Finally picked up my first FD after owning 7 FC's!(still own one)
I picked up a 1994 SSM touring, popular equipment package, black leather, 76k miles.
The car is all stock minus a racing beat catback, it even came with the original window sticker and bill of sale from the dealership.

I've definitely learned my fair share of lessons with those cars and that's how I've decided the path for my FD at least for now. I want to keep the car as close to stock as possible, while improving its reliability.

Unfortunately, as with many cars its age, it needs some maintenance in a bad kind of way. The vaccum/turbo system needs attention, it has the common 5th gear grind, the brakes need an overhaul, has a nice rear end bushing clunk, it leaks oil and leaks coolant. So all of these things will need to addressed first and foremost.

What the car does have going is a healthy engine and a pretty clean body.

So far I've picked up a 3" downpipe and wrapped it in dei titanium wrap. The stuff held up to my fc pretty well. A k&n drop in filter. An aluminum ast. A sparco shift ****(couldn't help myself). An ARC smic. And tossed a set of 6000k HIDs in I had lying around(factory lights were horrible, wow.)

An aluminum radiator, ground kit, full brake kit front and rear plus stainless lines, a boost guage, a wideband and a power fc are all in the immediate future as well.

Now I just need to find the time to tear into it, tune it and enjoy it!

More pics to come soon

 

 

Nice FD, great direction on the reliability mods

 

I've been too busy to work on the FD between work and school lately, however I did pick up this mint set of BBS wheels. I think you will all approve!

 

Absolutely! Congrats on the FD purchase - good luck with it!

 

Got to love a reliability build. Reliably rebuild half the bay with after market parts

Good luck

 

Ooooo, ahhhh, glass sunroof. Like where this is going!

 

Just ordered:
BBS hub centric rings
Complete new coolant hose kit
Powerstop zinc coated, drilled slotted rotors and ceramic pads
Stop tech braided stainless brake lines

I'm going to have a little money as I do time when I'm done with this thing!

 

Got my full pillar dual guage pod holder in from speedhut today, fitment looked really nice minus being a little tight in the guage holes, but a little sanding will remedy that. I couldn't stand the thought of drilling a perfect black pillar that has survived this long.

Picked up a depo boost guage
Innovate lc1 wideband on its way
Koyo n-flow radiator on its way

 

I put the rx7's away until spring, hopefully I can find some time to work on them then. I wish a had a garage to pick away at them over the winter, a tarp and car covers will have to do this year!

 

Found a garage for the winter!

 

Man, am i glad i decided to tear the engine down to the block, not just fix the couple little things that i knew were wrong.

Somewhere in it's life the car got a cheap silicone vacuum line job, including vacuum to the oil injectors, no surprise, they swelled and had popped right off.

One of the actuators on the twins was totally disconnected, the one on the very bottom, not sure which it is yet.

the hard pipe off the rear turbo was loose

one of the fins on the cold side of the front turbo has a real nice bend

atleast end play was good in both turbos and they weren't puking oil! plus i have a spare set.

Also noticed my motor is a Mazda reman, so that's not a bad thing!

the wiring harness id definitely getting a rewrap and other attention harness

broke one of my OMP lines while i was pulling things apart, so now those will be replaced as well!

I'll be doing a compression test soon to check up on my engine health, those omp vacuum lines concerned me. the car was flooded when i put it away(had to push her in the garage) so im not going to expect stellar compression numbers anyways. I'll rebuild the motor is needed.

The guy a bought this car from really took me for a ride. it was supposed to be perfect minus needing some o-rings replaced in the AC lines. Oh well atleast i got my FD.

 

It's possible the PO didn't know it had that many issues. History shows that a lot of rx7 owners don't have a ******* clue.

 

after showing pictures of his 3 rotor race car "he built", safe to assume he knew it was fucked up. my 1st fd and i knew it needed work once i showed up. but i was 4 hours away, money in hand and wanted an FD so i dealt with the guys lies and now im paying for it!

 

Started bead blasting all the hardpipes, brackets and the rats nest. Coming out really nice. Any suggestions on heat/gas resistant paints? I was going to have everything powder coated but i think I'll keep it simple here

 

Not sure about gas resistant, but you could always use the high temp paint they carry at auto stores. I think even WalMart has them now.

I like the powder coating route myself. You could always polish it right?

 

I usually use high heat enamel paint for this stuff but it doesn't hold up great to gas. I thought about the powder coating route but I'm not sure of anywhere local that does it

 

Templeton...

I use these guys in Wakefield for for powdercoated stuff at work. I haven't been to there shop personally, but i guess its right next to napa on rt16

http://www.colorcoatings.net/

-Jacob

 

Oooooo excellent! Jacob why are you still on the forums? you don't have an Rx anymore! Pretty sure your old car is being parted out on Maine craigslist!

 

I like to come here and remember why i don't have one anymore . And sell stuff to fund more days at the track. And yes, Ben gave up putting my car together and is selling it, i saw it, briefly thought about it, and said hell no im all set. I might get an FD in the future depending on how i like the whole scca and nasa scene, but ill cross that road in a few years

 

Another beginner. I'll be watching what your progress includes in the next several months. I on the other hand am new to the world. The car is right now at Pettit racing getting worked on.

 

I've been going back and fourth on how stock I want to keep the car. I was planning on keeping as close to stock as possible while improving on reliability and any power that comes with it as a plus. This is still the game plan! I'll just be adding a few more mods to the list. Simplified stock sequential system, airpump and partial emissions delete, aluminum underdrive pulleys and a midpipe.
Might do some powdercoating on stuff depending on expense as well

 

Do you think that the mods you will be doing will take away from the stock factor and how clean the car is and hurt the appeal to other enthusiasts or potential enthusiasts appreciating the virginity of the vehicle? I fight the idea of having the car how I like v.s. how I want to keep it pure and clean. I get constant compliments and thumbs up because the car hasn't been modified.

 

While the mods are moving a little from stock, they will be functional and barely noticeable to the untrained eye. I want to hit the key places the FD is in need of improvement.
So while yes, i will be taking away from the near completely stock aspect of the car, there are lower mile, cleaner, all stock examples out there. But an FD that you can hop in, drive and not worry about, at nearly that same form has gained all that value back if you ask me.

The factory cats in the exhaust keep a lot of heat in the engine bay and a prone to failure. So they need to go. I will likely put a high flow cat or at least a resonator in their place to keep noise down.

With no factory cat, the airpump is pointless, it can go, they're waiting to fail on their own at this age as it is.

Simplifying the suquential system at this point is a no brainer at this point, less parts to fail equates to greater reliability.

Upgrading the cooling system is a no brainer, not to mention you can't see the radiator in the factory location as it is.

The intercooler is also a piece screaming to be upgraded from the factory unit. The ARC smic fits right in the factory location. With some black couplers only an FD owner would know that difference.
I'll probably also go with black anodized pulleys if I get them to keep everything looking stock and clean.

The sparco shift **** which replaced the worn original as well as the wideband and boost guages on the pillar will be all that sets the interior away from stock.

The HID's while definitely take away from the stock look of the car, were necessary. The stock headlight output is garbage!

The wheels are the same as those on the spirit r rx7, so while not stock. Theyre the closest upgrade to stock I could imagine.

All that being said I hear where you're coming from, which is why I'm trying to keep the mthisI do to a minimum with all of this

 

I appreciate this thread. I've had my fd for a little over a year now and have been following the same game plan. Though you're moving along much faster than I am!

Please keep us updated.