Esserz's LS3 RX-7 FD3S

[Y0SH]

I like everything about the build except the location of the fuse box below the bashbar

[greddy2die]

Quick question, when you installed your RXT & slave did you do any measurements to see if you needed a shim behind the slave?

I only ask because I didnt & now I'm thinking I may need one... of course after I get the motor/trans back in the chassis etc. My master is adjusted as much as I can & i've bled the system a ton but the clutch isnt disengaging 100%.

[2muchboost]

It is recommended to measure to see if a shim is needed. I noted that many Mcleod users end up with a shim. I know Tick Performance makes some really precises shims.

[Esserz]

Originally Posted by greddy2die

Quick question, when you installed your RXT & slave did you do any measurements to see if you needed a shim behind the slave?

I only ask because I didnt & now I'm thinking I may need one... of course after I get the motor/trans back in the chassis etc. My master is adjusted as much as I can & i've bled the system a ton but the clutch isnt disengaging 100%.

I did not shim it, I have read that some people have to and some don't. I guess I will see if it's needed. My master cylinder has a lot of adjustment, so I'm thinking I will be okay.

Finally had a warm weekend so a lot of progress was made. I had to remove the intake again in order to get the speedhut oil pressure sender and adapter installed. I also had to slightly trim the firewall lip to help clear the wire harness.





It was surprisingly warm out today despite the 6 inches of snow on the ground!


I bought a cheap Pioneer radio to install in the empty hole on the dash, and wired it up. To my surprise the retractable antenna works still.


It was time to fill up the coolant system. I used a AirLift system, which vacuum fills the entire coolant system. I pulled a 30in vacuum on it and it took about 3 full gallons to fill. Zero bubbles and no need to burb the system with this method!





It sucked up the fluid until it was full to the brim.



I installed the plugs and wires, as well as some vibrant heat sleeves on the wires for added protection. Here are some shots of the "completed" engine bay. Just waiting on an oil catch can and it's basically how it will look:





And I finally found a cover for my fuse box lol

[Esserz]

It's getting close!

I started re-installing all of the factory panels and bumper, it took some time to get the body lines correct again. I decided early on that I would delete the factory hood latch, and went with an aero catch setup. The install is a bit of a pain, but I was able to do a clean setup.

Started by drilling a 1.5 inch hole and working off of that.





I chose the mounting location behind the headlight, it looks cleaner in this location IMO







Finished result:








Time to start the engine! I primed the oil system using a drill pump, and held it at 40 psi for a few minutes and made sure oil got into the valve covers.





My little drill pump jig works will, I put a clear section in to see the oil going through to make sure you're pumping. I will have to upload a video, but the engine fired right up on the first attempt! It's almost ready for the first drive, just have to do a quick alignment in the garage.

[greenwood]

nice!! great work!

[scottie]

I am interested in your oil prime setup. Where did you find the pump that attaches to the drill? Did you feed it into the LS oil pump?

[Esserz]

Originally Posted by scottie

I am interested in your oil prime setup. Where did you find the pump that attaches to the drill? Did you feed it into the LS oil pump?

I bought the drill pump from harbor freight. Just look for "drill pump" on ebay and I think you'll be able a find a large selection. I fed it directly into the oil galley port above the oil filter.

[2muchboost]

^The step so many forget to do and wonder why they get premature wear on the new bearings. Great job and great attention to detail bud. Cant wait to see her tearing up the road.

[RVAE34]

Love the oil primer!

[scottie]

Originally Posted by Esserz

I bought the drill pump from harbor freight. Just look for "drill pump" on ebay and I think you'll be able a find a large selection. I fed it directly into the oil galley port above the oil filter.

Thank you for the direction. I definitely want to use this for mine.

[Esserz]

Bunch of photos! I was able to wash the car for the first time in a year. It moved out under its own power, very promising. Clutch grabbed great, but I lost brake pedal pressure. I think my master cylinder is just bad, it grabbed a little then went to floor like it blew out a seal, got a new one on the way. Bunch of pics in the decent weather! The paint still has zero miles on it, shines up great.

[lunchmeat]

Damn....just damn. Still think the fd is the best looking Japanese car of the 90's

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

[Esserz]

Originally Posted by lunchmeat

Damn....just damn. Still think the fd is the best looking Japanese car of the 90's

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

It's timeless!

I'm trying to decide on some new wheels. These XXR's honestly look really good and flow well with the FD imo, but they are just too heavy. Thinking about doing a track setup with rpf1's and then a "show" setup with Work S1's or maybe some SSR SP1's. Contemplating on CCW's as well for an all around performance and appearance mix. decisions!

[Esserz]

First drive was a success, thoughts so far:

I have never driven an FD until the other day when i first drove my own haha. The seating position is very nice, I am 6'1" and sit comfortably, but thankful I'm not any taller. The steering wheel angle cannot be adjusted, and it does not telescope. It just happens to be in about a perfect spot when the seat is in an upright "drivers" position. Visibility over the front of the car is fantastic, view of the road and the size of the front of the car is very clear, the hood slopes down nicely to help achieve this. It makes the front of the vette seem like a boat with it's looonnngggg hood and front bumper.

I ended up replacing the master cylinder after the first one failed. I bled every corner and they feel amazing now, very grabby. Running Hawk HP pads. The clutch is a twin disk, and has similar clutch feel to my EM1 civic. Very light pedal, will be nice for the long trips through town. Clutch master cylinder is from an 80's landcruiser - very robust.

One of my more favorite things about the car so far are the speedhut gauges, the programmable features and ease of adjustment is very nice. All gauges function and have warning lights that can be adjusted. The look of the gauges make the car feel very "complete".

The only item I ave left to work on, which I will be tackling this weekend, is the exhaust. I have been driving around with small pipe extensions off the headers, brutally loud. I drove it down the street and filled up the tank for the first time, very exciting!

[s13driftnut]

Looks very nice, good work! I will agree, I'm 6'4" and the FD wasn't a good fit, when I do my next one I will have to do a custom seat/steering setup so the wheel isn't so close to my knees! Haha.

[JrDarknes]

I love what you did to your cluster. Replacing them with those gauges made it look much better and yet it still gives it the oem look especially with the RX7 etched in there.

[Esserz]

Tackled the exhaust this week. Got it up on a buddy's lift and worked for about 20 hours to get this fabbed up, lots of work!




The setup is as follows:

JTR 1-3/4" headers
3" Y-Pipe into a vibrant merge into 3.5"
Borla XR1 3.5"
Then at the end there will be an Apexi muffler

Here is the progress so far



Here is Luis the welding Guru at work:







That was about all we had time to completed. Hopefully next weekend we can knock out the muffler tail section. Goal is to make it less than 103db at 50 ft, which is what most tracks require.

[eagleeyes221]

you guys did a very good job on the exhaust it tucks up in there quite nicely

[Esserz]

Rear section of exhaust finally completed.

[cclark]

Do you have any video of this running yet?

[Esserz]

Originally Posted by cclark

Do you have any video of this running yet?

I will have some vids up soon, still trying to fine tune the driving. The MAF on these are uber sensitive it seems.

[boostzilla]

Originally Posted by Esserz

I will have some vids up soon, still trying to fine tune the driving. The MAF on these are uber sensitive it seems.

+1 i really wanna hear this thing

[EFITTZY]

Where in Indiana are you located? Awesome to see a build of this caliper coming from the hoosier state. Keep up the great work man

[Esserz]

Originally Posted by EFITTZY

Where in Indiana are you located? Awesome to see a build of this caliper coming from the hoosier state. Keep up the great work man

Thanks man, I'm in Evansville

[Esserz]

Had a semi nice day out and detailed the engine bay. It started raining moments after finishing, I should have some good video made once the weather gets nice out. It seems this winter has been drawn out a couple months too long!

[flartius]

This is a beautiful car, and you did an amazing job with the swap. It looks like Mazda put the LS in it from the beginning. Kudos to you.

[Esserz]

Originally Posted by flartius

This is a beautiful car, and you did an amazing job with the swap. It looks like Mazda put the LS in it from the beginning. Kudos to you.

Thanks sir!

I finally got into my appointment at the tuner. I drove the car around for about 100 miles to get things broke in, changed oil, then headed to the dyno tune!

It put down 382hp, which is right in line with what most stock LS3's do on the dyno. More importantly it drives perfect, even with the aggressive RXT clutch. Torque is everywhere!









working on uploading the dyno vid

[2muchboost]

Should be a fun setup to drive in the RX. Any future plans for power upgrades? Setup looks like it came from Mazda with the V8....great job bud.

[Esserz]

Originally Posted by 2muchboost

Should be a fun setup to drive in the RX. Any future plans for power upgrades? Setup looks like it came from Mazda with the V8....great job bud.

Thanks! I did go ahead and buy a cam for it ha, I just didn't put it in yet because I want to get used to the power it has now. It's a bit of a handful right now with just 255 tires on it. I can safely bump it up to 275 in the back which should help, but I need to get some suspension items done to help with wheel hop.

I recently scored a diff with 3.90 gears in it, which should also help over the 4.10 I have currently. I'll be installing that soon