Finally found my car.

[dynaguy]

damarble, if you share where you are you may find parts offered nearby.

Eastern Washington state.

There are a few of us in Eastern Washington. pm me if you need parts. Pat

[damarble]

damarble, if you share where you are you may find parts offered nearby.

Eastern Washington state.

There are a few of us in Eastern Washington. pm me if you need parts. Pat

Thanks. I will probably need a hood, somehow it's much rustier than the rest of the car.

[Mackn367]

One tip, convince/prove to your self that you can get the new oil in the transmission, before you drain the old stuff out.

This sounds ominous. The wiki says it's a side fill, sounds pretty typical. I use a hand pump for those.

Yeah not difficult at all (maybe just me?) - just attach a pump with hose to the trans oil container. Place the hose in the fill plug and pump away. Pump fluid till you see it coming back out of the fill hole plug.

[damarble]

Woot woot. Arranged for shipping today, should be picked up this Friday and delivered Monday. Found a shipper that is doing it for $500 in an enclosed trailer.

[C.Costine]

Looks like a good base. Get it running and driving - deal with cosmetics after.

Exactly my plan. I've had enough failed projects to finally know what not to do.

I'll probably want a hard top or redo the soft top fairly early on though. The bows are still there but no fabric. I've redone a Mustang top in the past so hopefully it's doable.

Experience is a cruel teacher, but the lessons usually stick. Yes, the top is doable, but there are a couple of things to keep in mind.

I agree. There are just a couple critical steps.

[damarble]

Currently looking at brake options. I'm told the brakes were all seized and have been removed so it would roll. Now would be the time to think brake upgrades so I'm not spending money twice.

I've been reading up on all the different upgrades people have tried. I'm thinking the 200SX rears make sense. Caliper prices are really good on rockauto with very minimal core fee.

For the front I'm debating the Spriso set or the Silvermine set. I think it may come down to wheel choice, because I think I like the look of 15s on these cars more than 16s.

[Gregs672000]

While I understand the appeal of rear discs, they won't improve braking itself much and may complicate your efforts. I would wait, inspect the rears and see if they can be repaired. The fronts may be worth doing and most of your braking power is there. If you eventually want rear discs, consider an RX7 rear end swap to add a limited slip. They are getting harder to find and require modification by someone who knows what they're doing, but IMHO it would be money spent that is a bigger improvement over the 200sx rear disc swap and adds the discs you like. Just my 2 cents...

[damarble]

While I understand the appeal of rear discs, they won't improve braking itself much and may complicate your efforts. I would wait, inspect the rears and see if they can be repaired. The fronts may be worth doing and most of your braking power is there. If you eventually want rear discs, consider an RX7 rear end swap to add a limited slip. They are getting harder to find and require modification by someone who knows what they're doing, but IMHO it would be money spent that is a bigger improvement over the 200sx rear disc swap and adds the discs you like. Just my 2 cents...

I probably should give that some thought because the eventually engine swap will bring 200+ hp and a limited slip will be needed.

I'm a little confused about which RX7 axle is used, I don't know what a GSL-SE is. There is a RX7 at the local junkyard with the axle still in it.

[damarble]

I haven't really found any mention of the strength of the H190 but I would imagine it's pretty strong? A 7.5" ring gear is very respectable for the weight and tire size. I haven't researched it yet, but this LSD looks like a great option.

https://www.tractionconcepts.com/1966-1 ... da2812.htm

[todd lorber]

You can also look into having your brake cylinders resleeved with stainless. If you ever decide to change the brakes later, you can sell the resleeved parts, since they'll last forever. And they should be less expensive than buying new.

[spriso]

For the front I'm debating the Spriso set or the Silvermine set. I think it may come down to wheel choice, because I think I like the look of 15s on these cars more than 16s.

The Spriso kit works just fine with 15" wheels-- offset is more the issue with the 300ZX brake calipers.

Beware of kits that don't have weather seals for the calipers (such as Wilwood) unless you like rebuilding calipers on a regular basis...

Michael

[damarble]

For the front I'm debating the Spriso set or the Silvermine set. I think it may come down to wheel choice, because I think I like the look of 15s on these cars more than 16s.

The Spriso kit works just fine with 15" wheels-- offset is more the issue with the 300ZX brake calipers.

Beware of kits that don't have weather seals for the calipers (such as Wilwood) unless you like rebuilding calipers on a regular basis...

Michael

The Silvermine/Willwood set needs 16s. I never even considered weather seals, I just assumed that was standard.

[dynaguy]

+1 on Spriso brake upgrade. Love them on my sr20 car

+1 on Karps ss re-sleeve and rebuild. Have them on my '66 survivor. Pat

[Gregs672000]

The Mazda GSL-SE refers to the level of trim that was available... the GSL- SE is an upgrade that typically changes things like suspension, brakes, etc. You can probably look up at what state of trim Mazda added the limited slip by searching on the Internet. First clue would be badging on the car itself, as it would likely say GSL-SE. I don't know if the presence of rear discs automatically means it has a limited slip, but all limited slip equipped RX7s had rear discs. You could always bring a jack with you, raise the rear up and if it spins you will know it is a LSD if both wheels spin forward when you spin one...

If it is, I would strongly consider grabbing it as they are in demand amongst RX7 racers and folks like us! I don't know what they are worth as I got mine many years ago. You will also like the 3.9 final drive ratio over the 3.7 in a U20/5speed spec, though your speedo will be off a couple mph.

[damarble]

The Mazda GSL-SE refers to the level of trim that was available... the GSL- SE is an upgrade that typically changes things like suspension, brakes, etc. You can probably look up at what state of trim Mazda added the limited slip by searching on the Internet. First clue would be badging on the car itself, as it would likely say GSL-SE. I don't know if the presence of rear discs automatically means it has a limited slip, but all limited slip equipped RX7s had rear discs. You could always bring a jack with you, raise the rear up and if it spins you will know it is a LSD if both wheels spin forward when you spin one...

If it is, I would strongly consider grabbing it as they are in demand amongst RX7 racers and folks like us! I don't know what they are worth as I got mine many years ago. You will also like the 3.9 final drive ratio over the 3.7 in a U20/5speed spec, though your speedo will be off a couple mph.

Thanks. The junkyard car is an 81 which apparently is pre-GSL-SE, so never mind on that one. No rush on an axle if I can get those oem drums working.

I was told today my car has been loaded and will be delivered sunday now instead. Can't wait!

I'm heading out now to look at some 16x7 wheels with decent tires for cheap. They're 4x114.3 but look to have a FWD offset so maybe I need spacers, but it'll give me something non-rotted to roll on for a bit. Seller doesn't know the actual offset or center bore so I'll have to measure.