1UZ swap into Series 2 RX7

[Muzza_NZ]

Yeah, ignore that line, it was just a bit we had left over and it's too short. It'll be replaced this weekend. By the way, the brakes are good, almost too good, and feel very strong without the vacuum connected. There's a couple of custom covers that go over the cables at the back to make it all tidier.

That RX7 was the turbo shop one from Dunedin, I think there's some vids of it on youtube and and some pics on their website.

Cert is booked in for July 7th.

Muzz

 

[rx7 s1 1uz]

hey mate good to see you made some good progress l8ly.

iv just got some series 5 4-pots for the front and the s5 single pot 4 the rear of my one.

just a couple of things mate

is that still the standard brake booster your running?
im fitting a slightly larger brake booster in my s3, i have to move my clutch master across about 10mm what kind of clearance is there between the clutch master and rocket cover?

and good luck for the 7th lol

 

[JustenGT8]

Nah motors are in front of the front beaver panel in the GT8,, not in the bay. How about fixed lights?

 

[Muzza_NZ]

Cheers lads.
rx7_s1_1uz: We're using a Series 1 automatic brake booster, it's diameter is about 30mm smaller than the original so we have plenty of clearance there. Also you might need to run a different master cylinder if you haven't already as there won't be enough capacity in the original one. We've got a generic twin cylinder Mitsubishi unit, but you'll have to go to the wreckers and get a double outlet fitting for the front circuit to feed both the front brakes. You can find them in Mitsi Pajeros.
The clutch master cylinder did foul on the cam cover, but about 5 min with a power file sorted that out. It just required a small scallop out of the cam cover. Will get a pic or two if I remember.

Justen: I reckon that fixed lights would spoil the look as every other panel is standard. Perhaps I'll look at the celica mechanism and see if I can adapt that, if required, when the time comes.

Here's the youtube link to the (turbo shop) turbo RX7 too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEyICUB8dBA

Muzz

 

[rx7 s1 1uz]

Cheers lads.
rx7_s1_1uz: We're using a Series 1 automatic brake booster, it's diameter is about 30mm smaller than the original so we have plenty of clearance there. Also you might need to run a different master cylinder if you haven't already as there won't be enough capacity in the original one. We've got a generic twin cylinder Mitsubishi unit, but you'll have to go to the wreckers and get a double outlet fitting for the front circuit to feed both the front brakes. You can find them in Mitsi Pajeros.
The clutch master cylinder did foul on the cam cover, but about 5 min with a power file sorted that out. It just required a small scallop out of the cam cover. Will get a pic or two if I remember.

Justen: I reckon that fixed lights would spoil the look as every other panel is standard. Perhaps I'll look at the celica mechanism and see if I can adapt that, if required, when the time comes.

Here's the youtube link to the (turbo shop) turbo RX7 too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEyICUB8dBA

Muzz

yer im running a Toyota mr2 brake booster and master cylinder i had one in my old rx7 and they were amazing brakes with the 4 pots up front. Cheers for that every little thing extra you know before you get into it can make the job so much easier.

 

[Muzza_NZ]

clutch master cylinder clearance

here's a pic of the clutch master cylinder clearance, you can see where the power file has been used to relieve the cam cover. The plastic cover will need to be cut back about 10mm to provide enough clearance to keep the certifier happy.

Muzz

 

[Zuffen]

Leave the palstic cover off when getting it approved.

Saves hacking up a cover.

 

[rx7 s1 1uz]

cheers for that mate. It will be good to know how it all handles with the new weight distribution of the 1uz etc. are you planning on getting it all weighed.
​

 

[Muzza_NZ]

Leave the palstic cover off when getting it approved.

Saves hacking up a cover.

Good point Rod. And that will make it obvious to the certifier that there is ample clearance too.

cheers for that mate. It will be good to know how it all handles with the new weight distribution of the 1uz etc. are you planning on getting it all weighed.
​

Yeah, hope to get it done soon after cert. Will let you know what the results are.

 

[Muzza_NZ]

Took the car for a reasonable drive round the block today. With the lowered rear we're getting some guard rub in the back under acceleration, and in the front when braking. I guess we'll have to roll the guards a bit and maybe pull the front wheel arches out some too. One positive and surprising thing though, was that with the front air dam on we can still get the car out of my driveway without scraping!

 

[Muzza_NZ]

It's very responsive, well as much as you can gauge from a quick squirt through the burbs. It's about 300kg (at a guess) lighter than my ute, and it feels much stronger. It will definitely be a blast when it's certified.

With no sound proofing in the cabin it's very loud, probably get a headache on a long trip... A helmet will attenuate that some though.

 

[Muzza_NZ]

Took the car out to the panelbeaters for a couple of touch ups first thing this morning. It was its first run at ~100km/hr and the 4.3 diff ratio was way too short. At 100km/hr it was revving about 3,800rpm, so we'll have to change the diff head out before it goes in for speedo calibration on Thursday. Either that or tell the instrument guys that we'll be putting in a 3.9 ratio and ask them to factor it into their speedo recal calculations.

 

[Muzza_NZ]

Hi all,
well we've just spent the last 2 hours swapping out the 4.3 hilux diff head with a mint 3.9 4-spider LSD one (which incidentally cost $750) and guess what? It isn't a LSD at all, it's an open one.... F$%k it.... We could have had an open one for much cheaper.... Had to have the 3.9 in it for the Speedo calibration guys tomorrow so I guess we'll be changing it out for another one in the near future... Also getting the handbrake cables shortened tomorrow too.

Once that's done, it's just a case of changing the steering linkage rubber boots, bending up a driveshaft loop and we should be ready for cert on Monday...

Oh and it was revving about 3,500rpm at 100km, the speedo was out on the chase vehicle, so a 3.9 should make it about 3,100rpm at 100km/hr.

 

[JustenGT8]

LOL i sit on 1800rpm @ 100kph in 5th Makes for relaxing cruising...i can also go from 40kph to 250+kph without a gear change

When's the 1st vid of skidz?

 

[Muzza_NZ]

Hi Justen,
1800rpm aye?? that would give it very long legs indeed.

There were plenty of other diff heads available but none locally, and with the self imposed time constraints, we had to go with a 3.9. Never mind, I guess we'll just keep on the look out for maybe a 3.4 and swap it out at a convenient time.

Re the skid vidz, we'll get some decent footage out on the open road once its certed and legal; driving with 'flair and exuberance' in the 'burbs probably isn't the smartest thing to do right now!

 

[JustenGT8]

Legs indeed, but loves it with the 2.9:1. I ran a 3.7 and it was evil, just wheelspin everywhere with the slightest throttle and when you were seriously into it it was all too frantic...way sideways, banging off rev limiter, on/off throttle...very ugly. With the 2.9 i can keep the boot in even when pulling lurid 3rd gear power slides

There's a DOS based program you can download off the web called cartest...has a great function called power run or something similar. I have used this many times and you can play with the diff ratio until you find the optimum for your setup....uncannily accurate for my last 3 cars. Predicts 2.85 for the GT8 but 2.92:1 is as close as i can get.

Anyways, if you have the time, worth a look and could help you out with selection.

 

[Muzza_NZ]

Cheers Justen, I'll give it a try.

 

[Muzza_NZ]

Howdy all,
D-day tomorrow, we're taking the car in for cert at 8:30am. We spent two very long days finishing things off, mostly increasing clearances around the diff, guards, etc, and blanking off holes, adding grommets etc.

This morning, to check clearances around the suspension etc, we went for a run around the block with two people in and a full tank. The rear springs are a bit soft, you could definitely feel the bump stops hitting, but thankfully none of the guards were.

Got back from the run and went to put the newly installed hand brake (~$400 for caliper mounts and cable extensions) on, and the cable snapped, what are the odds?? Luckily it happened before the cert. Turns out when the cage was installed, one of the welds in the floor pan had damaged the original cable but was obscured by the exhaust and driveshaft. It's bloody hard to get a replacement set of cables on a Sunday morning, unless you have a parts car, so we spent ages getting the cables and a few other bits out.

So all in all we're pretty happy with how everything is looking, all of the work we've done is as per the NZ LVVTA guidelines, but I guess we won't know till it's all done and dusted...

Fingers crossed.

Muzz

 

[Muzza_NZ]

cert time

Howdy all,
took the car for cert today. The certifier was happy with everything we'd done, and really enjoyed taking it for the road test. He was happy to pass the car if it was just for road going use, but suggested that for the track he'd like the two front brake mounts 'beefed' up before he'd fit the cert plate.

The mounts I'm talking about are in the attached pics. They were custom made by a toolmaker that has been working on RX7s for years. They're a high tensile/grade aluminium and should be ok, but I think it's better to over-engineer things aye ?!.. In truth, we had previously looked at the mounts in the car and wondered whether they were chunky enough... guess now we know.

So to strengthen them we'll weld in two plates to bridge the gaps from top to bottom and left top to right top, and then get them crack tested. Still tossing up whether to remake them out of steel without the narrow 'fingers' and have one nice homologous piece... What do you lads think?

 

[JustenGT8]

No welding mate, not on brake mounts.

Need to remachine. Bugger all weight difference if you use steel but even a 1 or 2mm thicker alloy plate as a solid plate would be plenty strong enough.