Been slow, but more progress made...

It's been a while since my last post, but since I actually did some work on the RX-7 this week I figured it was time. I still have not rebuilt the engine yet, which really means that I still have not sold the RB26 yet. Once sold, everything I am trying to do will be given the green light, oh well. Anyways...

Last week I finished installing the racing seats into the RX-7 (I only started about a month ago...please visit lackofmotivation.org). I do however still need to order the eye bolts for the lap and submarine harnesses. So the seats will come back out for that in the next couple of weeks. Then I can finally say that the interior is finished for a while.

I also decided to drain the gas tank and install my fuel surge tank cover (thanks to Hyperion on rx7club). Draining gas sucks, but the installation of the cover was a breeze (took 30 minutes MAX). Here is a picture from the group buy...



The one high note of draining the fuel is that I was able to put ~10 gal. of 93 octane into the Subaru DD before it got too old (the gas not the Subaru). This leads me to my final point....my '96 Suburu Impreza Wagon shit-box with 217k miles and fucked up axels must have felt pampered yesterday.

It isn't often that a beater gets almost a full tank of 93 octane fuel (~$4.05/gal. right now), gets washed and waxed, and gets an oil change. The fuel and oil speak for themselves at this point, but the washing and waxing is a different story. This is the first car that I have ever had that I truly don't care much about (refer to my post 135hp of fury)...if it gets me where I want to go I am happy. The trouble comes when the clear coat starts to disappear off of the hood and roof. That is when resale value enters my head and I think....hmmm maybe it would be a good idea to at least wash this thing and get a good coat of wax on it. Now I didn't use the Zaino that I use on my other cars, but a fresh coat of Mother's carnuba sure did make that car look a hell of a lot better.

Saturn GT-R

Awesome car I saw today....the infamous Saturn GT-R....



....some people

Pictures of the damage...

Broken Apex Seal (aka...bringer of death)


Bad Rotor Housing....


Bad Rotor....(and shitty picture)

Broken Apex Seal = Bad Rotor and Rotor Housing

...but the turbo is still good (such a relief).

I got the engine tore down last weekend and began to inspect the damage. It took a minute to find the broken apex seal, but didn't take long at all to find the gouges in the the rotor and rotor housing. I'll take pictures of the damaged parts tonight and post them up.

Oh yea,
Someone buy my RB26 please, so I can get to rebuilding the 13B...

RB26 FOR SALE

Tired of rx7club....join the new rotary forum...

Rotary Car Club

Engine=Broken

While tuning this past weekend the motor blew. It seems that trying to make power on a rotary that has 92k miles on it isn't the best idea in the world. Everything in the tune was safe when it blew and my logs have been reviewed by others to say the same. Oh well....shit happens....now it is time to rebuild and port.

Here are videos of testing compression. As you can see rotor 1 is a good consistent pulse, while rotor two is basically non-existent. (*This is a cold motor, so the actual numbers are useless).

Rotor 1:





Rotor 2:

Complete sans tuning...

Been a slow winter it seems, but the car is finally 99% complete. Currently driving/tuning it, but thought I would post a few pictures I took during the final work...



...and a few specs

Garrett T04R Ball Bearing (.84 A/R)
Tial 46mm W/G
Tial 50mm BOV
Exoticspeed Manifold
A-Spec 4" Turboback exhaust (had to modify to fit my setup)
HKS V-Mount I/C
Dual 19row Oil Coolers w/ thermostat
Removed A/C and PS (Sent my steering rack off to Maval)
RX7store fuel system (550/1680cc injectors, Aeromotive FPR, etc)
Denso fuel pump
...etc (other stuff like removed emissions, cruise, double throttle, etc etc)

It's been a while...

So it has been a while since I last posted an update. I really haven't been motivated to work on the car a whole lot the past month (read: too many other hobbies to attend to), but I have got some work done.

The oil cooler setup is complete and installed. Bracket and hose fabrication was about as easy as I expected it to be and everything fits great. The oil thermostat mounting location was a little tricky though. Cleaning up the random wiring harness bits and lengthening the radiator fans wires is also complete. I cut so many wires out of the factory harness that if I ever even dreamed about making it twin turbo again I would have to buy an entire new wiring harness.

I ordered a full turbo-back 4" exhaust system from A-Spec Tuning rather than fabricating my own. It is made for their long runner manifold, so I will still have to cut and modify it to fit, but this will still save me the hassle of making one from scratch (one of the big reasons I wasn't motivated to work on the car). Little did I know that these systems are made to order and not kept in stock, so having a running car by next week just isn't going to happen like I had planned.

Anyway, the way I look at it, I have about 10-15 more hours of work to put into the car before it is back on the ground and ready to start again for the first time in 3 months. Then the tuning starts. Its funny how a broken ignition coil and seeing high intake temps at the track leads to a never ending saga of modifications....and to think...this is only the beginning.

Progress continues

HKS V-Mount is installed. It is a thing of beauty. My only complaint is that the intercooler and radiator should be sealed off more for airflow. the splitter is adjustable and guides the air between the two perfectly, but it needs either some more ducting or a plentiful amount of aluminum tape to seal it up to my standards.

The Delrin bushing installation is also complete. Just waiting to receive my steering rack from Maval and I can put the wheels back on. Exhaust fabrication is next.

A present from Japan

V-Mount Intercooler :)

Project Update...

Figured I would post a short build update...

Kirk Race Roll Bar arrived yesterday. Test fit it in the car and everything is awesome, just needs to be truly installed.

The interior is now fully stripped other than the dash, doors, and arm rest/shift panel. Who knew that you would have to remove the dash to get the carpet out though...the 350Z carpet removal was much easier.

65% of the suspension bushings are installed. I still have to do the left rear and half of the right rear bushings.

I still have not received the intercooler kit, but it should be here any day now. The stock turbo/exhaust/intercooler/oil cooler/ratsnest/fuel system is gone. I have test fit the manifold and turbo and need to order exhaust tubing next week. The new fuel system is installed. I can't finish the oil cooler mounting and plumbing until I know how the v-mount ducting is going to be.

So yea...looks like I still have a lot of work.

Deleted

Title says it...

HKS V-Mount just shipped from Japan

I was just notified that my HKS V-Mount that I ordered from Nengun at the beginning of the month has been shipped. Nengun may take a long time, but their prices are awesome and they always deliver. (www.nengun.com)

Broken Coil = No Fun at the Track

Prep'd and Ready

Not even a month after buying the new car and it will already be at on the track this weekend and playing double duty none the less (hope this is a sign of things to come). I will be driving it in yellow group and am letting Brandon drive it in green group.

I have spent the past couple of weeks getting the car to where I want it and finally feel it is safe to take this motor on the track...well almost. I replaced the pre-cat and stock airbox to let it breathe and get some heat out of the engine bay. The airpump, double throttle, and other miscellaneous parts were removed/disabled (was able to clean up the rat's nest a bit).

Since, all of that random crap was removed I was forced to go ahead and install my Power FC so it would drive smooth.The car already has a upgraded radiator and AST, so that was already taken car of, but I was able to better my current coolant temps with the FC-Datalogit's fan control. I used to see 100-105 degrees C on the street, but now it is a rock solid 85C, which is now verified with both the PFC and a water temp gauge (I am very paranoid about my coolant temps). The reason I said "well almost" earlier, is because the car needs an upgraded intercooler of some sort. After seeing the air temps on the PFC, I realized this is needed next. I should probably upgrade the oil cooler(s) at the same time.

Current Modifications: (as of 12am last night)
HKS RS Intake
RX7Store 3" Downpipe
Pulley Kit for Airpump Removal
Koyo Radiator
Pettit AST
Apex'i Power FC
Greddy Electronic Boost Gauge
Greddy Water Temp Gauge
Gotham Racing Short Shifter
Hawk HP+ Brake Pads
Russel's Stainless Brake Lines
ATE Super Blue Brake Fluid