KAT_Ayanami

iTrader: (1)

Hi,

I have never really done a build thread about any of my cars. I do not tend to take many pictures of the progress and things like that (which is what people like to see), so I never had much info to put online.

But I thought it would be a good idea to start one so in case other people want to take the same route I did, they can get some tips on do's and don'ts.

Here are the most updated pictures of the car at this moment. I am going to go over what the car was and where it is now after one full year.

Then I will continue the updates as they come for the 2013 season.







Thanks for reading.

eage8

iTrader: (9)

subscribed

KAT_Ayanami

iTrader: (1)

Ooooh Mike. You just want to steal my knowledgez!

Im trying to post more pictures, but I cant access photobucket for some reason....

KAT_Ayanami

iTrader: (1)

Well, this is the story.

My wife and I rallycrossed in 2011 with a 2000 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS and got 2nd place. (eage8 is actually the one that ended up first on our class that year).

Here is the car:


(Cant link original picture because it is huge!)

The thing is that the Impreza already had 140k miles on it, and we wanted to keep it as a daily driver. So we decided to look for another rally car.

Since we wanted to improve, we thought that it would be better to downgrade to 2WD and start from scratch. And like every known rally driver suggested back in the 90s. If you are able to master a RWD car on the dirt, you can basically drive anything at a rally.

So that is how we decided to get a cheap RWD car.

Almost everybody is driving Miatas or old BMWs at the rallycross these days, but we wanted something with a cage that could be raced also at Rally America or NASA Rallysport.

And that is how we found our RX7!



And this is how we started probably the biggest BUDGET FRIENDLY build to Rally on an RX7!!

KAT_Ayanami

iTrader: (1)

We bought the RX7 on January 2012 from Ron V.

Ron had it modified the car to race with the SCCA Rally back in the day when they still had the program running. He logbooked the car and raced up to 2007 or so.

After that, he had the car as a daily driver but did not use it a lot...

He did take REALLY GOOD care of the car. The engine was just rebuilt from Mazda a few thousands miles ago. All the electronics worked correctly and he even had the full interior still in place! (On a rally car!).

Here is how the car looked when we got it. You could really tell that he did not drive the car very hard by just looking at the undamaged underbody.

Exterior Pictures!

Hood had rear facing vents from a plane for cooling



Plenty of stickers on both sides and rear of the car from SCCA Rally and NASA Rallysport.





You cannot believe the amount of attention the car got on my drive home with all those decals and stickers

KAT_Ayanami

iTrader: (1)

Also, the interior was really clean. (Only some dust here and there). The only thing missing was the radio and speakers. But everything else was there in perfect working order.

Full Interior!!



Spare was mounted on the back and the space for the spare was used to carry tools, triangles and other items.
You can also see that I already installed the rear wing on this picture.



You can see the bracket for the fire extinguisher at the bottom as well as the first aid kit.
The spill kit was inside of one of the cubbies.



Rally Computer and the emergency hammer bracket.
You can also see some of the original bars built for SCCA.



Again, full interior, complete with sun roof and head liner!



We replaced the sparco driver seat for a momo so they would match. Also, we installed rails on the driver seat as the seat needs to be adjustable to be street legal and swap drivers.
Stock steering wheel was also replaced on this picture for a smaller one to make jumping in and out of the car easier.

KAT_Ayanami

iTrader: (1)

Since the car was also going to be a street car, I could not leave all the stickers on....

So Gorka Removed the for me with a heat gun.

Alex B

I would love to try rallying. Looks like a blast!

KAT_Ayanami

iTrader: (1)

This are the skid plates.

The big one already came with the car and covered the radiator, oil cooler and other front parts.
The smaller one was made by Bilbo Automotive and it fits right under the oil pan.

If you take a look at the scratches, you will realize the importance of such items

KAT_Ayanami

iTrader: (1)

Here is a close up of the Alpha Pro Rally Computer.

Forgive my wife's feet on the picture. Please.

KAT_Ayanami

iTrader: (1)

Pictures from the First Rallycross event we did.

Car still had the stock suspension on and the undercarriage was hitting the ground on a few spots.

KAT_Ayanami

iTrader: (1)

For the next event we already had the spoiler installed. We all know that the wing has no real "down force" function. But I really do not like the rear end of the Rx7s without a wing.

I find it too rounded. I like cars that finish a little more squared.

We were also using rally tires on the stock 14" wheels.

boogerburns

really like this rally build! Looks like so much fun!

KAT_Ayanami

iTrader: (1)

^ Thanks. It is actually more entertaining that I thought.


Here is a video I recorded a the Hyper Fest in Summit Point, WV. With NASA Rallysport.

We had a ton of problems to get to the event due to funding.

We could not get a hans device for the codriver, we could not get a taller suspension, and we could not fix the trailer to take it to the event!

I always drive it to rallycrosses, but a rally stage is different. You need a trailer to have confidence and drive it hard. Otherwise, you are stuck hiring a tow truck to drive your car home for 100 miles (not cheap!!!).

But we did it to have fun, and we did

Here is the video. You can see me braking before big bumps and rocks... which was sad. But nothing I could do. I banged the floor pan up on the previous 2 runs, so I had to lift!!!!

K DOUBLE J

you have yourself a good looking car btw what all do you have under the hood

diabolical1

iTrader: (3)

looks like a lot of fun. rally has always fascinated me. i'd love to drive one before i die.

what was wrong with your right hand/arm in the video?

KAT_Ayanami

iTrader: (1)

Nothing crazy. Just headers and emission=A/C delete.


Do you mean the waving with my right hand? Nothing really, I was really pissed off at a couple of the dips and rots.

You cannot see or hear them on the video I think. But I could feel the floor pan going up due to the hits the car gas receiving.

It was a bad idea to run there on the stock suspension with blown shocks, but that is what I had at the moment

KAT_Ayanami

iTrader: (1)

Corrected my previous post.

Why cant I edit my own posts?

EDITED: Wait, for what I can see, I can edit them, but I guess they have a time limit before the edit button goes away?

KAT_Ayanami

iTrader: (1)

After 4 events, we decided to replace the suspension on the car, install the aluminum hood from a turbo model and get 15" wheels for the rally tires.

We lost about 30 lbs and raised the car about 2-3 inches!!!

Here are the pictures.






I was going to remove the rear sway bar from the car to make it more stable, but I was afraid it would make it roll so much that the car could tip over when hitting a bump.

Take a look at how much the inside side of the car lifts up when taking a turn.




Of course... now people look at me weird at stop lights when they see a two color car with full cage with a 3" wheel gap. LOL

I think I am going to have to get "Rally Car" or "Bilbo Rally Team" decals in order to get people to understand.

tommym26

iTrader: (1)

ohhh nice dude!!!!

fidelity101

iTrader: (11)

Looks awesome!

Here is some inspiration!

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

KAT_Ayanami

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the comments.

Fidelity, I already checked your thread. What I would like to know is how the heck did you get that many rally tires!!!!!!!

It usually takes me a year to find a used set for sale, and they tend to be pretty messed up!

KAT_Ayanami

iTrader: (1)

Here is the entire 2012 Rallycross Season!!!!

I added one AM run and one PM run from all the RX events of the DC Region.

fidelity101

iTrader: (11)

I stumbled across it on a rally forum, bought them off a team who was getting rid of the car and etc, they were all used but still great for rallycross and probably a stage rally or two.

MrGoodnight

iTrader: (1)

Subscribed!