Learn me FB RX-7s

Well I won't be removing it, i'm taking it to the rad shop today, hopefully they can fix the tank up good for me.

At this point I think it's inevitable to run all new fuel and brake lines. why not!!

Oh also, wobble bolts aka pcd variation bolts, where to buy?! I would have no problem rocking badass imsa looking 4x108 wheels on this car.

One place to get them:

http://www.tulipcitywheels.com/tcwstore/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1183

Weebles wobble but they don't fall down!

I pulled the fuel tank last thursday, sent it out to be boiled and sealed, it had a small pinhole leak..

Went to Mike's Auto wreckers in Stoney creek today, friend tipped me off to a really clean rx-7, and it was, so i pulled the doors, hood and radiator, the only things on the car that weren't in rough condition! Somehow i managed to bring everything home in the tercel..

CanadianTercel wrote:

Quoted for Grassroots Goodness! Good luck w/the project, CT!

Following with interest!

Awesome - good work so far.

CanadianTercel wrote: Jeez the bushings are that big of an issue? Maybe I'll just leave the rear end in the car then. I mostly want to drive it before summer is over.

Easy upgrade for the rear suspension. This really works, did it on my '79 with a noticeable change for the better in handling.

Get 14mm locknuts for all the rear suspension bolts, should be 10 IIRC. There's a big one on the center Watt's link bushing, IIRC that one is 16mm for a total on 11 nuts. Get a can of copper anti seize. Don't use the silver stuff, it sucks.

Take each one of the pivots loose, then grease the inside and the ends of the bushing sleeve with the anti seize. Reinstall the bolt with the locknut instead of the plain nut, torque it down. Now here is the part that makes it work: loosen the nut until the bushing sleeve can rotate but it can't move side to side. Do this for all of them, including all three on the Watt's link. Now the rear axle can move easily without binding, the snap oversteer goes away.

The downside: you will hear clunks and the bushing sleeves could wear the body mount points. I think it would be possible to get some hard thrust washers from McMaster etc to put between the sleeve and the mount point to eliminate the wear.

In reply to Curmudgeon:

IMO, the "snap oversteer" comes from the rear's 4 link geometery and the compliance in it's rubber bushings. The rubber and it's compliance is necessary to allow the SA/FB some rear body roll. When the compliance isn't enough and the rolling body compresses the rubber 4 link bushings to their limit, snap oversteer occurs (at the moment that the bushings effectively become solid).

So the snap over steer would be eliminated by converting all bushings to a polyurethane.

Again, the [u]snap[/u] over steer.

Maybe I will drop the rear end in that case then, while the gas tank is out..

called the shop yesterday, said he will be cleaning it out and repairing it since he can't find me a tank from down south..

This week has been no progress aside from the purchase of body panels.. I'm going to buy a racing beat street header off a guy on clubrx7 this week hopefully. I somehow have to split my time between a 40 hour work week, a white 5E-FHE tercel that is becoming a donor to my engine-less 92 Paseo, and Roxy (the rx-7). The tercel>paseo swap is a priority, so that i can DD that car and get my 4EFTE swap underway and also clear out this rotted white car's shell from my driveway, and then grace my mother's presence with this beautiful Mazda in her driveway instead. yayyy!

And, since i have no really good updates, here is a rotard related piece from my place of hobby today.. The Star FM that we take care of up here at Vallis Motor Sport..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AShgh3Gu6Cw

aussiesmg wrote: Get poly bushings to replace them but beware of suspension bind-up, most stock FB race cars use foam in the upper links to avoid the bind issue. Yes I said foam

Aye, thanks for the reminder.

I put urethanes in my '79 and the oversteer problem got worse. It seems urethane doesn't 'give' as much as rubber does. I checked all around, found http://www.pbandjracing.com/rear_suspension.html where he details the bushing mod I mentioned. I still had an extra set of stock control arms so I did the mod I mentioned but did not drill the bushings. The snap oversteer went away except in the most crazy circumstances, I think drilling the bushings would have helped that. For you Fox body guys, the same thing worked very well on our 24 Hours of LeMons Tbird.

CanadianTercel wrote: So the snap over steer would be eliminated by converting all bushings to a polyurethane.

Poly is not the answer. Poly is not going to have much compliance, effectively turning your rearend housing into one big anti-roll bar (less snap, more oversteer) given the SA/FB stock rear geometery. Starting in '84 Mazda lowered the mounting point on the chassis for the rear's lower control arms (by 20mm) to help w/ the problem. The problem was still there, just somewhat reduced. New rubber bushings would be better than poly.