And finally an engine bay pic. I am not happy that it was somewhat ruined by rust water. That is tough to clean.





I added the cooling panel in front and realized that there could be more front end damage that I ever realized. The driver side of the panel did not sit flush I had to screw it down in place. Probably not a bend panel, that is the side that had wreck damage. That side sits about a 1/4" or more lower than the passenger side, unfortunatly.

 

One of the last projects that I want to try to do before the cold sets in is, the end links. I save the old ones and want to go with no stock urethane or other.

I started with this rusty mess, a bench vise and and two sockets.



I left them sit in evap-o-rust for a week.




I have been repeatedly soaking then with industrial paint remover. I will sand and paint these with chassis paint and fill them with the bushings. Kinda surprised that the fronts are the easiest ones to find, so far.

I will slowly start removing OEM parts and start the modding process. I will go slowly so I can see,hear, and feel the difference.

I wanted to replace the three Cats with the down pipe and a high flow cat. I need to find a good one that is about 20" long. I have been waiting on RX7.com to open, with no luck. I will hold off until spring and I then will start looking for something else.

 

I finally took the car on the highway for third gear pulls. It seems to be running very well.

I have about 300 miles or so on the car before that on two lane highways and back roads. I almost got smoked on the back roads by a dump truck. I thought for sure that I would be upset being behind it. I slowed way down and let the truck get ahead. I had more trouble catching up than expected....

So, from the feel of it, I can push this car much harder in the corners. Maybe then I won't get smoked by a dump truck.......

 

Wow, your car looks great Jeff! Thanks for sharing some pictures, excellent work! But, there's always more work to be done!

 

Awesome update! It's really coming along, and you're leaving no stone unturned.

It's obviously a labor of love. Keep it up, love seeing the progress.

 

There is always more work, for sure. I have attempted to be thorough but still missed the mark, in places.

 

I had the car out today with about 30 miles of kinda lazy driving. I need to get the gas out before the end of the month. It seemed like 10 miles or so of easy driving was needed before the car warmed up and felt like it was at its best. I will probably move to 10w 40 for the oil when my stash is gone. Nothing can be done for the trans and diff though?

I need to check the rotors with the scope after this tank of gas to see if they look any better than before.

I also need to order the link bushings. The front are rear are the same part. I was a bit worried there for a second. 😂

 

How's things going Jeff? Any updates?

 

Paging @Jeff76 lol. Any updates?

 

Thanks, I am here. I have been lurking and trying to lend a hand on posts here when I can.

I have less than 400 miles on the cars since last August. I need to put more miles on the car before I pass judgement. I have a bunch of cash saved but I really can't spend much of it on the car. I have some things in the works though and will be posting in the next month or so.

 

Some updates here.

I have a growing exhaust leak at the front cat to the manifold. I need to see if the manifold will tilt just slightly, that should close the gap if possible? I have a Mid-pipe from racing-beat to get the three Cats off the car. I just need a metallic substrate Cat with an air hose attachment that is about 18" long. Any ideas here? RX7.com is probably still not an option.

My clutch is sucking the fun out of driving the car. It slips pretty bad with aggressive driving but if I baby it, it does pretty good. I really want a RX8 box soon!!

I have a leaking front driver tire that needs fixed.

Also, the radiator is the car is inadequate for hard driving. Is the Koyo rad, double row good enough or should I mod a T2 one? Over cooling could be an issue?

Also, I forgot to add, the radiator is inadequate to hard drive this car. Is the Koyo double row good or should I try to mod a better t2 one to live more in the higher RPM range? Over cooling could be an issue?

I pushed the car around a tight bend and the car to bounced off the pavement briefly, twice at the rear tires. I have a set of progressive lowering springs, any ideas on shocks? I might be stuck with adjustable KYB, those are only adjustable one way, I believe in compression?, unfortunately.

I am starting to see why people put nice tires and rims on a hoopty. The tires are not great. I could probably find some racing tires in 15's... I will probably go up to 17's for better tire choices.

Two things that were never addressed are new bearings and a rubbing sound coming from the driver rear in reverse. I need to check the bushing or the insert for the rear steer delete isn't moving. I have a spare set of front and rear knuckles/hubs and might wait until I replace the bearings in another set. Rebuild the spare set in the rear with a little longer wheel studs and get a small spacer for the rear wheels.

If the is anyone out there needs some extra cash, my races in the front pair need replaced, let me know.

Also, the rad in the car is inadequate for aggressive driving. Is the N/A Koyo rad good enough? Or should I get a T2 one and mod it? Over cooling could be an issue with the T2 one?