The reason(s) people tend to go with them is that A) they are cheaper to buy new from Mazda than the FD ones, and B) they are slightly lighter than the FD ones.

Any updates ?

Just got back from ~month in Japan so haven't made any progress on the car. Hopefully will have some updates soon though :icon_tup:

Not much of an update, but I finally went back and fixed all the picture links :lol:

Life and a lack of motivation has gotten in the way of this build, but I have made some progress. At least I'm staying true to the title right :rofl: I'll post an update tonight.

Teaser for now.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-A...804_174316.jpg

Nice build and nice welds.
Im getting better at aluminum tig myself practice makes perfect.

Thanks :icon_tup:

You definitely never stop learning. I still have a long way to go.

Here is how the engine sits currently. Finished the hardlines a while ago, and did some powder coating.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9...806_202255.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-f...806_202148.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-V...806_202058.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8...806_202019.jpg

Also dual passed my radiator.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-S...730_193002.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-l...804_174248.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3...804_201004.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-h...804_200902.jpg

You actually have been getting something done. :svengo:

It is looking really nice. Almost too good to hide under the hood. ... almost.

Never claimed I was gonna bang this out quickly :lol:

Thanks buddy, at this point I would punch babies to see it back in the engine bay :rofl:

You may want to add a few 'o's to the title. lol

The work looks great! Your hardlines look WAY more professional than mine lol.

I want to have a clever come back to that but I don't :lol:

Thanks man.

Made some really good progress on the v-mount this weekend largely thanks to the help of a good buddy.
:icon_tup:

Initial mock up of radiator.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-U...808_150421.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z...808_150444.jpg

Was hoping to use the factory cross brace, but it wouldn't work with the intercooler size I wanted so it and the mounts had to go.

Fabricated lower radiator mounts. Really happy with how these turned out.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-E...809_105522.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-T...809_105549.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-B...809_105545.jpg

Once the lower mount was done we moved on to the upper. Attached gusseted plates to the end tank, welded a tab on the frame rail and secured with vibration isolators.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-N...809_173621.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-L...809_173659.jpg

Mocked up the intercooler. The box represents core and end tanks.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-j...809_173819.jpg

A view through the bumper.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-w...809_174537.jpg

I'm gonna run AC and figuring out what to do with the condenser was a huge PIA. We didn't get to the condenser mounts but the hard part of planning it out is done and we have a path forward. Stay tuned for more.

You know where you can stick that box. :mad:


Looks good. Will having the hoses coming out on the front bottom side of the radiator cause any ground clearance issues? It looks awful low, but I'm sure you guys have checked that out beforehand.

Thought you might like that, but I can't claim that handiwork as my own :lol: :o13:
That belongs to the angry one seen below in action.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-p...Ic42/2418.jpeg

Those hose niples are no longer used so theyre getting cut and welded. :icon_tup:

The fan is the lowest part of the radiater and it is ~2" above the sway bar as it sits.

I figured that's who the asshat responsible for the mindless drivel was.

Made some more progress. Got the AC condenser mounted.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-C...815_173721.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-D...815_173709.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-c...815_173730.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1...815_173804.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-R...815_173852.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-a...815_174138.jpg

Woohoo! progress. I've been told that when you mount an oil cooler or condenser it should be placed up against the radiator. Mounting it away from the radiator creates turbulence behind the cooler and decreases the efficiency of the radiator. I don't know if that would be applicable for a V-Mount as I can't tell which side the air is supposed to flow through the condenser.

Your mounts make me very jealous.

In a standard vertical configuration with the air entering perpendicular to the heat exchanger I would 100% agree with you. In this configuration I'm using the condenser basically as a splitter. I don't really care if I lose some efficiency of the condenser. I wanted to maximize the cooling by moving that heat source as far as possible from the radiator. I haven't had functional AC in the FD since I've owned it so anything will be an improvement in that regard :rofl:

Thankfully the FD has a great setup for oil coolers so that won't be an issue :icon_tup:

Fabricating those mounts was easy. As I'm sure you know it's the planning and forethought that takes FOREVER! That being said I'm definitely really happy with how they turned out. It was one of those times where the plan actually came together with reality. They would be even sexier if someone hadn't forgot to bring the dimple die kit :squint:

That's why they're called damnyankees. :lol:

You know KS was a Union state right? :lol:

I'm reinstalling AC too after not having it for years lol. Black car, black interior, no AC. Not a good idea. I bought a universal condenser and mounted it about 1.5" above the radiator. Not quite as far apart as yours. I'd say I'll do some testing so we can compare and see which works better, but other differences in our builds might taint the results and, I'll be honest, I never really follow through with stuff like that anyway lol.

Yea I hear ya. Getting swamp ass every time you go for a cruise gets old.

Yea it would be pretty hard to reach a conclusion given the differences in our builds and altitude. If my water and air temps are good and I get air coming out of the vents even marginally below ambient I'll be happy :lol:

Looking bad ass man

Well you got rid of a bit of the red in the engine bay...

:fawk: There was a list, dimple dies were not on it.... Yes we did chat about it but I'm getting old, and was in a hurry.... I know you understand the old part and forgetting thing, and we know you don't understand the hurry thing.... 4 months ago was the perfect example.... Didn't hurt up with the car, forgot to go ;)

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8834/...e473a129_o.jpgGood Luck by Kevin Frank, on Flickr

^lol

It sure does.

I have the Ganador mirrors and I've been meaning to run ducting through the little opening and through the window and down my shirt or wherever haha. Either that or making a scoop to sit on the edge of the moonroof to pull air from there and into the car. These cars don't get shit for airflow, even with the windows and moonroof/sunroof open.

That looks fucking GREAT Mike!! Def liking the progress :awesome:

Thanks buddy!

The bay will be getting painted before final assembly. It doesn't make sense to paint before all the fab work is done. The new paint would get destroyed.

Fucking SIGGED! :rofl:

Pro tip leave the drivers window closed, tilt the sunroof and open the passenger window. It creates a nice little whirlwind in the car and you'll get a nice breeze.

Thanks man!

No shit? I'll have to try that lol. Thanks!

Been out of town for work and will be leaving for vacation on Monday, so haven't made much progress. That being said here's a teaser of things to come :coolgleamA:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-T...828_185541.jpg

oooh! shiny bits. :)

Oh my. I've thought about swapping to those clamps. Nice!

Is that IC core from Bell? I bought mine from them and had a local guy make some end tanks for me per my specs. Can't wait to see what you do with this.

Shiny for now ;)

I love these clamps. So much nicer than silicone couplers!

Yes it is. Will be making some end tanks, hopefully soon. Haven't quite decided on final design yet. Thanks man.

Woohooo!

There are two things certain in this life...












I will always be older..... and taller than you :fawk:

Should we do the percentage comparison of how much older vs how much taller you are? :fawk: :lol:

Shit just got real! That would be some hell of regression analysis.

Nice looking shiney bits good sir!

Right before we ANALyze the correlation between dimple die sets owned

Someone insert funny divide by zero pic, I'm on my phone