Years in the making: Franken Wankel! 1986 RX7

In reply to Adrian_Thompson:

I no longer live in Royal oak but I would certanitly take you up on that offer! I live in Waterford now, I might be by royal oak tomorrow but its not 100% yet.

Adrian, I appreciate the offer but I was getting in over my head on this painting thing, but what I do know is spray paint so I decided to go that route. I got tired of stressing and learning autobody, aint nobody got time for that...

I turned my garage into a paint booth essentially:

After I primed everything it was time for color, went with rustoleum matte semi gloss enamel and their clearcoat.

Engine bay, both front fenders, front bumper and hood. This half of the car is a little brighter but I need to clean up the otherside to see how well it actually matches.

Thats not the only body work I made, ended up making and mounting my splash guards for the headlights to keep my electronics area clean (as possible)

Again, I have a rx7 for a roommate....

but everything is good to go! all sorts of cleaned, may get the intake manifold powdercoated so go with the franken wankel theme.

1. Front cover = ford blue
2. Water pump housing/filler neck = gold
3. Water pump = dark blue
4. Water pump pulley = artic cat green
5. Oil pan & crank pulley = black
6. Alternator pulley = anodized blue
7. intake manifold? maybe red or something...

But before that I had to do some gasket matching because this manifold is dumb but whatever...

Now whats left is rotor pre assembly and put the engine bay wiring back together. New lights means modify harness, here is a sketch of what I got to do:

I'm debating on junkyarding a fuse box or using one of these bad boys. Essentially I need a relay box up front for the electronics.

anyways I got 5 total relays for the front harness: 1. rally boobs fogs - about 18 amps total 2. rally boobs spots - about 18 amps total 3. Headlamp Low beam - 6 amps total 4. Headlamp High Beam - 11 amps total 5. Electric fan - 10-20 amps?

but it may be too much for the unit or just at the maximum...

Thoughts?

Here is a better view of the splash guards. woopity do berkeleying da.

Also here is a shot of MOST (not all) of the cans used to do this major operation, even with the mask I think I've lost some brain cells I can't get back. Didn't help that I was drinking a lot while doing this process.

So its about that time, rotor pre assembly!!! Cardboard comes in real handy here. draw out your rotors and sketch the markings to keep track of seal location and gaps and help record seal tolerance's.

oh but whats this...?

FSM states side seal clearance is .002-.007" and the FSM states a .016" limit. Well all of my side seals measure above but under limit. (.010-.016" or so) Once again delayed and forced to pay mazda a bunch of money for more parts since I'm this far down the rabbit hole, whats another 3-400 bucks? :( The larger the gap the higher the blow by and less compression.

Which brings me to my next conclusion. berkeley ATKINS ROTARY. I am officially tired of their crap products. I have complained about them enough but now I am 100% done with their products and will not support them or use anything from them ever again. I used these corner seals in the last build since I clearanced new side seals. (see hill climber thread) They seemed fine because I was using their apex seals (albeit still a bit tight but within use) but these DO NOT fit NEW OEM mazda apex seals, they go on crooked and the only way they fit is if you jam them in it there, the apex seals are supposed to be able to move freely without binding... which they do not. I was able to gain .004" clearance to my side seal vs using used OEM corner seals.

Observe the same side seal with 2 different corner seals, OEM vs atkins:

If you cant read the feeler gauges the OEM corner seals read .011" tolerance and the atkins reads .015"

Issues:

1. TERRIBLE apex seal to corner seal fitment

2. all the new corner seals actually measured undersized below spec

3. side seal clearance issues due this undersize.(I checked the diameter with 2 different mics and 2 different calipers so I know its not my measurement at this point since I got the same reading. )

4. about the same price as OEM corner seals

So I got anal and picked my best used 12 corner seals and recorded my measurements, these come from various engines and various running conditions and ALL measured out better and within spec.

Because of this, there was no engine assembly this weekend. So I focused on updating my suspension. Might as well attack the to do list any time I got a chance.

BEFORE:

"DURING":

AFTER:

Now my rear bilsteins are matched to properly to some front bilstiens, They do not make a bolt in bilstein shock for these cars, you have to gut the tube and put an insert in which is awesome that they at least have shocks for this but now you don't see the cool bilstein yellow:

Now it sits on racing beat front springs for more ideal spring rate and new moog strut mount/bearing since the old ones were original and most certainly toast. Time to mount up the headlights for good and begin re installing the engine bay while I wait for mazda to send me corner seals and side seals. I could re use my corner seals but I figured at this rate I'm this far down, might as well. Dec 13th rallyX date is looking pretty bad to be able to make now. Granted I didn't just buy seals from mazda, forgot a gasket and got cap/rotor/plugs because proper ignition is important too.

more to come.

annnnnd boom done:

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Now we begin/continue the great re-construction of project beast mode.

Mounted my ballasts and ran some wiring, removed some old wiring, time to simplify! Also I managed to integrated my front reflex reflectors with my turn signal just because. MOAR SAFETY! (maybe)

FINAL parts arrived today ( this time I mean it )

Kind of silly they individually package the corner seals but w/e

These are FD side seals, they are a minor upgrade over the FC ones, still must be clearanced to fit. Which sucks.

but after some soothing music and some feeler gauges, it was done!

Engine assembly? Tonite? Chances look good to have it assembled and installed by the weekend.

Right now one of the local GRMers has my intake manifold for powdercoating. Next week I travel for work Tuesday morning through Friday afternoon so little will get done. I must champion this weekend!

Next hot items on the list is fabbing the transmission mount wiring up the...wires and obviously engine assembly.

Huzzah, the strut housings finally get used after I made them 2 years ago haha. What billies did you end up getting?

In reply to DaveEstey:

The only one they offered (and still retain stock shock mount). I didn't want to get super complicated with upper mounts and etc considering I've had blown mounts on blown shocks for the past few years and I have been pretty competitive.

Last night was engine assembly tonite is engine/trans install tomorrow is wiring/various fluid systems install

teaser photo:

That shaft is extra eccentric now

fidelity101 wrote: In reply to DaveEstey: The only one they offered (and still retain stock shock mount). I didn't want to get super complicated with upper mounts and etc considering I've had blown mounts on blown shocks for the past few years and I have been pretty competitive. Last night was engine assembly tonite is engine/trans install tomorrow is wiring/various fluid systems install teaser photo:

Who did you convince to take this picture knowing full well that it was going on the internet?

Well played sir.

I convinced my SBC friend (same one with the AMC eagle rally car) to learn about magical Doritos since he was always curious how these things went together. Also for installing the rotors fully assembled I have a magic trick but you need a 3rd hand, or 1.5 people so thus rounding up I entered the buddy system.

Also this photo was his idea.

In reply to Adrian_Thompson:

It looks like he is answering a cell phone call with a beer can. I approve

So the engine is finished! Big key thing to note is the s5 NA rotors on the rx8 eccentric shaft. They also utilize the rx8 stationary gears:

These have 3 windows opposed to 1 for oiling. Way nicer for abuse. Much better oil flow. However to run rear rx8 stat gear you have to either RTV the stat gear at the flange or machine an o-ring slot in. The rx8 rear iron has the o-ring slot whereas in the rx7 engines the o-ring slot is in the rear stat gear. I chose to get the rear stat gear machined to match rx7 condition. I hate RTV and make a mess of it. It was worth the piece of mind.

Be sure to check/set the endplay! .002" was measured. all good .0016-.0028" is spec.

Now onto RTV! I mean a mess! I mean mazda competition oil pan baffle. I also utilized banzai racing’s oil pan stud kid which came with studs and flanged nuts. They also sell a brace but I felt that this was good enough. Plus the price difference is huge between the two.

And as a treat to myself I got a BNIB oil pan. They usually rust and get nasty and have bent flanged areas which don’t seal well. This worked out good:

And with that it was time to install the waterpump assembly:

Since I had to buy side seals on that last post or so I also went with what I know I need which was a tune up. New OEM cap/rotor and OEM FDspark plugs (FD spark plugs are platinum, highly recommend)

Next up? Onto the clutch and transmission!

So the clutch is carry over, I utilize my same t2 aluminum flywheel and my t2 disc but the PP I got a hold of is from an rx8 and inn better shape than my old t2 pressure plate. These parts are interchangeable. So it went in as ace venture says “LIKE A GLOVE!”

On the old 13b blocks cant use the rx8 trans with the rx8 stock slave cylinder since it hits the oil pedestal. HOWEVER you use the slave cylinder from a 98 acura integra 1.8 GS and viola! It bolts right in and clears.

Price is 15 dollars at oreileys auto parts, part# cs2162 But to keep the angle of the slave cylinder pin flat, you have to shim it. Extra nuts to the strut bearing work great.

ALSO the stock clutch hose has too many male threads on the slave cylinder end, but it reaches no problem.

We are not home yet! Still some issues to tackle but the engine and trans are in and the engine is bolted down on its aluminum mounts:

Here is the difference between the two transmissions. A hole must be cut. If you have an interior or stock dashboard this could be an issue, I do not so no worries:

Also to use the rx8 trans you must use the rx8 hardware for the bellhousing. the bosses on the trans are larger than the FC ones so you will never thread anything in. the rx8 starter must be used since the rx7 starter only shares the top bolt( out of 2 bolts) the Rx8 starter is a 2Kw electric motor while the rx7 one is 1.3Kw. Good upgrade.

My mazdatrix T2 driveshaft to NA diff is just a hair too long, off to get shortened! I believe for most people a stock automatic driveshaft would work fine but I need a new yoke and u joints can use some attention. The automatic driveshaft has the same output yoke as the t2 as is common on the rx8. same diameter and spline count but the shaft is about 1" shorter.

Stock transmount does not go low enough so I had to cut it up, then cut up the poly bushing from my t2 “solid” mounts.

Did a little work on mocking up the custom trans mount, stay tuned.

Big issues to overcome:

1. Correct clutch hose

2. fab trans mount

3. new shift boot/cover misc shifter hole

4. shorten and re balance driveshaft

I've had friends look at my rotary engines and they see the big picture of "really just 3 main moving parts, right?" Then I show them the around 50 little parts that have to be perfect on each rotor. And then I show them what a $30 racing spark plug looks like.

Takes just as much time to put one together as a full V8 build including valve train.

Yeah I will be taking a break after building this engine, it takes too much time and the trailer needs tires...and I want studs for ice racing so funds will be allocated differently.

So I have been lacking in the updates recently. Well I traveled all last week for work so that sucked, didn't get any wrenching in.

A little bit of cardboard and a little bit of thin aluminum and some patience I managed to cut up the stock bracket and mock up something I can turn into a real bracket. So here is the tacked up beast. I used 3/16ths steel. Seems sturdy right? :p

Here is the final product:

My welder friend is a bit of an artists so he put his signature on it (smoky the bear) and added some flare for me lol.

In other news, ITS ALLLLLLLLIIIIIIVVVVVEEEEEEEEE. Here is the traditional 1st start video, well 1st run. Was too busy to get the phone ready for cranking and etc.

http://youtu.be/t1gbv0im_6U

Took some trial and error stabbing the distributor on the RB main pulley but it eventually fired right up. I let it run for about a half hour, check for leaks, only a few (minor) leaks so I'm gonna chalk that up as a win.

1. The plug I made for the factory turbo oil feed location on the front iron does not seal very well. I may be able to get away with just adding copper crush washer. Factory hardware is banjo bolt anyways for this location...

2. 16psi rad cap on radiator, 13psi cap on t-stat neck. 13psi one does not have bleed off port. Thus leak. I will have to add an overflow port on the FD rad cap housing or go to a higher pressure cap. Griffin radiators lowest PSI for their caps is 16psi :/

3. Heater core outlet to radiator - (hence the t-shirt/rag in video) the outlet on the radiator is closer to 3/4 OD and the outlet on the heater core is more like 5/8ths OD. Right now I am having trouble finding a coupler for this issue.

Other than that I started to aim the headlights and bodywork might even go on later today. All that's left then will be clutch slave line, which I might have found the solution for and should arrive when I return from visiting family for Christmas.

tranny mount/ crash structure haha

I figure once I get more skid plate work done it can be attached there too.

With the engine out and just held up by the mount the poly bushings to allow some wiggle so it should work out most excellent!

Its not quite a rally car yet but its getting there! It still requires some skid plates, cage and and proper fuel/brake lines run along with some other misc safety supplies.

Well everything is hooked up and leak countermeasures are in transit:

bonus points if you can spot the continuity errors but bonus points equate to no monetary value.

Since my radiator cap is 16 psi (and cant get any lower) I had to drill and tap the FD t-stat cap housing for a line for the overflow. I could just make a block off plate for the t-stat neck but I figure mazda put this there for a reason and less pressure on the coolant system can't hurt either. So I drilled and tapped it for 1/8th's NPT, a little thread sealant and some JB weld for safety.

Since I am stuck waiting on parts and I know I got it running, I decided to mount up and get my headlights aimed.

So instead of being outside and pissing my neighbors off, by shinning lights into their house I set the wagon inside with the lights on and marked the position on the garage door as a surrogate and would compare the patterns. Sometimes I opened the door and see how good the beam looked in the distance. They are bright as berkeley, without the HB on either...

Next up is to cover up this huge hole from the stock shifter, ran out of time but picked up some thin aluminum and some aluminum rivets, should do the trick nicely and should I need to put a stock trans in again I can easily remove it.

Winter tires are on, exhaust has no leaks now to be gone for the holidays and patiently wait for parts to complete this. When I return it will be just fixing 3 minor leaks, cover shifter hole, trans fluid, body work install and I should be driving this by 1/1/2015!

Back from the holidays! Got the leaks fixed, the barb fitting worked, turbo feed properly blocked,

I got some thin aluminum and made a block off plate, added a little RTV to act as a gasket and make less vibration and bolted it to two of the existing holes for the stock shifter bracket, made some additional ones then added 3 rivets for strength (not shown)

Clutch hydraulics came in!

Buy these 2 things and you can convert your inverted flare to -3

ta da!

a little closer

so with all that wrapped up I just need to work on my shift boot so while waiting for that dang shifter plate to come in the mail... Then just bleed the clutch and take it for a spin!

I installed the body work! I'm not really thrilled with the color, it doesn't match at all but I'm not a body work person. Might repaint the front better in the spring time for a weekend project but right now, it is what it is and it looks better than what it was.

Need to add the hood pins and trim the headlight cover on the passenger side. Passenger headlight may/will require some additional adjustment which means removal of the fender but driver side seems to be spot on.

nice!

moar

Day 1 of 2015. The car moved under its own power for a few mile spin around the area for its first time since it was epically torn apart a few months ago...

Flawlessly*

*skid plate is not totally attached and was banging around loudily/funnily

:)

Happy new year folks! Rallyx is saturday... maybe i can make it...

It must feel great to take it for the first drive. Congratulations!

jmc14 wrote: It must feel great to take it for the first drive. Congratulations!

Thank you! It does feel great but its also like a weight being lifted off your shoulder. Doing this many things at once was a bit stressful but they all could not really be done individually.

wvumtnbkr wrote: moar

MOAR YOU SAY?! Hokay!

Here is the completed new body control module distribution mountain dew center

I also did a little "updating" on the interior, to hide the sharp edges up top and make for better cruising I added the tops of the door panels however they had to be trimmed to fit my dash. Also the trained eye will notice that I have switched to manual operated windows, I have had power mirrors for years but no switch and etc (and it was broken) now it doesn't flop around when I drive and I can see better when I change lanes. ta da

Well my oil cooler mounts were pretty mangled and I didn't feel like ordering them from mazda (45 + shipping est of 15 for both) so from the bracket material I left for the relay box I made my own.

A friend of mine who helped out on the trans mount lent me an arc welder, so I have been playing with that...

I solved my wood shift knob dilema...

just cut the old threads off and weld them onto the new shifter!

learning to weld is fun! Also the metal on this car is so thin I kept burning holes. Anyways remember when I had a flawless road test? I re designed the front skid plate mounts to work much better. Yes I know the oil cooler is crooked but the mounts are sturdy and those lines are preventing me from installing it another way. I will be making my own AN lines for the oil cooler soon though, which then I will correct that issue.

Time to break in the engine so time to add the baller steering wheel back on (too cracked for race use however)

Yes that is a crown royal bag...

Like. A. Sir...