (18)

There should be 2 indentations on the pulley. Remove the flywheel scatter shield behind the exhaust manifold. Line the flywheel up with the flat spot running even with the exhaust port side and you are at top dead center. You can now stab the dizzy and be within a few degrees of proper time. This is a T2 flywheel, but same technique.

SimSoph

You were rihjt. I went back to the Holley and it's running. I finally got it to idle. Biggest issue now is getting spark to the trailing plugs. It's showing dead.

I suspect that I may have a bad trailing pickup. I went with a dlidfis setup and it made a very big difference, even without the trailing working.

Anyone have insights into what it could be other than the pickups? Can I swap the pickups T-->L to test them or are they location specific?