Lighter = Faster (N/A build thread #2)
 

Picked up a pretty clean '86 Base model RX-7 yesterday from silver86. Quick photo while stopped to refuel:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-w...108_205023.jpg

Moved into storage for the time being:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-F...109_103952.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-9...109_104030.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-7...109_104110.jpg

This build will pick up where the previous left off. I'll be swapping all the parts from the red car to the silver car and going from there. Because I prefer the look of the S5 cars I'll be swapping as many cosmetic parts as possible as well. It's amazing how light the '86 is compared to my '89 even with both missing an engine and transmission.

If anyone's interested I will have a lot of S4 parts I'll be looking to get rid of as I swap the S5 parts over.

Ooooh window cranks and no sunroof... Fun!

Appears to be nice shape, I always liked that color.

good to see that this car will finally be getting the attention it deserves! :)

Thanks Mike! Do you need the license plate back?

I did start working on this over the weekend. The only negative of the silver car, I'd say, is the amount of rust on the subframes. Because of this I'm swapping the subframes from the red car, which already have upgraded polyurethane and delrin mounts. I was able to get the rear subframe, differential, and suspension off the red car with no issues yesterday. I got everything loose on the silver car and only broke one bolt: one of the swaybar mount-to-chassis bolts. It shouldn't be too hard to drill and tap once the car is in my garage. I'm also swapping my fuel lines since it's much easier to do with the subframes out.

nah, you can toss it.

ooo "the beginning"

I decided to clean up the subframe and differential from the red car a little. Just to get some of the dirt off.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-p...116_135220.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-w...116_135224.jpg

Compare that to the subframe and rear differential out of the silver car:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-f...116_143940.jpg

I did note a few differences between the '86 and '89 assemblies. The biggest is the rear swaybar, its endlinks, and the its mounting brackets (I didn't know about the last one). I also didn't know the "covers" for the main subframe nuts were different. It looks like the mounting studs for the covers are further forward on the '86 making the covers "longer" than those on the '89 and thus no swap-able. Hopefully everything else will bolt up just fine.

I also got all the fuel lines out of the silver car. I did find a few other issues I need to address before the swap can be completed. The vapor line from the fuel tank to the charcoal cannister was rotted through in a few places so I'll swap that over as well. That explains the gas smell. The parking brake is also in pretty bad shape so I may swap that too if I can figure out how to remove/install it.

Good bored last night so I started to tear the red car down. Got a good bit out/off the rear end of the car.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-d...119_222142.jpg

The roll bar needs to come out before I can make more progress. I started making a pile of parts to swap over:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-d...119_222123.jpg

You sir have the finest wooden hatch prop of anyone. Fine oak turned wood Banister rung.

The mahogany newel post was too big.

Did more damage to the red car last night. The rear end is completely stripped bare. No brakes, suspension, or drivetrain.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-S...121_214613.jpg

Had to pull some interior stuff too to get to the parking brake handle.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-q...121_214559.jpg

Need to figure out what I'm going to do with the red shell eventually.

S4 junk for sale soon?

Can we be friends?

See PM.

Took a half day on Friday to get some work done. I couldn't work on either car over the weekend due to getting the house ready for Thanksgiving. Started by removing the parking brake:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-F...122_144227.jpg

Small differences between S5 (bottom) and S4 (top) parking brake handle:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-c...122_144336.jpg

S5 handle in because I think it looks better:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-d...122_165400.jpg

Not shown is all the crap underneath the car that goes with the parking brake system. Wrapped up the day getting the rear suspension and brakes installed.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-G...122_165416.jpg

I would have gotten more done but I left my bag of M6x1.0 nuts and torque wrenches at home :o. Just need to install the new fuel lines and the rear end can be installed.

Very nice, this is quite the extensive makeover. Although, I have always been told that N/A stands for "No Acceleration". Interested in seeing the finished product.

The end goal is to get the car under 2500 lbs with me in it and 220+ HP to the wheels. Will it be fast? No, but it should be plenty fun and without the turbo it should be pretty durable and damn simple to work on.

To prove I haven't been a lazy bastard here's some more pictures of the carnage going on with the red car. Rear hatch area stripped and filled with trim pieces I no longer need:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-i...205_223525.jpg

Doing work on the front:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-a...205_223536.jpg

Rear defroster, rear cargo light, driver's side auto seatbelt, power lock, power mirror, rear speaker, and rear anti-theft wires removed:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-B...205_223555.jpg

...and the pile of parts to transfer over grows larger:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-z...205_223701.jpg

Is anyone is looking or knows of someone looking for S4 or S5 RX7 parts let me know. I'm running out of space to store everything!

You talking about the black interior???

Or you talking about the other gray interior?

Or just parts in general?

I need stupid stuff like the ECU "cover" and the dash metal panel, although I have no idea how much it'll cost to ship something bulky like that. :(


-Ted

Without a turbo, 220rwhp is pretty far out there unless you do some serious porting. In that case, a turbo is probably more reliable and gives you a better ride and potential to make more power.

Not really.

Chris's FB has an RE-W block (non-turbo), S5 9.7 rotors, big port and a Haltech. I think he said it made 185rwhp.

But, being in a lighter chassis, I bet it flies!!!

Standalone EMS + aftermarket (short runner) intake manifold should push it over the 200hp mark.
Assuming exhaust is already efficient.
You can cheat and push the peak HP towards redline and just raise your redline over the stock...


-Ted

Bits and bobs from both interiors. I like the black interior so whatever I can swap from the '89 to the '86 I'll keep. I believe anything involving or adjacent to the auto seatbelts and sunroof in the S5 is different so those pieces (e.g. headliner, a/b-pillars, rear carpet, hatch trim, etc.) won't be used. I do have an unmolested ECU cover from the S4 car that I don't need. I'm not sure what you mean dash metal panel though. Are you referring to the metal framework?

For the curious here are the control/intake/engine/exhaust specifics:

-ECU: Haltech Sprint RE with FFE VR trigger kit
-Injectors: 2 X ID1000's at 50+ psi base pressure
-Ignition: 4 X AEM IGN-1A coils
-Throttle Body: 55 mm IDA-style ITB's
-Intake Manifold: Custom equal length with ~12" runners
-Housings: S4 TII Irons and S5 TII housings with Defined Autoworks "Circuit" street port
-Rotating assembly: S5 N/A Rotors, RX-8 e-shaft, and aluminum flywheel balanced to 10,000 RPM
-Exhaust: Defined Autoworks manifold and custom 2.5" pipe with single Racing Beat presilencer and muffler

Defined Autoworks supposedly made 232 whp at 8700 RPM with the same port job, rotors, and exhaust manifold. They were using a -RE intake setup, had scalloped rotors, and obviously a different exhaust setup. I know my non-scalloped rotors will reduce power but there's no saying what my intake/exhaust setup will do. Honestly if I'm over 200 whp I'll be happy. Also, NoDOHC has demonstrated the ability of the 4-port engines to make impressive torque numbers with a similar arragement.

I'm actually in need for the rear carpet - rear bins or rear seats?
This is the carpet that runs from behind the front seats all the way back and covers the spare tire, right?
If you got the fiberglass bin "framework", I'd be willing to take that off your hands too; I believe this thing can be broken down in half?

I'll take the ECU metal panel, if you're willing to ship it.
I dunno where mines went - it kinda walked off when I installed my Haltech E8. :P

There's a metal panel that spans across the top of the dash board.
It's about 6" - 8" across, but it goes from A-pillar to A-pillar across the dash.
The decrepit plastic front windshield defroster vents sit on it.
When removed, it's rather flimsy.

Are you in a rush you take care of this?
I usually stop all my shipping due to Christmas.
I'd be willing to take care of this after the new year?


> For the curious here are the control/intake/engine/exhaust specifics:
> -ECU: Haltech Sprint RE with FFE VR trigger kit
> -Throttle Body: 55 mm IDA-style ITB's
> -Intake Manifold: Custom equal length with ~12" runners

That should do 200...


-Ted

Got the rear suspension and drivetrain fully bolted into the silver car this weekend.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-D...207_163336.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Q...207_163410.jpg

Of course I misplaced the nuts for the stub shafts so I'll have to finish that later. New fuel lines were installed before the rear end was put back in.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8...207_163543.jpg

I think my phone's camera is dying.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_...207_163734.jpg

Last night I realized I have the line reversed. The feed line should be on the inside and the return on the outside. Shouldn't be too hard to swap already on the car.

lookin good! :D

It might just be the lighting in your picture, but it looks to me like there is a hint of a kink in the SS fuel lines. Just wanted you to be aware, extra eyes on target always helps - see the red circle in picture below.

Looking good though!

http://www.rotarycarclub.com/rotary_...1&d=1386609700

Thanks! Except for that one swaybar bolt the silver car's been easier to work on than the red car!

Huh, I never noticed that before. I'm pretty sure that's an illusion as it'd take quite a lot to kink a braided stainless line but I'll definitely take a look the next time I'm out there. Thanks for looking out!

Got bored the other night and decided to take a break from disassembling the red car. Tore the stock cluster apart in preparation for a custom setup.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8...212_203811.jpg

Is that compatable with a 1983 gs ? I need a few parts, i doubt this but wanted to ask

No.


-Ted

question
 

Ok thanks man. looking good what you did.

They certainly won't bolt right in but I imagine the tachometer, voltmeter, oil pressure, and fuel level gauges would work if you used the S5 FC sending units. The transmissions are essentially the same so with the correct rear end and speedometer drive/driven gears I imagine it would work as well. Lots of custom work though.

Played with some cluster concepts last night. The current leading concepts are #1:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-m...213_203852.jpg

and #2:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_...213_205259.jpg

#1 is nice because it puts 7 gauges right in front of me but is a little cluttered. #2 is cleaner but requires me to put fuel level, voltmeter, and the wideband in the console though I could add an extra gauge in the middle (voltmeter?) for a total of six in the cluster.

Today I braved the weather and worked on the silver car. Got the rear end buttoned up completely and swapped the fuel lines around so they're in the correct locations now. I also confirmed the fuel lines are not pinched as pointed out above (thanks for the heads up though!):

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-R...214_152002.jpg

I've been selling a ton of parts from both cars and the silver car is slowly disappearing:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Q...214_152050.jpg

Bad part is I ended up breaking just about every bolt on the bottom of the car so there'll be lots of drilling and tapping in my future. Also came across the worst part of the car yet:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5...214_152139.jpg

Looks like the car was in a low-speed, offset collision on the passenger's side. I'll likely have to get the whole piece replaced.

yikes!

i do like the cluster ideas though!

So far it's the worst part on the car. The driver's side is pristine except for that black crap, which I've also discovered is even inside the doors! I'll just treat that section like any other accident damage; drill out the spot welds and replace.

Back before the holidays I finished swapping the front subframe. Empty red car:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-b...218_090212.jpg

Removed with steering rack:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-j...217_151511.jpg

In its new home:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-h...111_143130.jpg

Though it's heavier I decided to keep the tilting steering column from the red car in case the lower seating position warrants the use of the tilt feature.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-0...111_154858.jpg

I don't feel like removing the ignition switches so I've been working on swapping all the locks on the cars. It works out in the end since the locks from the '89 are in better shape.

Been focusing on stripping down the red car. Someone wants the chassis so I need to get everything off I intent to keep so I can get rid of it. This is how the interior looked Monday night:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Q...113_205744.jpg

It's a bigger mess now.

Did the same thing with a friends car once after a motor swap... couldn't figure out why it wouldn't start for a while lmao

Okay it's been while since I've been in here.

The red car will be gone this weekend. I finished stripping and removing the wire harnesses last weekend and I've just got to wrap up a few items.

Empty engine bay:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-f...210_213455.jpg

Wire-less interior:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-P...210_213346.jpg

Harnesses sorted (front, rear, and ECU):

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0...210_213419.jpg

The front subframe from the silver car is installed because the buyer originally wanted it. He didn't want to pay my asking price so it's no longer included and will be coming out. Fortunately I may have a couple other people interested.

I've gotten some work done on the silver car but no pictures. I decided I wanted the non-tilt steering column after all because it's 4.4 lbs lighter than the tilt column (see title). Swapping the lock cylinders and ignition switches was easy enough. I also got the fuel tank cover off, but I had to grind off all the screw heads. Now to figure out how to remove them. Turns out the S4 and S5 fuel sending units are different so I can't reuse my modified S5 one. It shouldn't be too hard to redo everything on the S4 unit.

Other than that I think I've found my new instrument cluster setup:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-e...209_163238.jpg

Speedhut gauges. 3-3/8" dual oil temp/pressure, 4-1/2" tach (mine will be 10K RPM) with inset 120 mph GPS speedometer and indicator and hi-beam LED's, and 3-3/8" dual water temp/fuel level. The voltmeter will just have to be separate in the console with the wideband. If anyone's interested I will be selling my Marshall Instruments gauges.

Were on Speedhut's site are you finding that tach/speedo combo? All I can find is the speedo being the primary with the tach the secondary. I'm really liking the looks of this so far btw.

*EDIT* Never mind. I found them shortly after posting this. *SMH*

Holy hell it's been a long time since I've updated this!

Sold the red car back in February, moved the silver car into the garage at home, and promptly started pulling it apart:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-r...309_161422.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-r...309_161441.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-o...312_210706.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-F...312_210717.jpg

Removing the engine wiring harness is pretty easy the third time around.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-P...312_210731.jpg

Removed the purple tint from the windows.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-6...312_210831.jpg

Interiors from two FC's (I still have the S4 dash if anyone needs one):

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-G...312_210756.jpg

Down to the bare interior:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O...316_161108.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-o...316_161118.jpg

Goofing around/trying to clear up some space in the garage by installing parts:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8...316_161153.jpg

The fitment is a little funny, which makes me wonder if there was a rear-end collision at some point.

No radio means no speakers so the rear towers aren't needed anymore:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-1...318_214413.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-W...320_212602.jpg

Got a little over-aggressive on the driver's sides so some welding will be needed (what little did I know...)

Bought a bunch of dry ice and went after the sound-deadening material. The floors and hatch area were pretty easy but I couldn't hold the dry ice to vertical surfaces so that was removed the hard way.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-o...322_210639.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-o...322_210650.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-l...322_210751.jpg

In process I noticed this redudant piece of metal. I'm not exactly sure what its purpose was but it's gone now.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/--...324_205143.jpg

Turns out Goo-Gone and Scotch-Brite pads work really well at getting the leftover adhesive removed. I didn't worry too much about the stuff stuck to the seam sealer.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-5...401_204129.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-E...401_204154.jpg

Sounds like a hollow tin can now...

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-k...401_204143.jpg

Almost filled a 5 gal bucket with the sound-deadening material...

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-D...401_204210.jpg

...and the total weight was a whopping 10 lbs. IMO, not worth it, for future reference.

Switched gears and pulled the gas tank (with no broken bolts/studs) to try to get it cleaned and attempt to remove the broken studs.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-2...401_204231.jpg

Started cleaning off the outside with a wire wheel when I noticed a bunch of small pin holes that quickly turned into .125"+ holes. Time for a new tank. Found one on eBay in CA and picked it up. Bottom was dented underneath the fuel sending unit but a few whacks with a hammer and everything is sorted.

Weather's started to warm up, which means the lawn tractor needs to be pulled out. Threw all the interior pieces in the car (where they still are today) until I can get a shed built to house the lawn/garden equipment and get back to work.

I haven't touched the car in ~4 weeks due to work and doing other stuff around the house. The last thing I did was strip the padding material from the back of the carpet.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Y...413_154617.jpg

Hard to believe this all weighs 10 lbs.

Cleaned up the carpet with a vacuum and cut away the driver's heel pad that was already torn up. I'll eventually die this black and attach a metal plate for a new heel pad.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-E...413_170710.jpg

...and nothing else has been accomplished since Easter. Started building the shed in the back yard so that's taken all my free time, which wasn't much to start. Looking to get back into it in a couple weeks starting with welding up all the exposed holes in the floor and firewall. Also, decided to change direction with the ECU and upgrade to a PS1000 and ditch the stock CAS for FFE's trigger wheel w/ Hall effect sensor. Probably going to go with the IQ3 digital display dash as well. So if anyone wants an unused Sprint RE (need to find your own harness though) and some extra gauges, I'm your man.

Holy smokes!

I really need to start working on this again. A busy Summer means no time to work on the car. Since it doesn't look like the workload is going to let up I've outsourced some of the work. It's currently at a local shop getting the exhaust remade because I was never really happy with it. Same Racing Beat stuff but with better tube and layout. They're also going to make the radiator ducting for me since I don't have a sheet metal brake or bead roller. I've reached out to Chris at LMS to get an engine harness made although I'll still have a lot of chassis wiring to do myself. Finally, I still need to locate a body shop to fix the front end and some rust spots. The latter keeps getting worse with each inspection and now I have 5 or so holes in the body :(

The only recent picture I have is this of the fan shroud ready for primer.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-5...622_134127.jpg

Got the car back last Wednesday.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-1...903_194741.jpg

The duct-work is clean, but not complete:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-z...903_194752.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-E...903_194804.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-V...903_194818.jpg

I need to make plates to seal up the sides around the oil cooler and I may try to change the inlet to take full advantage of the opening in the bumper cover (conservation of mass and all that). It's still better than what I could do without having a metal brake.

Mocked up the engine to start figuring out where all the wiring's gonna go. Chris Ludwig of LMS Motorsports will be handling the engine harness while I'll be doing the chassis side.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-s...904_152111.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-H...904_152202.jpg

Looks like I got a little carried away with the fan shroud. Depending how I orient the shroud it can be as little as 1/2" away from the front swaybar and about a 1" from the main pulley.

Bought some stuff: Iron Canyon Motorsports fuel sending unit (converts resistance-based senders to a 0-5 V signal), Speedometer Solutions digital speedometer converter (Hall Effect sensor that screws onto the stock transmission take-off), and a pair of Sakebomb Garage IGN-1A mounts.

I've been trying to get back into working on the car. So far I've only manage to take apart more stuff (side mirrors, window trim, wipers, etc.) and work on the fuel tank cover. I decided to keep the current cover so to combat the rust I soaked it in Evapo-Rust and gave it the POR-15 treatment. As with before I cut out the stock fuel lines and drilled holes for the AN fittings. I don't remember everything being this cramped on the S5 cover. This is basically as it sits now:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-W...921_203221.jpg

The through-cover electrical connections are different on the S4 so I had to come up with a new plan. After drilling through some sealant-type stuff I discovered the exterior connections are essentially ring terminals. Instead of being secured with a nut they're crimped onto a top post. The post is very close in diameter to a #10 bolt so I took a #10 ring terminal, soldered it to the post, and filled the rest of the "boss" with epoxy.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-B...921_203230.jpg

It's not pretty. Hopefully the epoxy will keep the contact from corroding and/or failing. A quick continuity check showed no voltage drop to the nearest .01 V across the post and ~24 in. of wire.