Joff and MrsJoff's Chaste White BorgWarner FD build
 

Now that the weather is nicer and the garage is not +110 degF (I live in Phoenix) its a perfect time to start working on the FD putting in all the parts purchased over the last year.

A bit about the car as it is now:

* 1994 Chaste White FD RX7, 1 of 26 made in the "Base" package with no options/weight adders.
* PFS ported engine, PFS intake, exhaust, SMIC, and CAI w/ stock twins.
* aftermarket 17" wheels
* everything else stock except for computer which is PFC...

Our plans:

* single turbo conversion,
----- Borg Warner S366 turbo
----- AZRR manifold
----- CJM fuel system (4x 780cc, 2x 480cc, Bosch 044 pump, turbosmart FPR)
----- Xcessive/GZ LIM
----- devilsown water injection
----- black themed engine bay w/red SMIC & red throttle body.
* interior tweaks
----- different steering wheel (a Miata one probably -- undecided)
----- red Bride seats
----- repainted plastics in Spirit-R grey
----- some upholstery work on the center console, passenger door handle, gauge hood
----- red trim mats, shift boots, and shifter similar to Spirit-R
* exterior tweaks
----- Shine OEM fit FRP FEED hood painted Chaste White
----- KS-Auto Burnout front bumper
----- Carbon Fiber side-skirts, CF fender vents, and CF rear RE-Amemiya "street" diffuser
----- 99-spec spoiler with Autoexe Carbon fiber center section
----- custom red LED tail lights and every other exterior light tinted black.
* suspension tweaks
----- Tokico Illumina shocks/Racing beat springs
----- Superpro bushings
----- Racing beat F/R sway bars w/adjustable end-links
----- Enkei black RPF1 18x9.5 +45 offset w/285s front and back
----- drilled+slotted rotors


Like a lot of FD owners, I do not work fast. Both my wife and I have other daily drivers
(supercharged RX8, VW New Beetle, and lifted Jeep Wranger) so getting the 7 back on the
road is not super urgent. My wife and I will update this thread with pictures along
the way and I hope to be able to have everything we wanted done before Winter's over. I
spent 9 hours organizing tools/prepping the garage so I'm ready to get started!

Here's some pics:

The car as it is right now:
http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...f/rx7build.jpg

All interior pieces have been removed and are at Unique Auto upholstery/interiors in Scottsdale, AZ for some paint and upholstery work. We actually bought the carbon fiber overlays from Corksport and put a few on but were unhappy with the appearance so took them off. Taking them off put blemishes in the finish though, so we decided to just repaint everything.
http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...x7build007.jpg

Removed rear lights for round 96 spec conversion and to replace with custom LEDs. Opening up those with the heat gun was quite the trick (especially the long center light)!
http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...x7build008.jpg

Removing rear suspension for pillow-ball + bushing + shock/spring replacement
http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...x7build009.jpg

New shock/spring combo -- even matches the exterior white/black/red accent color scheme! Ended up having to get new bump stops too since the OEM rubber was falling apart.
http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...x7build010.jpg

Some of the black go fast goodies: BW S366, HKS SSQV limited edition matte black BOV, Turbosmart FPR, CJM fuel rail, and turbosmart manual boost controller. I want to keep boost control as simple as possible and want to avoid extra electronics, wires, and computers because I don't trust them. BTW, I'm a computer engineer.
http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...x7build017.jpg

Our Bride seats + one of red floor mats. Wasn't sure about the shiny silver FRP backside of these seats, but its actually pretty neat.
http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...x7build019.jpg

We're putting a 99'spec spoiler with Autoexe carbon center insert on and have some carbon fiber fender vents. We liked these
specific fender vents because they were exactly the same shape as the stock ones. Not a big fan of the ones that are bigger and bolder looking. Megan Racing manifold is in the background-- boy was that purchase a mistake and I have a horror story about dealing with the company I'll tell later.
http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...x7build018.jpg

Decided to sand/polish off the lettering on the stock lens in preparation for tinting. This bumped lettering always ended up catching wax from waxing and looking bad. The one on the right is sanded, the one on the left is original.
http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...x7build002.jpg

Going to be a great build! How did you sand off the lettering without scuffing, looks great.

Nice build!

Thanks!

By wet sanding 320 grit to 720 grit to 1500 grit and then finishing off with 3M polishing compound. Same process works great for taking out paint scratches that are only in the clear coat.

Nice! FDs look so sexy in white.

Looks Great guys. Can't wait to see more results!!

I agree :D

Great build, really like the white/carbon fiber/red seats look. Could you tell me where you got the CF fender vents? Thanks, good luck with your project.

Looks like I may need to get over to your house and test fit those BRIDEs in my car ;)

Our Bride seats + one of red floor mats. Wasn't sure about the shiny silver FRP backside of these seats, but its actually pretty neat.
http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...x7build019.jpg

Hey Jesse, can you post up a pic of the backside of the seat? Just want to see what you're talking about.

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...x7build022.jpg

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...x7build024.jpg

It looks almost gaudy sparkle-y in pics, but more metallic in person. Any time you want to come over to them out, feel free -- itll be a couple weeks yet before they're put in.

One of my favorite 7's: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I594HQCHgHc
White + CF + red interior with a loud monster T51R turbo. Anti-surge housing whistle FTW!

Fender vents are from Shine. $110

Thank you sir, much appreciated.

:rofl: That's about right

Off to a good start

great choices and great taste. keep up the progress pics.

After 6+ months of waiting, the 18x9.5 +45 Enkei RPF1's in black have arrived! Pic of test fit on the rear without the rear suspension connected:

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...x7build026.jpg

MrsJoff didn't like these rims unless we could get drilled/slotted rotors too since these rims show through to the rotors so well. I liked them because they are simple and not "busy" -- I didn't want overly showy/blingy wheels that might draw attention away from the body lines of the FD.

Nice !

I imagine they used i fine grit paper and then just buffed it with a compound like "Plastic X" by Meguires. That stuff does wonders to plastics.


NICE FD! I love them in white. Look forward to some creative building. BTW the wheels are sick!

I'll have to check out Plastic X-- thanks! Like I mentioned in a previous post, I started with 720 grit and ended with 1500 grit and then 3M rubbing compound.

Here's some pics of them now with how they look after tinting.

With camera's flash:

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...Picture006.jpg

Without flash: (more like what they actually look like -- black)

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...Picture007.jpg

And they'll look even sicker once I get the 285/30 tires on! BTW, this is a pic of the wheel/tire/shock/spring stance we're copying.

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...f/IMG_3209.jpg

Wow. That's not a lot of offset.
If you aren't gonna track the car at all, it probably won't matter though.
Same goes with the drilled rotors, but be careful because they are prone to cracking under even fairly moderate use with aggressive pads.

My SuperPro bushings finally came Friday so I got everything ready to take down to Scottsdale Automotive today to get new pillow balls and bushings pressed in. In the rear suspension I'm replacing 6 pillowballs with brand new OEM and 12 other bushings with the SuperPro polyurethane replacements. If all this doesn't get rid of the clunking in the rear I don't know what will.

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...x7build032.jpg

I had a heck of a time trying to get that 17mm nut off the swaybar endlink/lower shock mount. I broke 2 old socket wrenches, 2 3/8" drive 17mm sockets (splayed them apart), and 3 1/2" to 3/8" adapters before I finally got it apart with a 1/2" drive socket wrench with a 5 ft breaker bar. Some of the sockets and socket adapters I broke were name brand (Craftsman) "high end" impact ones too -- they broke with the same applied torque as the cheapo Harbor Freight ones. (it figures -- chrome vanadium is chrome vanadium)

There will definitely be more "survival of the fittest" going on in my toolbox as this project goes on. I've got some new Chrome-moly socket wrenches and chrome-moly sockets now so we'll see if I can't break them when taking out the 15 year old twins later on. :-)

Not sure what you mean by being not a lot of offset.

FD Stock offset is +50mm on a 16x8 rim and thats what the suspension geometry was designed for. These are +45mm 18x9.5. +45mm is pretty dang close to keeping stock offset, scrub radius and still fitting some wider tires. Any more offset with the same size rim will hit my trailing arms. Any less offset and you end up with the 4x4 look and increased stress to wheel bearings which is also not something we're after.

We're keeping with regular pads. The drilled/slotted rotors are for aesthetics only. Here's a pic of them installed in the rear -- definitely better than the rust stained stock ones.

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...x7build030.jpg

Looking good! Just got my aftermarket IAT sensor yesterday. Can't wait to get that sucka installed. Making good progress Jesse!

Thanks! I got one of those too a few weeks ago. I'm hoping it will help with my hot start idle tune.

We'll be in Vegas for the SEMA show this week. All the nice cars are really good for motivation to get this buildup done. Since you're not going this year, this year will probably be the year lots of nice RX cars are on display. :) Although I doubt that I do hope its at least not as overrun with Nissan GTRs as it was last year.

Post up some pics from Vegas if you get the chance... Have FUN!

I really struggled to get this part off today for differential bushing replacement. I tried to do it without dropping the differential and disconnecting the PPF which may have been a bad move. It needed a small breaker bar to loose the 4 nuts holding this bracket to the top of the differential and there was just no room to get any leverage or length on the breaker bar.

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...x7build003.jpg

There is a pile of oily dirt underneath the car now in the garage from all the rummaging around I had to do get those nuts out. Between that and whats all over my hands, I figure I've shaved .1 second off my 0-60 just due to the weight reduction. :-) I had no idea it was going to be as messy a job as it ended up being.

Just a little messy.

Old wheels/tires (17" 235s) vs. new wheels/tires (18" 285s):

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...f/IMG_0389.jpg

Despite being a lot wider, the new wheel combo is actually 4 lbs lighter than the old. (44 vs. 48)

Other things I did last weekend:

- changed rear brake lines to stainless lines
- went over to a friend's who had a 12-ton press to press in rear pillow balls and bushings.
- botched putting another coat of clear on the tinted lights. Ended up with horrible orange-peel/crackling and had to wet sand, buff, and recoat.
- removed fuel pump for AZRR to modify bracket for Bosch 044:

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...f/IMG_0393.jpg

project looks great!

Well, I finally got all the bushings replaced in the rear and put everything back together.

$4 home depot bushing installer since using a press here was an exercise in futility. It was about impossible to get the bushing started straight without this.
http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...f/IMG_0397.jpg

Without the swaybar and shock/spring installed, I used a jack to check clearances at max travel. The first thing to hit is the fender lip, shown here. A slight fender roll/pull should fix this.

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...f/IMG_0419.jpg

Front inside wheel well I have about a penny's diameter from the trailing arm to the tire. This is what I was most concerned about in the rears -- I found one spreadsheet online that said 285's on 9.5" rims w/ 45 offset would not fit and that I'd hit the trailing arm. Not so. The rotors ended up being slightly thicker than the OEM ones too which helped. I'm hoping having replaced the bushings in the trailing arms/toe links with stiffer superpros should keep any dynamic toe-in to a minimum since it would reduce this spacing.

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...f/IMG_0418.jpg

Another pic of wheel/tire fitment:

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...f/IMG_0427.jpg


Overall, I am very happy with how the wheel fills the wheel well. I am not a fan of low offset wheels that stick out too much and give the look of a 4x4. This is the limit of what I consider still looks good.

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...f/IMG_0431.jpg

After replacing the upper arm bushings, it was a major pain to get this piece reinstalled. I had to use a large flat head screw driver as a crow bar to even get this started and then had to pound it in with a 4-lb hammer. Since they are so tight, I'm worried about squeeking.

Try some silicone spray lubricant where the bushing meets the chassis.

the only problem with ballooned tires is the will have premature wear. i like the white on black though. nice project

Those squeeky bushings were bothering me and the silicone spray didn't help, so I thought to try using the small amount of this "Prothane" grease that came with the Racing Beat sway bars.



Moral of story-- don't use the grease that comes with the SuperPro bushings.

I love this build. Just goes to show you what a little planning and research can do for a project.

If you ever run short of that grease, you can order it from summit, or, call Energy Suspension and mention that you have a few of their bushings, give them some part numbers, that you need more grease, and they'll send it to you ;)

Well, since Jesse has been too busy working on the car, thought I would post some progress pictures. Jesse has taken the week off from work and we flew his Dad out for the week and they have been extremely busy on the car.

before:
http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...f/IMG_0462.jpg

now: test fitting the turbo
http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...f/IMG_0471.jpg

The cute little baby turbos are out and the rats nest is all over the ground. The garage is in a state of a somewhat organized chaos. I have a front bumper in my office, the living room couches are covered with body parts and you can not even walk into the spare bedroom since that has become the parts storage room. Hope this project does not take too long.
http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...f/IMG_0469.jpg

They are working on taking out the wire harness. All the wires that were under the UIM sound extremely crispy when you move them. Good thing that is being replaced.

Well, time for me to get to work. Need to wake up the boys, feed them and kick them back into the garage :)

You are SOooo funny. "Cute little baby turbos." Such a girlie comment ;) As far as getting your house back anytime soon, let's see... Jill has been asking me that same question now for (hmmmm....) at least a couple of years now, but we're gettng closer. Tell Jesse (and his Dad) good luck with the build. Take a break and stop down to Intense for the show today (12/13) 11 am to 4 pm. Funny how when you start digging into these engines (FDs), you find out just how crispy everything has become.

:lol: sounds about the same from when i did my diff bushings

Great project, coming along nicely!

AZRR manifold was completed this week.

Equal length runners, schedule 40 pipe, beautiful welds and nice gradual bends. Only negative is this thing is heavy, but at least its extremely sturdy-- should hold up to being header wrapped better that way.

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...x7build001.jpg
http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...build002-1.jpg

Pics of powder coated Xcessive LIM with fuel rail/injectors.

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...x7build011.jpg

I JB-welded the injector adapter sleeves since I couldn't think of any reason to ever take them out and it'd just be another rubber o-ring to eventually age and fail.

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/u...x7build012.jpg

Looks like a streetorstrip made that turbo manifold. Nice lower intake manifold!

NO streetorstrip is not someone we would ever do business with again. This manifold is done in house by our fabricator.