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3 Rotor FB build - "Silvie II"
Almost 10 years have passed since I traded a Racing Beat exhaust for a dented '85 GSL-SE with 140k on the clock. From day one, it was a street-legal track slut. All of the money went under the hood, with almost no consideration for aesthetics given. I slapped a black hood on it to ironically emulate the look of a friend's beater 12a car. He called his "Silvie", and so I named mine "Silvie II". We took them to autocrosses, street car challenges, the drag strip and even to Rotary Revolution. Our favorite jag was to "bump" the each other occasionally, and watch the reactions of horrified Solo II competitors or passengers.
Over the years, it would go from being powered by a tired stock 13b N/A, to a 300hp t04 boosted 13bT, to finally a 450hp REW big-single. Chris Ludwig of Ludwig Motorsports put so much time into building and tuning this car he never had time to build his own. I think he enjoyed it almost as much as I did. All the while, the suspension and brakes were refined while bits of the interior cracked apart and the paint and trim deteriorated. I didn't care what it looked like; as long as it was fast. When the REW popped on the track at in '08, I bought a D-code Cosmo front clip and set to the task of trying to swap it in. It was beyond my abilities, and once again Chris Ludwig stepped in and rescued the project from abandonment. I had begun trying to build a 12a-powered SandRail, and was seriously considering selling all the parts I had amassed over the years. Chris installed an FC subframe and mounted the motor in the chassis,and began building the wiring harness for the new motor. Just as the project got rolling I lost my job of 7 years and for nearly 8 months the car sat covered in his driveway. I haven't so much as touched the car since '09. Last week I towed it back to my shop and tried to figure out what to do with the rusting carcass of a race car that had monopolized my 20's. I sat in the garage a long time just staring at it... I figure it needs at least $3k in new parts, and probably 6 months of labor to return it to running condition. Ignoring the body work is no longer an option. The easy way out would be to just run the 20b N/A, something I could probably accomplish with what I've got on the shelf. I thumbed through all the receipts and photos from previous builds, and was genuinely shocked at all we'd done. Ford rear-end: $3500, NHRA cage: $1500, Haltech Platinum ECU: $1600, Fuel-pump and related parts: $900. The timeslips and dyno graphs showed how it had matured over the years, and the pictures of the gleaming engine-bay in an otherwise clapped-out car made me nostalgic. "After all that" I thought to myself, "Why stop now?". This car has always been special to me, and I wouldn't be happy driving it around half-assed (any longer). So I've decided to restore the car from bumper to bumper, and finish the turbo 20b. Watch this thread to see me rebuild my dream. |
Haha I love the story. Can't wait to see what you do with it.
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First update, taking stock of what's good and bad.
http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/genesis/asitsits1.jpg http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/genesis/asitsits2.jpg The exterior is unchanged since '07. Driver side fender is shot, and needs to be replaced as does the driver's side door. The previous owner's repair job on the sheetmetal below the rear window glass is falling apart. Badges are missing, and probably won't be replaced. http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/genesis/asitsits3.jpg http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/genesis/asitsits4.jpg http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/genesis/asitsits5.jpg The chromoloy cage is covered in surface rust, and some rust has appeared on the floor. The interior is mostly gone, including all of the chassis wiring. Good news is, this car STILL has no bin-rot despite my neglect. http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/genesis/asitsits6.jpg http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/genesis/asitsits7.jpg http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/genesis/asitsits8.jpg Engine still spins freely and is in good shape. Some corrosion has appeared on the manifold. I'll need to pull this out to get into the body work. I think I'm likely to fabricate my own v-mount for the radiator and intercooler. http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/genesis/asitsits9.jpg Some parts in good condition, including the cosmo oil cooler, the sumped tank, the fuel pump, FPR, and wastegate. Lots of stuff I'm glad I hung on to. http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/genesis/asitsits10.jpg http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/genesis/asitsits11.jpg The suspension and diff are in excellent shape. I don't think I'll need to mess with the underpinnings until the body work is done. What's first? I think I'll tackle finishing the interior and the body work. |
I remember the ride you gave me in this thing at one of Danny's (Xtreme) rotary cookouts. LOL. That thing was a ruckus. Anyways, I guess you're recovering from the job loss and good luck with your build. If you need a third hand, I'm down in Shepherdsville. My second gen will be "project status" in a few months once I pick up a daily driving pickup truck for myself. Looking forward to the updates.
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Kind of a boring update. I started working on cleaning up the interior and removing the rust on the cage. I had removed the bulk the factory sound-deadening tar in '07, and I'm attempting to complete the job now. It took 4 hours to clean the floor forward of the bins. I used mineral spirits and scotch-brite pads and a whole lot of elbow grease.
Tomorrow I'm going to finish cleaning the hatch area and buy some primer for the cage. I thought about painting the interior at the same time as the body, but I decided against it. I'll likely just spray paint the cage either silver or maroon. Before: http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/interior/interior1.jpg http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/interior/interior2.jpg After: http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/interior/interior3.jpg http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/interior/interior4.jpg http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/interior/interior5.jpg Once I knock this out, I think I'll start on the body work. I could still paint it before fall. Note to self: Move the driver's seat down and to the right. My head is too close to the roll bar. |
Holy shit you did a number on that floor! Nice work!
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Another boring interior update, this time with some welding. First, I finished cleaning the tar off from the bin area. Zzzz...
Before: http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/interior/interior6.jpg After: http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/interior/interior7.jpg I decided I would tackle the problem of my head being too close to the roll bar by dropping the seat as far down as I could. I don't have any pictures of it, but originally the seat was mounted on risers that were bolted to the OEM seat slider. I started by removing the sliders and placing the seat in the car in the proper driving position. http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/interior/seat2.jpg http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/interior/seat3.jpg http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/interior/seat1.jpg With the seat in this position, I was still not satisfied with the clearance for my head. the risers sat perfectly on top of the factory seat mounting points front and back but I decided to take it one step further. I removed the risers and found that if I cut the rear seat brackets out of the car I could basically bolt the seat directly to the floor. The fronts would require shorter L-shaped brackets. After I cut out the brackets, I replaced them with a couple of pieces of 1/8th inch steel plate welded to the floor. I then donned by race helmet to check the clearance, and found I could move my head freely in the car without contacting the roll bar. I sat there for 5 minutes or so; a full grown man, shirtless with a race helmet on in a non-running car at 4 in the morning making engine noises and pretending to shift gears. :driving: http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/interior/seat4.jpg The hardest thing about this was figuring out how to set this seat up so that both Chris Ludwig and I could drive the car comfortably. For those who have never met Chris, he's 11 feet tall... No joke, one time I was staging his ITS car at a track day at IRP and nearly ran over an official because I couldn't reach the pedals. :rofl: So, for Chris I made the seat mount plate an extra 4 inches longer. I figure we can use the risers bolted into the floor in the front, with a separate set of holes drilled into the mounting plate in the back. Should be a 5-10 minute job to move the seat into "Andre the Giant" driving position. |
I love that car
I had most of the pics you posted on my hard drive I always loved the way the FD intake looked on that car. Quick question, how did you remove the tar back in 07? I have to tackle that job and I dont know how to do it |
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To answer your question, I did the removal in December when it was right around freezing outside. The cold makes the tar brittle, and easy to break up. You can just whack it with a hammer and it'll come apart, then scrape the remaining chunks off with a paint scraper. I've heard of people using dry ice to get the same effect in warmer weather, but I don't know how well that would work. I noticed when removing the remaining tar this week that soaking the floor in mineral spirits seems to loosen the adhesion enough that you can scrape up big pieces with a flat razor-knife, but I don't think that would work for full-thickness material. Just wait 'til winter would be my suggestion. Still, it's definitely a worthwhile mod. I was amazed that I got two 5 gallon buckets full-to-the-brim of that stuff out of the car. It's heavy and there's a lot of it! |
hehehe its winter here right now.
I can give it a shot. Im still not sure if Im gonna run with full interior or not |
I've heard alot of people also use dry ice to get it brittle.
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Awesome job on the floorboards, seems like an great project. Good luck.
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Google weather says the low on Friday in BA should be around 39 degrees on Friday night. That would be a great time to do it. |
Primered the cage yesterday, probably going to paint it tonight with some rattlecan silver.
http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/interior/cage1.jpg http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/interior/cage2.jpg http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/interior/cage3.jpg http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/interior/cage4.jpg |
On to page 2!
Painted the first coat of rattlecan silver. Pretty happy with the color; Was worried it would look too "bass boat". A couple of flat areas are visible in the paint, I'll sand and respray those tomorrow. http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/interior/cage5.jpg http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/interior/cage6.jpg http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/interior/cage7.jpg |
This is outstanding!! I have seen a project build on the forums in a while. Keep up the good work. Can't wait to see her run!
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Okay, last cage pics for a while. Wetsanded the whole deal and gave it another coat. Turned out pretty good. I broke out the old carpet and put it back in (not pictured). I HATE this cranberry interior color with a passion. I wish I had been able to get a hold of a black or grey interior, but I was never able to find one in good shape. I guess I'll live with it.
http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/interior/cage8.jpg http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/interior/cage9.jpg Okay, enough boring interior stuff. The only reason I spent so much time on it was because it needed immediate attention due to the years of neglect. Tonight, I'm going to pull the engine out and start working on it. Stay tuned. |
Just started looking at T6 manifolds... Depressingly expensive to buy outright. I've been spoiled by dirt-cheap 13b parts.
I've seen a couple of designs I like, may try to reproduce something similar to the Kiwi design. I got a quote from a local shop that does good work for around $900 material and labor (2 years ago). At the time that seemed excessive, but now it sounds like a steal. Anyone have any suggestions? |
If its not too much trouble, could you take pics of the rear of the roll cage? does it extend under the car?
Thanks! |
Thought about dying the carpet?
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PS: I keep thinking about moving the motor further back. I figured out how to make the shifter work with the motor pushed back to the firewall. |
Nice muthafuckin project man
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It's so damned hot and humid right now, I'm just not getting much done. I think I'm going to switch back to working on this thing late at night to avoid the high temps.
In any case, the engine is out and shortblock'd. I'm starting on cleanup, and trying to figure out if I want to crack it open for some porting. http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/engine/teardown1.jpg http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/engine/teardown2.jpg http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/engine/teardown3.jpg http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/engine/teardown4.jpg All the numbers match. D-series, #212. Arguably the most desirable, with the improved e-shaft and meatier side plates. I am very lucky to have this motor! http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/engine/teardown5.jpg http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/engine/teardown6.jpg I'm taking notes on what needs to be done to this motor. I think I have decided to cut and file the EGR cavity on the UIM. I'm going to build my own fuel rails and use top-feed injectors for the primaries. I'll use an N/A 13b water pump and housing with double-belt pulleys. I can't remember if I sold my REW flywheel; I hope not. http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/engine/teardown7.jpg Just for shits and grins, here's what a 1st gen looks like with a 2nd gen crossmember. |
You need a flywheel that bolts to the 20Bs auto counterweight.
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Nice! :icon_tup:
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Here are a couple pictures I have now for my car. http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...8_934326_n.jpg http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._3460158_n.jpg Like I said, let me know if you are interested, i dont mean to hijack your thread. lmao |
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This thread isn't dead!
After being out of work for almost a year, I had some financial obligations to take care of. So this project didn't really pick up steam until November. I've been taking pics since then, but haven't posted. The goal is to have it rolling this summer. Going to miss DGRR, but there will be other events. As it stands the 20b is at LMS-EFI for port work. I have the LIM and UIM, and am prepping them for powdercoat. I've selected my transmission: Liberty Tremec TKO 600 5-speed with the faceplate option. Really doing my homework on gear ratios, and taking measurements to fit. Based on what I have learned, I think I may need to move the motor back another 2-3 inhes. This tranny would fit perfectly in the stock position if you could put the shifter in the middle of the dash. :P |
Core Support
At some point in this car's past it was involved in a low-speed collision on the drivers-side front corner. The damage wasn't really noticeable until I tried to replace the panels. valence and fender would not line up no matter how hard I tried. I actually managed to ruin a perfectly good fender by crushing it with the door when I opened it. I bought a $150 rear-quarter wrecked '83 GS with a blown motor for parts. The donor car core-support was cut out and welded in place once the backing tube was pushed forward a bit. Here's a couple of pics: http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/ext...resupport1.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/ext...resupport2.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/ext...resupport3.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/ext...resupport4.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/ext...resupport5.jpg |
Filling Holes
This chassis had a lot of unnecessary holes. Some were factory, but a lot of them were added over the years by myself and Ludwig. The car has had 3 wholly different engines, each with their own distinct equipment, and anytime we needed to add something new we just busted out the drill and put things where they needed to be. In doing the body work, I wanted to be as thorough as possible. The antenna hole is gone, all badges (front, side and rear), The heater and air-conditioning orifices, and all the holes used to bolt trim to the front and rear bumpers. The smaller holes were simply filled with weld, ground down, and smoothed with body-filler. The larger holes required cutting blanks out of sheet metal that was welded in place. The worst rust damage in the whole car was in the sill of the rear hatch where the drain had become clogged and rusted through. This repair was probably the most complicated of this effort. http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/ext...lingholes1.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/ext...lingholes2.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/ext...lingholes3.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/ext...lingholes4.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/ext...lingholes5.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/ext...lingholes6.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/ext...lingholes7.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/ext...lingholes8.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/ext...lingholes9.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/ext...ingholes10.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/ext...ingholes11.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/ext...ingholes12.jpg |
Body filler
Some time before I owned this car, the area behind the rear hatch had been damaged. It was repaired sloppily and looked terrible. So this had to be taken down to bare metal and the wrinkles smoothed with body filler. In the pictures it looks like a lot was needed, but it's actually a pretty thin layer. I would have preferred not to have use even that much, but the existing damage left me few options. All the same, it will look just fine and since quality filler was used it should last the life of the car. http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/ext...odyfiller1.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/ext...odyfiller2.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/ext...odyfiller3.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/ext...odyfiller4.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/ext...odyfiller5.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/ext...odyfiller6.jpg |
Primer, Round 1
At last, some primer. I started off building a booth in my garage. It's basically some bailing wire stretched between trusses with heavy-gauge plastic strung across the top. Since this primer doesn't create a lot of overspray, I opted to leave the ends open for the moment. I'll construct a section next week to enclose the area completely. The car was masked from the body-line up as that's where all the major repairs have been made. This was a simple coverage layer for the repairs, so the underhood, sunroof, and jam areas are masked. Next week the car will be primed again with several thick layers of primer in preperation for blocking and watersanding. I've been trying to decide on which brand and shade of silver to paint the car. At this point it's a toss up between House of Kolor fine-metallic Orion Silver or the modern two-stage version of the original Mazda K3 "Sunbeam Silver". It's really a tough decision! The HoK silver will be brighter, easier to apply, and probably last longer... The original Silver would be nostalgic, and would match in areas where paint isn't being applied. I've heard that two-stage conversions of old colors aren't as good so I'm leaning towards the HoK. I invite suggestions. http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/exterior/primer1.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/exterior/primer2.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/exterior/primer3.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/exterior/primer4.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/exterior/primer5.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/exterior/primer6.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/exterior/primer7.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/exterior/primer8.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/exterior/primer9.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/exterior/primer10.jpg http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/exterior/primer11.jpg That's all for now. I'll try to update a little more often as I make progress. I expect I should soon have pictures of the 20b in glorious Silver/Chevy-engine Orange paint. /Special thanks to Bronson for renting me his expertise |
dude, i remember your car when it had the REW in it. it was actually one of my favorite cars on the boards. i love it. it sucks about your job. i've been going through the same ordeal for 21 months now, so i feel your pains. i often wondered what had happened to you. i'm glad to see you're putting it back together though - and with a 20B no less! :) you're making good progress with the body. i'm sure it will be sweet when all is done.
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Seems like your dedicated and committed to finish this job...
Rare nowadays... All in all excellent work. |
Thanks for the comments guys. I know there's been a lot more FB than 20B so far, but it's starting to come together. Will have some more work done Saturday, and more pics.
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great work and keep us posted...
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Not much to report this week. Finished the paint booth, a few more holes filled and the passenger-side fender and the hood. Next week I'll be in Primm, NV to pit crew for an off-road race team so not much will get done for a while. I'll use the time to order parts.
I did media blast the LIM... About to send it off for powder-coating. http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/engine/lim.jpg |
http://www.satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/ext...reassembly.jpg
Gaps came out perfect! Not one original body panel on this car... In fact, each panel is from a different car! More primer this weekend. |
Past couple of weeks progress. Lots of primer.
http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/exterior/primer12.jpg http://satc.net/rx7/SilvieII/exterior/primer13.jpg |
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