Spetz's 1985 5 Letter Resto/Build
 

Hello!

Recently purchased this 5 Letter from a friend after he decided I needed it. I had been looking for a 1st gen in good condition for a while and he finally convinced me when he sold it to me for a really great deal! Plus the car has a rich history with it that some of you may recognize. :)

This is my 4th 1st gen and my last. My forever car so to speak. If my child is lucky enough, I may pass it down :P

So the car is a 1985 Rx-7 GSL-SE - No A/C or power steering. Almost everything is OEM except the paint/tires and plug wires from what I can tell. It was repainted a Rose color after a theft recovery.

Here she is half-way through the trip home. I had to stop and take a picture out of pure excitement.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...cbbb18290a.jpg

And after I unloaded her at the homestead with an instagram filtered glamour shot ;)

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...a762e9606c.jpg

The dog looking at me like....this again?!

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...12347aaf0e.jpg

Thanks for checking it out. I will be adding more stuff as I go along.

The following day after getting it home I decided it needed my personal steering wheel. I have had this wheel in all of my Rx-7's, always kept it upon sale and swapped it into my next one. My lucky steering wheel :)
I also pulled apart the steering console to find some out where the non operational alarm system wires were hidden. I will be fully removing it since I do not have any of the remotes and it is already halfway removed.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...c74f92b850.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...178b5f2994.jpg

This vehicle did have a remote fuel pump switch for clearing floods but it was a toggle switch. I didn't like the thought of a toggle switch on the steering console and possibly hitting it accidentally. Fuel cutting out while making a turn or merging on the highway didn't sound too appealing to me.

I decided to switch it with a lighted push button :)

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...a59e35df52.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...9bac533eb4.jpg

congratulations. i like it. looks nice and clean.

what's the long term plan - just restore, or are you planning on a few modifications?

The plans as of right now are fixing/repairing anything that is broken and making sure its running right.
I currently have on order a new igniter coil, dimmer switch, map light cover and a brand new set of Solex Locks to replace all 3 (drivers side was punched).

After winter I will be doing the following;

-Full interior deep cleaning and restoration of the paint. Along with painting the A pillars black again since chrome is now showing.

-Suspension upgrades, probably a slight lowering / stiffer suspension.

-15x8/9 wheels with some sticky tires.

-Full racing beat header to muffler exhaust.

I will most likely be keeping the engine stock until the motor goes, then consider doing a street port or something cool like that.

She's a beauty! N-Joy. And Welcome back the the Rotary-side :)

Stu A
80GS
AZ

Thanks! I'm in love with it already

Thanks for keeping it on the road, man. Sounds like there may be some story behind you getting it - is it now safe from being stolen? Good luck,

It is definitely safe from being stolen now ;)

Will keep this one on the road until I'm too old to drive her :)

She's beautiful! With the painted mirrors, I assumed it was Royal Maroon Metallic. What's the paint code on the engine bay VIN tag?

yes, 3A is a factory color, late 85 GSL-SE only

Yep, thanks, j9fd3s. Lately, 3A SEs seem to be popping up more often.

It's not a factory color guys haha. It was actually repainted with a Candy Apple Red but it looks more of a Rose Red so I've been told.


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...fa56bae41b.jpg

oh so shiny! I had mine looking like that with One Grand , omega glaze, something polish, carbana wax, and 40 hours of elbow grease...in 1992. +$100 in supplies.

nice find, but to be honest no Ac is a no go for me, I did a week without it during the summer and it was not fun at all.

I live in a desert so i'm used to the heat :P Once you get moving its fine, and we have no traffic out here

Nice car. As far as the flooding, there is a bug in the software that if you start one of these and don't let it warm up, it will flood the next time you try to start it. It has only happened to me once in 24 years. I pulled the car into the garage and shut it off. It flooded the next time. I always warm the car up and it has never happened again.

There's plenty of traffic in California =(

So today I just received my Solex Lock kit, all the way from Australia. Always wanted these when I was younger in my corolla days but could never afford them. So needless to say, I am excited to get these installed. :)

I also purchased the additional black trim rings for them to remove the Solex Lock writing, but once I install i may end up liking them.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...33a0d504cc.jpg

I also ended up doing the fuse-able link swap for the newer style fuses. They work great and its nice being able to tell if they are blown. Updates are always nice :)

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...7192cdc7d.jpeg

Nice locks
 

Wow I want to install these locks too thx for the info I never knew something like this existed.

Do the solex fit like oem?

Your welcome!

I ordered them through these guys. Fast response time and shipping, friendly and knowledgeable.

https://niceproducts.com.au/products/solex-locks/

The kit you would need is NUL1320.

I haven't installed them yet as we have been doing a lot of other home renovations but once I do I will be sure to update the thread :)

The Solex locks are (were) a popular theft deterrent in Australia.

They don't fit exactly like OEM. You need to slightly file out the notch to make them fit, see eg: solex locks - Page 2 - AusRotary

Great information! Thank you!

glad you got the anti theft locks.. now do something about the handle holes so that the door cant be unlocked in 3 secs under the handles ;)

Don't you know though? Rx-7s have the best immobilizer system ever in the car. Can't steal it if it wont start Talking

I wasn't actually aware of that though I will look into it, thanks!

Do you have pictures of the solex installed?

There is currently snow on the ground and it is too cold to be working on plastic interior parts at the moment :(

I will update with more pictures once I start piecing it together again.

I think i've finally decided on some wheels. Enkei 92's in 15x8 +25 in Gold.

Now that the snows melting I finally got a little work done. I replaced the leading igniter with a GM HEI ignition module. Starts and runs great now.

As for the muffler, it literally fell apart while I was removing it, so I am going to get it replicated for the time being with a Magnaflow as I can't afford a full racing beat system at the moment.

Also fixed the fuel pump wiring so it's just about ready for spring!

I'll upload some pictures soon!

Ordered in my Magnaflow to my work today. My cooworker is going to weld it up and basically keep the same setup as the OEM muffler. It is a 2" in 2" out Magnaflow PN#12644

Hoping to have it mocked up soon and ready to weld.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...76295274a7.jpg

So we got the muffler welded up and sitting properly. The first picture is without the tip, the second picture has a slanted tip. Not sure if thats what tip I will settle on, I might switch to a dual exit like the OEM muffler had but we will see. It sounds great, louder than stock but no droning or tinny sound.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...65ec2a36df.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...a6558aeeb6.jpg

I also gave the car a small clean. Not anywhere near where id like it but I have to start somewhere. Next is to replace the tires on the OEM wheels until I can order up the rims I want.

This weekend will be "Rewire/Remount the shoddy electric fan." Does anyone have an idea of how I can trigger the fan with a certain temperature or thermostat?

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...40927871e0.jpg
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So i got to work on the new fan shroud and electric fan assembly. I like to try and make most things myself, if i am able to.
- Fan is a 16 inch Flexalite #105317.
- The fan controller with manual override is a Hayden #3647.
- The shroud is 1/16th aluminum cut to 17.5" x 22.5" with a offset 15" hole which will be mounted to the factory bolt holes on the radiator.

I am also adding a push button to the steering column to manually override the fan to "MAX" on for those spirited drives in the summer.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...b31de92d3e.jpg
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I will add another post with the fan mounted to the shroud and fitment once the shroud is painted.

Here is the finished shroud with the fan installed. I will be taking it apart again to do another final coat but this will be bolted to the OEM radiator. I also sent the radiator to my friends radiator shop to get it rebuilt/re-cored before I install it all.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...b325d9e978.jpg

Nice looking fabrication. And really nice car.

From an efficiency of cooling perspective, the mounting panel being against the radiator will block the airflow and it looks like it covers 1/3 to 1/2 of the cooling area. I suggest you cut some speed holes in that panel...open it up as much as you can.

Thanks! I'll think about that. It isnt sitting directly against the radiator. There is a space of about 1 inch between the shroud and the radiator fins. I did a test run and the temperature seems to be in the right zone. I just tore it down again to have the radiator rebuilt for the final product.

Ah okay, understood. Thanks for the clarification.

Installed the Solex Locks today while waiting for my radiator to come home. Literally needed no modifications whatsoever and probably the easiest lock swap ive ever done - I was surprised. I also adjusted the windows so they don't roll up and down falling towards the front of the car.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...5426472c4b.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...5122ad94d3.jpg
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https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...b1e2734a86.jpg

So i got my radiator back today! Yay! Before and After shot of course. It was disgusting before and the inside was looking pretty gross.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...6d4344e121.jpg
The previous owner had the electric fan mounted directly to the radiator. *facepalm*
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...4f4936eb34.jpg
Louvered core :)


My friends radiator shop re-cored it with a louvered racing core, supposedly gives it 20% more cooling efficiency and he does it for all of the Rotary guys he has come in.

I just need to finish up the wiring and install the new temperature sender and its golden. I also have a new thermostat to install as well. Refreshing of the cooling system before this desert heat is critical.

Everything is looking good so far!

Thanks man!

So i decided to follow Toruki's suggestion and installed some more speed holes on the passenger side on the shroud. I got the rebuilt radiator and shroud installed and the wiring is almost complete. I decided to hid the wiring under the front cover as you can see in the second picture.

FYI The center of the electric fan actually sits almost directly in the center of the main pulley so it wont contact at all :)

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...0f692772c.jpeg
Fits nice :)
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...ab21ff596.jpeg
Hidden fan relay and fan thermostat adjustment.

Sorry if this is too much advice... I think you either 1. need to open that panel completely (preferred I think) or 2. close up the small holes you have.

The job of that fan is to pull cool air from the front and through the rad. It looked like your panel was right against the rad fins..not good...but as you explained, it's at least an inch from the rad fins, so that box could pull air across the whole face of the rad. But those holes you added allow air from the hot engine area to get sucked in, instead of from the front. But they are also still too restrictive (in my opinion) to allow enough natural flow when the fan is not running.

Again, this my opinion, you are pretty far north, so maybe not too hot up there and everything will would be just fine as it is :)

Here are some recent examples from this forum that show two approaches. Yours, with the holes added, is somewhere between.

I think this approach is ideal for electric. When the fan is on, plenty of flow over a big area. When off, the mounting structure blocks as little as possible.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...b354f89777.jpg

This is an example of the other take, a sealed shroud with a lot of fan. When the fan is on, tons of pull, when it's off the blades can freely rotate.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...7835ec5915.jpg

I am going to test run it first and see where the temps are at. I made it so the fan/shroud can be taken out without removing the radiator so I can modify it. I will either end up cutting space out where those holes are, or closing them.

More work ahead. Its warm now, but I worry this summer when weather hits 35-40 degrees Celsius will be the real test.

Thanks for the advice. I will have to switch it up depending on what my temps are at.

Very nice work on the car thus far! How has it been running and driving overall?

Thank you for the kind words! Its running and driving great! Pulls great and the 5th/6th ports seem to be opening properly. Gets a nice growl around 3600-3800RPM

Few small issues i've noticed though. When you punch the gas the car lurches back a little bit like maybe a diff or transmission mount is starting to go. And when i use the cruise control is seems to act funny once you turn it off, like its not fully disengaging. Maybe it needs a lubing.

I've pulled the fan shroud off to modify it yet again, luckily I made it so it comes off and on easily :) Third times a charm

Still deciding on rims

This will be my final iteration of the fan shroud. The bridge portion between the fan and the big open holes will have foam tape so the fan is segregated from pulling hot air from the holes. I am also going to make the portion between the fan and the open holes as thin as possible to get more airflow without compromising the structural integrity of the shroud.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...03a681e17d.png

The new shroud design I think will work pretty well.

If you suspect a mount to be failing, I would get under the car and inspect the rubber portions of the trans mount to make sure it isn't pulling away from the metal housing. I've had that happen. Engine mounts are easy to test from above the car.

Usually when the trans mount fails, you can see abnormal movement in the shifter. A really bad engine mount can cause a knocking sound under hard acceleration as the engine will rock upwards abruptly.

I'm suspecting a trans mount now that you mention it. The shifter has a bit of movement left to right if I take my hand off while the car is idling, or over bumps for that matter.

Thanks for the tip!