magnumP5's RX-7 Build Thread

I've got 4 different sizes for those mounts. I'll have to double check the sizes but I'm pretty sure 1/2", 5/8", 7/8" and 1-1/4". We can PM about them so I don't clutter up your thread of aweseomeness and I can send them out ASAP to you for your wiring. No pressure, of course.
 
I've got 4 different sizes for those mounts. I'll have to double check the sizes but I'm pretty sure 1/2", 5/8", 7/8" and 1-1/4". We can PM about them so I don't clutter up your thread of aweseomeness and I can send them out ASAP to you for your wiring. No pressure, of course.
1/2" may work but I may also be interested in some of the larger sizes to better hold down the harness in places (replace the stock zip-tie things).

Blargh, didn't get much done this weekend. We're ~1 week until the supposed arrival of our new additional so most of the weekend was spent doing the final preparations for that.

I got the oil pan and other misc brackets and things stripped and cleaned so they're all ready for paint. I think everything's ready for paint now, but I need the temperature to get above 50 degrees!

I bought some generic drain cleaner to strip the blue anodizing off the TB parts. If this works I think I'll just polish these pieces up a bit and leave them as-is since they're aluminum.

I spent about an hour Saturday half-heartedly cleaning up some of the engine bay. I bought a bunch of M6x1.00 set screws and used them to plug all the leftover, unused holes in the engine bay (secured with blue Loc-tite). I made a modest attempt at cleaning up some of the grime around the passenger's strut tower with some water+dish soap. I need something a little more powerful, but there is paint under all that dirt!
 
That's a really good idea about the set screws. Yet another tip I'll steal from you. The larger clamps look so much better than zipties, as long as you have a 10mm stud somewhere to bolt them to. I can send some down, no worries.

Purple Power from Autozone works really well. I've been using it for a couple years to degrease parts, then wipe them down with rubbing alcohol or spray them with brake cleaner. And I hear ya about it being too cold for paint. I need to paint my battery mount before I can do any work with it. Good thing I can paint in the shop during the winter.
 
SUBBED! I never checked this build out before but I found it to be more exciting than Brian's MP5! Keep it up!
 
SUBBED! I never checked this build out before but I found it to be more exciting than Brian's MP5! Keep it up!
Thanks! I'm nowhere near as meticulous as Brian but it's nice to know someone considers my build thread to be on par with his!

Simple green and call it a day!
I feel like Simple Green has lost it's effectiveness since they went all environmentally friendly. I've been using Purple Power for a while now and it seems to work a little better despite also being "Eco-friendly." Is it bad I go out of my way to by the bad-for-the-environment, chlorinated brake parts cleaner?

Taped up the oil pan and front housing yesterday. The primer requires at least 60 deg F so I haven't been able to start painting yet. In more unfortunate news I noticed the fluid in the clutch master cylinder was low. It didn't take me long to find a small leak coming from the clutch slave cylinder. Even worse, when I unbolted it from the transmission the thing exploded on me. I must have hyper-extended the piston at some point when I was working under the dash. I'm not sure if they're rebuildable but now I'm wondering if I should just go ahead and replace the brake and clutch masters and clutch slave cylinders outright. What's another $400?
 
Jon be sure that the parts are warm before you paint them. If they are in a garage at 50 degrees overnight if it gets up to 75 at noon those parts will still be cold and you may have drying and gloss issues. Take them inside overnight to be safe.
 
Jon be sure that the parts are warm before you paint them. If they are in a garage at 50 degrees overnight if it gets up to 75 at noon those parts will still be cold and you may have drying and gloss issues. Take them inside overnight to be safe.
I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the advice, Larry! I got the center housing taped up last night and I hope to get the rear finished tonight. These things are taking me on average 1.5 hours per housing! I'm masking off all sealing surfaces and all surfaces "internal" to the engine like those above the oil pan. I don't want paint affecting and seals or chipping off and getting into the oil or coolant systems.

Yes definitely change everything all together...
Apparently I can get all three parts for $200 so it's not that bad. It's not going to be fun bleeding all these things.
 
Yea, I replaced the clutch master and slave and soft line all at the same time, and it took over an hour to bleed (plus it was 28*F out) but that was mostly because I couldn't find my mighty vac.
 
Yea, I replaced the clutch master and slave and soft line all at the same time, and it took over an hour to bleed (plus it was 28*F out) but that was mostly because I couldn't find my mighty vac.
Did you bench bleed the master ahead of time? I also have one of those pressurized bleeding kits. When the car was running it literally took me <30 minutes to bleed all four corners. I never tried it on the clutch though.

So after reading the Plasti-dip thread I'm considering "dipping" the whole RX-7 when everything's done. There are whole "car kits" out there for ~$300, which is substantially cheaper than even a cheap paint job or wrap. It's also easy to repair/replace if damaged on track. I've seen black, white, red, blue, yellow, and green colors but I've only seen black, white, and red for sale. Thoughts? I'm thinking white or yellow would be pretty interesting.
 
I'm not sure, but I'm feeling yellow. But are you going to do the engine bay too?
 
Re: engine bay

I just posted in the plastidip thread that heat tends to make it not peel off as it would on exterior body panels. Granted it was on wheels of track cars, not sure what temps they see exactly..
 
Did you bench bleed the master ahead of time? I also have one of those pressurized bleeding kits. When the car was running it literally took me <30 minutes to bleed all four corners. I never tried it on the clutch though.

I didn't bench bleed it cause I didn't have the tools I needed.
 
I'm not sure, but I'm feeling yellow. But are you going to do the engine bay too?
Nope, not in the engine bay. Too much crap to mask off and removing it would be a pain. It wouldn't be a permanent thing but it would hopefully make the car look a little better than the faded red it currently is. Assuming the stuff doesn't weigh a ton it would be fun to change things up/make fun designs every year.

I'm leaning toward yellow or white because they aren't very common colors you see on FC's.

Re: engine bay

I just posted in the plastidip thread that heat tends to make it not peel off as it would on exterior body panels. Granted it was on wheels of track cars, not sure what temps they see exactly..
See above. Not going to mess with the wheels either. The design of the RPF-1's would make them a nightmare to coat. Plus I don't know how well Plasti-Dip takes to brake dust. HP+ pads dust like crazy!

I didn't bench bleed it cause I didn't have the tools I needed.
LOL, a vice and a screwdriver? I think you can buy bleeding kits at most auto parts stores. IIRC it's just a couple plasitc fittings and some tube.
 
No vice, and I had the whole thing apart before I knew I was missing tools.

Also, why plasti-dip, why not use a truck bed liner paint.
 
Well, if you'll be changing colors on the exterior why not paint the engine bay a neutral color while you still can? Maybe an hour or two masking things off and you can paint the whole thing before it gets too cold. It should be nice this weekend. I would just hate to see such a beautiful build and car only to pop the hood and see a faded red engine bay. But then again, it's not a show car. Because Race Car.
 
I will cast my vote for white too. If the engine bay is pretty free of scatches and what not, then you could leave it red and use the factory exterior color as an accent with the other color (white) and it won't look so odd to have the red under the hood. Does that make sense?
 
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