Rotary Knight Revival: Finally going turbo!
So, a lot of folks on here recommend re-wiring the fuel pump but no one has ever given actual numbers as to why. I was hoping to provide some actual data that says "hey, it's true the voltage drops quite a bit through this old harness."
Doin' Work!
Installed the Feed replica Shine Auto fender flares. It was a bit tricky fitting them over the widened front fenders. I still have some work to do in order to smooth out the top. I'll have to use some bondo or fiberglass to join the two together and smooth it out. But overall, I'm liking the look of the car!
*Also, what do you all think, should I keep the stock duckbill spoiler or go full rotard with a GT wing?
*Also, what do you all think, should I keep the stock duckbill spoiler or go full rotard with a GT wing?
It's been a slow week
I finally figured out what to do about my turbo situation, I'm going hybrid! "Old news" I know, but for me, it's new news! lol It will be a moderate hybrid, nothing crazy, but while I wait for the donor turbo to come in I decide to prepare the old stock parts with some rust removal in a vinegar bath and to port the internal wastegate. Enjoy, more interesting stuff soon to come.
Decided to tidy up a few things
Decided to use a little time this weekend to tidy up a few things. More cleaning getting done today, had to make a DIY bracket for my turbo heat shield and decided to grind a little material from the wastegate cover to allow for more travel of the wastegate lever.
1) Cleaned the internal heat shield for the turbo, the one on the right is one directly from the turbo. The one on the left is simple green and elbow grease.

2) My turbo heat shield had a tab broken. So, I made a quick mount for it.



3) Making more clearance for the wastegate lever

Stock lever travel

Modified lever travel
1) Cleaned the internal heat shield for the turbo, the one on the right is one directly from the turbo. The one on the left is simple green and elbow grease.

2) My turbo heat shield had a tab broken. So, I made a quick mount for it.



3) Making more clearance for the wastegate lever

Stock lever travel

Modified lever travel
CX Racing Turbo Oil Lines
Unlike most rotary guys I actually want to keep the oil metering pump. I bought the metering pump adapter from rotary aviation, but it interfered with the stock oil return line. This is where the CX racing oil lines come in. I decided to make a little review video about them in case anyone else is interested. Like most of CX racing's stuff, it ain't the best quality and you get what you pay for. However, it will do the job and I'm on a tight budget at the moment. When I start working again I may address this for a better alternative.








Hybrid is nearly complete!
Welp, the donor turbo arrived today so I wasted no time in piecing together the turbo bits to make my hybrid. This is a T04B ebay special, I know I know, but don't worry, I used the good bearings and seals I had from my g-pop kit, but just used this housing, backplate and compressor wheel from this uber cheap turbo.
Along with it is the TA34 turbine wheel. I think I essentially made the equivalent of a BNR stage 1 or 2. Which is exactly what I was going for. Here are the spec's for the compressor wheel, I think I managed to get something similar to a v trim (not a 100% sure as I'm new to this turbo thing):
Compressor Wheel | Major Dia. | Minor Dia. | Trim
T04B | 69.91 mm | 54.06 mm | 60
Stock S5 | 63 mm | 43.69 mm | 48
The only thing left for me to do is come up with a way to mount the stock wastegate actuator, or go aftermarket, and get the wheels balanced.


Along with it is the TA34 turbine wheel. I think I essentially made the equivalent of a BNR stage 1 or 2. Which is exactly what I was going for. Here are the spec's for the compressor wheel, I think I managed to get something similar to a v trim (not a 100% sure as I'm new to this turbo thing):
Compressor Wheel | Major Dia. | Minor Dia. | Trim
T04B | 69.91 mm | 54.06 mm | 60
Stock S5 | 63 mm | 43.69 mm | 48
The only thing left for me to do is come up with a way to mount the stock wastegate actuator, or go aftermarket, and get the wheels balanced.


Nothing wrong with trying to save a few bucks, especially if you take care and assemble the turbo correctly with good internals.
Liking the build, interested to see your results of the china hybrid
Liking the build, interested to see your results of the china hybrid
Thank you very much for watching! Let me know if there is anything you'd like me to showcase or elaborate on, or send me some feedback. I like doing this vlog thing because it makes me accountable and I've now gotten into the habit where I need to upload a video at least once a week because that means I'm actually doing work on the car lol.
Hybrid Turbo Powah!
After some struggles with the old turbo, it feels good knowing I finally have a turbo now! And what feels like it's going to be a decent hybrid at that. I was able to mount the stock wastegate actuator with some creativity and the only thing left to do is send the rotating assembly to get balanced.
I would start pulling the motor this weekend, but I need to wait one week before I do. I need to house sit and watch the animals at my mom's house lol. So, I'll bring the FC with me to her house and work on some little side projects that week. My goal is to have the NA out and Turbo motor in by the end of the month. Fingers crossed!
I would start pulling the motor this weekend, but I need to wait one week before I do. I need to house sit and watch the animals at my mom's house lol. So, I'll bring the FC with me to her house and work on some little side projects that week. My goal is to have the NA out and Turbo motor in by the end of the month. Fingers crossed!
Hey what's up! I've seen you on IG a few times already. I'm diggin' the drift pickup and the FC. Awesome builds!
All the social medias! lol Thank you! What's your IG acc't so I know who to look out for?
Thank you ColinShark! Your 10th AE is immaculate. After reading through your build thread, I told myself anytime I get impatient, I stop myself and say no! I need Colinshark's level of detail/patience to keep this build going on the right track. I still have a ton of work to do, but on that note...
I finally pulled the NA motor! I'll have a video up soon, but I was kind of sad pulling this old engine out. For 10+ years I've driven this little motor to the max and it's still running like a champ! Despite the fact I'll miss this engine like crazy I am excited for new beginnings!
Dirty Engine Bay



Clean Engine Bay!



As you can see in this last picture I need to respray that frame rail. It has some rust build up from a leaky brake master cylinder in the past. And I don't know why, but I must've sprayed it black in the past or something. This 19 year old me did some questionable things lol
Thank you ColinShark! Your 10th AE is immaculate. After reading through your build thread, I told myself anytime I get impatient, I stop myself and say no! I need Colinshark's level of detail/patience to keep this build going on the right track. I still have a ton of work to do, but on that note...
I finally pulled the NA motor! I'll have a video up soon, but I was kind of sad pulling this old engine out. For 10+ years I've driven this little motor to the max and it's still running like a champ! Despite the fact I'll miss this engine like crazy I am excited for new beginnings!
Dirty Engine Bay



Clean Engine Bay!



As you can see in this last picture I need to respray that frame rail. It has some rust build up from a leaky brake master cylinder in the past. And I don't know why, but I must've sprayed it black in the past or something. This 19 year old me did some questionable things lol
Last edited by Rotary_Knight; May 22, 2017 at 12:45 AM.
Charge Harness Restoration
Today I cleaned up the harness for the charging system and removed a bunch of unused connectors. This is part of the original harness from this Automatic Chassis. So, there were several connectors from the Auto trans that have been dangling for years. It was time to remove them and clean everything up with some fresh heat shrink tubing and tesa's high temp wiring harness tape.
The oily and grimey stock charging harness



The New and Improved setup!



The crunchy leftovers
The oily and grimey stock charging harness



The New and Improved setup!



The crunchy leftovers
Electric Fan Conversion
Installed the "End All Be All FC3S Electric Fan." If you don't know what I'm talking about, check the link here: https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generati...ic-fan-895916/
This thing fits like a glove. I'll be wiring it to the old AC main relay for that stock OEM look
But more details on that later.
This thing fits like a glove. I'll be wiring it to the old AC main relay for that stock OEM look
But more details on that later.
Hello Roto
So, it's been a minute since I've had an update. I started working a new engineering job a couple weeks ago and as you can imagine that has been taking most of my time. I have, however, still been working on the car religiously and made a ton of progress. I didn't get to tell a very informative story in this episode, but I have got a ton of stuff done and am getting real close to starting it!


