Next on my wish list was some chrome end bumpers. I got some "version 1.2" bumpers, so they have a rubber strip down the middle

Front end before

Back end before

So pulled off the bumpers

Front is done

Back required a bit of massaging. These were originally for a hatch, and they had a little bend on one end. They just fit on now

Good job shes looking awesome! personally I liked the old bumpers but you did do a good job with the new ones, maybe they will grow on me?

Thanks!


They do look alot better, I'll need to get some better pictures up soon. I like them, which is the most important thing

Not much has been happening ...

Drove grandpa's mini a couple of weeks ago. It is a bit different to drive, with unassisted brakes and no synchro on 1st!

Went up to a classic car show the other weekend. Mine was probably the newest one there out of 100-140 cars. Looks a bit small next to the Yank tank! I parked in the non judged section with the majority of the cars..


The car did pretty good on the trip up and back, but the engine has been running pretty average and has been chewing through the fuel. I tried doing some changes to idle speed/mixture with no success. I ended up impulse buying an inductive timing light, which is miles better than the old one I borrowed. The manual said 5 btdc, and closer examination of the diagram on the back of the bonnet showed that there were 5,8,11 marked on the crankshaft and it had been set to 11 (we took the bonnet off last time and assumed the marks were 0,3,5). So I dialed it back to 5 and it runs 100% better now. I've got to go back and readjust the valve tolerances to hopefully reduce the tappety noise and confirm we did it right before.

Additionally I've been having this loud vibration in the car, only at 80kph and above, and only under power. I've checked everything I can think of and its driving me crazy! I think its coming from the gearbox, driveshaft, or the diff? Any ideas would be helpfull...

Im not to sure about the vibration, Last vibration I had on a car was my Dads Honda which needed centering rings for the wheels because the bore in the centre of the wheel was to large but I would be thinking driveshaft or Diff?

Also its nice to see it on the road she looks fantastic! Keep the photos coming I love em!

So yesterday car was running like a champ. It had much better pick up and power so I went for a nice drive through the countryside.

But.... I have a noisy valve now and drove home slowly I pulled off the valve cover and all the valve clearances are still good. I realised that I had the timing on 8 instead of 5 btdc, but that shouldnt of made a difference over 30 min driving?

Car is looking awesome!! Must almost be time to slam it and put a 12A in hey

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Rockin' the 7 in a street near you.....

Nice pictures Timmy, looks like I'll have to be posting this one again.

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-Cam
1988 Mazda RX7
1980 Toyota Celica
a bunch of cool other cars I'm not allowed to list

Slamming will be coming soon, 12a wont be!


Cheers!

Good news: not a noisy valve.

Bad news: probably a bearing

Shes looking great, Love the Pictures!

Sounds like your cars telling you ou need a new engine maybe a B6?

Would it be cheaper to replace the bearing or go for a whole new engine?(Another TC or UC not a conversion)

Well getting a B6 and making it fit would probably be a bit more than a 12A

Bearing sets are $50-100 depending on which set you are replacing, and the crankshaft might need refinshing.

There is no loss in oil pressure, so it might just be a small end bearing

Either way it is a major inconvenience and a waste of rego

Video of sad engine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0j-Ad0TKSQ

So got stuck into the engine today

Started off more or less like this, air filter off, oil draining. The oil had only been in for a week or two (60km) and was already a grey colour..

Manifolds off, head off, sump off

Problem has been caused by this.. I think the oil sludged up while it was sitting for 18 months before I bought it. I did change the oil a couple of times, and run a flush through it but it didnt help obviously. Big end bearing No. 2 is loose, so its been causing the knocking noise.


It was good to find out what caused the problem, but a real pain to know it could have been prevented fairly easily... A rebuild kit will be on order soon, so new bearings all round and piston rings while it is apart.

So not sure what to do next..
Either rebuild this engine - all new gaskets, new bearings and regrind crank
Or get an exchange reco short engine and swap it all over
Or pick up a cheap 2nd hand motor and rebuild the current one over the next few months.

At the moment I like the last option, seems such a waste paying for rego and insurance when the car isnt moving..

Before

Engine out

Separated the engine and gearbox. Lost a bit of blood

Big end No.2

And the crankshaft.

bugger looks like its time for a rotary.....

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http://www.youtube.com/user/turbo323re# ... w1bMr37C7w

without knowing the green slip, pink slip, rainbow bloody slip system in NSW, I think you should think long term/budget.

- what do you want to do long term?
- how much money have you got to spend per week?

I think snapping up a cheapy motor, slamming that in and driving it into the ground is a win idea. Either rebuild the motor that's died in the meantime and find yourself a 5spd box (as per your ausrotary ad) or maybe even think about swapping over to a 929/121/626 1.8/2.0 motor and 5spd... They're cheap as chips, easier to find 5spds for, everyone throws them away to do rotary conversions etc.

All of this will depend on RTA stuff though.

Trust me, a 12A conversion or any conversion will eat money.

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occasional blog: http://ewokracing.tumblr.com

Brought to you by me as I browse Geocities webpages using Netscape Navigator while listening to Jam & Spoon.

Not yet time for a rotary... cant afford it at the moment!


From memory last time I was looking, I think you can put an engine in up to 15% more capacity without an engineer cert, providing the crossmembers are not modified. You also need to keep all the emission stuff, and dont fit other carbs or exhausts and cant fit an earlier year engine than the car. At least that what the info sheet says, I'm sure it would be different in reality...http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/registration/ ... v_2007.pdf . Just to make it more confusing, they renamed the blue/pink slips...they are now "vehicle safety inspections"
Not sure how bolt in the other mazda engines are?

I might have a lead on a cheapy ($100) to run with for the moment, and I'll do a rebuild on the other one, and paint/clean it all up to look new.

I was hoping to get at least 2 years out of it, after that I'm not sure. Depends how attached or frustrated I get with it

I got all excited this afternoon after work because my headlight trims turned up from Canada (valdez on here). Genuine Mazda parts

Made in Japan, not the Tawainese repro

A couple of pics that turned out ok...






Sitting quite high without the engine...


And found the cause of the drivetrain shudder/vibrations. The universal at the diff end of the driveshaft is cactus, and is relatively hard to rotate around


And here is the condition of the camshaft... The oil groove is in the middle obviously. Dont know if it can be saved



One easy way to move your engine in the garage

skateboard trick only works on small jap motors lol

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