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Gratuitously here are a couple pics of my FC, its a 13B-REW swap, actually its been dead reliable, and a ton of fun. the FD ecu is a HUGE step forward from the FC...
And then this is one of the things that explains my fascination with these cars. The lock ****, it looks square but it is not, its designed to look square from the drivers seat, and when you just look at it, its like a forced perspective, and the whole car is like this. Its just crazy this level of detail...
And then this is one of the things that explains my fascination with these cars. The lock ****, it looks square but it is not, its designed to look square from the drivers seat, and when you just look at it, its like a forced perspective, and the whole car is like this. Its just crazy this level of detail...
I noticed the same thing, you can tell they loved engineering every part of this car. The Rx7 was my first car, so at first I didn't notice, but once I started working on different cars I noticed just how much more "polish" is on every part of the Rx7. The control arms have the Mazda logo embossed, carpet that is super thick and plush, the little "pass through" vents to get exterior air passively... Most of what I see on other cars is stamped steel, parts that were clearly designed for a different car, and lack of thought in placing buttons or controls. It's nice to work on a car that feels like it was made with love.
The red car is coming along nicely How hard was the REW swap on the other car? I'm not planning one anytime soon, but that engine has the advantage of still being available new.
How hard was the REW swap on the other car? I'm not planning one anytime soon, but that engine has the advantage of still being available new.
yes exactly. i'm in the middle of doing a second Fc-REW swap, for that reason. its available, passes smog, and has more power...
the Blue car was the first one, so i spent a lot of time mocking things up, and just figuring out how to do it. there are basically 4 areas that need fab work
1. the FD lower radiator hose moves over toward the center of the car to clear the turbos, so if you stay single turbo you can cut the FD water pump housing, and use the FC radiator hose. if twins, then you might be running an FD radiator? TBD there...
2. the FD throttle body elbow doesn't fit with the FC ac/ps, and you need a front mount (or V mount) intercooler...
3. the FD had an electric fan, and so you need to add that. good news is that the ECU will run them
4. the FD has more stuff, so there are more wires in the harness. so you either need to adapt the FD harness to the car (mandatory if twin turbo), or build an expansion harness and use the FC harness (if single turbo). oddly the FD harness is like 18" shorter than the FC, so they saved weight there! or go aftermarket
the 13B-RE Cosmo swap on the other hand is much easier, its almost plug and play...
i was a little lucky, engine had been rebuilt a few years ago, basically i tore it down to the block, and then cleaned checked and re-assembled. the solenoid was the guy before me...
Gratuitously here are a couple pics of my FC, its a 13B-REW swap, actually its been dead reliable, and a ton of fun. the FD ecu is a HUGE step forward from the FC...
Notice the airflow meter still in the bay...is that for a californa visual pass thing since you are using the fd computer? cheers
its dumb but i really really wanted the HKS RS intake, and it is cool, but if i take the AFM out, the air filter hits the IC pipe. its actually a really tight fit right there. the HKS intake is quite big, i think 110 or 120mm. so there is not much room for the intake, or the IC pipe hits the airpump.
i'm sure the smog guy likes it too, and so do i, the air pump and the other emissions stuff has places to plug in, it is a legal intake, along with the IC
more stuff, the last pic with the brackets and stuff, it took forever to figure out how that was all supposed to go! Water pump is the one the car came with, just painted. i did need to grind one of the ribs so the pulley cleared, kind of why i don't like aftermarket stuff, but it was new...
here are the before shots of the seats and door panels... they did make a good gaming seat for a minute! that is the same door panel twice huh? the white stuff on top of the seat is wall texturing, my friend painted his house, and the seat too...
Dash fell out... i have limited space, so i can't pull the car apart all at once, i had to get the engine bay somewhat together before i started to pull the interior apart
before and after for the seat, it turned out really good. cleaning was mostly turning it right side up, and not a wet dry vac like 9 times with boiling water...
How hard was the REW swap on the other car? I'm not planning one anytime soon, but that engine has the advantage of still being available new. 
