Project OldTree: The 12 Days of Rotormas
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,067
Likes: 309
From: St Louis, MO
Project OldTree: The 12 Days of Rotormas
I thought it was time to re-inject some humor into the 2nd Gen section, so here's my 12 Days of Rotormas, a jolly jungle dedicated to everyone that has had to do something to their car without a garage.
4/19/2013: I have renamed this thread and dedicated it in memory of my mother who died today. OldTree was her nickname and the new title reflects how she was: A gift that keeps on giving. We love you mom! Rest in peace. 10/29/1949 - 4/19/2013
On the First day of Rotormas, my true love gave to me...
A half-foot of Snow (sorry, no pic)
On the Second day of Rotormas, my true love gave to me...
Twice as much Snow!
On the Third day of Rotormas, my true love gave to me...
3 quarts of coolant on my coat from replacing the bottom radiator hose in the dark during a blizzard!
On the Fourth day of Rotormas, my true love gave to me...
$400 spree at Harbor Freight
On the Fifth Day of Rotormas, my true love gave to me...
Five-wheeled coffin!
On the Sixth day of Rotormas, my true love gave to me...
6-second snipe on KYB AGX's with Ground Control Coilovers!
stay tuned for the second half of Rotormas
4/19/2013: I have renamed this thread and dedicated it in memory of my mother who died today. OldTree was her nickname and the new title reflects how she was: A gift that keeps on giving. We love you mom! Rest in peace. 10/29/1949 - 4/19/2013
On the First day of Rotormas, my true love gave to me...
A half-foot of Snow (sorry, no pic)
On the Second day of Rotormas, my true love gave to me...
Twice as much Snow!
On the Third day of Rotormas, my true love gave to me...
3 quarts of coolant on my coat from replacing the bottom radiator hose in the dark during a blizzard!
On the Fourth day of Rotormas, my true love gave to me...
$400 spree at Harbor Freight
On the Fifth Day of Rotormas, my true love gave to me...
Five-wheeled coffin!
On the Sixth day of Rotormas, my true love gave to me...
6-second snipe on KYB AGX's with Ground Control Coilovers!
stay tuned for the second half of Rotormas
Last edited by Akagis_white_comet; Apr 19, 2013 at 10:59 AM. Reason: Dedicated to my Mom
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,067
Likes: 309
From: St Louis, MO
The minivan on fire was someone else's that I saw on US-33 on the way to Columbus. So I guess this thread needs a disclaimer
No parts were harmed in the making of this thread.
No parts were harmed in the making of this thread.
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,067
Likes: 309
From: St Louis, MO
On the Seventh day of Rotormas, my true love gave to me...
Receiving parts I've hunted for 7 years for (for my 95 Mirage) and only getting half of them (missing shifter and clutch lines/hydraulics)
On the Eighth day of Rotormas, my true love gave to me...
8 pounds of boost
On the Ninth day of Rotormas, my true love gave to me...
Installed coilovers at 9pm
On the Tenth day of Rotormas, my true love gave to me...
10psi of boost much sooner!
On the Eleventh day of Rotormas, my true love gave to me...
Getting called out at 11pm to change a very bald tire.
On the Twelfth day of Rotormas, my true love gave to me...
300 pounds of awesome delivered at 12pm!
Receiving parts I've hunted for 7 years for (for my 95 Mirage) and only getting half of them (missing shifter and clutch lines/hydraulics)
On the Eighth day of Rotormas, my true love gave to me...
8 pounds of boost
On the Ninth day of Rotormas, my true love gave to me...
Installed coilovers at 9pm
On the Tenth day of Rotormas, my true love gave to me...
10psi of boost much sooner!
On the Eleventh day of Rotormas, my true love gave to me...
Getting called out at 11pm to change a very bald tire.
On the Twelfth day of Rotormas, my true love gave to me...
300 pounds of awesome delivered at 12pm!
Last edited by Akagis_white_comet; Aug 20, 2012 at 05:16 PM. Reason: Moved pictures to 20B Conversion Folder & Fixed Picture Links
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Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,067
Likes: 309
From: St Louis, MO
The 100 Hours of Rotordan
100 days, eh? Might be a bit of a stretch, but I could do 100 hours for my 20B conversion, which started yesterday. And without further adieu, I present the 100 Hours of Rotordan!!!
(Admins, could you please edit the title to add The 100 Hours of Rotordan?)
10/13/10 9pm to 2am: Pull engine and transmission in the dark using only two lights. 5 hours isn't too bad for a first engine pull.
(Admins, could you please edit the title to add The 100 Hours of Rotordan?)
10/13/10 9pm to 2am: Pull engine and transmission in the dark using only two lights. 5 hours isn't too bad for a first engine pull.
Last edited by Akagis_white_comet; Aug 20, 2012 at 05:29 PM. Reason: Pictures moved to 20B Album
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,067
Likes: 309
From: St Louis, MO
10/21/10 2pm to 7pm: Got the engine and transmission together and mounted using the transmission crossmember as a reference point. Got the 20b's mounts traced out onto foam board, ready for transfer onto steel. Had a lot of help from Lynn Hanover, a guy that's been into rotaries since the late 70s and builds professional rotary powered race cars. Right now, he has a tube chassis FD with a peripheral port 12a in it, putting out 325hp somewhere around 11,000rpm.
While I'm here, I'd like to dispel any rumors about clearance issues with the 20b. I'm using a Cosmo front cover and the stock N327 S4 N/A Automatic radiator, water pump and all S4 pulleys. The stock FC radiator WILL fit and just barely clear the pulleys and front cover, but getting a fan on it might be another story. Also, the Cosmo's oil pan is shaped to fit over the steering rack and engine cradle. Last, the 20B's turbos and downpipe are an easy fit too
Now, for what DOESN'T fit. The S4 coolant filler neck is too tall, so a custom one is going to be made. With about 1 3/4" between the bottom of the engine (w/o oil pan attached), the hood won't clear the UIM since the LIM is quite tall. Lowering the engine to barely clear the oil pan above the steering rack, gutting the hood of the bracing, then reinforcing with flat iron boxed around the UIM might solve this, but I'm not entirely sure yet. Thankfully, N/A steel hoods are either cheap or free, though I might try a 89-92 Ford Probe hood if the N/A one doesn't want to work right. Last resort is a TII hood.
Last, the Might Fit items. As for the 130 amp Taurus Alternator, I haven't checked the clearance yet, but it should be okay. The A/C Compressor and Power Steering Pump appear to fit, but I still need to bolt them up to the shortblock to make sure. The lines on both look long enough to reach though. Pics will follow once I doublecheck everything.
It's really looking like Mazda planned it all along. Here's a pic for y'all to drool over now
While I'm here, I'd like to dispel any rumors about clearance issues with the 20b. I'm using a Cosmo front cover and the stock N327 S4 N/A Automatic radiator, water pump and all S4 pulleys. The stock FC radiator WILL fit and just barely clear the pulleys and front cover, but getting a fan on it might be another story. Also, the Cosmo's oil pan is shaped to fit over the steering rack and engine cradle. Last, the 20B's turbos and downpipe are an easy fit too
Now, for what DOESN'T fit. The S4 coolant filler neck is too tall, so a custom one is going to be made. With about 1 3/4" between the bottom of the engine (w/o oil pan attached), the hood won't clear the UIM since the LIM is quite tall. Lowering the engine to barely clear the oil pan above the steering rack, gutting the hood of the bracing, then reinforcing with flat iron boxed around the UIM might solve this, but I'm not entirely sure yet. Thankfully, N/A steel hoods are either cheap or free, though I might try a 89-92 Ford Probe hood if the N/A one doesn't want to work right. Last resort is a TII hood.
Last, the Might Fit items. As for the 130 amp Taurus Alternator, I haven't checked the clearance yet, but it should be okay. The A/C Compressor and Power Steering Pump appear to fit, but I still need to bolt them up to the shortblock to make sure. The lines on both look long enough to reach though. Pics will follow once I doublecheck everything.
It's really looking like Mazda planned it all along. Here's a pic for y'all to drool over now
Last edited by Akagis_white_comet; Aug 20, 2012 at 05:37 PM. Reason: Pics now in 20B Folder
time for me to hijack your thread.. although we do seem to be pretty close to the same on our builds.
my motor testfit.
motor getting cleaned up and s4 waterpump stuffs.. not sure what to do about that stud that completely misses the pump though.. maybe some all thread or something on the back of the housing is the trick.
maybe i should start my own thread..
nah
oh.. um.. what does the s4 water neck hit? the hood?
my motor testfit.
motor getting cleaned up and s4 waterpump stuffs.. not sure what to do about that stud that completely misses the pump though.. maybe some all thread or something on the back of the housing is the trick.
maybe i should start my own thread..
nah
oh.. um.. what does the s4 water neck hit? the hood?
a lot of people section their lim. take about an inch out of the runners below the flange and weld it back up..
strangely though, my manifold clears my panspeed hood with about 1/4" to spare
strangely though, my manifold clears my panspeed hood with about 1/4" to spare
on the first day of rotormas my true love gave to me; the keys to a brand new FC!
on the second day of rotormas my true love gave to me; two 2 parts cars
on the third day of rotormas my true love gave to me; three chipped apex seals
on the first day of rotormas my true love gave to me; four bald tires
on the fifth day of rotormas my true love gave to me; fiveeeeeeee quarts of oil!
on the sixth day of rotormas my true love gave to me; six days of headaches
on the seventh day of rotormas my true love gave to me; seven ounces of premix
on the eighth day of rotormas my true love gave to me; eight aching pains
on the nineth day of rotormas my true love gave to me; 9 leaking side seals
on the tenth day of rotormas my true love gave to me; 10 lbs of boost
on the eleventh day of rotormas my true love gave to me; eleven unplugged wires
on the 12th day of rotormas my true love gave to me; 12 rusted bolts
on the second day of rotormas my true love gave to me; two 2 parts cars
on the third day of rotormas my true love gave to me; three chipped apex seals
on the first day of rotormas my true love gave to me; four bald tires
on the fifth day of rotormas my true love gave to me; fiveeeeeeee quarts of oil!
on the sixth day of rotormas my true love gave to me; six days of headaches
on the seventh day of rotormas my true love gave to me; seven ounces of premix
on the eighth day of rotormas my true love gave to me; eight aching pains
on the nineth day of rotormas my true love gave to me; 9 leaking side seals
on the tenth day of rotormas my true love gave to me; 10 lbs of boost
on the eleventh day of rotormas my true love gave to me; eleven unplugged wires
on the 12th day of rotormas my true love gave to me; 12 rusted bolts
Thread Starter
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,067
Likes: 309
From: St Louis, MO
Okay, threadjack is over and now back to the build!
10/22/10 1pm-7pm: After lifting the engine up to get the crank pulley reassembled and torqued, I put the engine back in place and VOILA, it clears the hood now. It's not perfectly level like before, but it's close enough that I'm happy with it. Now the S4 water pump filler neck, UIM and Taurus alternator all clear the hood so it'll hit the first latch. Making it close all the way will take a little modding of the hood's underside braces.
Anyway, it's time to give the build's thesis now. The whole point to my build is to show that a 20b swap doesn't have to be horrendously expensive. It can be done for pretty cheap if your focus is on making it work, not shiny bits.. Most 20b conversions are heavily optimized for performance, with plenty of custom fabrication for single turbo swaps and so on.
Mine is optimized for the REAL owners that drive their FCs everyday. You know the kind, the cars with bolts that snap off from 20 years of rust, chunks of black crud coming out of the coolant when you drain the radiator and so on. This ain't no garage queen. Hell, my car STILL has the cold start bottle on it! And it's gonna be re-used as the new 2-stroke reservoir for the recycled S4 OMP. Why buy a new seadoo oil tank and then have to make brackets when you have a perfectly good container sitting in the car unused, for free? And best of all, people throw these out too!
Anyway, I'm going to be using the stock Cosmo twin turbos and downpipe, which lines up VERY close to where the S4 N/A exhaust manifold does. With a little nudging on the mounts, I could probably get it to come out in the stock location.
Once it's finished, I'll total up the whole project so everyone can see how much it really costs. Also, something to note is that my car was originally an Automatic, so I'm also including the relevant costs of the 5-speed swap such as the transmission mounting ears chiseled from a junkyard TII.
Okay, picture time.
10/22/10 1pm-7pm: After lifting the engine up to get the crank pulley reassembled and torqued, I put the engine back in place and VOILA, it clears the hood now. It's not perfectly level like before, but it's close enough that I'm happy with it. Now the S4 water pump filler neck, UIM and Taurus alternator all clear the hood so it'll hit the first latch. Making it close all the way will take a little modding of the hood's underside braces.
Anyway, it's time to give the build's thesis now. The whole point to my build is to show that a 20b swap doesn't have to be horrendously expensive. It can be done for pretty cheap if your focus is on making it work, not shiny bits.. Most 20b conversions are heavily optimized for performance, with plenty of custom fabrication for single turbo swaps and so on.
Mine is optimized for the REAL owners that drive their FCs everyday. You know the kind, the cars with bolts that snap off from 20 years of rust, chunks of black crud coming out of the coolant when you drain the radiator and so on. This ain't no garage queen. Hell, my car STILL has the cold start bottle on it! And it's gonna be re-used as the new 2-stroke reservoir for the recycled S4 OMP. Why buy a new seadoo oil tank and then have to make brackets when you have a perfectly good container sitting in the car unused, for free? And best of all, people throw these out too!
Anyway, I'm going to be using the stock Cosmo twin turbos and downpipe, which lines up VERY close to where the S4 N/A exhaust manifold does. With a little nudging on the mounts, I could probably get it to come out in the stock location.
Once it's finished, I'll total up the whole project so everyone can see how much it really costs. Also, something to note is that my car was originally an Automatic, so I'm also including the relevant costs of the 5-speed swap such as the transmission mounting ears chiseled from a junkyard TII.
Okay, picture time.
Last edited by Akagis_white_comet; Aug 20, 2012 at 05:38 PM. Reason: moved pictures
Mine is optimized for the REAL (rx7) owners that look at the puddle of oil forming under their broken down FCs everyday. You know the kind, the cars with bolts that snap off from 20 years of rust, chunks of black crud coming out of the coolant when you drain the radiator and so on. This ain't no garage queen. Hell, my car STILL has the cold start bottle on it! And it's gonna be re-used as the new 2-stroke reservoir for the recycled S4 OMP. Why buy a new seadoo oil tank and then have to make brackets when you have a perfectly good container sitting in the car unused, for free? And best of all, people throw these out too!