Build thread

Talk about your Rotaries!
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speedjunkie
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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Tue Sep 26, 2017 9:14

I ordered the FEED combo lights from RHDJapan, along with a FEED fuel collector box for in the tank, a Works Bell hub (my Daikei hub is still working OK but the plastic surround cracked and this hub was on sale), RE Amemiya sleek light covers (the knockoffs I bought from someone look like they're a little bulged), and seat belt straps for Spirit R seats, but I think they're the same ones from the stock seats (these are no longer available through Mazda). The FEED combo lights were supposed to take a few weeks to make, but all of the stuff is about ready to ship only a few days later. WOOHOO!! I've been looking for the lenses to cover the combo lights, but I never could find them. I finally found where I can get them...except I can't haha.

http://www.fujitaengineeringusa.com/fdaero.html

One of the guys on 7club said he got his several years ago directly from FEED. The only problem is you have to prove you own a legit FEED bumper in order to get them. Oh, and they're like $280 for the pair. Yeaahhhhhhh I don't think so. So it looks like I'll be making my own. I wanted mine to wrap under the front like on the Mazdaspeed GTC bumper anyway, and I don't think it'll be too hard to do it. People usually use super hot (but not quite boiling) water to heat up the lexan and then shape it really fast. My only concern would be falling into the gap over the light hole, but I'm thinking about covering the current lights to fill the gap and hoping they don't get damaged by the heat.

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speedjunkie
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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Sun Oct 15, 2017 9:14

I've been looking for an anti-slosh solution for a while, but nothing so far has met all my wants and needs and I think I've finally figured out what I want to do. I'm currently using dual Walbro 450s and they each feed one of the fuel rails as of right now. I'd like to switch it back to both pumps feeding both fuel rails, but I need to sort out the pulsation issue I had before with that setup, whether it be a larger fuel rail or what. I'm not using flex fuel yet but the car is set up for it. I may not ever use it, I'm not sure yet.

I'm planning on building a little tank from stainless steel that sits in the stock plastic box, and I'll run a hose from each fuel pump to that tank. From both sides of the tank will run a line (probably stainless hard line) to a Holley Hydramat at the far ends of the tank on both sides, using a one way check valve on each line just before the tank. I will run a stainless hard line from the return line back to the tank as well, dipping down to the bottom of the tank so the return fuel can be cooled a little by the rest of the fuel in the tank. I will also put a lid on the top because I'll have to fill it with fuel first since it will be a sealed system, and because of all this I will probably also put a one way check valve going out the top so excess fuel or pressure can be leaked out into the main tank. I've also thought about scraping the protective coating off the bottom of the tank and attaching heat sinks to cool the fuel.

Because it will be a sealed system, it will be pulling the fuel back through the return line instead of just flowing normally. Theoretically, whatever amount of fuel I put into the surge tank to prime it, should be the amount it always has regardless of the load on the engine. Although it might not be a good idea running the return line straight to it, because the return will flow different rates depending on engine load. I imagine it will suck fuel out under heavy throttle, but light throttle or idle I wonder if it will back up in the line. However, whatever the flow in the return line is should mimic whatever the pumps are doing, so maybe that's a non-issue anyway.

Thoughts? What factors am I not considering?

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speedjunkie
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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Sat Jan 13, 2018 9:14

Since photobucket turned into a POS, I'm going to try out Flikr. Now I just need to see if I can save all the photos from photobucket, add them to Flikr, and see if I can post the correct pics in the correct places in the thread haha.

When I got home a month and a half ago I took care of something that's fairly insignificant and I always forget about it. The plastic pieces had broken off my sun visors before I even bought the car, so I cut some spacers, bent them, and installed them. I wanted to use plastic but I couldn't find them in black like I wanted so I just used steel. Still worked pretty well.
Image20171208_123002 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

A couple days ago I swapped out my short shifter. I bought one on eBay from Cube SPEED in Australia. I haven't driven the car with it yet, but just sitting it shifts so great.
Image20180111_165703 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

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Saul_Good
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Re: Build thread

Postby Saul_Good » Thu Jan 25, 2018 9:14

You need a 3D printer to start making custom pieces for your interior. Didn't know you were back. Welcome back! When's the next trip?

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speedjunkie
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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Fri Jan 26, 2018 9:14

There is a company in Montana that starting taking on making interior pieces, but they backed off for now. I forgot what they're waiting on, but I think they were planning to use 3D printing. I was thinking of making the ebrake handle using a 3D printer, but I'm kinda leaning towards making a mold and then doing resin so it matches the shift knob, although I'm still trying to decide what to put into it, if anything. Letters to spell a word, a rotor, etc.

Thanks! The next trip is supposed to be late March but I'm kinda looking for a new job lol.

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speedjunkie
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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Fri Feb 09, 2018 9:14

I got the harness from Chris so I can run water injection again having the ECU control it. However, the harness doesn't have enough wires to run the pump also, it only runs the injector. So Chris is going to make another harness to power the pump. As soon as I get that I can install everything again and start injecting water/meth again, WOOHOO!! I started wiring in the other harness but stopped for now until I get the other harness.

I've also been working on getting LED bulbs to replace the halogen lights in the FEED combo lights. I found some good BAU15S (1156) bulbs for the blinker and parking lights on super bright leds, but I've had a hard time finding some H3 LEDs for the fog lights that are as bright as the halogen bulbs. I'm thinking about just keeping the halogen bulbs but they run so hot, so if I can find some LEDs to run cooler and not pull as many amps, I'll do that.

Here are the ones for the blinkers and parking lights...
https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinf ... ofit/3698/

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speedjunkie
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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Tue Feb 20, 2018 9:14

I've been tinkering a bit with the car, but not near to the scale that I should be. I started making some lines for between the water injection pump and injector, but I need to order another compression fitting and I'm not sure where to get them.

I bought and installed a brake master cylinder brace from SakeBomb Garage because I figured it was easier than trying to get a strut bar made from scratch. It came with two different types of stoppers and it took a little maneuvering but I finally got it installed.
Image20180212_204341 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image20180212_211846 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image20180212_211838 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

This swivel head stopper was the one I couldn't get to work for me. As I tightened it down it would just angle and start going under the cylinder. Can't be having that.
Image20180212_205239 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

And now I'm thinking about getting an OEM strut bar and modifying it. Although I'm not crazy about it having only two nuts holding it on each side rather than all three. Not so much because I'm afraid of it coming loose, but I figure it would be better putting any stress across all three posts instead of just two.
ImageFB_IMG_1517359445004 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

I bought new interior plastics but they have to be 93 since 94-95 are no longer available, and because the 93 HVAC panel doesn't work with the 94-95, I had to get that one too. I'm going to see if I can find newer door plastics in the 93 finish as well so I can have them all the same. I'm also thinking about going ahead with my previous plan and getting them coated like the Spirit R plastics, and then maybe do the Alcantara suede on the interior too. SOO much money though. These are the pieces I bought, but I got them through Ray Crowe and saved a good amount of money.
ImageScreenshot_20180205-121713 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
ImageScreenshot_20180205-121623 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
ImageScreenshot_20180205-121449 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
ImageScreenshot_20180205-121259 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

When I install the FEED combo lights I'm going to use the stock fog light switch to power the new fog lights, and I can't find the old harness for the old fog lights so I needed to get some connectors and I wanted connectors like this for the turn signals. A friend told me about a site called Corsa Technic. They have all the OEM connectors, so I bought a couple different kinds for installing the FEED lights.
Image20180208_144015 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

I had the intake elbow off and when I was putting it back on I noticed one of the nuts wouldn't tighten down all the way, and I discovered that the stud had shredded the threads inside so I removed the throttle body and got a spare from the shed and stripped it down. I'm going to sandblast it and the UIM again and take them to get powder coated, but I can't decide if I want to do super black chrome or crinkle black. I think crinkle black might be easier to keep clean, but it might be a bit much on ALL of the IC piping and IC, filter piping, etc. The SBC might be a bit easier to handle on all that stuff, and I don't think anyone has done it before, or at least not many have I don't think.

I found a guy on 7club that has his brake booster hose relocated too and I liked his better, so I built something makeshift for now. It looks like shit but it'll get the job done haha.
Imagerelocated booster nipple by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

While I had the UIM off I decided to remove the two nipples on the end I wasn't using. I'd like to remove a couple more but I'm leaving them just in case I need them at some point. They're on the bottom though so they're not noticeable. I also bought some stainless set screws on eBay to replace the aluminum ones.
Image20180215_144514 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image20180215_144422 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

This pic shows that the set screws in the end are the perfect length. Also, I was thinking about port matching the UIM to LIM while it's off, but I'm not sure it's worth the trouble. But if I did it I'd also do the LIM to engine when I had the LIM off again.
Image20180215_144640 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

I was also thinking about grinding this edge off both sides before getting it powder coated, but I'm not sure I want to do that either. But if I did that I'd probably also cut the middle out between the two pairs of runners, like Brad has his.
Image20180215_144521 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

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speedjunkie
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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Thu Mar 08, 2018 9:14

Jewel and I went to New Mexico last week and got back a couple nights ago. On our way out of town I dropped off the UIM and TB to J&S Polishing to get polished. I decided since I can't powder coat the throttle body I might as well just get them polished all the way. This is what the UIM looked like when I dropped it off. He said I did a pretty good job already, but it looks way better now. I was going to just have someone lightly polish all the tight places I couldn't get to so it would be uniform and then get it powder coated, but I figured since he was doing it anyway, might as well just do a full polish.
ImageIMG_20180228_074006 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

And this is what it looks like now. I didn't have him do the bottom of the UIM since it can't be seen anyway. They came back REALLY nice. My only regret is that there are still the pockets in some parts but most people probably won't notice them anyway. I already installed the set screws, but I need to spray a good amount of brake cleaner through it to get all the shavings and nastiness out of it.
ImageIMG_20180308_215345 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
ImageIMG_20180308_215342 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
ImageIMG_20180308_215329 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
ImageIMG_20180308_222909 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

While we were in Albuquerque I decided to see Mike Kitchen who used to live here, with the red FD. He never actually brought it to any meets because it was down the whole time he lived here haha. But we got it running right before he moved away. He did drive it up here to a meet last spring and Andy tuned him. I met a couple other guys there too. The black FD belongs to a guy named Lenny that I've talked to on 7club and facebook for a while, and the REPU belongs to a kid named Brian that I just met that night. His dad also has a REPU and an FD and his mom has an FB. Talk about an awesome family lol. I talked to these guys about having a meet in Trinidad or something, somewhere between C Springs and ABQ, but I told them we've never even met up with the Denver rotary guys lol. After seeing their roads in a few places in NM, I definitely want to go there with the car. WOW. Anyway, here's Mike posing lol.
ImageIMG_20180302_223943 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
ImageIMG_20180302_224005 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
ImageIMG_20180302_224446 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

Before we left for the trip, I made some harnesses for the FEED combo lights. Well, I successfully made ONE harness. I kept having issues with the wires breaking just before the terminals after I had them all soldered and together. I was also having a time clipping the terminals into the stock style connector, and after I broke a few wires and the retaining part in the connector, I realized I was trying to put them in upside down. DOH!!! So I ordered a couple more connectors and I'm going to cut off the white connector and put the stock connector straight onto the black wires.
ImageIMG_20180308_222949 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

And I realized yesterday that I have bigger problems with this combo light install. I'm going to have to reroute my oil cooler line because it hits the fog light. And that's if I don't have to remake the line altogether. Ugh, nothing can be easy.
ImageIMG_20180308_223021 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

I have to make the harnesses for the fog lights still. I lucked out and finally found the stock fog light harness so I don't have to make that like I thought I would. At least I hope I won't. I haven't tried using that harness yet lol.

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Huzer
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Re: Build thread

Postby Huzer » Fri Mar 09, 2018 9:14

That came out great.

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speedjunkie
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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Sat Mar 10, 2018 9:14

Thanks! I'm pretty pleased with them. Now I just need to get all the other pieces done too, once they're finally ready for it.

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Shadowden
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Re: Build thread

Postby Shadowden » Mon Mar 12, 2018 9:14

How much did they charge to polish that for you. It looks incredible. I need to get all of the rough bits out of my engine bay now. You know, saving weight for my track car and all.

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speedjunkie
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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Mon Mar 12, 2018 9:14

I paid $220. It was supposed to be $230 but I didn't have a $10 and he didn't either lol. So are you going to track that car exclusively?

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speedjunkie
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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Fri Mar 16, 2018 9:14

I finished the wiring on the FEED combo lights, made lexan covers that didn't turn out so great but they serve their purpose haha, had to reroute the oil cooler line between the two coolers so I could put in the combo lights, and I also had to cut off the ends of the bumper support and modify it a bit for the oil line.

Apparently I didn't get a pic of the wiring on the blinkers and parking lights, but these are the harnesses for the fog lights, that way I can swap the bulbs if I have to.
Image2018-03-13_11-35-15 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

Image2018-03-13_11-34-27 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

This is what it all looks like at the moment.
Image2018-03-17_12-48-41 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image2018-03-17_12-48-28 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image2018-03-17_12-48-02 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr
Image2018-03-17_12-47-46 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

And because my covers suck, I'll be buying the legit ones like in this pic. And I like how he molded around the blinker and parking light.
Image2018-03-13_11-36-31 by Eric Jausel, on Flickr

I still have to figure out a way to protect the UIM and TB from the hood. I'm thinking about drilling into the strut bar and putting some kind of buffers on each end, to hold the hood up off of the manifold.

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Re: Build thread

Postby Shadowden » Mon Mar 19, 2018 9:14

speedjunkie wrote:I paid $220. It was supposed to be $230 but I didn't have a $10 and he didn't either lol. So are you going to track that car exclusively?


Nope, not exclusively. Just more than it has been.

Car is looking good. The "legit" lexan covers look great, but yours will work for quite a while too. When do you expect you will be breaking the car out again for some laps?

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speedjunkie
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Re: Build thread

Postby speedjunkie » Mon Mar 19, 2018 9:14

Ah gotcha.

Thanks! It's...alright. lol It needs paint and bodywork bad. My covers will work but they really don't look very good lol. I'll probably buy some legit covers but I'm going to see if I can get any better at making them too.

I'm hoping August 5th, the first time attack day that I'm back lol.


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