Figured it was time to post a build thread, so here we go...

Picked up the car a few months ago and since then have started to fix up stuff back to OE condition and mod as I go.

Mods when I took delivery of the car:
- Apexi Power FC w/ Commander
- Pinned non-sequential
- Supra Fuel Pump
- GReddy Profec B 'tuned' to ~15psi (stock SMIC)
- GReddy Turbo Timer
- GReddy downpipe with custom catless midpipe
- Unknown short shifter
- RacingBeat front swaybar connector
- Tokico 5 way adjustable shocks w/ the R1 springs

Mods I've done so far:
- Interior cleanup (plastidip spray to give '94+' look)
- Pettit steering wheel gauge shroud w/ Boost Gauge
- Custom engine torque damper Click here for my how-to thread
- 99' spec tails
- Misc interior/exterior parts replacement back to OE

Pics of the car when I first got it:




Some interior shots when I was working on it (will get finished pics up soon):





Not two weeks later I took the car out to a meet and had a racoon dive bomb into the car:

Most of the damage was superficial and just hurt my wallet in replacement parts

All fixed up and out for a little shoot (more pics in the 'Post your FD thread') :


After doing some research I decided what direction to go with an intercooler since I wasn't fond of the idea of running that ammount of boost through the stocker. I decided on the GReddy SMIC w/ hardpipe kit. After tearing into the car to do the install I found alot of 'shortcuts' in the non-sequential conversion and decided to clean that up and do some other mods at the same time.

Mods on the agenda:
- Banzai Racing 9 piece Block-Off plates (Remove the studs by double-nutting them and replace with provided bolts w/ some locktite.)
- Pineapple Racing Idler Pulley kit
- Efini Y-pipe
- GReddy SMIC w/ Hardpipes

Teardown:

 

'Junk':




Rear turbo inlet with the sequential actuator deleted:


No more restriction (was previously pinned open):


Blocked off:



EGR:


EGR Removed:


EGR Blocked off and vac capped for sequential system:


ACV Blocked off:


ACV Tube and Split Air Bocked off:


Double throttle blocked off: (Forgot to take pics, I had to drill out the butterflies due to not being able to remove the mushroomed philip screws without shearing the heads)

 

AWS and AWS tube Blocked off:


I also performed the coolant bypass while the UIM was off:


Also when the UIM was off I decided to keep it from heatsoaking:



Engine buttoned back up a bit, cleaned the UIM/TB as well from oxidation:


Efini Y-Pipe installed:


Engine coming along (plan is after the car is running and the SMIC is plummed to take it back down and powdercoat all the hardpipes and elbow silver like the Efini pipe):


Good shot of the Pineapple Racing idler pulley (Sexy part that is rarely seen lol):


I'll contine to keep this thread updated on the progress of the car. Let me know if you have any questions in regards to mods that have been done or going to be done.

- Jon

 

Damn sexy. Love Black on black R1. Love the plate too. Looks like she's on the right track to good care. Is that the idler pulley for more belt contact to the waterpump? G

 

Exactly. I've read too much negative things about deleting the airpump and soley relying on a larger diameter pulley w/ shorter belt.

Figured the cost wasn't that much more for the Pineapple Racing kit vs a GReddy pulley set or comperable.

The good thing is later on I can go to the larger diameter waterpump pulley to aleviate cavitation and still have a 'stock' contact patch.

 

Awesome work, do you have any shots of the interior all done and put back together? Want to see what the outcome looks like.

 

Great work, thanks for posting pics.

 

I will try to get some pics this weekend when the car is moving. It's almost impossible to get good interior shots in the garage due to lighting.

 

Looking good!

Was it a pain to remove that rear turbo pipe?

 

At first I thought it was going to be and had all sorts of different sized extensions and flex joints on hand but it wound up being pretty straightforward with the car jacked up. I'm sure an aftermarket DP helps since you have a bit more room to work around.

I haven't reinstalled the pipe yet, so might be interesting getting a torque wrentch up there

 

Yeah, I'm going to take mine off to have it ceramic coated. Luckily I do have a 3" aftermarket down pipe, so that's relieving.

Do you have to torque those turbo pipe bolts back to spec?? They seem kinda small to put too much force on... as if the bolts/nuts would break with too much pressure. ???

 

The y-pipe/charge pipe only get about ~96 inch lbs, which equates out to about 8 ft lbs.

Like you said, its not much, but anytime I'm dealing with gaskets I like to make sure its equal pressure around the surface.

 

nice build....if you are in WPB a bunch of us are getting together for a caravan to what used to be known as moroso....you are more than welcome to join us

https://www.rx7club.com/se-rx-7-forum-35/official-list-caravan-nscra-event-10-04-09-a-862567/

its this sunday Oct 4th. We usually stop at the publix on PGA and the turnpike before we go to the track.

 

Cool thanks for the invite... My goal is to have the car up and running with the idle dialed back in by the weekend. If that goes as planned I may attend and might be able to convince my friend to come as well

 

Gorgeous shot!

At first glance it looked like a CF hood, but after peeling my tiny Asian eyelids open I realized that it's just a shiny glare.

 

Nope, you were right the first time.. I believe he has the CF Feed replica, not sure of the make though

 

It's defiantly a FEED hood.

 

Goddamn eyeballs, it is a FEED hood....

 

SFR memeber checking in

 

For the guys wondering how access is to the rear turbo inlet/charge pipe:




Now, onto the headache... When I was initially attempting to size/fit the GReddy SMIC I had some issues, but I wrote it off and decided to do all the other subsequent mods. When I attempted to revisit it tonight, this is what I was dealing with:

Using the GReddy 'cover' to align the SMIC, seemed to be getting me more in the ballpark of alignment then having the stock ducting in the way:


Coolant hose bracket or no bracket, I couldn't get the SMIC bracket to line up:


You can see the dust on the pulley from where the SMIC was making contact before I used the cover to align it:


Now, onto the worst: Hard pipes:



How in the hell could this conceivably mount like this? Any engine movement at all would shred these pipes to pieces. Just the pipes touching when trying to size was making small aluminum shavings.

Currently I'm at a loss for what to do next. Any protips on mounting the GReddy SMIC?

 

wow... looks like this is coming along great! keep up the good work

 

i see your silver, and i raise you GOLDDDDDDDD



haha looks good!!! the silver is more subtle. i'm sure they perform the same.

too bad i ran out of the stuff so i didn't quite make it to the tb.

 

Bling bling goooooold

Anyone have thoughts on the hardpipes? I did some digging and found some mention that the GReddy 2 piece kit 'may not fit with the GReddy SMIC and may need to be trimmed'.

Looks like I have about 1/2" on each end that could be cut off, but then I need to get a bead back on the pipe

 

That sucks! I had to make some custome brackets for my FMIC to fit right, i haven't had anything go smothly on this car

If you are not using the ducting that came with the SMIC will it fit?

 

It was actually worse before when trying to use the stock ducting. Per GReddys instructions it tells you to trim only 1/4" of the plastic in the front off to make it flush, but it indexes the SMIC too far back and that's where the bottom inlet was rubbing against the crank pulley.

Now that I have some sort of reference using their duct I guess I can build around it. Looks like my local welder has the ability to roll pipe beads so I may just chop a bit off each end of the longer pipe to give some room for flex.

I'll keep you all posted.