RX7 Hillclimber Build Thread

Conditions: wet

Driver: A little dumb

Corner: 13

The move: A drop to 2nd for a 90 degree off camber curve, executed just like when conditions are dry.

The result: A snap over steer event with not enough road to catch it. The left rear dug into the ground and snapped me into a barrel roll through some saplings (luckily no real trees).

Injuries: Ego and a tweaked shoulder from the steering wheel getting ripped from my hands.

The car: Durable as built it to be.

The hood is just open from us running chains to the frame to pull it out of the ditch.

She took it like a champ. I'll likely have a control arm or two to replace - I'll know more once I get it into the shop and in the air. She fired right up again with no leaks or other issues. Tough little bird.

wait you barrel rolled? crazy does not look like it.

There's a very slight indent on the top of both doors.

Ouch! Glad you made it out ok. Car looks damn good too. Hopefully it will be back.

I'm so relieved!

Glad to hear you're well and that the car will live to take another hill.

just saw the video... wow

Riding the wrecker up the hill to extricate the car.

I'd rather laugh in the face of adversity than cry.

Watched Vid - glad you're ok Dave -- all the rest can be more easily repaired or written off.

......and we've got to get you to remember to put your face shield down before you start the run. Add a bit of fire to an outcome such as you had just once and you will appreciate the importance of giving your eyes/ears/mouth a bit more time out of the flames....

Whoa! Amazingly little damage for that! Super happy you're ok. I've always liked this car and it sure looks like it will be back in action pretty quickly.

Glad you're OK compadre. I'm somehow thinking that your repairs will make it better than before the incident. Are you planning on Mt Washington next year? I hope to be there...

In reply to Ryed:

It will come back very much improved. I already have a loose game plan based on initial damage observations and also have a suspension shop looking into valving a set of Penskes for me.

I'm gunning for Washington so the car has to be on point. I'll even make it pretty(er)

booo boooo boooo... clean that act up NOW!!

DaveEstey wrote: In reply to Ryed: It will come back very much improved. I already have a loose game plan based on initial damage observations and also have a suspension shop looking into valving a set of Penskes for me. I'm gunning for Washington so the car has to be on point. I'll even make it pretty(er)

I would expect nothing less. Looking forward to seeing the progress.

glad you're relatively unscathed!!

My shoulder has loosened up nicely so I was back on the motorcycle last night for some speed therapy.

I'm pulling the car into the shop tonight and will have a kinda-sorta-full assessment of the damage then. I'll share photos of course.

I'm still not upset at crashing. I learned a lot from it and it's part of the game. Plus I shared the video with co-workers hahaha. They looked at me like I was a ghost.

Good to hear your feeling better already. Could have been a lot worse.

In reply to java230: Thanks. I agree.

Seems like there is some compliance in the suspension that wasn't there before. I don't see anything obviously bent, but then there's this. I'll need to investigate further. Meanwhile, I can easily see that the right front strut is bent and will need to be replaced. More photos of the underside once I get it up on jackstands in the shop.

All four wheels are junk now. Time to go shopping for some new 15x10 circle track wheels.

Newsflash! Found the damage.

For those unfamiliar with the rear suspension of an FC RX7, here's what mine looked like before going back in the car this spring. The addition in the middle is for the Ford 8.8 mount and inconsequential to this discussion.

Here's looking through the right rear wheel well now.

Well there's yer problem.

That's a grade 8 bolt that's bent in the other end. Cheap heim joint? Not exactly. Rod End Static Load Capacity: 7,400 lbs.

That appears to be all the damage in the rear. But the front has a nice present too.

Done dickered that one pretty well.

Who are you buying the American racer slicks through? What size and compound? What do you think?

Also, seeing that failure of the heim, any more information on what brand/material/etc? Im building heim lca for the challenge car and don't want to make a hand grenade.

I stopped using the American Racers in 2015 and switched to Hoosier A7s this year. They were fine as a budget alternative, but really don't hold a candle to the radial slicks from Hankook, Hoosier, etc.

These are the heims: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/fkb-jml10t

How messed up was that damper? This messed up.

Why kill it when you can overkill it?

With that much bend in the strut, have you been able to ascertain if the strut/lower control arm mounting points (unibody) were tweaked?

In reply to MichaelYount:

Not yet. All the suspension is getting taking out and inspected before it goes back in

While I ponder how to best attack the suspension situation of the RX7 (which includes buying another rolling chassis to steal parts from) I decided I can still make use of the warm weather to get some carbon fiber action going. The list includes my wing and a carbon roof panel using the mold I pulled from the LeMons RX7.

A little planning ahead of time makes things far smoother when you're in the throws of doing the work.

The wing is 72.5" tip to tip and 10" deep. Should make a lot of downforce. The wing mounts will be molded right into the wing and thin wall aluminum spars run the full length of the wing.

Next up is pre cutting the carbon fiber so it drapes as nicely as possible and then prepping for the real action!

Other epoxy-covered projects will include making a mold of the rear hatch glass, which I saved, so I can mold the air scoops right into things. After that I'll be making air manifolds for each radiator to increase their efficiency.

Lots of projects and I'm feeling excited.

Meanwhile, we took the LeMons RX7 out for it's maiden voyage today, racing at a sodden autocross. We stuck two of our more novice drivers in the car so we could get their feedback and let them get used to the car. It ran like a champ with them both beating on it and the handling seems predictable, which is all I ask for.

LeMons in 2 weeks!