'87 RX-7 TurboII Build
 

http://www.petting-zoo.net/photos/RX7-2009-05-22/

Some pictures of the car as it sits today. The car was my street car back in Ottawa, and Toronto. Full interior, bolt-in cage, MazdaComp suspension, MazdaComp radiator, Microtech ECU, full 3" exhaust. Daily driver, autocross, track days. Lots of fun.

Moved to California and, of course, nobody is going to let me register the car for the street. That's fine because I wanted to turn it in to a track-only/racecar so I started ripping in to it in the garage. During this I bought a Pro7 car that I ran a few times. The T2 was given to Frey Racing along with an upgraded turbo and a request for a real cage.

The summary about Frey is pretty simple. Over-charged, under-delivered. Frey first closed the shop but kept a retail site, and then I think they went out of business. I sent the car with the mechanic from Frey to his new shop, Lead Foot Automotive. At Frey they had fired up the car (even though I'd asked to be there when it happened) and had it idling fine for up to half an hour they said. All with the new cage, turbo, fuel system, etc.

Car went to Lead Foot where they continued working on it, buttoning it up. Was supposed to be not much left. Sunk more cash in to the car. All of a sudden I get a call that my motor is blown -- I must have had a bad motor in it when I left it with them at Frey. Um, yeah. Remember how they said it was idling fine? Anyway, I sucked it up because I wanted the car back and to get it on track -- paid for a fresh Drummond motor. They never got the new motor started.

The pictures you see above are what came back. Some parts look great, other parts a mess. I'm finding misrouted vacuum lines, bare wires, intake leaks, water temp sensor not connected, disconnected waste gate, grounds not connects, really, really, wrong ignition wires, bolts missing from the motor mounts, etc, etc.

Anyway, it's time to suck it up and either make this car run, or move on to the next project. Anybody know a *good* shop in NorCal that knows their way around RX7s? Preferably fuel injected second gens, or maybe third gens. The car is going to run SCCA ITE and NASA ST1/2 (depending on weight/hp).

Looks like TC @ www.tcdesignfab.com will take the car and finish it up, then down the street from him to Blacktrax for a dyno tune... cross your fingers for me.

Good luck.

There are a few good rotary shops around here - Ricks Rotary in Pleasanton and Rotorsports2 in Santa Clara.

TC is a great race prep shop.

Let me know if you ever need a hand with anything. Which Pro7 do you run? I see them whenever I'm at a race.

Rick's won't touch race cars. Rotosport won't touch race cars.

I sold the Pro7 4 or 5 years ago when we bough the house.

TC actually knows my T2 because he built the cage in it while he was working at Frey. :-)

Thanks!

Well. Last week I got some good news. Car started on its own, idled, and revved. Today I got some bad news... when the motor warms up it has an internal coolant leak and starts pissing out the exhaust. So the fresh Drummond motor from 2004 that has never seen an inch of street or track is unhappy. And now I'm trying to make arrangements for it to go back to Daryl. I just hope all the hard parts are good and it's a simple water o-ring. The turbo is a 60-1 HiFi P-trim 0.81 A/R and now I'm contemplating whether I should get the motor ported since it's going to have to come apart again -- when we built it in 2004 we did a "stock" rebuild.

Thoughts? Other than, "dude, that sucks." :-)

Wow. Dude, that sucks.
Sorry but its the first thing that came to mind before I read your last comment.

Works for me.

This car just hates California. I never had an issue with it back in Canada but all it's done is cost me money since moving here. I haven't driven it at all in over 10 years now but somehow I stupidly keep throwing money at it.

If you check the dates on this post you'll even see that it's been with TC Design for over a year now. Non-running cars that have been this long in coming together just don't make it up the priority list against somebody that has an event this weekend... and now I bet getting any time from Daryl Drummond is going to be tough with it being right before Runoffs, NASA Nats, and the last few Grand-Am events.

I spent all last night going through for-sale ads and thinking about other cars that I would like to build, but even with all this pain and suffering the RX7 still seems like the best bang for the buck. Even thought of just saying screw it and building a Spec Miata (I have a beat up '91 outside). Just can't do it. I want something with some power...

yeah that really blows, i remember seeing pics when the car was at frey a million years ago...

actually if its any consolation we've got a car like that too, we pulled the 3 rotor out of paul ko's t2, built a 13bt for it, and its been at the fabricators shop getting a turbo manifold and intercooler for like 3-4 years.

i think it got driven last in 2002?

and then my car, the P port 1st gen, i took parts out of the bag building the engine in 2008 that had stickers from 1998... i've got almost 7 trouble free miles on it now though.

we move at a pace that makes glaciers look speedy, and we really don't use outside shops cause they are slower than we are!

http://www.petting-zoo.net/photos/RX...t-Bodywork.jpg

Okay, cage re-done, interior painted, fuel cell re-plumbed, brakes rebuilt (almost), bodywork mostly mounted, finally getting closer again. Still need to sort out the motor (internal coolant leak when warm) once we get all the bits together and ready.

Ended up with AWR bodywork for the entire front; the other fenders weren't lining up well with the couple of AWR pieces I did have...

Whoa sorry to hear about your luck. I was bummed to read Rotorsport2 won't touch race cars. They did good work on my street FC.

Good luck keep us posted.

Really...?
It would have been faster/cheaper to just learn how to do what you need to build this car yourself.

What about these guys. They appear to be both a race shop and a 7 shop.

http://www.shaneracing.com/srabout.html

http://www.petting-zoo.net/photos/RX7-2011-10-12/ -- almost there. Seat fitting tomorrow, very minor odds and ends left, then off to Mike Haag @ Haag Performance to get the motor looked at and everything tuned.

Motor is a Series IV 13BT built by Darryl Drummond, I've no idea what happened to it to end up with the coolant issue and at this point I don't care. While Haag is fixing it up does anybody think there's anything else worth asking him to do? It's got stock porting right now which I think should be fine unless somebody can convince me otherwise. Not looking for huge, huge power out of the car. It's coming in around 2250# so for NASA ST2 it would need to make in the 250-275rwhp range, and for ST1 it'd be closer to 400rwhp. Turbo is a 60-1 HiFi (P-Trim, 0.81 A/R) and actually sized to make closer to the ST1 side of things.

dont port it, you're going to have trouble ONLY making 275!

Get a good electronic boost controller. Then tune it for a FLAT power curve in the RPM range you will use the car. Make it bleed boost to keep it at your max power for you class at all RPMs.

AEM ECU has a built-in boost controller, so we'll see how that plays out. That ECU has a metric buttload of features. And integrates with the AiM MXL Pista dash nicely. I actually got to sit in the car and start it this morning for the first time in about a decade. It fired right up even with whatever is causing the "coolant leak when warm" problem so hopefully that's a simple fix.

There's a light at the end of the tunnel and it doesn't look like a train! Now I need to figure out wheels. The stock 16x7 TurboII wheels rub the spring slightly at the current ride height and static camber setting... AWR EP fenders give lots of room to go outboard (2.5" front and 4" rear?).

Who's running what? I'm thinking Hoosier R6/A6 or maybe their radial slicks... one suggestion I've heard is 285/30r18 all around with the option of a slick in a very similar size...

Toronto to NorCal eh? You're in a good rotary community. Atkins and Pineapple are helpful to me when I'm down there, just a shot across the state line therefore no taxes. What took you down there? I'd love to be permanent. Not looking forward to the snow!!! Car looks sharp, book a day at Infineon when you get it sorted.

Ottawa -> Toronto -> NorCal. But been here 10+ years now. Car was my daily driver in Ottawa, even with the CSC Racing cage. Stories about the car are not great until TC Design got it... then the time line is a little slow, but all the stories are positive. I actually got to start the car today for the first time in a decade and it fired right up. I am super excited. Mike Haag used to build the rotaries for Rebello Racing so I have faith there. I also have faith in Darryl Drummond but it's easier to deal locally -- I suspect the shop that shall not be named managed to harm a second motor but we'll see.

Little odds and ends like a rearview mirror left to do. Then the motor. And then I'll be burning up vacation days like crazy for Thunderhill/Laguna/Infineon with this car finally running!

Trying to get the wheels sorted out now...

http://www.petting-zoo.net/photos/RX7-2011-10-14/

Getting closer! As I said, I actually got to start the car and hear it idle. Right down to the last little bits of work. Then off to Mike Haag to look at the motor, and one of the Rebello guys will tune it for me.

Combination of jgrewe & AWR body work, MMR & AWR & MazdaComp suspension, and lots and lots of fab work, wiring, and cleaning up by TC Design.

Good news, maybe. Motor guy says the motor isn't leaking water through the O-rings. Maybe I got lucky and when the shop doing all the recent work re-sealed the intake that took care of it... dyno time is being booked as I type... hopefully next week...

Glad to hear it! It's time you catch a break!

I hear that! Saw the C6 yesterday... they're replacing the entire diff now. Rear subframe was on the floor... trying to get them to check the torque tube now rather than when they put it all back together...

Saw the RX7 again this morning. Loaded the right configuration in to the AiM dash so when the car is on the dyno they'll have a tach and AFR. Everybody seems happy about the AEM ECU and it integrates very nicely with the AiM.

Dyno in two weeks because everybody else is panicing to get dyno'd for the 25 hours of Thunderhill...

If the car is gonna run at around 2500lbs or less i would run A6 DOTs. You could run slicks but i think you take a fairly big hit in P:W adjustment for them. The A6 is a CHEATER tire for the ST classes IMO...

Thoughts on sizing if we're talking <2500# and aiming for 400rwhp? Won't get dyno numbers until next week at the earliest. I'm still trying to sort out wheels, too, but 275/35r15 on 15x10s is feeling like a happy place...

I know its pretty hard to oversize an A6 as it does not take much heat to bring them up to temp. But i have not played in that realm of P:W much myself. I would defer to Damian or others, maybe even the auto-X guys...

You can go big and never look back.
I can sell you just want you need. :icon_tup:
Real Racing wheels 16x12 front and rear "0" offset
Front tires Hoosier 23.5x11x16
Rear tires Hoosier 25x12x16
Both are R35A compound

Located in Norcal for easy pick up!
25XP

I think you'll be fine on the 275 A6's. They'll start to slow down/fall off at the end of a race, but still probably be faster than an R6. Not to mention you have immediate grip at the start, which having that confidence to maneuver through a hairy start is worth it's weight in gold. I'm sure you're tracking though since you are always in the RR & AX section on CF.

BTW, glad to see they are taking care of the C6.

Still don't have my C6 back, but the RX7 is supposed to go on the dyno tonight! Cross your fingers!

Shockingly, that didn't go to plan. AEM Universal EMS. Controlling what was supposed to be 12AT + Bosch 1050cc injectors. RC Engineering flowed them at 690+960. When the car tried to get i to any boost it went lean. Undersized injectors. Trying to work through the issues... started with low fuel pressure and intercooler hoses that kept blowing off... *double sigh*

Saga continues, but in a good way... email from motor guy says no water leaks (shop resealed the intake and that solved that) and they found the magic setting in the ECU configuration that seems to have fixed the secondary injector issue. Just waiting to hear when it'll hit the dyno now...

nice!

And... car hit the dyno last night... another nice picture of wheels spinning and things looking okay... then... 15psi, 16 degrees ignition advance, 6500rpm "mid-range tuning" pull... when they backed out of the gas *pop* and 0 compression in the rear rotor.

*SIGH*

Yeah, I stopped in that evening to pick up my Miata. Sad indeed. I thought he said it was 12 PSI though.

So close....

Mike corrected it today after he and Brian double checked the data. 12psi, 5500rpm. Rear rotor, rear rotor housing, and apex seals all done. Estimate/quote coming through tomorrow, hopefully. :-/

Email from Haag this afternoon. Motor is finally back in the car and running! It should get dyno'd next week, hopefully!

Glad to hear. If you would pm me with engine builder info and price of rebuild.

Thanks,
25XP

http://www.haagperformance.com/
Mike Haag
nice guy

What gracer said. Mike is a good guy and does his best. Factory trained Mazda guy. Ex-Rebello. Pricing is dependent on what hard parts are needed more than anything else.

"Next week" has turned in to the evening of Monday the 11th. Cross your fingers, folks! I just ran the numbers and NASA ST2 would be around 275rwhp (no way with the 60-1 turbo), while ST1 would be around 435rwhp (might be a stretch on 91 octane!)... we'll see! And if she goes SCCA ITE the sky is the limit...

Any update? :)

Started to run hot before they got to tuning on the dyno. "The fan was wired backwards and was fighting against the dyno fan." So they're trying again Tuesday...

Re-scheduled. I was just about to hop in the truck (with trailer) to head over to the dyno in Fremont to watch it get tuned when I got an email from the motor guy (Haag Performance) that his tuner (Brian Rebello) forgot they had a date tonight...

Cursed.

- It likes to blow the turbo-to-IC piping apart, even at 10psi.
- It split the front plate where a galley plug was extracted and tapped for an oil fitting for the turbo. (Shot oil all over the shop.)
- Ran at 194F water temp... builder says 220F max.
- Ran at 212F oil temp... well above the 180F maximum the builder wants.

First pull: ~6krpm, 282hp, 232tq, fat AFRs
Second pull: ~6400rpm, 313hq, 257tq, 9:1 AFRs, 18psi max (!!)

The motor needs to come back out and the front plate get re-done or fixed. The intake piping needs to get reworked to at least have a bead to hold it better. And we're hoping the oil temps will be better at the track, otherwise we need to look at where the cooler is and the ducting. On the dyno the car was running without the front bodywork (ie. splitter)...

Looking at the numbers it may be possible to tune for ST2... maybe. But 282hp running fat, low boost, and only to 6krpm is tough to think about getting 275hp. I think my max for ST2 will be around 275hp.

ST1 is also looking to maybe be a stretch; I'd need to make about 425hp to be near the class limit. And for SCCA ITE in SFR I think an ST1 car is needed to be competitive at all...

We'll see. I'm waiting for an invoice from Haag Performance right now to settle up for work to date and then we'll look at the intake piping, fixing the front plate, and getting back on the dyno for the fifth time with Haag.

I guess it's progress?

Picture of the cracked housing attached. :-( Ordered a new used one off eBay and Haag is waiting for it...

Car went back on the dyno a couple weeks ago. Didn't blow up. They think the wastegate spring is too stiff so we're hitting too much boost (north of 14psi!), too early and cutting fuel. So no pulls over 6krpm. Progress, though. Unfortunately I don't think there's going to be a nice, dry track day to test at if the car comes together before '13...

maybe, there are actually a lot of track days around thanksgiving/christmas/new years though

Okay, it's been a while... car has gone back on the dyno multiple times. All sorts of weird crap happening, lots of trouble controlling the boost. Wastegate went back to Tial, came back A-OK. Back on the dyno again, no boost control. Order new wastegate springs. Wastegate works on the bench now, finally. Back on the dyno. Better, but still the boost spikes over about 6500rpm. HKS undivided manifold used by so many people. The guys are now going to rework the exhaust and use a much bigger pipe for the wastegate and potentially even change the angle of the wastegate and piping.

So, we took my original motor, it magically broke at Leadfoot Performance. We put a Drummond motor in it. It ate apex seals _on decel_ on the dyno. We put a Haag motor in it. It broke the front plate and sprayed oil all over the dyno room. We tore it apart and fixed it up. Now the turbo lost an o-ring and needs a rebuild.

I haven't actually driven this car since some time back in 2000 when it had a bolt-in cage and stock turbo boosting to something stupid. Last time I drove it on track was 1999. Some time around then it won an autocross championship or three, though.

We're making progress but I should have pulled the plug on this deal when Frey Racing closed up shop 10 years ago or whatever... I hope the car is worth it when done... in the mean time I was NASA NorCal PTE Champion in my little Miata last year during my rookie season...

Wow. Good luck.

Yuck.