Jump to content

Pandemonium: 1985 Savanna RX-7 GT turbo "banana"


0R10N

Recommended Posts

I managed to solve the clampdown rail puzzle, the answer was staring me in the face the entire time: "Ed, you silly sausage, why don't you just email the collector in Michigan who sold you the other parts?"

So emailed the guy on Thursday (NZ time), and wha'dya know... he actually had one. Confirmed the length to be the correct dimensions this time round, and all up it cost me $15 for the rail and $40 for the shipping.

Here's what arrived this morning.

0dwu4ujy.m41.jpg

Not quite "overnight parts from Japan", but talk about super efficient service!

Tore it open, and found the rail to be the correct colour and length (it just needs a clean), so mission accomplished in that regard. It even has the same "crackle texture" as the gearknob/dashboard/console. Compare to the black one in an earlier post, which is just a flat colour with no flourishes.

nyhg2gag.xre.jpg

Discuss: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=23433

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
  • Replies 42
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Ohmygod whatarethese

7311551358_dbeec5d320_z.jpg

Could it be...?

7311552646_6bd296833f_z.jpg

Holy shit, at long last.

7311554006_decb5b170e_z.jpg

So so so SO stoked!

7311554584_2d08485222_z.jpg

The rear boot panels are a bit sun-faded, but I'll find a way to restore them. See how they differ from the Japanese version?

7311553280_8146eeaf4b_z.jpg

And it's all thanks to a certain Matt Barber from Michigan, with the help of this crowd:

7311552108_cdb7a9a87f_z.jpg

Great way to cap off a pretty awesome week. Hopefully I'll find some time over the long weekend to finally start bolting these bits up.

Discuss: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=23433

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sincerely thought the installation procedure would only take an hour or two... but boy, was I ever wrong. It was only six hours later that I finally finished - granted I took my time carefully removing any and all existing parts for fear of breaking them (I broke some anyway), and the last hour or so was spent fitting the rear speakers/rear amp and tidying up all the cabling for the vintage audio install. Which I'm pleased to report is all fully functional :D

Started off by removing the plastic/fabric covers that hide the seatbelt retractor mechanisms and mashed one of the steel frame pieces in place as a rough test fit.

7319962078_ddb4e5627a_z.jpg

Was ever hopeful of not having to drill/tap any new holes in the floorpan for the steel frame, and fortunately, after carefully peeling back the original carpeted trim section in the footwell this fresh looking bolt hole was revealed (with a corresponding one on the other side of the car) that lines up perfectly with a hole on the frame. Sweet deal.

7319962664_de35023395_z.jpg

And continuing the theme of "this actually makes a whole lot of sense", the other corner of each sheetmetal piece lines up with the bolts holding down the luggage compartment straps. (The speaker at bottom right of frame is one of the "new" vintage 6" rear woofers.)

7319964018_9ec8da8cc7_z.jpg

One piece overlaps the other and they both hold together in place with some screws. Worth noting at this point that I wouldn't really trust the frame to hold any more than say, 20-30kg of weight - it's actually rather thin gauge stuff. So no drunken joyriding in the back! :badgrin:

7319964792_e374fc3ed0_z.jpg

I hadn't asked the seller in the USA for the vinyl wheelarch covers - foolishly assuming I didn't need them - but he sent them anyway, which was a relief, as they turned out to be very different from the Jap ones (bottom piece in photo) which cover the whole arch, whereas the American ones only cover the part not already hidden by the frame.

7319963402_5909e15957_z.jpg

Right, with the frame all bolted up, let's add some carpet...

7319965354_c5861d7cfb_z.jpg

And a clampdown rail.

7319965938_430bf76310_z.jpg

Clampdown rail fitted, and one of the storage bins. Interestingly, the bins don't actually have a hard floor, just a piece of stretchy carpet instead. So I don't plan to store anything overly heavy in there that could potentially lead to collapse.

7319966560_fb134ee352_z.jpg

Fast forward a couple of hours, during which time I ran all the cabling for the rear speakers, tapped some holes and installed the speakers themselves, then fitted the boot panels... and that's a wrap.

7319967828_009287721e_z.jpg

Factory fresh! Although that storage bin lid does need a scrub with some upholstery cleaner, and there is but one minor trim flaw remaining actually; turns out I'm still missing a couple of pieces but they're such blink-and-miss that I'll leave it up to avid readers to figure out what they are ;)

7319967190_6625903466_z.jpg

I also removed the passenger seat temporarily to install and wire in the rear amp. It's a compact enough size to chill underneath it.

7319968458_727e79f22e_z.jpg

So where to from here? Re-gas the A/C. Send off the clutch master and slave cylinders to be rebuilt, then it's WOF time I guess.

Then drive the shit out of it for a while. Tidying up the paint is also on the cards. Not a hell of a lot has otherwise been planned for the car... the two-seater conversion has been such a long time coming that I'm relieved to have finally crossed that last major hurdle, and can start concentrating on squid next.

But I'm sure I can always find something to change, or tinker with!

Discuss: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=23433

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Oh, yes. At long last.

7445735672_226690433a_z.jpg

Happy Ed is happy. Just need to find an excuse to take it out of the shed more often.

Next on the cards is to give it a service since it hasn't actually had one yet. Headed down to my local BNT to purchase four new spark plugs. Even after valued customer discount I still got stung $19.50 each... geez, bloody rotaries and their expensive consumables!

7445736758_a31f0329b1_z.jpg

I'm thinking a comprehensive service is in order, i.e. belts/fluids/oil/filters, posibly diff and gearbox oils if I feel exceptionally generous. Although... maybe I should do the pompous thing and take it to the Mazda dealer ?

It'd sure look good on paper! "Meticulously dealer serviced", etc etc.

Discuss: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=23433

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

Gave the banana a service (new oil, plugs and filters) before the OS Leadfoot Cruise on the weekend.

Had a minor heart attack when the BUR9EQ trailing plugs turned out to not be the correct ones for the car, due to the solid tip terminals which were too large for the factory ignition leads - but thanks to the quick action of forum GC k-trips, a pair of BR9EQ-14s with stud-type terminals was sourced post-haste from a crowd up here in Auckland and the car was ready for the cruise with plenty of time to spare by the end of Friday.

Cheers Chris! (and I feel slightly embarrassed after skiting about how easy it supposedly was to find plugs for this thing...)

Here are the BR9EQ-14s with removable terminals... apparently some of the very last in the country. I got the part number, therefore stockpiling a few more is in order!

aOVEi.jpg

The Leadfoot Cruise turned out to be a trouble-free and ridiculously fun (albeit thirsty) round trip and weekend away, and also the car's first proper open road outing since the run to Taupo in 2010 for the RR trackday, which gave me a chance to identify whether anything else required looking at on the car.

And the answer is... wheel alignment. Then it will really shine on the twisty Coromandel roads.

One highlight of the Leadfoot Cruise was the chance to take our cars for a quick fang along Rod Millen's famous mile-long driveway, featuring a neat little hillclimb section. Here's my effort:



And a quick snap of the car, back at our accommodation along the beachfront in Tairua later that evening:

8152905927_0fa4c63b83_z.jpg

Looking forward to crossing off the remaining few items on the list-o'-shit-to-do before summer is in full swing.

Discussion: http://oldschool.co....showtopic=27846
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...
  • 5 months later...

A couple of months ago fellow forum user Evan alerted me to a pair of brand new Series 2/3 inner guards for sale on Yahoo Auctions. I've been searching for a pair of these ever since I bought the car and discovered they were missing. (Series 1 inners don't fit due to the re-designed shape of the front guard lower section on the S2/3).

 

Unfortunately this was around the time Hayatonka was going through a merger with Stacked, and as a result the auction closed without me being able to contact them to place a bid. After a nerve-wracking wait to see whether the inner guards would get relisted or not, they finally re-appeared a few weeks later, and this time I enlisted the services of Import Monster to purchase them on my behalf (after yet another series of no-replies from Stacked).

 

Had the guards chucked on the literal slow boat to NZ, and they arrived today.  Will get stuck into installing them sometime this week.

 

9493815718_6a1fe41fcc_z.jpg

 

9493816218_40525431c8_z.jpg

 

Probably not worthy of an update, but sometimes it pays to categorize every little thing.

 

Discussion: //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?showtopic=27846

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 9 months later...
  • 2 months later...

Found a black steering wheel in my TX3 parts hoard (that I didn't even realize I had).
 
It will have to do until I track down a proper grey one. At least the horn pad I brought back from the States is the correct colour, but the disparity will probably annoy me for a while.
 
Yes, I know, I'm a sad pedantic bastard.
 
14752299014_9df0879b06_z.jpg
 
Discussion: //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?showtopic=27846

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Routine service time! Kiwi808 bowled around and we embarked on some banana maintenance.

 

Changed the oil, oil filter, and spark plugs. Inspected and cleaned dizzy cap and rotor. Had a minor WTF moment followed by lols when Repco didn't have the correct air filter in stock, but wanted to charge $180 for it regardless.

 

Also, the guy behind the counter had a great moment of confusion after asking for my licence plate even after I told him looking it up wouldn't make a shred of difference. ("Are you sure it's a 12A? Have you modified it at all? I've never seen this air filter before.")

 

Checked the oil metering pump and determined it to still be within operating spec (thankfully).

 

Discussion: http://oldschool.co....showtopic=27846

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Then we did some headscratching over what could be causing a noticeable hesitation in acceleration above 4000rpm, and (possibly related) a very strange idle flutter, both when applying a low amount of throttle. We don't think it's any sort of engine failure, catastrophic or otherwise, but there's definitely a plethora of vacuum hoses, sensors, pressure switches and diaphragms hanging off the intake, any of which could potentially be the culprit.
 
In particular, this little bastige here:
 
JBqVWTF.jpg
 
R3b7oel.jpg
 
Anyone have an inkling of what it even does? It is attached to the throttle through a series of tiny little arms, complex linkages and springs, and only looks like it opens a fraction at WOT, even though it has a full 3-4cm of travel. It doesn't seem to have any other connection to the intake system, and the only vacuum line it does have is blocked off from factory (the little black cylinder in the bottom left of the 2nd photo) - if that's even what it's meant to be.
 
Pressing on the linkage manually to "fully open" causes the car's idle to flutter between 1000-1500rpm rather noticeably.
 
I have a spare 12A turbo intake manifold (which is missing this part) and fully opening the throttle on that one fully extends the arm which actuates this strange little device. Again I'm unsure whether it's designed to fully open, or whether there's some sort of diaphragm or air bleed which limits the amount of travel the arm has at certain rpm.
 
Early EFI systems are confounding as all heck. Especially the 12A turbo setup, which seems to be a mystery to everyone outside of Japan.
 
Discussion: http://oldschool.co....showtopic=27846

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...

Fixing the secondary throttles and releasing a whole heap more power and drivability has sort of spurred me on to try and get the car in a presentable state for Nats.

 

So with that in mind, today I commissioned Alex @ MLR to purchase a set of lush J.D.M. Zoom Down Force lowering springs.

 

pic1_downforce.jpg

 

These should drop the height all round by ~40mm (up to a claimed 45mm on the website). Hopefully they will be here and installed in time; it's not quite Overnight Parts From Japan spec, but almost!

 

The jury is out on whether I'll be going back to 14" rims though.

 

Had it up on the hoist Saturday while it was in for its WOF, and we ascertained that the exhaust is pitifully small and is definitely strangling performance up top. I'm of a mind to bin the catalytic converter and replace with straight pipe, but the car is still going to be held back by the 1.75" peashooter pipe from the downpipe back. This may take some careful consideration and planning, as I don't want to get too carried away with the exhaust on what is essentially a stock car, yet I still would like to unlock that trademark turbo rotary "buzz".

 

And I want to keep the smart looking factory twin tailpipes!

 

Discussion: //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?showtopic=27846

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Definitely not overnight from Japan, in fact, I think they custom-made them to order which took a fortnight or so! But they arrived in time for Nationals, which is all that counts.

 

16424147997_bf1c4b8589_c.jpg

 

Sweet flouro yellow box.

 

16630785312_de9ff0fc17_c.jpg

 

Not pictured - the leaflet which has a little diagram saying "CUT HERE FOR MAXIMUM LOWDOWN".

 

16445646909_5601abb104_c.jpg

 

Will look at tackling the exhaust before Nats, but may end up doing nothing about it depending on how enthused I am at the time. The Rx-7 definitely won't be one of the more appreciated or "show-offy" cars in attendance, so I might just concentrate on keeping it alive on those sweet Coromandel back roads.

 

Discussion: //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?showtopic=27846

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

After noticing a series of loud clicking noises coming from the emissions "rats' nest" on top of the engine in time with the part-throttle hesitation/idle flutter I've been trying to chase down, I arranged to borrow a couple of Hitachi vacuum solenoids for diagnostic purposes:

P9uJGCe.jpg

If they make a difference I'll be teeing up a bunch of replacements as soon as possible.

 

The 12A turbo only has three solenoids compared to the US-spec 12A carby in the link above that has six.

 

Discussion: http://oldschool.co....showtopic=27846

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

One big annoyance that's plagued me ever since I got this car seven years ago is how difficult it is to find drop-in air filter replacements. Mazda and all of the usual filter manufacturers have discontinued making them, and the best anyone can do locally is order new old stock from Australia at exorbitant cost and hope it's still sitting in a dusty warehouse somewhere ($180 for a Ryco!)

 

But after doing some research I found that the air filter is identical to the American 13B injected Series 3 GSL-SE, and K&N made a drop-in replacement up until the late 1990s. After a few emails back and forth with K&N and a bit of googling, I managed to obtain a part number (33-2016) and found a couple of vendors on Amazon who happened to still have old stock.

 

As luck would have it, one of the vendors had a single brand new 33-2016 left, without box, on clearance for US$25.00+shipping. Excellent!

 

One Youshop payment and nine days later...

 

17313927336_3ae3b804af_c.jpg

 

The state of the old air filter was shocking, to say the least. For all the supposed meticulousness of the previous owner in Japan it looked like it hadn't been changed in about ten years, and one of the corners had even started crumbling away. Umm, okay then :o

 

17153680009_8073810434_c.jpg

 

Airbox cover off, ready for the swap. I felt a bit guilty tearing open the sealed wrapper, knowing there are fuckall of these things left!

 

17152117658_675ca5bc74_c.jpg

 

K&N part number.

 

17132465787_a38804945c_c.jpg

 

All fitted and ready for the airbox cover to go back on. Good for another 5 horsepowers, you reckon?

 

16717434944_b862eaa477_c.jpg

 

Regardless of whether you think K&N filters are any good, hopefully it'll make a difference in the long run as the old crusted-up air filter definitely wasn't helping things. The completist in me will probably buy another K&N from one of the other Amazon vendors, just for the box and associated gubbins.

 

Minor victories are always so satisfying.

 

Discussion: http://oldschool.co....showtopic=27846

  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

The trailing ignition coil has been overheating for a while now due to some noticeable oil residue around the coil tower (they're filled with mineral oil to keep them cool), but a couple of weeks back it must have finally given out and shat oil all over the inside of the king lead, resulting in a huge misfire at anywhere above quarter throttle, or 4000rpm, or both :(

 

So out they came in favour of two new ones.

 

Ifq5xed.jpg

 

Went for a dort out to Dairy Flat and back, seems to be all good, no more oily shit on the coil lead, and spark isn't breaking down on high load and at high revs anymore. I'll consider that a success.

 

Guess the next weak point will be the OEM HT leads themselves... they have a manufacture date of 1990 on them so have obviously been replaced at least once before, but are still 25 years old, hah.

 

BNT measured them up and can hopefully get something from Top Gun, or else I might try my hand at getting all the necessary bits to assemble my own. Looked into buying a set of new old stock 12AT HT leads ex Australia, but the guy is apparently dodgy if reports from various Mazda foamers I know is anything to go by. Glad I didn't part with my money before discovering this!

 

Discussion: //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?showtopic=27846

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...