ah indeed dear chap.. ive tried to make good use of my time by making some of that stuff that rhymes with honey.. seems like when your a rx7 owner you always need more. worth every penny tho

 

It's been nearly a month...wake up!

 

Yessir! I should have actually received my Engine this weekend but as i havent had any correspondence from the gentleman that is putting it together i can Only assume that he's a Little behind. He did actually forewarn me that he had two race-motors to build before mine so its cool. The main reason for my inactivity has been a little outbreak of chronic lumbago ive had for the last three weeks which, if you havent experienced it, sucks immensely. I have been on a steady diet of painkillers and a couple visits to my chiropractor (who is luckily my next door neighbour) has pretty much sorted it out. I havent had pain for the last couple days which will make possible the 8 hour drive back and forth to pick up my engine possible and also the installation of said keg =) hopefully next week ill have a very nice tight 13b in the garage and I can get my ratchet out!

 

Back still on the fritz or has the lingonberry harvest slowed you down?

 

My back has decided to behave itself for the moment and Swedish summer is in Full swing. Many a Lingonberry has been picked but i have mostly been keeping myself busy at work and just waiting for my motor to arrive. It was also a little bit of an unsure situation with the garage i had moved to because i hadnt had any concrete confirmation that i would be able to stay but i spoke with him last Week and its official! Got somewhere to work on my car. Yay! Its midsummer this weekend which is quite celebrated here. Everybody exept for Me and probably some other poor souls get friday (and i Think monday) off. I ought to be able to pick up my Engine on monday or tuesday and im starting to feel the excitement =)

 

At this rate she'll be ready to drive just in time for the annual Return Of The Glacier.
Or, as we more southernly sited folk call it, August.

 

hopefully sooner than that! i have the whole week off next week apart from 8 hours on wednesday and....as long as everything goes to plan (famous last words) i should be able to start her up by the end of the week. saying that, what i want and what i get are, in general two completely different things =)

 

Yup. My previous post and clokkers prognosis were completely accurate. Im gna have to wait till next Week for my motor. The gentleman that is rebuilding my motor has alot on his Plate so im more than happy to wait. I would much rather have quality than speed anyway. I have mostly been drowning my childish dissapointment in skateboarding and danish Beer. Update soon!

 

finally got both keys to the new garage yesterday which was restricting my access a fair bit and went down today with my trusty buddy joel to get something, anything done..



as you can see, this pile of assorted crap consists of my A/C pump, condenser and radiator, and my steering servo. i used the radiator as a makeshift tray to lift up everything i had removed, and was quite satisfied with the weight i have now removed. that combined with the weight i have removed by putting the rb lightened flywheel which approx 5-6 kgs amounts to a nice weightloss in my opinion!
we had started removing the harness but it got too late so we called it a day. any tips for removing the harness from the headlamps when theyre closed? i got a bit stuck there..

once ive got that removed ill be cleaning the engine bay. tomorrow, not next month

 

went down to the garage straight after work today. me and my buddy managed to solve the headlight problem by creating another one. typical..
then we proceeded to block off the power steering in true "bonde meck" style. loosely translated this means farmer mechanic =)

it ended up looking like this...



then once we had got the harness out of the way we gave the engine bay a good scrubbing and a twice-over with a high-pressure washer which came out quite nicely. because the engine bay is white, i soon found myself in the evil circle of thinking i was finished and then seeing that spot i missed. when i finally convinced myself it was clean enough, it looked like this..




next ill be cleaning up the harness and putting it back in its rightful place. one things bugging me though, am i going to get a bunch of flashing lights telling me things arent working when i start her up later? if so, are there any preventative measures i can take while everythings nice and accessible? *warning* i really really suck at electronics. just being honest

 

The body harness (driver side) can be installed and tested before the engine goes back in.
Lights, horns, signals should all work.

 

My brother just got himself a 1996 Civic hatchback without power steering(it's got a B18c swap) and I hate driving it. I'm 180lbs and going from his car to my FC with power steering makes me realize how easy it is to steer the RX7. Is it really that big of a difference? Or does it have to do with his steering rack ratio? Reversing and moving slowly in parking lots SUCKS in his car.

 

looking good! seems like we are both sitting at the same stage.

 

I resisted the first time but am no longer able...
In reference to you pic of the depowered rack...you did a horrible job quite nicely.
I especially savor the three matching sets of hose clamps, a nice touch.

Might I suggest a spacer to replace the banjo, with the bolt screwed down onto it?
I assume you've drained the fluid and removed the seals, so there's no pressurized fluid to contain...basically, you're more concerned with crap getting in than stuff leaking out at this point.

Just a standard pipe (copper plumbing, maybe?) of the correct diameter and cut to the right length to mimic the banjo fitting (10mm or so), should serve nicely.
And look a bit less like you fell in love with the John Deere catalogue.

Of course, I understand that you're busy waiting for the new engine so you may not have the time now.

 

^I was waiting for this post.

 

@clokker
you should never resist my dear sir your advice has been invaluable to me during this project and you gave me my first laugh of the day today over my coffee. john deer.. good to know i can check the harness before the motor goes in and i think the idea with the copper piping instead of the banjos is great i will be doing that instead it would look a lot better. (saying that im pretty sure that i forgot to turn the steering wheel full lock in both directions a few times before i tightened them up so ill have to check that)
concerning the power steering rack, you sent me that link with the mazda mx5 steering rack removal guide. when you wrote "remove the seals" did you mean that i should take off the whole steering rack as it showed? i didnt think that the work involved was worth the gains it would yield so i decided to just block them off as in the pictures above. have i been a lazy bugger now?

 

@ryan2949
im not sure its hard to say really. i gave it a test once i had tightened everything up and it wasnt a pain in the *** or anything to turn the wheel. saying that, i dont have a motor in right now, and i will have 9 inch wide wheels up front later so im assuming that i can expect a bit more resistance then. i weigh about 200lbs and when i tested it it was both on the garage floor which is really smooth and the asphalt outside and the difference was unnoticeable. basicly it remains to be seen how much fore-arm training im in for one thing i can confirm however, is that the feeling is waaay better than before. with the power steering it felt spongy and late kinda. now it feels so much more solid so im glad i did it. wierd with the honda because its a light car even despite the engine swap. maybe it is as you say with the steering rack ratio...

 

@eli_rx_oli
cheers man! hopefully i can keep my pace up it slowed down a bit the last couple months =9

 

so i decided to pull my finger out of my bum and go to the garage after work today. we had absolutely gorgeous weather so i opened up the garage doors, put on some tunes and got cracking on the harness.
even though i have a phobia of car electronics, i found the entire process of cleaning and re-taping the various cables and wires quite therapeutic. i got the most of it back in place and by the time my grumbling stomach reminded me that i hadnt eaten for twelve hours and that i should go burger-hunting, i had it looking somewhat presentable..

ab5b7176-ced5-42e1-8ad3-73f6dbda9539.jpg?t=1372975014

am i right in assuming that the hose i have indicated with my shaky red arrow is a part of the a/c that i dont need anymore? please say yes. im rather starting to enjoy the whole weight reduction thing. so much so in fact, that im considering maybe putting her on a proper diet. only thing stopping me is that it would be a shame to ruin the well preserved interior, and i does seem that stripping an rx7 depends on ones goals in terms of streetability and im not sure if im ready to get my earplugs out just yet. one things for certain however, that bloody back seat is strictly for decorative purposes and is looking more and more like weight to me...

i had hoped to get my motor this week but after a enjoyable chat with the chappie who is rebuilding it i was informed that it wont be ready for another two weeks so i will be using this time to prepare the car as much as possible before its much anticipated arrival, redeem my recent inactivity on this thread , but mostly try to contain my boyish excitement...

 

ya man you got it thats for the vents...THROW IT AWAY.. IN A FIREY PIT OF DEATH!!

 

Sorry, but no.
That's the return from the heater core, the other end plugs into the lower radiator bung.
My understanding is that occasionally it gets nippy in the Aryan Nation...a heater might be a good thing. Or maybe your sealskin longjohns keep you warm enough.

As for the "weight plan".

Personally, until I hear the words "carbon fiber hatch" and "Lexan all around", I think most people are just dicking around. Gutting the interior is a minor savings compared to the OEM glass and hatch, if you can't be serious, a loud uncomfortable cabin is just posing for penance.

 

i intend to keep the heater even though i will keeping her garaged during the brutally cold winter months. i wouldnt have a problem with driving it in winter if it wasnt for the snow. the last couple of years we have had so much (last winter we had snow on the ground for about 5 months) that im considering sorting out a licence for heavy goods vehicles so that i can get some of that "snow ploughing money". they get payed very well and the 7 has turned into a right golddigger =)
sealskin longjohns hahaha its a bloody good idea mate!

apropos weight saving, i would be inclined to agree with you when it comes to the interior. it is in really nice condition in my opinion considering its a 27 yr old car so it really would be a shame to chuck it. i have had a look at lexan glass and its rather expensive! (which by the way doesnt surprise me anymore) i found it for 1000kr per square metre (149.30 dollars at the going rate) and thats for 1.5 millimeter thick lexan . they have up to 12mm thick which is over 3 times the price. the weight savings i would acheive make it worth the money though and i would need to shed some pounds once i put on the much heavier widened steelies.
my 7 has a aluminium bonnet if thats what you meant by hatch. this i realised when i nearly threw it through the ceiling when i was going to remove it for the first time..
right. bacon and eggs consumed, coffee inbibed, time to go work out then its off to the garage. im off work for six days now. yaaaaay!

 

oh shoot ya clokker your right! my bad meerkat

 

no worries mate clokker got 7s on lock down =) i appreciate all input its nice to be able to babble on about my car to people who actually are interested in cars instead of to my poor colleages at work whom im sure are on the brink of strangling me if they have to hear me pondering out loud about it hehe

 

Rear hatch= rear glass and surround.
It's quite heavy, unbolt it by yourself and see.