magnumP5's RX-7 Build Thread

BAM!

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Rarely do I get so excited receiving new parts (I was playing with this all Thursday night). This thing is massive, but it's made out of cast/spun aluminum so it weighs nothing! For those familiar with the standard 48 mm IDA carb the runners on this thing are 7 mm greater in diameter. Yep, that's 55 mm each or for those doing the math, 7.365 sq in. of inlet area. These didn't come with any instructions so I'm still playing with the assembly. I still need to install the fuel rail and the throttle pull.

I also got the new rear legs for the roll bar and everything is now bolted in. The passenger's side is still a little higher than I'd like but it's not going to be any better. I just need to drill holes in the rear legs for bolts and everything will come out for strip/paint.

Dress-up goodies came in on Saturday but no pictures yet. Maybe tonight if I can get some work in.
 
Looks good. If there's anything that a rotary likes, it's more air! (Well, fuel too, but you know what I mean).
 
...and you'll still need three more. Is there an LS1 or LS2 in the GTO? The same company makes a variety of LS1 and SBC ITB options.

Work and other things have kept me out of the car. In the meantime here's another picture of the throttle body with the throttle stop and cable pulll set up.

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Awesome! Those things look massive!

Are you going to keep them blue or pull the parts and color match them with your theme? What theme did you decide on anyway?
 
...and you'll still need three more. Is there an LS1 or LS2 in the GTO? The same company makes a variety of LS1 and SBC ITB options.

LS2, but the intake side of the heads is identical to the LS1. WAY out of my price range though.
 
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Spent most of the weekend in the garage. Unfortunately most of it was spent trying to clean out the garage. Since I had no buyers on any of the stock stuff I took it all to a metal recycling facility. 220 lbs of steel/iron, 75 lbs of aluminum, 12 lbs of insulated wire and two catalytic converters all netted me $81 and the garage is still a mess...

Aside from the computer the stock restraint system is completely removed and most of the interior is back together. I test-fitted the roll bar and it still fits, but it's tight with all the b-pillar trim in place. I discovered I can also keep the rear privacy cover if I want. The rear bins are still useable but the lids can't open all the way. I need to order two new a-pillar trim pieces as I've destroyed both of mine at this point.
 
So it's been a couple weeks and I haven't really accomplished anything lately. Funds are kind of low lately. While I've waited for my bank account to recover I've been doing random things here and there. The roll bar was sent out to be stripped and powdercoated and I should have it back tomorrow. Aside from seats and harnesses that is the last major interior component so I've been working to get everything else put back together.

Since I've removed the rear wiper and cruise control I was left with a couple holes in the instrument cluster surround. There are OEM panels that plug these holes but they're NLA so once again I turned to my sheet of .025" aluminum and made some block-off plates. A little primer and paint later and this is what I've got:

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The little rectangular panel blocks off the hole where the rear wiper indicator light was. The roud panel plugs the hole where the knob the controlled the rear wiper was. The last panel is hard to see but it's to the left of the windshield wiper window and that's where the cruise control sat. Doesn't look too bad.

Next I decided to finally finish the center console. The biggest challenge here was finding a way to mount the radio. No in-process pictures here; just the final product:

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It's not perfect but it works for me. I ended up assembling everything like three times. The first time I installed the radio upside-down. The second time I wasn't getting any response out of the gauges when I powered them up so I figured I pulled or pinched a wire. I got everything together a third time and the gauges now responded but only one was illuminating. If I turned on the lights then switched on the power they would all light up, but as soon as I turned them off then on again I'd only get one. My battery is only outputting ~9.5V so I'm really hoping that is the cause and not that my gauges have crapped out.

I should have the roll bar in tomorrow so I can finally bolt the interior back together. Then it's back to the engine bay to wrap up some wiring. I want to get the front bumper back on so I can clear up some more space in the garage. I'll never hear the end of it if my wife has to park outside when it's snowing...
 
No real progress since before the holidays. The intake manifold is still not done and I've basically depleted my funds for this project so I'm limited in what I can do. There's wiring and mounting to be done but I don't have the motivation to sit out in the cold garage to do it. Only update is I've started buying stuff for the fuel system. Maybe I'll have some pictures tomorrow. Here's an idea of some of what is still needed:

$1.5k in engine seals, gaskets, etc.
$1.4k in seats and mounting hardware
$1k in exhaust
$500 in flywheel
$300 in clutch
$300 in harnesses
$200 in braided oil cooler lines and fittings
$200 in braided fuel lines and fittings
$200 in misc. fasteners
 
There's wiring and mounting to be done but I don't have the motivation to sit out in the cold garage to do it.

Amen, brotha...

But damn, that list is expensive... I thought you were the home stretch? We just gotta get the mentality of the Hot Rod guys when a build can take a decade. heh-heh. Regardless, I want to be around when she's done and running. It's gonna be epic. (2thumbs)
 

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