Doesn't get any more JDM than this!

[soldave]

Bought my first rotary in the form of a 1991 FC in February here in Okinawa, in southern Japan. When I bought it the car wouldn't start, so I got it at a pretty damn good price. Took my until last month to get all the little issues ironed out (and there were a bunch of them; previous owner hadn't actually been able to start the car in over a year, and the owner before that hadn't done any real maintenance on it.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TAtXkuriJAI/AAAAAAAACCQ/dcL1gtia82w/s912/FC3S_pre_shaken-6.jpg
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TAtXy0M8_nI/AAAAAAAACCg/X6TprCrEIaM/s912/FC3S_pre_shaken-10.jpg
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TAtXwPIYGHI/AAAAAAAACCc/HSSFWhrjkEU/s912/FC3S_pre_shaken-13.jpg

But I eventually got it started and running with a nice steady idle. Was given the inspection and certified road legal about 3 weeks ago. The spec list isn't huge, and isn't going to grow too much as my income isn't what it was a year or so ago, but it's a nice starting point:
Strut bars, front & rear
JIC Coilovers
Apexi intake
Injectors freshly cleaned by Witchhunter
Some old as hell HKS EVC boost controller
Fuel pump rewire
Optima red-top battery

Once I got the car moving under its own power I noticed that the rear calipers were sticking a little. Rebuilt those, and at the same time threw on some Endless pads, Dixcel rotors and Dunlop Star Spec tyres. I might not have a huge amount of money but I don't worry at all about paying money for decent brakes & tyres.
http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv99/soldave/P1010004-3.jpg
http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv99/soldave/P1010003-2.jpg

And then today I just fitted this little thing. Out with the old...
http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv99/soldave/rad2.jpg

And in with the new...
http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv99/soldave/rad1.jpg

Namely a Ron Davis racing spec radiator. One of the best things about my used parts supplier here in Japan is that they don't have much of an idea how much US performance parts should cost, so on the rare occasions you see US stuff for sale it can be at a bargain price. Case in point. Should be pretty useful in the Okinawan heat as I'm sure you all know the rotaries run hotter than Boney M in their prime.
http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv99/soldave/rad3.jpg
http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv99/soldave/rad4.jpg

[MaczPayne]

Nice.

[Voodoo]

Hopefully those American feet are as good a mod as the others:driving:

[soldave]

British feet ;)

[speedjunkie]

^I was going to ask if you were military or what. I was stationed at Kadena from 00-03, I kinda miss it there. I still have friends over there too, and most of them are into rotaries, or used to be when I was there anyway.

Loving the FC man.

[soldave]

I got here in '04. Am not military but have plenty of car friends who are. The rotary scene has died down quite a bit, as there aren't too many tuning shops who know about tuning them down here. Plenty of FDs around, but they usually have the normal upgrades.

Thanks for the comment about the FC. It's a lot to learn compared to my 1992 Mitsubishi Evo that I used as a daily driver and drag racer, but seems a pretty nice ride.

[wanganwarrior]

Very nice fc. Is the whole car scene dying over there or just shops?

[soldave]

Okinawa's taken a bit of a hit as Japan's poorest region. The quarterly drags arranged by Japanese companies HKS and Omega Oils are not taking place (although fortunately a couple of military guys have invested in a set of drag lights and timing equipment). And while there are events here for drifting and gymkhana, shop politics is bad for everyone. Military guys will always have a fair bit of money though and Okinawa must have one of the highest amounts of horsepower relative to area around.

The car scene in Okinawa seems to switch from racing type to type every so often. In the past it was actual rallying, but I heard shop politics killed that off. Drag racing was in about 8 years ago, but cases of bias against foreigners came up quite a bit (lights going to green at different times, and being caught on camera, timing equipment "problems" when a non-Japanese won etc). It came back in about '07 but seems to be taking a dip at the moment in favour of drifting and touge. Gymkhana has had a pretty stable following, especially among the Japanese here. Unfortunately we don't have any circuits and the only real 1/4 mile drag strips have traffic lights at the end of them ;)

[speedjunkie]

I used to go outside Kadena's gate 1 to watch the drag races on Sunday nights on 58. And I used to go to Naha on Saturday nights to watch the drifting down by the docks. I had several friends that had FCs, a couple friends that had Skylines (mostly R32s). It was a good time.

I think the fiance and I are going to come over and visit sometime though, maybe in the next year or two. Maybe I'll see you.

[soldave]

The drag racing at Mizugama still happens on Thursday and Sunday night, as well as some "test 'n' tune" at Henza, out near Ikei. Think the drifting near the docks has moved on though after there was a crackdown on it.

Might be worth heading to http://blacklinux.com/innersanctum/ and seeing if there's anyone you recognize there. There's a fair few old skool guys on there.

[speedjunkie]

Thanks for the link but I don't have a sign on and it won't let me in to see what you've posted. Is it just a forum for Okinawa? Maybe I'll sign on anyway haha.

[soldave]

Yeah, it's mainly Okinawan military guys who are into the car scene. A couple of guys from mainland & a couple who are now back in the States or downrange, but mainly in Oki.

[wanganwarrior]

Seems like drama takes over on the other side of the pond as well. I will join up on that forum :)

[soldave]

Public Service Announcement: If your brake rotor looks like this it is not a good sign:
http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv99/soldave/broken4.jpg
http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv99/soldave/broken3.jpg

You can also play "spot the messed up wheel spacer"
http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv99/soldave/broken1.jpg

Yeah, not good. But it's back together after a little incident and mobile just about. The new rotor seems a little close to the caliper on that side, but am hoping it's just me being paranoid and not the wheel bearing going. There doesn't seem to be any movement in the wheel so will drive around with it and see how long it takes for something else to fall off.

[soldave]

Could hear a bit of rubbing on the front passenger rotor for a little while, but that seemed to go away at the end of my drive around. Got to check that wheel area again though as it made a couple of rubbing noises at full lock left and right from time to time.

Also found out that the old skool HKS boost controller just doesn't seem to be controlling boost or something else strange is happening. I had boost set to standard, and the overboost fuel cut should come in at 0.58bar anyway. Put my foot down in 3rd and the rpms and boost started rising. Flew up to 0.7bar before I got out of it and let it come back down. The car doesn't have a visible fuel cut defender so I don't know if the previous owner before Justin cut a wire or something to stop the fuel cut, but I shouldn't have got above 0.5bar anyway with the controller on there.

Might throw on my known working manual boost controller in the next few days and see if that makes any difference. If not it might be the wastegate stuck closed or actuator stuck or something. But I'd love to know why the fuel cut didn't come in.

Idle also seems to have gone up from about 7-800rpm when I started today to about 13-1400rpm this evening. Am hoping it's just the idle stop screw come loose a little.

[junkyard racer]

Glad to see you are over here, Dave :)

[Mazdabater]

Hey man, since your over in japan you ever gonna swing buy panspeed/r magic/re amemiya? If you do what would be the chances of getting to buy some merchandise lol

[soldave]

Swing by? I might be in the same country but mainland Japan is still a 2hr flight away for me. Might be able to source a part or 2 though... new or used. What kind of thing are you looking for?

[soldave]

What do you think of these for on an FC? Could get the full set of 4 for about $150
http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv99/soldave/1007004003166s0.jpg
http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv99/soldave/1007004003166s1.jpg
http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv99/soldave/1007004003166s2.jpg

[junkyard racer]

I think those wheels were on the car when Justin got it. I am almost certain he has a pic or two.

[soldave]

Got my wideband in today which was a bit of a mission but luckily had someone who knew exactly what they were doing, and knew how to do a good job (i.e. not ghetto-rig like I do with everything). I have to learn the "do it once, do it right" mentality. Wideband results: well I haven't looked at it much when driving yet as it's not fitted where I want on the dash, but at idle I'm at 10.9! That's like your standard Okinawa tune(!), or rather what happens when you get 12V to your fuel pump and not 9, and when you've bypassed the fuel resistor relay. Picking up an old skool 5-knob SAFC to do a bit of basic fuelling tuning to it in the next week or so.

So that's the good. On the bad side the cursed FC continues to throw up more issues than an emo teen. I found today my clutch is slipping when at WOT. No burning smell but it's undoubtedly slipping. Think I'll replace with a Centerforce Dual Friction clutch; they're well priced and I loved the same clutch when it was in my Evo. Am a big advocate of brand loyalty.

[mazdadude7]

I would love to have the spacers from your car if you deside to sell them. Let me know Thanks

[soldave]

PM sent :)

[soldave]

Well huge props today to ImaKethings and MJR for help with the clutch swap. Am confident that without them I'd still be looking up at the transmission, confused, wondering how the hell I'm even gonna start taking it out. Think even if I'd somehow managed to get the mission off, the 54mm flywheel nut that greeted me would have destroyed me. They helped me out (or rather did the work despite my best attempts to assist/hinder them) and now I'm well on the way to breaking this clutch in.

Also, the lightened flywheel saga was sorted out in the end. Almost 3mm was shaved off it in order to try and find an undamaged surface. But find one we did and now the flywheel is extra-light. Means I have to rev a little more on hill starts, but found out on the way home that without the silencer in my exhaust, hill starts now set off car alarms! Felt so much lighter though: stock flywheel weighs 22lbs and the Exedy lightened one that went in was 10.2lbs after machining including rear counterweight which is a hell of a lot of difference (a weight reduction of 53% in fact). There was a bit of concern whether the flywheel would be ok with that much taken off the surface, but we reckoned that with the power I was making it's not gonna be an issue. Put it this way: am not gonna be running a T88 in the very near future!

So it went in without any huge drama and even the notoriously hard to remove pilot bearing was pulled out relatively easily. Threw in an ACT Street/Strip clutch setup which has been recommended by a lot of FC guys (cheers to Skylinessuck for help in getting that). Over 300 torques was applied in putting the big ass flywheel bolt back on and everything lined up perfectly. One thing I did notice while under the car is that almost all of the bushings I could see down there needed replacing. Will have to work on that, especially the front end, as it's a bit of a bumpy ride when you get onto the country roads. Could be the front coilovers need overhauling/replacing but not sure yet. Will go on the "to do" list.

And also got a short shifter fitted to the car after a bit of fabrication work by MJR. Can now go through all the gears with basically a flick of the wrist. Because the flywheel's so light, it makes hill starts a little fun, but overall am very pleased. The clutch pedal actually feels lighter than stock for some reason. Still breaking it in so no boost yet but when I put my foot down I know I'm gonna have to watch the gauge for that boost creep as it's gonna come up even faster now.

ACT Street/Strip clutch disc & plate
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TGaGLGROVGI/AAAAAAAACDI/wR386OFdAd4/s800/Clutch%20swap-1.jpg
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TGaGN1sxY3I/AAAAAAAACDM/7VFsMzqtaGE/s800/Clutch%20swap-2.jpg
Counterweight to compensate for the lightened flywheel
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TGaGRn5PFjI/AAAAAAAACDQ/v8kAbWfQs5o/s800/Clutch%20swap-3.jpg
Extra crap
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TGaGU8y6JWI/AAAAAAAACDU/JQRsbEfMRZ4/s800/Clutch%20swap-4.jpg
Off with the old flywheel...
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TGaGaC9hmuI/AAAAAAAACDc/R86qDvGKbbI/s800/Clutch%20swap-6.jpg
...and on with the new (should read 2.852mm cut)
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TGaGnAmaLdI/AAAAAAAACDw/5_XsCjkc7OE/s800/Clutch%20swap-10.jpg
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TGaGqMJa2II/AAAAAAAACD0/kPo4MOkGSEA/s800/Clutch%20swap-11.jpg
Old clutch disc had seen better days
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TGaGyatZEGI/AAAAAAAACEA/4yAEm4HGJDk/s800/Clutch%20swap-14.jpg
13B exposed
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TGaGdlRVFgI/AAAAAAAACDg/ViJxuD7FXxs/s800/Clutch%20swap-7.jpg
New pilot bearing in & ready for action
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TGaGgwwtz0I/AAAAAAAACDk/qZB7vIdGhC4/s800/Clutch%20swap-8.jpg
Counterweight on
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TGaGtLGC_jI/AAAAAAAACD4/pSsBITYn8v4/s800/Clutch%20swap-12.jpg
And ready for the clutch
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TGaG3XlnimI/AAAAAAAACEI/mLUJLw447GY/s800/Clutch%20swap-16.jpg
Apparently I must have been asked to look as much of a tool as possible on the photos!
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TGaG8dXW8hI/AAAAAAAACEQ/VyU_LmGLo2g/s800/Clutch%20swap-18.jpg
Final shot of my trying to pretend like I did the work myself!
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TGaG5ig0-WI/AAAAAAAACEM/d7IC4_qU3Dw/s800/Clutch%20swap-17.jpg

[soldave]

Still having the issue that if I have the silencer out of the exhaust then it overboosts like crazy, and if the silencer is in the backpressure is so much that it loses boost at higher rpms quite a bit. So with that being said, the next 2 pieces in my big jigsaw are...
http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv99/soldave/wastegate.jpg
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj111/Flik02/For%20Sale/ForSale008.jpg
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj111/Flik02/For%20Sale/ForSale010.jpg
http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj111/Flik02/For%20Sale/ForSale011.jpg

Yup, that's a 50mm wastegate and a T4 manifold for an FD. I do realise that I have an FC and not FD, and also that the turbo is not a T4 one, but with a bit of ingenuity from someone who knows what they're doing (obviously not me) then it's gonna work.

[Sharingan 19]

Pretty!

[soldave]

How do you think this thing would look on the FC (and yes, I would get it painted when I do the car). Can get it for about $100.
http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv99/soldave/1009008004781s0.jpg
http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv99/soldave/1009008004781s1.jpg
http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv99/soldave/1009008004781s2.jpg

[Sharingan 19]

Lips on non-lowered cars; not sure about that one.
Think it would look better on mine, its already black and everythign... lol

[sen2two]

Thats a dope ass lip...

[soldave]

Only reason my car isn't lowered more is that it'd never get into my parking area under my apartment :(

[Ptotherice]

This entire thread is sexy.... I vote for the black lip, and leave it black. It gives a nice offset to a car with good paint to have a black lip in my opinion. Two thumbs up to you, sir.

[soldave]

Thanks man. Missed out on the lip unfortunately, but have my eyes set on a set of old skool BBS wheels and a full respray (with repaired bumper, passenger door without JDM stage 1 weight reduction (aka rust hole) and front passenger fender), along with plenty of other bits that I can't currently afford!

[soldave]

Dammit... these parts keep coming up to try and make me spend my money! Exhibit B is a set of 4 of these BBS wheels for 95 quid. Think the style would suit the car to a T.
http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv99/soldave/1009103005621s0.jpg

[Sharingan 19]

17? x ? offset?

[soldave]

7jX16+45/114.3-5H

[Sharingan 19]

16"+1= :)

[soldave]

Well, apart from a minor overheating problem (I know, "minor" and "overheating" are not usually words that go together with rotaries), things are running OK with the car. The inferior plastic on the interior trim is starting to break a little through use (latest thing to start to fall apart is the turn signal/high beam lever) but the car's running at least. At the moment I have quite a few ways to spend lots of money I don't really have, but not sure what order it should all go in. Note that some of these things might seem minor, but am watching all my spending on this thing. The one thing that is definitely happening in the next couple of months is that I'm going external wastegate on the stock turbo to control my overboosting a little. But here are the others:

Respray: Y70,000. Would be done by a decent enough bodyshop and would also take care of any rust on the body, and there is some (top of the windscreen to name one place). Would also let me throw on the passenger door I've got in my kitchen and the good condition front bumper & fenders. Would also make the car look a lot nicer too.
New Apexi filter: Y6,200. How do you actually tell if these things are beyond their usual life? It's not falling apart or anything but looks pretty damn dirty.
Bushing kit: Y8,000. Worth buying at the moment from the States with the shitty exchange rate. Could change out all my suspension bushings under the car, and they definitely need doing. Would love to get another set of coilovers or these ones rebuilt, but it'd cost quite a bit I think and I don't wanna fork out for another alignment so soon after I've just got one.
Upgraded turbo: Y?????. Cost could be variable, but I have thought about a bigger T4 turbo to go on the manifold that's going in mine, in place of the stock one. Wouldn't be huge, but something that I could run at stock boost for now, but if I upped the injectors, ECU etc then it could grow with my car.
FD engine & parts: $couple of hundred? Might be able to grab this FD from someone that is selling. Would rape the engine & a couple other bits from it for myself and other bits to sell, junking the rest.

Any thoughts on what you reckon I should do first, last etc, or should I just get my ass in gear, whore myself out a little more and get it all done?

[soldave]

Nothing too exciting, but big thanks to Justin for the carbon cargo cover in the rear. Looks a hell of a lot better than the sagging stock one that was in there and will work nicely while the rear seat remains. Unfortunately it does cover up the JDM mad tyte scaffolding bar that is being used as a rear strut bar, but you take the rough with the smooth.
http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv99/soldave/untitled-3.jpg
http://i673.photobucket.com/albums/vv99/soldave/untitled-2.jpg

[soldave]

Stage 1 of "project bankrupt Dave in trying to make this car look a little meaner/better than before" is complete. New passenger door, front driver's side fender and bumper, and a respray in original red.

Before pics:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TN6PQdVtzCI/AAAAAAAACZs/GjaRMW_L_og/s912/Pre-paintjob-1.jpg
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TN6PSaJ-BnI/AAAAAAAACZ0/f4MW087Pxts/s912/Pre-paintjob-2.jpg
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TN6PUSPDshI/AAAAAAAACZ4/EBiDBLflcVo/s912/Pre-paintjob-3.jpg
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TN6PVg7BVHI/AAAAAAAACZ8/1Wac6NKyj_Y/s912/Pre-paintjob-4.jpg

At the bodyshop
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TNkhKN7SevI/AAAAAAAACYg/-Ijh5PIaZMQ/s912/Body_shop-1.jpg
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TNkhMrErTHI/AAAAAAAACYk/XMU-2RIbeMU/s912/Body_shop-2.jpg
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TNkhPbjZpJI/AAAAAAAACYo/0DD1OcEeReI/s912/Body_shop-3.jpg
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TNkhQ0GtzhI/AAAAAAAACYs/X39ZI-uzcSQ/s912/Body_shop-4.jpg

After pics:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TN6MPc9V8mI/AAAAAAAACZE/-nlU-8U6ijI/s912/car-painted-1.jpg
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TN6MSllYwQI/AAAAAAAACZI/eXV7uN6YtK8/s912/car-painted-2.jpg
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TN6MUnFoeII/AAAAAAAACZM/ov6xSKT0y94/s640/car-painted-3.jpg
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TN6MV8Y422I/AAAAAAAACZQ/aYiSQKrm0UY/s912/car-painted-4.jpg
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_SxJkCkkFJ_Q/TN6MXEYFO6I/AAAAAAAACZU/2mfVBbC0SZg/s912/car-painted-5.jpg

Pretty pleased with it considering the cost. Shame I had to choose by far the wettest day of the past few weeks to pick it up. Better pics to come very soon. Also, stages 2, 3 and 4 to come in the near future too. That should then see me right out of money!

One strange thing this evening happened when I got back to my apartment. It's a steep ramp up the kerbside to get into my parking area and I went in at a shallower angle than usual to make sure no body part touched the door. As the front right side wheel mounted the ramp and up the kerb the stiff chassis made the rear right hand side wheel lift up off the ground. And from then on the car wouldn't go in any further. Wouldn't go forward or back and wasn't grounded on anything. When I pushed the car back onto both rear wheels again though it was fine. Now diffs confuse me (as do most things), but is that how they should work or is something wrong that needs addressing?

[Prodigy]

Looks much much better Dave... I love FD wheels on a stock looking FC... they fit it better then they fit an FD :P

when my car got here (to Canada) the importer gave it a paint job that even a 3 year old could do better... so in the near (2-3 year) future I will be doing the same thing you just did....


J.