mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

I picked up an 88 SE two nights ago. it has 59k original miles and was destined for a V8 before the previous owner saved the car. I got the car from him to restore and build the way I want. I'm the kind of guy who likes to do oem restorations. But this car is going to be a little different. I'm going to 5 lug swap the car, install a set of Vert wheels, install an 88 TII rear spoiler and aero kit, A RB exhaust, some Pineapple Racing sleeves etc. I got the car with no body panels installed on the front, engine and trans removed from the car, three flat tires etc. Pretty sad shape. But I got all of the original parts with the car and I like a challenge, so I'm going ot build it. I brought my last 10AE back from the dead out of a field and this car will be no different. I'll continue to update this thread with pictures and details about what's new with the build. Onto the pics!

As the car sat when I brought it home:









After I set the fenders and bumper on the car:

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

looking forward to see what you do with that thing. its amazing that someone would take a perfectly nice car, and then do that to it...

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

Spent some time with the kids today and was able to get the car off of the trailer. We had to swap some wheels around and seat some beads and the car rolled right off!! My boys and I spent the day attaching the body panels and once I got the hood up I found that everything had been removed from the engine bay other than the brake and clutch master. The wiring harness was removed from the engine bay and was laid in a pile dragging the ground. I spent a lot of time installing brackets, coils, and routing the wiring to the best of my memory from my 10AE. I really need to have someone post a picture of their engine bay sans an engine to see exactly where the harness routes. Here are some pics from today:

Car off of the trailer:



The kids feeling proud of their hard work:



My boys going to work on the car:

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

Making some progress under the hood:



Pretty much assembled:





After its first bath since 1996, he says its his car, lol:

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

After verifying that the original engine was not in good condition via stuck and flat apex seals, I decided to look for a known good engine to keep the build cost down. I found an 86k mile S4 13B about an hour away. I went to get the engine last night and was blown away by the things I saw there! Really looking forward to seeing this car come back to life. Even after the engine goes in I still have a lot of other things to do, especially a thorough fuel system cleanout and possibly a gas tank and fuel pump replacement given the amount of time the car has sat.

First beautiful thing I laid me eyes on was this amazing 3 rotor kit car! Oh, did it sound amazing!!:



Above the kit car was an older Ferrari 308 that was there for a 3 rotor:



After some excellent conversations with the seller, we loaded up the engine and trans combo, driveshaft, the rear subframe, and a set of GXL wheels and set off for home:





Made it home safely and have the wheels and tires ready for clean up:



Here is the engine destined for this car. Compression feels strong on the engine and strong pulses are felt when rotating it over manually. I will clean it up and toss a gasket set on it and install a new clutch before installing it in the car:

Broke_A_Baller

iTrader: (26)

Looking good!

Tuned in for a good build

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

Thank you very much! I'm really looking forward to building this car and seeing the project take off once I get the engine in. If at all possible I'm going to install the engine this weekend. Still have to route the wiring harness in the engine bay correctly as it was just one long clump of wiring dangling on the ground. I made a post asking for pictures of the routing and attachment points of the harness to the body in the engine bay so here's hoping that more pictures get posted. I'll be sure to keep this thread alive with every new update. When its running I'll be sure to upload a video as well!

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

I got the title squared away and the car is now registered. So any doubts about building this car have been laid to rest. There's a good chance that I'm going to install the engine today! More pics to come!

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

I still need a radiator, an alternator and alternator bracket, belts, and a battery tray just to make the car run for more than a few seconds. Before the engine goes in I do need to replace the fuel filter. I also need to source a speedometer cable as the one I have is trashed from being drug on the ground for so long. Once its running and driving then I can hit the body work hard and heavy. Tires will be on order today and next week or so new brakes all around. This is going to be fun!

lduley

iTrader: (1)

I have a s4 alternator, its a reman from o'reillys, but it worked when I had it on last (about 2 years ago)

PM me if your interested

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

Made some huge progress yesterday. I got the wiring harness installed on the new engine and decided to get the engine in the car. My oldest son helped me get some stuff done on the car and we came out looking good last night! The engine went in with little issues and now to source the parts I need to get the engine running!

The car as it sat awaiting the engine:



My son Grant helping inspect the clutch and flywheel:



First picture with the engine in the car and the hood back on:



Coming together nicely:

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

Got some more work done on the car last night and still trying to figure out the harness routing and what some of the connectors go to that are just hanging around but some progress has been made. Would have been nice if I was the one that took the car apart initially that way I could have labeled everything. I'm pretty much doing this off of memory from my 10AE and I replaced that engine back in 2012 so I'm a little vague on some things, not to mention its a different harness.

At any rate, my son has been anxious to see if the engine would turn over. It did not initially and I found that the starter relay was missing and the connector was gone, leaving only one butt connector and some frayed wires. I bypassed the relay for the moment and let my son crank the engine. This led to "hey dad will this thing start"? Well we could run it for a second. So, I decided to run it on ether for a couple seconds. I got all the needed connections hooked up and fed the fuel feed line into a coolant jug (who knows how old the gas is and we later found out that it was pretty nasty) and built some oil pressure and I sprayed a little ether in the throttle body and the engine came to life for about three seconds. Filled the garage with smoke from the ATF that I had in there. I got most of it out but you guys know how it lingers. So I felt even better about the work we ha done knowing the engine will run. Run well and idle well, that could be another story all together. Snapped one picture and called it a night:

psyaddict

awesome! and the interior looks really neat

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

Thanks! The interior is original and in decent shape overall. Its a shame that the car has sat for so long. Really enjoying bringing this car back!

Molotovman

iTrader: (49)

Cool Project. You probably already know but if you have trouble with the car running there was a change in the injector impedance between the early and later S4's. The ECU doesn't see the difference because it was with the engine harness and harness peripherals.

Are you going to install power mirrors?

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

Funny you should mention the injectors. I actually used the original injectors from the car as well as the wiring harness on the engine as the engine that I bought was from an 86 or 87. The injectors were different as the locating notch was offset on the original injectors. I prepped the early injectors to go in the engine not knowing there was a difference. I soon learned when the 88 connector would not fit on the early injector. So, I sonic cleaned and pulsed the original injectors and lubed the o-rings and reintalled them into the early engine. I'm currently waiting on some parts to make the engine run consistently.

Spent another $400 on the car today in parts and new tires. All in all I'm into this car about $1000. Its not much spent considering its a 59k mile car that's rust free. I've been wanting another FC for some time now and I'm glad I found this one. I do want another 10AE but for now This car will do.

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

Forgot to mention, I hadn't thought about installing power mirrors. Now that you mention it, I don't see why not. They would look great on the car and I'll bet the car is pre-wired for the mirrors just like an FB is.

Broke_A_Baller

iTrader: (26)

i switched from power to manual on my s5 t2. I like the simplicity of manual mirrors. I guess it's more of a conciencia to adjust with power though.

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

Having the manual mirrors no doubt saves weight over having power mirrors. I really just want to get the car on the road and then do small things from there. A 5 lug swap for sure, a TII rear spoiler, TII foam aero pieces, Vert wheels, RB exhaust, and more than likely the power areo mirrors. I'm sure I'll have some bugs to work out before I get into anything crazy. Hoping to start collecting the parts this winter and in the spring, install the parts and think about the body and paint work then.

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

The new tires for the 88 arrived at the house yesterday so I took the wheels and tires back into work and mounted and balanced them. I had my son help me and he and I were pleased with the results.

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

Wanted to update the thread with where the engine and interior are currently at. I'm waiting on a bunch of parts that will finish the engine bay and will make the car run and drive. The interior is coming along well. Still need to find an S4 radio surround and center vents, get the radio working on something other than the tape setting, find some factory floor mats, and install new shifter bushings.

Here's where the engine and wiring sits as of now:







Here's the interior in its current state:

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

Made some excellent progress last night. I got everything together other than the speedometer cable. The down side is that I went to start the engine and crank no start. Spark plugs are bone dry. Confirmed that I have fuel to the engine. Pump is working properly but the injectors aren't firing. I tried some starting fluid and the engine fired right up and I was able to keep it idling for a few seconds on starting fluid. So, I have an issue with the injectors not getting power somehow. Going to have to trace the issue and see what's not correct. Took some pictures to share last night of the progress:

Molotovman

iTrader: (49)

Is the rear rotor housing ground secure?
Did you miss any engine harness connections under the dash?

I also want to make sure I understand the Injector/Harness combination. You took the early S4 harness off which uses the external injector resistors and installed the later S4 engine harness and injectors (which were original to the car) on the engine, right?

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

Never messed with anything under the dash except for plugging the harness back into the ECU after running it through the firewall. You are correct, I removed the early harness and injectors and swapped over the later/original injectors and harness to the engine I bought.

The ground on the rear rotor housing is secure. I am going to pull the intake today and revisit that ground. I want to ensure that it's clean and in the proper location. Right now its bolted to the bracket that supports the dynamic chamber. Perhaps that location is not a sufficient grounding point. I need to check the primary injectors with a noid light when cranking the engine anyways so I figure what better time to check that ecu ground

Molotovman

iTrader: (49)

My memory for FC's is a stretch but I'm almost positive that the ECU ground goes to its own bolt on the rear rotor housing. If it is even loose crazy things will happen.