Today was a roller coaster. I havent really updated this week and I still suck at taking pictures. But the best news is.....
THE ENGINE IS IN!!!
Yesterday I put together some of the engine bay and took all the masking off. I put the car on the lift and started the rx7 brake conversion. You really need wheel studs for this because the rotors don't bolt up to the hub. Turns out, after waiting 2 weeks for the caliper from advanced, I bought the wrong one. I shaved the mazda logo off but Im gonna use it as a core for the new one i have coming. It should come next wednesday. Also, my wheels don't fit over the brakes. Ill need at least a 5 mm spacer, I may do more to be safe.
It looks good though!!! Reminds me of the earlier porsche 4 pots. There not as light as the wilwood kits but this was half the price.
I dropped the subframe and fixed the coilovers. I was running the ix shocks with shortened housings. I made the crucial mistake of using brass spacers that were nowhere near strong enough. They immedietly crushed under the weight of the car and I had about an inch of play in the strut. It ended up destroying the camber plate bearing on the drivers side. I called Ireland Engineering and they were nice enough to give me the part number for the needle thrust bearing that was destroyed. I wish I have a picture. I made sure to lube the bearings up. I was able to order the bearing from GRAINGER and got it next day with ground shipping. Hell yea.
I unfortunatley couldnt get the brass spacer out, it was crushed in there. Luckily, we had some roll bar sitting around that fits in the strut PERFECTLY!
Coilovers are all fixed. They never rode well because of the play in the strut, so im excited to see how they will perform. At this point every bushing and suspension part is either in good condition or replaced.
Having a lift to put the engine in makes it soo easy. Still took a good 45 minutes to get it in, but its in. The manifold was REALLY close to the strut tower. I tried to put the turbo on, no way. I had to clearance it. It kinda escaped me that I could clock the turbo to make it fit better. I took a hammer to the newly painted strut tower to clearance it. Stupidest thing ive done in the while. All the bondo and paint cracked and went everywhere.
I ended up just cutting that whole section out, clocking the turbo and now it fits.
I also put on the feed line.
Here are better pics of the hole. Im gonna put some mesh on it to make sure the bay doesnt get too dirty but I don't plan on driving the car in the rain anyways. I didn't have any traction before this whole project, I don't see how 500 whp will make it any better.
and from the wheel well
The air filter I planned on using was too big. Like way too big. I couldnt even put it through the high beam hole, as it went right into the core support.
Unfortunately, i was trying to install the WG pipe and I dropped one of the bolts to it. I have NO idea where it went. I THINK it went in the frame rail, but it might have gone into the manifold. I will take the turbo off the manifold next week just to check and make sure nothing is in there. I CANNOT afford to rebuild the motor or turbo at this point.
At the end of the day I got frustrated trying to get the wastegate on with the v-bands. It sits right under the manifold and it was designed for an exact fit. I also think I am missing a V-band clamp. As soon as that is done I will start the exhaust. I am kind of worried that the downpipe is sitting too low. I may cut it and shorten it just a little. It is lower then the rotors!!
Oh, I also installed the 255 fuel pump yesterday. I used the mustang kit. The wires on the stock fuel pump were shitty but i worked with them. I didn't use the hose that came in the kit. The pump is a LITTLE shorter then the e30 so I just made a line a little longer then the e30 one.
Also, If i plan on using studs, I cannot run the bbs rs I have because of adapters. It would be AWESOME if i can find some 4x100 centers to use. Hmm, decisions decisions.
So heres the list right now...
Heres whats left to do
-Weld bung on oil pan and install oil pan
-put together rest of oil return line
-figure out final fitting for the turbo feed- i got it, but i need a restrictor too....
-clean, bondo and paint bay
-valve cover and gasket
-wire the ECU side of the harness- i finished the pinout conversion, now i just gotta do it.
-fix coilovers
-install engine
-fab exhaust
-install different spring in wastegate- using a 7.5 spring. May leave it there and put a boost controller on.
- start up and base tune
-get brackets and install seats. May need to fab up some kind of bracket for the side mounts.
- fab charge pipes
-install WG and figure out all the V-Bands... Shorten downpipe
-find a filter to fit
THE ENGINE IS IN!!!
Yesterday I put together some of the engine bay and took all the masking off. I put the car on the lift and started the rx7 brake conversion. You really need wheel studs for this because the rotors don't bolt up to the hub. Turns out, after waiting 2 weeks for the caliper from advanced, I bought the wrong one. I shaved the mazda logo off but Im gonna use it as a core for the new one i have coming. It should come next wednesday. Also, my wheels don't fit over the brakes. Ill need at least a 5 mm spacer, I may do more to be safe.
It looks good though!!! Reminds me of the earlier porsche 4 pots. There not as light as the wilwood kits but this was half the price.
I dropped the subframe and fixed the coilovers. I was running the ix shocks with shortened housings. I made the crucial mistake of using brass spacers that were nowhere near strong enough. They immedietly crushed under the weight of the car and I had about an inch of play in the strut. It ended up destroying the camber plate bearing on the drivers side. I called Ireland Engineering and they were nice enough to give me the part number for the needle thrust bearing that was destroyed. I wish I have a picture. I made sure to lube the bearings up. I was able to order the bearing from GRAINGER and got it next day with ground shipping. Hell yea.
I unfortunatley couldnt get the brass spacer out, it was crushed in there. Luckily, we had some roll bar sitting around that fits in the strut PERFECTLY!
Coilovers are all fixed. They never rode well because of the play in the strut, so im excited to see how they will perform. At this point every bushing and suspension part is either in good condition or replaced.
Having a lift to put the engine in makes it soo easy. Still took a good 45 minutes to get it in, but its in. The manifold was REALLY close to the strut tower. I tried to put the turbo on, no way. I had to clearance it. It kinda escaped me that I could clock the turbo to make it fit better. I took a hammer to the newly painted strut tower to clearance it. Stupidest thing ive done in the while. All the bondo and paint cracked and went everywhere.
I ended up just cutting that whole section out, clocking the turbo and now it fits.
I also put on the feed line.
Here are better pics of the hole. Im gonna put some mesh on it to make sure the bay doesnt get too dirty but I don't plan on driving the car in the rain anyways. I didn't have any traction before this whole project, I don't see how 500 whp will make it any better.
and from the wheel well
The air filter I planned on using was too big. Like way too big. I couldnt even put it through the high beam hole, as it went right into the core support.
Unfortunately, i was trying to install the WG pipe and I dropped one of the bolts to it. I have NO idea where it went. I THINK it went in the frame rail, but it might have gone into the manifold. I will take the turbo off the manifold next week just to check and make sure nothing is in there. I CANNOT afford to rebuild the motor or turbo at this point.
At the end of the day I got frustrated trying to get the wastegate on with the v-bands. It sits right under the manifold and it was designed for an exact fit. I also think I am missing a V-band clamp. As soon as that is done I will start the exhaust. I am kind of worried that the downpipe is sitting too low. I may cut it and shorten it just a little. It is lower then the rotors!!
Oh, I also installed the 255 fuel pump yesterday. I used the mustang kit. The wires on the stock fuel pump were shitty but i worked with them. I didn't use the hose that came in the kit. The pump is a LITTLE shorter then the e30 so I just made a line a little longer then the e30 one.
Also, If i plan on using studs, I cannot run the bbs rs I have because of adapters. It would be AWESOME if i can find some 4x100 centers to use. Hmm, decisions decisions.
So heres the list right now...
Heres whats left to do
-Weld bung on oil pan and install oil pan
-put together rest of oil return line
-figure out final fitting for the turbo feed- i got it, but i need a restrictor too....
-clean, bondo and paint bay
-valve cover and gasket
-wire the ECU side of the harness- i finished the pinout conversion, now i just gotta do it.
-fix coilovers
-install engine
-fab exhaust
-install different spring in wastegate- using a 7.5 spring. May leave it there and put a boost controller on.
- start up and base tune
-get brackets and install seats. May need to fab up some kind of bracket for the side mounts.
- fab charge pipes
-install WG and figure out all the V-Bands... Shorten downpipe
-find a filter to fit
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