88 SE Revival

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Old Jun 22, 2023 | 12:11 AM
  #1  
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88 SE Revival

I've owned (and let go of) a lot of RX7s over the years. This FC is all I've managed to hang onto. I picked it up about 11 years ago while buying an FB off of an acquaintance from high school. I guess you could call it a BOGO deal The seller turned out to be related to an old friend I had met when I was 16 trying to get my first RX7 running. Back then we both had Tornado Silver Metallic 88 SEs with red interior. He taught me a good deal about wrenching and rotaries in general, and died just a few years later of unknown causes. Turns out the FC I got for free was the very same one that pulled up in my driveway to help some 20 years ago.

I put coilovers on it back in 2013/2014 and swapped in a good used 13b; had it running briefly but never quite got it on the road.





A couple years ago I cleaned out the literal rat nest and started replacing the red interior with black


I recently bought a house and finally have my own garage after 6+ years of living without one. I've been away from rotaries for far too long. It's time for a return, and to get my old pal's car back on the road. I've definitely neglected this over the past decade...basically everything needs to replaced. It's spent time sitting in garages collecting dust housing rats, sitting in backyards exposed to the elements, and even a little time sitting frame rails on the ground in an RX7 graveyard of sorts.



Last edited by sukimoto; Jun 22, 2023 at 12:13 AM. Reason: formatting
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Old Jun 22, 2023 | 12:23 AM
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this is a touching intro post. sorry to hear about your friend , but i look forward to seeing you bring this car back to life for yourself ... and him.
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Old Jun 22, 2023 | 08:07 AM
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I look forward to the build, can you outline any plans for the car?
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Old Jun 22, 2023 | 04:28 PM
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Plans are to get it in shape enough to daily in the summers. Eventually I’d like to get back into the occasional local drift event.

I picked up some wrap a little while back when I was working on it out of a tiny garage, now that I have my own I’m more inclined to paint it but may try the wrap for a bit since I have it already, and to kick the body work can down the road.






I’ve been planning to do a 6 port turbo but I don’t really have any solid plans until I get the current keg torn down.
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Old Jun 25, 2023 | 09:43 AM
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Looks like a really good project! Wishing you the best of luck with your build!
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Old Oct 2, 2024 | 02:01 PM
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Update

Time for an update...Progress has been slow, but I've been chipping away at things whenever the budget allows. I'm going to need to pickup a second job here soon if I want to see this on the road next year.

Last fall I threw on the Parts Shop Max angle kit and some extended wheel studs. Recently picked up some Villains LCA blocks to add into the mix. Still need to figure out the right tie rod combination, but I should have that sorted soon.


FD front calipers installed with ChaseBays lines. Still want to rebuild the calipers, but this thing's got plenty of work needed before it'll be moving so I'll get around to that at some point this winter.


I recently started collecting parts for the engine rebuild. Originally planned to turbo the 6port, but after pulling and dissembling the engine a few months ago I noticed I had a couple unusable irons causing a change of plans.


Just picked up some brand new front & rear S5 TII irons, and will be ordering the middle plate next. Plan for now is to run the S4 NA rotating assembly with the TII plates. Stock ports to start with because 1. I don't trust myself to dig into the new irons and 2. for budget reasons.

I found my UIM and compression tube from my old FD, so I got the adapter from JDLMFG to mount it onto the TII LIM. Hoping that throttle body is hiding somewhere around here...

Aside from all of that, I moved the battery into the storage bin, swapped from crank to power windows, did some clearance work in the front wheel wells for the angle kit and with how low it'll be running. Also did a little bodywork here and there. The driver side quarter panel had a dent right in the bodyline that I almost have fully smoothed out, and there's also a couple dents and broken hinge bolts in the TII hood that I still need to finish working on.

Last edited by sukimoto; Oct 2, 2024 at 08:13 PM. Reason: fix images
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Old Oct 2, 2024 | 02:39 PM
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.

Last edited by sukimoto; Oct 2, 2024 at 03:03 PM. Reason: Accidental double post
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