adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,869
Club RR Member Number: 58
|
|
|
So. New daily time.. Up until recently I'd been using my BMW 750i and Saab 9-3 as dailies, but with the 750i sold and the 9-3 due to follow not far behind, it was time to look for something new My criteria changed several times, I was initially looking for a convertible, then I decided I wanted something rear wheel drive so a BMW E36 328i was near the top of my list. Then I was looking at M3's, then I went off them a bit for some reason. I looked at Celica's and MR2's which lead me to settle on a Mk3 Supra, but after 3 efforts to view different ones, I couldn't find the right one. Then I noticed that the Saab's MOT and tax ran out at the start of January meaning that I needed to buy something in December if I wanted to drive home to Suffolk for a christmas break so nothing like a bit of urgency to help make a decision! Since I was thinking maybe I'd buy a short term car to get me through winter, I thought about rotaries. I've wanted one for a while and RX8's were cheap and plentiful. Went to view one and it was very nice, an extremely low miles car which in the end went for a good price. But I didn't go for it as an RX7 had caught my eye.. low miles on a rebuilt engine, decent price, convertible, turbo, long term previous owner.. All the signs looked good, so I hopped on a train Some lovely midlands winter countryside.. Quick tube across London and out of Victoria station headed south And eventually I ended up in Shoreham by sea, near Brighton. Had a quick drive in the RX7, had a look round it and figured it was good enough to not warrant me using my return train ticket For the first time ever I got the obligatory first fill up shot The drive home was largely straightforward although I didn't get far out of Brighton when my wiper function was reduced to off and slow speed, having a read around the internet this seems to be a very common issue so should be an easy fix. The other irritation was a rattly gearknob and inoperable radio but I'll get back to those in a sec Have a few more pics after I got home from work the other day So all in all its a pretty tidy example, there is a little bit of bubbling at the bottom of one front wing but that appears to be it There are a few little things for me to do as ever, the wiper switch is the first one. The second thing is these badges I'm sure these aren't meant to be painted red from the factory and either way I don't really like the look, so will try to paint them black at some point The next issue is the roof, its in good nick save for a couple of little cracks where the drain channels are at the bottom of the hood. But the issue is that its meant to retract and fold up electronically but its currently manual only.. I can hear a motor whirring when the switch is turned but some further investigation shall be needed. Turning to the interior, there are a couple of little things which need sorting. The first thing which I've already done is change this horrible, rattly gearknob for the original one which was included The next issue can be seen in the interior photos, the radio is as good as dead, turning it on just produces static and loud popping noises.. But with that cubby hole below the radio it appears to be a double DIN sized hole and funnily enough I've just taken a double DIN radio out of the Saab.. The other thing is this steering wheel, its not too bad but its a bit cheapy and means I can't see the top of the speedo, I have the original which is in good nick but I think I might look for a nicer aftermarket one since the boss is already there I think that just about covers everything, more shall no doubt come out over the coming weeks. Had an interesting moment where the clutch pedal biting point sank almost to the floor while in heavy traffic getting into work. I pulled it back up with my foot and all seemed well after that.. The car had only done limited miles every year so I may start with a clutch fluid change but may do the master, slave and hose just for piece of mind So yeah, rotary daily ftw!
|
|
Last Edit: Apr 2, 2018 11:18:04 GMT by adam73bgt
|
|
|
randywanger_
Part of things
Nissan Bluebird P510 SSS Coupe
Posts: 946
|
|
|
Congrats on your purchase, love it.
|
|
|
|
goldnrust
West Midlands
Minimalist
Posts: 1,872
|
|
|
Looks good man If it's not rusty, and its got an engine with good compression (which seeing as you said it was relatively recently rebuilt in the other thread it should have) then you've got a good FC! Everything else is pretty fixable I'd get those clutch hydraulics looked at if you've already had a sinking pedal. The slaves especially are known to go, just due to old age and corrosion. I ended up doing it on my FB, mx5 and the FC gearbox I put in the mx5. If the bore of the clutch salve is good, then you can use an mx5 clutch salve rebuild kit for the seals. The salve itself is on top of the bell housing, and unless the firewall makes access awkward (it didn't in the FB) then it's a doodle to swap out. Welcome to the club. I will renew my membership one day..... one day....
|
|
|
|
ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,195
Club RR Member Number: 170
|
|
|
I see you choose your daily drivers carefully Adam . Saying that it will be interesting to see how you get along. When it is going well I am sure you will love it. Who does not love a bit of a Wankel noise? P.S I was umming about buying that 750 of yours, but I have got far too used to decent MPG once more, if you can call it that. The Clio is seeing me low 30s with mostly town driving and the odd motorway trip.
|
|
|
|
adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,869
Club RR Member Number: 58
|
|
|
Cheers guys goldnrust Aye I've had a quick look at a couple of guides for changing the hydraulics and it doesn't seem too difficult so I'll probably have a go at changing the lot, just trying to find a supplier in the UK for a braided clutch hose at the moment because I want something long lasting. Theres many offering FD clutch hoses but not many for the FC! I look forward to seeing you getting another rotary in the future ChasR Haha I think the problem is the longer I have to think about what I buy, the more possibilities creep in! I'm pretty happy with it so far and the noise as it heads towards the redline buzzer is pretty addictive! Aha my idea of 'decent' Mpg is so skewed these days, the Saab did manage respectable high 20's/ low to mid 30's mpg when I was being sensible but I just didn't get the enjoyment from it. The RX7 doesn't seem too bad so far, but to be honest I'm not going to be watching the economy figures
|
|
|
|
dikkehemaworst
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,590
Club RR Member Number: 16
|
|
|
Saab turbo , then a v12 and now a rotary. Man , i envy you. ... my wife and children just took my balls but i'm glad you still have yours.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I'm not a fan of the J cars generally but ADAM - You rock at buying daily's
|
|
96 E320 W210 Wafter - on 18" split Mono's - Sold :-( 10 Kia Ceed Sportwagon - Our new daily 03 Import Forester STi - Sold 98 W140 CL500 AMG - Brutal weekend bruiser! Sold :-( 99 E240 S210 Barge - Now sold 02 Accord 2.0SE - wife's old daily - gone in PX 88 P100 2.9efi Custom - Sold
|
|
adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,869
Club RR Member Number: 58
|
|
|
Haha thanks guys, I find having an understanding lady friend who doesn't live in the same city helps a lot She tends to like the cars though, but doesn't find out how much they cost to keep.. haha
|
|
|
|
Ian
Part of things
Posts: 977
|
|
|
Very jealous always fancied one of these, to be honest I don't think there was ever a bad looking RX7. Looking forward to see how you get on with this one, and taking advantage of buying a convertible in the winter has its bonuses. 700 miles a week means I have to have a sensible car during the week.
Arguably a convertible is good if you need to carry something as you have no limit on head space, so no one can ever say they aren't practical
|
|
|
|
luckyseven
Posted a lot
Owning sneering dismissive pedantry since 1970
Posts: 3,839
Club RR Member Number: 45
|
|
|
That looks like a great buy! I knew I recognised it when you posted a pic on the Who needs Pistons thread... it's literally five miles down the road from me. You shoulda dropped me a line you were coming down, I'd have furnished a cup of tea at the least. Actually, I might even have actually helped by driving you down from Vic ! Not wishing to teach egg-sucking or anything, but cos it's a 'vert, check for hidden rust. And check again. They can go in extra places beyond the normal crappy Mazda rust places. A mate was stripping one for the engine and actually pulled the lower seatbelt mounts out of the floor. By hand! It had run down inside and rotted out the floor/chassis rails from within Still, yours looks properly sound and I'm sure it'll be fine. As a plus, the 'verts got a super-floaty aluminium bonnet; compare it to the indescribably heavy one on the coupe and you'll be grateful. Heaven only knows how they managed to make a single-skin steel bonnet sooooooooo heavy!
|
|
|
|
|
carltonx
Part of things
yardie in brum
Posts: 645
|
|
|
nice car like these alot more than the tin top one and much better than the rx8 my mate had one and it went into limp mode and he ended up having to scrap it ! what plans have you got regarding the looks ie wheels , stance if any ? you still got the B in bits ?
|
|
Potentially offensive comment deleted. You are welcome to remove this text, but not replace it with more bigotry. If the need to express that opinion is particularly important, please let me know and I'll delete your account for you. Maximum signature image height: 80 pixels.
|
|
|
Paul Y
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,948
|
|
|
If you are looking for someone to make up a braided line for you give Guy Davenport a call at A1 Hydraulics in Leicester, 0116 2761131. He is a hot rodder and a good chap, tell him I sent you. Forgot to add, nice car! P.
|
|
Last Edit: Dec 10, 2015 7:12:35 GMT by Paul Y
|
|
adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,869
Club RR Member Number: 58
|
|
Dec 10, 2015 15:16:05 GMT
|
Cheers Ian thankfully my commute is not too far so I can somewhat justify being rubbish at buying sensible cars luckyseven ah I had no idea! small world eh? no egg suck teaching here, I'll take any advice on board especially from anyone who knows rotors as well as yourself That is a good shout on the conv hiding rust, it is a pretty tidy car from what I could see, barring the bits I knew about, but hopefully I'll be able to get it up on a ramp shortly to have a proper poke at it! I didn't realise the bonnet was ally, it does feel fairly light now I come to think of it @malcomx Cheers man, yeahh I drove it with the roof off last night, totally changed the way it feels on the road. I've had a look at wheels and springs and stuff but I've decided to go sensible on this for the time being, I'll spend a bit of time getting it really tidy and running sweetly before getting into mods Yeah still got the B in bits, I've taken an extra week off work around christmas to really kick start work again on that Paul Y I think I might have sorted out a braided line but cheers for the tip! I'll keep them in mind if I decide to go for some braided brake lines at a later date as I don't think the FC is particularly well catered for those either... Not much to update on this at the moment, but have started doing some internet shopping for it Mostly service parts and clutch hydraulics bits at the moment Two questions for any rotorheads watching: Spark plugs, is it worth going for 7's leading and 9's trailing as Mazda spec? Or will I be ok with 9's all round? and Oil, this seems to be a contentious point with any car but I'm especially lost on this one, I'm planning to change it, what should I get?? I've seen 10w-30 recommended, seems to be Castrol motorcycle oil is the easiest to get in this viscosity but I've no idea if that will be any good.. Also seen rotary specific oils but are they worth the extra cost? Any advice really welcome!
|
|
|
|
luckyseven
Posted a lot
Owning sneering dismissive pedantry since 1970
Posts: 3,839
Club RR Member Number: 45
|
|
Dec 10, 2015 19:53:44 GMT
|
The issue of which oil to use in a rotary has probably got more web pages dedicated to it than almost any other automotive subject... except BIVA, of course
Mazda recommended you only use mineral oil in the engine. And that could be a full stop right there if you want, but if you'd like more it goes like this...*deep breath* The mineral oil is recommended because, as you know, the oil metering pump injects a small amount of sump oil into the rotor housings because there's no other means of getting lubrication to the apex seals. All the other rotor lubrication comes through the E-shaft, but the tips can't benefit from this hence a small OMP diverts a tiny flow of oil from the front iron (end plate, whatever you want to call it) and up a couple of little pipes like long thin drinking straws and into the chambers near the top. On early motors it was injected into the carburetor tract and flow rate was governed by a direct linkage rod from the throttle; on later, clever ones like yours, direct into the housings and the flow was controlled by the ECU so it should be rev-relevant.
All this means that the engine is essentially burning oil all the time it's running, and Mazda liked it if this was mineral oil because at the time oils weren't so clever as they are now and they believed that mineral would burn cleaner than synthetic and not leave carbon deposits in the housings and on the rotors. This is actually a very real concern; too much carbon will gunk up the narrow tolerances of the apex seals and they will stick, which is very bad for compression and almost everything else. It also fouls plugs, but perhaps most importantly it creates hotspots on the surfaces of the rotor. And hotspots lead to pre-ignition detonation. which blows apex seals to bits, spits them out through your turbo blades and basically ruins your engine and your entire day.
sooooo, that's broadly the backstory to it all. What's generally accepted is that modern oils are a lot cleverer than when Mazda were trying to make RX-3s reliable and attractive at the height of the 1970s petrol crisis. You can probably get away with running a synthetic if you wanted. Indeed, many people do, and I know guys with really quite stupidly high-powered FDs who do this with no apparent ill effects. Castrol is definitely a popular choice, as its base elements are apparently more suited to ashless burn than most synthetics. Mineral oil is increasingly hard to find and not appreciably cheaper than synthetics nowadays
Another option is to simply delete the OMP; blank off its access to the engine oil with a plate or disconnect it, and then add premix two-stroke oil directly into the petrol tank. That way you get the benefit of a modern high-tech 2T oil that is not only designed to burn cleanly but also to provide decent lubrication in the unholy hell of, say a snowmobile engine or a racing motorcycle... plus you can then put whatever the hell you'd like into the engine itself and there'll be no crossover to the combustion chamber. The downside is that it can be a bit of a faff working out oil ratios to petrol and adding it every fill-up, plus you have to ensure you always have a bottle of 2T oil with you, and that can get messy and annoying.
A third way is to get an OMP isolator from Rotary Aviation. This essentially blanks off the OMP from engine oil but not from its drive, so it will still function as normal. You need to add a separate tank and plumb it into the OMP, which you then fill with two-stroke and that feeds the rotor housing oiling needs as if the OMP were still using engine oil. Only better. The downside with that is it's added expense, you have to package all this new stuff into an already crowded engine bay and obviously you need to remember to regularly check and top the tank up.
Hope that helps!
For me, I have so many oil leaks on the FD I just top up the engine oil regularly and let the OMP do its thing! I use mineral out of paranoia as much as anything, but the motor factor at the end of my street still stock it so it's no great pain. Halfords stopped selling mineral last year, annoyingly. I use cheap stuff cos it's not around long enough to be worth paying a fortune on top schmutter. With big porting like on my FD you get a fair bit of overlap and so the engine oil tends to get contaminated by petrol quite quickly and thus needs changing often. On the FB I use premix mostly because the manifold setup for my Weber carb doesn't really leave enough of a distance between the OMP unions and the chamber... the oil tended to sort of glop into the chambers in puddles rather than be atomised with the air/fuel charge. It's a bit of a pain, but not so much as an engine rebuild, lol. Plus, I get to use decent Castrol 2T oil which gives some peace of mind
|
|
|
|
luckyseven
Posted a lot
Owning sneering dismissive pedantry since 1970
Posts: 3,839
Club RR Member Number: 45
|
|
Dec 10, 2015 20:02:15 GMT
|
ps. I think 10/30 might be a bit thin? 10/40 is more normal innit? Oh, and of course there's always an argument for keeping an engine running on whatever oil it's been used to. Just to further confuse matters
|
|
Last Edit: Dec 10, 2015 20:03:31 GMT by luckyseven
|
|
goldnrust
West Midlands
Minimalist
Posts: 1,872
|
|
Dec 10, 2015 20:28:37 GMT
|
What he said ^^^^^. I ran all my rotors on premix with the OMP removed and then ran 10/40 fully snythetic in the sump. In my case it was a cheap/easy solution to the problem I was having getting an OMP to work on my 13b running a 12 front cover in the mx5, and then upon finding the OMP damaged on my 12a in the FB. I did a lot of research on what premix ratios were considered best, which in itself was another can of worms, I ran approx 100:1 on cheap 2t oil, or if I knew the car was gonna be driven hard, and 150:1 if I had the fancy expensive stuff from my motorbike to use. If your OMP is in good order, then like Nik, I'd use a mineral oil just for peace of mind Spark plugs, stick to the recommended 7s and 9s, fouled plugs are not fun, especially when you've just fouled the plugs/flooded it trying to start it, it's -2, you're late for work and now have to spend time getting the plugs out ,cleaning them up, clearing the rotor housings etc!
|
|
|
|
ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,195
Club RR Member Number: 170
|
|
Dec 10, 2015 20:45:03 GMT
|
Hmmm, You will have to take me for a spin in this one of the days Adam! It sounds like quite a treat. It is also surprising to see that you are putting reliability ahead of mods oddly enough! I think you know what to do regarding the oil .
|
|
|
|
adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,869
Club RR Member Number: 58
|
|
Dec 10, 2015 23:44:29 GMT
|
Thanks a lot for the responses on the oil guys! I did a fair amount of searching on the net and think I ended up more confused than when I started! But I think I'm a bit clearer now I think I'd like to stick with the OMP for now as it seems to be doing the job, so I guess that means finding some 10w40 Mineral Oil (I think I must have got 10w30 from some american forum or something) I guess Part Synth isn't as good as Mineral? Hmm I think Halfords still sell this stuff, not quite the same viscosity being a 15w40 rather than a 10w40 but its mineral at least, no idea how well it would burn though.. www.halfords.com/motoring/engine-oils-fluids/engine-oil/halfords-15w40-mineral-petrol-diesel-oil-5lOtherwise I'll get some of the 10w40 stuff off ebay or elsewhere Yeah I thought it best to stick with the 7's and 9's Aha yeah Chas, shall have to go for a drive for sure! Its quite a good laugh Aha I really am trying to be sensible also I'm hoping it will give the best platform to maybe do some mods on in the future Nipped out in the car to a little meet this evening, encountered another RX
|
|
Last Edit: Dec 10, 2015 23:44:54 GMT by adam73bgt
|
|
adam73bgt
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 4,869
Club RR Member Number: 58
|
|
Dec 19, 2015 21:46:04 GMT
|
Well the 7 has been providing good daily service over the past week and a bit, aside from the one incident with the clutch pedal in heavy traffic its been great I've been doing some shopping for service bits I was a bit amazed that the local Mazda main dealer had the oil filter in stock and at a pretty good price too! Got the right spark plugs and other bits and bobs, I've been hearing some noise from the engine bay which sounded belt related so have decided to change them all Only things left to buy are oils for the engine, gearbox and diff. Also I'll be needing some clutch fluid for when I change the master and slave cylinders and hose next week or so I have tackled a pretty crucial job however in sorting out the sound system, well I say me, it was mostly down to Curtis who has sorted the audio out on the MG and Saab in the past The car appeared to have a full aftermarket Clarion system fitted consisting of door speakers, amp and radio/tape deck! probably cost a decent amount in the day but it didn't work and the wiring was a mess! Destined for the bin! So after getting rid of the old stuff and working out what on earth was going on with the wiring (there were two aerial wires?!), it took a bit of manhandling to get the new unit to fit in place, its not a bad fit but I'll do a bit of tweaking, theres a plastic bit from the car which will fill the gap above the headunit nicely so I'll find a way of fitting that in So that should make the drive back to Suffolk for Christmas a bit less tedious The next update should see the car getting a deep clean and a service, I'm also trying to find the best place to get a relay to fix the common FC wiper switch issue
|
|
|
|
|