New FB owner, project, teardown, and questions. Pictures too.
 

So I obtained this '83 rx7 maybe a month ago, as a project car.
This is what I have before me, so I'll be asking some questions since I'm new to FB's.

Lets get on with it.

A little after the day i got it.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0053.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0057.jpg

In the garage, cleaning it out begins.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0064.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0067.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0066.jpg

The Diff.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0096.jpg

The rear bumper.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0095.jpg
Something is wrong here isn't it?
Looks like there was a section cut out.

While cleaning it out, I found some strange parts.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0063.jpg

Something was even more stranger in the engine bay.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0068.jpg
Someone stuffed a Winsor V8 with a ford auto trans in there.

Engine was touching the firewall.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0077.jpg

The fan was touching the swaybar.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0072.jpg

So they tried to figure how to take it off, and opted for cutting it off.?
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0076.jpg

They actually had this engine and trans bolted in with custom mounts.
The trans was touching a section of the tunnel.
If this ever ran, I can imagine vibration like crazy.

Anyway, I fixed all that, I took it out.
Here's the engine compared to a 13b rotary.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0082.jpg

The trans that was connected to it.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0081.jpg

The firewall damage.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0080.jpg
Looks like it was beaten, in some spots.
They also cut off the driver side original trans mount.

Then something about the front crossmember seemed a bit odd to me.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0089.jpg
Is the crossmember backward / turned around?

Another angle.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0092.jpg
Are all the right holes there?

The cross-member is indeed turned around, plus a few holes have been added.

And on the rear, a bit of the bottom of the body panel was chopped off.

What are your plans for it? That 13B is going to need a different front cover and oil pan unless you're going to fab your own mounts.

Good luck.

Thats what I thought.

Yep, plans are to put a 13b in it.
Ive read about the front cover and oil pan swap.


I have a lot of FC parts, so I'm going to try to use them.
I probably have to modify some things, a lot of things. lol.

I want to use the FC 13b engine and trans.
I'll probably put my old bridge port motor in first.
It will get my turbo motor sometime after that.

Body work,
There is some work to do, besides the scuffed paint, there are some rust spots on the roof and near the rear hatch, and of course the cut out piece below the rear bumper.


The rear differential,
classic question: How much power can this handle?
Its going turbo in the future, so what can I do about this section of the drivetrain?


Suspension,
I'll probably want to upgrade for track and autocross use.

Brakes,
Probably will upgrade them too.

Question,
Is there a 5 lug swap that can be done to this car?

Update.

I got into the rear hatch area, took out the damaged carpet, and removed the rusty bins.
There wasn't much rust damage underneath.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0040.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0041.jpg

I had to cut an tear away at it because of the rusted screws.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0042.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0044.jpg

This morning I started taking out the dash.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0035.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0037.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0038.jpg

I like how the dash is all metal and not plastic.

Looks like 5.0 HO and an AOD. Congrats on saving an FB I hate when people do v-8 conversions it looks like it was done halfed assed.

I sort-of admire your diehard rotary enthusiasm with not liking the v8 conversions. I don't like them either.
But I know a few who have v8-powered RX7's, and I have ridden in one v8 FC.
I don't hate on them.
But yeah, This one was done half-assed.


Anyway, I have a feeling this project is going to be a long one.
I have no idea when its going to be done.
The end goal in mind is for it to be a mix between a rotary track car and a streetable weekend driver.
I'm really just taking it as I go. Still deciding what to do with certain sections of the car.

congrats for pulling the V8 out and swapping to the rotary! with swap work like that its no wonder the V8 didn't run either....

anyways, the car looks pretty good. the paint is BAD, but it seems ok under that. i vote for a return to white BTW ;)

the subframe IS flipped, and they added a couple holes, but its easy to undo. the rear diff can hold plenty of power, if you don't launch the thing, if you do drag launches with sticky tires, its 250ish hp maybe a little more. 83 is small axle, 84-85's had bigger axles and can handle a little more power.

ReSpeed has all the suspension and brake stuff you need.

for the engine, a BP 13B in a 1st gen is FUN and not a ton of work

hey man what are you doing with the v8 you took out.

Yeah, if you need any advice on suspension just let me know. My car is a daily driver/weekend autocrosser. I can drive it across the country, and kill Miatas on Hoosiers in autocrosses. Respeed set me up right, so I help out when I can. :)



.

Random post.
Dash removal.
This is how I did it,
(btw, I had no manual, and this was my 1st time taking out an FB dash. I'm not bragging, just a crazy gearhead, lol. I wanted to do this to my project car.)

Top part of FB dash removal.
I 1st took off the defogger vent strip, 3 bolts behind plastic caps.
Then the top part of the dash is held on by 5 8mm nuts very well hidden.

The 1st 2 nuts you can find pretty easy are located above the glove-box, so take the glove box out 1st. The nuts are close to the center of the dash and on either side of an air duct going front to back, in line with the car.

The 2nd 2 nuts are harder to locate, If you take off the gauge-cluster surround piece and look through the space between the dash and the right side of the gauge-cluster you can see the first nut. Get to it with an extension and finagle it up through the tight spaces down there.
There is another nut behind that one, but you cant see it from the gauge-cluster.
Get on the floor. I had to remove an air duct that had a phillips head screw holding it on to the air duct above it. Then peer through the dash to find the nut. Get to it with an extension.

The 5th nut is located on the right side of the glove-box and the left side of the air vent but under the dash of course.
I Didn't find this one, and ended up bending some metal before finding it, luckily the dash is all metal and whatever was bent out of shape can be bent back.

If you want to go further and remove the main metal contraption / the rest of the dash:
Remove the two screws holding the gauge-cluster on, located on the bottom and on either side of gauge-cluster. Peer up through dash to find them.
Remove all the junk in the center part of dash, stereo, equalizer, etc.
Remove two bolts holding the AC & heater controls on the dash.
Remove two bolts holding the dash to the transmission tunnel, need a wrench to get to.
Remove two bolts all the way on either side of the dash, next to the doors. 4 bolts total.
Don't forget to remove the two bolts holding the steering column on. Get to these from the bottom.
If you haven't done so already remove any electrical connections and switches.
Finagle dash out of passenger side of car, (dash is driver-side heavy).

Does anyone know if the FB's came with a tan carpet?
I think they did.
Know anyone that can hook me up?
And with any other misc Tan interior pieces?

More (or less, lol) of the interior.

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0013.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0006.jpg

Even the roof.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0014.jpg

Update, what I'm doing today.

So I recently acquired an FB front cover and engine-mount brace, drive-shaft, and a junk transmission.
I start with the drive-shaft to see if it will bolt up. It doesn't.
And now I'm confused.

The plan is to use an FC S4 trans.
I thought that the FB driveshaft would work. It fits the FC trans but not the FB Diff.
So I gather all the drive-shafts I now have, and do some fitting.

In the picture below: the top drive-shaft is the FB, the one in the middle is the FC, and the one on the bottom is the one that came with the V8 "kit".
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0005.jpg
The only one that bolts up to the Diff is the one that came with the V8.
Another angle of the drive-shafts.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0002.jpg
From left to right: FB, FC, V8 "kit".

So I start to wonder what Diff do I have?
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0009.jpg
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0096.jpg

Then I wonder if the part on the Diff that the drive-shaft bolts up to(is this called a flange?) is interchangeable?

Maybe I could swap the right FB flange in there, so I could use the FB drive-shaft.

Or my other option would be to cut both the FB shaft and V8 shaft, get the right combination from both and make one shaft that will work.
Ill have to send these off to a drive-shaft expert to do this though.

Any help/ideas, on this will be appreciated.

If you are using an S4 trans, just get the tail section of an FB trans and put it on the FC trans. Then you can use your FB driveshaft.

And yes, FB's did have tan/brown interiors. Charles has a complete doo-doo FB at his house right now!

Right.
Thats why I have the "Junk" trans, its an FB trans. Going to use the tail section.

The problem is my FB drive-shaft doesn't bolt up to the Diff, not even close.

Driveshaft
 

You probably need a 83-85 driveshaft. The earlier ones had a smaller mounting point to bolt to the rear diff. An easy way to tell is to look at your FB driveshaft, if the u joints are removable, then its an early one. Hope this helps your cause.

Don't cut up those drive shafts just get the right one like jfaplanet says. That
would be the cheapest solution as well. Sell the others for profit!

I can't wait to see this one back with a rotary in it. Maybe Tray will take note.

:Wconfused: tim... i don't have any 1st gen's with V8s... :dunno:

Your splitting hairs, you have rotarys with v8s. Enough said.

BTW, Jimmy Johnson wants his car back in time for Daytona :D

^:lol: Everyone just calm down.


Uhg, starting to feel some self brought on pressure.
I want to bring this to DGRR, running! lol.
I have a feeling its not going to be in the "Finished" condition I want it to be in by DGRR.
But at least I can get it in running condition.

To do that I need to:
Turn around front cross member.
Fit engine and trans in.
Fab up driver-side trans mount.
Repair front cover studs.
Decide what engine to use between: stock S4 13b, bridge-port S4 13B (needs to be rebuilt).
Decide if to install turbo setup (the one I used on the FC), and fab up whats necessary for that setup, and install parts.
Get the drive-shaft/diff. issue sorted out.
Buy a Haltech and install.
Fab up mounting places/points for battery, coils, oil-cooler, possibly radiator too, misc. wiring and fuse box.
Go through the wiring through out the car, remove some aftermarket wiring, make sure everything else works.
Check out brakes, repair whats necessary.
Fab up a dash.
Fab up a seat.
Replace door seals
Reinstall sun-roof.
Wash windows.
Get it insured and tagged.
Drive it.
Tune it.
Drive it some more.

I think that's it.

If I have time after all that:
Upgrade suspension, (lowering springs, shocks, coil-overs, bushings, etc).
Replace interior with some custom pieces.
Customize rear bumper area.
Customize front bumper area.
Customize sun roof.
Paint exterior of car.
Customize headlights.
Buy wider wheels and tires, install.
Customize fenders around the wheels.


Lol, I feel this project hasn't even begun.
I have 14 and a half weeks to get this done.

So, this car ain't going to make it to DGRR this year.

Got back at it today after something like 2 weeks of not touching it.

Still going backwards in the progress. :lol:
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0058.jpg

The wiring harness is a mess.
There are some aftermarket wires mixed in, spots where a wire had too much current running through it and burned through, and corrosion.
Some of the damaged spots in it.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0060.jpg

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0061.jpg

This is under the dash.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...DSC_0063-1.jpg

A few days ago I downloaded the wiring diagram from "foxed.ca" (rx7 manuals). I can't get to the site right now for some reason, but there are links to the site in various threads on RCC.

Eventually I'll be going through and repairing the wiring.

You should just buy my FB :)

Use this one for parts. Problem solved!

i ran into the same problem when I had my SA figured out it was the main power cable going to the starter that had bin shorting out on the chassy and overheating all the wiring in turn melting the whole bundle together going throu the fire wall making the headlights blink when you turned a turn signal on.

+1 just sell this heap and start with an FB that runs

if you scrap the dash i call dibs i want a black dash especially a series one dash

My FB bit my thumb this morning while removing the fuel tank.
I was trying to loosen the clamp on the filler tube using a tool with a pushing motion when It slipped off, my thumb went into the bodywork behind the bumper.
(Left side of picture. That edge where body was cut.)
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0095.jpg

My thumb after running cold water over it. There is a small flap of skin I can lift up.
Picture from phone, sorry for quality.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...0128121204.jpg

Ive never had problems just using whatever S2, S3 or S4 transmission in my FB with the driveshaft. Its usually more of a transmission mount issue.

Deciding where to mount the engine & trans. Issues.
 

So getting back to this thing. And to add to the confusion. lol.

Ive got a dummy engine bolted in the car using the front cover mount, and a 13b trans bolted up to it held in place by a jack-stand.

My 1st question is: Dose this look right? Is that the way the mount goes?
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps695077e5.jpg

But the answer to that question probably doesn't matter because for one thing, I plan to fabricate some engine mounting points for a 13b, and also because the way the trans doesn't line up the way I thought it would.

This is the way the trans mounting location looks.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...pse1cae517.jpg
The left side of the picture is toward the front of the car.
Is this right?

I have a junk 12a trans for reference. And the trans mount holes are about the same location as the holes on the 13b. 21&1/2 to 22 inches from the front of the trans to the mounting holes.

Similar dimensions that are the same on both transmissions are: Front of trans to output-shaft = 32"

The only thing different is the shifter location.
From the front of trans to the end of the shifter socket: On the 13b = 34", the 12a = 33".

Picture of the shifter hole.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps7a614b2d.jpg

I kinda knew that the shifter location would be off. But I thought that the trans mounting location would line up.

This is the engine location with that mount. Looks like a good location.
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/DSC_0003.jpg

So I got to figure out where i want this thing and what to do about mounting locations.
I want to fabricate engine mounts for a 13b.
I thought I could use / want to use the stock location for the trans.
Other considerations that go along with this are the:
Drive-shaft: Use an FB or FC or Custom?
And while I'm at it, do I change the differential to a independent suspension type?
Also, what about an oil-pan?

Ugh!

My experience is from putting in a NA 87 13B and transmission.

The 13B will sit a little farther forward than the 12A (13B is longer) if you use the stock transmission mount location. Which means either modifying your existing mount or buying a mount from Racing Beat.

The FB drivehaft should work with the FC trans in the stock location (mine did), FC won't as it's too short. I'm unsure why your driveshaft does not bolt up to the diff flange. I thought the bolt pattern was the same on the FBs, but evidently not. I'll have to go check my swap diff now. :(

You'll want to use the GSL-SE 13B oil pan and pickup so it will clear the steering arms. The stock trans mount will push the FC trans quite high in the tunnel so check your driveline angles. I had to do a lot of trimming and modifying to get the trans to sit where I wanted.

Unless you plan to have the car down for a LOONG time the independent rear swap is not worth it. The GSL-SE diff is supposed to be good to around 350-400 hp. The early (79-83) open diffs are a lot weaker though and as mentioned above the 84-85 axles have the better large bearings. You can get the 5 lug conversion axles through Moser for the big bearing rears.

The FC front subframe can be adapted to the FB with some work, others have done this quite a few times. Not legal for racing classes though. If you go that route the FC mounts, oil pan, and front cover should work, the trans mount location may work, depending on where you place the front subframe. If you change the trans mount location you will need to use a custom length driveshaft.

Using the FC radiator will also take a little work to get it to fit right. I do not know if the 12A radiator will be sufficient. I didn't want to chance it, so swapped everything over. Perhaps someone else has had experience with this.

Just sharing my experience with this swap.

Thanks for the info.

I think where ill start is the diff, then go forward through the power-train.
Ill try an use the diff I have. Try and figure out why an fb drive-shaft wont bolt up. Maybe just drill new holes.

the likely reason is that there were two bolt patterns on the Gen I cars. if i recall (it's been a while) it's S1/S2 vs. S3. however, it could have been '79-'82 vs. '83-'85. either way, there were two and they will NOT bolt up. i won't comment on drilling as an option because i always tried to keep one of each in my cache of parts. also, because reliability issues may creep on the scene.

EDIT:

i had commented on the photo with your engine mounted in the bay because the bracket looked weird. i thought it was inverted. so, scratch that .... i just remembered the shorter side does go by the front oil line because it's sometimes a bitch to pull it. you have it right. maybe it's the angle of the photo, but it just looks like the engine is sitting higher than it should.

it will. i ran both style 12A radiators with my 13Bs with no issues cooling issue due to the radiator itself.

as far as using the Gen II radiator, it can be done fairly easily. that's the route my brother took on his '83.

Unless you're an OCD douchebag like me. :)

Good to know about the flange patterns, thanks.

Anymore updates on this build? Once I saw the V8 and all the low-buck fabrication I started to cringe... cause I know how hard it can be to re-engineer a car that wasn't properly modified to start with.

My 77 RX3-SP SCCA Pro Rally car had this problem... cause it was converted to a Ford 9" rear end and lifted quite a bit. Trying to make it go low again to be a proper pavement car wasn't easy... and ultimately didn't work out well at all.

Good luck!