Spoke with the owner of the shop on Thursday as well as Justin from Chase Bays.

Basically, a couple signal wires on the Chase Bays harness are pinned out incorrectly and there are a few issues of sensors being 2 or 3 wires and the harness being mis-matched as 2 or 3 wires, kind of things.

The shop is going to send the harness back to Chase Bays to be corrected, which shouldn't be as terrible as I/we thought. Justin from CB was super nice and based on the minimal amount of corrections needed, he assured me it shouldn't take long to correct and send right back.

I lectured the shop on the importance of time VS. money with this build. Issues like the wiring harness could have been addressed MONTHS ago had the shop actually been ACTIVELY working on my car. Considering I paid $7,000 cash down from the get-go, there's no reason why they shouldn't have been working on the car hand-over-fist day after day.

Given the overall amount of work that they have done/needed to do, I'm just upset with how long it's taken. There were some delays with a few parts, sure, but nonetheless, this has taken A LOT longer than it should have.

Shop says they will work on the car some more to get it more to the point of being ready to go once the harness arrives.

The way it's looking right now, once the car is running, the only things left to address will basically be the A/C and fabricating bumpsteer spacers.

 

wide fender like mine:

add sheet metal for my rex


Love those fenders! great choice.

 

Oh, sweet progress, how I love you.













The RX-7 is on its way back to me here in Georgia where I am having Speed For Sale finish up the wiring and make the stupid thing run, once and for all.

Still a multitude of issues like bumpsteer spacers to work out, etc, but still.... I'm stoked to bring it back home and finish it for REAL this time!

 

WOW
Good luck my 2jz rx7 was sold, now im building a new fd with turbo lsx engine

 

If I get rid of my RX-7, the only car I could see replacing it is a turbo FR-S/BRZ.

:P

 

subscribed, awesome build!

 

Thanks!

I'm really excited about the car coming back to its home here in Georgia this coming week.

The guys at Speed For Sale are intimately familiar with 2JZ's in general and Jared says they shouldn't have any problem wiring it up.

It's one thing for a shop to say that if everything goes smoothly and it's easy...but it's another thing when a shop is able to overcome any issues along the way and have it still work out in the end. THAT is a true shop, you know?

The guys at Speed Force Racing in Santee, Cali did a great job on the things they could, but they simply don't have the wiring prowess necessary for a build THIS custom.

Probably the double-edged sword of the whole wiring setup is the Chase Bays harness. I'd spoken w/ Justin @ Chase Bays on numerous occasions and we even sent the harness back to them and re-specified everything in the setup. It was around that time that I realized that it wasn't the harness' fault that they couldn't get it working...it was a pure lack of custom wiring abilities on the part of the shop.

Nonetheless, even after the ~$8,000 I spent at Speed Force Racing for the work they did and didn't do....I'm at peace with it. They did do a lot, and most of that $8k was parts, like the wiring harness, Ron Davis radiator, and other stuff....but I feel confident that the folks at Speed For Sale will finally finish this monstrosity.

I'd talked to Jared at SFS about the bumpsteer issue and he said they could absolutely address that, so that has me excited.

Once the car is running and driving, my first concern is going to be addressing/upgrading that rear-differential with something that can handle the power.

I destroyed a factory FD differential when I was still rotary-powered making only ~327hp, so goodness only knows what 400+HP/TQ in a 2JZ is going to do. LOL!

I'll have to shift like a total grandma until I upgrade that diff...

I'm gonna hit up the suspension sub-forums for suggestions on that one. haha!

Input from you guys is welcome too!

:P

 

I was considering going with the ford diff, cause the gear ratios can be changed and it can handle basically anything you can throw at it power wise. But your looking at 2-3k! That didn't seem worth it, the subframe needs to be modified, axels needs to be upgraded/changed, obviously you have to purchase a ford diff, drive shaft needs to be custom, and I'm not sure what else. Maybe someone else can chime in and give all the details.

Me personally I went a different route. I bought the kaaz rear for 800, found a 3.9 ring and pinion on here, and I'm in on the group buy for the rear diff brace group buy that's currently taking place. I'm pretty sure you could still get in on it. With this I should be good for some big hp. Next thing that will go in the rear axels from what I have gathered. But they are cheap to replace and I have a spare lying around. I would rather snap an axel then destroy my kaaz diff. Just my 2 cents.

They make other diffs out there that are pretty good. I believe cusco and a few others. You may be ok with just a good diff brace and that's all you need. I have talked to a few guys with 500 plus and all they had was a brace on the stock diff. And they were doing drag launches. Hope some of this info helps.

 

I'm content with my custom diff-brace as it stands. You can see pictures of it a few pages back.

I just need a stronger diff that can actually handle a less-than-gentle shift, if I'm feeling frisky, ya know?

Speaking of which, though...TRACTION...I need to find another set of rims/tires since the staggered iForged that I was hoping would fit, didn't.

I really wanna stick with 19's though. I just need the right offset.

Also, I am picking up my Shine Auto Burnout fenders from my local friend who'd been holding onto them for quite some time. He's out of town for another week or two, but it'll be so nice to see those again.

...I wonder how much it'll cost to re-spray the car and have those wide-body fenders molded in..... Something to think about for later. lol

 

Stock s6 differentials have held quite a bit more power than 300-400. It was more likely something else wrong with your setup(ie: wheel hop).

Plenty of people turn 9's and 10's on the stock fd rear-end. If you need more security than that you can get a girdle/brace/shafts/whatever.

The only reason to switch differentials is that the cobra rear end has a nearly endless supply of custom finals at a much reduced cost, and it's beefy.

 

Well, I guess we'll see just how long my current FD diff lasts. lol

 

So the car is sitting at Speed For Sale's shop here in Georgia.

I'm just waiting for them to finish up a few of their other customer cars that were before mine, so that they can dedicate their full attention to my car.

Right now they've already recognized a number of mechanical inadequacies with how the car was built by the shop in San Diego. Basically, it looks pretty but it's not mechanically correct. There are a number of issues that need to be addressed for the car to actually run and drive CORRECTLY and safely.

With that said, my initial impression of the guys at Speed For Sale is very positive. They seem to not only UNDERSTAND automobile mechanics, but they already have a stellar reputation for their extensive work with Toyota Supra's and Nissan GT-R's.

Definitely makes me feel better about them working on my 2JZ RX-7 when I go there and see 10+ monster Supra's. lol

So on another note, I ended up trading the 18X8 HP Racing Evo wheels/tires I had been running on the FD + some other stuff for a full set of 18X9.5 Enkei RPF01's with some 7/32 tread 265/35/18 Bridgestone RE11 tires from a local friend and fellow RX-owner.

Those should help me stay on the ground a little bit better, I think. lol

Some quick pics from yesterday:







Whenever I finally get around to putting the Shine Auto "Burnout" fenders on, I'll probably go ahead and trade up to some super-wide 18X10 fronts and 18X11+ rears and get some 295's or wider in the rear. That's the plan for now, at least. :P

 

So the guys at Speed for Sale have been hard at work!

First they modified my firewall for clearance reasons and began reinstalling an ABS unit and hard-lines that I acquired from a local RX-7Club Forum Member.



Next, they claimed they found a work-around which eliminates bumpsteer.



From Jared:

Sounds good to me, if it works!

It just makes me so happy that they are actively working on the car!!

Stand by for continued updates! ^.^

 

Okay, wow.

Some BIG updates....and a correction to a previous comment.

Bumpsteer is now COMPLETELY eliminated along with actually IMPROVING the steering angles of the car, even better than the factory setup, and here's how.

1.) The steering rack was brought forward and raised back up to normal height, now that it clears the oil-pan of the 2JZ. It is now completely parallel and straight. It no longer has the factory "U"-like shaping, which from what I understand is more-or-less a short-cut taken by Mazda.

I'm not too bright on how suspension works, but from how I understand, most steering racks are completely straight like mine is now. Supposedly the way Mazda has the steering rack from the factory is actually a double-edged sword, in regards to toe-in and other steering factors.

2.) By moving the steering rack forward, the steering column was extended 2.5".

3.) New braces were fabricated to hold the front swaybar in place.

4.) The tie rods are now too long and if I heard correctly, they are either going to modify them to be shorter, or purchase me shorter tie rods. I'm guessing the latter. I need to ask.

5.) My previous weld-job on my steering rack had it tweaked 1/4" up and forward. It is now completely level, balanced, and even.

6.) My motor mounts were also tweaked in order to ensure the motor is completely straight and aligned.

7.) I now have factory ABS and hard-lines back in-place, but I'm missing the wiring harnesses for it.


There's a couple other things, but I can't even remember it all. These guys work F-A-S-T because when they work on a customer's car, they dedicate 100% of their time and effort TO that car.

I'm so happy to have found a shop with technicians that have such attention to detail as to correct even the most minute issues.

From what I understand, the "hard stuff" is done. Everything is sitting in the car CORRECTLY (finally), and the rest is all plumbing, wiring, and making it work.

Bad Notes

1.) Apparently whomever sold me my AEM EMS V2 lied to me. It's a Version 1, not a Version 2. Now I have to sell it and find a Version 2.

2.) The A/C evaporator I bought from someone on the forums is also all banged up and worthless. I'm assuming the damage occurred while the car was at the shop in San Diego, which is yet another disappointment.

Looking Ahead...

1.) So I have a custom 4-puck unsprung clutch.....yay? No...not "yay". For driveability sake....I'm going to pursue replacing it with a single-disk sprung clutch a little later.

2.) I still need to figure out what to do about my diff. A factory FD diff is NOT going to last long.

Stay tuned for more updates!

 

^ just get a factor Turbo II diff... they're stronger and are excellent for the money. YOu can pick them up for 200-250 bucks!

 

Thanks, Manny.

I'll definitely look into that!

In the mean time, I'm REALLY curious as to how the car is going to drive now.

I called up Charlie @ Mazcare and he has only heard of a few people who modified their steering rack to be straight like mine is, so he really couldn't offer criticism one way or the other.

Guess we'll have to wait and see how the car does during alignment and bumpsteer testing/calibration!

 

Picked up a new-used (never mounted) carbon-fiber trunk for the car on Friday...

Not sure what I'm gonna do with it, though. Wingless option? Maybe just paint it?

My spoiler would look pretty retarded on a carbon-fiber trunk b/c of the bases of the spoiler being white... Hmm!

On another note...MORE PROGRESS! :P



Fuel-Pressure Regulator mounted... Looks nice.



Custom coil-pack brackets. I can't remember if maybe my coil-pack brackets were lost or if I never had any, since I basically have a 2JZ-GTE valve cover on a 2JZ-GE head. I probably never had brackets to begin with. lol

Looking good, though!

All the major fabrication work is complete at this point. It's just taking the time to properly plumb and route everything else...maybe fab some brackets and various things...

I wish I had just brought the car to these guys 3 years ago... Could have saved so much time, money, headache, and heartache...

T_T

 

Wingless carbon-fiber trunk...

What do you guys think? lol

Wasn't originally part of the plan, and I'm in love with the '99 spoiler, so I'm not sure what to do. If I keep the spoiler I would absolutely have to paint the trunk because otherwise it would look retarded with the bases of the spoiler being white.

 

Your build is looking great, I personally like no spoiler

 

i think it would still look good with the spoiler side in white bolted back on the hatch. I like mixing in black to break up all the white. How Ive done on my own white FD

 

You did a white spoiler on a CF trunk?

Can you help me track down some pictures of people who may have done it?

I really REALLY prefer my '99 spoiler over the wingless look.

I only picked up the CF trunk because it was a great deal, so I honestly don't have any qualms with painting it white down the road. lol

 

Talked to Jared at the shop yesterday. His main technician, Brett, has been out for a little bit due to throwing out his back.

He said they're still working on the custom tie-rods. I can never seem to remember if they are having to fabricate them, modify the stock ones, or purchase new ones....but whatever.

Jared gave the impression in our conversation that after the tie-rods are finished, that they can then focus on wiring, plumbing, and general routing and clean-up of everything.

The only other thing Jared mentioned was that they need to weld in a filler top into the hard coolant line on the right side, since it's the highest point.

The shop in San Diego apparently screwed up in welding a filler cap onto the radiator, with it being the LOWEST point of the coolant system, it's completely ineffective and serves no real purpose...from what I was told by Jared and Brett.

Also, I sold my AEM EMS V1 today and since I'm having a hard time allocating a used Version 2, I might just spend the extra money to buy AEM's latest "Infinity" EMS system. ~$2,700 price tag hurts though!! @_@

I'm gonna hold off until the car is at least at that point. Jared said they have an ECU they can use temporarily to at least start the motor.

I'd rather my money go towards finishing every OTHER aspect of the car, before I go dump $2,000+ into an ECU for a car that isn't even ready to be fired up. lol :P



Gotta admit though, that "Infinity" EMS is pretty baddass. I do think I'll end up purchasing one once we're to that point. lol :P

 

jesus Christ that's expensive... does it come with sensors etc?
.. might as well go microtech...

 

It comes with E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G.... I can't even remember the list of stuff. hahahaha...like $600 in sensors, switches, toggles, and other stuff.

Okay, so I got clarification on the tie rods.

Basically, they are buying OEM tie-rods that they will then modify (shorten) to work with my new setup.

They didn't want to use my existing tie rods that have ~150k miles on them.

Just a testament again to the attention to detail and emphasis on quality that these guys have.

Also, on the radiator.

Since they're going to weld in a filler cap at the highest point of the coolant system, they're going to replace the pressured filler-type cap on the radiator with a cap that is meant to stay closed. Makes sense.

On a good note, I was at least able to sell my AEM EMS Version 1 today, so that money is going straight back into the parts/labor of the car.

At least I've been keeping my balance zero'd out with with the shop, so they just keep working and working with no hold-ups.

 

Doesn't having a radiator cap in a lower portion of the system just make it harder to burp the system/ remove all the air? I was always told it doesn't matter where u put the cap just will have to use a tube to burp the system. Def not as easy as just putting the cap in the highest point. Good luck with that ecu. I wish I had 2+ to spend on one myself. Also please take a few pics of those tie rods when they have finished and installed them. I'm very interested to see what they come up with.