FC Rallycross/Stage Rally/Ice Racer

[~Groll69~]

that was a failure aspect on my build is that i did not take the time or patience to cleance the side seals.  that might be why i burn so much oil

[fidelity101]

my last engine had higher limit for side seal clearance, it eventually would dilute the oil VERY fast with gasoline. tons of blowby and eventually burned oil. BUT one of the side seal springs broke so I had a stuck seal as well.

[toplessFC3Sman]

Well it's great that you're taking the time to do it all correctly, and unfortunate that Atkins can't provide quality parts & service.  I had thought they had a pretty good reputation prior to hearing about your experiences here

[fidelity101]

Well it's great that you're taking the time to do it all correctly, and unfortunate that Atkins can't provide quality parts & service.  I had thought they had a pretty good reputation prior to hearing about your experiences here

I still use their rebuild video. I usually watch theirs and rotary aviation. Slightly different but after a few builds then I see what I agree with and what I don't.

In the words of my co worker "That's why nobody does it right, because its expensive"

[fidelity101]

ENGINE BUILD TIME!



So the engine is finished! Big key thing to note is the s5 NA rotors on the rx8 eccentric shaft. They also utilize the rx8 stationary gears:

These have 3 windows opposed to 1 for oiling. Way nicer for abuse. Much better oil flow.
However to run rear rx8 stat gear you have to either RTV the stat gear at the flange or machine an o-ring slot in. The rx8 rear iron has the o-ring slot whereas in the rx7 engines the o-ring slot is in the rear stat gear. I chose to get the rear stat gear machined to match rx7 condition. I hate RTV and make a mess of it. It was worth the piece of mind.

Be sure to check/set the endplay! .002" was measured. all good .0016-.0028" is spec.

 

Now onto RTV! I mean a mess! I mean mazda competition oil pan baffle. I also utilized banzai racing’s oil pan stud kid which came with studs and flanged nuts. They also sell a brace but I felt that this was good enough. Plus the price difference is huge between the two.

And as a treat to myself I got a BNIB oil pan. They usually rust and get nasty and have bent flanged areas which don’t seal well. This worked out good:



And with that it was time to install the waterpump assembly, I am using an FD radiator cap housing. FC ones are plastic and I have broken or warped a couple. This is all aluminum and much sturdier. Also there is no overflow so I need to use my radiator overflow with the radiator cap on my radiator. No big deal.


Since I had to buy side seals on that last post or so I also went with what I know I need which was a tune up. New OEM cap/rotor and OEM FDspark plugs (FD spark plugs are platinum, highly recommend)


Next up? Onto the clutch and transmission!

[fidelity101]

So the clutch is carry over, I utilize my same t2 aluminum flywheel and my t2 disc but the PP I got a hold of is from an rx8 and inn better shape than my old t2 pressure plate. These parts are interchangeable.
So it went in as ace venture says “LIKE A GLOVE!”


On the old 13b blocks cant use the rx8 trans with the rx8 stock slave cylinder since it hits the oil pedestal. HOWEVER you use the slave cylinder from a 98 acura integra 1.8 GS and viola! It bolts right in and clears.


Price is 15 dollars at oreileys auto parts, part# cs2162
But to keep the angle of the slave cylinder pin flat, you have to shim it. Extra nuts to the strut bearing work great.



ALSO the stock clutch hose has too many male threads on the slave cylinder end, but it reaches no problem.



We are not home yet! Still some issues to tackle but the engine and trans are in and the engine is bolted down on its aluminum mounts:


Here is the difference between the two transmissions. A hole must be cut. If you have an interior or stock dashboard this could be an issue, I do not so no worries:



My mazdatrix T2 driveshaft to NA diff is just a hair too long, off to get shortened! I believe for most people a stock automatic driveshaft would work fine but I need a new yoke and u joints can use some attention.  The automatic driveshaft has the same output yoke as the t2 as is common on the rx8. same diameter and spline count but the shaft is about 1" shorter.


Stock transmount does not go low enough so I had to cut it up, then cut up the poly bushing from my t2 “solid” mounts.




Did a little work on mocking up the custom trans mount, stay tuned.

Big issues to overcome:

1. Correct clutch hose

2. fab trans mount

3. new shift boot/cover misc shifter hole

4. shorten and re balance driveshaft

[fidelity101]

Also to use the rx8 trans you must use the rx8 hardware for the bellhousing. the bosses on the trans are larger than the FC ones so you will never thread anything in. the rx8 starter must be used since the rx7 starter only shares the top bolt. Rx8 start is a 2Kw electric motor while the rx7 one is 1.3Kw. Good upgrade.

[murz]

Great to see all this progress, looking good man! Very interesting build man, keep it coming!

[~Groll69~]

looking good.

[fidelity101]

So I have been lacking in the updates recently. Well I traveled all last week for work so that sucked, didn't get any wrenching in.

A little bit of cardboard and a little bit of thin aluminum and some patience I managed to cut up the stock bracket and mock up something I can turn into a real bracket. So here is the tacked up beast. I used 3/16ths steel. Seems sturdy right? :p



Here is the final product:



My welder friend is a bit of an artists so he put his signature on it (smoky the bear) and added some flare for me lol.

In other news, ITS ALLLLLLLLIIIIIIVVVVVEEEEEEEEE. Here is the traditional 1st start video, well 1st run. Was too busy to get the phone ready for cranking and etc.

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Took some trial and error stabbing the distributor on the RB main pulley but it eventually fired right up. I let it run for about a half hour, check for leaks, only a few (minor) leaks so I'm gonna chalk that up as a win.

1. The plug I made for the factory turbo oil feed location on the front iron does not seal very well. I  may be able to get away with just adding copper crush washer. Factory hardware is banjo bolt anyways for this location...

2. 16psi rad cap on radiator, 13psi cap on t-stat neck. 13psi one does not have bleed off port. Thus leak. I will have to add an overflow port on the FD rad cap housing or go to a higher pressure cap. Griffin radiators lowest PSI for their caps is 16psi :/

3. Heater core outlet to radiator - (hence the t-shirt/rag in video) the outlet on the radiator is closer to 3/4 OD and the outlet on the heater core is more like 5/8ths OD. Right now I am having trouble finding a coupler for this issue.

Other than that I started to aim the headlights and bodywork might even go on later today. All that's left then will be clutch slave line, which I might have found the solution for and should arrive when I return from visiting family for Christmas.

[fidelity101]

Its not quite a rally car yet but its getting there! It still requires some skid plates, cage and and proper fuel/brake lines run along with some other misc safety supplies.

Well everything is hooked up and leak countermeasures are in transit:



bonus points if you can spot the continuity errors but bonus points equate to no monetary value.


Since my radiator cap is 16 psi (and cant get any lower) I had to drill and tap the FD t-stat cap housing for a line for the overflow. I could just make a block off plate for the t-stat neck but I figure mazda put this there for a reason and less pressure on the coolant system can't hurt either. So I drilled and tapped it for 1/8th's NPT, a little thread sealant and some JB weld for safety.

Since I am stuck waiting on parts and I know I got it running, I decided to mount up and get my headlights aimed.



So instead of being outside and pissing my neighbors off, by shinning lights into their house I set the wagon inside with the lights on and marked the position on the garage door as a surrogate and would compare the patterns. Sometimes I opened the door and see how good the beam looked in the distance. They are bright as fuck, without the HB on either...

Next up is to cover up this huge hole from the stock shifter, ran out of time but picked up some thin aluminum and some aluminum rivets, should do the trick nicely and should I need to put a stock trans in again I can easily remove it.



Winter tires are on, exhaust has no leaks now to be gone for the holidays and patiently wait for parts to complete this. When I return it will be just fixing 3 minor leaks, cover shifter hole, trans fluid, body work install and I should be driving this by 1/1/2015!

[fidelity101]

Back from the holidays! Got the leaks fixed, the barb fitting worked, turbo feed properly blocked,



I got some thin aluminum and made a block off plate, added a little RTV to act as a gasket and make less vibration and bolted it to two of the existing holes for the stock shifter bracket, made some additional ones then added 3 rivets for strength (not shown)

Clutch hydraulics came in!


Buy these 2 things and you can convert your inverted flare to -3

ta da!



a little closer



so with all that wrapped up I just need to work on my shift boot so while waiting for that dang shifter plate to come in the mail... Then just bleed the clutch and take it for a spin!





I installed the body work! I'm not really thrilled with the color, it doesn't match at all but I'm not a body work person. Might repaint the front better in the spring time for a weekend project but right now, it is what it is and it looks better than what it was.

Need to add the hood pins and trim the headlight cover on the passenger side. Passenger headlight may/will require some additional adjustment which means removal of the fender but driver side seems to be spot on.

[fidelity101]

Here is the completed new body control module distribution mountain dew center


I also did a little "updating" on the interior, to hide the sharp edges up top and make for better cruising I added the tops of the door panels however they had to be trimmed to fit my dash. Also the trained eye will notice that I have switched to manual operated windows, I have had power mirrors for years but no switch and etc (and it was broken) now it doesn't flop around when I drive and I can see better when I change lanes. ta da



Well my oil cooler mounts were pretty mangled and I didn't feel like ordering them from mazda (45 + shipping est of 15 for both) so from the bracket material I left for the relay box I made my own.



A friend of mine who helped out on the trans mount lent me an arc welder, so I have been playing with that...


I solved my wood shift knob dilema...


just cut the old threads off and weld them onto the new shifter!



learning to weld is fun! Also the metal on this car is so thin I kept burning holes. Anyways remember when I had a flawless road test? I re designed the front skid plate mounts to work much better. Yes I know the oil cooler is crooked but the mounts are sturdy and those lines are preventing me from installing it another way. I will be making my own AN lines for the oil cooler soon though, which then I will correct that issue.


Time to break in the engine so time to add the baller steering wheel back on (too cracked for race use however)



Yes that is a crown royal bag...



Like. A. Sir...

[fidelity101]

After I got all that sorted and buttoned up did a quick clean/organize of the garage. then a friend of mine stopped by to go for a ride

#ebonyandivory

(mostly stock t2)



Now its time to really break the engine in.



Okay thats not the engine but I made chilli because I was going to be driving around the Detroit metro area getting stuck in traffic in this beast then meat (see what I did there?!) up friends and take driving breaks to enjoy chilli.

Here is the breakdown of how to break in a rotary engine, per mazda:



Also when you/should you break down, you got chilli. Its win win.



A locking lid is also REQUIRED...

ASK ME HOW I KNOW!

I managed to put about 200 miles on it this weekend and I drove it to work today, and the carb'd rotary started in 6 degree weather with no issues

[fidelity101]

So the issue I have right now is the choke cable. not sure how to mount it so it functions properly. it seems to be able to pull the choke fine but to disengage the choke it work. Sometimes its the other way around.

Also, well I'll let you see. ( drove it to work today )


The whites don't match at all. I am going to have to better match them come spring/summer time.