New FB33 Owner

[unevolved]

Well, not new owner of the car, but new to this forum.

I've got a 1985 RX-7 GS that was a barn-find of sorts. I was working at a race track last summer, and this car had been sitting in a field for the better part of a decade. By asking the right people the right questions (frequently) I convinced them to sell it to me for $500. The 12A wound up being s***, but that wasn't entirely unexpected.

Here's how it sat since '01.

Not in bad shape. Surprisingly enough, the dash hadn't cracked, and the seals had all held so there was no rust or water damage anywhere.

Since then, I've pulled the old motor out,

Put it in a garage,

Splurged on some wheels (Enkei 92s, 15x7 +7)

Cleaned up the engine bay,

Put in a new motor,

And it's almost back together.

I'm having some trouble getting the Nikki hooked back up right, I have little to no experience with carbs, and I'm having trouble finding people that know what they're doing to help me out.

Eventually, I plan to switch the carb for a pair of Weber 48IDAs, replace the exhaust with some RB goodies, and that should put me pretty close to 200hp at the rear wheels. I plan to spend a bunch of money on the suspension, as I want to build the car up for CSP and ITA. It'll also get repainted at some point down the road, but that's a lower priority than getting it running.

 

[Signal 2]

Great find. Looks like a real solid car. Was there anything salvagable on the old motor? I here good housings are getting hard to find.
Don't know alot about FBs...but since your looking at tracking it, would it be worthwhile to find a GSL SE now for the rear end and brakes?
And I know what you mean about finding people who know their way around carbs. Seems like a lost art of sorts.

 

[unevolved]

I haven't torn apart the old motor, but it looks like I should be able to do that within the next few days.

As far as the rear end goes, I'm looking for a GSL rear end. Same 7" viscous diff, but with the 4x110 pattern I currently have instead of the 4x114.3 of the SE. I know that sounds odd to prefer the 4x110, but I have some wheels I love, and it's not as easy as you'd think to find 4x114.3 wheels in a low offset that look right on the car. These cars just look odd when you put "modern" wheel styles on them.

 

[Signal 2]

I agree with you that the old style wheels look better. IMO, a mistake alot of guys make with those cars.

Again, I don't know much about FBs, so maybe this is dumb, but I thought the GSL-SEs came with rear disc and 5 lug hubs. ???

 

[Boosted FC@mazmart]

I agree with you that the old style wheels look better. IMO, a mistake alot of guys make with those cars.

Again, I don't know much about FBs, so maybe this is dumb, but I thought the GSL-SEs came with rear disc and 5 lug hubs. ???

They were disc, but all 1st gens were 4lug.

 

[Signal 2]

^Gotcha. Did some checking....looks like the GSL and GSL-SE's both had rear disc but with 4 lug wheels. LSDs would also be available on one or both too...no? Maybe another thing to look for the track?
Regardless, didn't mean to side-track the thread.
For sitting outside, that's a damn nice find. Can't believe the interior, especially the dash.
Keep the thread updated as you go on.

 

[Kentetsu]

Looking good man. I installed a GSL rear in my GS and love it. Great mod.

For the carb issues, the best source of info is www.sterlingmetalworks.com

And why would you want to go to dual carbs? Isn't one carb trouble enough for you? Carb (any carb) and exhaust on a 12a will get you close to 150 hp, so I'm thinking your target of 200 might be a bit optimistic. But you will probably find that 150 is more than enough for a lightweight car like this.

I run in CSP, so I have to retain the stock motor (no porting allowed), but carb and exhaust are open to modification. So I have a Sterling carb, RB exhaust and find that I have plenty of power to keep me winning.

But suspension is where its at man. When you go to upgrade, do it right the first time. I started out trying to get by with Racing Beat stuff. But after a year I had to sell it all and go for the real thing. Respeed has the stuff you'll want.

I don't stop by here very often, but I'll try to check in on you from time to time to see how it's going. If there's anything I can do to help, just shoot me a PM. Always happy to answer questions.




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[chiefmg]

GSL-SE cars have different wheel bolt patterns from the rest. So while they are all four lugs you can't interchange wheels. SE's have 114.5 while the rest have the (not so) beloved 110. If you want a greater choice in wheels then change to the SE suspension.

 

[unevolved]

I agree with you that the old style wheels look better. IMO, a mistake alot of guys make with those cars.

Wrd. I can't stand people that put modern-style 17s on these cars, they just don't look right.

For sitting outside, that's a damn nice find. Can't believe the interior, especially the dash.
Keep the thread updated as you go on.

I know, man, that dash was what sold me on it. It wasn't some weird 80's color (like Burgundy, sorry to you or anyone that likes that color), and it's in great shape. I have no idea how. The rest of the body is worn out. The paint's so old it's beyond saving.

Looking good man. I installed a GSL rear in my GS and love it. Great mod.

For the carb issues, the best source of info is www.sterlingmetalworks.com

And why would you want to go to dual carbs? Isn't one carb trouble enough for you? Carb (any carb) and exhaust on a 12a will get you close to 150 hp, so I'm thinking your target of 200 might be a bit optimistic. But you will probably find that 150 is more than enough for a lightweight car like this.

I run in CSP, so I have to retain the stock motor (no porting allowed), but carb and exhaust are open to modification. So I have a Sterling carb, RB exhaust and find that I have plenty of power to keep me winning.

But suspension is where its at man. When you go to upgrade, do it right the first time. I started out trying to get by with Racing Beat stuff. But after a year I had to sell it all and go for the real thing. Respeed has the stuff you'll want.

I don't stop by here very often, but I'll try to check in on you from time to time to see how it's going. If there's anything I can do to help, just shoot me a PM. Always happy to answer questions.

.

Thanks. I have every intention of swapping in a GSL rear down the road, when funds permit and I've got the more important things sorted out. You know, like the carb.

I've looked at the SMW website several times, but they don't seem to have what I need. A large part of the problem is I'm so far out of my element with a carb it's not even funny, so I can't derive a working solution like I can with an EFI system. My two biggest problems right now are the fast idle linkage (don't even know what that does, but I've figured out what it's called, at least) and the accelerator pump linkage. I can't figure out the right arrangement of tiny little springs and nuts to get it to work right. I'm just lost.

I may wind up buying a SMW carb down the road if this one keeps giving me fits, but right now I want to get as far away from a Nikki as possible (hence the Webers).

My goal of 200 was before I thought I wanted to run in CSP and I was planning on porting a motor. I'd still love to do that, but I don't think the car would be very competitive in a Prepared class.

And yeah, I have every intention of writing a fat check to RESpeed when the time comes for a nice big box of toys. Call me a ricer, but some adjustable springs are high up on the list, I just love the way the car looks lowered on those low-offset 15s.

Thanks for the offer. I recognize your name from that "other" RX7 board. I had a thread on there asking for some help with my carb, but never really got anywhere. Bumped it a few times, and no one helped me out. I've been working on other things lately so it's not a big deal, but it was still frustrating. Online boards are usually very helpful.

GSL-SE cars have different wheel bolt patterns from the rest. So while they are all four lugs you can't interchange wheels. SE's have 114.5 while the rest have the (not so) beloved 110. If you want a greater choice in wheels then change to the SE suspension.

One thing I've noticed is unless you're looking at imported JDM wheels (from the Datsun era) 4x114.3 wheels are harder to find in a proper offset for this car. You can find Accord wheels everywhere, yeah, but with the +45 offsets you're going to have trouble fitting enough tire under the car, and it just looks goofy.

 

[Viperx7]

Welcome and congrats on the find.

 

[unevolved]

So I finally got a chance to tear apart my car's original engine... I don't think this one's coming back.

Front housing had some pitting around the edges near the exhaust port.

Rear housing was a little bit worse. Bottom, just before the exhaust port:

Top:

 

[Kentetsu]

Wow! That is in pretty rough shape man. Good luck with the search for a replacement....