Build or bust on a time limit. 87 TII-LT1
 

My name is Devin Kelley.
Welcome to my "Build or bust on a time limit" build thread. I own a "soulless" 1987 Mazda RX7 TII that I am making a LT1/T56 car. This is a project resurrection stemming back to 2004. This car is going to be used for professional goofing off and enjoying life. Here are just a couple goals I have for the project.

- Make the car run and drive before January 1, 2013 or I AM getting rid of it.
- Being resourceful in regards to obtaining parts because this is not my only project and there are tons of parts floating around out there that go to waste.
-Enjoying my time invested in the build because if I don't, I should be doing something else.

http://s442.beta.photobucket.com/use...d9ff0.jpg.html
http://s442.beta.photobucket.com/use...tml?sort=3&o=0


Here is a component list that I will update as the build progresses.

Chassis-
1987 Mazda RX7 TII ("soulless")
Grannys Speed Shop basic kit

Engine-
LT1-
Stock heads with light intake porting
Comp. Cams 1.6 rockers
hydraulic lifters
7608 Comp. Cams Magnum push rods
dual rate springs
Comp. Cams reatiners
Comp Cams .510 .540 camshaft
Stock intake manifold with mild porting
Stock throttle body

Transmission/other drivetrain-
Stock T56 (1994 Camaro)
Stock Camaro drive shaft (modified)

Suspension-
Tein lowering springs on Tokico Blue struts
Energy suspension master kit (black)

So let me understand something here. You're trying to "will" this project's completion into existance? And if it doesn't bend to your will within a ridgid time constraint, you're going to punish it (and yourself) by getting rid of it?

I'm having difficulty understanding your motivation.

Projects like this take years, as you've already discovered. But passing an ultimatum isn't coming from the right place. It's a negative, and creativity by definition is never negative.

This is not your only project, eh? So in other words this V8 thing is even less likely to be completed on time/within budget now (I assume you also have a limited budget as well - just reading between the lines here) as there are several other projects that require your full attention as well?

News flash: Jan 1st will come around and this won't be finished. So might as well pack it in now. Game over. Save yourself some grief and lots of time/money and get rid of it now.

I didn't intend for this post to be offensive to you. I don't know you. But if you took offense from it, it means you were looking to be offended today, and to that I can only say "you're welcome". :)

By the way your pictures didn't work.

HAHA No I'm not offended at all! It's just more motivation. I have completed projects of this magnitude in very short time. I basically do this for a living. Money isn't a problem for a project of this size. Your post will help make completing this project even more gratifying. For this I thank you. I know the pics didn't work, I'm working on that thanks though. I created a deadline for myself so I have a feeling of accountability I suppose. The car will definitely be done on time I have no doubts there. You better give me a cookie when I do haha.

Here is a little history.
 

Here is the history of this chassis since I have owned it.
I have had my 1987 FC TII RX-7 since 2003 when I was a Junior in high school. It looked and ran great when I bought it for $1000 from one of my best friends. After driving it with exhaust as the only modification for close to a year I bought a used T3T4 turbo kit to swap in. I had about 3 days to do the swap with limited experience and resources. I did have plenty of motivation. I had 3 days to get it together before starting the move from Missouri to Florida for tech school. I had a lot to accomplish before I could go. I got my components swapped over for a sort of half-assed build on a stock motor. Little did I know the motor was weak and I didn't have all my ducks in a row anyway. After a small amount of run time I ended up destroying my rotary engine. I didn't have the time, money, or experience among other things that I needed to rebuild it. I ended up dragging it to Florida with me anyway because I really had no choice. I was actually in tech school at MMI when I discovered this forum and created this profile while doing some research for another build. The car sat for a couple years there as I fantasized about getting it it back on the road. I moved back to Missouri and it followed, along with a 1983 FB but that's another story. I tinkered with it off and on over the course of a couple years dragging my ass like no other. I ended up ordering a SBC basic swap kit from Granny's Speed Shop. I also somehow decided to take the entire interior apart. I was experimenting with painting at the time so I took all kinds of things apart on the body. Then she sat for a few more years in an embarrassing state. I moved it from here to there, plans changing again and again. Eventually It moved to it's current location where it now sits and has been here for about a year and a half. I recently came to the conclusion that I needed to either get rid of the chassis and move on, or make shit happen. I recently came across a 94 Camaro that has a rebuilt motor with a decent top end. It has a T56 transmission and a rough body. I picked it up for $1200. I also picked up another FC(1986 N/A chassis with stock TII turbo) that had a lot of interior and exterior components that I need to complete the swap. Not to mention some new suspension components and a mildly built rotary(keeping for future FD build). Unfortunately the body is very rough and there are title issues. So at this juncture Iv'e basically been the biggest procrastinator in history and have managed to practically ruin a great car. But I now have a complete power train, my own personal shop with a lift, time, money, experience, knowledge and I have my drive back. I am ready to bring this car back to life. I do this daily for other peoples cars and several other cars for myself. Now it's the 7's turn.

My post was kind of intended to be tough love, so you got it. Good luck.

[IMG]http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/q.../buildpic3.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/q.../buildpic1.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/q.../buildpic2.jpg[/IMG] This was taken before I sandblasted and painted the front subframe.

[IMG]http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/q...psa16e5e65.jpg[/IMG]

Here is some progress from the last week.
 

[IMG]http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps942bef5a.jpg[/IMG]
Got the powertrain pulled from the Camaro.


[IMG]http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps0343589d.jpg[/IMG]
Mocked up a human powertrian.


[IMG]http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps78918434.jpg[/IMG]
Power washed the motor and transmission because they were pretty nasty due to a few poorly installed gaskets and seals. I bolted on some old SBC shorty headers to keep water out of the exhaust ports.


[IMG]http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps212af41c.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps54b5b2ac.jpg[/IMG]
Installed the Tokicos with Tein springs(super easy on this chassis).
I also drained and pulled the gas tank because I have a cleaner one with a Walbro 255(in-tank) fuel pump.


[IMG]http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps197d2466.jpg[/IMG]
Here is a sample of the 8 year old fuel. Smelled like rusty Fruitloops haha.

Some progress from the last week.
 

[IMG]http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps68047554.jpg[/IMG]
I took a few spare minutes to clean out the water drains for the rear hatch because they were clogged from the car sitting for 100,000,000 years.

[IMG]http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps95ec1a7a.jpg[/IMG]
I pulled the intake manifold and valve covers to check out the top end and see this "port job"

[IMG]http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps1e3aa2b0.jpg[/IMG]
Someone cleaned up the intake ports a little. I want to port them really bad but I'd hate to disturb port velocity by blindly porting without a flowbench.

I found this cheap solution for adapting the T56 clutch slave cylinder roll pin quick disconnect to AN line. $15.
http://www.nookandtranny.com/mm5/gra...1/DSC05660.JPG
http://www.nookandtranny.com/mm5/gra...1/DSC05660.JPG

^Nice.

Had a couple hours yesterday for the fuel tank .
 

[IMG]http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/q...psa6054273.jpg[/IMG]
I went out to my doner car and pulled the tank to see what condition it was in. It was no surprise that the top of the sending unit was pretty skanky. Wire brushing the screws makes pulling them out a lot easier.

[IMG]http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps2a860687.jpg[/IMG]
The doner tank had a Walbro 255 in it and wasn't really bad inside. It is a lot more feasible to use this tank than the one from my car.

[IMG]http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps73c0e4b8.jpg[/IMG]
The fuel inside actually smelled like gasoline! I drained it and rinsed it out with fresh gas.

[IMG]http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps0e676219.jpg[/IMG]
I put a sending unit back in and power washed the outside of the tank. Then I ground a little surface rust off the side and shot some undercoating on it. I didn't get a any pictures but I also used a die grinder with a wire wheel to get a lot of the rust off the top of the sending unit. Then I sprayed some primer and paint on it,

[IMG]http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps89b6811e.jpg[/IMG]
In this pic I was just starting to replace the soft fuel lines and hose clamps.
I blew out the steel lines going the length of the car to the engine bay with compressed air to get the old setting fuel out. I then sprayed brake cleaner through to further attempt to clean them out followed by more air.

[IMG]http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/q...psfd98d996.jpg[/IMG]
Clean tank with Walbro 255 back in with new soft lines and clamps. I'll also add that I reused the fuel tank straps because they had no rust. A lot of times it's safer to replace them. I also wire wheeled the tank strap bolts and coated with anti-seize but that's a given.

[IMG]http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps8fd77bb4.jpg[/IMG]
Before lowering the car back down I took a sec. to make a little more transmission tunnel clearance by doing a little trimming. I'll probable use seam sealer to seal the opened gaps between layers of sheet metal then just a little paint. Not getting super fancy here.

[IMG]http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps03760db4.jpg[/IMG]
I decided tomorrow I'm ordering the modified Wilwood 7/8 Master Cylinder (Part #260-3376 $72.95) and the MC Firewall Adapter (RX7MCAdapter $22) as opposed to the Grannys Speed Shop 1" bore clutch master cylinder($90). I feel more confident in fitment according to the description and other peoples testimonials thus far. If my factory Camaro clutch clutch line won't work I'll go ahead and order the Nook and Tranny's roll pin fitting to AN adaptor and Ebay AllStar braided stainless Steel Brake Line. Cost of the line and fitting will be about $35.

If I can find the time tomorrow I'm going to power wash the bottom of the car while it's on the lift. I want to get it clean enough to spray some undercoating on a few places.

:facepalm3::pat::facepalm4:

Here is a little update on the progress.
 

I got the transmission tunnel cleaned up.
Attachment 695486

The intake was nasty so Purple Power and I did work.
(Before)
Attachment 695487
(Before)
Attachment 695488

(After)
]Attachment 695489
(After)
Attachment 695489

I painted the block with a lighter metallic silver/grey because I got tired of the gloss black I have been using for years. It was time for something different.
Attachment 695481

Attachment 695482

I think it cleaned up pretty good.
Attachment 695483

FINALLY!
http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/q...psb832888d.jpg

Transmission cross member.
Attachment 695484

Attachment 695485

The RX7 makes a damn good engine stand haha.
Attachment 695479

This is a very gratifying step in the project.
Attachment 695480

Did some suspension work also.
 

Attachment 695474

Attachment 695475

She sits a little lower in the front end now for sure. With the way it sits here my oil pan is only 4 3/4" inch from the ground.
Attachment 695476

This is how the front end looked before.
 

http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps6211fa9a.jpg

Unfortunately it no longer sits this level as a person can tell from the above picture. After I install the battery in the rear, my speaker box and fuel in the tank I'll take another look and decide where to go from there.

This is what I was working with for interior.
 

Attachment 694399

This is my spare RX7 that I use for parts. I stripped all the HVAC parts, dash, body harness, carpet and doors so far.
Attachment 694400

This is how the carpet looked when it came out of the parts car.
Attachment 694401

I pulled the entire Body harness out of the spare car because mine didn't have one at all. Over 17 feet long on the floor.
Attachment 694391

Got it put in my car.
Attachment 694392

I put some baking soda down to help keep the smell of the carpet neutral.
Attachment 694393

Here is newly fresh carpet in clean form.
Attachment 694394

I pulled the wiring harness from the LT1 in through the firewall where the originall harness came through.
Attachment 694395

Since I wont be having functional AC for a while I pulled the evaporator and I'm glad I did because it was so clogged with crap!
Attachment 694396

http://i442.photobucket.com/albums/q...psff525dae.jpg

I put the rest of the HVAC back together and got the dash in.
Attachment 694397

It cam a long way in one weekend. I put the driver door from the parts car also.
Attachment 694398

I ordered a set of headers last night.-

Hedman Hedders 69648 - Hedman Elite Hedders - Overview - SummitRacing.com


I also ordered a radiator.-

27"x19" Aluminum Radiator Extreme Duty HC 6003 Rad | eBay


I got my Wilwood Clutch master cylinder in today.-

Hinson Super Cars - Wilwood Master Cylinder (Modified)

not going to lie...that motor looks really small in the engine bay :p

Are those the tein green springs? If so, they RUB on the stock turbo wheels/tires. I used to have them and found out the hard way. :(
I switched them to the racing beat springs and am very happy.

Yea I noticed! haha. They were on my parts car and had maybe 1000 miles on them. I got the parts car super cheap so I'm okay with it. Thanks for the heads up!