Project Chise. aka. my first rx7
 

Hello again. Im here today making a build log of my new baby Chise. I Have posted about her in the past but now its time to make a clean log with the build process.

So quick backstory. I found the car as well as an s4 vert off a guy on facebook. He sold me the cars for 500$ total, titles in hand. Only problem is that the vert was seized and Chise has been Out of commission for over a decade i assume. The goal is to get Chise up and running by november and the ultimate goal for this engine is 180hp maybe.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...c2080b7959.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...1b75e46509.jpg

Overall the only thing chise is missing is the Fuel tank, Crank angle sensor connector, All the emission rats nest (which doesnt matter since it was gonna be pulled anyway) and just minor things that are nor either her or there.

After getting it back to the house. The first thing is to actually go over the car and see how bad the interior is. Amazingly, the interior is perfectly fine. The only thing missing that i care about is the center trim which i have a spare one anyway so im not worried.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...ddb35193fa.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...1fcae2676f.jpg
and after a quick vacuum
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...7a6f8b9e09.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...c21a5d75e3.jpg

All the car is in one piece, the headliner is fine the only things that gonna change inside are the seats. Im 6'3 so headroom is a bit of a problem. Im gonna take the seats out, cut down the mounts and lower the seat about an inch or two so that i can wear a helmet inside if i ever wanna go autocrossing. The other interior things are gonna be the car arm rests since my legs lean against the door and pushed my knee into the wheel. and lastly the wheel itself. Getting a adapter and a deep wheel will give me some extra leg clearance.

Onto the engine bay.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...03f83469c6.jpg
As for as the engine bay. Everything is there.......Kinda. As mentioned earlier, the crank sensor connector is gone so i am gonna splice in one from another s5 shell my grid is letting me pull parts from. Besides that, the egr was taken off so i had my friend cnc some plates for that. The clutch slave is shot so that getting replaced. Then its just an simple systems check and see if the wires are working after sitting for so long. The remaining vacume lines will more than likely be replaces after i get the car running.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...5fd3c2b569.jpg


Continued in chapter 2

Chapter 2

Not begine the process of figuring things out. I recently got a new job so i now have money to dump into her. I started by taking the intake off and hand cranking the engine to see if it has compression. For the most part it still does. i cleaned up the intake and the rest of the engine bay as much as i could.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...c5dbe6d67c.jpg
I realized that the actuators for the middle intake, as well as the port actuators. So i gotta replace those in the future.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...0433785e5f.jpg

Once i get it running ill go in and really clean it. A bird managed to make a nest right in front of the radiator so i gotta pull that mess out. Not t mention there are hundreds of snail shells inside the car. I popped the cap off the radiator and im sure that is beyond saving so that will be swapped our soon.

Back again.
Last week i managed to pull my friends parts car out of the yard. He had an s5 shell that had a tank and a fender that i wanted. Took an hour to pull the shell out of the mud after changing the tires on it.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...1009f0fcdd.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...08ff42160b.jpg
quick clean
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...267bf2be10.jpg
The car hasnt been used in well over 8 years. the gas was long gone but the oil was still in there.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...8af8d0e469.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...88b87ff99d.jpg
Took the fuel pump out of the s4 vert i have. Did a quick power supply test and it still works so in it goes. I have to splice the wires a bit to fit with the s5 lines.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...8c7fbe6ed6.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...5dd1f3d2a6.jpg

Very cool!

Looks like you're making good progress on the car. Keep up the good work!!

Finally prepping for the steering wheel. I cant even get in the car easily since my knees dont bend that way. Swapping the wheel out and extending it will help me. My thigh pushes against the wheel and its hard to press the clutch. Im so glad its easy to swap it out.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...bb28aec695.jpg


Went ahead and pulled the rad off and checked to see if its still good. There was still coolant left inside so thats a good sign.....maybe. Gonna run tests next weekend and see if its still good. I kinda feel like buying a new one anyway just for insurance.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...519ae20832.jpg

You got a sweet deal for $500.

New update. My new wheel stuff all showed up and now i can fit in my car.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...b1c2b9927f.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...45262b8210.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...fe3c2ee1d3.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...f4562fa273.jpg
Now with the new wheel i have about an inch or two of space from the wheel to my thigh.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...7301fdceae.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...7ccd5a5ae6.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...4f7565d378.jpg

Now time to fix the crank angle and the fuel pump lines.

Update.

So i decided this weekend to go and swap the fender out. I was originally gonna shampoo the interior but texas heat came out of nowhere. Getting the fender off was so damn annoying because of the dent right where the bolts were. Since i got the fresh fender off the spare car, might as well put it on.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...55f7f818e6.jpg
Idk what it is, but almost every fc ive seen has some type of dent right on the fenders.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...b4c55cc3e1.jpg
You can see how dented in it is more on that angle.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...2e597e132d.jpg
Some of the bolt mounts were pressed in and the bolts on the front bumper were warped out of place so it took some muscle and unbolting the headlights to get it to fit the other bumper.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...b777e2a2a7.jpg
It aint perfect, but its there and thats all that matters.

Great progress! I feel you on the height situation - 6'7" checking in. I took out the rear bins for awhile so I could scoot my seat back, but I didn't like the look so now I kind-of fit...snuggly.

Yeah man. I plan to take the seats out and chop the seat mounts down as much as i can. The headroom issue is still gonna be annoying till further notice.

Went ahead and took the OMP off since it was already snipped and the lines were gone when i bought the car. The plan is to just mill my own block off plate for it.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...09365e8775.jpg
I do alot of 3d design work so i went ahead and mocked up a test fit piece that's 3d printed. Gotta shift the bolt holes over just a little but i got the gasket lined up perfect.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...d7dee425ef.png
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...177369e2c2.png

So... You know when things are seeming good and the car should be up and running in a few days. Well i kinda hit a big snag in my plans.
I wanted to check the water pump and see if there was any chunks in there that could cause problems with cooling and.... oh boy. It aint good.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...388fa2df6a.jpg
Yup. as you can see, its completely clogged in there. I hope the rest of the coolant passages arent anywhere near as bad.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...0274c74610.jpg
The opening of the housing didnt look great either. I want to flush it out to see how bad the blockages are. If its really bad then i may have to pull the engine and just rebuild it after cleaning. This is not what i wanted to see. I have no problem tearing it down. Its probably a much smarter idea to do a tear down and rebuild instead of chancing it and having the whole engine overheat.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...71b72fd445.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...2e2a198dd8.jpg
Also. The thermostat is pretty well clogged. I never knew it could get this bad.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...45e94a8c66.jpg

SO plan A. is to try and clean it out as much as i can today. Im hoping that there isnt any bad amounts of corrosion inside. IM probably gonna buy a new water pump and assembly anyway. I have access to spares so that will happen soon.

So a little update. I went and pulled the plugs on the car and... Well.. They are pretty new.
Like actually Brand new. Never been fired. I think the previous previous owner started swapping parts into it but then gave up on the project. Its weird but hey, ill take it.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...b92a582ef1.jpg
The condition of the water pump had me worried about things but after seeing the plugs and being able to hear compression inside when i turn hand turn the engine, i have much better hopes.

In a previous post, i took the water pump off and its pretty much just junk. I wanted to slush out whatever crud inside and you cant really get a good seal with just a hose.

I went ahead and designed and 3d printed a flange to go over the hole to allow me to connect a hose to it with minimal leakage while keeping the flow.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...4db75f9541.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...4bcd3c25e8.jpg
It worked out pretty well. Not much was left in there since i flushed it a week ago when i first took the pump off. This time it was just a little gunk and then clean water flowed right through with no sighs of interruptions.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...4bcd3c25e8.jpg
I need to flip the design so i can flood water back out the other way.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...f2f1d1fd54.jpg

can you make that part for me? i want to flush my engine as well.

I have a few spares. Inbox me.

Just picked up my first rx7 in similar condition

Slight update. I started replacing the connectors on the crank angle sensor. The previous owner snipped them all the way down to the loom so i had to cu that open and replace the connectors.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...98ab89bbc0.jpg

I had a spare s4 fuel pump assembly so i dropped that into the car and had to replace those wire and connectors.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...1d77f1b98e.jpg
Had to stop because texas decided to start raining.

All thats left is to fix some ground lines, replace fuel hoses from the filter, swap filter, buy an air filter, check connections and drop a battery in. Ill probably try and fix the linkage on the shift knob since its wobbly.

Some great progress there!! I absolutely love that engine flush plate that you made!! What an awesome tool!! The car is really coming along well and I'll look forward to more updates!

Forgot to post a pic of the CAS connector actually connected. IDK if the CAs actually works since it kinda rusted insoide but Imight as well try and see if it does before replacing it.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...2bc7646dfe.jpg

Just wondering if you have made any more progress on the car.

Not atm. Im 2 weeks from moving into my new apartment so im saving all my money.

The meantime here is a photo of my other baby.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...ded7fb1466.jpg
2016 vw Gti. Got her fresh off the lot. My first manual car. I want to get her all nice but since i now have the 7 Im gonna keep her stock for the most part. The only thing ive done is lowering springs in the rear, wrapped the roof black, and i made a custom shift knob for her.

She has more Hp than the 7 will in her current state but i i want rwd soon.

Holiday Update.

So I have been away for a while. I recently moved into my first apartment earlier this month so im doing what i can to get used to that. Im short on cash so i cant buy everything i need but i have enough for now.
I got lucky and the apartment came with a garage so i finally have a place to park my babies. The plan is to fix the last few things on the car, try and start her up and see how bad things are.

ATM the list of stuff that be done is
Finish splicing the Fuel pump wires
Put the water pump gaskets in
Put the Rad back in
Drop a battery in
Tape off all the cut wires on the harness
Add fuel, oil and test

Should be able to do all of that pretty soon after the new year so in the meantime here are a few pics.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...9b514e80dd.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...d4297b32a8.jpg

Hello all. Im on my last 10% of replacing stuff. I just went and replaced the

Fuel Filter
fuel lines
Water pump with a s4 water pump
new gaskets
thermostat
rad pipes

Here is a pic of the clutch slave with a new one. The ruster one was on the car. the kinda ok one was on the spare vert and i wanted the cable from it.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...44a8c6e594.jpg

Now thats all thats left that i dread is putting in new weatherpack connectors for the TPS sensor.