My Mazda RX-7GSL-SE build log with the occasional balsa inclusion

getback wrote:every time i see shocks reminds me of when I worked at this tire store and they where running a special (buy shocks and we (me) would put them on for $3 a piece ) DuH what DA thought that up !!!! Anyway looking good Bob , Easy Off Good Stuff !

Better than me Eric, at 13 I started off washing dishes at the local restaurant then at 14 "graduated" to the chicken farm at fifty cents an hour. Made enough to buy my first car a 1937 Ford Coupe at 15. Easy-Off is taking 3/4 applications to get the hard stuff off.

Just catching up here from the engine fire.

Cleaned those burned parts up this morning. Oil injectors, fuel injectors, oil lines, and fuel rail.










On hand replacement parts.  

Well, it's been over a year since I have touched the RX-7.  Tractors, chainsaws, and FireBees kept getting in the way.  But a couple of days ago Mark and I got interested in it again and installed the fuel injectors and the throttle body and this morning I reinstalled everything else.  Some small details to attend to then we will see if the new seals do the job.  

From this a few days ago:



To this today:



The original injectors were not a pretty sight.  New ones in there now.



RX-7 in motion but I don't think it can be opened.

file:///C:/Users/rsvmg/OneDrive/Email%20attachments/ATT00002.htm

Maybe this one?

https://www.icloud.com/attachment/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fcvws.icloud-content.com%2FB%2FAUez_ZPUOZwXs_97XL_lhUo1csEuAVWXmmH3TXXT6S2NabXRiqEf_UMw%2F%24%7Bf%7D%3Fo%3DAuxBXRqcbJYgG518EiwArbPG7LHD6g8EpGjbIM_IDX2V%26v%3D1%26x%3D3%26a%3DCAogditWdUd6sRzwiy5sJ2dlzjNXRjYaVgZeg6KWAHeuA9wSdhCPzMaUgzIYj9zB6IwyIgEAKgkC6AMA_zKc_T5SBDVywS5aBB_9QzBqJfq3KiywRXiZK_8Y-Yl8OjktykvhZCXVMN3jhGF3cGnyIBasnelyJfzR0AcBSzOLwF7dH2AijwEL3nD17T7AkmobZTb8eygsjj13PQo%26e%3D1721427324%26fl%3D%26r%3D200D8B96-74AC-4ED9-9ABC-0778E7A29196-1%26k%3D%24%7Buk%7D%26ckc%3Dcom.apple.largeattachment%26ckz%3DF7FC9F41-A285-4E66-BF9D-CA7027D33DA8%26p%3D42%26s%3D-kZGAJIMOJb9FKEoaBO2dVap7bc&uk=rjIbJm5kQm3eFcPH7P-arQ&f=IMG_6905.MOV&sz=53758205

Very impressive engine bay!! Can you still close the bonnet?

OVERLORD wrote:Very impressive engine bay!! Can you still close the bonnet?

........They stuffed a lot of stuff in there. I cleaned up that rusty battery tray shown in the picture above. Lower left corner.

2 weekends ago, I visited the museum of the 24h of Le Mans and there was displayed the Comotor engine, a product of the joint venture Citroën - Nsu of the early 70's

That looks a lot better good to see you and Mark are getting at it and you have help . I would have had to take a break after the fire to , more stuff not planed into the plan lol

getback wrote:That looks a lot better good to see you and Mark are getting at it and you have help . I would have had to take a break after the fire to , more stuff not planed into the plan lol

That fire set us back a bit.  Mark and I double check everything but still it happened.  I blame it on the after-market rubber seals that go into the block.  Only thing it could be.  It occured right after the video I posted above.  I had been hot rodding it around a bit.    Vapors probably ignited by the alternator.  Fire extinguisher was handy so it didn't last long.  

Adjusting the throttle and emissions cables.  I had taken a picture and I'm trying to set the adjustments exactly as they were.  




And that "Occasional balsa inclusion" thing.  Still finding time to work on the Firebaby Jr. Clone.  




Interesting picture Lieven. I often wonder how those apex seals are loaded, leaf or coil springs? or something else.

It’s nice to have a few different interests to switch back and forth….. They seem to keep each other fresh…..I’ll drift off into some music project sometimes between shop projects…. FB Jr. replica is looking good…. Really like the graphic for the wing…

Thanks Robert, but the clone will have the same chunk out of the wing flaw as the original.  Maybe I should have waited to copy it until I fixed it.  I have dabbed some Krylon Cub Yellow on the repair but still have to draw in the red lines.

I reattached the air pump bracket this morning, I had to remove it to get to the oil injector pump and lines which were destroyed in the fire.  I found a whole new set.

Not a pretty sight.



No fun getting to that air pump bracket.  Last piece of the puzzle.



Charging the battery, then some coolant in the radiator.  Start it up to see if I have a Bar-b-que-pit or a runner.  

Bob, the appex seals have leaf springs underneath. The workshop manuals are on line and download able.






https://www.wright-here.net/cars/rx7/88_manual.htm

Thanks Lieven, I have that illustration in my factory Mazda RX-7 workshop manual and have looked at it, but I never paid much attention on how they loaded the seals. My failing is that I spend more time doing than I do reading. "When all else fails, read the manual."

Bob

Today.  

Cranked it over but did not start it.  It takes awhile for gas to refill the lines.  A couple of 5 to 7 second cranks with a fire bottle standing by.  I sniffed for gas but didn't smell any.  The gas in the tank is at least a year old and barely registered on the fuel gauge.  Added a half ounce of MMO to a couple of gallons of gas and poured it in.  I worry about those apex seals more than I do fouled plugs.  

Fuel door opened fine.  Soleniod operated but rusted shut when I got it, there is a manual release inside the hatch related about somewhere above.  Interesting fix.







I love this stuff. A Cox engine on steriods.

Well I'll be darned. The thing runs.

8am I connected the battery hit the starter and it just took off on the first revolution. No waiting. A couple of trys yesterday must have filled the lines and the fuel rail. I only let it run seconds. Mark not here to check for fuel smells and fire. I did not detect either.

That's always a good thing just to hear it fire up , Happy for you . Waiting is a good idea if something was to happen )

Yes, Mark is out of town.  Later this week I will give it another try.

May 24th 2023 it looked like this.  Fire retardant powder from the Kidde.  It put it out immediately but left a mess that washed off.  Thinking if there is a next time to use a leaf blower.  




Not a pretty sight.  New wires, new TPS, new vacuum lines, new......





Happier times - picture taken the day before.

Great on getting the engine to run Bob!….Always good to hear one kick off after a lot of work…. I’m sure just a bit of apprehension after it caught fire once…. Your son will like the good news it started and all went well!

A late night on the RX-7 Robert, front brake cooling ducts, the grill, and the valance.  I didn't want to face it in the morning.  Which goes on first, the grill or the valance, guess wrong and you have to take it all apart again.  Guess who guessed wrong.............

rsv1cox wrote:A late night on the RX-7 Robert, front brake cooling ducts, the grill, and the valance.  I didn't want to face it in the morning.  Which goes on first, the grill or the valance, guess wrong and you have to take it all apart again.  Guess who guessed wrong.............

Bob, hang in there. We've all been there, done that.

The Kawasaki Voyager's Association was worthwhile for me to join, because they have additional supplemental info not supplied in Kawasaki motorcycle manuals for my 2001 ZG1200 touring motorcycle.

The OEM mechanics manuals, although have more info than Clymers, have gaps. Even the professional mechanics go through the school of hard knocks on some things.

On my vehicles, I have dropped and reinstalled the fuel tank, only to have to drop it again because I got something wrong with replacing the electric fuel pump. On my 1992 Dodge Caravan minivan, I replaced the fuel pump 4 times. I bought a McMasters replacement unit. It went bad 3 times, faulty manufacturing / design. But, Autozone had a lifetime warranty on it. First time, it took me half a day to drop the tank. After several failures, I could drop the fuel tank in 45 minutes.

Later I learned that nearly in all vehicles, except for my 1990 Dodge D-150 pickup with 390 c.i. V-6, the aftermarket ONLY THE OEM pumps worked fine. Rest, I had to go for the factory pump, all others failed.

Ditto on other stuff. When younger, I ruined the 1300 cc 4 cylinder engine block on my 1967 Datsun PL411 Bluebird 4 door sedan, because a ridge reamer I borrowed, had the blade on backwards, badly scoring the cylinder in the wrong place. I found a good used block at a salvage dealer.

This time, I know you'll get it all sorted out, and the extra time will be worth it once you button it up, all systems check out and you get to do a little riding in it.

Pretty cool the ducting for the front brakes…. And nice save on the rusty sheet metal….
My ‘83 Z had a functional scoop on the hood that directed air thru a similar sheet metal baffle beside the engine, Down and over the turbo charger and out the bottom of the car… Neat engineering for early 80’s….

It feels good to be in like company here on the forum, even more so that what exists on the RX-7 forum.

Members here are inqusitive problem solvers, every single one.  I guess that it started in our youth and never stopped.  

Mark is my third hand, or maybe I'm his but he's not often around so I a struggle doing a two man job myself.  Installing that grill/valance is a good case in point.  With a helping hand I could have determined which installed first.  A floppy valance, a grill that could go in either way and a dozen fastners of varying styles confuses things.  I finally got it right, but I had to tear it all apart again to do so.

Rusty, broken and drilled out left over parts from the original valance.  I had replacements.




Next project - drivers side window motor had a problem. Works fine now.

After:



Before:












Restraining the brushes

Well the motor works fine rolling the window down...thanks to gravity.  Not so good going up, lack of torque I suspect.  It needs a little added help.  Those motors are expensive, used replacements only so your taking a chance.  I think I will live with it.

Meanwhile I got a used replacement fuel rail in today.  I have had the top end - throttle body/dynamic chamber on and off a couple of times trying to resolve the - starts easy, idles well but dies when you hit the accelerator problem.  It ran perfectly before the fire which I attribute to the smaller aftermarket injector to block seals sent by Mazdatrix.  I think the fire cooked the fuel rails fuel regulator.  I have two top ends, both run the engine the same so it's something else and must be the fuel rail.

I'm a carburator guy, not a fuel injector guy.  Anyone see a red flag let me know.



ebay buy fuel rail.  Fuel runs in and out constantly returning the unused fuel to the gas tank.  Fuel pressure is critical on these.  It has three fuel regulators, two in the rail and one on the electric fuel pump which is new.  







Cap from the original burned fuel rail.  I have a new cap on the presently installed fuel rail. Engine fire pictures above showing injectors.

Have you checked to see if there are any trouble codes in the engine controller? They might steer you in the right direction if there are any. From what I can see, that may be the best direction to go, rather than trying to guess- been there done that! Gets expensive (and frustrating) guessing.