Max's Turbo II
 

Background:

I've owned a 91 Vert, it was my first rotary car. It was fun to drive and I learned a lot about working on cars by fixing the numerous problems it had, but i never did end up getting it to run right. The shortblock I swapped into the car was in good shape, but it only had 82psi compression due to worn seals. Figuring that it would make more sense to do a Turbo swap than rebuild the N/A, I started to do some research. Eventually, after a mix up with the engine supplier, I decided to see if maybe there were any Turbo cars for sale...

Here's how this car comes into play: I found an 87 Turbo FC all the way out in Ohio. The car was rough, with numerous fixable, but annoying problems.
The owner assured me that the engine was replaced, so I checked the compression, and it was at 110 psi! The chassis was also fairly decent apart from a large dent in the rear quarter, so I talked him down to $1800, and I was the new owner of a turbo rotary RX-7!

So far, I've carried over most of the parts from my Vert (which I'm selling as a shell)
Mods include:

Koyo Radiator
Samco hoses
Banzai Racing Engine and transmission Mounts
RB Downpipe
HKS Silent Hi-Power 3" Catback. (very rare exhaust for FC's nobody runs it)
DTSS and new wheel bearings all around
Brembo Rotors and Hawk HPS brake pads
Removed emissions
Removed Twin Scroll solenoid and flapper.
Ported Wastegate.
S5 N/A ghetto-rigged primary fuel rail. (PS emimination w/o eliminating it :D )
Ford HPP 16x7 BBS mesh wheels
AEM dry flow "Warm air intake" (The stock airflter was melted to the airbox, and the box was warped, rendering it unusable)
convertible model rear springs (stiffer than coupe)
Vert S5 tail lights
S5 center console
FCD
Removed A/C
Rewrapped the engine harness with new wrapping and fixed broken wires.
Wiperless hatch

Planned mods:
N/A throttle cable
S5 bumper and molding swap
SS Brake lines
Nardi Steering wheel
Custom Powersteering setup using a GSL-SE mount, cooler, and SS-AN lines.
Adapt windshield sprayer nozles to spray the intercooler instead.

Pics to come when I get back from class! :D

Here:

Removing emissions, porting the turbocharger, and rewrapping the harness:

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...I/DSCN5060.jpg

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The idiot that replaced the turbocharger left the old gasket on there, and just slapped the new one over it, Doh!

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killing me without the pictures!

posted some, more to come later... btw, not all the mods are done yet, I bought the wheels, just waiting for them to ship.

Good job Max!!

Looks like you got a killer deal!

Good luck with your built, looks great so far.

Yeah, it's alright. I just got a hold of a die grinder for a few days, so I'm going to REALLY port the wastegate now, not just this dremel bullsh*t....

Update: Ok, so I got it all back together after the emissions removal, and I've got a few problems. First, the engine vibrates a LOT after I put in the polyurethane mounts, I don't know what's the cause yet, but it did not do this on my vert, I will double check everything tomorrow.

Another thing: In some emissions removal threads, they say you need a "restrictor pill" for the MAP sensor. WTF are these people talking about, rotaryresurrection website does not cover the "restrictor pil" in his thread....

And third: The car ran a LOT better with the MAP vented to the atmosphere, and the nipple leaking air into the car. Now that I noted the unhooked map sensor, I decided that I would like to hook it back up, and.... the car runs worse now, idles lower, and doesn't seem as smooth.

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welcome to teh boosted world....I doubt you'll ever go back to NA.

True that.

Been driving my FB lately. Fun yes, but god damn its slow :lol:

Ok, so I've been fucking around with the engine mounts, trying to figure out why the engine makes this wierd vibration now that They are installed, and all of a sudden, I park the car, and when I come back it has a no crank no start!

WTF???? How the hell does adjusting the engine mounts create a no crank condition? It started and ran after I took the emissions out and installed the mounts the first time, what the hell did I do? lol

maybe youve created a bad ground?

could be.... no idea how, I havent even had time to mess with the car and start checking things.

Had a little bit of time to mess with the car today. I tapped the starter with a rubber mallet, and wiggled the wiring to it, and the car started right up, thank god! :D

I still have the thumping vibration, took it to my automotive instructor, and he told me it could be my exhaust system hangers being too stretched. (short piece of flex pipe holdling the system together untill I can get a presilencer....

, I loosened the exhaust, but it's still making the vibration, though it seems to be a little better right now, but it's still present.

The thumping increases with engine RPM and the car in Neutural.... so it's not a drivetrain vibration, wierd shit, but at least she runs well!

Update, so I figured out this vibration issue finally. I took off the belt to the water pump and alternator, and started the car up.... vibration gone! I took a look at the alt pulley, and it was all fuX0red up, i guess it got bent when I was taking out emissions.

Not a whole lot of updates, but I got a new lock for the hatch, swapped over some vert S5 tail lights, and fixed the lock for the gas door, old one was broken. I also put my S5 center console in, as well as an aftermarket stereo, now I just gotta find some speakers...

Pics will all come up soon, but nothing too exciting at the moment.

Progress is progress. I can't believe that a bent alt pulley would do all that, but I guess being at the topmost point on the engine, a little wobble would translate to big vibration by the time it reaches the mounts.

Don't you love the easy fixes?

I think I have an '87 alternator that you could have cheap (not that they aren't all over eBay anyway).

I got it from a friend for my '86, then i discovered that my voltage issues were from the AAS. I don't know the condition personally, but I doubt that it is hurt - he said it was fine.

It really is amazing what will make vibration. I had a mud wasp nest on the inside of my harmonic balancer once that made the engine in my mud truck vibrate terribly (360 Small block Dodge).

How much shipped to

residential address, 61801, Champaign, IL?

ok, so i figured out my heater issue, i swapped logicons and it all worked fine, another easy fix, but i cut the shit out of my thumb in the process.

I got some (now outdated since I swapped in the s5 surround) pictures of the car, here it is:

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...0II/myfc01.jpg

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i dont fully agree with that having gone back to NA, lol

I'll never go back to n/a..... unless I add an extra rotor ... or two :suspect:

Nice build thus far, looks pretty thorough. Take it from me though... don't half build things. Meaning, don't drive the car with the exhaust only half done 'cuz it'll never get fully done. Put her in the shop and don't drive her until it's 100%. You'll be amazed at how fast that motivates someone to dominate a PJ

Well, I just sold my vert!

I ended up trading the guy for these parts:

S5 turbo (ported)
RTEK 1.7 ECU
RC 750cc injectors
Greddy Type RS blow off valve


Then, I ordered some modded steering knuckles from DCWFC3S on the evil forum. These give way more angle when you turn. The benefits are better maneuverability in tight spaces like parking lots, and the ability to countersteer further before spinning out. The FC has a very low angle of steering at full lock, so if you go sideways, you can easily spin out. With these, I can drift all day long and not have to worry about hitting full lock.

Here's a pic:

http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/i...1f0a5bae75.jpg


And I just recieved some stuff from Mazdatrix as well:

Rear transmission cross member (broken center bushing was causing high rpm vibrations)
Exedy Stage 1 Street clutch kit (Clutch disk, pressure plate, Throwout bearing, pilot bearing, etc)
Rear main seal
Transmission driveshaft seal
Turbo transmission pan seal
Speedometer gear oring
Spedometer gear seal
OMP o-ring
New intake gaskets
transmission shifter centering spring
MAP sensor restrictor pill (removed emissions)


All these parts ended up totalling me $180, plus $80 for the clutch kit, and on top of that, the OMP oring and rear main seal didn't even get here with my order, had to call M.T. and get them shipped overnight delivery, lol.

Pics of the goodies to come soon! :D

Nice! :icon_tup: Looks like a clean car. I like how you're tying up all the loose ends too (leaky gaskets, etc). Nothing's more annoying than a car that leaks every fluid all over the place :rofl: Good job so far.

/\ no shit, right? The lower end of my engine, crossmember, and bottom of the transmission looked like they sat in an oil field/ swap for a few years, haha!

I should have put new lines and an o-ring on the OMP the first time I had the intake off but I didn't feel like it. Now that I got a new clutch, I decided to do shit proper.

pics of all the goodies:

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...I/DSCN5126.jpg

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...I/DSCN5128.jpg

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...I/DSCN5132.jpg

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750cc RC Injectors:

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...I/DSCN5138.jpg

Some mild porting done on the S5 Turbo:

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...I/DSCN5144.jpg

Gotta port it more, might as well get it as big as you can so you don't have to pull it out again. That's precisely what happened to me.

Yeah man, port that shiat more. Mine is all the way out to the the edge of the flapper. No boost creep for me!!

Hey guys, just FYI i didn't do the porting myself, it has been done before I recived the turbo.

There are a few things i dont like about it, first, it has some cracks in it, second, two bolts on it are snapped. As far as porting this one bigger, I would need to figure out a way to make sure that the valves that close off the ports do not move too much, right now they are very "sloppy" when they are over the holes.

I am going to pull the transmission next weekend, my friend is letting me work in his heated garage, which is super mega awesome.

As far as the charging harness, I pulled mine out, and de-loomed it. I found a few things like corrosion and stuff, but overall, I dont see any significant problems with the wiring.

I have been looking at the BNR turbo rebuilds the other day, and seeing as my S5 turbo is in bad shape, I think that I will invest some money into getting it rebuilt before I install it.

Well, it is now officially 2010, and a new year brings new mods!

I got a Walbro 255lph pump, then went to install it, only to find out that my fuel tank has a bout a 2cm layer of varnish crud on the bottom of it. I got the tank boiled and sealed up with an epoxy liner. I also discovered that the reason my fuel gauge does not work is simply because I do not have a fuel level sender installed on the FP mount.

Pics:

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...I/DSCN5163.jpg

Showing the Tank, and the transmissions I have: Turbo II on the right, N/A on the left.

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...I/DSCN5182.jpg

I know it still looks like there is shit in there but it would not come out no matter what, so it got sealed in under the liner.

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...I/DSCN5183.jpg


I also had a new clutch laying around, and I just bought all sorts of seals and gaskets, shifter return spring, pilot bearing, etc. I decided to finally tackle the project, and managed to remove the transmission from the car in about 1.5 hours once it was all jacked up and ready to go.

I replaced the clutch, resurfaced the flywheel, replaced pilot bearing, rear main seal, throwout bearing, rear transmission seal, transmission pan gasket, shifter return spring. I ended up having to take the transmission half way apart in order to get it all sorted out.

Havent gotten the trans back in yet, but otherwise it's all ready. I also got some new Stainless Steel lock washers for the clutch bolts. Really important to replace those. On the last note, as much as mazdatrix says a normal pilot bearing tool is worthless and you need to buy a rotary one, I managed to get the old pilot bearing out with a regular off the wall removal tool, not too hard, just need to know how to use it properly. :P I ALSO managed to remove my flywheel with an electric impact.... yes, electric! Seeing as it's torqued to 300lbs, and the rattle-gun took it off, I am now a firm believer in my christmas present! :D

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Finally replaced my ghetto ass exhaust section with an RB Silencer:

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...I/DSCN5158.jpg

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...I/DSCN5190.jpg


Boost Gauge:

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...I/DSCN5156.jpg



Some modded spindles, and brand new oem Mazda ball joints! @ $50 each, I love the dealership employee discount! :D They will be going on when I get a poly bushing kit.

http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...I/DSCN5164.jpg


I sold my S4 turbo, and got an S5 unit as part of the exchange for my old vert shell. Here's the differences in the manifolds between the series, the S4 has a flapper twin scroll (deleted) and the S5 mani has a full twin scroll setup.


http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s...I/DSCN5170.jpg

Nice :icon_tup:. I'm jealous of all your shiny new parts :302:.

Yeah, trust me I put a lot of hard work in order to get those "shiny new parts". work + school + RX-7 is just damn expensive!

Ain't that the truth. I think the addiction is worse than heroin.

yeah, just paid 35 for gear oil, 80 for turbocharger and exhaust gaskets, 80 for the tank cleaning, 90 for the walbro, 100 for RB silencer, $65 for boost gauge, 175 for modded spindles, etc... shit's crazy, and what's scary is that this car is still relatively stock...

Just think of what FD guys have to go through. :D

PS: That's $640 by the way... on shit that most people will take for granted, cause it's not "Mad tyte JDM, yo". haha

totally forgot about this thread... it's now June 2010, and the FC is still kickin! I've been daily driving it since I got my fuel tank cleaned up and my clutch changed.

I was hoping to fix any and all small problems before DGRR-X, but it looks like for the second year in a row, fate bit my ass.

I called off the trip 18hrs before hand, with a slight vibration in my driveline still un diagnosed, and a feeling that "something is just not right".

Well, I went on a date that friday, and on the way home, noticed coolant on the ground... it wasnt too much, but enough to be a problem.

Got the car home, and guess what I found? The coolant line from the TB to the rear iron somehow got cut and was pissing coolant all over everything. Needless to say, I'm glad I didn't go to Deals Gap with this... my intuition was right.

anyway, this whole thing led me to rip the thermowax the fuck out and chuck it as far away as possible. I tried telling myself that I shouldn't take it out, but said screw it after this happened.

anyway, I signed up for a 6 week auto-body class for this summer, so I'll be repainting my car in pearl white, and fixing all the dents and shit wrong with it till now. I got a Volvo 740 wagon as a daily... badass car, rwd 4 speed manual with 90hp, hahaha!

Another notable, I am finally an Official Tech at a Mercedes/Volvo dealership, so I got access to a lift, alignment rack, and tire mounting machines, which will all save me a shitload of money and make my life a bit easier.

Pics of the Volvo and FC teardown to follow.

Those 740s are some bad motherfuckers! I'd rock the piss out of one of those. Nice build btw. Being a tech and having access to all that shit is amazing. Makes you realize how much time, energy, and motivation you lose working on cars in your driveway.

yeah, it's pretty cool.

Any advice on installing the shifter spring? I want to do mine before I put everything back in the car, but I hear it's a huge pain in the ass :rofl:.

well, the picture is of a screwdriver ground down into a makeshift punch...

the punch is needed to push out the shifter "block".

My advice is: take the tranny out of the car.
Buy all the seals, like the RMS, and etc..
Get new tanny mounts and crossmember if your center bushing is shot...

When you do this:

The shift rod is supposed to go into a position where it slides off the shifter "Gates" and goes down far enough to let the shifter block off the linkage shaft... then it's easy as pie...

When this happened to me, I thought I broke my trans and took apart the tailshaft housing just to make sure I didn't bend anything.... turns out this is how it's supposed to be.... lol.

another piece of advice: upgrade your clutch at this time, surface the flywheel (50 dollars at machine shop) and replace the throwout and pilot bearings. The autozone "tool" works, it just needs to be tightened extremely well, otherwise it just pops out...

Also replace the clutch master and slave cylinders as well...

and use GL-4 Redline oil. GL-5 is actually too slippery from what I've read... supposedly... but this is just speculation.

MT-90 75W90 GL-4 Gear Oil

Use 75W instead of 80W... there is a factory service bulletin on this.

only reason i havent bothered to replace my transmission (reverse wont engage) is because im waiting to just upgrade stuff. too lazy to do it all twice.

Ok, some pics of the Volvo, and proof that it's really a manual. also included is the 200,000 mile 130bhp of fun called a volvo 4 cylinder! :rofl: