Project FD RX-7

[Goodspeed]

If only I had the mechanical fortitude to take care of it like I should. Are you planning to track/autocross this at all or is this going to be a cruiser?

99% street car, autocross yes (casually), track never.  

Will do on the wrench day planning if much happens here in this area.  I'm thinking what'll eventually happen is I'll have enough parts to fill a truck bed, and I'll need to beg/borrow/steal a MM'ers truck and trailer, or arrange shipping again to get the car and everything with it to one of the shops that I have in mind - that could be as far as the NYC area (I'm not sure how commercial auto transport works with extra parts...).  Definitely way early, but welcome ideas regardless.

Road trip. Joey, you in? My 4runner is pretty comfortable inside.

Awwww yisssss cuuuuhhhhhhhh  

[Goodspeed]

She passed her one and only emissions test before becoming a classic this morning, thank Jesus, Allah, Yahweh, any and all of 'em:



I'll continue with my goal here of repping good businesses for all of you to be aware of - this was done at Hogan & Son's in South Riding, VA and they were class acts.  This was the third shop I've visited in as many weeks to get the emissions inspected, and for various reasons they were the only to come through in the end.  Not only did they come through, but the manager asked his staff to be present to hold the car steady on the rollers, or if need be, squish themselves between the car and the various blunt objects of the tight test-bay confines.  They also wrapped the interior in plastic just for this which, mah hart...mah sole.....touched me.



Seriously, this was a huge load off and everyone there was super accommodating and chill about it, and went that little extra distance to make sure I was happy.  They just put the "customer service" back into....customer service....that had been lacking from some recent shop visits, so right on.  Safety inspection is forthcoming, and then I'm free to fiddle on to my heart's content.



Speaking of fiddling, yay for more extremely-not-overnight parts from Japan!  The last bit of intercooler plumbing showed up today, the GReddy throttle-body elbow.  With this last piece of the puzzle (and the only piece of my particular setup still available new), all forced-induction plumbing on the car will now be all-metal.  I had earlier sourced a long-discontinued GReddy SMIC (stock-mount-intercooler), and separately some used GReddy piping to re-build a period-correct and well-regarded offering - GReddy had since gone on to build various FMIC's and currently a pretty rad V-mount IC/Radiator combo, but I'm more than happy to now have a complete setup that will keep some level of "OEM look" to the engine bay.





I put in some elbow grease on the intercooler core, but I plan to drop all the pieces off at a true wizard to have them done properly



Not pictured, but for the hot-side of the plumbing, I picked up a JDM Efini Y-pipe & metal crossover tube, which was a better design from the later-year FD's in Japan.  Smoother flow and ridding of the most troublesome plastic tubing of the OE USDM setup is a win-win.  Here's someone else's pic:



The crossover tube will be polished as well to ultimately tie everything together into one good lookin' whole:

[JPolen01]

Polished piping, manifold, alternator, etc combo has to be my favorite part of looking under the hood of FDs. Some engine bays pull it off better than others and these certainly do.

[ScottyB]

Polished piping, manifold, alternator, etc combo has to be my favorite part of looking under the hood of FDs.

gotta make it bright so you can see that lil' baby engine in there 


looks awesome Goodspeed.  the period correct thing is a super cool angle to take and i really respect the work it probably takes to source all of that stuff.  its one thing to have a time capsule but another thing entirely to reliably modify a car with old aftermarket parts that don't look like they were cobbled together over the course of 15 years.

[Senor_Taylor]

Polished piping, manifold, alternator, etc combo has to be my favorite part of looking under the hood of FDs.

gotta make it bright so you can see that lil' baby engine in there 


looks awesome Goodspeed.  the period correct thing is a super cool angle to take and i really respect the work it probably takes to source all of that stuff.  its one thing to have a time capsule but another thing entirely to reliably modify a car with old aftermarket parts that don't look like they were cobbled together over the course of 15 years.

Yes, this. I would expect no less after reading his wonderful post about Supra exhausts.

[Goodspeed]

Polished piping, manifold, alternator, etc combo has to be my favorite part of looking under the hood of FDs. Some engine bays pull it off better than others and these certainly do.

I do love that same look, but probably won't be going as overboard as that guy - I'd like to powdercoat a few things like the IM and some brackets, tanks etc. an OEM-ish satin silver however just to make them look like new.

gotta make it bright so you can see that lil' baby engine in there   


looks awesome Goodspeed.  the period correct thing is a super cool angle to take and i really respect the work it probably takes to source all of that stuff.  its one thing to have a time capsule but another thing entirely to reliably modify a car with old aftermarket parts that don't look like they were cobbled together over the course of 15 years.

Thanks Scott, the for-sale sections of RX7Club are healthier than most forums I've come across so I've really just been fortunate to stumble on a series of posts and be the first to jump on them.  I totally feel you on keeping a theme and thankfully with my fairly modest plans for the car it's not too hard to stay on track.

Yes, this. I would expect no less after reading his wonderful post about Supra exhausts.

[.RJ]

For things like brackets and bolts you can get them re-plated like new.

[GTBrandon]

Subscribed because these cars are still so curiously cool to me. Would love to come check out in person over the winter if it isn't locked away in a shop. Not sure how much will be wrenched on yourself versus shop but if you need any help, I'll be there to message Dr. Nut and then pretend to know what I'm talking about

[Goodspeed]

Subscribed because these cars are still so curiously cool to me. Would love to come check out in person over the winter if it isn't locked away in a shop. Not sure how much will be wrenched on yourself versus shop but if you need any help, I'll be there to message Dr. Nut and then pretend to know what I'm talking about

Any time, the car will likely be with me over much of the winter - there's a NoVA MM gathering I put together for Saturday, November 4th to attend Katie's Cars & Coffee if you're able to make it, otherwise just let me know when you're in town.  I'm doing little odd jobs here and there - fixing an exhaust leak this week and next is the trans output seal - but the aforementioned bigger jobs will be left to a rotary shop due to "while you're in there..." creep when the drivetrain gets pulled.

[GTBrandon]

I think my car will be in the shop getting body work and other tid bits fixed up that weekend but I’ll be happy to drive the rental down and show it off for Katie’s lol. Who else is going out for that?

[Senor_Taylor]

I'll invite you to the FB event.

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[GTBrandon]

I'll invite you to the FB event.

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Turns out I work that Saturday night but might be able to make it in the AM depending on when I go to pick my car up from the body shop.

[Goodspeed]

One last update for 2017 - I'm nearing the end of collecting parts for next year's hopeful restomodding; there's still a few items on the list (dual oil cooler kit, suspension bits, etc.) but I'm well past the halfway point.  Mildly exciting in its own right - I'm definitely looking forward to just driving, with all the planning, costs, etc. of the process behind me.  I often get the "they're never done" sentiment from people when I talk about the car but nope! I'm totally of the mind that there is a clear finish line in place here and any progress is much welcomed.

Checked off the list are a few items thanks to BF sales - I ordered an ACT clutch with the full-face HDSS ("Street/Strip") disk to replace the dumb 6-puck that's installed currently from the PO.  It's basically the default clutch for a street-driven FD with uprated twins or a small single kit, with a torque rating of 402 ft-lbs and a pedal that's supposedly mildly more effort than stock.  I envision this should make the car immensely more pleasurable to drive in traffic:



On the braking front, I just received some EBC RK-series rotors, and Carbotech 1521 street pads front & rear.  The only thing left is some stainless brake (and clutch) lines and that should wrap things up there.

A few other bits - I've changed up my plans for instrumentation in keeping with the subtly-modified route; instead of having a full suite of new-age looking gauges out in the open, I decided to purchase an old-school VDO boost gauge that is damn-near identical in typeface to the factory gauges:



This will be the only exposed gauge in a single Autometer A-pillar mount; the other instrumentation will be a combination of a Ballenger AFR500 wideband display and a matching red, digital water temp gauge that I plan to hide in the DIN pocket beneath the head unit.  With the way the center dash angles towards the driver, it's actually a very convenient, visible location to mount them and they can be hidden out of sight when not being monitored by the pocket cover.

Another bit of tech I picked up off the forums is a HKS Twin Power ignition amplifier.  These were somewhat recently discontinued by HKS - it seems many Japanese performance cars including the FD now have plenty of full-replacment ignition kit options out there using uprated coils and the like - but this bit of older-school tech is proven to actually make very healthy power on the FD by helping the weak-ish factory ignition system keep up its end; dyno plots have shown a 15-20rwhp increase (!) on full bolt-on FDs when properly tuned to account for its addition.



On the aesthetics side, the only real sore spot on the interior is a gauge hood dome that is cracked near the base of the windshield - FD interior plastics were fragile from the start, and vibration, the sun, and time have not been kind to many a FD gauge hood and lots of them are cracked by now like mine.  Unfortunately, the '94/'95 cars received "upgraded" plastics that were a different texture than '93's, and they're now no longer available and unobtanium (~3800 '94/'95 cars vs. ~9000 '93's).  You can still buy a '93-finish gauge hood new from the dealer for a ton of money, and hope that it doesn't crack on you.  So, I instead ordered a replacement in dry carbon that I plan to have upholstered in some fashion (thermo-formed vinyl would be cool) to match the original finish as closely as possible.  When the interior is apart for this, I’ll line any joints and seams that I can with material to prevent any squeaks & rattles in the future.



A neat touch that I had to jump on the group-buy for is a set of matching drilled aluminum gas and dead pedals from Levy Rotor Corporation to match the “world’s lightest brake pedal”.  A nice, subtle little addition that I look forward to receiving.





Finally, I embarked on a search for a head unit that wouldn’t break the bank, and would look near-as-possible like it belonged in a 90’s interior.  I can’t believe how more audio manufacturers haven’t caught on to the fact that their space-invader offerings look totally out of place in many cars that are still on the road to receive a single-DIN head unit.  A Reddit post turned me on to the vaunted early-00’s Nakamichi CD700 - the 700 now referring to what it costs to buy a new-in-box unit, if you can find one.  Blaupunkt had some decent options too, but thankfully Clarion seems to know what’s up (their “Clarion Builds” 90’s cars definitely help their case) and for about $80 I got my hands on their FZ-105BT that was recommended in the same thread.  I think this’ll be plain enough to fit in nicely without clashing or drawing too much attention to itself.

The Fikse’s are currently in the process of being refinished, and when they return they should play host to a set of 235/45/17 & 255/40/17 Continental ExtremeContact Sport tires.  I’m really, really looking forward to getting off the sketchy, ancient tires the car came with (I haven’t trusted them with more distance than a drive to Leesburg, and anything above 80mph is not fun).



Speaking of sketchy, as I’ve gotten more used to the car, I’ve noted some general wear and sloppiness lurking beneath the still-impressive taut steering and low-speed agility.  There’s a floatiness at speed, and a general lack of solidity in the rear of the car that will be from all accounts greatly diminished by a set of Pettit Racing “Street durometer” poly diff mounts that I have on the shelf.  Many have called them the single best/most required mod for the FD, so I have high hopes for them.

On the suspension front, factoring in my needs and budget, I think the winning setup will be a set of BC Racing BR coilovers that are valved for Swift springs in 8k front, 6k rear.  That should be more than enough spring rate for a street/casual auto-x car, and the rates will match up well with Racing Beat front & rear sway bars to offer a neutral handling balance once everything is sorted out.  Not a high-zoot race suspension by any means, but an offering that’s solidly well-reviewed by folks who just need to hit the twisties now and again.

That…was a much longer post than I planned, but fitting I suppose as the car is now stored for the winter as of this past Sunday.  Looking forward to what next year brings!

[.RJ]

Finally, I embarked on a search for a head unit that wouldn’t break the bank, and would look near-as-possible like it belonged in a 90’s interior.  I can’t believe how more audio manufacturers haven’t caught on to the fact that their space-invader offerings look totally out of place in many cars that are still on the road to receive a single-DIN head unit.  A Reddit post turned me on to the vaunted early-00’s Nakamichi CD700 - the 700 now referring to what it costs to buy a new-in-box unit, if you can find one.  Blaupunkt had some decent options too, but thankfully Clarion seems to know what’s up (their “Clarion Builds” 90’s cars definitely help their case) and for about $80 I got my hands on their FZ-105BT that was recommended in the same thread.  I think this’ll be plain enough to fit in nicely without clashing or drawing too much attention to itself.

This is my favorite part of your post.  This is gonna look killer.

I had an old Nakamichi head unit in my old E36, it looked great, dead match for the factory gauges and sounded great - whenever I relive my 90's dreams I'll have to find one.  I hate the space invader offerings too and I'm pretty happy with the 'BMW Professional' audio in my cars now - they're simple and dont look so cluttered.

I also hate nav screens and automatic transmissions so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Goodspeed]

This is my favorite part of your post.  This is gonna look killer.

I had an old Nakamichi head unit in my old E36, it looked great, dead match for the factory gauges and sounded great - whenever I relive my 90's dreams I'll have to find one.  I hate the space invader offerings too and I'm pretty happy with the 'BMW Professional' audio in my cars now - they're simple and dont look so cluttered.

I also hate nav screens and automatic transmissions so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Yeah man, Clarion is coming out next year with an even better looking one, the M508.  That's gotta be reason enough for you to pick up DJ's E36 

[.RJ]

That's gotta be reason enough for you to pick up DJ's E36   

I was looking at E30's the other day then remembered I dont have a garage and DJ is moving

[Senor_Taylor]

That's gotta be reason enough for you to pick up DJ's E36   

I was looking at E30's the other day then remembered I dont have a garage and DJ is moving

NO. IT'S NOT FOR SALE RJ. I WONT SELL YOU MINE NO MATTER HOW MUCH MONEY YOU THROW AT ME.

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[ScottyB]

i'm eating up these period correct mod bits. such a cool mini-story within the build. that ignition amplifier brings back soooo many memories of how RC electronics used to look in the 90's, which i love.

it might be worth your time to check out Isspro gauges as well. they make a very plain, all business face on their gauges that could be a match if you can't find VDO for certain needs. Chan turned me on to those and i had a boost gauge of theirs in my A4. decent unit.

good call on the coilovers. no need to get into some kind of intense track-level dampers if you just want to tie the car down a bit better and enjoy it. that'll be a good day, and probably bring out a whole new level of appreciation for the legendary handling those things have.

[Goodspeed]

i'm eating up these period correct mod bits.  such a cool mini-story within the build.  that ignition amplifier brings back soooo many memories of how RC electronics used to look in the 90's, which i love.

it might be worth your time to check out Isspro gauges as well.  they make a very plain, all business face on their gauges that could be a match if you can't find VDO for certain needs.  Chan turned me on to those and i had a boost gauge of theirs in my A4.  decent unit.

good call on the coilovers.  no need to get into some kind of intense track-level dampers if you just want to tie the car down a bit better and enjoy it.  that'll be a good day, and probably bring out a whole new level of appreciation for the legendary handling those things have.

Whoa, you just gave me some righteous throwbacks to my RC car days - you're right, it totally looks like an overgrown ESC or something.  Neat!  Also, I'm kind of jealous - the VDO partly sold me for the glorious "BOOST" on the face, but I see those Isspro's have "TURBO BOOST"....dammit. Next time.

I'm hoping so on the coilover front, but nothing is set in stone at this point.  Suspension options for the FD are actually kind of strange - if you want to do simple springs and shocks, a new set of rubber top mounts & bumpstops (OEM/dealer sourced is your only option) to replace the perished 20+ year old originals is (drumroll please) $200+ per corner, so everyone gets coilovers.  And almost all of the available options are from Asian manufacturers that spec super high spring rates w/ sometimes questionable dampening.  BC is the only one that doesn't totally immolate the wallet while also offering custom rates and re-valving when you spec Swift springs, the combo of which seem to get great reviews from many.

The only other option out there that I've been considering are Ohlins if the budget allows, they have pretty high rates but apparently the valving can deal with them, offering up a nice "euro" feel for subpar roads.  They too can be custom specced but then we're talking possibly 2x the cost of the BC's, so we'll see what shakes out.

[.RJ]

Does Koni offer shocks for the car?