More progress on the FB

[MikeLMR]

Not as much as I'd like though, still waiting on bits from the US

[MikeLMR]

2

[MikeLMR]

3 . check out the dust from the body work !

[MikeLMR]

4. last one I promise !

[Fish]

Mike, car looks stunning. What bits are you getting from the US?

Dan

[MikeLMR]

uprated and lower springs from racing beat , an uprated front ARB to counter the oversteer a little and possibly a set of polygraphite bushes for the front end

Once the suspensions sorted I can think about the engine :)

[t2rew]

it looks the mutts nutts mike. did you say somthing about dust. cant wait to see it when you clean the filthy thing.

[MikeLMR]

loads of dust under the bonnet ( the radiator panel is actually black)

got to sort my exhaust next ... its blowing near the down pipe and its damn loud , going to weld it up for now , hopefully Wookie will be sorting me a decent system soon

Thanks for the comments guys , this was the first time I'd seen the car in 1 1/2 months and I didn;t realise how much I missed that rotary howl ( lack of plates is the only thing that stopped me taking it out for a drive

Mike :wave

[clive]

Hi Mike

Looking real good ,

What are the wheels ? they suit the car really nice.

All the Best Clive
e-mail: clive@mazdarotaryclub.com
web: www.mazdarotaryclub.com

[MikeLMR]

they are compomotive ML's (minilite copies)

I saw some cars in australia with panasports and decided I'd quite like a set like those on mine + the amount of sidewall flex on the standard tyres finalised the decission :)

[dankilleen]

I am currently importing a panhard rod and Tri-link setup from the states - you mentioned the rear end binding issues inherent in the 1st gen rx7.

The panhard rod replaces the watts link as transverse location of the rear diff. This device attaches to the chassis rail on the drivers side and to the passengers side lower shock mount. Between these two points is a simple bar which when positioned correctly will lie parallel to the ground (needs some welding).

The Tri link actually replaces both the upper rear control arms with a single arm. This arm bolts to the transmission tunnel at one end by way of plate and to the diff housing at the other (needs some welding).

Oh yeah, the only bushes left will be those on the lower control arms as the replacement parts use rod ends (replacing these with nolthane) - a bit noisy maybe, however the benefit found in suspension control (and no binding) should be worth the hassle.

The above will only really work if you're lowering the car maybe 1 1/2 to 2 inches as the panhard bar will not work at standard ride height.

I am also importing other pieces from the same company - http://www.gforceengineering.net. Turn in spacers which raise front roll centre once you've lowered the car and give 100% ackerman steering geometry, also plastic front tension rod bushes which believe it or not allow more verticle strut movement without binding than uprated rubber/nothane replacements due to their spherical design.

Anyhow, keep the above company in mind – in months of research for the parts I have purchased, he (Jim Susko) has been the single most useful/helpful individual bar none.

Good luck for the build up of your car. Looks in great condition.

Danny

[MikeLMR]

Hi, Danny

Sounds like you are planning to do some serious competition with your car , mines more of a weekend warrior so I'm probably not going to go as far as changing the rear suspension geometry. I'll only be changing the ride height by about 3/4" anyway (probably less due to the sagging of the old springs)

I'm seriously condsidering poly bushing the front end at the moment , I was dead set on doing it but the thought of pressing all those bushings in has me worrying as I don't have access to a hydraulic press.

Some guys on the US forum are currently swapping a VW MK2 golf/jetta steering rack into the 1st gen with no bodywork modifications ! looks like it might be a fairly easy swap too. I might have a go if its succesfull , apparently the steering geometry is unchaged due to the size of the VW rack being identical to the length of the old cross bar.

[dankilleen]

Could you let me know some more info about this (steering rack) .I had considered changing this in my car, but was unaware of an alternative to use.

Thanks
Danny

[MikeLMR]

http://www.rx7club.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=178816&perpage=50&pagenumber=2

hopefully it'll work

Mike

[MikeLMR]

the conversion not the link :D that is

[dankilleen]

Looks interesting.

If the inner tie rod end locations are as close to standard as he says, then it might work. However the standard tie rod ends do not move in a purely left to right fashion as in his design - they actually trace an arc about the idler and steering box. To add to this, all this movement is not in one plane - if you imagine the passenger side idler as it at approaches full right hand lock, the tie rod end is actually higher and further back to its original straight ahead position.

Having said that, perhaps this arc is part of the problem with the original steering anyway (beside the fact it uses recirculating ball and nut box).

All I know is, that the geometry is only ever a trade off between about a million different parameters. 99% of which I wouldn't know how to analyse.

It is no doubt possible to do, but I think a pen, paper and calculator might be the way to solve it - good luck to him though.

[MikeLMR]

I hadn't thought of that , as you turn the wheel from dead ahead the end of the tie rod will move towards the back of the car

I think I'll sit back and let a few other people try out this setup and see how it works out first

The other alternative is to bolt in a complete 2nd gen subframe

[dankilleen]

2nd Gen subframe - sounds like a lot of work.

[MikeLMR]

its not a simple job :(

http://www.rx7club.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=176299&highlight=subframe

http://www.bcrx7.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=2055&highlight=subframe

What are you doing with your 7 ? is it for track use

Mike

[dankilleen]

I suppose it is really, though I hope to use it on the road after I've fitted everything to it. My intention is to get the chassis and brakes sorted in the short term (+ a LSD, lightened flywheel and H/D clutch) in preparation for a RX-8 engine and box from a write off - yes there is no doubt a few people with this dream....

I chose the car for the engine. A friend had a 10,000 rpm 12A bridgeport engine fitted in a RX-3 - I don't think I stopped grinning for weeks after driving that. But also for the fact that it's a lot lighter than any 7 that followed.

I just want a cheap track car that will be enjoyable to drive fast (don't suppose it'll be dead cheap by the time I'm finished).

I need to fit an oil cooler, match port the intake manifold (there is a lot of difference between the port size on the centre housing and the manifold - though I don't know how much hp this will release, engine is approx 150 -155 at present with exhaust system and carb mods) then I'll be off to the track to scare myself. Ought to be fun.

[MikeLMR]

hmm I'm thinking about a 12a bp for mine eventually ... got to price up what it'll cost first though

[dankilleen]

Looks like the above development is coming along well in the states. I think a right hand drive version might place the steering input right in the middle of the exhaust manifold especially if the original thermal converter is installed.

Lets hope there is a way around this, or that it isn't a problem. The benefits of rack and pinion would be huge.

[rotary emotions]

A German guy has an FB with 200hp 13B TII engine. He (well the guys who build the car) has used a complete front end of a TII. So subframe, struts, strut towers, etc... Very much work, and not really neccessary if you ask me, but still intresting. Take a look here: http://www.rotary-mechanic.de/
I tried the link, but it says it's closed at the time??? Maybe it returns, maybe not. I'm not sure.