85 GSL-SE Restoration and mods

pqjim · **Posted:** Tue May 17, 2011 2:29 pm

There are so many talented guys posting their restoration stories here. Mainly on older RX's like R-100s, RX-3s, etc. I thought there might be some interest in what I have been doing with my 85 RX-7. Unlike many, I do not have the time,space, or tools to do most of the work myself. Hope this is OK...

My goal with my car is to keep it as stock looking as possible, but to improve the performance and reliability of the car. I am over 55, so turning it into a boy-racer is not on the agenda.

First job was to upgrade the suspension with Racing Beat sway bar, urethane bushings, better springs, steering components, and a strut tower bar. The previous owner installed new shocks so I did not worry about those.

New RB exhaust system:

Next project was having it painted...

Cannot paint it without replacing all the badges, etc...

Exterior done:

Next up is replacing the smoky 13B with a series 5 (91) turbo 2 motor and S4 (88) transmission. The objective of the engine swap is to keep the accessories that make it a civilized sports car - air conditioning, cruise control, and power steering. To do this the 91 engine was rebuilt using the front section from the old 13B so that all the accessories and brackets fit. The S4 tranny was selected because it fits the GSL-SE better. Not wanting to cut a hole in the hood or figure out a way to mount a front inter-cooler, we will be using water injection to keep the air charge cooled. Also, a Haltech ECU and wiring harness are being used.

Old transmission on right - new S4 T2 transmission on left:

Nice mess in engine bay with old motor pulled.

New engine:

Engine and transmission installed:

Modified the stock air box to feed the turbine:

Will need a better radiator, this one from Champion Cooling Systems was a great deal. $220 US with a 16" electric fan:

With transmission installed, old shift knob looks like the stock:

Currently we are waiting for the drive shaft to come back from the machine shop. It turns out not only did it have to be shortened, the splines did not match so they had to be re-cut. It has been in the shop for the engine swap for almost a year, but should be ready any day now...

oldisgold · **Posted:** Sat May 21, 2011 12:18 pm

Looks good! I'm told the 13b turbo swap into the fb can be a real pain, but yours looks to be well-done. It should be a lot of fun trying to manage all that power in such a light chassis, but by your suspension mods I would guess that the car will be well-rounded. Keep it up!

pqjim · **Posted:** Sun May 22, 2011 9:25 am

Thank you, Oldisgold. The engine swap was one of those "all you have to do..." projects. A friend said all you have to do is get a used drive train out of a S5 RX-7 and drop it in your 85, ECU and all. Well, once we started we decided to change the fuel pump, then the ECU, then we needed a new clutch of course to handle the power, new radiator to handle the heat, etc, etc. Now that it is almost done, there is a question about the stock wheels and tires - will they be sufficient to hook up with the new turbo power? I want to keep the appearance stock, so I don't want to replace the stock wheels. It is getting hard to find tires that fit, though. I am open to suggestions for replacement wheel and tires combinations. If I do replace the stock wheels, I want something that looks appropriate for a 1985 car.

oldisgold · **Posted:** Sun May 22, 2011 8:49 pm

I believe the gsl-se wheels are only 6 in wide, so I would probably go with something with more of a contact patch if I were you.. luckily your car has the 4x114.3 bolt pattern, as opposed to the 4x110 on the other old Mazdas like mine, so your choices are plentiful. As far as keeping the look of the car "period correct," you can't go wrong with a set of panasports or epsilon meshies.. Hayashi and SSR also make authentic wheels that would look right on the fb, and I think you can get them 7 or 8 inches wide..

pqjim · **Posted:** Fri May 27, 2011 10:42 am

Thanks. I decided to go with Panasports 15x7 wheels. The stock wheels are 14x5.5", so the Panasports should provide a little more contact and they will look great. I am confused about tire size. I was told they need 205/50s, which seems odd because the stock 5.5" rims also use 205 width tires. Not sure how 5.5" wheels and 7" wheels have the same tire width. Another problem is due to the earthquake, delivery from Japan is iffy, so I was told 8 weeks delivery time.

SevenHeaven · **Posted:** Sat Jun 18, 2011 4:27 pm

pqjim wrote:

Thanks. I decided to go with Panasports 15x7 wheels. The stock wheels are 14x5.5", so the Panasports should provide a little more contact and they will look great. I am confused about tire size. I was told they need 205/50s, which seems odd because the stock 5.5" rims also use 205 width tires. Not sure how 5.5" wheels and 7" wheels have the same tire width. Another problem is due to the earthquake, delivery from Japan is iffy, so I was told 8 weeks delivery time.

I have 205/50/15 on my '85 GSL and they work perfectly!

The car looks amazing BTW! I have thought about doing a 13B Turbo swap before, just never pursued it.

pqjim · **Posted:** Sun Jun 19, 2011 11:30 am

@SevenHeaven: Thanks. I checked out your web-site and really enjoyed it. Instead of the Panasports, I will probably be going with Rota Wheels RB models, which have the same look. My engine swap is almost complete. The shop has been waiting on a drive shaft for the past six weeks, not sure why its taking so long, something about finding the u-joint for the rear. Here is the latest pic of the installation:

Camshaft · **Posted:** Sun Jun 19, 2011 11:50 am

How will you be feeding fresh air into the intercooler? Will you be grafting on a Turbo II scoop?

pqjim · **Posted:** Sun Jun 19, 2011 3:57 pm

We are going to try and get by with water injection to cool the charge. In the picture of the engine bay, the water reservoir for the windshield washers is visible. Except that I have no window washer nozzles, in reality the reservoir is being used for the water injection system. There is a controller that varies the amount of water injected depending on the amount of boost.

SevenHeaven · **Posted:** Tue Jun 21, 2011 9:01 am

pqjim wrote:

@SevenHeaven: Thanks. I checked out your web-site and really enjoyed it. Instead of the Panasports, I will probably be going with Rota Wheels RB models, which have the same look. My engine swap is almost complete. The shop has been waiting on a drive shaft for the past six weeks, not sure why its taking so long, something about finding the u-joint for the rear. Here is the latest pic of the installation:

Thanks for the kind words about my website! It's been way too long since I updated it, I've been working on my new business venture...

I love the look of Panasports on a first Gen RX-7. They should look stunning on your car once it is done. The installation of your turbo motor looks very clean thus far, I'm impressed, and I am hard to impress :lol:

Keep up the good work I can't wait to see it done!

Dave77 · **Posted:** Fri Jun 24, 2011 12:06 pm

Looks great. Fantastic work so far.

pqjim · **Posted:** Wed Jul 20, 2011 5:50 pm

@Cam: Well, the engine is installed and I am breaking it in for 900 to 1000 miles. The water injection just is not enough to cool the turbo air, so we are going to have to graft a 2nd gen hood scoop on my hood to provide fresh air flow.

derek · **Posted:** Thu Jul 21, 2011 7:54 am

it would be sad to see that beautiful paint ruined for a hood scoop. why not go with a similar to stock size front mount ic instead? mishimoto black ic behind the grille will keep it clean and slick

pqjim · **Posted:** Thu Jul 21, 2011 8:28 am

Derek, I agree with you. My original intention was to keep the hood intact and use a front mounted IC. My mechanic acted like it was not possible to get a front IC for the 1st gen RX-7. Do you have a source for the Mishimoto IC? and any idea how much? I am afraid I am too far down the top mounted IC path to turn back now, but maybe it is not too late. Thank you very much for your advice.
Jim

pqjim · **Posted:** Thu Jul 21, 2011 8:34 am

Derek, Never mind, I Googled Mishimoto and found their website. Now I will try to see what it would cost to get the tubing and IC that would work with my car. Hope it is not too late as I gave my mechanic $250 yesterday to buy a 2nd gen used turbo hood!

derek · **Posted:** Thu Jul 21, 2011 2:59 pm

good luck. let us know what you wind up with.

also, i would have sold you a t2 hood for 100$

pqjim · **Posted:** Sun Sep 11, 2011 10:30 am

Went to the Japanese Classic Car Show yesterday with m y car. Note the 2nd gen turbo 2 hood scoop grafted on my 1st gen:

My daughter liked the 1968 Toyota GT

Camshaft · **Posted:** Sun Sep 11, 2011 12:18 pm

That scoop looks awesome! It looks better on your car than it does on the Turbo II!

pqjim · **Posted:** Mon Sep 12, 2011 8:51 pm

Thanks Cam. The body shop, Import Crafters in Santa Ana did the work. Five days in the shop. Here are pictures of the underside where you can get an idea of the "Frankenstein" aspect of the graft, the arrow points to the welded joint between the hood scoop and the 1st gen hood.

Here are a couple of shot taken without rain:

UtahSleeper · **Posted:** Tue Sep 13, 2011 10:01 am

Damn that looks good. Very clean scoop addition.

85 GSL-SE Restoration and mods

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