fuel's dorito spinner - 1985 RX-7 GSL-SE IMSA Targa edition

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** Discussion https://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/74793-helium-elbows-magical-rx-7-fb/ **

So I never thought I would end up owning a rotary any time soon but wasn't having too much luck finding a sweet Starion/Conquest near me over the last year or so. This came up locally for a good price and thought why the fuck not.

It's a 1985 Canadian spec FB RX-7 GSL-SE with the IMSA Targa option. It's basically the same as US spec top of the line GSL-SE with 13B RE-EGI engine just with km/h dials instead of mph. IMSA Targa package adds faux brushed metal targa band (I'm not the biggest fan), front splitter (currently off the car broken) and rear wrap around wing. Factory options include maroon leather interior, electric windows/mirrors, push button climate control A/C, LSD with larger vented disc brakes F&R, cruise control, and glass moon roof with carry bag.

It's a two owner car with 167k kms on the clock. Needs a little tidy up with a few small rust patches but otherwise it's a solid body and completely factory original inside and out. It comes with an almost complete '84 GSL-SE parts car that has a 10k old rebuilt engine (though hasn't run for years) and a Racing Beat full exhaust which will probably find its way onto the good car.

Plans are to tidy it up over time and bring it back to as factory fresh condition as possible. Probably hang onto it here in Canada for a while and perhaps even bring back to NZ with me.

 

 

Discussion https://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/74793-helium-elbows-magical-rx-7-fb/

 

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Just a small update -

not long after getting it I put it through the Ontario equivalent of a WOF, the "Safety Check" which it passed not needing much. With new plates (old owner takes their plates off) and ridiculously expensive mandatory insurance it was back on the road. 

 

It's first legal trip was to the supermarket, where someone in their oversized Datsun prompted used my bumper (and 2 day old fresh plate) as a parking spot. I now have a dashcam & tyre valve stem remover kept in my glovebox for these times.

 

Bought many a box of service items from RockAuto

 

And some Solex locks from 'straya maaaate because the original lock barrels can be opened with almost any key and it has keyless entry anyway.

 

Also had my first break down, can you spot the problem?

 

** Discussion https://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/74793-helium-elbows-magical-rx-7-fb/ **

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** Discussion https://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/74793-helium-elbows-magical-rx-7-fb/ **

 

As 3-4 months of winter snow is coming up in just a few weeks I'm going to take it off the road and do a bit of a refresh.

It needs a bit of a tidy up body wise as there is some faded/crazed paint on the passenger guard and door, and some little bits of surface rust here and there to tend to. I've salvaged the Racing Beat Road Race header and Power Pulse pre-silencer and main muffler from the parts car

 

And picked up some Enkei EK98 15x7 -3 wheels which could do with a bit of a tidy up. The lips have been painted silver and I want to take them back to polished metal. Not keen on the black centres either, looking to go a metallic silver or bronzey/gunmetal.

 

Also found the original owner's manual

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** Discussion https://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/74793-helium-elbows-magical-rx-7-fb/ **

 

Let's talk about wheels, baby!

So I made a start on stripping the bolts out and soaking in vinegar to get rid of most of the surface rust and discolouration. It's a shame they are welded 3pc rather than true 3pc so I can't split them up to make it easier. The outer lips have been painted silver and the centres black over top the original gold which has been a pain to strip back but I'm already half way through.

I can't quite decide on the centre colour - the more I strip them back the more the original gold is growing on me and it would be nice to get them looking like these

But I'm also loving the bronze that is often on Watanabes

But silver is oh so classic

 

Help me decide here - https://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/74793-helium-elbows-magical-rx-7-fb/ 

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** discussion here - https://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/74793-helium-elbows-magical-rx-7-fb/  **

 

Ok a little bit of progress on the wheel front - I painted one centre silver and reassembled to see how it would look and it came out good, I think the bronze colour is lush but only really suits having the whole wheels painted like Watanabes. And the more I think about gold the more I don't think it will fit in with the existing black and silver the car has right now.

 

In other news I took off the 3pc spoiler to repaint as the top surfaces were very weathered and showing the base coat. Also lots of dirt and crap under the spoiler and even a little bit of surface rust to attend to in spots as well

And painted (still needs final wet sanding and clear coat)

I'm still yet to do the centre section as I'm modifying it to fit a centre brake lamp as I'm paranoid some c**t is going to rear end me, and I don't want an aftermarket type one hanging from the hatch window with messy wires blocking view and lighting up the interior every time I brake.

 

** discuss failings here - https://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/74793-helium-elbows-magical-rx-7-fb/  **

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Spoiler alert!

Lamp is from a third gen Camaro

 

** discussion here - https://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/74793-helium-elbows-magical-rx-7-fb/  **

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alright so I got the wheels & tyres finally on.... aaaaannnndddd I fucked up the offset difference measurements. I knew I was pushing it a little with 15x7 -3 wheels under the assumption the factory wheels were +20mm, turns out that the GSL-SE has +40mm offset factory wheels so they stuck out almost another inch than anticipated.

 

So either I look for other wheels or I....

 

** discussion here - https://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/74793-helium-elbows-magical-rx-7-fb/  **

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Oh yeah, if you guys and gals are disgusted by how dirty the car is - so am I. That's only after just two relatively short drives in the snow and salt spray slush that gets left behind a few days after snow fall. I don't want to expose the RX7 to any more salt so I went and bought a winter beater, a 2010 Passat 2.0t 6MT with 142k for $1500 maple syrup hockey pucks. My insurance costs more than the damn car haha. Hopefully will make me hurry up with more updates as I don't need to do work to the RX7 in between needing to drive it.

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** discussion here - https://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/74793-helium-elbows-magical-rx-7-fb/  **

 

Some small progress 

Racing Beat exhaust now swapped on, deleted the air pump and associated components at the same time to shed about 5kgs and less components engine has to spin. It has definitely opened up the engine somewhat, it feels much less strangled now. There is a small problem of the number 2 rotor 6-port actuation shaft not spinning as freely as the number 1 rotor, so perhaps there is still some more power/drivability with that functioning perfectly. I am hoping to swap to S5 N/A complete injection with inlet manifold, CAS, AFM, coil packs etc as it's just that little bit newer, probably unlock a bit more drivability, power and slightly less fuel consumption.

 

While the wheels were off I noticed the rear trailing arm bushes were pretty toast, and the front bushes aren't the best looking either so did another round of RockAuto shopping for more suspension components. Grabbed some Redline oil for the gearbox and diff too:

 

I picked up a S5 80A alternator along with Banzai Racing double sheath pulley and adjustable alt bracket for some bling, also got a GMB aluminium water pump along with S4 N/A aluminium water pump housing (stock are both cast iron) which should save about ~10kgs up front. Will eventually convert to electric fan (apparently early 90s Ford Taurus fits almost perfectly and is super powerful and somewhat plentiful here)

 

Have started pulling out all the original components (along with radiator, radiator bracket, shroud, air box, battery & battery tray etc to give them all a much needed clean up and give me space to do the water pump + housing swap. 

Also got the daily road legal (it had a leaking clutch slave cylinder, which lives inside the bellhousing on the throw out bearing, because Volkswagen) but couldn't help myself by getting some OEM Tiguan Savannah (how fitting) 19x9 +33 and some used Bilstein struts with H&R 1" lowering springs hopefully to achieve this look (pictured is a Passat CC but they are basically same car under the skin):

 

Have got some Racing Beat lowering springs and sway bars on order too so hopefully they arrive soon!

 

** discussion here - https://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/74793-helium-elbows-magical-rx-7-fb/  **

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S4 WP housing + S5 alternator swapped on, no pics yet cause it's in a different parking spot that's much darker that sucks for photos.

I did a thing though.. was surprised it all fit into the Passat with the rear seats down

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It's no Mariah Motorsports/Kent Racing cassette slot kit, but it is a Pacific kit from the early 80s that didn't break the bank. Not a fan of the rear wing though, I'm going to see if I can make it work with my existing 3pc wing.

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Discuss how delusional I am here:

 

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So the Racing Beat sway bars and springs finally arrived after almost four months, and an additional $200 donation to the government - so much for NAFTA right? Though I got a nice payout from the insurance company for the little hit and run last year, supposedly they couldn't track down a replacement bumper and valued the repair at $1250 so they just opted to cut a cheque instead and send me on my way to look after it myself.

 

 

They'll probably sit for another four months before I get around to fitting them.

 

Disco here - 

 

 

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So this Pacific widebody kit looks to have had some DOT legal side markers added to it, but the lens from the rear left was missing and I needed to find out what the donor car was, I could only go by the intact lens from the right side

 

After a quick little search I found it was from a C3 Corvette so off I went looking for a new part

 

it just happened to be attached to a whole car

 

More here in its own fred - 

 

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so I wasn't kidding about taking so long to fit the springs - finally got around to making progress on the suspension. 

- Pulled rear suspension apart and replaced all the bushes, installed the racing beat springs, sway bar and fox body Mustang rear shocks (had to trim a little off the eye mounting)

- Pulled front struts out and replaced inserts with PFL AW11 KYB's, installed the racing beat springs, new bump stops/bellows, strut rod bushes and racing beat sway bar. Still have to replace ball joints, front LCA bushes and all the steering tie rods etc.

 

Basically the same height as the original saggy 37 year old springs but much stiffer and taught. Was able to rotate the front strut tops for more negative castor and camber too.

 

 

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Small update... as it's been almost a year since the last update I decided I really want to get this thing back out on the road so I can enjoy it this summer.

In addition to the rear suspension overhaul I finished off the front suspension, so new lower control arm bushes (had to cut the lower control arm bolt on both sides because it was rusted solid to the bushing sleeve and was a prick of a job to get out), inner and outer tie rod ends, front disc rotors, wheel bearing, wheel studs etc

 

Rear brakes done too, well at least one side - the other side is partially seized and the handbrake cable bracket bolt has snapped off inside the caliper body so that needs to be rectified so I have an effective hand brake

 

Also made a start on tidying up the interior, used the same Clydes leather colouring balm that I used on the Diamante here, obviously in the maroon colour. I did half an half on the passenger seat to see the contrast, the driver's seat had been done at this point:

 

Once I've sorted out the rear caliper and get it a wheel alignment it should be good to get back out on the road. I dropped all the fluids and got some Redline into the box and diff too.

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Some pics of interior after going over it with the Clydes remoisturising cream - it definitely makes the faded brown door cards, steering wheel horn pad & shift knob stick out a lot more

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I managed to break the front badge when I last washed the car so was able to order up a replacement from Japan

And applied the hatch 'RX-7' sticker I had bought years ago that I had been meaning to slap on - I think I got it straight enough. I just applied it right over the original faded sticker and thankfully the replacement reproduction sticker was identical

Also put some non-US front indicator lenses on - I will be converting the lighting so the park lamps aren't part of the turn signals as I really hate USDM lighting configuration. Will also be adding DRL's into the clear section that will turn off for when each side is indicating. Gotta do all you can do in order to remain visible here and don't fancy driving around with my headlamps on all the time. 

 

 

Disco fred - 

 

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I still have this and am starting to get back into working on it before I lose interest and sell it too.

Recently purchased a Whiteline strut bar that was listed on their website as fitting the 13B GSL-SE but turns out it fouls on the air filter housing and the upper radiator hose. Rather than return it, I opted to modify the air filter housing mounts and shorten the radiator hose for more clearance.