1986 RX7 base model resto-mod project

[need RX7]

Well, I figured it was about time to start this thread since it might actually start going somewhere soon.

A little background; Pretty much ever since I bought my first FC in Febuary '08, I was looking for a cleaner shell to build up since the first one was fighting a losing battle with rust.

Fast-forward to March/April-ish of '09, I found a car on this very site that I really liked. A 1986 base model, with not a spec of rust on it, non-running, for only $500. The catch was, it was located in Texas (roughly 1300 miles from where I live). After a few weeks of researching shipping companies and contemplating spending hundreds of dollars to ship a $500 car, me and my dad decided to road-trip this bish.

We arranged to pick up a rental dolly from a U-Haul store in Texas (conveniently located minutes away from the seller's house). We had to tell them we were towing a 1965 VW bug to get them to let us rent it, but we got it :lol:. We then started our trip. Long story short, the car made it home without incident in 3 days... Well, pretty much without incident. We did have a chain break and drag on the ground, throwing a shower of sparks for miles. By pure chance, this was witnessed by another forum member. :lol:

Who said XJs can't tow?
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/Teh%207/101_0485.jpg
Only thing done to it is a trans cooler. (that's my dad in the pic, BTW. Taken somewhere in IL)

We arrived home about 11pm on the 3rd night
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/Teh%207/101_0500.jpg

A couple shots of the cars together:
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/Teh%207/101_0506.jpg
(Old on the left, new on the right)

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/Teh%207/101_0504.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/Teh%207/101_0507.jpg


In the next episode, we'll learn the true nature of the car's non-running problem.

[need RX7]

From what I can gather, the car was bought non-running and the PO was chasing after electrical problems. I switched around a few parts (pressure sensor, TPS, etc) from my other running car once I got it home and still no dice. I decided to do a compression test, and found 0 psi in the rear and very very low in the front. Blown. Honestly, I really didn't even care. Usually, you'll see shells in similar condition for sale for the same price with no engine or transmission even installed in the car. Plus, I planned on doing some sort of engine swap in the future anyway.

I poured oil into the combustion chambers and made it start a few times. It smoked like a bish (hint: foreshadowing :suspect:)
.
After many failed attempts to borrow a cherry picker from my friend, I bit the bullet and rented one, $40 for 24 hours. Out of sheer boredom in the previous weeks, I had stripped basically the entire engine bay, so the engine and trans came out in less than an hour.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/Teh%207/101_0923.jpg
That's me in the foreground, looking on in wonder. My friend Andrew on the right.

A somewhat lulzy picture of the transmission detachment process.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/Teh%207/101_0931.jpg

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/Teh%207/101_0933.jpg
I've heard all the horror stories of the flywheel nut, but it still sucked 100x worse than I was expecting. It eventually came loose with me standing on the engine and my dad leaning on a 6-foot cheater bar on the end of the 3/4" breaker bar. Biggest PITA ever.


So then the teardown began. I used the bucket method, since I'm too cheap to buy an engine stand right now :lol:. (but I'll probably buy one soon, if my diabolical plan works out :suspect:)

The rear iron came off first, I was expecting carnage since the rear rotor was at 0 psi. The motor delivered.

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/engine/101_0968.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/engine/101_0973.jpg
Obvious apex seal damage. ouch. I also noticed that the coolant passages were extra cruddy and the coolant seals were deteriorated to basically nothing. So, so far we have a double apex seal and coolant seal failure.

Pulled off the middle iron and had a look at the front rotor. The apex seals were in much better shape and slid out easily (I stuck them back together with red loctite and kept them as souvenirs) However, one of them did have a small chip on the end.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/engine/101_0959.jpg

As for the front rotor and housing, they obviously didn't have any major apex seal gouges, but they held some hidden secrets. And the coolant seals were grenaded here too :(.

While inspecting the front rotor, I noticed these weird carbon wear patterns on the rotor tips.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/engine/101_0953.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/engine/101_0955.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/engine/101_0956.jpg
I bet the experienced builders know exactly what was going on just from looking at those poorly taken pictures, but in my noobishness, it took me a day or 2 to figure it out.

With the front iron and housing still sitting on the bucket, I reinserted the rotor and e-shaft so I could entertain myself by spinning it around. I noticed that it would get really hard to turn when the rotor reached a certain position. Upon closer inspection, I finally figured it out. Remember those failed coolant seals? Well I guess they caused the car to overheat, and the housing expanded into the path of the rotor, causing the tip to smack into the housing on every rotation (thus explaining those wear patterns on the rotor and the slightly warped apex seal slots.)
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/engine/101_0964-1.jpg

So that's basically where I stand now.

[need RX7]

d

[need RX7]

d

[FC3S Murray]

mnmmmmmmm S4 goodness!

[need RX7]

mnmmmmmmm S4 goodness!
Thank you, they are quite delicious when they're not all beat up. I need a new rear bumper :(.

I'm so bummed about that donor car getting sold :(. I feel like I could actually start crying over it. It was a battered old GTU, with a full TII conversion (rebuilt engine, full TII drivetrain and all TII electronics), and it had the full 5-lug setup I need. All of that for $1100. I was planning on buying it, pulling out all the TII parts and 5-lug parts to put in my base, throwing the 4-lug back into the donor car and selling it as a 4-lug n/a shell for a couple hundred bucks. The only downside to the whole thing is the seller ported the engine when it was apart, which made me kind of nervous without actually seeing them. I was going to most likely buy a set unported irons from japan2LA for a little over $300 or so (judging from prices I saw in his old threads), and a gasket/o-ring kit from Atkins for $290 and reassemble it in stock format. (I already went over all of this, didn't I :lol:)

But I guess I didn't move quick enough. I went and looked at it last Sunday, it all seemed pretty solid. I planned on coming back, but... such is life.:o10:

Damn it, typing all that out made me depressed again :(.



:banghead:

[need RX7]

To add insult to injury, the donor TII car was given for free to a guy who has no idea about the car at all. :icon_tdown:

[Silver86]

To add insult to injury, the donor TII car was given for free to a guy who has no idea about the car at all. :icon_tdown:

wtf?! http://smiliesftw.com/x/picard1.gif (http://smiliesftw.com)

[need RX7]

Today was a much nicer day than we've been having around here lately (sun was out and it was actually a little warm), and I decided I needed to do something to this car. So after I finished mowing the lawn (20 dolla, wut?), I threw the front end in the air and looked for something to do. My front subframe has a ton of surface rust, and is just generally crusty and in need of cleaning. So I went at it for a while, and about 2 hours later ended up with this:
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/Teh%207/101_1326.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/Teh%207/101_1327.jpg

It was just getting dark as I was figuring out how to move it around, so I'll leave it out for tonight (rolling it into the garage is not an option :cuss:) and go at it tomorrow. I figure I'll start out wire-wheeling and painting the subframe (unless I can find an inexpensive powdercoater locally with an oven big enough for it) then I'll pick up some nice new bushings for the front suspension. Hopefully I'll also be able to source a 5-lug swap before I put it all back in. This will also allow to get more thorough coverage when I paint the engine bay.

I do have a question, where should I put the jack stands now that the subframe is gone? I currently have them at the front of the 'rails' on the underside of the car, but to be honest, that spot makes me uncomfortable as hell. Also, how do I jack the front end up and down without the subframe?

[NoDOHC]

There is a thick place right where the underbody turns up (multiple layers of lapped metal) This is where I support cars without a subframe. I typically jack them up from the subframe as it is typically installed while the car is on the ground and I am intending to reinstall it before letting the car back down.

[need RX7]

I think I know what you're talking about, I have them a couple inches behind there. (why didn't I put them there in the first place? :lol:)

I also did some independent research on the other forum and found a post from our very own TitaniumTT that said:

It's a piece of cake. All the bolts are easily accesible. The hardest part is supporting the car.
...

There are good supports where the bumper mounts as where the sway bar mounts.

That does make sense, maybe I'll move them up to the sway bar mount area.


Either way, I'll throw the bare subframe back on tomorrow after I get all the suspension bits off to establish a lifting point and figure out what to do.

[need RX7]

Guess who just bought an S5 n/a short block with dynamic chamber and extension manifold :). Supposed to be here on Monday, coming from SC.
It'll still be a while before it's all together, but it'll be great to have a non-hypothetical engine sitting around. Maybe it'll motivate me to actually do stuff to the car :lol:. I need to get my hands on an S5 LIM asap, though.

I also dropped off my water pump housing, water pump, and WP pulley at a stripping/blasting place yesterday, to get rid of all the crud and poorly applied paint. I figured they should look nice, since they sit front and center in the bay and all. :lol:

I've also decided that I'm going to embrace the 4-lug setup, rather than fussing over 5-lug swaps all the time. I'm sure the single-piston calipers are enough for an n/a, and the tires on the phone dials right now are actually pretty decent (and new).

[project86]

ha! im not the only one rebuilding and s4! base models +1

[need RX7]

Yay:
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/101_1656.jpg
^^Weird, the trailer came from Texas, as did the car that the engine is going into.
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/101_1657.jpg

S5 n/a engine courtesy of AcidShock from RX7club. Came from SC in 4 days, and for much cheaper than I expected (Yellow Freight FTW) :icon_tup:.

It's basically just a short block, though I did receive the S5 n/a dynamic chamber and extension manifold. I'll be posting up a list of small stuff I need once I give the engine a good once-over and take inventory of what I need.

Getting closer! :001_005:

[djmtsu]

Nice!

I almost bought a few things from Acidshock, until I spun a bearing and parted out the FC.

He seems pretty legit, so I imagine the engine is good!

[need RX7]

I am nearly finished with the painstaking process of removing the flaking gunmetal paint from the housings and front cover :rofl:, I'd say they're about 90% clean right now. I also have pretty much all the other engine parts I need on the way right now (flywheel, LIM, BAC, etc). Then it's on to re-sealing the oil pan and installing Banzai Racing oil pan brace, then she'll be just about ready to drop in. :001_005:

[need RX7]

I've neglected this thread :(.

After getting the engine, I picked up all the external engine parts I needed (LIM, flywheel, a couple sensors, I had the exhaust mani lying around).

I did a mock-up of the long block (minus WP/WP housing and alternator):
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/Teh%207/101_1712.jpg

I eventually added everything else:
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/101_1962.jpg

The water pump, water pump housing and a couple other things were media blasted locally, they be shinin'. I then painted the water pump and pulleys with black engine enamel and scrubbed the hell out of the intake manifold pieces with engine degreaser.

I still need to clean up the air pump and it's bracket, the alternator, and the LIM. The flash makes the dirty stuff look worse than they reallyare, but they're still dirtier than I'd like.

I then got my flywheel resurfaced and bought a clutch kit:
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/Teh%207/101_2209.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/101_2024.jpg
It's an Exedy "stage 1". The "stock replacement" one would have been enough to hold the power I plan on making (barely over stock), but I plan on driving the car pretty hard at autocrosses and hopefully some track days so a little breathing room couldn't hurt.

Then I bought a bunch of gaskets:
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/Teh%207/101_1784.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/Teh%207/101_1779.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/Teh%207/101_1783.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/Teh%207/101_1780.jpg


one day, I found possible evidence of a mouse invasion:
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/101_1904.jpg

So I left out some coolant in case the fuckers came back:
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/101_1913.jpg
They never came back, no carcasses, no more damages, so maybe they came in once and decided to stay out.


I also found some shady wiring that I haven't fixed it yet:
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/101_1911.jpg
Who would use wire nuts on anything other than a ceiling fan? :rofl: :o10:

Today, after getting the car up on dollies, I decided to have a look at the undercarriage. I was aware of some slight floor damage, caused by what looks like someone driving over a rock or something. I wanted to inspect it closer and start repairing it.

This rail was dented from the bottom and from the side:
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/Teh%207/101_2186.jpg

And there were some gouges in the undercoat:
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/Teh%207/101_2189.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/Teh%207/101_2188.jpg

After some hammering and prying, I got it straightened out a bit. It's not perfect, but I'm not too worried about it:
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/Teh%207/101_2201.jpg

After that I hit the area with a wire brush and sprayed it with primer to protect from it from further rust, until I figure out what kind of undercoat I want to apply.


Here's an interesting shot from today, taken from the trans tunnel looking out of the open hood:
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/Teh%207/101_2197.jpg


As for the project as a whole, I only have a few more parts to get before I can put everything together. In addition to engine stuff, I'm going to be getting new bushings all around the car, and I plan on painting the engine bay as well. I found a rattle can color that matches the stock color pretty closely. I'm getting pretty excited, the end is coming into sight. I'll finally have an FC I can be proud of, that doesn't shed more of it's body mass every time a door is slammed, not to mention the "yeah, I did it" feeling of doing a bunch of resto work myself.

The detailed list of what's left:
- Purchase and install Banzai Racing Oil Pan Brace
- Purchase and install complete bushing set. I'm looking at MMR, but I've heard horror stories about their shipping times and customer service. hmm...
- Torque flywheel and install clutch
- Purchase and install block-off plates for OMP, ACV and sub-zero start valve
- Paint engine bay
- De-rust and paint subframe
- spend a day under the car removing surface rust
- Finish restoring passenger side tail light
- clean and paint various engine and engine bay parts
- Assemble engine with gaskets and proper torque
- Degrease transmission
- Purchase and install shifter bushings
- Mate engine and transmission together
- Apply undercoating (???)
- Install engine & transmission
- Purchase 2 summit RPM switches and rig up 6pi & VDI actuati0on system utilizing factory air pump
- Purchase and install driver side door handle :lol:

Might have missed a couple steps, but that's the gist of it.

[need RX7]

So what do you guys recommend for undercoating? My factory undercoating is practically falling off in some places due to the damage posted above, and I want to get something stronger on there. I've heard good things and bad things about POR-15, I know there's more out there but I haven't done much research on it yet. Any input would be appreciated. :icon_tup:

[project86]

I think SEM makes an undercoating you could try.

[need RX7]

I do like the idea of a spray-on deal, rather than something that requires sliding around under the car brushing something on and dripping it all over the place and what not. I probably don't need something like POR-15 and the like, since I plan on never driving in snow (and waiting a few rains after winter to wash the salt away), and washing off the undercarriage regularly.

[need RX7]

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/Teh%207/101_2255.jpg

[TeckniX]

Progress is looking good - now it's time to get some simplegreen and start cleaning the engine bay

Keep the pics coming on the frame repair if u get around to it!

[need RX7]

Progress is looking good - now it's time to get some simplegreen and start cleaning the engine bay

Thanks! As a matter of fact, I began cleaning out the engine bay last night with Simple Green. I'll be painting the bay, since the factory paint is peeling off in some areas, and the 'frame rail' on the passenger was stripped of paint and allowed to rust due to a leak at the master cylinder. I definitely have to clean it thoroughly before the paint process can begine, though.

I'll take a few more pics of random stuff today and post a few up.


In fact, I have a mini-update of sorts:
I 'detailed' the gas cap area a couple days ago. It's surprising how filthy it can get in there.

I didn't think to take a before pic, but here it is now. It's not 100% spotless, but it's way better than it was before:
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/101_2283.jpg



Here's my artist's depiction of what it looked like before:
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd320/noob5000000/before.jpg


I also dislike this gas cap. It's an aftermarket one, someone must have drove off with the original one sitting on the fender one day. I'll grab the OEM one off that FC in the junkyard next time I'm there.

[landon303]

Coming along good!! Reminds me of mine-- I did an S5 NA swap, with the VDI manifold, all in an 88 base. Keep er comin!

[Sharingan 19]

Lookin good!
About the undercoating, POR 15 is some quality stuff, if you go slow w/ the roller and don't saturate it it should stay out of your eyes too,lol. Perhaps you can roll the large areas and spray the ones that are hard to get to?

[need RX7]

So, I just thought of something. In the next couple of weeks, I'll be receiving $2500, most of which I plan on using on the car. What do you guys think the odds are of finding a wrecked or rusty TII with a running engine and good drivetrain for around $1000-1500 are? It would be great to buy a complete TII donor and swap all the guts into this car.

[need RX7]

I've located a running TII with a Racing Beat exhaust and a Koyo radiator about 6 hours away for $1300. He says the engine may need a rebuild, something I planned on doing anyway. If I get my money before it sells, I might have to make a road trip. The body looks ot be in good shape too, so I should have no problem selling it as a roller once I take everything I want. I'm getting pumped!!

[diabolical1]

any updates with this?

[need RX7]

any updates with this?

Nope :(. Too cold, plus there's been a bunch of crap going on lately. On the upside, I should be able to get everything I need with one last big order from Mazdatrix. I'll have to take the control arms and stuff into my former high school auto shop to press in the new bushings I plan on getting, once that's done it should all fall into place, really.

[need RX7]

No update really, but I've decided to swap the 5-lug stuff from my beater FC onto this car, and then put the 4-lug stuff back on the beater to keep in running, rather than buying a whole new 5-lug setup for the garage ornament (I am a typical broke FC owner, after all :lol:). I'll probably start on that once the snow melts in a few weeks.

Oh yeah, the TII thing never happened. I was disappointed, but in reality I'd be best off staying n/a for a while.

[need RX7]

I've been working on the car a bit more lately, now that the weather is nice. I don't have a camera anymore (laundry accident...), but there's not much to take pictures of anyway.

- I finally got the engine bay painted, it came out really good for rattle can. I'm now starting to reassemble the bay.

- I'm working on getting the old bushings out so I can replace them with new Energy Suspension ones

- I started breaking down the rear suspension. Miraculously, my diff mount isn't broken.

I have one more batch of parts to order from Mazdatrix, and I have to pick up the parts for a 5-lug swap, then the final assembly will begin. I'm pretty sure I'll have a job soon, so things will move much faster at that point.

[need RX7]

I haven't completely forgotten about this!

My camera got washed, so I don't have any new pictures, but some progress has been made.

- I'm about 90% done with the undercoating. I decided to go with the rattle can. I've used 4 or 5 cans already, it'll probably take 1 more to finish the underside, then maybe 2-3 more for the wheel wells.

- I'm also in the middle of applying Quick Roof to the interior. It's a poor man's Dynamat and supposedly works pretty good. I'm done with the hatch floor and storage bin/rear seat buckets. I still need to do the passenger compartment floor, the rear suspension area, and I'm thinking about doing the roof too (depending on how hard it is to remove the headliner :lol:)

- I have almost everything I need to put my engine together, the only part I'm missing is a TII oil pump.

- I also painted the engine block. I just did the whole thing black, I was having a really hard time masking off the housings properly. The painted (dupli-color cast aluminum) intake manifold, water pump housing, front cover, etc, will provide enough contrast to look decent.

- Once I get a set of suspension bushings and a set of engine and trans mounts, I should be able to get it running. Not optimally, but running nonetheless.

- After that, I'll need to get 2 RPM switches so I can activate the 6pi and VDI.

- I'd also like to upgrade to an FD alternator and put in an electric fan for cleanliness' sake.

I aim to have it all done in time to go driving around on the first nice day in spring.