Daily Drifter/Fun/Track WIP - RX7 FC.

[Adamowsky]

Hey guys! My name is Adam, I'v had my first car, the Clio MK1 1.2 8V. I'v owned it for a year and a few months now, was just meant to be a temporary for a year or so to get me started before I can get something nicer, turns out I'v done a lot of stuff to it. Tore it down to bits, rebuild all the bits, new engine 1.8 16V, sprayed the interior Candy apple red and all sorts.

The day I got it, 13/05/2013.


On way to Santa Pod Raceway doing a drift day with my mate 27/8/2014




Now, just over a year later. Here is the nicer car that I wanted to start with.
It's a 1986 Mazda RX7 FC3S NA, the last owner has owned it since 1999. Daily driven it
for about 6 years, then used it as a track car. The car came with a few spares, 15" wheels, spare bumpers, spoiler, electrical bits and a bucket seat. Located 230 miles
away, I couldn't just go and have a look at it before i bought it. But after some close up
pictures and a long conversation with the owner over the phone I decided to bit the bullet
and put a deposit down on it. Few days later, we headed on the trip to pickup the car,
loads of roadworks on the way. What suppose to be a 3h 30min trip, extended into 7
hours just going one way. Same amount of roadworks the other way, and we were
home at 2AM. Here is the car when we picked it up.



Some of the I'v done first of all was give it a clean, took off the cold air feed and put the
headlight back on as I plan on getting it on road ASAP, put the exhaust back on.









The following day after work I changed out the rusty door for a spare one that I got with
the car, this one is far more rust free than the other one. I have also polished the car,
as well as swapped out the white paint cracked spoiler for a black non painted one.
Lastly I just the register plates back on









After some polishing to try and make it look white-ish again









That's it for now, tomorrow's plans are to fit a new auxiliary belt, try and fabricate a
mount for the bucket seat. Get some matt black and re-do the black trim.

Further plans:

• Weld the Diff
• Coilovers
• New steering wheel with some fat spacer and snap off (im 6foot6)
  need some knee room ^^
• Rear steer delete bushings
• New front lip of some sort
• Get it MOT'd, Taxed and Insured
• Fabricate new exhaust

Thanks for viewing SW blads!

[Miroteknik]

aye

[SliPsY]

Cant wait, looks amazing

[bks]

Bruh! I knew it!

Looking forward to this!

[Adamowsky]

Update!

Ever since the original post I have done a few things. I'll let the pictures do the talking mostly.

Polished the lenses on the indicators + sprayed the front bumper trim just to refresh it a little.





Took off the JDM GENUINE WOOD STYLE side skirts last owner put on, LOL



Poked around for some rust, didn' take me too long. Found some nice holes bodged up
with silicone and plastic bottles.



Some of the stickers I have to go on



Random shot sitting with my daily



Afterwards I fixed some rust round the boot area and unblocked the drain holes so I no
longer get water collecting in the groove around the boot hatch seal.

Next I wanted to install my rear DTSS eliminator bushes and weld my diff. After some
hours and spanner turning I managed to get it removed.



State of the rear pads.... Still a few track days left on the right one



Then cleaned and painted up some things





Just today I have made up a bracket for my headlight going from the motor to the actual
headlight unit. The last owner had the right headlight off to make space for a cold air feed.
And when I came to put the headlight back on I couldn't find that one piece as he must
have lost it somewhere. Nevertheless, they both pop up now!



Received my HKB boss kit from DW today as well, banged that on along with my Nardi
I had laying about. Really need a spacer, preferably snap off so I can get some leg room.





Lastly I just painted the diff casing ALL GOLD EVERYTHING, ON MY TRINIDAD SWAG.



That's it for now, for now I just need to put my rear suspension back together and bang
that on. Then get it serviced and ready for my first drift day which hopefully is on the 16th November. Can't wait! Thanks for looking

[ciatingcars]

Ever since the original post I have done a few things. I'll let the pictures do the talking mostly

[Adamowsky]

Just going to copy and paste a few updates from another site I'm on! Totally forgot about updating this

Today after work I put the rear frame back together ready to go in.





Put the rear frame back on along with the welded diff and the DTSS delete bushes, also unseized the brake calipers, whacked new pads on and bled the system. Then put the 15"s on the back that I plan to drift on and did a wheel slip test. :nod: Realised parking is now a whole nother world with the welder hahahah



With the first drift day just being over a week away I needed to sort the harnesses out, as of now the car has no harnesses nor standard seat belts. Found a pair of these Willans harnesses in good condition, good price etc. When they arrived I went to fit them and quickly realised these are the kit car type harnesses. Lot shorter than the standard length I guess... So.... could ever sell them on and buy new harnesses on ebay or try and make them fit. Most of the harnesses I looked at on ebay had estimated delivery of two days before the actual drift day so I didn't want to risk it.



So I decided to keep those and make a harness bar. Did some drawings and the next morning headed down to B&Q for some metal pipes. Got some help of the old man as he is definitely a better welder :euge: Here's what we came up with, pretty happy with it considering its the first time we tried fabricating something like this :smash:





At the end of the day gave it a lick of etch primer followed by gloss black.







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[Adamowsky]

Saturday after work got to doing some last bits on the RX7 and then packing it with tyres and tools. A bit later on my mate in a MX-5 came up and we got started on fabricating a harness bar, started pretty late, about 10PM.... Managed to finish around 1:00 AM. Got few hours sleep, and set off to buxton around 7 AM :



First time going out whacked 60PSI in the back, was struggling to loose grip but slowly got the hang of it. After a bit decided the 205 Maxxis tyres were still grippy, they were what I got on the 15s from the last owner, even though they were worn to death still gripped well. :no: So I tried my old 195 tyres off the clio and it was a lot better. Handbrake did fuck all, all day. New rear brake pads and adjusted the lines tight and it wouldn't lock up in the wet. Proof of slips







Later on the day the car started loosing power all of a sudden, when hitting full throttle the engine would hit a wall at 4k rpm. Although when reving lightly it will go to redline. Internet says it could be the secondary injectors, bad earth grounds and all sorts. Since my FC has got shit idle and other little hesitation problems I want to try and sort it out over the winter. Preferably do a big service on it and replace all shit brittle 20yo wiring/ cracked hoses and stuff. So seat time for me ended about 2. Wasn't too mad as I'm still really happy to have taken it out before the end of the year. Now at least I know what to fix asap before next drift day. Afterwards we have packed up the car and did some passenger runs in my friends MX5.

Monday after work I went to DPD to collect my parcel, FC looking rather dirty after buxton !





Got my HSD's from DW! Really happy with them, I gave them some preventative maintenance, then put them on the car. Only did the fronts today, but will do rears tomorrow hopefully :smash:



Old shocks cracked and rusted round the bottom, complete dog shite!





Colors fit our new StyleCase Team stickers! :smokin:



After getting the ride height roughly where I want it. Later on I will get some nicer 16"s or 17"s I think to get the car lower without a hench kit.





Also want to get some spacers and extended lower ball joints to get a nicer stance up front :nod:



That's it for now, thanks for looking !

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Whacked rear coilovers on in the morning, they are maxed out so I'm really feeling some smaller wheels to get it lower and them JDM retro feels



Face down, ass up!

[Adamowsky]

Another thing I'v done was adapt these little struts I had laying about for the bonnet, got rid of the stick laying about in the engine bay. Overall, a bit cleaner now. :thumbs:



The interior, I really wanted to stain my steering wheel darker. While I started with that, I also wanted a gear knob to match. Couldn't really think of anything so decided to make up my own. Here's how it started.:euge:



And here's how it ended up after some shaping, staining and then finally some lacquer





The wheel turned out quite well as well, it's not as smooth as I'd like yet since the wood soaks up the lacquer into its texture. So because of that, I will flat it and lacquer it once more.



And just today I have picked up a master brake cylinder for the hydro, FC handbrake is waaaank. As well as, a water temperature gauge with a little plate to mount it in.





And here's what I ended up with today, made up the base for the hydro, adapted this lever I had laying about from a broken tool. Tomorrow, I need to slice into my 80s carpet ! Make up some sort of mount for it on the transmission tunnel and then finally smooth it all off and give it a lick of paint. :smash:



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Update! 14/12/2014

Worked a bit more on the sill



Meanwhile, lowered the clio a bit more. Liking that fitment more now (Y)



Mounted some quick release mounts for the front bumper, snapped about 12 bolts while removing it anyway. Them 80s feels.



Also, made up some ramps.



Put 15s on all around, mostly because the tyres on the 18s were totally dead and I haven't got money for freshies and also I prefer the retro look of 15s. :



Quick interior shot, steering wheel resprayed, made up gearknob and hydro mounted.



Got a aftermarket temperature gauge, apparently the FC OEM ones aren't too accurate, which I have found out myself after installing that one.



Cleaned up the bumper a little, got rid of the rattle can black special.



Also in the mean time I have done things such as wiring a new injector connector, cleaning loads of earth points etc etc To try and get rid of any hesitation issues that I'v been having at the first drift day.

Fast forward to today, got the car packed, filled up with fuel. Set off nice and early as there's loads of ice everywhere. The little road to the actual track was the worse, going sideways in a focus while trying to get a FC uphill was a taaask.



Sitting nicely



Got 1 proof of slips haha, by tyre smoke photography.





Was quite happy with the progress, could nearly link the whole track by the end of the day. Engine was pretty much faultless all day too, apart from a buzzer shouting ADD COOLANT! all day loooong :. hahaha

Also near the end of the day, I had the chance of following Lee in his soarer, was going quite well till we tried to do a 3 way with my mate (Chris) in his MX5. I basically got a bit too close on the first turn, tried backing off using the handbrake but it spun me round, chris by then was too close to react so long story short, he smashed his rear quarter against my front corner :wack: No biggie, just visual damage :smash: Overall though it was a sick day again! And I can't wait till 2015:thumbs:

After a little straightening so the headlights can go down :p



And back home



Finally, here's a little video my sister has made real quick. Thanks for looking manz :wave:

[jalenda9]

shirts TUCKED IN. awesome build dude. makes me want a fc so bad despite the fact I don't know accurately how rotaries function, willing to learn but I hear they need maintenance more or so than just regular piston motors. I would **** to be blowing apex seals and not know what to do next like most people haha

[Devocat]

nice! good stuff. how long have you been drifting? tandem bumps happen, look forward to seeing where this goes

[anti.engineered]

flat towing with a focus? balls of steel

[TeckniX]

Good start esp with white FC. List of things to do?

[Adamowsky]

shirts TUCKED IN. awesome build dude. makes me want a fc so bad despite the fact I don't know accurately how rotaries function, willing to learn but I hear they need maintenance more or so than just regular piston motors. I would **** to be blowing apex seals and not know what to do next like most people haha

Thanks man! I don't know much about rotaries either, hard learning curve it is.

nice! good stuff. how long have you been drifting? tandem bumps happen, look forward to seeing where this goes

Thanks man, I'v been drifting a month? Only done two drift days as of now.

flat towing with a focus? balls of steel

Lmao, 999cc 3 cylinder TURBO GOODNESS. "Pulls like a train" hahaha

Good start esp with white FC. List of things to do?

Thanks, yeees. Fix rust, fix stupid idle, fabricate an exhaust that sits higher and sounds better, get nicer wheels, do stance, be cool, buy a KFC, do skids.

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Little update :thumbs:

Fixed dent after the little bash at buxton



Mate came over for a day from Leamington so we took some pictures :thumbs:









Not much happening right now, I'm sorting the rust to get it M.O.T'ed this month, then next month I can hopefully TAX and lastly insure it. In the mean time I'm in the need of:

Fuel level sensor that goes on the fuel pump
TPS Sensor
New steering wheel quick release

[Adamowsky]

Forgot to keep updating this! So here's a little catch up

Update 20/02/2015

Let's start off with some sills, mine were quite bad. I imagine they would have been a lot better if the last owner wouldn't fill over it with silicone and body filler as soon as the rust started coming out.

Aids cut out


To see even more aids that needs cutting


Two days later and I had it welded up, primered, filled and now undersealed. Over that I just went over with a random off-white rattle can.


The door didn't get sprayed fully since its getting replaced soon anyway.


After the sill were done, it came MOT time. Not much of a problem except a rusty hole i missed out and a rear tyres. :euge:


In the meantime I have bought a new fuel sender, my car didn't have one. The OEM item didn't fit in the baffled tank so had to do some modifying to the float but after all there is some sort of fuel gauge now.



Also bought this bucket seat by the end of December! Got it early February, seller was a bit of a pain with shipping. :



It's all in the details Like this little gear boot I made from a spare rag in the garage.



Moving on to some recent stuff! The dreadful compression test! Went round to TGS to do the compression test just to have a piece of mind and make sure it is not the compression that's causing the idle. As it turns out, the engine is very healthy! Really good compression, very glad... ::nod:





Back at home, now that I knew the car isn't getting towed anywhere else it can go back to the OG height. Soo down it goeess :thumbs: Here's my new lip as well, its french. :smash:



Very very recent update now, after making my custom roof spoiler fit how I wanted. It was time to stick it on ^^



To go with my new spoiler, I have also went and got a can of white. And gave the boot spoiler a lick of white, while I was there i also smoothed the part where the RX7 sticker was, it literally just engraved into the paint and it looked horrible.



While I had the can, I also hit up the front wing which I fixed up and primed before.



I was quite chuffed how well the rattle can paint matched!





One shot of the interior how it is atm, I'v relacquered the Nardi recently, just need to give it a quick polish maybe.


....

And finally some pictures I took today of the bits sprayed up, the roof spoiler and lows :thumbs:









And one of the many reasons updates been so slooow, helping my sister with her B16 swap in her civic. Here's a picture of the engine bay I sprayed up :smash: