Was sort of wondering this myself - I'm assuming you're likely going to be re-finishing the factory door cards, which would make it easy to fill and cover the holes with new vinyl, or coming up with your own -? Cars back then had a lot less elaborately formed door cards, so that wouldn't surprise me.

I'm a little surprised no power windows stock, too - my '79 Plymouth/Mitsubishi Sapporo had that and a lot of other "luxury" (for the time) touches, and the Cosmo is the same class of sporty/lux coupe, if not more on the luxury side.

 

my 76 cosmo has factory power windows
Aaron still think it would have been less work buying my cosmo

matt

 

Haha, priceless! But everyone needs a talent, and if stripping is hers, then he has no right to deny her destiny. The world needs strippers, just like we need teachers, architects and plumbers.

Sounds like fun.

Based on my research, most Japanese and North American Cosmos (almost all of them) had power windows. Cosmos that went to Australia had manual windows. I don't know why there is a distinction between the two. So it was luck of the draw that I ended up with one equipped with manual windows. There couldn't have been that many out there. Originally I looked at other Mazda window regulators from the era (1st gen RX-7 and RX-4) to see if I could retrofit the motor but it didn't look easily possible. So when I ordered from AutoLoc I also picked up the power window kit. This was before I had found out that power windows were basically standard. I could have just had some Cosmo power window regulators shipped to me and bolted them right in, but meh, I already had the brand new AutoLoc actuators. And there is something to be said for a brand new, high-torque worm gear motor. These things move mountains.

As for the door panels, I actually have 3 sets of Cosmo door panels in varying conditions. Two came with the car and two were sent to me when I purchased a new passenger fender. I will likely only use them as a template because I will be making new interior door panels which look a little more modern and have room for things like speakers and switches. I was very careful with the actuators as to not cause any high spots except where the drive gear connects to the window crank, so making new door panels will be easy. The AutoLoc kit comes with caps equipped with retainers if the factory door panels are to be reused.

Oddly, my Cosmo also didn't come with A/C, which it should have. That's another episode, though.

Less work, probably. Less fun, most certainly. Just like it would have been far less work to install a TII engine into a 2nd gen and bolt on an aftermarket turbo kit.

The parts you sent arrived on Wednesday. I'm very happy with their condition. Thanks!

 

The parts you sent arrived on Wednesday. I'm very happy with their condition. Thanks!

Thats good news i was worried that the glass might get broken
and has hard as it is to find that would have been very bad!

my cosmo didnt have a/c either, but i do have it in a box just never did anything with it.
matt

 

I too seem to have some Cosmo A/C components that were in the trunk. But never installed on the car as the original heater box is still present.

Everything arrived without damage because it was well packed.

I meant to ask, how do the rear windows get installed? I gather the single screw holds them in place, and then are they just glued in place?

 

this is going from memory, last time i looked at this area was over 20 years ago!
the trim that goes around the window opening has a rubber seal that reaches to the
glass.
the front has a thin flat bar like piece with two screws that when tightened push the
glass to the rubber. the rear has the single screw and spacer (which should have been
still in the glass) I am sure i have the front attachment bars, but would take me
life time to find them, they are simple and i am sure you can make them.
I am sure you could use butyl tape and windshield urethane to put them it if you
dont have the trim seal things.

matt

 

Thank you! I can picture what you are referring to. I don't have the bars but they sound like just as simple 90 degree piece. Not having the original rubber seal I will likely have a glass guy glue the window in place and then I'll make a rubber filler to fit between the trim and the window.

 

Just as I promised last episode, it is finally time to build the engine! Part 12 of my RX-5 Cosmo restoration covers the entire process of building the 6 port 13B Mazda rotary engine. While this engine is a hybrid of GSL-SE RX-7 and Cosmo parts, the process is the same for any rotary from a 12A to a 13B NA, 13B Turbo, 13B-REW or any other variant of the 13B. This video shows the whole process of the engine build, starting from measuring the rotors and covering everything else including clearancing the side seals, assembling the rotors, complete assembly the short block, setting the eccentric shaft end play and installing the front cover and everything underneath it. It's probably the most complete engine build video outside of what you can buy from the vendors, and as such, is an hour long. After this one, I'm going back to videos under 20 minutes. But for now, grab a beverage of your choice, sit back, and enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijJeUk_GqiI

 

I never even thought of just putting the hylomar on the coolant seals hahaha
I wasted so much trying to do a thin line in the grooves all the way around

 

Back in the days of the good Hylomar I would typically coat the o-rings then brush a layer onto the opposite mating surface. But this new Hylomar dries out so there is only time to cover the o-rings and then immediately put them into the engine. The funny thing is that when I heard the old Hylomar was no longer produced I went around to every auto parts store in the city and ended up with a box of about 20 tubes. You think I can find them now?

It's also important not to overload the grooves with sealant, because the o-rings do need room to compress. I shudder when I see people pack them with RTV because I wonder how long it will be before it leaks or the iron cracks.

 

Hey Aaron, is that an oldschool crank with no oil bypass, or did you skip that part in the video?

 

Aaron,

Your progress is coming along nicely. Great addition to the build! I can basically do my own engine build now!

Can't wait to see the next installment.

 

The shaft is the Cosmo 13B shaft, so no oil bypass. All the under the front cover stuff is also Cosmo. The front cover, however, is GSL-SE so I can use the newer metering oil pump.

Thank you. The next installment will be kind of random because I have not had much time to work on the car lately, and might not be able to start any complicated tasks until things calm down.

 

So Aaron, what type of assembly lube do you recommend?

 

Royal Purple something or other. I forget now...

 

Could have sworn I heard you say Redline once or twice. Awesome video Aaron. You just kind of took all the sales of Atkins rebuild DVD away. I'm pretty sure I could put an engine together with that one.

 

It really wasn't my goal to destroy the market for the various vendor's rebuild videos, though I think I have seriously weakened it. Especially when I update my website to have that video embedded on a page which includes all the clearances and torque specs. There is something to be said for having a physical DVD that can be played anytime, easily fast forwarded, and if produced properly which each step of the assembly as a chapter, easily used for random reference.

 

is it easier or harder having the coolant seal grooves in the housings?

I used the how to PDF file by rotaryresurrection we were privileged enough to have posted up on rx7club for a short period. then i think he got mad at rx7club and took it down and left.... but the joke was on him cuz i saved it to an adobe file

 

It's the same, really. The only difference is that you should remember to install the seals before lowering the housing, because it is harder to do on the engine. It takes more effort to clean the grooves in the rotor housing vs. the irons.

I remember that PDF. Shame someone would take their ball and leave like that.

 

hahaha you should do a remake of that file. post it up on on your site with your video it would be basically everything you would need to know about building a rotary.

it was actually pretty good. lots of details on identifying good and bad used parts I just used the FSM for referance. has all the info and specs you need. little tips like gluing the oil pump key in place

 

With the engine built, it seemed logical to focus a bit on where that engine is to live: under the hood. Episode 13 has me stripping all the remaining mechanical components out of the engine bay in preparation for it to be blasted, repaired and painted. This is dirty grunt work, not particularly stimulating but at least it isn't sheet metal. It's been a while since my last update and rest assured, what you see here is only a small fraction of what has been done. I have plenty more footage ready to edit. Included in this episode: removing all engine bay mechanical components, removing brake lines and cylinders, labelling and removing wiring harnesses, removal of the steering gear, orderly disassembly of an engine bay.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJwP0RMLyis

 

I smell a TV deal in the works. Powerblock TV is seriously lacking a rotary based show. Surely this would slot in nicely between Muscle Car and Trucks. Of course you'd have to paint the stars & bars on the hood of that there Cosmo, but after that I'm sure Aaron would be one of the good ol' boys.

 

From someone involved in making Powerblock, I learned a few years ago that anytime they show anything import related (even Toyotas on Xtreme 4x4 and Trucks) they get an epic dumping of hate mail over the next few days. Every wondered why they don't show much import stuff? That's why. Trucks and Xtreme 4x4 get away with it a little but I was told they still see a surge in hate mail while they do an import project. Remember Trucks' Mazda V8 project? Notice that every time they described something positive on the truck they called it a Ford, but when they talked about limitations they referred to it as a Mazda.

Diety forbid that Horsepower TV does something other than build the same old carbureted V8 on camera again and again and again. Sure, once and a while they toss in a plug and play EFI setup or try to do forced induction (did you notice that their twin turbo "shoe box" Chevy doesn't have any wastegates?) but really, it's the same old iron being built every week.

 

^ ... that's why I don't watch those shows anymore. The more I learn about cars, the less intelligent those shows become.
The fact that they get hate-mail for showing imports really shows where there viewer base is located though eh?
I wouldn't be surprised if Stacey left trucks because they got hate-mail about his name being too girly.

 

I loved watching trucks with Stacey. Even though it was a script he actually looked like he was enjoying it and really into it and the projects were awesome. The new guy is as boring as those two dullards on Horsepower.