Alright so, I've been absent from here for a few years now, along with being absent from the RX8 world as a whole and my car itself. Unfortunately, it got put way back on the list of importance for some time and it's seen better days. I had big plans for this car and I let life get in the way so none of them came to fruition.

I had the engine rebuilt by Mr. Engman at Mazmart so I could have a fresh motor to start the build on. Drove it a couple hundred miles, then grounded it so I could start the turbo build. Then life happened.

The turbo build was scrapped, the turbo kit and it's peripherals were sold some years back. The interior was stripped and left apart and then the car just sat there for some time.

It was then sent to a local interior shop to put the interior back together because between my job, girlfriend, kids, etc. I have very little spare time and just went ahead and outsourced the work. It sat at this shop for a couple years because the guy "didn't have enough room in his shop to work on a non-running car". My fault for letting it sit for so long, but you live and you learn.

The car sat outside in the sun for over 2 years and that did it's damage to the paint, among other things. Finally seeing the car after so long made my heart sad, so I decided I couldn't let this car just fade away into the nothingness. I've had it since I was a teenager and it was time to restore her back to the state she deserves to be in.

Now fast forward to the good stuff:
I got the car back and the interior put back together!
The car is back in my possession and I've decided to get it back in proper running order and have it back to the fun car it always was. My best friend recently getting an RX8 of his own helped motivate me haha.
I've got a TON of goodies collected over the years to put on along with some stuff that needs to be replaced because it's old and broken, like the exhaust. I'm also fixing the paint, the body, the bumpers, and whatever else needs to be done.

I do have one slightly large concern though... the engine was freshly rebuilt, driven a hundred miles, then the car was grounded.
It has sat, unstarted, for a couple of years. It wasn't dry, the fluids are still in it, so imagine that helps, but still.

Any precautions I need to take to make sure it's ready to be started safely aside from the common sense stuff like fresh fluids, plugs, etc etc.?

This forum has been an immense help to me learning about this car and I want to thank you guys in advance. Here are some pics of the car's current state (ignore the dumb stickers, they'll be the first to go haha)

 

I think you're savvy enough to know the basics of getting it ready.
I would start from scratch like you just got the engine back and redo the breakin.
There are beaucoup threads on that if you need a refresher.

 

Thanks BigCajun, I think I'm going to be fine as well, I definitely plan on doing the break-in period just to be safe. I just wanted to make sure there weren't any recommendations for the motor that's sat as long as this one has.

Also, maybe someone can chime in on this. I was thinking about sucking up some 2 stroke oil through the aux ports in the engine bay(the ones you suck up the ZoomZoom cleaner through) before starting to help get some lubrication in there. Anyone have any experience with this or know of any adverse effects? It seems like a good way to make sure the seals get lubricated well since it's been sitting.

 

Vlad, Congrats man on the renewed interest in getting the project back on track. I think you undersold the old girl in your opening post. Looks like a solid car...especially w/ a rebuilt engine, that just requires a good refresh of critical systems and clean up.

To your question...early on after rebuilding my engine I used 2-stroke thru the aux ports to initially get her started until compression built. So, no harm in it...and IMO a good idea to get fresh lubrication to the seals prior to cranking.

All the best!

 

Thanks man! I wasn't trying to undersell it, just makes me sad to see her in such a sad state. I'm ready to get her back up and running in the condition she deserves to be in. How much 2 stroke did you pull in through each aux port if you remember?

I'm gonna be working on her this Tuesday, so if all goes well I should be able to start it!

 

I can't recall exactly...but IIRC ~1-1.5 oz per rotor. But my engine was freshly rebuilt..., you may need/want a bit more.

In your case I'd actually inject ~ 1/2 oz in each rotor access port, bump it, inject another 1/2 oz, bump it, ...and repeat maybe 6-7 times to distribute the 2-stroke among the 3 chambers as best I could. Then let it sit a couple of hours before attempting to start it.

Btw...Expect a lot of thick white smoke ...once she turns over as the 2-stroke burns off.

 

Okay cool, thanks. Now, when you say rotor access port, what are you speaking about exactly? All I know of is the aux port and then spark plug holes. Unless I'm forgetting something... it's been quite a while and I've forgotten a bunch of stuff. Thanks for the help man!

 

The LIM ports I have tied together shown below...

 

AH HA! Totally forgot about the LIM ports. Sweet, I'll definitely do that. Thanks again!

 

Well, little bit of an update! Me and a couple buddies spent a few hours yesterday bolting some essentials back on to the car on a mission to see if we were able to start it. I was definitely nervous, the engine had been sitting for 3 years... After turning it by hand and getting some lubricant in there to let it sit for a few, I was pleasantly surprised that the engine turned easily and freely by hand and I could hear that it still had compression.

Then we unplugged the ESS and pulled the fuel pump fuse so that I could crank it and suck up about a half ounce of 2 stroke per cylinder and let that sit for a bit to soak in nice and good.

Then came the moment to hook everything back up and see if she'd start... I was nervous to say the least.

Then, SHE STARTED RIGHT UP! What a relief man, so I just wanted to share that with all the rest of you rotary pals. I'll link a video of the first start up, enjoy!

Now it's time to do all the fun stuff. Exhaust, wheels, sohn, sways, new suspension, tires, aero, etc etc etc.

I'll post all my progress in here to keep track and share the fun with you guys.

Can't wait to get her back on the road!

 

Just wanted to give a little bit of an update! Got my old Stance GR+ coilovers out and gave them to my best friend to put on his RX8 and finally get rid of his old blown stock suspension. They were replaced with a set Fortune Auto 500 series coilovers on my car. I also got my wheels in yesterday, which is a set of 17x9 Enkei RPF-1's that will be wrapped in a set of 255/40R17's.

Up next on the to-do list is:
ProgressTech Front & Rear Sways
Evo-R Front & Rear Adjustable Links
Racing Beat Exhaust & Midpipe
Sohn Adapter
LRB Underbody Aero
And a couple more odds and ends I'm probably forgetting, but I'll post all my progress here to keep track of it all.

Now for a couple pics!

 

Welp, I figured this thread would be a good place for me to keep track of progress I've made. So I'll post a little more progress made this week on getting the old girl back in tip top shape.

I got the Racing Beat exhaust and mid pipe installed this week along with the BHR motor mounts. Got the tires mounted on the wheels as well.

Next week I'm gonna try to knock out the sways and sohn adapter + tank for 2 stroke. Hopefully I'll find the time to do a compression test so I'll post those results up here as well.

Pics for attention! lol

 

This is cross-posted in the Troubleshooting section, but figured I'd post it here as well.

I recently got my car back in running order and I started throwing P2259 and P0076.

Throwing P0850 but that's the neutral switch as well and it's getting replaced in a couple days, also unrelated to the above two codes AFAIK.

I pulled the UIM and replaced the VDI and SSV solenoids, cleaned the connectors, pulled and cleaned the SSV, etc. APV is deleted.

Anyway, after replacing the solenoids and putting everything back together P2259 went away, but P0076 came back.

I'm not suffering from any adverse side effects as far as I can tell. No power loss, no stumble in the top end, car pulls as strong as ever all the way through the rev range. Zero issues on that front.

I'm going to pull the connector again to clean it and make sure there's solid contact when plugged in, but just figured I'd reach out after searching since most point towards replacing the solenoids which I've already done.

Any advice for me to check before I tear back into the thing and try to figure it out?