87 Half Bridge build
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
87 Half Bridge build
Hey everyone!
I’ve been a fan of FCs for years but never seemed to find a decent one in my area (Atlantic Canada right on the ocean)
Was looking at the local Facebook classifieds the other night and noticed this 87 6 port rolling shell that appeared to be in real good shape, the owner had already swapped TII brakes, hubs, axles, diff and hood into it and the transmission was included as well. Best part, the thing still has all original paint and zero rust
My oldest loved coming on the drive, she wanted to ride in the car on the way home
I wasn’t 100% sure what I was going to do engine wise until he mentioned he had a built half bridge engine fresh back from Rx7 specialists in Calgary. I’ve built plenty of engines but have a very limited knowledge of rotaries, so any comments on the engine are welcome, the info for is:
Half bridge port
CNC porting (notched rotor housings)
Lightened + clearanced S4 TII rotors
RX8 E-Shaft, stat gears, and bearings
FD front CW
Large thrust assembly
FD oil pressure regulator
Balanced rotating assembly
Automatic rear counterweight (for aftermarket flywheel)
It still needs final assembly as well as an intake/exhaust manifold but I’m excited to get this thing together and running.
The owner has a new Elite Rotary upper/lower with primary and secondary fuel rails as well as a Turblown investment cast twin scroll exhaust manifold but they’re probably on the upper end of what I need, still going back and forth on them though haha
I’ve been a fan of FCs for years but never seemed to find a decent one in my area (Atlantic Canada right on the ocean)
Was looking at the local Facebook classifieds the other night and noticed this 87 6 port rolling shell that appeared to be in real good shape, the owner had already swapped TII brakes, hubs, axles, diff and hood into it and the transmission was included as well. Best part, the thing still has all original paint and zero rust
My oldest loved coming on the drive, she wanted to ride in the car on the way home
I wasn’t 100% sure what I was going to do engine wise until he mentioned he had a built half bridge engine fresh back from Rx7 specialists in Calgary. I’ve built plenty of engines but have a very limited knowledge of rotaries, so any comments on the engine are welcome, the info for is:
Half bridge port
CNC porting (notched rotor housings)
Lightened + clearanced S4 TII rotors
RX8 E-Shaft, stat gears, and bearings
FD front CW
Large thrust assembly
FD oil pressure regulator
Balanced rotating assembly
Automatic rear counterweight (for aftermarket flywheel)
It still needs final assembly as well as an intake/exhaust manifold but I’m excited to get this thing together and running.
The owner has a new Elite Rotary upper/lower with primary and secondary fuel rails as well as a Turblown investment cast twin scroll exhaust manifold but they’re probably on the upper end of what I need, still going back and forth on them though haha
#2
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Been picking away and ordering parts for this thing the last few days. Threw the oil pump assembly on and was ready to fire the front cover home when I realized the gasket kit I was given didn’t have one for the front cover. Luckily the local Mazda dealer can order the metal gasket and should be here in a few days
I also decided to pick up the intake/exhaust manifolds from the previous owner.
wastegates came in today too!
Unfortunately the secondary injectors he gave me won’t work with the elite fuel rail. They’re a pair of ID2000s but they’re 60mm instead of the 48mm the rail uses. Also have 11mm O rings instead of 14 on top so there’s just no real way to sort them out. Ordered a set of shorter 1700s since the 2000s were a little big for my goals anyway
Few more parts should be rolling in next week!
I also decided to pick up the intake/exhaust manifolds from the previous owner.
wastegates came in today too!
Unfortunately the secondary injectors he gave me won’t work with the elite fuel rail. They’re a pair of ID2000s but they’re 60mm instead of the 48mm the rail uses. Also have 11mm O rings instead of 14 on top so there’s just no real way to sort them out. Ordered a set of shorter 1700s since the 2000s were a little big for my goals anyway
Few more parts should be rolling in next week!
#3
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Parts have been slowly rolling in!
new front cover gasket and injectors came so fired both them in. Next on the list is the flywheel then this thing will probably be going into to the car!
speaking of which finally got the garage reorganized and the car put inside
it’s kind of packed with 2 Harley’s, a foxbody mustang, and a 2003 mustang as well as the Rx7 at the moment lol
also tackled the engine bay a little tonight, lots of random wiring to clean up and since I’m going with a Haltech standalone I’d like to remove as much as I can to keep it looking half nice
new front cover gasket and injectors came so fired both them in. Next on the list is the flywheel then this thing will probably be going into to the car!
speaking of which finally got the garage reorganized and the car put inside
it’s kind of packed with 2 Harley’s, a foxbody mustang, and a 2003 mustang as well as the Rx7 at the moment lol
also tackled the engine bay a little tonight, lots of random wiring to clean up and since I’m going with a Haltech standalone I’d like to remove as much as I can to keep it looking half nice
#6
Rotary Enthusiast
Looking great!
The top hats on the ID injectors can be swapped out for different diameters and heights, so you could have used the 2000s. But better to have ones closer to your goal anyhow.
The top hats on the ID injectors can be swapped out for different diameters and heights, so you could have used the 2000s. But better to have ones closer to your goal anyhow.
#7
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Thanks for the welcome everyone!
got some more work done today, flywheel and clutch installed. Having a 4 foot long torque wrench really helped hit that 300ft-lbs
Everything was going pretty smooth until I tried mating up the engine/trans. Input shaft nicked the pilot bearing front edge when the trans slipped out of my hands as I was sliding it on and put a bit of a mark in it. Since I had a second laying around figured I’d pull it just to be safe so grabbed my puller and didn’t it just pull the guts of the bearing out leaving the outer shell stuck… oof.
Eventually got it out after some careful work with a chisel but wasted a good 2 hours there between cursing and working haha
Eventually got everything together and in the car though!
Excited to get some of the accessories on the engine and start tackling the fuel system next more then likely
got some more work done today, flywheel and clutch installed. Having a 4 foot long torque wrench really helped hit that 300ft-lbs
Everything was going pretty smooth until I tried mating up the engine/trans. Input shaft nicked the pilot bearing front edge when the trans slipped out of my hands as I was sliding it on and put a bit of a mark in it. Since I had a second laying around figured I’d pull it just to be safe so grabbed my puller and didn’t it just pull the guts of the bearing out leaving the outer shell stuck… oof.
Eventually got it out after some careful work with a chisel but wasted a good 2 hours there between cursing and working haha
Eventually got everything together and in the car though!
Excited to get some of the accessories on the engine and start tackling the fuel system next more then likely
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#8
Junior Member
Thread Starter
#9
Rotary Enthusiast
Looking nice. What are you shooting for power wise?
#10
Junior Member
Thread Starter
#11
Junior Member
Thread Starter
A few more parts rolling in slowly. My ECU is still back ordered so the chances of getting this thing on the road before winter probably aren’t great but I guess that keeps me from rushing and cutting corners haha
Threw the turbo on just because I wanted to look at it in the bay lol. It’s a Borg Warner S363
most of the fuel line fittings showed up so I’ll go about getting them thrown together here soon.
Also trying to get some engines thrown in the other projects to clear upfloor space. Both my daughters helped out with that one
Threw the turbo on just because I wanted to look at it in the bay lol. It’s a Borg Warner S363
most of the fuel line fittings showed up so I’ll go about getting them thrown together here soon.
Also trying to get some engines thrown in the other projects to clear upfloor space. Both my daughters helped out with that one
#12
Junior Member
Thread Starter
After a few months delay my ECU finally got here!
haven’t really got the chance to work on the car lately with life getting in the way but hopefully we’ll get some progress here soon
Also hauled this thing back home because I don’t have enough projects as it is haha
haven’t really got the chance to work on the car lately with life getting in the way but hopefully we’ll get some progress here soon
Also hauled this thing back home because I don’t have enough projects as it is haha
#13
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Got bored today and threw the new wheels on even though I’m still waiting for my coilovers to get here
also went to throw the water pump housing on and realized it doesn’t leave any room for my fuel lines. Decided to go with a Davies Craig electric kit with controller to keep everything nice and clean under the hood. Picked up a side mount alternator bracket and a few other goodies at the same time.
Now that that’s out of the way I can start to make my fuel lines FINALLY. New walbro 450 pump should be here fairly soon too
also went to throw the water pump housing on and realized it doesn’t leave any room for my fuel lines. Decided to go with a Davies Craig electric kit with controller to keep everything nice and clean under the hood. Picked up a side mount alternator bracket and a few other goodies at the same time.
Now that that’s out of the way I can start to make my fuel lines FINALLY. New walbro 450 pump should be here fairly soon too
#14
Junior Member
Thread Starter
More goodies showed up!
Picked it all up from Franklin Performance, Very happy with the quality of everything and it got from New Zealand to eastern Canada in a few days with their included shipping. Will definitely be looking at them for the next round of parts
Picked it all up from Franklin Performance, Very happy with the quality of everything and it got from New Zealand to eastern Canada in a few days with their included shipping. Will definitely be looking at them for the next round of parts
#15
Junior Member
Thread Starter
The car got to see the sun for a little bit the past few days
Needed to do some work on the wife’s 73 VW bus so they traded places for a few days. I’m real excited to throw the coilovers on and close up the fender gap a bit
Needed to do some work on the wife’s 73 VW bus so they traded places for a few days. I’m real excited to throw the coilovers on and close up the fender gap a bit
#16
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Coilovers are on and man am I happy with them! Right out of the box they’re pretty much where I wanted the car to sit, just have to roll my fenders
Fender rolling will happen asap then onto the next thing.
Also picked this up as a cheap back and forth to work rig
Its a 1985 S10 Blazer 2 door 2wd, the more I drive it the more I want to swap a v8 into it though haha
Fender rolling will happen asap then onto the next thing.
Also picked this up as a cheap back and forth to work rig
Its a 1985 S10 Blazer 2 door 2wd, the more I drive it the more I want to swap a v8 into it though haha
#17
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Funny how plans never seem to really pan out lol
Between trying to finish a Harley build for the spring, two kids under 3, and a cranky wife I haven’t touched this thing since November besides moving it around the garage a few different times.
After being a little bummed out seeing all the cars coming out of storage this spring I finally got back out to pick at it a little. Decided to clean up the engine bay and pull the old harnesses so I can run the haltech.
Got the emissions harness out before having to go back in and deal with sick kids but it feels nice to finally touch the car again!
Between trying to finish a Harley build for the spring, two kids under 3, and a cranky wife I haven’t touched this thing since November besides moving it around the garage a few different times.
After being a little bummed out seeing all the cars coming out of storage this spring I finally got back out to pick at it a little. Decided to clean up the engine bay and pull the old harnesses so I can run the haltech.
Got the emissions harness out before having to go back in and deal with sick kids but it feels nice to finally touch the car again!
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ruddyrid (05-08-23)
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