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4 Day weekend was supposed to be the best time for me to smash out everything I needed to do on the RX7... But this Easter, I was much busier than I anticipated.
In all the ruckus I still managed to install the Alternator, Gilmer and Radiator in. I grabbed some Rubber Offcuts from work to mount the Radiator, not sure if they are really necessary but most guys do it to limit the vibration on the ally. Now to run through from Diff to FMIC and check every bolt, nut and clamp before it's ready for fluid.
It's getting to the point in the build that I was at this time last year.... I'm nervous yet really excited for first crank.
I'd always been meaning to draw up an air deflector to cover up the Relays and the FMIC mounting... but as luck would have it, one popped up for sale today. (Thanks Ethan)
I'll install this one but also measure/draw it up for future use. Might come in handy if I need a few more made eventually.
Panels back on... Cut bumper really looks foul but it'll have to do until I get the kit ready.... Bloody 90's where everyone cut their bumpers
Interior is starting to piece together with the OMP and Sparco. Dash just needs another stand off bracket to secure in place. I love the look though, glad I went with the dash conversion!
Busy *** weekend out at Jap Nats... it's just given me the fire I need to complete my car!! Only two people out there repping rotaries... I plan to be the third!
No progress on the build, except for buying more parts
Found a used FD Transducer so I can run the digital speedo now after I mod the gear wheel.... and also found the rest of my S15 dash conversion! Pick it up this weekend.
Last edited by Reckless_Panda; 05-05-18 at 02:37 AM.
Ok so A LOT has been happening lately in life and car in general. So I guess I'll just break it down into action items for ease of reading and not to bore anyone too much.
Jap Nats was awesome, wet track made for some great footage but it also made me sad that my car was still on stumps... so time to put in some time on the 7.
First job I put my son to work sanding the dump pipe & also giving it a spray of High Temp Satin Black.. He's getting better with a spray can, gotta prep him to spray my car for me
I drew the short straw and got the lovely job of laying up the Fibreglass wrap. ** Note... WORST FKN JOB EVER! If you do it, make sure to wear long sleeves, gloves and wet the wrap prior to starting** I didn't do any of that and put it together dry, in a singlet with the exhaust sitting in my lap.... urrrghhhhhhh very itchy as I type this.
Next job to attack was locking in the FMIC and piping... the new silicones arrived so I figured it was time to bolt everything down.
Got my boy on the job with the spray can, painting the FMIC bracket for me. He goes alright.
Now I can appreciate some good silicone but this might be too much for me, those t-bolts do look awful though ... Hard pipes on the horizon I think! On a good note, piping & intercooler is now more secure and solid than it ever was before.
Weekend wouldn't be complete without a few road blocks...
The Previous Owner(s) decided to leave me one last kick in the teeth... Upon torquing up the tailshaft I noticed the bolts were a tad sloppy... closer inspection I saw three of them were some dirty bunnings style bolts... Yeah Nah... Gotta change those things out. Swapped them all out for some High Tensile Fasteners/Spring Washers while I wait to put in an order for OEM with the weighted washers.
Turbo Oil return is giving me a bit of grief too... Outlet was too long and sits lower than the return point so I thought a simple cut down would do the trick, but trying to find a pre formed 90deg hose for Oil is proving more difficult than I thought. I did find a heater core hose that would work perfect for turn key but I figure I'll get some speedflow 400 or a used OEM return.
I also managed to pull the FC VSS and do a comparison with the FD VSS.. They will work, just need to figure out of the gently pull the gears off without breaking them... I'm kind of the hammer in the tool box, I struggle with gentle, plastic stuff like this.
So unfortunately I couldn't find an OEM S5 turbo return line to put on my car and no more time to **** around..... so the only option was to make my own
Almost didn't get started on this job as one of the threads in the block was cross threaded or pretty munted... luckily I had an M8 x 1.25 tap so I quickly ran that through by hand to clear it out and voila... she's good to go.
I ended up using all -10 fittings and Teflon Stainless Hose
2 x -10 Oil Return T3/T4 Flanges (50mm Hole Centres)
1 x 45 deg hose end
1 x 90 deg hose end
2 x M/M Nipples
The angle is only slightly downwards towards the block, but end of the day it only has to be slight to drain back to the sump.
Now to move on to the Exhaust and UIM block off plates... Love a long weekend
First job today was fixing my Vent to Atmo Bellhousing... New motor combo was missing this plate so I quickly knocked one up.
Second job was Exhaust Install! Little spanner in the works on that one as the exhaust must have been fabbed without heat shields... Quickly knock them off and install the dump with a new (used) gasket and everything went well after that. Exhaust is supporting it's own weight but a new Rubber Hanger is required... Mine is pretty bad
Dropped it on the ground and installed the bonnet after that... Been so long since I've seen it on the ground. I forgot how low it is! The roof sits about where the Evo windscreen starts! hahaha
Car was so filthy I even decided to give it a quick wash! And we are very close to back to square one where I was a year ago! Now to get the Wiring yoda around, wire up the starter harness, give it some spark and pray.
So I ended up outsourcing this job. I looked at the state of the bodykit and it needed a professional touch to be structurally sound and ready for prep.
I ended up taking it to Luke from Admired Composites in Brisbane. The guy is a magician and fixed the kit with no trouble at all and even identified spots that needed attention or risk cracking 6 months down the track! Definitely check him out if you're local, he's fixed carbon fibre parts, fibreglass parts for us and even does bespoke work building custom parts. I'll be looking at doing a custom rear diffuser out of Carbon Fibre once the car is running.
One last push to get this little blue bitch ready for some spark!
First up, block off plates and make sure the UIM is 100% sealed so no vacuum leaks! Luckily I had an old Extreme Performance block off kit and just used one of the plates in one spot and then used it as a template to make another.
Second was Fresh Fluid! I love the feeling of fresh fluid in a car! Engine, Trans, Coolant & Luckily I had wifey in drivers seat for brake and clutch bleed... Up, Down, Up, Down
Everything went smooth until the clutch bleed and it just wasn't working... turns out the engine I bought came with a busted slave... All good, just replaced with the one I bought last year and it worked a treat.
Third was dropping the fuel... It's been sitting a good 12 months now and I'm not risking it for such a small amount of $$ to buy fresh E85.
Lastly was new exhaust hangers (as the others were munted) & a final sanity check over every bolt, nut and clamp and mark it with a small dot from a paint pen. I never trust anyone, even myself so this is the easiest way for me to keep track.
Next step is Fix up the starter harness, wire in the HEC coils and bring this car to life.. Hoping for next Saturday turn key.
Few shiny bits to keep me busy until I start the car on Saturday. Farrrkkkkk...
SRI Strut Brace from Just Jap, I've been looking for the RHS style strut brace for a while now and thanks to Matt, he steered me in the right direction! The blue doesn't suit though so I'll end up painting them.
And I had the Air Deflector re-cut and added a personal touch to it!
***Sorry for Potato photos, pitch black, only lit by phone**
I feel like I am in a race with you to see who finishes first!!!
I am at least a few months away before being ready to start mine!!!!
Hahaha We have been hogging the build thread section for a bit now! Yours will be a monster with that new turbo though! yewwww
If I didn't commit to the S15 dash mine would be very close to ready... That cluster conversion will take a bit of time but hopefully we can get the tacho, indicators and headlights working so i can take it for a slow spin on the weekend
BIG DAY spent in the car port yesterday with Rob & subsequently I'm not sure quite where to start this log today so I might just break it down from the start without trying to bore everyone too much.
Kicked off the day by modifying the FD VSS into it's hybrid form with the FC gear wheel. FD wheel comes off **** easy with a simple circlip.... FC VSS on the other hand be prepared to use some brute force but without cracking the plastic wheel.. Urgghhhhhhh Not so easy, but managed in the end with a spring puller tool reversed to push down onto the pin! Maybe it's time to invest in a Hydraulic press.. I'll be doing diff bushes soon anyway
Whatever epoxy they used in the 80's.... FUCCKKKKK it must be good stuff. And also the pressed spline design made for a strong fit! After the shaft came out it was an easy job adding a new waterproof deutsch plug & using some JB weld to secure the FC wheel onto the FD Transducer.
Note** Ignore the dog hair in the first pic, it was cleaned thoroughly prior to JB Weld hahaha
Last edited by Reckless_Panda; 05-26-18 at 07:30 PM.
Next job for the day was attacking the ECU wiring and Coil Pack wiring.
** I have always made it known on my log that Electrical isn't my strong suit (but I'm slowly learning as I go) and I outsource most of this to my mate Rob... So when I say we, I mainly mean Rob did most of the work! LOL **
We had a little stumble out of the gates on this one first up as the Microtech Schematic for Aftermarket Coils keeps referencing Leading 1, Trailing 1, Leading 2, Trailing 2.. But no reference to which rotor housing was number 1 or 2... Thankfully a quick call to Ethan and he let us know that Front Housing is No#1 .... Rear Housing is No#2.... Made a lot of sense after that.
So while Rob got stuck in and wired up the coil packs & re-wired the CAS with a water proof 4-pin deustch plug, I finalised the MT routing for injector, tps, cas and Water Temp into a neat conduit bundle.
Final push for the day was getting this thing cranked or at least give it a try!
First up fill the car with Coolant and this highlighted a bit of a problem... Water Pump is dead or dying! Coolant kept coming out the weep hole. Easy enough fix but still annoying when it was sold to me as a brand new water pump! FFS... Maybe sitting for such a long period the seals have started to deteriorate?
This still didn't stop us and continued on! Had to rip the old tune from my old ECU that I stupidly sold before I copied the tune to the handset, thankfully Grant lent it back to me to salvage the E85 tune Thank god Rob was a 90's Microtech kid as it took him 2 mins to copy the tune and save to the handset then flash the new ecu.. I'd have no idea!
Then it was on to final checks, Put 20L of E85 with 200ml of 2 stroke.....Fuel Pump primes with the grounded trigger relay now so it goes for 5 seconds then stops as it should! No longer hard wired to run full time! No Fuel leaks along the lines... 40psi in the FPR. Good sign..
Time for Oil pressure... Disconnected the CAS and fuel pump and removed the spark plugs then cranked her up. Engine sounded strong albeit a little raspy. coughed a bit of oil out of the ports but nothing crazy.
Time for some spark and fuel. Connected everything back in with fresh spark plugs and gave it a crank. She coughed and smoked everywhere to begin with then second crank she fired right up and idled on her own steam! **** yeah...
After about 5 seconds the car spat oil everywhere into the engine bay! Holy **** my heart sank! But turns out the engine didn't come with an Oil Pressure Switch and I stupidly forgot to add it to my final check! hahahaha.... You can hear it throw up at the end of the video! hahahaha
But on the whole, it was a successful day.. Few more action items for the stubborn bitch but nothing major that can't be fixed with another day or two in the shed!
04-02-18, 02:00 AM
... Hard pipes on the horizon I think! On a good note, piping & intercooler is now more secure and solid than it ever was before. 
Coolant kept coming out the weep hole. Easy enough fix but still annoying when it was sold to me as a brand new water pump! FFS... Maybe sitting for such a long period the seals have started to deteriorate?
Thank god Rob was a 90's Microtech kid as it took him 2 mins to copy the tune and save to the handset then flash the new ecu.. I'd have no idea!
