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This all starts with a crazy 3,000+ mile (round trip) roadtrip way out of my comfort level to go pick up one of my all time dream cars, a FD rx7. A situation fell into my lap, and long story short this is what a $6500 FD looks like in 2024. I definitely had given up on the idea of getting one with the prices creeping since 2017 or so to near unobtainable levels, so I kinda just dropped everything and made this happen. At this point I had minimal contact with the shop owner where the car was at in Ohio, the current owner had never seen the car in person, the car had to get back to NM in order to get title transferred, and the whole thing was a mystery and generally felt sketchy as well. Why not go for it?
My dad has a sweet van, completely untested on any kind of road trip other than a few trips out of town, so we loaded up and hit the road.
When I first laid eyes on it:
Van camping at Defined Autoworks.
Always fun looking over a car for the first time that you've basically already committed to. Engine bay was a barnicle.
The trip was worth it, got to hang out with my dad (on the right) and his best friend from highschool.
The car came with a rebuilt / built 13b that was never ran. It has a large street port, semi-peripheral ports, scalloped rotors, balanced rotating assembly, exhaust porting, the works. Goopy apex seals. The motor was assembled but picked properly about 4 years go. A project that stalled out
At first the goal was to get it running ASAP, but once I saw the condition of the car, specifically the rusty rear end and subframe the plans changed into more of a mild restoration. Definitely not a full restoration, but just enough to get it up to snuff and put a stop to the rust. Fortunately I live in the desert so just that alone will help put a stop to the rot.
The interior is intact and all there. A big thing on FDs because the interior pieces are stupid expensive.
Pretty neat bumper it came with. Not sure if I'll run it.
Immediately started teardown.
On the lift, here's when I got a good idea of the scope of the rust. Not too bad in the front, a little surface rust. No chassis rot.
Picked up some brand new looking takeoffs from a 1999+ FD bathurst R edition. They were silly cheap on ebay so I decided to give them a whirl. I dig that OEM + kinda stuff, height adjustable, showa shocks. They all are leak free and feel good, we'll see how they ride.
The car came with an exedy stage 2 clutch. Pressure plate is a bit rusty but I'm thinking about running it. The pucks looked a bit thin, but I found the same clutch brand new and they are super thin there as well. No idea what these should look like, please chime in if you have any input here.
Like everything else, lots of rust from sitting.
Picked up a Link G4X PNP for s6 rx7. Pretty psyched on this one, got it for 1/2 off msrp brand new in box off FB marketplace.
Crusty and nasty.
Dropped the tank. Fortunately it appears rust free, since there was premix oil in the tank and ~6 gallons of fuel in it.
Fortunately none of the rot is much past the surface. I did cut a small rotted section out of the lower inner rocker.
Got the car plated right away, it's in my name and official! I guess it's mine now, best keep workin' on it! At first I thought I'd leave the subframe in and work around it, but the rust was bad enough I couldn't do that. Had to drop the subframe and do it right.
Fuel lines were rotted, glad I dropped the subframe!
Don't judge my NB, I haven't cleaned it up for the spring. It's usually the DD once the weather is good, I just leave the top down. Dirt floor garage and everything ends up dusty.
Made this flail contraption to cleanup the rust and scale out of the rear framerails and places I couldn't reach. Again, they are fortunately not rotted but there's definitely surface rust in there. Lots of flailing, rinsing, repearting until I got them clean inside and out.
Post wire wheel mayhem, then hitting the rust and bare metal spots with some ospho (phosphoric acid) rust converter:
Now we're current, so progress will continue from here. General car plans are:
Chassis cleanup / rust delete / paint the underside.
Coat all frame rails, rockers, internal cavities with a rust inhibitor (fluid film). That stuff creeps, covers all the internal surfaces and stops it from rusting by cutting of oxygen and moisture to the rust.
Upgrade diff bushings while it's out, like the miata it's a PPF design so shifting and car feel will greatly benefit from that.. OEM bushings everywhere else appear to be in good shape.
Brake refresh, nothing fancy just fresh rotors, cleaned/pained calipers, braided lines and sport pads.
Stock twin turbos / cooling mods / ECU tuning and reliability mods. Air pump/EGR/OMP delete (pre-mix). Car came with an aftermarket dowpipe, so full 3" exhaust from there.
Basically OEM + style of build (i know, buzzword), but I want to have A/C on this thing and a stereo.
Some good news with the motor. Boroscoped it and it was superrrrrr clean in there, still oiled and greased with assy lube. Lots of fancy stuff done to it, and it sounds like it has good compressions so I'm going to send it and see what happens.
After talking with some of my rotary friends, and the guy who built the motor, it should be fine to run it with the p-ports (peripheral ports) blocked off, AKA the round ports right into the side of the rotor housing. With those open it's effectively similar to having a drag racing cam with insane overlap making it nearly undraivable ton the streets. With the capped off it uses the stock ports (now street ported) and should run fine. Eventually I'd like to upgrade to a huge turbo, run a p port manifold, and have a servo open a butterfly to the p port. Some logic like >98%TPS and > 5000rpm and have it open. Anyways that would be way down the line, assuming this motor runs well and lasts a while.
Man, I don't know why, but something about that BP looks kinda different
Excited to see this build, or as you mentioned, restoration. Glad to see the rust isn't too bad. When you first posted those pics on the other thread I thought it was going to be way worse.
I'll be interested to see your experience with the Link as well. I haven't looked into them too far, but they seem to be more and more popular.
Man, I don't know why, but something about that BP looks kinda different
Excited to see this build, or as you mentioned, restoration. Glad to see the rust isn't too bad. When you first posted those pics on the other thread I thought it was going to be way worse.
I'll be interested to see your experience with the Link as well. I haven't looked into them too far, but they seem to be more and more popular.
I had a buddy tell me to k-swap it, I told him I'd but a BP in it before I did that. But yeah, no plans for a swap here I wanna give the rotary an honest shot, if I can't get it to work or last, the chassis will be clean and already have the ECU to run just about anything I might wanna put in there. I've always been obsessed with the sound and character of the 13b-rew so wish me luck! The one thing I know is that the lines of this car, the chassis and handling, etc. is for me the peak of 90's JDM and I'll keep the car forever.
The rust fortunately is all surface rust, except for a little bit or rot in those rear lower rocker panels. The shop owner told me that it wasn't a rust bucket and he didn't think it had seen a winter. IDK much about cars in that area, but it definitely had a good bit of rust forming, and mostly in the rear where the tires would throw debris, etc. I ran my fiber optic camera through some of the frame rails, rockers, etc. Some surface rust starting there but no rot. All the body panels, rockers, rails are solid, so as long as I can stop (or at least slow to a crawl) the rust that is in there it should be good. I'm no rust expert, I hate the stuff and live in the desert, but I've done a lot of research and decided to not coat the inner frame rails with paint, encapsulators, converters, etc. Instead leave the rust and use a GOOD inhibitor, oil/lanolin based that will wick any moisture out and smother the rust. That stuff also creeps into the pinch welds, etc., so I think when I'm done she should be good to go for the rest of my lifetime. My other cars that I bought with rust the rust pretty much just stops when they get up here to the desert where there's no water in the air (and I garage the car). Any rust belt folks or experts please chime in though, I'm open to other treatments for the internal cavities.
I'm SUPER psyched about the link. @redursidae recommended it, and the local rotary tuners use it too. I'll be having Ricardo help me through this, he's a link expert, and is a master at researching tuning strategies and he's been doing some rotary research. What a friend, I'm thrilled to have him on my team for this project. Will keep you posted on how things go there.
The rust fortunately is all surface rust, except for a little bit or rot in those rear lower rocker panels. The shop owner told me that it wasn't a rust bucket and he didn't think it had seen a winter. IDK much about cars in that area, but it definitely had a good bit of rust forming, and mostly in the rear where the tires would throw debris, etc. I ran my fiber optic camera through some of the frame rails, rockers, etc. Some surface rust starting there but no rot. All the body panels, rockers, rails are solid, so as long as I can stop (or at least slow to a crawl) the rust that is in there it should be good.
In Wisconsin, this car would be basically sold as a "rust free Arizona" vehicle on marketplace lol
Originally Posted by Fireindc
I'm no rust expert, I hate the stuff and live in the desert, but I've done a lot of research and decided to not coat the inner frame rails with paint, encapsulators, converters, etc. Instead leave the rust and use a GOOD inhibitor, oil/lanolin based that will wick any moisture out and smother the rust. That stuff also creeps into the pinch welds, etc., so I think when I'm done she should be good to go for the rest of my lifetime. My other cars that I bought with rust the rust pretty much just stops when they get up here to the desert where there's no water in the air (and I garage the car). Any rust belt folks or experts please chime in though, I'm open to other treatments for the internal cavities..
I've heard nothing but good things about 3M cavity wax aerosol. Application process is relatively simple by lightly cleaning the surface (if possible) then fogging away. I'm sure you won't have this issue, but it helps to apply when its warm outside and the product is warm.
the application wand is useful for hard to reach zones. It also has a 360 degree spray pattern making it ideal for inner frame rails like you are dealing with.
Man, I don't know why, but something about that BP looks kinda different
Excited to see this build, or as you mentioned, restoration. Glad to see the rust isn't too bad. When you first posted those pics on the other thread I thought it was going to be way worse.
I'll be interested to see your experience with the Link as well. I haven't looked into them too far, but they seem to be more and more popular.
The Link G4+/G4X ECUs are a beautiful thing. Their documentation and wiring diagrams are awesome. For me, being able to get a human on the phone and get answers in a pinch is super nice too.
Originally Posted by Fireindc
I'm SUPER psyched about the link. @redursidae recommended it, and the local rotary tuners use it too. I'll be having Ricardo help me through this, he's a link expert, and is a master at researching tuning strategies and he's been doing some rotary research. What a friend, I'm thrilled to have him on my team for this project. Will keep you posted on how things go there.
Yee boiii. I'm super psyched to get started on the FD! Always happy to help, Nate. And grateful that you have trusted me with all of this so far.
Originally Posted by Z_WAAAAAZ
So what I'm hearing is that Ricardo should start a thread for the Link tuning on this thing too then?
Stoked to see what you guys learn about tuning with this thing. Can't believe the cost included the built motor too! What a steal.
When I bought this car I kept telling myself "this isn't a restoration".
And here we are, slow grueling progress. But man, doing this to one of my all time hero/dream cars feels great. Wire wheeling + sanding + ospho to kill the rust + corrosion preventing etching primer + raptor liner. Now I can start cleaning up and re-installing the parts that go into the rear of the car.
The plan is to basically reassemble the rear (cleaning and painting the subframe, tank, etc., all new fuel lines), then move onto the front. The whole thing will be undercoated just like this, going to do it in 3 sections, rear/middle/front.
I haven't been spending as much time on this car lately, trying to re-focus and enjoy the summer (more MTBing and local river trips, etc.)
That said I still get a few nights a week, at least, on the projects.
Subframe as it was:
Post wire wheel cleanup. I didn't pull the axles out, they were pretty tight in there (tried prying them, didn't wanna force 'em), so I just removed the diff mounts and worked around them:
After the Ospho rust converter treatment:
Went with a brush on application of corrosion inhibiting primer, followed by good ole rustoleum:
New bushings:
Not pictures is the hours of cleaning the aluminum bits. They are still a bit pitted and not perfect, but SO MUCH BETTER and totally servicable to me. I also replaced several of the spherical type OEM bushings (not sure what they are called exactly), but they are $120 a pop and there are 8 of them in the rear alone. Fortunately only 2 needed replacement.
Bumper supports cleaned, treated, painted, re assembled, installed:
I should have taken pics before, but all the bolts were SUPER rusty and I was impressed with how they came out. Soaked in evapo-rust for a week or so, cleaned, then soaked in ATF. Gives them this nice flat silver look and shouldn't re-rust.
These were fully rusted, no before pics, but this is after cleaning, treating, re assembly. Lookin fresh.
Tank had some rust around the edges where the soft rubberized coating had peeled and was holding moisture. Cleaned with a wire wheel, treated with oshpo, and pained (not pictured). This tank is clean inside fortunately, NO rust, so that's a win! It's all ready to go back in now.
Next I'm working on finishing up underneath the car so I can re-install everything. Found a few more rust spots in the middle of the car where the seatbelt anchors are, I'll post more of that and the fix once I get it sorted and re-undercoated. The goal is to get the underside all dialed so I can re-install the fuel rails, tank, then subframe (the fuel lines run over the subframe so I'm leaving it out until I have the fuel system back in). Then in theory I'll get to actually start installing the drivetrain and figuring that stuff out.
I should have taken pics before, but all the bolts were SUPER rusty and I was impressed with how they came out. Soaked in evapo-rust for a week or so, cleaned, then soaked in ATF. Gives them this nice flat silver look and shouldn't re-rust.
[QUOTE]
I have been using evapo-rust and am impressed with how well it cleans up hardware, thanks for the ATF tip will try that soon!
Looking good, man! This car is lucky to be owned by someone with your attention to detail.
The before and after pics of that subframe are crazy. Show car status! Lol.
Thanks Zak, that means a lot. I'm not going for show car status, but I am very happy with how everything has come out so far. I really just want everything to be cleaned up back to status quo with no chance of rust coming back in my lifetime so I can enjoy the car. I don't see selling this one ever, so really just trying to get it to a clean starting point for me to rebuild, modify, and enjoy for years to come.
At first I had no idea there was this much corrosion and rust all over the underside, so the plans did change quite a bit once I got it on the lift. I don't know how people in the rust belt do it, just knowing that **** was under there would drive me nuts even if it looks perfect from the outside. I hate rust.
Originally Posted by RedRevolver
I had an FD for 9 years and still miss that damn thing. Glad to see one getting saved!
You say your sticking with stock turbos, are you going sequential or non sequential?
Yeah, stock turbos. I picked up a newer set of OEM turbos from a guy in Las Vegas while I was on a work trip there. They came off his low(ish) mileage JDM import (80k kms) and are in great shape. Much better than the tired ones from the car, and it only cost me $150.
Ideally if I was staying twins forever I'd rather keep them sequential, but I don't have any of the solenoids and I've chosen a ECU (Link g4x) that doesn't control the stock sequential system, so the plan is to simplify everything and run them parallel for now. Goals are ~300whp, or max out the stock fuel system (I'm only doing a walbro 255 + fuel pump rewire kit to fix voltage drop issues), whichever comes first.
Eventual goals for this car are going to be a single turbo setup and ~400whp or so. Similar to how I've built my Miata I'd like to take the power limits on this thing to what the drivetrain can reliably handle so I don't get into gearbox consumable territory, and 400whp out of a 13b isn't really pushing it in that dept either.
The single setup will be a while off, so the idea is to get it running on the stock fuel system and turbo setup, get it tuned, motor broken in, and enjoy it for a year or two before ripping it all a part to go single. The problem with going single on these cars is that it's so damn pricey, and not even just the turbo kit, but the other supporting mods. To go single in addition to the turbo setup ($3-4k for an entry level single), you need to build a mean fuel system ($2k easily), ignition coils ($1k), and other misc stuff it gets pricey quick.
05-13-2024 | 02:59 AM
A feral FD Rx7
4
But yeah, no plans for a swap here I wanna give the rotary an honest shot, if I can't get it to work or last, the chassis will be clean and already have the ECU to run just about anything I might wanna put in there. I've always been obsessed with the sound and character of the 13b-rew so wish me luck! The one thing I know is that the lines of this car, the chassis and handling, etc. is for me the peak of 90's JDM and I'll keep the car forever.
