Garee the snail's build thread

[lil_red_wagon]

For those of you who don't know my car (garee), it's a 1987 rx7 turbo II with 82k miles and all of it's major original parts. It has been through a couple of small builds (engine management, fuel system, etc.) But I think that it is about time to go with a full-on build for my car. There have been a few bugs worked out and a few left over to work out but the limited aftermarket for an s4 turbo is really getting to me. The plan is a motor swap, paint inside and out, new interior, new suspension, full stand-alone, new turbo, and some other random parts.

This build is probably going to take me a couple of years and the cost estimate is ridiculous, so don't ask. I will be keeping this thread on topic, which means occasional editing. Stay tuned to get some helpful info and maybe even some ideas.

 

[MS Pro Codriver]

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?!

 

[magnumP5]

Going with a S5 13BT or something along the lines of 13B-RE or REW? What's the condition of your current block?

S4 turbo motors are good for N/A builds

EDIT: I know what you mean about the costs - I have a spreadsheet with several different paths laid out and they're all quite depressing money-wise

 

[lil_red_wagon]

Well expensive or not, this is the build I have wanted to do for a while, so I am going for it.

I'm planning a 13b-RE swap on the motor. I was going to combine my parts of my motor and the irons and upper of the RE, but I have to get the long-block to do that anyways, so I might as well just do a full RE swap.

Trans is probably going to be a ford T-5 swap or a cryo treatment and rebuild on my stock TII. Drivetrain will be a very thorough build so that's why I'm expecting it to take so long.

 

[lil_red_wagon]

little update. it has been a while, but i came to a new conclusion on my build. this is going to be a frankenstein motor now.
here is the bill of materials;
rotating assembly (rotors, e-shaft, etc.) - s4 turbo
irons - RE
housings - s5 turbo
intakes - RE
throttle body - s5 turbo
injectors - high impedance, 750 prim. 750 sec.
engine management - s5 RTek 2.1

details like the turbo and trans are still undecided. probably going with a bnr hybrid turbo or something with a t4 footprint, if i can find a cast manifold.

i changed my mind on a full RE swap based on the fact that management will be 4 times as much and won't net me a ridiculous amount of power per dollar in comparison. i'm looking for a good body shop around here to do a full body-off paint job. i have come up with nothing in that area and all but decided to paint it myself. guess i'm a little too picky in that area. we will see what comes of that.

no one seems to want the parts that i have for sale locally. they all wanted them before they went up for sale though.

 

[magnumP5]

^^^ Where does that leave you as far as mounting the engine? S5 housings so should bolt up like stock?

FWIW, these are unibody cars so there really isn't anything such as a "body-off" procedure Unless of course, you are referring to pulling every body panel off to be painted separately. A paint job is something my S5 needs badly...

 

[lil_red_wagon]

stripped to the ground and all parts painted separately with the body on a rotisserie so that the bottom could be painted. i want the entire finish from 87 to be removed before i put a new finish on.

as far as mounting, i will use the mounts from banzai for the RE swap. IIRC, the fc oil pan won't fit, so i will have to use the pan from the RE with the mounts in the irons.

 

[mymmeryloss]

y not the rx8 eccentric shaft?

 

[magnumP5]

So what are you going to be doing with the S4 TII housings and irons?

 

[lil_red_wagon]

The rx8 e-shaft is a good idea on paper, but I'm not 100% convinced that it's worth my investment. That kind of investment could be reserved for some other forced induction goodies. The irons and housings have no fate as of yet. I will be buying another extra motor as soon as I get some time off of work, so I will have more extra parts after the build. I will be stockpiling parts for a while before I start the build.

Been working 80-100 hour weeks lately, so there's not much time for the car right now.

 

[mymmeryloss]

u must be in the oilfield if ur putting in those kinds of hours...

 

[lil_red_wagon]

Yep. Inspection for new construction jobs in the subsea oilfield.

 

[lil_red_wagon]

Looks like work is going to be getting even more busy rather than slowing down. We have an out-of-town project coming up and I may or may not be going. Even if I don't go, there will still be many more weeks locally of 80-100 hours due to everyone else leaving.

Got a lead on a built motor but the guy is still trying to sell the car whole instead of parting it out. I think that I can wear him down though. Still looking, when I can, at paint shops. Not many impress me, so I will just end up going with one that I know. They are slow and expensive, but I know that they will do it right.

 

[mymmeryloss]

slow and expensive on body work and paint isnt really a bad thing...

what company do u work for?

 

[lil_red_wagon]

Currently, fugro consultants. Most other places are kind of slow right now. Fugro is keeping me busy though.

The price on the paint isn't too bad. It's a little above the average rate, but I know their work personally. I know that I can bring them a stripped-down roller and they will blast and paint every little nook on the body. I will probably do parts of the interior while it's at paint. As soon as I can strip it down, it will be at the body shop.

 

[mymmeryloss]

u gonna have it media blasted?

 

[lil_red_wagon]

They do it at that body shop. Another reason that I want to go there. Saves me having to drive all over town to get blasting and paint done separately.