datsunlover Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Well, I havn't been on in a while.. Spent the last 8 months or so working on my house and working 5-6 days a week at the day job (so I could afford the house renos.. ) But about two weeks ago I decided I needed a vacation of sorts.. more of a 'stay-cation' really.. I didn't go anywhere except the garage (which has new siding, soffit, facia and a nice new r12 roll up door now!) and went to town on my 85 RX7. Readers digest condensed version: 7 years ago, I bought this car, and with very little knowlege or skills, (no wleder or air tools, just a sawsall and brute force and ignorance) slaped in a crusty 305, made it work, and drove it for about 6 weeks.. afterwhich, I ah.. ahem.. had to 'hide' the car we'll say.. local law enforcement.. *cough* you know.. so eventually, I sold it. 4 years later, I found it in a neighbring town, and bought it back. Didn't have time, money, ect, so I sold it to a friend. (who helped me build it in the first place) but for the next two years, it sat rotting in his yard. He made a few attempts to get it going, but failed (and messed it up more in the process.. ) so last year, I bought it back AGAIN.. (And the ownership is STILL in my name! ) It was missing all the exhast, the wiring was shorted out/burned, and the motor was junk. The poor thing spent ANOTHER year sitting, in MY back yard.. So I decided it was time to do it right... Two weeks ago, I pushed it into the shop (heh heh.. it's cool that I have a shop now!) and started instaling all the goodies I've been collecting/hanging onto for the past few years; -350 4 bolt I got through a deal (guy owed me money, I needed a motor), fully rebuild .040" over, big valve heads, 480/280 cam, about 9:1 c/r, 'K' rods (?), otherwise stock. 'ram horn' manifolds, HEI dizzy and quadra bog carb.. for now. -350th w/stock camaro floor shift (I had it, so it's what I'm using for now) -Howe racing rad, 4 core aluminum -tach, oil and temp guages.. cheep aftermarket white face, but they look good and work. Basicaly, I've spent about $300 total.. tune up stuff (cap/rotor/ plugs, ect) and a bunch of exhast pipes from a junk yard that I cut up and welded into a custom 'y' pipe and full exhast system, complete with a cherry bomb 'turbo' muffler. (slaped a chrome tip on it, looks stock/hack-tastic) Filled all the fluids, doble checked all the clamps and electrical, and after a minor issue with timing (180* out.. ) it fired right up! Smoked out my shop, driveway, back yard, and prety much the whole street for about 20 minits.. It was cool. It left 2 black marks on the floor as I backed it out.. and that was just droping it into gear! (high idle, bad brakes.. must do something about that!) Nothing exploded, no major leaks, no fires.. It's almost like I know what I'm doing now! The only unfortunate thing now, is that me and the girlfriend have a campsite booked for this week, so the car is back outside again under a tarp till I get back next week end.. I didn't want the Z left in the driveway while I was out of town, you know.. Hopefully I'll be able to drive this thing for what's left of the season. Anyway, this got really long.. and I need to sleep now.. I'll try to get some pics of the beast when I get back. Later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete84 Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 Sounds great! How strong is the rear diff on those RX7's? How does the IRS compare to say, the ZX's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted August 13, 2007 Share Posted August 13, 2007 The only unfortunate thing now, is that me and the girlfriend have a campsite booked for this week, so the car is back outside again under a tarp till I get back next week end... Man, make the car a priority. I know at least two guys who would love to take the GF out camping for you and let you work on the car at home in peace. Sounds good, no? When you can, post some pics of the RX7 and the swap. I think they are a cool platform and are still relatively cheap to find. Sounds very cool. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexideways Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 Sounds great! How strong is the rear diff on those RX7's? How does the IRS compare to say, the ZX's? It's an 85, it doesn't have an IRS, it's a solid axle. The IRS only started on the FC in 86... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted August 19, 2007 Author Share Posted August 19, 2007 Well, I'm back.. I actually got back two days ago, but no sooner had I drove the beasty in to start 'playing' again, and I had a neibour walk into my back yard and get on my case about weeds/trees/vines growing and killing her hedges (beside my fence) blah blah bla...seriously, this crazy old bird just walks onto my property (from the side yard where there was no gate), suprises the heck out of me by appearing in my back yard, and then TELLS me I 'have' to cut those trees down, and pull those weeds, and 'you gota get this stuff cleaned up kiddo' or 'the by-law will come and charge you'.... (yes, I took that as a threat.. and I don't take kindly to that) She is very pushy and wants me to get rid of all the trees.. but interstingly enough, they're growing from HER side of the fence, THROUGH my fence, and up... Guess her hedges were in the way, so the trees found another route. Oh, but she has already sprayed some sort of 'killer' in the corner, and what was all green is now DEAD. I'm talkiing the trees, brush, and even grass in the corner of my yard is now BROWN. Niot to mention a few trees she reached OVER my fence to chop off... SO, The last two days have been rather buisy, cleaning up the mess in my back yard; various wood/building materials, a few car parts here and there, and general yard care.. (I'm assuming she's already called, and the by-law will be showing up to 'have a look' very soon..) so not that I was doing it because she said so, but I want to cover my but. Oh yes, and I also build a nice little gate in the side yard, so hopefully 'people' will get the hint and stop trespassing. And damed if I'm cutting any trees down! Personaly, I like them! Whew... Anyway, I finaly got back to the car tonite and ripped the front suspension/brakes apart, so with any luck I could have it drivable by next weekend.. Also found a nicer cowl/scoop for the hood, so I'll try to get that done this week too. And yes, this has a solid rear axle (factory 4 link setup) BUT: I have a chev '10 bolt' (8.8?) rear end swaped in, mainly for gear ratio changes. (and cheep drum brakes) The stock RX7 rear end would handle the power (in most cases) but the 4.11 gears would have the poor 350th SCREAMING just to do a reasonable highway cruise. Currently, it is an open 3.73 diff which should work ok, and I'm looking into a posi unit or maybe a locker.. I'll see if the girlfriend has uploaded the camping pics/vids from her camera, and if so I can get som shots tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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