Michigan Rotary Club
Generation Specific => 1st Generation Specific => 1st Generation Build thread => : elwood September 25, 2014, 06:52:46 PM
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I promised to chronicle this, so I'll start at the beginning . . .
My parents live in CT, and they moved to a new home about 15 years ago. Across the street in the neighbor's yard was a silver '84 GS. It was sitting on an asphalt pad beneath oak trees.
I would visit them a couple of times each year, and the car was always there. I asked my father if the owner ever drove it -- "I don't think so" was the reply.
Time passed, and last fall (2013), I rang the doorbell, confirmed to the homeowner that I wasn't selling anything, and asked him about the car. Turns out he parked the car when he had kids, drove it less and less, then just stopped driving it. It hadn't moved from that pad in 20 years. I explained that I was into RX-7s, and he was immediately interested in having me give the car a better life.
I eventually paid him $400 and went to pick it up with a friend two months ago. The picture shows the Silver 7 on the trailer with my friend in the truck just after dragging it out of the yard. All the tires were flat and cracked to the point of cord showing (including the spare). Despite all that, Fix-A-Flat managed to inflate them -- hadn't used it before; that stuff's awesome!
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looks like a great find. so so pretty!!!!
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She looks pretty, in my opinion, that color looks the best on 1st gens. I can't believe that fix-a-flat actually worked for that, I'll remember that!
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20 years of closed windows leads to a very "special" interior odor. Overall, the interior was in very good condition, but a few small animals had made it their home. There were pieces of acorns everywhere, and little oblong brown things, that I'm guessing were chipmunk droppings. Fortunately, all the electrical functions seem to work, so it doesn't look like they chewed any wiring.
After we vacuumed it out, it didn't look so bad. At first, I didn't like the color. But you don't see it every day, and now it reminds me of the '80s. I'm old enough to have good memories of that decade. I'll need to do something for a stereo head unit. The owner's son damaged the original stack while trying to upgrade to an aftermarket piece. I like the OEM look of the silver stack, but I'd also like to have the ability to play MP3s.
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I am a sucker for 80s red interior's sooo good.
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Those chipmunks were extremely busy. They made a nest out of the cowl plenum. It was so packed with cotton batting and acorns that the wipers would barely move. I opened it up, pulled the wiper rack out, and removed a bucket full of debris. Now the wipers work.
The engine bay was in bad shape. The chipmunks made a nest inside the air cleaner too, but the previous owner had installed a K & N filter, and the wire mesh must have stopped them. Everything else was covered in a hazy coat of tar (the car was heavily undercoated) and mud.
I barred the engine over, and it turned freely, so I replaced the fluids (including the gas) and it started! It idled so smoothly, I had to check the tach to make sure it was running. Incredible. There was something wrong with the throttle linkage that prevented me from revving the engine, but I declared victory and called it a day.
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Sounds like some great progress and luck with the car. Keep it up. I hope you had enough eviction notices to give out to all of those squirrels.
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Among my planned changes to the car were:
- Aftermarket carb / intake
- FC water pump housing
- FC oil cooler and filter pedestal (instead of beehive)
- Aluminum radiator w/electric fan
I managed to score an old Rotary Engineering Weber 36DCD setup. I had one of these on a 4-port 13B many years ago, and I liked it back then, so I decided to do it again.
I got the FC parts from friends here on the forum, and managed to mount them.
The rad is on the way, so we're moving ahead . . .
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I got an eBay rad and a Spal fan. Just finished making brackets and mounting the fan to the rad. I installed a fan switch in the back of the water pump. I have a standard 180 deg thermostat, and the switch is calibrated for 195 deg "on" and 185 deg "off". I run this same basic setup on my other car, and it works well.
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I started working on a carb hat. The original setup had individual K & N air cleaners, but when I received the carb setup, they were badly damaged. The filter elements aren't very tall, so there isn't much space between the air horns (2") and the top plate (2-3/4"), which I figure can't be good for air flow. So I decided to make a carb hat and plumb it to a conical air filter mounted in front of the radiator. These are pics of my cardboard mockup. There will be an inlet on the side so I can run duct hose down to the filter. This one is 4" tall so there shouldn't be any flow restriction.
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I like the carb hat. Definitly cant wait to see some pics of the finished project.
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Haven't heard any updates on this, how's the car?
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It's good to know somebody cares :) I finished the engine / bay, exhaust, and rear axle.
Engine / Bay: Installed a lightweight steel flywheel and new clutch assy. Upgraded to an FD alternator and relocated it to the driver's side. Went with a 5-rib pulley system from a Cosmo engine. Wired up the electric fan, including a thermostatic switch in the water pump housing.
Exhaust: I went with a Racing Beat single pipe system, because I want it to be quiet. I welded in a crankcase extractor . . . mostly because I want to experiment with it.
Rear Axle: It's a GSL-SE rear housing, so I get the 4 on 114.3mm bolt pattern, and vented rear discs. The original brake lines were rusty and damaged, so I made new SS lines and braided SS hoses. I kept the original ring and pinion, but I installed a Miata Torsen diff. I have a Toyota Supra Torsen on my other RX-7, and I like it a lot.
Big things remaining:
- Fuel pump (I'm using a Bosch FP, which requires new mounting)
- Battery (mount behind the passenger seat in the storage bin)
- Springs (ordered lowering springs a month ago; still waiting . . . )
Hoping to get this thing on the road before snow falls.
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Great to see your updattes to it. Cant wait to see it in person
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Glad to see it almost done! There were a few first gens this year at the dream cruise, was hoping to see you out there. Let us know when you get her running!
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Couldn't make it because we were dropping my son off at college -- sure sign that I'm getting old :)
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Ah, no worries! When you get some time you should make a build on your red first gen, that thing is something else!
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Yesterday, the car moved under its own power for the 1st time in 20 years! Finally got the front brakes taken care of and drove it around the block. I still have a lot of things to sort out, but it was nice to get it out of the garage for a while.
I was surprised at how good the ride is. I'm running cut-down OEM springs with Koni Red shocks. The front is still too high, so I'll need to cut a little more, but we're in the ballpark. There's no noise from my home-built rear end, so that's good news too. The power feels OK, but I still need to tune it so hopefully there's more to be had.
Left on the list:
- Adjust the steering box (too much backlash)
- Front end alignment
- Spruce up / reinstall the rear interior
- Tune the carbs
- Set the timing
- Bodywork and paint (maybe next year)
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Looking good, do you have FD front accessories on the engine?
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It's an FC water pump (thanks Rich) with a Cosmo pulley, a Cosmo main pulley, and an FD alternator with FD pulley. This is all wrapped with a 5-rib serpentine belt; same setup I have on the Red FB. Cosmo pulleys are easy to find if you poke around because a lot of the Cosmo motors end up in FDs, and those guys usually use the original FD pulleys, leaving the Cosmo ones available.
How goes it with your travels?
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Very nice, looking good. Glad to see progress is still being made, I reallllly need to get my project done!
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I'm home! Now I have to get working on my projects.
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I'm just about done with this project. I've been plugging away at this thing over the last few months:
- Installed an aftermarket stereo system with an 8" sub in the driver side storage bin (pics attached)
- Retrofit a Buick fixed mast antenna
- Replaced the carpet in the luggage area
- Replaced a bad fuel level sender
- Got the idle tuned in on the twin Weber 36DCD setup
- Scrubbed and vacuumed the interior to get rid of the "old car smell"
- Re-webbed the seatbelts because the passenger side was badly frayed
- Had the steering wheel padded and wrapped so it didn't feel so thin
- Upgraded from an OEM clutch to an Exedy "Stage 1" so I could actually feel the clutch pedal; OEM was way too soft
This car is nice to drive. It starts and idles well, it makes reasonable power if you spin it, it rides well, it isn't loud unless you go WOT . . . and it has a good stereo. It has smooth overall sound and surprisingly deep bass from the little sealed aluminum subwoofer enclosure.
BTW - this will be my daily driver. I live in Lake Orion and work in Livonia, so it's going to accumulate some miles.
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Very nice, I was wondering how this was going. Should get some updated pictures of her!
I don't know what it is, but the stock clutch on 2nd Gen Rx7s is way too soft as well, must have been a Mazda thing!
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Do you work in auburn hills? borg warner? I think i've seen your car before...
I love the carb and pulley setup!