GTUs 20B N/A Build Thread

[Christopher W.]

I have posted this thread on the other forum....but I kind of like the vibe over here better.

Plus I can't seem to get some basic questions answered. Anyway, I am just doing basically a cut and paste job.

So here goes..

I first found out about this car on Autotrader in 2000. I contacted the owner and the car seemed perfect. I just couldn't afford it. So over the course of the next couple of years I continued to contact the past owner. He still had it for sale but I still could not come up with the money.

At that point in my life I was living in my shop, surrounded by RX7s and I decided that it was time for a change. I sold all of my parts cars and tools and my 87TII. I moved from Little Rock to Fayetteville Arkansas.

I soon found myself moving to Italy, Northern Tuscany actually for a year. That was awesome.

When I got back from Italy to Fayetteville the bug started hitting again. I found a second gen in Houston that I was very interested in. I was just about to pull the trigger on that car and I decided one day out of the blue to see if Randy still had the car for sale in Mesa, AZ. I remembered his name, called information and got Randy on the phone. He said that he had just decided that day that he finally was going to sell the car. He was looking into running it through Barrett-Jackson.

We came to an agreement. He dropped the price 2K and gave me 6 months to pay for it.

So that is how I got the car. The car was pristine, 48k miles, always garaged and very, very few times did it get caught in the rain. It had a Nelson-Paxton supercharger and lots of suspension done. It had Mazdaspeed coilovers and some other bits and pieces. Here is a list of all of the stuff that came on the car when I bought it. Red means I have sold these parts..

Nelson/Paxton Supercharger SN2000 HO Blower with B&M Racing Cooler
Mariah Motorsports Naca Duct Headlight Cover
K&N filter in a Mariah Motorsports Cold Air Box
High Pressure Fuel Pump
Mazda RX-7 Turbo II Fuel Injectors
Corky Bell adjustable Fuel Pressure Regulator
Jacobs Spark Plug Wires
HPC coated Mind Train Header
A'PEXi GT Stainless Steel Exhaust
5Zigen Typhoon Wheels – 17 x 7.5 Front, 17 x 9 Rear
New Kumho Tires
MazdaSpeed adjustable coil-over shocks
Suspension Techniques Sway Bars
Racing Beat end links
Mazda Competition Adjustable Rear Camber Link
Hawk Brake Pads with
Mazda Competition Stainless Steel Brake Lines,
Mazda Competition Motor Mounts and Transmission Mounts
C’s Short Shifter
Tri-Point Engineering Air/Fuel Ratio Meter
Optima Battery Relocated to passenger-side rear storage compartment

It ran great but I wanted something more. So that started the 20B dreams. Well that didn't start the dreams but it gave life to my dream car.

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My goals for the car are to build a car that is more race car-ish than actual race car. I will not race this car. I will do track days and drive it on the street.

I mean I am doing things like no stereo but it will have AC.

One thing I noticed when I bought the car is that it was loud and hot inside. So that started my quest to deaden the sound and stop the heat from pouring in through the firewall.

So, I decided to get started. First I sold the charcoal wheels you see in some of the pictures. Then sold the supercharger and exhaust.

Then it was time to remove the interior. As you might know or expect lots of things like to break when removing brittle plastic parts. It was not to bad though. The car had always been garaged in AZ. It is amazing how well rubber and plastic will hold up when it is only getting hot. Not ever getting freezing really preserved this car well.

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[Christopher W.]

I decided to do the FoamSeal trick to the frame rail cross member behind the seats and the running boards under the doors.

I have a thread that covers all of this. So I won't go over it here but it worked well and I am glad I did it.

http://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?t=743378

When I got the engine out it was much more of a mess than I had anticipated. The OMP was spraying oil all underneath the car. As you can see in the pictures the engine bay doesn't match the outside of the car.

The reason why the engine firewall is not painted is because I am spraying a sound deadening material on the firewall and underneath.

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Next I decided to do some kind of spray on sound deadening material. I found some different ones out there. I decided on LizardSkin. It is not the cheapest but I really liked the guy I spoke to and they had two products. One is for straight sound deadening the other has a ceramic component for heat blocking.

We sprayed the interior and underneath. Prep was the pain. The actual spraying was not a problem.

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[Christopher W.]

So that is kind of getting me down the road with the interior stuff. I did remove all of the auto seatbelts. I am going with straight street harnesses so I had to find all of the parts to change over. I have no seatbelt mechanisms in the car at all.

I bought two of the last three a-pillar covers for a manual seatbelt car left in North America...

I also found a TII transmission with less than 1k original miles. The story told to me was that Mazda took a TII off of the assembly line and gutted the interior and put IMSA sheetmetal on it. The car toured the US doing promo type stuff. The car only drove on and off the trailer basically. So it is probably way less than 1k miles. As you can see in the pictures it is prestine. That trans has not been cleaned. You can see the paper stickers are still almost perfect. I payed $500 shipped. Sweeeet!!

Around this time I was still having a hard time decided what to do about an engine. I was waffling by the hour as to maybe a LSX or 20b or what. I think that this transmission was what keep me from the darkside. I had to have this transmission in this car.

So I finally decided on the 20B. I got a hold of Japan2LA and bought one with a blown seal. The deal went great. I had it shipped to Logan at Defined Autoworks. That is who is building, installing and tuning the engine.

I will get a little more through this stuff and then get more to what is going on with the engine.

I also wanted a Torsen diff. I loved the one I had way back in the 80s in my built 72 240Z. I don't like the Kazz clunking. That is totally unacceptable in a street car for me.

By the way, I am 45 years old. I am not driving around in a loud, clunking, hot obnoxious RX7.

I bought a S5 TII rear, a S6 diff and some new S4 stub axles. I also really like the 4.3 gear. I got a new one from Racing Beat. I don't know if I will keep it in. We will see when I get it on the road.

The rear went together without a hitch and got all cleaned up and painted.

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Oh yea, we also dropped the entire suspension before we sprayed LizardSkin. At that point I bought all poly bushing. We replace everything except the rear subframe mounts. They were in great condition and I don't want to much NVH. Also did the DTSS elim bushings.

I found some kid on the other forum selling his new in box Cusco Zero2R Coilovers..... they are beautiful. Retail is around $2500. I got them shipped for $1550.

I also found a brand new Electromotive Tec3R.....$1100 bucks shipped for the ECU. Sure beats $2000.00.

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[Christopher W.]

Now on to the roll bar.

I had a company in Springdale Arkansas build the roll bar. They are Macon Motorsports. They mainly build V8 engines and do some custom fab work. Bob, who worked on my car has been building chassis, experimental aircraft and is a aircraft mechanic for thirty years. He part times at night at Macon. He did an awesome job.

We thought about adding more bars to the roll bar but I decided that it would serve my purposes as is. I didn't want to much visibility blocked because it is a street car after all.




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[Christopher W.]

Now the car is back at my house. I have got the interior for the most part back in.

I bought a pair of Recaro Pole Position seats. I got Recaro sidemounts and sliders. It was a joke. I am only 5'9" and my head was hitting the roof.
We scrapped the Recaro sliders and custom fit the Recaro sidemounts to the OEM sliders. The fit is perfect. Although the seats fit pretty snug. I kind of wish I had got the large edition. They fit me almost too perfect. Maybe a little tight in the shoulders. I have a 31" waist and broad shoulders. The only problem will be for other people. One of my best friends I grew up with building cars (Datsun 240Zs) is now about 400lbs. He will have to sit on top of the seat. No way to fit in it...at all.

The OEM back deck stuff won't work with the roll bar. So Bob is going to make a custom back deck that will be shorter and angle down toward the front of the car. I should be able to keep the bin lids. I have a tiny Odyssey PC680 mounted behind the passenger seat. Seeing how I have no stereo I don't think it will be any problem at all.

I also put a few pieces of Hushmat on the inside of the roof, back deck and various places. If you tap on the roof it sounds like a Mercedes....or better.

I took a contractors double light on placed it inside the engine bay pointing towards the firewall. I turned on the contractor light and turned off the lights in the garage at night. I got inside the car and looked for any light coming inside the car through the firewall. I completely blocked and sealed every bit of light the I could see. No more heat just pouring in through the firewall.


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[Christopher W.]

Here is my little project for the side mirrors.

I really like the S5 mirrors....but they do look kind of chunky on the side of the car. I decided to have some side mirror mounting plates made to put some small light weight carbon fiber mirrors. I am still not to sure about the carbon fiber. I don't want to look to ricey. We will see. I will get the side plates powder coated black after I get the correct mounting position for the mirrors.

And no, I am not selling my OEM side mirrors.


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Well, now on to the fun stuff.

Logan, at Defined Autoworks is doing the engine. We have broke apart the engine and found one housing bad. So, we got one. We have three N/A rotors that have been sent out for balancing. Logan is building a custom exhaust. Header will go back to a Borla XR-1 then will split into two. Then there will be two Borlas at the back. We are looking into doing a valve in the exhaust to help with volume levels. It is not being designed for performance so much as keeping the thing civil on the streets until you open up the throttle.

I am not sure how much to talk about here. I don't want to give away any of Logan's suprises. But anyway, I am sure Logan can come on here and give more details if he likes.

Semi PPort
Six independent throttle bodies
Tec3R

Oh yea, I did depower and weld the steering rack the right way.

I hope to have the car to Logan by the middle of next month. I am about four months behind when I thought it was going to be up there. Anyway, maybe get it back in the summer.

We are hoping for 350-380rwhp....maybe more. I am not planning on running the engine up over 8500rmp.

Here is a link to my coilovers..

http://www.rallitek.com/cuzecosu.html

We will see how these do. Spring rate is 8k front and 6k rear.

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[Christopher W.]

My first question,

I bought a clutch and pp from Corksport for my TII transmission before I knew I was going the 20B route.

ACT 'XACT' Streetlite Flywheel
ACT Street Performance Clutch Kit

Does anyone see any problem with using this setup if I am going to be around 375rwhp?


My second question:

I remove the heat shields.

I am going to wrap the entire exhaust for the following reason:

1. To help scavaging
2. To reduce heat
3. I think it will give the exhaust a lower tone.

Is there any problem with not putting the heat shields back on?

[Max777]

clean FC!

I think that you shoudl return those coilovers, and purchase STANCE GR+ units instead. They are only 1500 and better quality than the cusco ones. If I spent 2500 on FC coilovers, I would get some DG5's instead of cusco.

Second: I dunno about you, but I would keep the heatshields on there unless your custom DP just will not fit any way imaginable, or unless you're building a serious full race car that will not be driven on the street.

[Christopher W.]

clean FC!

I think that you shoudl return those coilovers, and purchase STANCE GR+ units instead. They are only 1500 and better quality than the cusco ones. If I spent 2500 on FC coilovers, I would get some DG5's instead of cusco.

Second: I dunno about you, but I would keep the heatshields on there unless your custom DP just will not fit any way imaginable, or unless you're building a serious full race car that will not be driven on the street.

Coilovers were bought NIB off of the other forum. There is no sending them back. I only paid $1500 shipped for them. I think the top of the line Cusco will probably do everything I am hoping for.... I am keeping my Mazdaspeed coilovers until I verify that I want to keep these. I looked at many other brands but these were priced right and the Scubie guys really seem to like them.

This is a N/A street car. No dp but a custom header made by Defined Autoworks.

[Max777]

Holy smokes, all that work and no snail? What gives? And, sorry, I missed that part about the coilovers being bought used...

Also, if you're 45 and have this level of tuning ability, then why not the FD? You could obviously afford one.... I love the FC myself, but if I were rich... I'd deff switch.

[FerociousP]

don't listen to him... I'd rather seen a super clean FC than a FD anyway... especially a ITB 20B... no stickers please ;)

[Phoenix7]

My first question,

I bought a clutch and pp from Corksport for my TII transmission before I knew I was going the 20B route.

ACT 'XACT' Streetlite Flywheel
ACT Street Performance Clutch Kit

Does anyone see any problem with using this setup if I am going to be around 375rwhp?


My second question:

I remove the heat shields.

I am going to wrap the entire exhaust for the following reason:

1. To help scavaging
2. To reduce heat
3. I think it will give the exhaust a lower tone.

Is there any problem with not putting the heat shields back on?if you're still going to use the TII tranny with your 20B then keep it and use it...I don't see you prematurely wearing out the clutch at 375hp...unless you like to drag race.

As far as the heatshields......that's a tough call. If you get the really good wraps (cool to the touch) then the shields would just be useless. Also, I assume this car will never see a wet road, right? don't forget some wraps rot when they're wet and it could eventually damage the exhaust.


Did you ever dyno your SC setup?

[Christopher W.]

Holy smokes, all that work and no snail? What gives? And, sorry, I missed that part about the coilovers being bought used...

Also, if you're 45 and have this level of tuning ability, then why not the FD? You could obviously afford one.... I love the FC myself, but if I were rich... I'd deff switch.

Well the coilovers have never been installed...

As far as turbo, I don't want the complication. I want the reliability of N/A. I also want the linear power curve. I believe 375rwhp will make this just a super fun car to drive.

I also have ridden in cars that are mostly around 350 to 400rwhp. And they felt great. I don't see any need for a 550rwhp 2800lbs street car. At least not in my world. If I could do it without a turbo I would be interested. Maybe a 4 rotor someday...

As for as my level of tuning. I have none....yet. That is why I am using Defined Autoworks. I can change parts and things but I am not building this engine or tuning it.

Next thing, I am not rich at all. This is requiring a lot of effort, work and expense. It is really not a very smart financial decision but I am committed to complete this project. There sure are a lot of nice cars for sale out there. To bad I can't take advantage of a bad economy.

If I had bought an FD then I never would have satisfied my love and yearning for a wicked FC.

By the way, if I get a FD someday, it will be a LSX V8.... :rofl:

[Christopher W.]

if you're still going to use the TII tranny with your 20B then keep it and use it...I don't see you prematurely wearing out the clutch at 375hp...unless you like to drag race.

As far as the heatshields......that's a tough call. If you get the really good wraps (cool to the touch) then the shields would just be useless. Also, I assume this car will never see a wet road, right? don't forget some wraps rot when they're wet and it could eventually damage the exhaust.


Did you ever dyno your SC setup?

The SC came to me with a dyno sheet of 225rwhp. I don't remember the TQ numbers. I actually have the sheet around here somewhere.

No rain and no drag racing...Well maybe no drag racing. No clutch dumping drama anyway.

I will definitely be using the best wrap that is available. Thanks for the input..

FerociousP - If you mean no stickers on my car, not a chance. The only stickers are the GTUs stickers. I actually bought four more just in case I need them in the future. Damn, $100 for four from Mazdatrix...

[Phoenix7]

also, THANK YOU very much for not going LSX with this GTUs...Keep it up and keep us updated....we actually have quite a few GTUs owners on this board:

I forget to tell to join the club
http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_forum/group.php?groupid=8

225 is not bad at all...

[Max777]

Oh wow, for some reason the word "20B" totally escaped me as I was looking through this. NOW, it all makes sense, haha.

It looks like you're having fun with it so far!

[jerd_hambone]

Oh wow, for some reason the word "20B" totally escaped me as I was looking through this. NOW, it all makes sense, haha.

It looks like you're having fun with it so far!

375rwhp with an NA 13B? That'd be one crazy NA and it probably wouldn't run at all outside of going down the drag strip. haha!

I'm glad you are committed to this, I hate to see projects started and never finished. Kinda like my projects......

[Herblenny]

Which foam seal did you use?? and did you notice any difference in feel of the car?

[Hello Roto]

Nice Build so far.. great progress. I love builds that are done right with NO cut corners or cheap rigs..

[djmtsu]

Which foam seal did you use?? and did you notice any difference in feel of the car?

I am guessing that he hasn't had the chance to test yet, since the car is incomplete.

[WE3RX7]

Nice build.

I started using POR15 for an undercoat to prevent rust BEFORE I found out more about lizard skin. I think I'm going to go your route as well for using lizard skin on the interior.

Our cars will have more in common than I think by the time they're done, lol.

[Christopher W.]

Which foam seal did you use?? and did you notice any difference in feel of the car?

I got the product called FoamSeal. If you google FoamSeal for doing an auto you get the Sport Compact Car write up. That company they reference no longer deals with the product. I finally found it here:

Jessica Anderson
Guardian Building Products
2401 SW 10th Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73108
P) 405-236-0617
F) 405-236-0627
www.guardianbp.com

Here is a picture of the product.

I have not had a chance to see the difference. I won't get to do a before and after test. There will be so much done by the time I get to drive I won't be able to give a good answer to your question.

Other people say they could tell a bit of a difference in rigidity and sound deadening.

[Christopher W.]

This isn't really about my car...more about my situation.

Ice storm 09'

By the way, that is my parts car under the tree. Nothing actually fell on the car. Just all around it.

[Hello Roto]

your parts car is nicer than my dd....:(

[Christopher W.]

your parts car is nicer than my dd....:(

Probably not...over 200k miles, engine locked up, small smash in the front end. But without it, I could of never got this car back together. A few small bits and pieces but mainly as a template for how it all went back together.

[Christopher W.]

So, I have the car done on my end. I will be taking it to Defined Autoworks the first of next week.

The bins had to be moved back to work with the roll bar. It came out very nice. I am disappointed in the carpet job for the back deck. It is the first time I was not real sure about the guy I hired. The guy I really wanted to do the carpet takes months to get in to see. I will have it redone when I get the car back. It is an ok job but not up to the standard of the rest of the car.

It is amazing how much better this car looks in person than in these pictures. I literally had to make myself go to bed last night. I was still up at 12:30am just staring at it basically.

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Here is a close up of the mirrors. At first I really didn't like them. I thought they were way to ricer looking. Then the next day I really liked them. I think when I get the car back I am going to sell these and get the same ones in fiberglass and have them painted black. The plates are really well made. They are not just two flat plates. They are curved in two different directions.


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[War Eagle]

Very nice build. Glad to see one being done right. You are taking your time and planning everything out. I've gained a lot of respect for Logan and what he is doing with 20Bs so I think you made a great choice by using him.

I used a similar product to the Lizard Skin (Quiet Coat) on my 20B buildup and it helps tremendously.

Keep us posted!

[WE3RX7]

Did you make the mirror plates yourself? If not, do you know where I could get them?

[Christopher W.]

Did you make the mirror plates yourself? If not, do you know where I could get them?

WE3RX7 and I spoke by PM about this. But I wanted to post here if anyone was curious themselves.

My buddy Bob can make these but he needs a car to use. Sorry, mine is at Defined Autoworks. He won't try to make copies from my plates. He wants a car present. But to give someone an idea of cost, the plates themselves cost around $375.00 to make. They are a very tight fit...tight tolerances. They also curve slightly front to back and top to bottom. Then it cost me another $55.00 dollars for powdercoating. Then the price of the mirrors. The CF ones I got are like $350.00 a pair. I will probably be selling my CF and getting the FG and paint them black after I get my car back.

Just wanted to put that out there. I am not trying to sell these or even really set up anyone with Bob. I am just letting people know what they cost me.

By the way, the more these are on the car the more I like them. It really gives the car a lean look....

[AwakenNoMore]

I'm simply amazed to see what you've done with that already beautiful Arizona car, your build makes me quite happy, keep up the good work.

[Christopher W.]

I cut and pasted Logan's post on my thread from the other forum. All of the comments here are from Logan.


Logan aka GtoRx7:

Update with pics :)
Finally getting a chance to post up some progress pics. Keep in mind that this is a dummy engine. Still waiting for some parts before assembly. We finished up the custom ignition mounts, and built the ignition wires (color coded for leading and trailing).


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/FDprogressChrisandMarkprogressetc04.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/FDprogressChrisandMarkprogressetc05.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/FDprogressChrisandMarkprogresset-46.jpg


Also finalized the 20b conversion mounts for FC's. This set for Chris were the prototypes. All TIG welded and basically indestructible. I always disliked the mounts offered by other companies, and the lack of triangulation. So this solved those issues.


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/FDprogressChrisandMarkprogresset-36.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/FDprogressChrisandMarkprogresset-35.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/FDprogressChrisandMarkprogresset-39.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/FDprogressChrisandMarkprogresset-40.jpg


And of course the 20b header! So many hours went into this design. I will post all the details of it in our vendor section. The first two pics is sitting next to its twin, which is going to singapore for a n/a 3 rotor FD.


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/FDprogressChrisandMarkprogresset-53.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/FDprogressChrisandMarkprogresset-55.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/FDprogressChrisandMarkprogressetc06.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/FDprogressChrisandMarkprogresset-57.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/FDprogressChrisandMarkprogresset-59.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/FDprogressChrisandMarkprogresset-60.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/FDprogressChrisandMarkprogresset-62.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/FDprogressChrisandMarkprogresset-64.jpg



Shot of the engine mounts from below. They are not fully bolted on.


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/FDprogressChrisandMarkprogresset-63.jpg


Stay tuned for more stuff on Christopher's Car!

[To_Slow]

WoW realy nice fab work.... The manifolds look realy good...

[WE3RX7]

That exhaust header is amazing... good work.

[Herblenny]

WOW!! Nice!

[To_Slow]

This right here gives me motivation to start my manifold... :driving:

[need RX7]

Is this a build thread or an art exhibit? :) Incredible work, awesome job so far. :icon_tup::icon_tup:

[Christopher W.]

Is this a build thread or an art exhibit?

Yes to both....

[Jeff20B]

What thickness steel on those motor mounts?

[Christopher W.]

What thickness steel on those motor mounts?

1/8"

[MaczPayne]

Wow, I can only imagine the throttle response you'll get from this motor.

I've always loved n/a's, power on demand, responsive, FUN!

[Phoenix7]

seriously the most awesome build yet. Meticulous and just pure eye candy. :icon_tup:

[13bpower]

I wish i had an intirior as clean as this..

[Silver86]

in for the awesomeness! :icon_tup:

[rx7mechusa]

Looks awesome man!!

[Drama]

Looks awesome man!!

Plus 1

[Christopher W.]

Thanks, I really appreciate the compliments...

I updated over there, so I guess I need to here.

Logan is about to get my rotors back from CLR. Ha, it has taken over a year..

We hope to have the engine together this next month. It will go together first with the stock intake and closed PPs. At that point I will make the 12 hour trip to Ohio. I will get the car and drive for three days to rack up around 1000 miles. Then leave it at Defined until they get the new intake and ITBs happening.

When I pick it up this fall I want the tune to be glitch free and ready to roll.

So, more waiting but that is ok....It gives me more time to pay for it. :)

I did get a new Nardi Deep Corn 350mm steering wheel with Snap Off (Teqnik) quick release and Nardi hub. I also just bought new Defi control box and 60mm imperial water temp and oil temp gauges.

Next big purchase will be Alcon front and rear brakes...

Yea, I know, big brakes, especially rear, waste of money... If that is what you think then you completely miss the point of my car.

[WE3RX7]

Sounds good man... I've watching this build like a hawk :)

Its good to set the FC bar so high... I'm just glad to see FC guys stepping up these days, we're too far and few between it seems.

[fire85gslse]

man, I cant stay away form this thread and your not posting updates quick enough for me to quit going back thru all the old post. Man this is a sick car! I have always dreamed of a 20B NA.
This exact car other than white exterior would be my dream! Or this motor in my white FC.

keep up the good work, looking for more post...........................................

[Christopher W.]

Yea, I remember when I was deciding whether to do a 13BT, LSX or 20B, I said I don't want to have my car sitting around in pieces waiting to get finished a year from now... Here we are almost two years later and still not done. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining. I am very satisfied with the progress. I also believe in the abilities of Logan and Peter to get it done right.

[Herblenny]

More pics please :)

[Christopher W.]

Forum isn't letting me post pictures. I click on links and they do nothing.

[need RX7]

Incredible. I love that header :drool:

[Gregory Casimir]

nice build man
really loving the headers!

[Christopher W.]

Still would like to know why I am not able to post pictures...I thought that's what you wanted...

Pictures of new calipers on the other forum. Bling, Bling

[Silver86]

Still would like to know why I am not able to post pictures...I thought that's what you wanted...

Pictures of new calipers on the other forum. Bling, Bling


where do you have them hosted?

[Christopher W.]

where do you have them hosted?

No, I mean when I click the Post Reply button it takes me to the page where you type your message. Above that big white box that you type in are the buttons for putting in the links, bold type, margins, it has a little white smiley face, a paper clip and all of that stuff. That whole blue border above the message area is totally unresponsive and has been that way for two months.

[Silver86]

No, I mean when I click the Post Reply button it takes me to the page where you type your message. Above that big white box that you type in are the buttons for putting in the links, bold type, margins, it has a little white smiley face, a paper clip and all of that stuff. That whole blue border above the message area is totally unresponsive and has been that way for two months.

thats strange... it works for me..

[project86]

This build is pure inspiration. Show me more :)

[FerociousP]

somebody get this man's post poster working stat... I want to see engine pics!

[Christopher W.]

Actually, I would like to see engine pics myself. I have not seen my car in about a year...

I think it is going to finally get some attention in the next couple of months. I expect I will have it back and finished in June.

It is annoying to not be able to post pictures..

[project86]

i really like how you have your ignition set up. where did you find those?

[Christopher W.]

Those are the igniters that came with the Electromotive TEC3R engine management system. The mounts are custom made by Defined Autoworks.

[Whizbang]

adopt me

[THE_REAPER]

This a great build beautiful 20b

[KaiFD3S]

I love your build Christopher, it makes me want to start mine, I have been debating on selling the car or going all out on it, after seeing this I may just start my build after this summer.

Can't wait to see it all done.

[Christopher W.]

I got some pictures from Logan recently. The engine has been together for a while. I should have some new pictures coming in the not to distant future...

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/DSC00665.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/DSC00667.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/DSC00668.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/DSC00670.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/DSC00671.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/DSC00673.jpg

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/DSC00674.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/DSC00675.jpg

[Christopher W.]

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/DSC00677.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/DSC00681.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/DSC00686.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/DSC00688.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/DSC01122.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/DSC01119.jpg

Hand built mufflers..

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/DSC00805.jpg

[WE3RX7]

This is gorgeous!! With that oil pan design... is it done that way to avoid hitting the front sway?

[Christopher W.]

It is to clear the steering rack.

[NoDOHC]

Hand-built mufflers! That is totally cool - you need to get sound clips once you get it together.

[Prodigy]

this is an amazing build sir.... I love your anal attention to detail,I have it too... only my pockets don't go as deep (yet)

this is a setup and a build quality that I think every rotary owner would to drive, if not own/show off... superb quality

this makes all my ideas look like rubish in comparison...


J.

[FDwarrior]

I see this car almost every day, and the pics don't do it justice. This has to be the cleanest FC I have seen at least.

[nate]

Its so inspirational to see builds this perfect.

[GtoRx7]

Have some more pics of the building process. We had to move the engine 1.75" further back into the chassis to make room for the large radiator and a/c. Started with a stock transmission mount, cut and fabricated a new structure onto it. Then, had our driveshaft shop shorten the driveshaft 1.75". Since the shifter would no longer line up, we used a 1st gen shift tower and modified the shift rod. This puts it very close to stock location.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01200-1.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01202-1.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01203-1.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01207-2.jpg

Then built a oil pedestal bracket, and bolted the assembly to the shock tower. The pedestal will allow us to have twin -8an feed lines to front and rear of the block. We have found through racing that this is a desired modification.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01256-1.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01257.jpg

Next was time to mock up the radiator and condenser, as well as the oil cooler. We relocated and fabricated the fill neck on the radiator to give additional hood clearance. Machined spacers were made, and the condenser bolts onto the radiator. Once the ideal locations were found, a subframe that holds both was fabricated. The subframe bolts onto the car, so no welding on the chassis would be required. This will be a quick release setup similar to my track car. The radiator, oil cooler, and condenser will be able to be removed in minutes from the top.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01248-1.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01253-1.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01252-1.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01261.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01259.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01254-1.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01262.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01264.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01265.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01266.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01267.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01268.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01269.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01270.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01272.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01273.jpg

[gmonsen]

Logan... This is absolutely the best FC in the country. Interesting that you had to move the engine back, but it looks like it all worked out well.

(Let's talk next week. I'm a go on the headers...)

Gordon

[GtoRx7]

Logan... This is absolutely the best FC in the country. Interesting that you had to move the engine back, but it looks like it all worked out well.

(Let's talk next week. I'm a go on the headers...)

Gordon

Thanks Gordon, its nice to work with such a clean example of a FC! Sounds good, talk to you soon :)

[Christopher W.]

Hey Logan, updates like these are by far my favorite Christmas present..

I dig the new oil pedestal. I now see exactly what you were talking about with the radiator mount.

Logan can you snap another picture directly from the side. I want to see how much more room is left between engine and firewall..

Merry Christmas Gordon - cool new ideas going into your car.

I don't know if we would have had to of move the engine back if not for (Logan can correct me if I am wrong) the fact that we are using Nextel radiator and oil cooler plus the stock ac condenser. The oil cooler is of a design I was not familiar with....nothing like a stock FC oil cooler. It looks more like a large flat yet thin radiator. I don't believe cooling is going to be an issue. Plus I am really excited about the engine moving back. I would not of minded a couple or more inches if the shifter could have been addressed properly.

[GtoRx7]

More pics, had to upload some more. Final shot of the radiator/oil cooler bolt on subframe. Next step will be getting it powder coated :)


http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01284.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01288.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01289.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01290.jpg

Radiator and oil cooler placed into subframe. Now time to construct the upper quick release bracket. It will double as a cooling panel too

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01291.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01292.jpg

And Chris, here is the pics you requested. The 20b intake is narrower than the ITB setup we will be building. But you can see not much more room left to go back. :)

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01285.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01286.jpg

[Christopher W.]

Wow!!

It is so strange to have been so hands on with my car for so long. I lived for getting it to the state you received it in and now to be just watching from the wayyyy back seats.

It is awesome seeing that intake in my engine bay. I know it will not be there.. Something way more exciting (ITBs) will be but I have been dreaming about a three rotor in a FC since about 1997.

:hurray: :cheers2: :biggthumpup:

Oh, Logan, what about the hood latch. Do you think we can still use it or are we going to need to go to hood pins??

[GtoRx7]

Yes we made everything fit and get to keep the hood latch :) You will notice however the safety latch is missing the handle. We removed it because there was no way to keep it with the oil cooler in place. BUT we are going to be adding a cable system so you can simply pull under the grill area to release the hood safety. Thought that would be a pretty trick solution. Also, what color did you want this subframe powder coated? I was thinking gold would be sweet, as its under the car. But its your choice :) Keep in mind that the next thing starting to be built will be the strut brace. Its going to be a elaborate piece and can be powder coated the same color if you wish.

[Christopher W.]

Sounds great on the latch and cable.

Man, I am not ready to make the color decision at this moment. I was going to go with gold Advan wheels but that has changed. So, I pretty much have left the idea of gold wheels. I know the rear brakes calipers are gold but not to sure I want to go that route.

I know by looking under your 3rd gen hood that you are not scared of radical colors. ;)

Let me think about that. I might do something boring like flat or sating black.

When do you need to know by??

I have kind of envisioned raw metal look for the strut brace. I understand that is not as easy as it sounds. If you have any ideas to accomplish that let me know. If it is not doable powder coating is fine. Does aluminum provide enough rigidity for a brace? Remember, it is not really a race car...it just thinks it is.

By the way, since I didn't mention... That radiator, oil cooler, condenser set up is brilliant. It is absolutely beautiful and looks like it was designed by Mazda that way. Great Work!!

[GtoRx7]

Sounds great on the latch and cable.

Man, I am not ready to make the color decision at this moment. I was going to go with gold Advan wheels but that has changed. So, I pretty much have left the idea of gold wheels. I know the rear brakes calipers are gold but not to sure I want to go that route.

I know by looking under your 3rd gen hood that you are not scared of radical colors. ;)

Let me think about that. I might do something boring like flat or sating black.

When do you need to know by??

I have kind of envisioned raw metal look for the strut brace. I understand that is not as easy as it sounds. If you have any ideas to accomplish that let me know. If it is not doable powder coating is fine. Does aluminum provide enough rigidity for a brace? Remember, it is not really a race car...it just thinks it is.

By the way, since I didn't mention... That radiator, oil cooler, condenser set up is brilliant. It is absolutely beautiful and looks like it was designed by Mazda that way. Great Work!!

Gold and red are sexy :) Keep in mind on the lower subframe, it will only be seen when you put the car on the lift or look under it. Black is too boring for that part lol. But I will powder-coat it black if you wish. We can do red too? On the strut brace.... I like the idea of raw metal. I will have to make it all out of stainless steel, or aluminum. Hmmm... not a problem. Aluminum will be strong, just will need to be made thicker, might take up more space. Have to check out stainless tubing see what sizes I can get. Thanks Chris, I am happy you are liking it! Trying to build the trickest stuff to help make up for taking so long!! ;)

[GtoRx7]

While we are still working on the strut brace and underbody braces, figured I would post pics of the new rear calipers we finally sourced. We had some awesome brembo rears already, but they were not nickle plated. With a huge stroke of luck, got ahold of these PFC nickle plated mono-block rear calipers. Major find, and brand spanking new! I about died when I opened the box!


http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01460.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01459.jpg

[GtoRx7]

Started on the ITB intake system. We are hand building and machining the slide throttles. The lower flange was all machined and you can see the holes for semi p-ports. Slide assembly is just in the rough stages, I will post up completed pics here shortly showing the ball bearing assembly on the inside!

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01502.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01504.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01505.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01506.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01508.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01509.jpg

[Christopher W.]

That looks pretty sweet!

Are you using teflon as the center slide or is that metal?

It looks like metal...if so how do you seal against air leakage?

[fbRXse7en]

That looks pretty sweet!

Are you using teflon as the center slide or is that metal?

It looks like metal...if so how do you seal against air leakage?

Yeah, I was wondering the same...

[Ian]

Subscribed.

Nice build. Nice to see clean FC's. I have two myself. 1988 10th AE with over 400rwhp getting a complete face lift at my friends shop ClassicAuto Body and a a very nicely setup White 1989 Turbo II.

Can't wait to see more pictures. Would be nice for you to have this done for this years DGRR!!

Ian

[TitaniumTT]

This is why I started using the Todays Post button instead of the New Posts button... I totally missed the brakes! Those are gorgeous Chris! I'd love to see the brackets and the final product.... I'm actually ordering mine tomorrow ;)

[GtoRx7]

That looks pretty sweet!

Are you using teflon as the center slide or is that metal?

It looks like metal...if so how do you seal against air leakage?

There is two teflon sheets inside of there. I meant to take more pics as we were building it, but kinda got on a roll :) I am installing the ball bearing guides today so will have more detailed pictures.

[Christopher W.]

This is why I started using the Todays Post button instead of the New Posts button... I totally missed the brakes! Those are gorgeous Chris! I'd love to see the brackets and the final product.... I'm actually ordering mine tomorrow ;)

Great!! Can't wait to see what you are doing.

I have to tell you that I just read some more about your car. It is absolutely amazing. I hope to see it in person some day. I won't be making it to DGRR this year. Next year I definitely will though...

DGRR 2012!!

[GtoRx7]

This shows the internal teflon sheets

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01510.jpg

Milling the actuator grooves

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01512.jpg

Placement of the 4 ball bearing support system, and rounded the inside slider

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01518.jpg

Test assembly together with actuators

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01519.jpg

Showing movement of slide throttle

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01521.jpg

Hand bending curved end caps

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01522.jpg

Test assembly with radiuses on ends

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01523.jpg

Hand fitting and clearancing of the end caps

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01525.jpg

Smoothed and matched curved surfaces

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01526.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01527.jpg

Finished and polished slide

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01528.jpg

Countersunk plate bottoms, for spring perch. Much stronger than tapped aluminum

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01529.jpg

Exploded view of all the parts finished to the slide throttle setup

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01530.jpg

Finished assembly with button head stainless hardware

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01533.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01534.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01538.jpg
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01539.jpg

Air horns placed, just to give a idea of what it will look like fully finished

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01535.jpg

[Grappler]

Damn that is so very very awesome...

[TitaniumTT]

Great!! Can't wait to see what you are doing.

I have to tell you that I just read some more about your car. It is absolutely amazing. I hope to see it in person some day. I won't be making it to DGRR this year. Next year I definitely will though...

DGRR 2012!!

I'll make sure to get some pics up in my build thread when I finally get the bits in.

Thanks man! I just drove the thing coast to coast so we missed our chance :rofl: Deals 2012!!! WOOT!!!! Deals is the highlight of my automotive year.

[TitaniumTT]

Damn that is so very very awesome...

Yes, yes it is

[GtoRx7]

I didnt get a chance to show step by step of building the throttle brackets, but here it is complete. Last pic shows it with throttle cable attached. Next will be TPS linkage

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01548.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01549.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01550.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh115/fd20na/DSC01551.jpg

And here is a quick video of operation. They work flawlessly! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owVrsEoSyxM

[Christopher W.]

Dude!! That is ridiculously awesome..

What are you thinking in manifold length for those?

[GtoRx7]

Dude!! That is ridiculously awesome..

What are you thinking in manifold length for those?

Going to start at the proven length, but the trumpets will have some adjustment. That way the length of the semi p-ports and main throttles can be changed on the dyno to find the sweet spots :)

[need RX7]

Amazing.

[Christopher W.]

It seems that Logan keeps making new gains in HP with his ongoing R&D.

Sooo, I decided long ago that I was going to go all the way and do a slightly wider wide body for my car. The only front fenders I have an interest in are the Mariah Motorsports front wide fender. It is 1.25" wider per side and it keeps the basic lines that Mazda produced. It is also very high quality..

I pretty much can't stand any of the current stupid drifter looking garbage that I see done to second gens..puke.

I did always like the Tri-Point but that is gone and it was a bit to radical for this particular car.

So, I found a guy in St. Louis that I really resonate with. His name is Doug Jenkins and he is phenomenal.

http://www.dougjenkinsgarage.com/main/

This guy loves what he does and is super anal about his work and rep. I got him to go pick up the car from Logan and he has started.

We are using the Mariah fenders in front. I also bought a Shine Auto front air dam lip. I am having Doug file in the air vents along the bottom of the air dam. I guess they are for brake ducts or something. They look to me like they would just cause turbulence. I will also have the stock front lip available if I don't like the Shine piece or if I want a little higher front clearance.

For the rear we are doing the fenders in metal and we will make them about two inches wider. I hope to get a 305 under the fenders. I will be happy with a 295 though. I am doing a 17 front and an 18 rear wheel.

The rear fenders are to mimic the front in appearance. I want the car to look a little wider but not much different than stock. I think many people will not even know that anything has been changed.

Doug is also doing a super high quality original color paint job. The fender wells will be completely finished out as well.

So here we go. It was a little scary having someone hack up the car but I trust Doug.

The work is done in metal. There is a little filler used to cover up the wheel scratches but the work is in metal. The entire car will be taken down to the metal before paint


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/GTUs/DSCF1123.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/GTUs/DSCF1117.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/GTUs/DSCF1118.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/GTUs/DSCF1119.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/GTUs/DSCF1120.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/GTUs/DSCF1121.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/GTUs/DSCF1125.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/GTUs/DSCF1124.jpg


Doug should be done in about 1.5 months and the car will be going back to Logan's for the final engine work.

My car will be done this summer..... Right Logan?? :)

[hades]

very cool.

[Christopher W.]

More pics from Doug. She's got some hips on her now!!

The vent shown is the cut out vent of the Shine Auto air dam. It is now smooth but I don't have any pictures yet. Next Doug will get the front fenders perfect then finish out the fender liners and then on to paint.

I think that it is turning out as perfect as I imagined.

The front fenders are 1.25" wider. The rear are 2" wider. I would like to get a 10" and 12" wheel to fit under the fender. That might be pushing it on the front. Maybe doing a 11.5" and a 9.5" will work. Or maybe a 12" and 9.5". Hell I don't know. I am getting custom wheels so the offset won't have to be a compromise.

I don't really know how the car will handle on the limit with a 2" stagger... much less a 2.5" stagger. I don't want this to be a understeer pig. Maybe I should just stuff as much tire under as I can and dial in the steering the best I can. Everything is just a starting point until it hits the road.

I plan on spending time at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit in north east Oklahoma with someone who can really help me set this car up. I won't have a hodge podge of parts that don't work together.

http://www.hallettracing.net/


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/GTUs/DSCF1126.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/GTUs/DSCF1127.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/GTUs/DSCF1128.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/GTUs/DSCF1129.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/GTUs/DSCF1130.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/GTUs/DSCF1131.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/GTUs/DSCF1133.jpg


http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/GTUs/DSCF1138.jpg

[diabolical1]

holy hell! this project just keeps getting more and more awesome.

[Christopher W.]

One more picture. This is the polyester primer that is being applied.

Logan should have the car back by the first week in July maybe..

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/GTUs/100_0023.jpg

[just startn]

Seen your car down at the shop a few months back. Didn't realize it was this one. It was clean. Nice example of a 2nd gen.

[Christopher W.]

UPDATE:

I have once again delayed my own project with my need for it to be perfect..well perfect to me.

Once the fenders and paint were done we realized that the Mariah front fenders will only allow a 235 up front. What the fuck is the point in that!!

On Mariah's web page they say 1.25" wider. I made the ignorant mistake of thinking that meant 1.25" wider usable tire space. I guess it means the fender is actually 1.25" wider. :rolleyes:

Whatever, not really that big of a deal.

Doug is going to do the same thing to the front fenders as was done to the rear; custom metal fender flares.

This will also give Logan time to get further along with the slide throttle R&D.

I have pictures but they are body shop pictures. You know, white dust in all of the cracks, dirty windshield and super ugly tires that don't fill the fenders anyway. I will show pictures when body work is done and new wheels and tires are on.

I will be using Toyo R888 295/18 rear and 255/18 front. The front will be 100% usable in all possible conditions of suspension travel from lock to lock. The f/r tires are both 25.1" tall. That is .1" taller than stock. I think it is a great combination without being to radical.

See you in a couple of months..

[speedjunkie]

How are the fenders being finished after pulling the metal out? Is it a filler or what? I was thinking another strip of metal was being added to the middle and then being welded back together. Came out great!

That's a sweet throttle plate too. Defined is awesome lol.

[Christopher W.]

They weld in more metal in the open spaces. Then it is covered with some kind of filler. The filler is mainly just to cover the wheel scratches.

I will ask next week a little more about the process.

[DriFD3S]

This thread scares me... Not going to lie,
Scary as hell.

[speedjunkie]

They weld in more metal in the open spaces. Then it is covered with some kind of filler. The filler is mainly just to cover the wheel scratches.

I will ask next week a little more about the process.

Oh OK cool. That's what I thought but from the pics it went straight from the holes being there to filler or whatever smoothed out so I wasn't sure. That's awesome then! No need to ask, not for me anyway, I just thought it was cool! Thanks!

[Christopher W.]

This thread scares me... Not going to lie,
Scary as hell.

Not sure what YOU mean...but I agree!!

[RCCAZ 1]

Chris... great build. I knew the car when it was here in Phoenix and considered purchasing it before you. Glad you got it instead!! Keep up the incredible build. Considering a similar NA approach to another FD build in the future. We'll see.

[Christopher W.]

Chris... great build. I knew the car when it was here in Phoenix and considered purchasing it before you. Glad you got it instead!! Keep up the incredible build. Considering a similar NA approach to another FD build in the future. We'll see.

Thanks!!

Sometimes I wish you had bought it..

[Christopher W.]

I ordered wheels and tires last week. The expected ship date is 11-14-11. Doug said he will be on the fenders the day the wheels show up.

They will build the front fenders around the wheel. That is what he usually does and we should have done in the first place. But oh well, here we are doing it right the second time.

I am not going to tell which wheels until I have photographs. Kinda childish maybe but I feel like doing it that way.

The sizes are:

Front: 18x9 +23 Toyo R888 255/35R18
Rear: 18x11 +38 Toyo R888 295/30R18

It looks like the slide throttle development is going to take longer than expected. So we are going to do the 90mm with custom intake plenum. This is different than the original plan. It is going to be more race looking than factory hot rod. In the future if the slides get worked out and produce more power we can install them with minimal fuss.

I am also having a guy in Australia make the mufflers. His name is Kevin and his company is AES. He makes them with mild steel and rockwool. The sound is deep and throaty. I think the biggest complaint might be they are too quiet. I know they will be heavier but so what.. He said around 14lbs per muffler.

http://ausrotary.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=193487

I have dumped the idea of butterfly valve in the exhaust and using the two different exhaust pipe sizes on the y pipe. Although Kevin is actually very involved in building and installing valves in his exhaust systems. I am going for simplicity. The point in my case was to make the car quieter in town and now I won't be living in town. The mufflers are going to take care of that issue anyway.

[Christopher W.]

Well, it seems we are back on for the slide throttles!!

I will let Logan discuss reasons and all. I am very happy about that.

[GtoRx7]

Yes, we were having issues finding a source for needle bearings on the slide throttles. And after testing the teflon versions had too much friction for easy driving. I did do dyno runs with the teflon slide throttles with excellent results however.

So after that brief detour the ITB's will be machined out shortly and good to go!

[Christopher W.]

Since the rear fenders were basically modeled off of the Mariah front fenders, we decided to just modify the Mariah fender instead of the original metal fenders.

Here is a look on how it was done. Still waiting for final paint after the holidays.

My car should be at Defined in the next three weeks.

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/GTUs/2011-12-13103322.jpg

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/GTUs/2011-12-13103309.jpg

[DriFD3S]

my eyes are bleeding, this is a hell of a build!!

[Christopher W.]

Ha, well another change!!

After getting one of the front Mariah fiberglass fenders widened it was decided....NO!

So no we rip up the original metal fenders. Luckily not on my dime but on Dougs!!

I have included Doug's comments with the photos.

"I think this will work better. After roughing in the custom fiberglass fender fattening, it became apparent that to get the right look we’d have to use the steel fenders. A more graceful line can be done this way, a look that’s truer to the original shape, and a perfect match to the rear."
http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/GTUs/2012-02-15-102853.jpg

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/GTUs/2012-02-15-102814.jpg

"The rear of the fender gets relived vertically so that the original shape of the fender is maintained while allowing the flare to begin as subtly as possible."
http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/GTUs/2012-02-15-103113.jpg

Here is picture of the wheels I bought from Forgeline. It is their new GW3R wheel.

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/GTUs/product_photo-xlarge_image-467.jpg

Front: 18x9 +23 Toyo R888 255/35R18
Rear: 18x11 +38 Toyo R888 295/30R18

That was a hard decision. At the very last minute...I mean last seconds of placing the order I went against my life long love of exposed bolts. I got the hidden option. I also got the center lock conversion.

This picture is a little darker than I am wanting but only one I have here.

The pictures I have been sent of the wheels on the car where with a camera phone and made the centers almost look blue. I am after a bright silver center section but not polished or machined and a polished lip. I have seen different pictures of the same wheels and some they look almost gun metal (I don't want) and sometimes they look bright silver. If I don't like it I send them back and change the color for $80.00 a wheel. I will know for sure when I go pick up the car to take it to Defined.

[djmtsu]

Wow.

This is going to be one of the sickest, if not THE sickest FC's around.

Bring it to DGRR!!!!

[rotarycrazy]

this is awesome.

[knonfs]

Ha, well another change!!

After getting one of the front Mariah fiberglass fenders widened it was decided....NO!

So no we rip up the original metal fenders. Luckily not on my dime but on Dougs!!

I have included Doug's comments with the photos.

"I think this will work better. After roughing in the custom fiberglass fender fattening, it became apparent that to get the right look we’d have to use the steel fenders. A more graceful line can be done this way, a look that’s truer to the original shape, and a perfect match to the rear."
http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/GTUs/2012-02-15-102853.jpg

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/GTUs/2012-02-15-102814.jpg

"The rear of the fender gets relived vertically so that the original shape of the fender is maintained while allowing the flare to begin as subtly as possible."
http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/GTUs/2012-02-15-103113.jpg

Here is picture of the wheels I bought from Forgeline. It is their new GW3R wheel.

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/GTUs/product_photo-xlarge_image-467.jpg

Front: 18x9 +23 Toyo R888 255/35R18
Rear: 18x11 +38 Toyo R888 295/30R18

That was a hard decision. At the very last minute...I mean last seconds of placing the order I went against my life long love of exposed bolts. I got the hidden option. I also got the center lock conversion.

This picture is a little darker than I am wanting but only one I have here.

The pictures I have been sent of the wheels on the car where with a camera phone and made the centers almost look blue. I am after a bright silver center section but not polished or machined and a polished lip. I have seen different pictures of the same wheels and some they look almost gun metal (I don't want) and sometimes they look bright silver. If I don't like it I send them back and change the color for $80.00 a wheel. I will know for sure when I go pick up the car to take it to Defined.


BADASS, especially those wheels :cheers2:

[Christopher W.]

Thanks for the comments!!

DGRR would be nice. Ha, good dead line to give to Logan at Defined.

The body work won't be much longer at all. The whole car is already painted except for the front fenders.

Now that Logan has the intake figured out basically all that has to be done is get the intake made and installed. I am not sure where he is right now with the slide throttles but I imagine still in the process. But then I have to go and put 800-900 or so miles on it, get it dynoed and dialed in, get all the little punch list stuff done. I don't know if that is actually possible by then.

I gave up self induced dead lines long ago. They bring on nothing but tension..

[RCCAZ 1]

What's your horsepower goal with Logan. Something in the 375 RWHP range??

[Christopher W.]

What's your horsepower goal with Logan. Something in the 375 RWHP range??

Heh, heh..

We started out conservatively thinking around 350rwhp. I have basically left my car unfinished with Logan..other than the trip to St. Louis for the paint and body, for about two years.

The entire reason for just leaving it there is because Logan continued to make more and more HP. He now has his 20B FD making 475rwhp. But he is dry sumped and running up to 10k rpm. I am wet and going to 9k rpm.

You might of missed this thread on this forum and Logan has others on the other forum. He made 475 rwhp on a Dynapack dyno!!

http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_forum/showthread.php?t=15079

or

http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_forum/showthread.php?t=15078

The other difference is my setup probably won't have the external mounted injectors. But what you see in his thread is basically my setup to come. He still has to get the slide throttles functional for daily use but that is coming together as well.

Logan, who is pretty conservative, said that I could look for between 425 and 450rwhp with the lastest setup.

I think it has been worth the wait on possibly gaining 75 to 100 more HP than originally thought. :biggthumpup:

I don't care if he is still finding more hp. I am ready for my car!!

[RCCAZ 1]

Yes, I was aware that he was close to 500 RWHP, but also knew he was "cutting edge" with dry sump, tuned exhaust, 10K rpm and all of the other stops pulled out. Just wasn't sure how many of those things you planned to incorporate. 425 to 450 will be incredible. I think Logan needs to offer a "group buy" on 400+ HP 3 rotor engine builds, then crank out 5 to 10 in parallel builds :)

[FDDandata]

this is inspirational!!... but what good is being inspired with no money lol. Cant wait to see pics of the finished results, especially the dyno #s. Im feeling the whole build inside and out. Hopefully you get to make DGRR 12 cuz looks like you got plenty of people thats gonna be on the lookout for your car in particular

[gmonsen]

Chris... Looking great. PM me when you have a minute.

RCCAZ1... Right. Logan should do a group buy.

Gordon

[RX-7FD3S]

nononono. i read this entire tread in the hopes to se it finnished and running on the last page, get this thing dooone :D
dying to hear it brap :)

[Oyvindjs]

^^this :D

[Christopher W.]

Get it done!! Tell me about it. :o16:

The guy's shop doing the paint and body work had the employee doing the work on my car quit after ten years. He is having to pull another guy off of other projects to finish it. There is no hurry to get it to Logan's until the middle of May. Logan has three long term projects leaving in the next three weeks.

Logan is still finding new and bad ass ways to increase power. I actually talked to him today. I think we might open my engine back up and do some of his new stuff to the internals.

As long as I have it back by August I am good....hell I am good no matter!!

[general7]

Great looking project, gonna follow this one! :)

[Christopher W.]

Logan is still finding new and bad ass ways to increase power. I actually talked to him today. I think we might open my engine back up and do some of his new stuff to the internals.

I retract that statement. I am not going to do anything to slow down getting my car back.

There will always be more HP to be had. I am just ready to drive my car.

By the way, it has always been my doing that pushed this project to such a long overdue completion. Just didn't want anyone to think Logan was the reason. I just always wanted more power.

Part of the sickness I guess.. :D

[Christopher W.]

My car is finally being worked on again.

Here is a link to the progress....too lazy to post the individual pictures..

http://dougjenkinsgarage.com/blog/category/mazdarx7/

[MazdaMike]

This thread is amazing, your basically building my dream FC (as long as it remains red).

Can't wait to see more progress.

[Christopher W.]

I keep getting these crappy camera phone pictures from my car's hostage taker. I already paid the ransom..... I am guessing in a couple of weeks the car will finally be at Logan's.

Was told four months......here we are 1.5 years later. F%$K that $h(t. This is completely unacceptable. This work better be PERFECT. I think it will be but no more hostage taking of my cars.

BIGGEST LESSON....DON'T PAY FOR ANYTHING...EXCEPT PARTS UNTIL THE WORK IS DONE. IF THEY CAN'T WORK WITH THAT THEN GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.

http://i419.photobucket.com/albums/pp271/evo-no-revo/20121115_094245-1.jpg

All that being said.....it does look pretty sick!!

[hybrid G]

this a serious journey you are on....... loving it, can't wait to hear the 20b roar and see it all done

[diabolical1]

All that being said.....it does look pretty sick!!

not for nothing, but you're absolutely right!



you're right about the other stuff, too!

[gmonsen]

Chris... All seems good, but what the heck happened that the bodywork took so long? And how about something in the way of pictures or do I have to drive over to Logan's?

Gordon

[Christopher W.]

Update is a little disturbing but it is all moving in a very solid direction.

This is to officially warn anyone that might be thinking of having Doug Jenkins Garage of House Springs Missouri to do anything for you....don't do it.

It is sort of funny to read how much I was suckered in by this con man....talented people in his hire but he himself is a really sad character.

I took the car to him and was told it would take 2-3 months...it took two years.

Payments were not accounted for.....until I pointed out his mistake. He told me he would have his office woman look into it. There is no office woman. Then when he realized that I had his number he blamed it on one of his shop workers. I bet Jason of his shop doesn't know he was blamed for a two thousand dollar payment being misapplied.

The point where I started to see this turd for what he is is when he said this, "The guys in the shop do the work and I am the one that acts like I am interested in the customer..." The statement pretty much sums up this loser.

Then he finally shipped the car to Logan. I had moved to California and I couldn't see the car before he had it delivered. He knew this was going to be the case if he procrastinated a little longer.

So I get to Defined Autoworks and I see that the car has many issues. Let me point out that if the average person walked up to the car and looked they would of been drooling. I am way to picky for that.

I have to say that the guy has really talented people in his hire. The metal work on the fenders is awesome. It looks like Mazda did a wide body edition. The fenders have custom fender liners and looks really nice. The paint is the issue....$8K for a paint job.

It has to be repainted. There are 80 grit scratches, and numerous different blemishes in the paint. I told him where to get the new metal surround for the new windshield...MazMart. He said he had contacted them and it was handled. When I get to my car I see this f@&ker has sides and bottom of the metal surround done correctly but put a strip of universal windshield rubber across the top of the car. It looks like a freakin eye lash. He didn't paint the entire body side molding pieces. It is as if he set them down on cardboard and sprayed the front but not the back or edges. The edges are all very rough. The same thing is done to the doors and the front cap. Maybe that is why he didn't actually attach the side molding pieces securely. They would of fallen off if it had been driven down the road. The seal across the top of the front cap isn't even there.

The stupid thing is is that the car was taken all the way apart. He could of easily done these things correctly if he hadn't be such a ass hat clown.

I had Logan recommend a local shop to repaint the car. He is Steve Rieser from Rieser Auto Body. Steve said they obviously have talent but took every short cut in the book on the paint. Jenkins does use Spies Hecker paint....one of the best paints.

I currently have a BBB and Missouri Attorney General complaints filed. I did find someone else who had a big issue with him and he finally had to pay up after the Attorney General got on his ass.

I have emailed him twice with no response but i am done with this loser... As soon as Logan is done then it goes to Rieser's shop. Then the six year build will be over.

The funny thing is is that if the jerk hadn't taken two years to finish then the next evolution of this project would not be happening.....Yes that was suppose to be cryptic.

You can wait and see the final project or stop by Logan's and see for yourself.

So to sum all of this up......my car project has step up a notch and is moving forward.

We are hoping to have it running later this fall.

Sorry, I did a restore on my phone and lost the only pictures I had of the car in it's current state. It does look sweet!!! :)

[omega]

Very nice!

[Christopher W.]

I was trying to keep this a secret...for some stupid reason.....

But if the ass wipe Doug Jenkins hadn't been such a total unethical loser...I would not now be having a 4 rotor installed. Funny how the universe works that way.

NA and nothing super trick but still it is a freakin 4 rotor. I am thinking by the end of November we will be getting ready for dyno. It is all there just Logan needs to find the time.

The engine will not have a dry sump. It will be built with 2mm seals. I am still trying to keep a/c. Although I now live in Northern California and the need is not there for a/c like it was in Arkansas. But I still want it if we can make it work. I will be winding to 8700 RPM. I am hoping for around 500-520 RWHP. I am not doing three plugs. I lost interest in a complicated exhaust bypass valve on my 3 rotor so I won't be messing with that on the 4 rotor. It will have a Racing beat aluminum center section for weight saving.

So that's where we stand.

[Jaco]

Awesome build. Love the body work, fab work, how clean everything is- Love the FC too :icon_tup:

[need RX7]

Any updates on this? I admired the cleanliness and quality work, and that last post is a major tease!

[project86]

Revival?