1990 GXL project
 

well i got my rx7 because i wanted a japanese car so i can have 1 euro(jetta) 1 american (fox mustang) and a japanese car. 240s were to common, toyota rwds are impossible to find in manual and hondas are well hondas lol , but the real reason that i chose to get a rx7 was because the rotary was alien to me and i wanted to learn more.

so one day on the way to walmart i see this red car sitting in someone's drive way down the road and i say "oh that must be another damned junk firebird in someones yard" then when i get closer I let out a gasp and "OH SHIT ITS A RX7!!" comes out of my mouth. my girlfriend looks at me like im bat shit crazy and i tell her im gonna see if the car is for sale on the way back, and i get the "i guess" response. so on the way back i stop by the house and to make a long story short the guy tells me the car cranks but dosent run and dosent know why and i pick up the car for 500 bucks
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and well i have a video of it cranking but idk how to upload them so ill have more pics of me taking the engine out of the car later

i took the sparkplugs out of the car, cranked it over and it seemed to be making compression only on the front rotor on 1 or 2 faces and none at all on the rear rotor and there was brown gunk that looked like watered down oily mud in my upper intake when i took the intake off and white smoke was coming out of my exaust you can see it if i can get this video i shot on my phone to link lol



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got some junk in the trunk now
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my dad and I yanked this heavy bitch out by hand cuz we didnt have a engine hoist
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Cool man! Congratulations on your first RX7 purchase and build. Good job so far on pulling the motor, looking forward to your build process. Keep the photos and videos coming.

Nice work and goodluck with your build man. Looking forward to where you go with the car!

thanks guys im going to probably make this into a DD once i rebuild the engine but i would really like to do a turbo conversion later down the road. i have no air tools so i had to take the friggin 3xx ft/lb flywheel nut off with a 4 1/2 ft. 3/4in breaker bar w/ a 2 1/8in socket and my dad standing on the end of the bar with my 215 lbs ass on the engine.i didnt take any pics, i wish i did but here are some phone videos of me getting into the engine.

i need to invest in a real camera :lol:

and i realize that the rotor i took out was the rear lol i forgot it was in the bucket front side down.

rear housing and rotor removal:

full tear down and inspection:

what do you guys recommend me use to remove the corrosion off of my rotors? as you can see the rear one is pretty nasty, i soaked it in some synthetic oil to loosen up the corrosion and now i can pick at it with my finger and it comes off a little

^I would try to find a fresh pair of matching rotors.
Unless you can get all the seals and springs out of those rotors, it's not worth it to clean all that rust off. If you must try, use a beefy brass wire wheel on a drill.

Ha ha! Yep the flywheel nut is a problem when an air impact wrench and air compressor is not available. I had to use a chisel and dead blow hammer to remove mine. Good to see that you are diving in head first on your first RX7 purchase and build. Since you are rebuilding your engine yourself, I would say it would be a good time to do a large street port while you are at it. Harbor Freight has air compressors and tools and really good prices.

Good job so far though, keep up the good work!!

i have been looking into porting my engine and idk exactly how aggressive i want to go with it. i have never attempted to port an engine or anything but the way my front housing looks i will be practicing on it.

here are a few more videos of my engine the second one is pretty long but a little after half way its just me struggling to get the seals out of the rear rotor

my front housing :(


me trying to clean the engine up a little:


ended up using a deadblow hammer and some pb blaster to loosen and jolt the apexes loose

Cool, here is a link for all your street porting needs and tools:

Engine - Porting Tools - 1986-92 Mazda RX-7 Performance Parts

Mazdatrix also has a video on porting an RE, or you can find a few good videos on You Tube, but Mazdatrix's dvd is a better source on how to port an RE.

I've yet to rebuild an RE, I've done a swap though, my next phase of becoming an official RE head is to rebuild my own engine.

Your second video does not play, it say it is private.

fixed the video

thanks for the link

i need to get a dremel so i can start practicing. it looks like porting a N/A rotary is a little more complicated than porting a turbo according to mazdatrix.

might be a few weeks before i update because of a speeding ticket man i hate state troopers :icon_no2:

Subscribed. This is really interesting, not gonna lie. Looks like you're on the right track.

You are welcome.

Thanks for fixing the video. Idk, but your engine looks like toast, not sure though. Maybe a parts washer will help you to clean your rotors and housing up better, then you will be able to see what is underneath all the gunk and grim.

Bummer on the speeding ticket, I had "few" in my recent years of driving. Depending...be prepared to get a few more once your FC is up and running ;).

Yep, it looks like porting is all about patience and knowing when to quit. I think a six port requires a little more extra time and has to be consistent on both irons. But as long you get to practice on your current irons you will do fine.

got the housings clean

The good part about it now is, you know for sure the condition of your engine. You can move forward, either piece together another 6 port using your eccentric shaft (have it checked on a lathe to see if it's balanced). Or buy another engine that is running and in good condition.

Welcome to the world of RE, most new and seasoned RE owners would call it quits and either sell their project, or swap in a piston motor. But I hope you decide to stay RE and install another RE. Try the classified section on this site, you may be able to find a member who is going turbo and has a good 13B that you can buy and install in you FC :nod:.

This is the true test of owning an RX7, or RE powered car, the next decision you make from this point forward will determine if you are willing to continue to further your dedication in becoming an RE head. It's not easy most times, but you will become stronger and gain more knowledge. I am still learning myself :nod:.

Like I said you dove in head first, which is a huge step for a person that is new to owning an RX7. So far you are on the right path to becoming an RE head :bigthumb:

Stay strong my friend, and finish her!

Jeez, you guys make it sound like a crusade...it's just a car.

^Coming from you? Oh dear... :D

You guys don't have to worry about me putting a v8, 2j, Sr, or anything in my car I already have a mustang to get my v8 torque fix in that I slide around. I bought this car for the rotary, I knew what I was getting into when I bought it. And this IS a crusade lol a crusade for knowledge, I'm stubborn as hell so I won't let a blown engine stop me from driving my first rotary powered car :egrin:

Ha ha ha!! Sometimes owning an RX7 can be like a crusade! I wont even begin to tell you my sob story ha ha.

I just want to support a new RX7 owner, to make sure he does not walk away from RX7's with a bad image and the stereo type Mazda's are given.

That is good to hear :icon_tup:. Being stubborn is a good thing in owning an RX7 :nod:, most of my friends and family keep telling me to stop wasting money on my vert to buy a new car. But nope I am too stubborn to give in now, onward!

well court didnt turn out to well, i got a nice 300 dollar fine. :icon_no2:

i have been looking around for rx7s that i can get another engine/parts from. and so far a s5 vert with a running engine near me disappeared from craigslist and most of the other cars i find are s4 or have been sitting for a long time and aren't running. so lately i have been looking into doing a turbo conversion or a 13b-rew swap. i know that staying N/A will be a lot easier and cheaper but turbo engines and parts are a hell of a lot easier to find.
what do you guys think? should do go turbo or stay N/A? shoot me some ideas and info

now i just need to save my pennies cuz im broke as hell right now:sweatdrop

Then 13B T it is. 13B REW swap is a little more involving (motor mounts, blah blah blah) then a 13B T swap. If you have access to 13B T engines go for it, but be sure to test the compression on the engines you look at first. Or you may end up buying an engine that needs a rebuild, or may not be rebuild worthy.

Check your local junk yards for wrecked FC's too, it doesn't hurt to buy a motor from a wrecked FC, tear it down, and rebuild it (if it's worthy).

Yeah I was already leaning towards the 13b-T because I researched the headache of welding in or buying custom mounts for the brew. and I have access to everything from 13b-Ts to 20b rews, there is a shop not to far from me that has a few of each and if I purchased an engine I was thinking of rebuilding it regardless of how I got it junkyard or whatever just to be safe. Also there aren't any fcs near me in junkyards unfortunately, just a bunch of SA and FBs but I'm going to start searching other yards because my cousin told me he saw a fc in a yard about 2 and1/2 hours away a few months ago.

Cool, sounds good. Glad you decided to go 13B T, and since you are rebuilding regardless don't forget to buy a Bridge Port template kit ;).

Nice find. I'm looking at a GXL myself, although mine might end up V8. Look forward to seeing your progress.