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

[infernosg]

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



Moved into storage for the time being:






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.

[chibikougan]

Ooooh window cranks and no sunroof... Fun!

[RotorDad]

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

[Silver86]

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

[infernosg]

Originally Posted by Silver86

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.

[Silver86]

Originally Posted by infernosg

Do you need the license plate back?

nah, you can toss it.

[Whizbang]

ooo "the beginning"

[infernosg]

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





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



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.

[infernosg]

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.



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

[chibikougan]

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

[infernosg]

Originally Posted by chibikougan

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.



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



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

[djmtsu]

S4 junk for sale soon?

Can we be friends?

[infernosg]

Originally Posted by djmtsu

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:



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



S5 handle in because I think it looks better:



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.



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

[kraftjason413]

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.

[infernosg]

Originally Posted by kraftjason413

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:



Doing work on the front:



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



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



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!