Finally found a stock RX7 series 3 :D which i have purchased for my eldest son who has been accepted to Griffiths University doing Bio-Medical Science for 2006.

I will be carrying out a total engine rebuilt even though it only has 104.000 km on the clock and transplanting the transmission from Automatic / to a 5 speed manual

Any pointers on the RX7 rebuild are welcome

Heres a pic of an identical white RX7 THAT WE PURCHASED excepting our wheels are the stock ones

B...free

michael

 

I wish your son a lot of fun with it.
Gosh, I wish I had an 18 year old son to justify buying a 1st Gen RX7...
My daughter is only 2 1/2. That said, I already managed to buy a model RX8 for her on e-bay :D.

Fabrice

 

Fabrice my son turns 17 on thursday 11th of August , they can drive here at 17 , yep hes a lucky young man and i am actually looking forward to driving his car :D

I am looking forward to rebuilding the car with my mechanic, and having some fun

B...free
michael

 

congrates on the buy
it time to hit Ausrotary forum and get as much info as you want/can
http://ausrotary.dntinternet.com/forums/

in the mean time..... sounds like perfect for spare parts :D
http://forums.fastfours.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=95562

 

And congratulations on your son's winning a place at Griffiths Medical School, Michael.

 

Ezzy

Thanks for the info , i have already been hunting around for info on the site , funny enough my son wants to re-spray his RX7 a similar colour to your ride .

Maybe i will have to come to Sydney for a re-spray but i dont think i could afford your prices or the time it would take you to complete it :D

How much would a re-spray cost ?

Jellybean .

I am a proud father luckily his a great student , and is focused on his studies , unlike his father who was too easily distracted chasing skirt and was asked to leave his final year of school

B.....free
michael

 

Great Michael!

I've been looking for a good series III for a while.

Well, I reckon the first decision you have to make is whether to keep it as original as possible (my preference, 'cos I reckon this 7 is going to be a classic) or to modify it. I guess a total restoration freak would probably even wave a finger at the transmission change

In my search for a good series III, so far I have found a lot of crap -- they do rust and the interior wears badly -- some really sik modifieds (what colour purple do you like )...and some downright dangerous modifieds (one with a turbo 13B that had dyno sheets for 192 rwKw....and about 8" of free play in the steering )

As I said, good clean originals are hard to find and are increasing in value. It's not an RX-8 but it was every bit as revolutionary in its day...so I'd suggest you give that decision some thought


-----------

Postscript: just saw your reply to Ezzy....oh...

 

Timbo

The only mod i am making at this stage is changing the tranny from auto to the series 3 - 5 peed manual

You know how i feel about Automatic cars specially rotaries so a change is definetely in order , i will be using stock series 3 gear box , flywheel , clutch , so it will be as original as possible .

I have been also looking around for a while and i agree most of the ones i have seen have been real basket cases , but with luck i have found an original car the last owner had it for 8 years ( allways a good sign in my books )

It only has 104,000km on the odometer , and it seems to be rust free with an interior / exterior as good as new :D , its the original mazda white which is great safe colour but may change it to an Ezzy type jaffa orange at a later date .

I AM DOING/ ORGANIZING A TOTALL STOCK REBUILD ON THE ENGINE as well because i want it to be as reliable as possible .

Anyway its great because it will keep me occupied for the next few weeks before i go overseas .

B...free
michael

 

Those are stock wheels - for a series 2. S2 wheels are 13x5.5", S3 wheels are 14x6". Additionally, any pre-S3 wheels will not bolt up to an S3 as the bolt pattern is different (4x110 pre-S3, 4x114.3 S3).

I had a stock, rebuilt S2 as my daily driver for 4 years, 2000-2004 so I know a little about them

The advantages of the S3 over the S2 are manyfold but aren't immediately apparent in daily use. S3s have (over S2s and S1s):
Bigger brakes
Bigger stock wheels and tyres
A slightly different interior (s2 is vastly different to s1, s2/3 less so)
Bigger fuel lines
Slightly different rear-suspension mounting points
"beehive" oil "cooler" instead of a propper one in front of/under the radiator
larger radiator than s1/2
Slightly different port-timing (bigger than s1/2 but only noticeable with better breathing overall)
Different original suspension (though s2/3 all take the same upgrades)
and a stack more significant and insignificant things.

As it's for your son a totally stock rebuild isn't a bad idea but some extremely mild porting (so mild it's just tidying up the edges of the ports) is a good idea for two reasons: (1) the tiny amount of extra power is nice and (2) you'll get better fuel economy from a mildly ported engine. Similarly, a good set of extractors and a good exhaust will free up some power that is lost in the unnecessarily restricitve stock exhaust system and give better fuel economy. If you're totally wedded to the idea of a stock rebuild, at least get the extractors and exhaust, the difference is truely noticeable on an s3. Once you've done that a modified standard-looking carb is the go for better performance and economy without unwanted under-bonnet attention.

Finally, be aware that you can still buy various bits and pieces for the 1st generation RX-7 new from Mazda, including some dash parts which will be handy for your auto-manual conversion.

When the power-window switches stop working, PM me and I'll tell you how to fix them.

 

Saru

Your input is much appreciated , i am sure i willl be asking you a lot more questions in the future . :D

Can you tell me the approximate litres per 100km on the series 3 and the tank capacity .

B...free

 

Sweet. I have a white S2 in my garage just waiting for some free time.

I would fit a bigger front sway bar and either remove the rear or fit a smaller one. I know it sounds horrible but can anyone here say 'Snap Oversteer'.

If you are having steering slop problems the S3 has an even worse steering box the the S2 and i believe they are interchangeable.

Lucky kid. I had to buy my first rotary, and second, and third.....

Matt

 

Welcome to the forum ,and thanks for your input my son hasnt got a free ride he has been working at Red rooster for $6.38 per hour and has saved up his pennies for over a year :D i will be giving him a hand with it , but he deserves most of the credit :D

B...free
michael

 

A bit of a brain-dump again...
I used to get between 12 and 14 L/100km day to day, driving it like a rotary I was paranoid about running out of fuel so I'd always fill up at 400-450kms. All RX-8 rotary-specific procedures apply with regard to warming up etc. Flooding should not be a problem as the carb'd cars seem immune to that issue.

Like the RX-8, an S3 is quite efficient at consistent speeds but stop-start traffic ruins the economy. I believe the S3 fuel tank is 65L - again another difference to the S1/2 which were 55L.

S3s have smaller rear sway-bars than S2s And the different rear-suspension mounting locations are supposed to cure the snap-oversteer or at least reduce it. In my experience, on good tyres and at sensible speeds there's no snap oversteer. Given a boot full, you can kick the rear out pretty easily though, and there's lift-off oversteer too.

1st gen RX-7s aren't sophisticated cars, especially suspension-wise. They are little more than RX-3s with the leaf-sprung live axle replaced with a 4-link coil job (yes, like the RX-2 but the RX-2s is even worse, why do you think they went to leaves for the RX-3 and RX-4?) that has some inherrent flaws.

How "stock" do you want to go with your resto? I have a list that I would follow for a "stock" daily driver which I can PM you or post here.

 

Oh, don't go reading American info on 1st gen RX-7s and expecting it to be true for Australian cars.

 

Nice one Michael, good to see the hours at "red rooster"????? paid off..and bloody good show on the college entry!!

 

Dont you have red rooster in New Zealand it a a franchised takeaway food outlet :D , but i wouldnt eat there :D

BEING ACCEPTED TO THE UNIVERSITY 3 MONTHS BEFORE THE COMPLETION OF HIS FINAL YEAR 12 EXAMS has certainly taken off the pressure of waiting for the results to see if he gets in

B...free
michael

 

That would be great i am sure that otherforum members as well as Timbo whos also looking to purchase one would also benefit and learn from your vast knowledge :D

AS ALLWAYS YOU START OF STOCK AND THEN THE BUG BITES AND YOU START MODDING

B...free
michael

 

Thank the lord no....we eat out chickens raw:D

My recollection of your "young md" was dashing out the door in a uniform of some sort.......he seemed a lot taller than you........and the doctor thing/ academic..........hang on this don't add up...

1. earnest saver
2. taller
3. high IQ

sure he's your's..........oh....... but he's a rotorhead....he is yours :D, !!!LOL

Good parenting all round I'd say!

 

[QUOTE=Saru]As it's for your son a totally stock rebuild isn't a bad idea but some extremely mild porting (so mild it's just tidying up the edges of the ports) is a good idea for two reasons: (1) the tiny amount of extra power is nice and (2) you'll get better fuel economy from a mildly ported engine. Similarly, a good set of extractors and a good exhaust will free up some power that is lost in the unnecessarily restricitve stock exhaust system and give better fuel economy. If you're totally wedded to the idea of a stock rebuild, at least get the extractors and exhaust, the difference is truely noticeable on an s3. Once you've done that a modified standard-looking carb is the go for better performance and economy without unwanted under-bonnet attention. QUOTE

Saru

I have decided to listen to your sound advice and go for the port and get a good set of extractors and exhaust .

What do you think i should be paying for porting and the extractors and exhaust ?
You havent got a spare exhaust :D lying in your garage you want to sell .?

Timbo i will be keeping the auto gearbox and the stock exhaust in case i sell it as stock one day :D

B,,,free
michael

 

Lock,

Well done to your son.

Carbon lock is definately a problem on older rotaries (search ausrotary for atf trick). I would also make sure you get some heavy duty leads put on.

As for porting, you have; Dyson Rotary, Mazfix, Mazsprint (I think), Quickmaz, Nerang Rotary and a guy on ausrotary called Rotorarian.

I have seen good and bad reviews of all these shops with the exception of Rotorarian. But then again I could have just not seen those posts :-)

Enjoy.

Andrew
Andrew

 

Andrew

Thanks for your reply , porting is being done by Rotary Beat in Nerang

Ken is building the custom RX8 Turbo for big Dave :D so i hang out at his workshop and get to learn / play with rotaries most of the day :D

Extractors and exhaust most likely will be done by Taipan XP they are right next door to kens workshop they arent the cheapest but have the best workmanship on their systems they are very experience with rotaries as well .

B.....free
michael

 

Not being from around there, are they the same as Nerang Rotary? Curious as I have seen a few people slag them off...

Andrew

 

Rotary beats located at 21 Lawrence drive Nerang i take notice of what i hear but i make up my own mind as to whom i trust with my car so far i havent been dissapointed with ken :D

Dont know who nerang rotary is ??

B...free
michael

 

Definitely not. If you check out Ausrotary (back in 2003-2004 IIR) there was a fair slanging match between them...or rather, of Nick at Nerang slagging off Ken at Rotary Beat, which obviously affected the local rotary community. No comment on who's better.

 

I don't know about vast knowledge -- I just pay attention to what people with vast knowledge say and remember it. And I've done or was in the process of doing these things when I sold my car (you can't fit a baby capsule in the back of an RX-7).

Other than the extremely mild porting and extractors, a "stock" 1st gen that I was building would have:

* Kings Springs "Low" (not super-low!) (Lows may actually raise a car with original, sunk, springs!)
* KYB shock absorbers (The Konis for 1st gen RX-7s are usually too firm for the street in my experience but are a compromise for occaisional track work. KYBs are cheaper, too. People in the know don't use the RX-7 koni's in RX-7s, anyway, apparently. I don't know as yet the alternative part nos)
* Replace all suspension bushes with polyurethane except rear upper control arms. For those either leave the shagged ones that are there or replace with new OEM Mazda rubber ones. This will further reduce snap-oversteer.
* Good tyres. The MX-5 guys like Yoko A539s for street cars and since RX-7s weigh about the same as MX-5s, that's a fair recommendation. I had A509s on my car and they were brilliant. A539s are sort of the replacement for the no-longer available A509.

Excluding tyres that's about a $2000 exercise in parts and labour not counting tyres. The tyres should be more than $120 but less than $200 a corner.

Then, optionally, I'd:
* get a slightly smaller steering wheel, about 14" diameter
* reco the steering box if it needed doing, and on an S3, probably replace with an S2 one. But only if it needed doing. 1st gens have "sloppy" steering and 1" of free play at the outer edge of the steering wheel is to be expected. Any more either requires the steering box be tightened (not over-tightened!) or reco'd.
* get the seats re-bolsterd. S3 seats are pretty good and with a little extra padding are more than enough for a street car or even very occaisional club-level motorsports
* get a front anti-roll bar, probably from Whiteline. Not necessary unless you're planning on regular track work as it will make zero difference on the street.

Other stuff that is tempting but not necessary, IMO:
*reco'd A/C. The standard A/C is fairly weak and really saps the power from the engine. Unless it's not cold AT ALL, don't bother. 1st gens have good ventilation anyway. Wind the windows down and enjoy the engine note.
* seeing as you've got the windows down, you won't really be able to hear the stereo. Put a cheap deck in and unless the stock speakers are ruined, leave them alone.
* unless the door rubbers are completely shagged (and I mean crumbling when you touch them) leave them alone. RX-7s don't leak water in through the windows. If they're shagged, Mazda still sells them new for less than $80 a side.
* the rear hatch rubber will leak if it's ruined. Mazda sells it new, last I heard, but it's not cheap:$200

Ummm...