cab91089

iTrader: (3)

It was May 2011 when I was restoring a 1986 base model Rx-7. When I was looking through the classified section in the newspaper and seen the ad for this Rx-7 that Im now writing about. I called and went to look at it. Found out that it was a shell because he was going to drop in a 350 small block (waste of a Rx-7) and the guy wanted $1,500 for it. I looked the car over and made the decision he wanted too much and left, trying to forget about the car. A month later the guy calls me back because he bought his wife a new car and she wanted the Rx-7 gone. So I went back offered $500 and the Rx-7 was mine. Here are some pictures from when I gave him the money for the car. At this time it was July.





Notice the clear coat faded on the rear bumper ^








The Rx-7 was only 1 town over from mine so it was a quick 10 minute ride home. Once I got it home I starting digging around and found that the leak in the top cause rot outs right behind the seats on both sides. The wiring under the dash was hacked up by the P.O. for almost everything. The entire exhaust was badly rusted. When I looked under the car it seemed ok but it was dark, I had no flashlight, and the tips looked fine. As you can see in the pictures above the P.O threw on some random exhaust at one point. So the first few weeks I took car of the wiring, pulled the exhaust and began looking for an engine and top. I ran into a guy in my town (Nazareth,Pa where KDR used to be for years while I was in middle school. Id walk home from school straight through there parking lot full of Rx-7s. I had no clue Id be addicted to them a few years later lol) but this guy bought a mint SA/FB Rx-7 and swapped in a 5.7 V8 why? I dont know. But he came over my house and gave me the 70k 12a engine and trans for FREE! So I posted it up for sale on here and to my suprise a forum member from Rhode Island wanted it in trade plus $100 for another 1990 Rx-7 Convertible. So I got a dolly and drove to Rhode Island with the 12a in tow. It took all day to get there and back home but it went down smooth. Here are some pictures of what I called the parts car.







I got the part car home and pulled the engine out by the next day. (Note: The parts car is automatic and my vert is 5 speed.)

cab91089

iTrader: (3)

Next I had to swap wiring harnesses from the auto to the manual one.





Top came off the parts car next



Since the exhaust on both Rx-7s were completely shot I bought a new exhaust consisting of Racing Beat Road Race headers to collector, then to an OBX cat back.

Old exhaust pictures



Sorry this one is dark because it was getting dark when I took it.



And heres the new exhaust for the car.



Like I said earlier the engine was from an auto so I needed a clutch kit and I bought an OEM kit. I cant remember the name or brand off the top of my head but it seemed to be a solid, good clutch.





By the time all of this happened were now into the end of October beginning of November. I ordered NGK plugs & wires, K&N oil filter, Atkins fuel filter, & new intake gaskets. Time to install the engine!



Installed the radiator



Now the hoses came like 2 weeks later so heres a picture with them installed.

cab91089

iTrader: (3)

And heres one where Im just about done with the engine but I still need a few parts such as AFM, intake duct, long intake bolt, and getting a mid pipe welded in and Im custom fitting the split air pipe into the mid pipe so I dont have to eliminate the air pump or air control valve.



The trim around the windows were rusting and I hate rust so I sanded and painted the trim and this is the result.



As of 2/4/12: As I was filling the coolant up I was very unhappy to find out that my water pump gasket is shot and coolant was pouring all over the floor. So I started the process of taking the water pump off. Im just having trouble with the last bolt on the bottom right next to the eccentric shaft pulley. It wont come out any farther because of the pulley so I cant get the water pump off until I get that bolt out. I still am in need of an AFM, intake tube, and intake bolt. I found a welder for my exhaust I just need the metals to make the 2 inch to 3 inch adaptor. I plan to S5 Turbo2 swap this convertible at the end of the summer of 2012. I will continue to update as I go. Very soon Ill have it up and running. I left some pictures out so here are some more pictures to enjoy of my convertible.















^^Not the parts car, I took the top off of my convertible to prep it for the new
top.

cab91089

iTrader: (3)

Update: I got the water pump off. I realized the weep hole was where the coolant was coming from so that means the pump seal has failed. I replaced the water pump once before in another Rx-7 Ive owned and I cant believe I forgot that you have to take off the e shaft pully to take the bottom bolt out of the water pump. I have an s4 water pump I took off an engine before I sold it. Im going to swap the s4 water pump over to the s5 water pump housing tonight. Im making my own gaskets with rubberized cork gasket material I have laying around. Should be a relatively easy fix. I realized my s5 water pump housing is missing the square thread sensor plug. There are 2, 1 circular and 1 square. I need the square one if anyone has one theyll sell me! Ill take pictures and post them tomorrow.

beefhole

iTrader: (29)

good job saving the car from rotting. i hope to have a vert of my own some day.

cab91089

iTrader: (3)

Thanks, I got it at the perfect time too because if it would have sat too much longer the under carriage would have been too far gone to save. The rust isnt that bad but the top was leaking a lot so it wouldve gotten a lot worse really fast.

cab91089

iTrader: (3)

Update for 2/5/12: s4 water pump is different then the s5. I knew the housing was slightly different but I thought the pumps were the same bolt pattern. Wrong. So I have to find a used s5 water pump now. $75 is too much for a new one when you're broke.

Landon303

iTrader: (25)

Sweet looks just like mine! (89 black vert, my build threads here too lol). Keep it up, bet ya can't wait to get it running. There's a couple part's I need off your parts car, PM me if you're willing

Landon

cab91089

iTrader: (3)

Awesome, whats your build thread name? Ill check it out. Ive been dying to hear this thing run I havent heard one of my Rx-7s start in about 2 years haha but about my parts car, I actually pulled a lot of parts off the car then sold the parts seperately and then sold the car for $175 to a guy that wanted the interior for his vert restoration so its not mine anymore but if it was I would have gladly sold parts off of it to you.

Landon303

iTrader: (25)

Here's mine: https://www.rx7club.com/build-threads-294/my-89-vert-graduation-gift-985391/

Wow 2 years? Longest I've gone was about 5 months, lol. You'll be thrilled when it's finally going. How long do you figure you've got? Keep up the good work man!

cab91089

iTrader: (3)

Yeah work has sucked for me every winter because no one builds anything during winter up here and I hang drywall, finish, and paint. So it takes me awhile to actually finish a project but I figure by the end of March itll be done and on the road. Then at the end of this summer Im going to Turbo2 swap it. Thanks though and I definitely will keep at it I love my car

bigdv519

iTrader: (3)

Finally got to read your build...good job saving another vert.

If I could go back and get a black vert instead of my white one, I would. I've always loved the black verts.

gtouch

iTrader: (5)

Did it have three exhaut tips??

cab91089

iTrader: (3)

Thanks! Im no where near done with building it. This is just the beginning of what I have planned. I didnt know too much about verts when I bought it but now after learning more about them Im glad that I ended up with a black on black vert. The only colors just dont look as good to me but are still awesome! Looks like I found an AFM and water pump for the car too @gtouch, the previous owner had a dual tipped muffler on one side and the stock muffler on the other side. Thats all gone and at the scrapyard now though.

gtouch

iTrader: (5)

Haha alright anyways good luck on everything its looking great so far!

_Mac_

iTrader: (9)

Looks like solid work, keep it up!

cab91089

iTrader: (3)

@gtouch, I thought the exhaust looked terrible the minute I saw it and when I went to remove the entire exhaust from the car it was so rusted it literally fell into pieces. In the build thread somewhere up above I have a picture of the new exhaust going on. The Racing Beat Road Race header I bought off of a forum member on here and I met up with a guy on Route 611 for the OBX catback. All with less then 100 miles on them, not bad for only spending $250. @Mac & gtouch, thank you guys for the support! I have dumped a lot of money and time into building this car the way I wanted it to be and Im glad someone else besides me appreciates the work I put into it!

cab91089

iTrader: (3)

Update for 2/9/2012: Swapped a water thermo sensor from my s4 waterpump housing to the s5 waterpump housing. At first I didnt think they were interchangable but turns out they are. Also here is another picture I forgot to post. Sorry for the random black line, I must have done that when I was messing around in paint.

cab91089

iTrader: (3)

2/15/12: Broke a bolt off in the waterpump housing and another broke where the waterpump pulley mounts to the area where the cooling fan also mounts. Taking them out in the next couple days, I need to use my step dads friends broken bolt extractor. Have spare bolts to replace them but I need to find some gasket material because Im not sure if the rubberized cork gasket material will work well with the coolant and heat. I also took the FTP lenses off the parts car I had before I sold it. The clear coat was fading pretty bad so I used some 800 grit sandpaper and headlight lens restorer and cleaned them up a little and installed them. They arent 100% perfect but they look good, a lot better then 2 empty spaces

JerryLH3

iTrader: (11)

I'm at over two and a half years now since my car has run and quickly approaching three years. I can't believe it's been that long.

6777barry

Nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

cab91089

iTrader: (3)

Thanks 6777barry! Update: Sanded and painted the water pump. Still waiting to get this damn broken bolt out of the water pump housing. Started working again this week so all of the parts I need to finish the car are going to be purchased by the end of the week. After all of the engine work is done I am having my top repaired by a guy at this shop that has been repairing tops and things like them for over 50 years. I keep forgetting to take pictures as I go. I will have more up soon with what has been going on!

Chucky norris

iTrader: (1)

My buddy let me borrow his vert for about a week and I have to say I loved it. Same black s5 model

cab91089

iTrader: (3)

You should buy one! I have yet to drive my vert but I know its going to be fun as driving any Rx-7 is but trips to the beach this year are going to kick ***!

DRsnoopy

iTrader: (1)

inspiration, i also picked up a 1988 black convertible with 92k for $450