The Blue Car
 

This isn't really a build thread as such, car has been built, just looking through pics lately and decided to post some. Car started life as a 1991 A Package Coupe in 5N Brave Blue MIca, and i got it as a nearly bare shell, with an REW engine, subframe from Paul Ko's old old old yellow car, and a couple random boxes of stuff. Along the way i've gotten some really neat stuff (for usually next to no $$), and have sort of built the FC i wanted in like 1999. its kind of nice, its not a daily driver, and its not a race car, it really has no point, its just stupid fun

mod list is pretty short, but its steep? its running an REW with a hybrid FC turbo, chipped FD ecu, HKS intake, Intercooler and Exhaust. its currently on Tein HA's with Volk wheels. everything else is pretty much just S5, or S5 T2
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...aa9f6ca161.jpg

underhood and inside....
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fun stuff, i drew up a gauge holder and had it 3d printed. 3d printing has a pretty big tolerance, it actually took a couple hours of sanding to get the gauges in there.... and its not flat or square


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one of the parts to get an REW into the FC chassis that needs fab-work is the water pump housing. the FC water pump hits the FD primary fuel rail, and the FD housing has the lower hose in the wrong place. solution was to modify the REW water pump. since i have a single turbo this worked, but the twin turbos stick out further forward, which is why Mazda moved the hose in the first place.


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HKS RS Intake, its blingy, had to have it
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...130b30b468.jpg

i had a Greddy turbo timer in my FD back in the 90's and i had one for some reason and decided to put it in, mostly for nostalgia, it plays the Greddy theme song :), actually i use to to run the fan after i turn the car off


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...92b4f20279.jpg

i used a JDM FD ecu for this guy, and it actually works better for the swap because the US ecu added AWS, EGR and a couple other things, and they ran out of pins. so they had to add a thing called the E/L box and it takes a bunch of inputs and uses 1 pin on the ecu. the JDM ecu on the other hand is actually set up more like an S5 FC, which is nice, and they are cheap.

originally i took an FD harness and an FC harness and tried to take the wires i needed from both and lay them on top of each other, but the FD harness is like 18" shorter (weight savings is real!) so half of it was like a guitar string, and the other half was all bundled up in the corner. after looking at a bunch of JDM cars, like the yellow FEED car, i realized that the HKS F-Con V that they use lets them add and subtract whatever sensor they want. so i had thought the JDM guys did REW swaps, but they actually keep the 13B-T, and just run the FD CAS, water pump, upper intake TB etc.

so for the second try i used a JDM FC harness (i had it, it was really really nice), and used an adaptor to change the wiring over to the FD, essentially i built the Banzai Racing kit for the power FC. the only real difference is that i put all the solenoids on an expansion harness, so the check engine light is off. and then for the odd sensors, i just built little plug in adaptors. so basically, engine is stock, car is stock, ecu is stock, wiring is stock, and it just has an extra harness to do all the stuff
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...2cac9190b7.jpg
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and actually the JDM ecu doesn't have a check engine light, so i built a little code reader box. i had visions of making it do more stuff, like jump the fuel pump, etc, but well i haven't... anyways pics!

Very cool. I've been very interested in this car I've heard about in posts and seen the occasional picture of over the years. Something about an REW swapped FC I just can't seem to find the words for at the moment.

i'm sure i've mentioned most of this stuff, but never really posted pics or anything

aside from that stuff the car is super basic. next project is to redo the cold side intercooler pipe... (actually it is probably to charge the battery!)

How did u tackle the other hurdle on mounting the 13B-REW in the FC chassis? buy/make mounts to use the rear REW engine mounting points.... or drill the center iron for passenger FC motor mount /mod the driver FC mount and mod the front of the FC oil pan to fit the REW front cover?

mine has a subframe with a rear section, so it uses the stock FD mounts, but the one i'm doing now is using these https://motivefab.com/product-category/mazda

Always cool and a little old school.

I remember the moviefab guy. He was pretty cool.

Do you have a white car? If not, you need to get one :nod:

i've had a couple, it is hard to beat a white FC that is for sure

Wasnt the 3 rotor FC white?

Or is that faulty 15 yr old memories...

it was indeed! its too bad i have so few pics of that thing, 2001 was a long time ago!

here is a pic before and after paint, i was bringing it home, and i didn't think the neighbors would like the "urban camo"


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and another funny FC thing, the glovebox is square right? here is a JDM Glovebox lid in a US dash...
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...dbdeb599a0.jpg

ooo found one, this is from 2003? i bought it in December 99 (or something) spent most of 2000 building it, and screwing around, then it got broken into, and stuff got stolen, so January of 2002? i started the 20B conversion, and it went to sevenstock 5 and 6 with the 3 rotor, and then this pic is Sevenstock 7 and i had switched back to a 13BT because the Haltech E11 had died, and i was tired of not being able to drive it...
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...8c2e7ad881.jpg

I find modding the subframe and using stock FD mounts as best option...Its not that hard in the end and makes easier access to the turbo in case of removal/service.

the motive fab ones are even easier, and no modifications required to the car or the engine

do you have the pics of them mounted, preferrable from bottom looking at whole subframe?

nope, but they bolt to the motor where the FD mounts went, and then use the stock FC mounts and locations, its very simple

US vs JDM sun visor clips, its amazing they designed two different parts like that. people say they don't have enough money to design a new rotary but 30 years ago they had 2 new rotary engines, in different variations for different markets plus had the extra time to do different sun visor clips...

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...e61ebdd335.jpg

This car started as a semi stripped shell, and was supposed to be a track car, but i got so many good deals on so many neat parts that it has turned to more like the FC i would have built in 1999..

I know i'm supposed to put this in the first post, but here is the mod list:
1991 Rx7 Coupe A Package in Brave Blue Metallic.
Interior is Black, now, it was blue originally. i went for the JDM street racer look, they would have had the back seat and pulled it out, so since i didn't have the bins anyways, its full interior minus bis and rear carpet. S5 T2 seats, a Mazdaspeed steering wheel and horn cap.
Engine is a stock 13B-REW, its running all of the REW accessories. It is mounted with Paul Ko's old Front sub frame, it has a brace added in the rear, and the REW mounts bolt right up. in concept it is a bit like the FD sub frame.
Turbo right now is an S4 FC turbo with a V trim compressor wheel in a bored out stock housing
Exhaust its a no name JDM down pipe to a stock cat to an HKS sport exhaust. apparently the HKS exhaust has been on the car since nearly new.
Intake is an HKS RS intake
Intercooler is an HKS Type S. its the equivalent of the current Greddy kit, but it is a little narrower so it fits under the hood latch, and then there is no cutting needed to run the pipes. nice light core, and it is about as big as you can fit in the car.
ECU is an FD ecu, with an Re-Amemyia chip. ecu kicks ass, and car ran with no tuning or anything, which is great. wiring harness is an FC with a plug in adapter for the ECU
Clutch is an ACT Extreme with ACT flywheel, i had it, its too heavy, sucks donkey balls.
Trans and diff are stock T2, with comp mounts.
Suspension is a set of Tein HA's they were cheap, and you can send them to LA for rebuilds. they are also probably too stiff for the roads we have around here.
Wheels are a set of Volk GR C's, this was the hardest part of the whole build. everything about these is special, and it took 18 months to get all the spacers and lug nuts and stuff. they do hold air better than any other wheel i've ever had

i think that is it, really

The trans Mazda comp. rubber mounts....how do they compare to the stock mounts? I've read they do have quite a bit more HVN compared to the stock rubber ones...cheers

i didn't notice a difference with the trans mounts, but the engine mounts (different car) did add more NVH than i liked. the alternative is the convertible mounts, they are stiffer than the coupe, but not as stiff as the comp mounts, Engine is FB67-39-040 and the trans is FB67-39-340B

the diff mounts got rid of the rubber bandy feeling of the stock drive train, which was great. the diff is loud, but i have no rear carpets, and my diff has like 200k on it, and came out of a car that ran 12's, so it might be the diff...

i found some old pics, this the REW sub-frame, Paul Ko built this in 1995 when he put an REW in his FC, and after that one was laid to rest (it had bondo on the frame rails!), i used it.
you can see they took inspiration from the FD subframe. this is mid cleanup, it got a fresh coat of black paint. one of the quirks of this thing is that they centered the engine, and while this sounds cool it means that non of the stock parts line up right, i eventually slotted the bolt holes. the Motive Fab mount set is much better

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...93b28b6887.jpg
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this pic is of the extremely rare K2RD AFM block off plate, its larger diameter on the TID side like the stock AFM is.

you can also see one of the fabrication hurdles in the REW-FC swap, the lower radiator hose, the FD is in the center of the radiator, the FC is on the side, and its in a small space and needs 100 degree bends. plus there is an extra heater hose.

i used that 90 degree PVC pipe to get it from the shop to the trailer and the trailer to the house, and it actually worked quiet a while longer than that, solution was to cut the water pump and add a piece of pipe to use the FC radiator and hose

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...c238d9c49f.jpg

pics before paint, urban camo! the hood was white and the factory paint peeled right off in sheets and still smelled wet.... obviously i did a little experimenting with different colors/paint schemes, it ended up in the original brave blue, and i've grown to like that color

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the original intercooler setup was an old school Greddy kit, maybe it fit better? its a smaller core, and heavier. it also seems lop sided the front right is a mess of tubes, but then the rest is empty
wiring is the 1v, its half FD and half FC, the FC harness is like 18" longer than the FD so some wires are like guitar strings and the other half are coiled up in bundles. i ended up looking at a ton of JDM cars and realized that they just use the FC harness and add to it, so i did that with V2. V3 will see some sort of ECU and i can ditch all the solenoids i'm not using, basically the expansion harness

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...b142bbe4be.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...2be50d83bd.jpg

i actually did something! the boost gauge where the radio was, is hard to see so i took a piece of ABS and made a gauge holder for the vent. i could have done a better job, but its better!
as usual the vent looks square, but its not!
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...6528d7792f.jpg
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the next thing was to replace the cold side IC pipe, it was 2.25", and the new one is 2.5/2.75" and it really woke the car up! in my head the pipe would have been welded together and not just mocked up with the couplers, but i'm not sure it would be installable without those, the angles make it really hard to put on, it needs more silicon in there, someday.
i also removed the HKS RS intake, and just put a pipe in there, it fits better. turbo noise is loud now.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...245cb1119a.jpg
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and then i washed and waxed it! i tried painting the T2 side skirts too, but the color came out way off....

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Awesome FC, boost gauge looks great too. Thanks for sharing, keep up the good work :)

im looking to do this exact same thing in my 89, and you are the only one I can find retaining the stock FD ECU and wiring

are you using the FC or FD engine harness

anything engine related you kept the FC parts of? like alternator



im planning on running the stock twins non sequential and just deleting as much as I can emissions wise, which you mentioned the JDM ECU being able to handle, how much can be deleted? everything in the block off plate kit? and have you ever ran the stock intake set and OEM piping in the car?

so its using the FD ecu, engine, intakes, alternator, fuel rails and emissions (air pump/ACV), and its using the FC harness, turbo, exhaust and radiator/oil cooler. to mate the ecu up to the wiring i made a little adaptor, although you could buy it too APEXi Power FC Adapter Kit (89-91 RX-7)

to run the twin turbos you need more outputs than the FC harness can give you, so you need to adapt the FD harness to the car, or run a standalone

with the stock ecu you can't delete anything without a check engine light. i'm thinking about a Power FC, because then i can and it would still pass emissions

you mentioned the FD harness was too short? so like you mean the bulkhead of the harness that reaches out to the ECU doesnt reach? do you have a pic of what you mean by chance?


and im fine with a CEL or so, I am worried about limp mode


and I am going to be running them non sequential, so none of the actuators and vacuum lines will exist

and the FC harness your using, is it NA or turbo? usdm or jdm

i think the FD harness will reach, but it is about a foot shorter than the FC harness, weight savings... i used a JDM harness, although it doesn't matter.

ditch the twins, they are a super tight fit and non sequential really blows.

my car passes smog in California, why else would you go to all the trouble of running a stock ecu?

simplicity sake, and cost

I am just fine with starting out at the 255 - 300 range, another $2 - $3k for the standalone, custom wiring and tune
and I already have the turbos and a good downpipe

but then again your on a stock FD ECU with a FC turbo? how? these ECUs arent tunable are they?

everything I look up about the stock twins non sequential it seems good to me, the lag is negligible and people make a little more power than stock

I had full stock setup on my first version of REW swap (find my thread), including stock FD harness/ecu/sequentiall twins with all emissions.
I as well built another car with very similar swap, with exception of running FC turbo instead of twins....again on FD harness/FD ecu

sorry for thread hijack Mike :D

twins aren't simple, and they do not fit very well :)
i'm in the middle of an REW swap on a Vert with the twins and its a PITA

its a good hijack!

can you explain how its a PITA? like just getting the twins in and out?

and im aware I will have to connect the end of the downpipe to the rest of my FC racing beat


im fine with it being a PITA to get in there, as long as its do-able without having to notch, dent or cut the body

is there a build thread for that one too? or some pics of the work?

no, although the twins are a super tight fit. they are complicated, there are a ton of little parts you need and its an FD, they go bad, so its expensive too.

the only real saving grace of the twins is that when its sequential it is FUN, there is nothing else quite like it.

obviously you can do what you like, non sequential twins aren't the easy way

Bolting on the twins is doable, but it's all the supporting stuff that doesn't really fit.
Passenger side of the engine bay gets crowded: Air pump+hoses, two turbo intakes, hot side IC pipe, CCV hose, BOV hose, upper and lower rad hose, airbox.
There are aftermarket solutions to each of the fit issues, but it defeats the idea of doing it with 'stock parts laying around'. All the shiny stuff here = dollar signs.

i'm thinking about an REW to FC FAQ anyone interested?

Anyone reading those lately? :D

apparently not!

Make a Youtube vid of you talking about the car and REW swap process and I will watch it.

Gotta wear those Paul Walker jeans in it.