RX7 Hillclimber Build Thread

Fourth coat of white. This time high gloss.

And now begins the fun of the floor.... Porch and deck paint. Slate gray. High gloss with traction stuff mixed in.

I expect this will take at least 2 coats. The wood just soaks it right up!

OK this trailer is derailing the RX7 thread. I'm going to start a trailer build thread.

This Saturday SCCNH is holding an event at the new road course in Canaan, NH. This is a feeler event with a new owner and could be a viable 2nd venue. Anybody who autocrosses knows how difficult it can be to get good venues.

I've been invited to race - yes this is an invite event for the trial, and I don't want to be rude with the RX7 vocals.

Time for muffler work!

I haven't been happy with my muffling, which is comprised of a Racingbeat pre silencer and a magnaflow muffler. Today, a new 3" inlet Racingbeat muffler appeared on my doorstep and RaceTek is helping me out with a new 2-1 merge collector. The net result should be lower sound levels without hurting power. If it's still too loud for road course work then I'll add ANOTHER Racingbeat muffler across the back of the car like Mazdatrix has done successfully with their EP RX7 - and even gained 1 whp by doing it.

Merge collector = Donezo

Welded on to the exhaust system = Donzo

Cable exhaust hanger = replaced with 4130 tube for more strength

Annnnd it's on the car. Much quieter than before. Still not "quiet" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOEZNt2xbV8

Had a great time at Canaan Speedway in Canaan NH yesterday. The course was pretty tight in sections, which I didn't enjoy but racing is better than not racing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6JSTRUsAEQ The car is a little tail happy on flat ground. Hillclimbs, not quite as much.

The car has started to break up a little above 5k rpm for some reason. It's not consistent. I'll have to check all the connections on the MSD box and coils.

Those are the coolest door cards I've ever seen. Well done! Also love how the camera has a weird artifact or distortion that makes your steering wheel look super bent.

Ya know after I watched the video I went out to the car to check the steering wheel haha. Nice and straight.

Mezzanine wrote: Those are the coolest door cards I've ever seen. Well done! Also love how the camera has a weird artifact or distortion that makes your steering wheel look super bent.

Agree, door cards and shifter are awesome :D

I should sent the video to RacingBeat and ask for a discount.

The shifter is laminated pallet wood. Frugal and fast?

Ascutney II Nelson Shepard Memorial Hillclimb was this past weekend. This is the final hillclimb of my season, and a bookend to the spring Ascutney where the car made its debut and couldn't limp past check one. Lots on the line!

The car ran awesome all weekend, though I can of course pick out faults. More data for offseason work for sure.

My previous fastest time on this hill was a 3:18. Saturday I ran a 3:14 and then a 3:07 and it was clear there was a lot more left in the car.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/iZ1HQSABNeU

Saturday is practice, so times don't count.

It rained overnight so the road was wet Sunday morning. I skipped the first timed runs to try to let the competition dry things out. The plan worked a little, but there were still lots of greasy spots on the road. My not-so-limited rear differential wasn't helping me either. Still, I ran a 3:08 with a shift balk at the beginning of the longest straight. That sapped about 20mph off my top speed on that stretch. Ugh.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/meIT2zJavdg And then I ran out of gas on my next run. With no more premix oil around and high standards for what I'll put in the car, I loaded her into the trailer and played the part of spectator for the afternoon, hoping that my time would hold up against a charging Walter Clark, who has been running the hill for a long time now and has a very well developed VW Golf.

He missed the mark by 3 tenths of a second, which means I finished 2nd behind Chris DuBois in an S2k. I'll take it!

The car will begin winter tear down soon so further development can happen. Big things are planned!

And a slo-mo video around one of the most fun corners https://www.youtube.com/embed/zjHiMKiE7xQ

The car is still hanging out in the trailer as I've been on firewood duty this week. About 3 cords cut, split and stacked this week

Mentally, not very taxing, which means plenty of time to reflect on the 2015 season and what can be done to make 2016 even better.

Good things in 2015:

Engine is awesome

Front suspension is working awesome

Seat position and pedal box feel good

Braking performance is quite good

Needs improvement:

Grip. The 3-year-old bias-ply tires weren't cutting it.

Rear suspension. She needs new dampers badly.

Rear LSD. Needs one.

Gearing. The gearbox is way too tall.

Exterior. Fender flares needed.

Fuel system: Cell is too small (6 gallons) and not FIA rated. <-- Important since NASA NE members want me to come race in 2016.

I was going to say that the gearing seemed too tall on the video. Can you kill two birds with one stone when replacing the LSD and change the ring/pinion too?

Great videos BTW, that looks incredibly fun.

In reply to Spoolpigeon:

The list of off-season improvements:

Ford 8.8 IRS setup, LSD and 4.88 or 5.12 gears

Custom valved bilsteins in the rear to match the front

Hoosier A7s

Mazdatrix E-Production wide body

ATL 17 gallon fuel cell

And I'm eyeballing 20B eccentric shafts for a potential 2017 move to P2 class where the turbo 2 liter engines live.

i'd hazard that you need a short shifter of some kind it looks like you are rowing a boat when you shift gears.

how much power do you think you are making (if I might ask and it wont upset competitors...) That rotory idling sounds great.

In reply to Mad_Ratel:

No clue. It's more than 200 at the wheels last I dynoed it, but then I rejetted and fixed an ignition error. It's running way better now.

Teardown started today so work on Version 2.0 of the rear setup can begin shortly.

Not much in the back of the car when you remove the radiator and fuel cell. Time to order the new 17-gallon SFI fuel cell and then get to work welding in a new rear frame out of 4130 - this time as a bolt-on affair for easy repairs after a crash.

I also found places to cut more weight out of the car in my quest to get it to 2,000 lbs wet. I need to cut 100 pounds out.

I need the budget to recoup a little before I can go on another parts-buying spree. But I also get bored.

Time for OTHER rotary-powered buggery!

First, the future LeMons RX7 gets kicked out of the shop for a few weeks. After sitting for 10 months she fired right up. Not bad for a $500 "parts car."

Plenty of space now.

So wait. I said rotary-powered buggery, but I kicked the other RX7 out of the shop. That doesn't make any sense. Oh wait:

Yeah, that's an early 4-port bridge ported 13B attached to a built VW transaxle..... Buggery ensues tomorrow night when the car shows up.

The victim arrives... a 73 Super Beetle Baja. The new theme will be VW F1 car...

Lots of room in there once we removed the 30hp boat anchor.

MOAR!

^^^ What he said!!

F1 and Baja don't make sense. I'll need to see more please.

It won't be a baja any more, think wide and low. Waiting on some parts to come in - replacement seals etc - before the put the new drivetrain in. Then it's figuring out the radiator lines and mounting in the front.