Rotary Car Club - Rise and Fall of a '93 CYM Base

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Rise and Fall of a '93 CYM Base

I wanted to be one of the cool kids, so I thought I'd make a build thread:

July 07: An FD was my affordable dream car, but I had never even seen one in person. That was until the owner of a beautiful Canadian CYM Base model showed up to one of our local meets and announced that he wanted to sell the car. Yay for me. It had less than 100 000km on the body, and about half of that on the motor. Suffice to say I picked it up, and that summer was a blast.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...ginalCar-1.jpg http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...ginalCar-2.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...ginalCar-3.jpg http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...ginalMotor.jpg

October 07: It was time to park the car for the winter. I was having a few problems with it, namely vac lines and an oil pan leak. Which turned into the engine being pulled from the car....... which turned into the 2 year debacle as will be detailed below.

Getting Started:

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...artingWork.jpg http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...tingWork-2.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z.../EngineOut.jpg http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...ngineOut-2.jpg

Teardown:
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...d/Teardown.jpg http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...Teardown-2.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...Teardown-3.jpg http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...Teardown-4.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...Teardown-5.jpg http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...Teardown-6.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...Teardown-7.jpg http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...Teardown-8.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...Teardown-9.jpg http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...eardown-10.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...eardown-11.jpg http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...eardown-12.jpg

New clutch and a low mileage JDM Transmission with the shorter/tougher 5th gear (I hate the smell of gear oil with a passion):

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z.../NewClutch.jpg http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...ewerTranny.jpg

I picked up a B&M short shifter (I'm still undecided on whether or not I like it), and a 1680CC secondary injector kit for the single that may one day be in the future:

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...ad/FuelKit.jpg http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...ad/Shifter.jpg

I stuck some HID's in the fog lights to match the headlights (Yeh, I know I know. HID's in halogen housings. The headlights will be changed out for the SakeBomb Garage projector retrofits as soon as I get them.):

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...FogBallast.jpg http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...read/HIDOn.jpg

My interior was pretty sad, previous owner had covered the gauge cluster and console with suede....... which faded and peeled. Not to mention the glue that was used etched the plastic. I rattlecan refinished them for now, I'll get back to the interior one day:

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...ngInterior.jpg http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...Interior-2.jpg

Now, after everything was said and done, the car would not start. I had spark, I had fuel pressure, I had compression. I even tried to pull start it around the block a few times. Nothing. Upon further investigation I found that my primary injectors were stuck closed, by product of being a little old and sitting dry on the shelf for most of a year. Ok, so I send the injectors out to be cleaned and tested. Once everything was buttoned up again...... still nothing. So I start at the beginning: I have spark, I have fuel (pressure and flow), and I have....no.... I don't have compression on the front rotor. WTF?

Turns out I f*ucked up. Like really f*cked up. When I was scrubbing the gunk off of the outside of the irons/housings I had an idea. Why don't I silicon carbide bead blast the suckers, and while I'm at it I'll do the faces of the rotors too. Then, I'll clean out the nice, loose, residue and most of the work will be done. Infamous last words: It won't hurt anything.

If anyone reading this thinks this might be even a remotely good idea (which it isn't), stop thinking immediately. The fine carbon/silicone powder that you create does not come off. At all. I washed every part in a multitude of solutions. I pressure washed. I blasted with air. I took rags and towels and cotton swabs, I even did the ultra sonic thing. All of the parts appeared clean. I rubbed a white cotton swab through every oil passage and it came out as if it were brand new.

So when I was trying to pull start the car, the resulting oil pressure was enough to scour the seemingly clean surfaces and turn the oil into a super abrasive liquid. In a very, very short time I had done this:

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...hread/Shit.jpg http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...ead/Shit-2.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...ead/Shit-3.jpg http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...ead/Shit-4.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...ead/Shit-5.jpg

I also destroyed my twins, my oil coolers and thermostat (which I'm still trying to salvage), $200 worth of braided oil lines (metering and cooler lines), metering pump, irons, rotors, housings, everything under the front cover...... anything that touched oil is basically junk.

I was confused. How could I have missed this much crap (you can see the stuff in the bottom of the oil pan). So I experimented with my front cover. I put it in a solution caustic enough to strip off powder coating in an hour like it was never there. The inside of the cover was a bright, even silver color. Until you let it sit in the solution for an hour, then you could 'smear' the silver coating. Yet I could not scrub all of it off. It was the same story with every other part. Dry, they seemed fine. After soaking in the solution you could tell every oiled surface was covered in it. Bah.

Anywho, Conroy Ganson came though (at this point I had 2 weeks to finish the car before I had to move) with a low mileage core from a crashed '95 FD. He rebuilt and street-ported it for me, since he's much faster and more skilled at such things than I am.

Here it is being tested with my home made compression tester, and slapped together in the engine bay:

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...sionTester.jpg http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...gineBayNew.jpg

One, single change to it though:

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...d/NewSnail.jpg
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...d/GT3076R2.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...ndManifold.jpg

May 2009, the saga is finally over......... no, it's never over.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...hread/fd-1.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...hread/car1.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...read/may30.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...urplelight.jpg

Stats:

Engine:

- Emissions removal | 2751 Engineering block-off plates
- Aluminum AST
- 3" Custom Downpipe | 3" SS Midpipe | HKS Super Dragger
- Peter Farrel Supercars SMIC
- Magnacor Wires
- Linear stock temperature gauge modification
- Apexi Power FC w/ Commander and Datalogit
- Greddy Turbo Timer
- Street Port
- RA 2mm Super Seals
- Atkins Solid Corner Seals
- Gotham Racing 19 Row Twin Oil Cooler Kit - Destroyed by sludge!
- Innovate LM-1 wideband
- Garfinkle Oil Pan Brace
- KG Parts secondary fuel rail & 1680CC injectors
- Aeromotive A-1000 rising rate FPR
- Greddy pulley kit
- Supra TT Denso fuel pump
- HKS Twinpower ignition amp
- Koyo Aluminum Radiator
- Rx-8 Rear Stationary Gear
- Garrett GT3076R
........... 57mm 0.60 A/R 56 trim coldside
........... 60mm 0.82 A/R 84 trim hotside
- Synapse Engineering 50mm Vband Wastegate
- Synapse Engineering Sequential BOV
- Super Now! Aluminum Motor Mounts

Drivetrain:

- Low mileage stock transmission
- B&M Short Shifter
- B&M shift knob
- BF Goodrich T/A KDW 2 tires:
........245/35/18 front
........285/30/18 rear
- Exedy Hyper Twin Plate Clutch w/ Standard Flywheel

Suspension:

- H&R Lowering Springs on OEM Struts
- OEM R1 Strut Bar

Brakes:

- Brembo Rotors
- Stainless braided lines
- DOT 5 competition brake fluid

Exterior:

- Factory color, Competition Yellow Mica.
- Knightsports side skirts and rear mouldings.
- '99 Spec Tail Lights
- Paint Detail using Zaino products
- Sakebomb Garage Bi-Xenon Retrofit Headlights
- 6000k HID's (foglights)
- Gram Lights 57Pro wheels
........18 x 9.0J +45 front
........18 x 10.0J +50 rear

Interior:

- Center Speaker Gauge Pod
- Prosport Boost Gauge
- Prosport Exh. Temp
- Alpine Deck
- JL Audio component speakers in front doors/pillars
- JL Audio 2-way speakers in rear Touring speaker locations
- Duplicolor Metalcast refinished interior bits
- Innovate X-16 wideband gauge

Nice looking CYM. Did the canadian models come in CYM in more than just R1 package? Or is that a re-spray. Looks clean.

What are your plans for the engine?

i painted the wife's FC CYM and she has been pulled over 8 times since for no reason.. Good thing she is a lawyer!!:D

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigIslandSevens (Post 107539)

Canadian base models also had the option of being CYM, aside from the standard R1.

Disaster! The SPEC clutch (I'd never recommend SPEC to anyone again) is slipping. It's fine for cruisin' to the A&W, but hard driving overheats it fairly quickly. Sad, since I'm putting out probably half the torque it's rated for.

And, to top it off, I had an incident with a reversing SUV.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...e/DSC_0320.jpg
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...e/DSC_0319.jpg
http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...e/DSC_0321.jpg

It's in the body shop right now being revitalized, hopefully it will be ready for spring.

^NNNNOOOOO!! :(.

Nice build though. CYM is such a great color. :icon_tup:

No fair putting all those engine shots in after I commented. makes me look like I didn't read the thread:D CYM should have been a option on all years here.

And what caused the oil damage. I see you say silicone blast. What do you mean by that? Bead blasting in a cabinet? Or spraying them with silicone spray? Confused.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigIslandSevens (Post 107570)

Sorry, I don't even know why I typed silicone. I meant to say silicon carbide, and yes bead blasting in a cabinet. I'll change that, good catch :).

The dammage doesnt look bad so it shouldnt be long before you have it back and running again.

nice, where did you get the lights from?

I was in on the first Sakebomb Garage group buy. Not only is the quality of the retro phenomenal, they also happen to have my favorite bi-xenon projectors tucked inside of them, which made it that much better.

and awsome lights they are i cant wait to get mine installed. nice little setup too bad on the first motor lol thats an expensive mistake.

z

solid engine mounts? Crazy, man.... I thought that my Banzai Racing poly mounts wouldnt be "too bad" and I fucking hate them cause of the amount of vibration the car has now...

Seeing that you have stock shock absorbers and this is not a pure race car, why did you decide to buy those?

At first, I saw this..

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z.../NewClutch.jpg

and going to say, i have no love for this car... then I saw this!!!

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...d/DSC_0342.jpg

Now, MAD props for your FD!! Great Build!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Max777 (Post 118057)

I don't know, because I can? :) I thought about buying the poly mounts, but a lot of people who have poly mounts usually end up buying a torque brace as well. So I said screw it, why not cut out the middle man and use solid mounts? I'm not particularly concerned with vibration, it's not a Lexus and its already loud and 'rough'. They're not particularly expensive, and if I don't like it I'll change it.

I'm not sure how OEM dampers come into the picture, but I'm not done with the car yet. I don't have a massive budget for pouring money into this car, so I can only do so many things at once. :driving:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Herblenny (Post 118066)

Haha, yah I know. :( I was young and dumb; and thought I'd take a chance and try the newer kid on the block, as opposed to the tried and true. The SPEC website rated it at holding much more torque than I thought I would need. I also got it local, rather than buying from the states or elsewhere, saved me substantial money with the exchange rate at the time. Well, it was supposed to save me money. :cuss:

Now, very slightly older and less dumb, I've learned to do some things the right way :rofl:

And as a bonus, maybe now the A/C compressor won't stall the car at idle (more rotating inertia).

Selling the flywheel that you used with the spec clutch?

Assuming that it is in good condition I will be putting up for sale. Are you interested in it?

If the price is right yes I am...

Yum. That is all. I'm still considering CYM on my FD.

Love the car, love the build. Lemme know how you like the clutch ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Max777 (Post 118057)

That's odd because mine only has a slight vibration at a specific rpm, anywhere below or above it didn't vibrate much different from stock. Now the tranny mounts give you a little more tranny noise in the cabin but once again its nothing that bothers me much. Have you inspected your driveshaft lately?

Well, let me put it this way, when you rev the car with the clutch in in neutral, it vibrates pretty bad at over 5k rpms. Also, vibrates the HELL out of my dashboard and such too....

Honestly, I rode in a car with the Mazdaspeed 40% stiffer mounts, and they felt sooo smoooth compared to my car, that I'm going to get a set and sell my banzai mounts.

Oh well, I daily my car so i guess it's a bigger problem for me than it is for you.

You have other issues

Quote:

Originally Posted by Max777 (Post 118123)

My car was my daily until the engine blew. When it comes back from the body shop and the "new" engine thrown in its going right back to daily duty

Daily driving a sports car is cool. You sir, are therefore cool. Done deal.

Yay! my car is finally back from getting the damage repaired. Paint match is close, I can live with it until I have the money to respray the whole car. Most people would never even know there was a difference, but once you see it..... it cannot be unseen. I'll stick up some pictures once it stops being miserable. Which will be at least a week.

I did get to spend all weekend cleaning some of the body shop dust. I also stuck the new clutch and mounts in. :icon_tup: :icon_tup:

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...ndSuperNow.jpg

The clutch feels great. The pedal is much more firm than the SPEC clutch (in a good way, stiffer than OEM but not much). I'll have to read up on adjusting the pedal though, as it does engage quite high right now. It'll take some getting used to. :)

I also installed my Sakebomb Garage lights. Excellent product! I'll post some pictures of them installed, and lighting output ect when it is nice out.

The only problem I have is that now my throw out bearing is making noise. It was brand new when I put the SPEC clutch in (4000km ago), and it wasn't making noise on Friday before I started, but it is now. :banghead: I also have a new exhaust leak which is driving me nuts. It's not leaking from any of the bolt on flanges (motor or turbo), and I went over every inch of the manifold before I put the motor back into the car. It must be from the V-band flange.

Here are some pictures of the crap I had previously put in my car:

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...ecFlywheel.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...ateandDisk.jpg

Oh, and Max777. I'm gonna have to say that you must have some other balancing issues with your car. Between driving it Friday with good condition stock mounts, and then driving it Sunday with Aluminum mounts..... no noticeable change in noise or vibration. There is a huge change in the way the car feels though. No longer is my shifter flopping around like a beached fish every time I go to shift.

Any chance that flywheel is salvageable? If not it's going to the Waste Reclamation Facility.

very nice car...

I am looking forward to seeing it at the autocross and other random events around the summer...

that new exedy looks stellar... how much do those run for, regularly... ?
the motor mounts look like they will take all the abuse you will be sending their way...

I'm hoping we can at least go for one or 2 cruises before the summers over... get some miles on the girls... first I need to get my to run :cuss:

J.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prodigy (Post 120889)

very nice car...

that new exedy looks stellar... how much do those run for, regularly...

J.

I bought mine from RHD Japan, I believe it ran me about $1800.00.

I bet that the flywheel is salvageable, it does have a replaceable friction surface.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nismo (Post 120936)

I bet that the flywheel is salvageable, it does have a replaceable friction surface.

If you want it, you can have it for the price of shipping.

If he passes, (unlikly I know)

I'll take a drive out to take it off your hands

J.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mobius (Post 121032)

If you want it, you can have it for the price of shipping.

I'll take it, you have a pm!

For the first time in the three years I've owned this car, this past Sunday I was finally able to hit up an AutoX:

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...read/Rx7-3.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...Thread/Rx7.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z...read/Rx7-2.jpg

I wasn`t the one driving in these pictures though.

That car is beautiful, well done. Glad you like the clutch. They do seem to be more harsh on T/O bearings though. Mine is squeeling like my gf everytime I go to shift :rofl: I need to get a call into Exedy, I'm sure they'll say it's not their fault at all but maybe they'll have some tips for T/O bearing life.

thow away those ricer sides, that car deserves better... :D

Looks awesome, how did the body work turn out

I'm sad I never got to attend the auto-x let.... :(

How was it....?

J.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Max777 (Post 122772)

thow away those ricer sides, that car deserves better... :D

Hey now, they're rareish ricer sides, and I like them :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prodigy (Post 122787)

Looks awesome, how did the body work turn out

I'm sad I never got to attend the auto-x let.... :(

How was it....?

J.

Body work turned out decent, I haven't shot any pics of it yet. The autoX was a blast, I'm going to try to make it to the August one as well.

Ok, ok... if you like them then that's all that matters. Is there a front bumper to this kit?