i haven't damaged any of the interior. may possibly sell once it all comes out. as for the engine, i was already planning on a rebuild using turbo-ready parts, since its a very real option for power down the road. basically my immediate intentions are to rebuild and port, and look into upgraded fueling. if i don't hit 200hp before turbo, oh well. the car is already fun as hell

It's his car. He can keep hacking it up however he likes. It will only make my cars worth more :D

so you used banzai block of plates for your first mod on your "build" why wouldn't you make them yourself? you didn't build shit, banzai built your shit for you. you just installed.

sorry not everyone has the skills and/or tools to weld, cut metals in odd shapes with precision or completely fabricate their own parts (which i have done before even without use of fancy tools). i AM doing every ounce of work myself. the longer i'm around here, the more i find this group being full of douchebags. i wonder....if i had labeled this a track/strip/street build if i'd get the same comments. is it just that you don't like hearing about people drifting these? guess what. they did it in japan where the car and sport come from. whats the big issue. i bet they modified the cars in similar ways there too. and on the note, what im doing so far is really no different than if i were setting the car up for auto-x or track days, if you don't like what i'm doing fine, but don't go out of your way to tell me you think my "build" is shit.

How's the Manzo catback holding up? Does it sound decent cause I need a new catback soon, and that looks to be my only affordable option atm.

I can appreciate that and have no objection to buying in parts. I have the skills but longer have access to the equipment the skills require. It pains me to try to handcraft stuff that machines can do better.
That, and I'm basically lazy.
I suspect that for the most part, you would.
Certainly, I would still object because you started with the wrong damn car.
You could have saved money and spared an (apparently) excellent car by starting with a worse example.
Oh please, reholster your Special Snowflake card.
This is the internet, so of course there will be contrarians...just don't engage with them.
No one has accused this of being backed by ISIS yet, so you've gotten off pretty lightly.

considering i've only had it on for a few months its good. fitment was awesome surprisingly enough. its really loud but the car goes straight from the motor to the muffler with zero restrictions. i've thought about getting a resonator to replace my test pipe to tone it down a bit but it's growing on me and haven't had any unwanted police attention yet. don't mind the smoke show...this is why i need to rebuild

Good build
 

Johnny,
Good progress. I will be doing similar with the intake and interior. Keep posting, and don't mind negative comments.

Budget has a different meaning from person to person and build to build. I am into budget builds because anyone can throw money and slap parts to make stuff work. The challenge is if you can do it with a fixed small budget, like a 2k budget for drift car.

Check out 24 hours of lemons to get some ideas on budget builds. Fun stuff.

It doesn't sound too bad at all. I like the sound and I'll likely get the same exhaust for my 7 soon. Your build is lookin good. Keep it up man.

I like it. An ECU is a must if you are shooting for 200 HP I have found out while planning and budgeting for my NA build.

looking into half bridge ports right now. been doing tons of reading, and am basically going to follow TougeMonster's lead. will be stuck using the stock ecu until funds come around for standalone, after which i'll be looking at megasquirt or haltec. i have no clue about electrical so its going to a be a hard learning process. i'm not overly concerned with negative effects on normal street driveability as its not a DD and i can tolerate some harshness for what i'm trying to accomplish. if i don't hit 200whp thats fine. i already love the car...it can only get better from here

Time for an update! After all the talk of rebuilds and this and that, the moment has arrived. I had been doing some work here and there to get ready to pull the engine. It seemed to drag on thanks to having a garage with no door or lights and the cold, but I got it done. I couldn't for the life of me get the oil cooler lines off so it came out too. Proved to be a pain even out of the car. A/C and all lines were removed never to return.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...968c34dd81.jpg

Had a buddy help me carry it down into the basement where the disassembly will take place. This thing was a lot heavier than I expected. Here is how it sits as of now to take a few more things off and wait for help getting it on the stand (didn't have it at the time of removal). Also saw the trick to hold the rotating assembly which worked wonders and got the front main bolt and flywheel nut broke free. I don't know why people fuss over these. They were pretty easy for me with nothing more than a standard breaker bar
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...b3ce6eced2.jpg

Over the last couple days I have been cleaning some parts I've removed

LIM before and after with some light porting
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...a408fa8295.jpg

another view of the LIM with the 5/6 port actuators cleaned up. they might get some paint but undecided right now
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...6b87205e11.jpg


again before and after for UIM. was going to do the throttle body mod to get rid of some more unsightly stuff but all the screws were stripping so i left it
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...ce2401dce6.jpg

More to come very soon!

I like where you're headed, as I am building a drift FC also. It does seem that a lot of the dudes here have some misconceptions about drift cars.

That being said, for a rotary engine, you should really be concentrating more on torque numbers. There is quite a large disparity between horsepower and torque numbers on these engines. This will be my 5th drift car and BY FAR the most expensive to get sideways. TURBO TURBO TURBO if you want to have fun sliding your car.

Budget drift builds are definitely possible (I built my first drift car for under $2K, including the car). It is going to be a lot more difficult with a rotary anything.

Keep on keepin on.

well its game over for my initial plans
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...1ce09f028a.jpg

there was a bunch of coolant sludge once i got to the front iron, incidentally NOT where the failure was.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...0b0b2ca81b.jpg

at this point i think i'm taking the advice given earlier and going 4 port! a few questions about this...

is it ok to use the n/a center and t2 ends? i'll be keeping it all s4. also do i have to use the t2 LIM or is it just better to use it rather than modify the n/a? what does this change as far and needed gaskets and seals? i already got my s4 n/a rebuild kit from Atkin's but now it looks like i'll be returning it along with my 6 port half-bridge template

It's fine to use the S4 NA center iron, but it's not ideal. The center iron ports are smaller than the turbo counterparts. You "can" use the 6-port manifold, but you will have to remove all of the 6-port actuators and grind out the manifold dividers and fill the upper portion.

Fidelity101 did a 4-port block with a 6-port intake setup. Here is a link to the page that shows how he did it.

https://www.rx7club.com/build-thread...-925525/page9/

If you are going to go that route, you are probably going to be better off finding a JDM block and just swapping to turbo. If you want the power, that is the way to go. Out of the gate you will get about 200 hp. Tough to do that with a NA setup.

well if i'm porting, the size won't matter as they will all be opened up anyway. from what i've read it just means i'm taking out more material, assuming i understood that correctly. i'm not into doing all that so i'll get the 4 port manifold with the irons. if the price is right maybe i'll take the center iron too

The NA center iron doesn't have a ton of room to port. Be aware of that, else you will find a coolant passage pretty quickly. There is a porting FAQ on the forum about porting the NA center.

Love this build, love the hurt feelings. Keep it up. :)

haha thanks! i've been following your build as well and i like what i see

update time! i've been going crazy trying to make progress to get my car back together as soon as possible.

First i want to give a huge thanks to TheRX7ist. he had a set of streetported t2 irons and LIM that i got for a great price so i can continue my build. without those i would have been in serious trouble. knowing that those parts were on their way to me put a fire under my ass, so i got to work.

the first hurdle was getting those damned exhaust sleeves out. i tried the screw method which resulted in it breaking off inside the roll pin. nightmare! after burning up a few drill bits and going out to buy a carbide burr and drill bit i finally was able to just grind them out. then came the task of taking out the diffuser. first one took some time but second one went quickly and smoothly. i found that inconel work hardens VERY quickly so i only had to cut about 1/4 way through then grab with pliers and break off the wings
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...ea4349668d.jpg

next i got to work porting my exhaust using the pineapple racing EP2a. i'd say it turned out pretty nicely for my first time. first one vs stock and the finished product
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...9bd9730fcb.jpg

during my interwebz exploration i saw the End all, be all E-fan thread and checked my local pick-n-pull. surely enough i found a donor. the thread had mentioned using the fan from a 92-98 mercury villager and the only years in my local yard was 2002. i did some comparisons and the part numbers were different, BUT after being there and measuring and inspecting, i found that it is the same fan (i believe) in a different shroud, so for $40 i figured i'd give it a try. well after some small modification,i couldn't be happier with the fitment! i'll probably make a thread about this explaining further.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...751e169b5e.jpg

other than that it's just been more parts cleaning. i've also decided on a color combo for the block, but thats classified until the reveal ;)

Good that you got the diffusers removed, but why on earth dit you fight to remove the sleeves? I just cut the diffusers out while they were still in the housing.

everything i read said take them out and modify them and that porting with them in was a pain. and i think it would have been much harder with them in the way

Yeah, no. Its rather easy with a 90 degree die grinder and a sharp carbide bit. The housings held the sleeves in place to keep them from moving around. My thing is, you run the risk of damaging the housing by removing them in the first place. Then again, there is always margin for error.

Long overdue update!
 

alright people, it's been a while and there have been many happenings with my project. first let me continue where i left off with my porting and build.

decided to go half bridge using t2 f/r irons and n/a center iron.

here are the primary ports. i modified the template a bit due to the worry of hitting a coolant passage. it's probably close to a stock t2 primary, maybe a bit larger. i'm hoping this will help me a bit in the low end but its just speculation.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...4927761a6b.jpg

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...5a7edc2346.jpg

secondary ports w/ bridge (not the cleanest looking but everything is nice and smooth with good tapers at the ends)
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...8ed6201ccc.jpg

so after all porting was done it was assembly time! here is where i had a small hiccup...
as i was clearancing my side seals, i got a little rough and broke one! :scared: well i didn't think to search for single seals and thought "great now i have to use an old one". so i searched through all my old ones for the best looking candidate, and it fit well. dodged a bullet...or so i thought. continued on with the assembly and got it all back together. finally after all this time it was ready to meet the car again!

did i mention i got a lightweight flywheel? decided on the RB aluminium. i liked the fact it has a replaceable friction surface. had my eye on a fidanza but the price went up by the time i made my decision, thought after shipping and all i think the RB was just as much.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...0d8745ad0d.jpg

here it is! the fruits of my hard labor!
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...b50591208a.jpg

all right, back into the garage. went fairly smooth. had some issues lining up both motor mounts thanks to having the engine balancer in a different spot than removal so it wasn't really level. loosened the mount a bit to move it around and it dropped right in. also had a tough time mating to the bellhousing since i didn't clean the guide posts. drew it in evenly with the bolts and we were all good. hopped in to check the clutch and it dropped to the floor!turns out my slave was leaking so got myself a new exedy one for $20 from rockauto (man i love that site!) from there everything was a breeze...until my friend was dicking around and dropped a stupid useless sensor down the CAS opening!:cursing: well we tried fishing it out with some little grabbers and magnet stick but he ended up going under the car and dropping the oil pan off. i was not happy to say the least!

ok all settled. no real harm done so fluids went in and it was time for the first start! well she had other plans. didn't happen that night. so next day another friend came over and we kept trying. decided to try the oil in spark hole trick and bam! its alive! but i had to hold the throttle or it would die. great no idle... lots of messing with the throttle body got it to hold an idle...at 2500rpm. i didn't like that and managed to get it down to 1500 at one point. but it would randomly stall out on me, and was extremely difficult to start afterwards. constantly deflooding it and using the oil trick.

the morning of a local show, (i had already missed the first one which was my goal) i got it running fairly easily and decided to try and drive it. made a 10 mile trip to my buddy's house, which was the most nerve-racking drive of my life (i was literally shaking when i got there) and it stalls turning into his driveway! well that was it. i tried maybe 3 more times and called it quits.

at this point i figured something was wrong, so i did a compression test. rotor 1 was showing decent and even numbers for having new seals and old housings. rotor 2, not so much. showed ~30psi on 2 faces and 0 on the 3rd! FAWWWK ME! so with the car stuck at my friend's place, it was time to pull the engine again, and this time i had zero motivation and was totally disheartened. plus having to drive there after work just to do anything didn't help any.

after a lot of procrastination and unproductive garage sessions, i was ready to pull the rear iron to find what the problem was. remember that used side seal? yep, you guessed it! that was culprit number 1. but why were my other faces so low on compression? well i'll show you why!
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...25ab4d132f.jpg
yep....those are broken apex seal main springs. how that happened i really have no idea.

so that's where things stand right now. i got my new seals (took no chances and got 6) and springs and am hoping to get everything ready to go back together again this week. sorry for the massive post and thanks to anyone who is actually following along!

Well at least it was just the springs that broke. Hopefully it goes back together.