OlderThanMe Posted June 7, 2007 Share Posted June 7, 2007 My boss, Sean, has an 82 RX-7 that he wants me to get running for him. I went out to his place to check it out and gave him a ride in my Z. A couple runs to the redline in my Z got him hooked and he said he wasn't going to think about selling the RX-7 now. He normally drives a V8 Mountaineer and has never really been in a true sports-car. He got the car for free but it looks REALLY good. The only rust I could see was on the hood. The rest of the car looks fairly rust free. The 82 was the carbed version of the RX-7 and is fresh out of having to get smog checked here in GA. I'm going to be doing all of the tune up stuff and be freshening up stuff like the Coils, battery, spark plug wires, dizzy rotor (looks really weird in the RX-7!) and cap, spark plugs, new tires, change the oil, rebuild the carb, and replace some bad rubber hoses. What else is there on a rotary motor that should be checked? He basically wants to get the motor running and be able to drive the car around while I build a turbo rotary for him. I'm guessing it would be fairly mild (relatively compared to others...)turbo build pushing 275-300hp. That would be PLENTY for him to have a fun sportscar. Motor choices are wide open at this point. I'll probably find a good 3 rotor engine for that build. I'll go do some searching on some RX-7 forums and stuff. Probably do Megasquirt too... The local JY has 2 '86 models, an 83, and a 79 model for me to get parts from. There is a 1995 13B twin turbo with 40k miles and a 5 speed just around the corner from me for $1900. I think that would be an awesome swap into this car. Paint: Probably will be a black metalflake or candy apple red is what he wants. The body is VERY straight and the whole car has only one small ding on the right rear fender lip. That is going to make it very easy for me to do the body work...It does need a junkyard hood though. I don't like fixing holes in the hood. It has a whale-tail~ish spoiler on the back that is pretty cool but needs to be remounted. I know there are some RX-7 guys on here much more knowledgable about rotaries than me. I'd like to hear some opinions/ ideas/ or comments of things I should look for. I know Ernie/RacerX has done some awesome bodywork on an RX-7 before! Thanks guys! Dan/OTM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deep Posted June 7, 2007 Share Posted June 7, 2007 I'm not much of a Ford guy, but 302 HO or 2.3T... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted June 7, 2007 Author Share Posted June 7, 2007 I think we are going to stay Mazda for this one. Not looking to go crazy or anything. And Frankly I don't want (or have the tools) to have to deal with a hybrid V8 swap right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobythevan Posted June 7, 2007 Share Posted June 7, 2007 Won't it take just as much time and money to get a rotary rebuilt and running correctly as a V8 swap? I have been working on my 86 rx7 the last couple weeks and I'm tossing the brand new rebuilt 13b in the scrap pile. BTW, the previous owner purchased the rebuilt 13b, not me. Don't rotaries average like 250 miles between rebuilds? Yeah, 250, no k in there. ha ha, just poking fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(goldfish) Posted June 7, 2007 Share Posted June 7, 2007 If that '95 is in good condition, go buy it now!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MONGO510 Posted June 7, 2007 Share Posted June 7, 2007 Pressure test the cooling system to check for bad engine seals be fore you spend a dime on tune up parts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randy 77zt Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 my cousin used to have 1st gen rx7.when the points would go out she would wash the motor down with gas by flooding it.no compression then.it had alot of miles on it.i used to put a little atf in the spark plug holes.the have a little pump the sucks off some of the crankcase oil to lube the rotor seals.oil shoud be checked every 500 miles.the high perf guys run a little 2 stroke dirt bike oil in the gas when the pump is removed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globerunner513 Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 sounds awesome! i don't know a whole lot about the rotary's but my buddy has a '94 FD, and so i know a little through him. I do know that if you want a turbo build a 2 rotor (13B) will be more than enough. a 3 rotor (20B) is if you wanna go like 500hp+ i really like the rx-7's though so good luck to ya! glad to see another person is hooked. oh yeah...and BUY THAT 95!! like right now! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted June 8, 2007 Author Share Posted June 8, 2007 I'm going to try to get my boss to get the money together for it. I definitely don't have the money but he might. I think it would make the ULTIMATE sleeper car. Then leave the rusty hood and all... Thanks for the replies guys! What would be the best way to pressure test the cooling system? Drain it and then somehow attach pressure? I see how it would work but I don't have an air compressor other than an electric tire pump. That may even work... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veritech-z Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 does it start up as it sits, or is it dead in the driveway? I've seen RX-7 guys pour a bit of motor oil down the carb (not much, mind you) to get things going every once in awhile. Also, that's the cheapest 3rd gen I've ever heard of, in any condition. Popular internet wisdom has it that turbocharging an NA rotary is a bad idea, so finding a factory turbo car might be the way to go. did you see the link I posted in the other engine forums to www.amvracing.com? Got to love 750hp NA with two downdraught Webers... This particular engine was destined to go into a 1st gen with a Supra tranny and a ford 9" according to the guy in the booth at HIN that I was talking to. Also, I second the motion on RacerX's awesome 1st gen bodywork! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted June 8, 2007 Author Share Posted June 8, 2007 does it start up as it sits, or is it dead in the driveway? It doesn't run. Sean got it for free from a co-worker that is now out-of-state. There was a can of engine starter fluid in the car so that makes me think it almost runs and the previous guy was having problems with it. It was a father-son project car but then the father died so the project stopped. That is how Sean got the car for free. I am guessing it has the same problem that my Z had. Fuel lines clogged so engine runs crappy and then it sits because it seems like so many other things are bad too. Since it has a carb that uses low pressure fuel we can probably get it to crank off of a gas can on the fender like I did with the Z. That way we can get the thing to crank without having to worry about the fuel system. There are also vacuum lines from below the carb that are cut or just cracked in half. The first thing I am going to do is put the car on jackstands and orient myself with all of the underside of the car. I'm going to be doing all of the work on the car for him since he works like 55 hours a week and doesn't know much about technical car stuff at all. I hope he can get the monies together for that twin turbo 13B... That would be WAY COOL!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turboboost Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 *cough* Apex Seals *cough* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobythevan Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 Before you spend very much time on it check the compression. check http://www.rotaryresurrection.com for instructions on how to use a piston compression gauge. EDIT: oops two r's one s My engine has good compressoin on the front rotor and bad on the back, it won't start on its own unless you put oil in the rear housing to raise the compression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 first, turn it and see if it builds compression. your compression should be between 95-105 psi, if memory serves. Those 1.1L motors are pretty reliable in NA form, although they only make 100hp. Mazda no longer sells 12a rotor and side housings, so parts are getting scarce. Most common issue with it not starting is it was flooded before. A trick to rotaries is once you get it fired up, it needs to run for about 5 minutes before the next shutoff, otherwise it gets flooded, and the methods of getting fuel out are... not fun. For the project, a best solution is something like this. This belongs to setzep (Cam), who's been of great help to me (from rx7club.com). Long story short, this is almost identical setup to my rotary going into the Z. Same motor (13b-re), mitsu turbo that's very close in specs to my garrett, and on 9-10 psi boost, peaking at 14. (i'll be running 11-12). Same exact fuel setup, same fuel regulator and fuel pump. That's rwhp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted June 8, 2007 Author Share Posted June 8, 2007 Thanks guys! I heard that the son of the father that had died that they cecked compression and one rotor was good but the other one was low. Hmm. I told Sean that it may be better for him to save up his money and we go ahead and just build the turbo motor. That sounds like what is going to happen now. Auxilary: I am going to print those pictures out and show them to Sean tonight. That is Awesome!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
383 240z Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 I put a 350 in mine for about the cost of a 13B rebuild, I did it with hand tools, and a floorjack. I'll pm you the place I got my conversion kit if you want me to. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted June 8, 2007 Author Share Posted June 8, 2007 Sure Keith! I told him we could put in the turbo motor and make good power and then the possibility of doing a V8 swap but that I didn't know ALL that would be involved. I do have a complete video and book on rebuilding an SBC so that isn't out of the question. Thanks Keith! Just send me a PM on where to get it and basic costs of the kit. I'm guessing it would be similar to putting a V8 in a Z... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
383 240z Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 I got mine from http://www.Grannysspeedshop.com I bought the basic kit for the 2nd gen cars. I had my driveshaft made local, and I found that a 85 monte carlo 4.3L a/c rad works and fits pretty good. http://www.torquecentral.com has a v-8 rx-7 subfourum they have a BUNCH of good info there. The headers that I used are for swapping a chevy v-8 into a wrangler I think, (it is in the instructions) I retained the mazda alt, they sell a nice bracket for this. http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/rx7260z/album?.dir=066f&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/rx7260z/album?.dir=172f&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos the first is the pics of my hood scoop the 2nd are the install pics of the motor and how I mounted the rad, some cutting is involved, but it is not that bad at all. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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