My '76 Rx-4 hardtop build.

rx2fan · 12-31-2010, 10:15 PM

Sorry to hear about your recent troubles. on a positive note, the bumper you made for the fron is great, it really transforms the look of the car compared to the original big bumpers.

Buggy · 01-01-2011, 03:39 PM

Thanks, I was fairly impressed with the bumper as well. Considering that was my first real custom metal work project I've ever done, I think it turned out pretty good. The coolant leak really isn't an issue. I think the upper rad hose clamp may be loose from sitting in the cold weather. I'll make sure the Rx-4 makes it to DGRR this year. Can't keep a true rotorhead down!

diabolical1 · 01-03-2011, 01:20 AM

this is a pretty sweet project you've got. with any luck, i'll see it in person at Deal's Gap this year as i hope to attend as well.

Buggy · 01-13-2011, 10:49 PM

Well I pulled the weber off of the beast tonight. Going to be taking it to a local weber guru to have it completely overhauled. Hopefully that will solve my fuel leaks from the throttle shaft and so on. Also got a line on a set of 15" Riken mesh wheels in 4x114.3 bolt pattern that I'm going to pick up on the weekend. Let the GSL-SE parts swap begin!

Buggy · 02-12-2011, 04:11 PM

Time for a LONG overdue update. I've been slowly picking away at this project getting it ready for deals gap. I bought an aluminum flywheel and I also got a hold of that set of Riken mesh wheels. The wheels were not in the greatest shape and had gold centers, but the price was right. I've been busy sandblasting, sanding, and polishing the rims. Here's a pic of one of the better rims before...
100_0885.jpg 100_0886.jpg

After sanding, then wet sanding with 400, 800, and 1000 grit, and then polishing this is what the lips look like.....
100_0888.jpg 100_0889.jpg

I've got 3 out of the 4 rims polished and 1 rims is completely done all but for laying down a few coats of clear. More pics to come....

Buggy · 02-14-2011, 06:28 PM

Here's the first rim all done.
100_0892.jpg

Buggy · 03-05-2011, 08:42 AM

The weather has finally warmed up here and I've started to work on the old girl again. Last night I worked under the hood and got the engine ready to come back out. After a season of driving I'm not real impressed how the engine looks so I'm going to freshen the paint up a bit. After today hopefully the whole drive train will be out of the car along with the front suspension.

Buggy · 04-16-2011, 12:34 PM

Well the weather has been terrible here and it really cut into my free time to work on the car. I didn't get the suspension swap done and my transmission swap went south fast. After having the engine running for about 10 minutes the clutch release bearing seized solid. There was an issue with the length of the push rod needed for the slave cylinder between the stock 4 speed and the SA 5 speed. Also, when I drained the fluid from the 5 speed to remove it a big chunk of metal was stuck to the magnet. I believe it's a piece of a synchro. So as of now the car is sitting with no transmission in it. I may end up swapping the 4 speed back in and I'll suffer on the drive to DGRR.....

Buggy · 05-28-2011, 01:46 PM

Time for an update me thinks..... Those of you that attended DGRR know that the car did make the trip and in fact made the trip quite well! No problems of any kind at all other than a thirsty appetite and possible permanent damage to my hearing.

I was actually surprised at how well the car handled on the dragon. Can't wait until I get the suspension, wheels, and brakes swapped. All the parts are waiting, just have to find the time to do it. I did however find some time the other day to swap my 5 inch velocity stacks and larger fuel jets on my weber. WOW did that make a difference! Traction is now a definite issue in first and second gear. MUST SWAP LSD REAR AXLE! There will be more pics and progress of this car hopefully soon. I want to get a lot done on the car yet this summer. Here are some pics from the DGRR trip.
Also forgot, I'm planning on taking this car back to the dyno within the next few weeks to see what kind of numbers it's putting down now. Should be interesting....
DGRR2011.jpg 226969_10150193906383297_512128296_6932857_8276263_n.jpg 225513_10150193911413297_512128296_6932945_6274286_n.jpg 227401_10150193911453297_512128296_6932946_7178331_n.jpg 227982_10150193911498297_512128296_6932948_1561800_n.jpg

Ian · 05-28-2011, 09:23 PM

Subscribed! YA I was surprised how well it handled when we went down the the DGRR and thanks for letting me drive it! You would think I was a kid in the candy store with the grin I had the entire time I was driving...

Buggy · 08-13-2011, 06:18 AM

Well I've been really busy all summer and this car has just been kind of neglected. I drove it last night and I think one of the flex lines collapsed on me. I turned a corner and it started to brake pull like crazy and I could smell hot brakes. I guess it's time to tear it down and do the brake/suspension/axle swap. I have all the parts I just never had time to do it. While I'm at it the flex lines will get changed, (probably with stainless ones) and I'm going to send the master cylinder away to be rebuilt.

Buggy · 01-18-2012, 08:35 PM

Well this car is back under the knife. I have it in my garage on jack stands. The entire front suspension has been removed so far along with the brake master cylinder and booster. Turned out the left front caliper actually locked up. Anyway all of that will be in the past. All new stainless flex hoses along with a set of camber plates have been ordered from ReSpeed and I plan on swapping in either an FB master and booster, or an FC setup if it will fit. After the front has all been done and I figure out my suspension drop, I'll start tackling the rear axle and suspension.

Buggy · 02-26-2012, 08:33 AM

I made the trip to see Sam at ReSpeed yesterday and picked up all of the parts for the front suspension. Hopefully today with some luck I will get the front suspension and brakes together. I also took apart all of the exterior gauges and cleaned/polished them. I've tweaked the carburetor a little more and I upgraded my screens on the velocity stacks. I've also finally bought MSD coils and I made a proper bracket to hold all 3 coils together. No more zip ties!

I'll try and take some pictures today to show you guys the mess in my garage.

Ian · 02-26-2012, 11:15 AM

Awesome Buggy! Can't wait to see the new upgrades on your cars. May make a trip up to ClassicAuto soon to check my car out and pick up a part or two..

Buggy · 03-06-2012, 09:02 PM

I've been working away at this project and I've hit a few snags along the way. For those of you who think the GSL-SE front suspension is a "bolt in" swap think again. I had to drill out the holes in the bottom of the struts where the ball joint bolts up. The GSL-SE uses M12x1.5 bolts while the Rx-4 uses M14x1.5 bolts. Also finding a M14x1.5 tap is not the easiest thing to do. Luckily a friend's boss had one that I could borrow. I also ran into issues with the FB brake booster and master cylinder swap. The studs on the Rx-4 brake booster are much longer than the FB. To use the FB brake booster you have to remove the stock studs and somehow install longer ones. I decided to just reuse the stock Rx-4 booster. The next issue I ran into was with the brake master reservoir. The stock Rx-4 reservoir is remote mounted on the strut tower while the FB has it mounted directly on the master cylinder. This interfered with my DLIDFIS ignitors that I had mounted on the strut tower. After some thought and some parts swapping I got the stock Rx-4 reservoir to fit on the FB brake booster. Just had to remove the rubber seals from the Rx-4 master cylinder and swap them with the reservoir seals on the FB master cylinder. Anyway, after all that I finally managed to get a rotor on and I mounted one of my Riken wheels just to see how it was going to look and get an idea of the new ride height in the front. First thoughts, it's going to be low and mean!

01-01-2011, 03:39 PM	#32
Buggy I've been Wankeled! Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Mildmay, Ontario, Canada iTrader: (0) Posts: 260 Rep Power: 15	Thanks, I was fairly impressed with the bumper as well. Considering that was my first real custom metal work project I've ever done, I think it turned out pretty good. The coolant leak really isn't an issue. I think the upper rad hose clamp may be loose from sitting in the cold weather. I'll make sure the Rx-4 makes it to DGRR this year. Can't keep a true rotorhead down! __________________ 1976 Rx-4 hardtop. Half bridge 3B 13B, S5 NA rotors, Renesis e-shaft, stat gears, and bearings, balanced rotating assembly, RE dual weber 36 DCD's 203rwhp 137ft-lbs torque DGRR 2011 3rd place 1974 Rx-4 all original 27,000 miles 1988 Rx-7 TII 320rwhp. DGRR 2012 3rd place

01-13-2011, 10:49 PM	#34
Buggy I've been Wankeled! Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Mildmay, Ontario, Canada iTrader: (0) Posts: 260 Rep Power: 15	Well I pulled the weber off of the beast tonight. Going to be taking it to a local weber guru to have it completely overhauled. Hopefully that will solve my fuel leaks from the throttle shaft and so on. Also got a line on a set of 15" Riken mesh wheels in 4x114.3 bolt pattern that I'm going to pick up on the weekend. Let the GSL-SE parts swap begin! __________________ 1976 Rx-4 hardtop. Half bridge 3B 13B, S5 NA rotors, Renesis e-shaft, stat gears, and bearings, balanced rotating assembly, RE dual weber 36 DCD's 203rwhp 137ft-lbs torque DGRR 2011 3rd place 1974 Rx-4 all original 27,000 miles 1988 Rx-7 TII 320rwhp. DGRR 2012 3rd place

02-12-2011, 04:11 PM	#35
Buggy I've been Wankeled! Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Mildmay, Ontario, Canada iTrader: (0) Posts: 260 Rep Power: 15	Time for a LONG overdue update. I've been slowly picking away at this project getting it ready for deals gap. I bought an aluminum flywheel and I also got a hold of that set of Riken mesh wheels. The wheels were not in the greatest shape and had gold centers, but the price was right. I've been busy sandblasting, sanding, and polishing the rims. Here's a pic of one of the better rims before... 100_0885.jpg 100_0886.jpg After sanding, then wet sanding with 400, 800, and 1000 grit, and then polishing this is what the lips look like..... 100_0888.jpg 100_0889.jpg I've got 3 out of the 4 rims polished and 1 rims is completely done all but for laying down a few coats of clear. More pics to come.... __________________ 1976 Rx-4 hardtop. Half bridge 3B 13B, S5 NA rotors, Renesis e-shaft, stat gears, and bearings, balanced rotating assembly, RE dual weber 36 DCD's 203rwhp 137ft-lbs torque DGRR 2011 3rd place 1974 Rx-4 all original 27,000 miles 1988 Rx-7 TII 320rwhp. DGRR 2012 3rd place

02-14-2011, 06:28 PM	#36
Buggy I've been Wankeled! Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Mildmay, Ontario, Canada iTrader: (0) Posts: 260 Rep Power: 15	Here's the first rim all done. 100_0892.jpg __________________ 1976 Rx-4 hardtop. Half bridge 3B 13B, S5 NA rotors, Renesis e-shaft, stat gears, and bearings, balanced rotating assembly, RE dual weber 36 DCD's 203rwhp 137ft-lbs torque DGRR 2011 3rd place 1974 Rx-4 all original 27,000 miles 1988 Rx-7 TII 320rwhp. DGRR 2012 3rd place

03-05-2011, 08:42 AM	#37
Buggy I've been Wankeled! Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Mildmay, Ontario, Canada iTrader: (0) Posts: 260 Rep Power: 15	The weather has finally warmed up here and I've started to work on the old girl again. Last night I worked under the hood and got the engine ready to come back out. After a season of driving I'm not real impressed how the engine looks so I'm going to freshen the paint up a bit. After today hopefully the whole drive train will be out of the car along with the front suspension. __________________ 1976 Rx-4 hardtop. Half bridge 3B 13B, S5 NA rotors, Renesis e-shaft, stat gears, and bearings, balanced rotating assembly, RE dual weber 36 DCD's 203rwhp 137ft-lbs torque DGRR 2011 3rd place 1974 Rx-4 all original 27,000 miles 1988 Rx-7 TII 320rwhp. DGRR 2012 3rd place

12-31-2010, 10:15 PM	#31
rx2fan The Newbie Join Date: Jan 2010 iTrader: (0) Posts: 6 Rep Power: 0	Sorry to hear about your recent troubles. on a positive note, the bumper you made for the fron is great, it really transforms the look of the car compared to the original big bumpers.

01-03-2011, 01:20 AM	#33
diabolical1 I have radioactive semen Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: in a bottle of Glenfiddich iTrader: (0) Posts: 249 Rep Power: 17	this is a pretty sweet project you've got. with any luck, i'll see it in person at Deal's Gap this year as i hope to attend as well.

04-16-2011, 12:34 PM	#38
Buggy I've been Wankeled! Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Mildmay, Ontario, Canada iTrader: (0) Posts: 260 Rep Power: 15	Well the weather has been terrible here and it really cut into my free time to work on the car. I didn't get the suspension swap done and my transmission swap went south fast. After having the engine running for about 10 minutes the clutch release bearing seized solid. There was an issue with the length of the push rod needed for the slave cylinder between the stock 4 speed and the SA 5 speed. Also, when I drained the fluid from the 5 speed to remove it a big chunk of metal was stuck to the magnet. I believe it's a piece of a synchro. So as of now the car is sitting with no transmission in it. I may end up swapping the 4 speed back in and I'll suffer on the drive to DGRR..... __________________ 1976 Rx-4 hardtop. Half bridge 3B 13B, S5 NA rotors, Renesis e-shaft, stat gears, and bearings, balanced rotating assembly, RE dual weber 36 DCD's 203rwhp 137ft-lbs torque DGRR 2011 3rd place 1974 Rx-4 all original 27,000 miles 1988 Rx-7 TII 320rwhp. DGRR 2012 3rd place

05-28-2011, 01:46 PM	#39
Buggy I've been Wankeled! Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Mildmay, Ontario, Canada iTrader: (0) Posts: 260 Rep Power: 15	Time for an update me thinks..... Those of you that attended DGRR know that the car did make the trip and in fact made the trip quite well! No problems of any kind at all other than a thirsty appetite and possible permanent damage to my hearing. I was actually surprised at how well the car handled on the dragon. Can't wait until I get the suspension, wheels, and brakes swapped. All the parts are waiting, just have to find the time to do it. I did however find some time the other day to swap my 5 inch velocity stacks and larger fuel jets on my weber. WOW did that make a difference! Traction is now a definite issue in first and second gear. MUST SWAP LSD REAR AXLE! There will be more pics and progress of this car hopefully soon. I want to get a lot done on the car yet this summer. Here are some pics from the DGRR trip. Also forgot, I'm planning on taking this car back to the dyno within the next few weeks to see what kind of numbers it's putting down now. Should be interesting.... DGRR2011.jpg 226969_10150193906383297_512128296_6932857_8276263_n.jpg 225513_10150193911413297_512128296_6932945_6274286_n.jpg 227401_10150193911453297_512128296_6932946_7178331_n.jpg 227982_10150193911498297_512128296_6932948_1561800_n.jpg __________________ 1976 Rx-4 hardtop. Half bridge 3B 13B, S5 NA rotors, Renesis e-shaft, stat gears, and bearings, balanced rotating assembly, RE dual weber 36 DCD's 203rwhp 137ft-lbs torque DGRR 2011 3rd place 1974 Rx-4 all original 27,000 miles 1988 Rx-7 TII 320rwhp. DGRR 2012 3rd place Last edited by Buggy; 05-28-2011 at 01:51 PM..

05-28-2011, 09:23 PM	#40
Ian REIAN Join Date: Feb 2008 iTrader: (0) Posts: 112 Rep Power: 17	Subscribed! YA I was surprised how well it handled when we went down the the DGRR and thanks for letting me drive it! You would think I was a kid in the candy store with the grin I had the entire time I was driving... __________________ 1989 Turbo II. Track Car 1988 10thAE. Garage Queen 400+rwhp

08-13-2011, 06:18 AM	#41
Buggy I've been Wankeled! Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Mildmay, Ontario, Canada iTrader: (0) Posts: 260 Rep Power: 15	Well I've been really busy all summer and this car has just been kind of neglected. I drove it last night and I think one of the flex lines collapsed on me. I turned a corner and it started to brake pull like crazy and I could smell hot brakes. I guess it's time to tear it down and do the brake/suspension/axle swap. I have all the parts I just never had time to do it. While I'm at it the flex lines will get changed, (probably with stainless ones) and I'm going to send the master cylinder away to be rebuilt. __________________ 1976 Rx-4 hardtop. Half bridge 3B 13B, S5 NA rotors, Renesis e-shaft, stat gears, and bearings, balanced rotating assembly, RE dual weber 36 DCD's 203rwhp 137ft-lbs torque DGRR 2011 3rd place 1974 Rx-4 all original 27,000 miles 1988 Rx-7 TII 320rwhp. DGRR 2012 3rd place

01-18-2012, 08:35 PM	#42
Buggy I've been Wankeled! Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Mildmay, Ontario, Canada iTrader: (0) Posts: 260 Rep Power: 15	Well this car is back under the knife. I have it in my garage on jack stands. The entire front suspension has been removed so far along with the brake master cylinder and booster. Turned out the left front caliper actually locked up. Anyway all of that will be in the past. All new stainless flex hoses along with a set of camber plates have been ordered from ReSpeed and I plan on swapping in either an FB master and booster, or an FC setup if it will fit. After the front has all been done and I figure out my suspension drop, I'll start tackling the rear axle and suspension. __________________ 1976 Rx-4 hardtop. Half bridge 3B 13B, S5 NA rotors, Renesis e-shaft, stat gears, and bearings, balanced rotating assembly, RE dual weber 36 DCD's 203rwhp 137ft-lbs torque DGRR 2011 3rd place 1974 Rx-4 all original 27,000 miles 1988 Rx-7 TII 320rwhp. DGRR 2012 3rd place

02-26-2012, 08:33 AM	#43
Buggy I've been Wankeled! Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Mildmay, Ontario, Canada iTrader: (0) Posts: 260 Rep Power: 15	I made the trip to see Sam at ReSpeed yesterday and picked up all of the parts for the front suspension. Hopefully today with some luck I will get the front suspension and brakes together. I also took apart all of the exterior gauges and cleaned/polished them. I've tweaked the carburetor a little more and I upgraded my screens on the velocity stacks. I've also finally bought MSD coils and I made a proper bracket to hold all 3 coils together. No more zip ties! I'll try and take some pictures today to show you guys the mess in my garage. __________________ 1976 Rx-4 hardtop. Half bridge 3B 13B, S5 NA rotors, Renesis e-shaft, stat gears, and bearings, balanced rotating assembly, RE dual weber 36 DCD's 203rwhp 137ft-lbs torque DGRR 2011 3rd place 1974 Rx-4 all original 27,000 miles 1988 Rx-7 TII 320rwhp. DGRR 2012 3rd place

02-26-2012, 11:15 AM	#44
Ian REIAN Join Date: Feb 2008 iTrader: (0) Posts: 112 Rep Power: 17	Awesome Buggy! Can't wait to see the new upgrades on your cars. May make a trip up to ClassicAuto soon to check my car out and pick up a part or two.. __________________ 1989 Turbo II. Track Car 1988 10thAE. Garage Queen 400+rwhp

03-06-2012, 09:02 PM	#45
Buggy I've been Wankeled! Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Mildmay, Ontario, Canada iTrader: (0) Posts: 260 Rep Power: 15	I've been working away at this project and I've hit a few snags along the way. For those of you who think the GSL-SE front suspension is a "bolt in" swap think again. I had to drill out the holes in the bottom of the struts where the ball joint bolts up. The GSL-SE uses M12x1.5 bolts while the Rx-4 uses M14x1.5 bolts. Also finding a M14x1.5 tap is not the easiest thing to do. Luckily a friend's boss had one that I could borrow. I also ran into issues with the FB brake booster and master cylinder swap. The studs on the Rx-4 brake booster are much longer than the FB. To use the FB brake booster you have to remove the stock studs and somehow install longer ones. I decided to just reuse the stock Rx-4 booster. The next issue I ran into was with the brake master reservoir. The stock Rx-4 reservoir is remote mounted on the strut tower while the FB has it mounted directly on the master cylinder. This interfered with my DLIDFIS ignitors that I had mounted on the strut tower. After some thought and some parts swapping I got the stock Rx-4 reservoir to fit on the FB brake booster. Just had to remove the rubber seals from the Rx-4 master cylinder and swap them with the reservoir seals on the FB master cylinder. Anyway, after all that I finally managed to get a rotor on and I mounted one of my Riken wheels just to see how it was going to look and get an idea of the new ride height in the front. First thoughts, it's going to be low and mean! __________________ 1976 Rx-4 hardtop. Half bridge 3B 13B, S5 NA rotors, Renesis e-shaft, stat gears, and bearings, balanced rotating assembly, RE dual weber 36 DCD's 203rwhp 137ft-lbs torque DGRR 2011 3rd place 1974 Rx-4 all original 27,000 miles 1988 Rx-7 TII 320rwhp. DGRR 2012 3rd place