1974 RX-4/929 wagon. Upgrades Round 1

philip · **Posted:** Sat Jan 19, 2013 10:51 pm

My 626 does the same revs and speed in 5th gear. The 4.3 rear end doesn't
make my 13B particularly fuel efficient, but she's sitting right on the secondaries
wanting to open up and sing! :twisted:

ewokracing · **Posted:** Sun Jan 20, 2013 6:35 pm

I think my 1300 had the same thing and I even got Rohan to rebuild and finish a different rear centre for the hilux I had, never fitted it though, car got crashed into before I could get around to it.

It is definitely using water now. Plan of attack is brakes, road worthy, get another VC and rebuild it myself and drop a 5spd in at the same time. Somewhere along the way I'll also go elec ignition and a few other changes.

ewokracing · **Posted:** Wed Jan 23, 2013 10:18 pm

So I had to take today off for some house stuff. Thought I'd check the valve clearance since it's a bit tappety.

Lifted the rocker cover off. Shit. 3 rocker arm nuts are missing. Found one down in an oil alley. The other two are gone completely. Probably down in the block somewhere. Pulled the one in the alley out and used it again, checked the valve clearance on everything else, threw the rocker cover back on and called it a day. Hopefully I can get down to a wrecker this weekend and get some nuts and a GC 626/telstar dizzy as well.

ewokracing · **Posted:** Tue Jan 29, 2013 6:16 pm

Made a quick pitstop at a wrecker and pulled some rocker nuts off a 626. (Series II plastic bumper, will be going back so I will take photos for you Philip)

Put the nuts on on a balmy evening while dodging mosquitoes. Checked the clearances and then tightened them up using a ring spanner while holding the screw in place with a flat head screwdriver. Then I thought, "hmmm, I'll just tighten them up with a socket". So I used the same socket that I used last time, which is a Bahco small drive 12mm socket. Did that and thought, I'll try a full size 12mm socket with a big sidchrome drive rachet. The nut turned a few more times, so I'd say that the Bahco rachet doesn't have enough leveridge to turn the nut tight tight, which might be why I lost 3.

Anyway, motor fired up, still a bit tappity since I did the clearances when it was cold, but at least it doesn't rattle along now.

philip · **Posted:** Tue Jan 29, 2013 7:48 pm

So you're saying you used a 1/4" drive ratchet and 12mm socket to tighten the nuts up,
or did you use a 3/8" drive ratchet with a step down reducer to 1/4" drive 12mm socket
to tighten them up? :lol:

Worst I've ever seen was a guy using a 1/2" drive ratchet with a reducer to 1/4" 10mm socket
and he couldn't understand why he sheared the head off the bolt! :roll:

Personally, 1/4" drive is too small for doing head work, unless you are using it for the 10mm
rocker cover retaining nuts, tight spaces and assorted bracketry. I prefer to use 3/8" drive or long handle
open/ring end spanners - more leverage! :twisted:

gypsy · **Posted:** Wed Jan 30, 2013 1:03 am

Ever thought of fitting a weber fed 13b PP instead of stuffing around with the old 4 cylinder and be done with it, look at it this way no tapets, pistons or any of the other problems you're experiencing. More fun to drive with a power band.... I hear you say, there's an idea :lol:

Rex272 · **Posted:** Wed Jan 30, 2013 1:51 pm

Agreed.. The title does say Rx4 clone - they didn't come with cruddy piston engines :lol:

ewokracing · **Posted:** Wed Jan 30, 2013 3:16 pm

gypsy wrote:

Ever thought of fitting a weber fed 13b PP instead of stuffing around with the old 4 cylinder and be done with it, look at it this way no tapets, pistons or any of the other problems you're experiencing. More fun to drive with a power band.... I hear you say, there's an idea :lol:

rex wrote:

Agreed.. The title does say Rx4 clone - they didn't come with cruddy piston engines

haha. Actually, I wonder what it was like to driven when Ian had it with the 13b PP in it. Seriously though, I've had a rotary (in a 1300), sometimes it was fun, but a 12a EP weber fed daily was an absolute pain in the arse after a while. If anything, this will cop a MX-5 BP and 5spd. Rotaries are fun for sunday cars, but not dailies. My 1300 was never as fun to drive 100% of the time after I converted it either (it was before though). If I ever get it back on the road, I'll go back to piston power I think. I still wouldn't mind a green/tartan SI or yellow SII RX-7 though.

Philip: yes! long ring spanners FTW.

gypsy · **Posted:** Wed Jan 30, 2013 6:50 pm

I saw the title change and presumed you totally lost the plot, I was thinking you were about to install an electric/ petrol conversion like in some of the new Toyota's and Honda's !

ewokracing · **Posted:** Wed Jan 30, 2013 8:40 pm

nah... I'm slightly nuts, but not that nuts.

We have an electric race car at work, it's a case of epic fail. :lol:

rx7_ben · **Posted:** Wed Jan 30, 2013 9:13 pm

Rotary dailies for the win Geoffers!

I can't bring myself to drive anything else. :oops:

ewokracing · **Posted:** Sun Feb 03, 2013 12:52 pm

been there, done that, had the fuel smelling suits to explain at work and the petrol bills!

Had a massive weekend, booking it in for a RWC this week.

works 510 · **Posted:** Sun Feb 03, 2013 8:52 pm

When are you two going to learn about the funny mazda motor and dailys :lol:

ewokracing · **Posted:** Mon Feb 04, 2013 5:51 pm

I've actually convinced a mate at work to buy an R31 wagon and bolt on VL turbo gear. Hmmmm where did I get that idea from Dan?

Next Japanese car will be a Bluebird or r31.

ewokracing · **Posted:** Tue Feb 05, 2013 8:03 pm

Didn't pass RWC, small things really

- dashboard lights aren't bright enough. NFI what to do about this. Will have to chat with mechanic
- front main seal is leaking (I don't think it is)
- handbrake cable is slack on LHS
- needs a pipe from the exhaust to the air filter assembly. Not buying that. That's not needed.
- washer jet isn't working (I thought it was)

rx7_ben · **Posted:** Thu Feb 07, 2013 4:42 pm

yeh the bullshit heat-riser pipe is pointless. Rather than argue the point, when I registered my rx7 I just tacked a piece of pipe I had an exhaust shop bend up on to my extractors and used a bit of radiator hose to connect it to my air filter - problem solved. Once registered - just broke it off :lol:

Dash board lights in the older mazdas seem to suck. You could try bypassing the dimmer all together so the globes are getting full voltage all the time. I mean, who would want to turn them down at night anyway, you can barely see them at night on full brightness. Failing that, LED bulb option? The last thing you want to do it put bigger globes in it, because you'll burn the tracks off the pcb on the back of the dash. You see it all the time on old mazda dashes.

ewokracing · **Posted:** Sun Feb 10, 2013 2:05 am

So weekend of odd jobs:

- reverse lights worked perfectly :roll:

- washer jet worked perfectly :roll:

- booked into a brake place I trust from years ago to see whats happening
- looked at seal at front of motor, it's not leaking at all :roll:

there is no freaking way that I am pulling the dashboard out again, that's a 4 day job. I'll just go elsewhere for a roadie I think. I did think about LED bulbs and the dimmer switch bypass, but its already got full voltage and I did look at during the daytime outside and you could see the lights on, so surely inside a workshop it would have been visable.

as for the airfilter heater riser, I went to repco, bursons, supercheap - none of them had that flexi hosing. Young guys didn't even know what it was. I looked through my parts pile for a right angled radiator hose as well but didn't have one. I don't want to go welding a piece of pipe onto my nicely finished extractors so I have another idea up my sleeve.

Yetchh · **Joined:** Tue Jul 31, 2012 1:27 am **Posts:** 11

ewokracing wrote:

haha. Actually, I wonder what it was like to driven when Ian had it with the 13b PP in it. Seriously though, I've had a rotary (in a 1300), sometimes it was fun, but a 12a EP weber fed daily was an absolute pain in the arse after a while. If anything, this will cop a MX-5 BP and 5spd. Rotaries are fun for sunday cars, but not dailies. My 1300 was never as fun to drive 100% of the time after I converted it either (it was before though). If I ever get it back on the road, I'll go back to piston power I think. I still wouldn't mind a green/tartan SI or yellow SII RX-7 though.

Philip: yes! long ring spanners FTW.

Hi mate, why dont you turbo your existing motor.. or and F/MA, makes for some exciting traction loss

ewokracing · **Posted:** Sun Feb 10, 2013 5:06 pm

I would if I could find one of those inlet manifolds!

philip · **Posted:** Sun Feb 10, 2013 5:22 pm

To think I bought an import fuel injected MA motor for $500 back in the mid 90s, and turfed
the fuel injection manifold coz I thought, "Meh, never going to use it!" :roll:

1974 RX-4/929 wagon. Upgrades Round 1

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