Elford Turbo Conversion...

myatt1972 · October 09, 2010, 08:50:31 PM

Nice one Ian, up and running next weekend :2eek

captainbizzaro · October 09, 2010, 08:53:16 PM

I know this subject has been done to death but what are you sealing your sump with? Good to see you getting underway-we all new you wouldn\'t be able to wait till spring....:Giggle

Ian65 · October 10, 2010, 06:17:48 PM

Quote from: captainbizzaro;720324I know this subject has been done to death but what are you sealing your sump with?

There are so many different views on this that it\'s difficult to know what to do. I\'ve read loads of threads from all other the world and no one has the definitive answer. Most guys on RX7club.com wouldn\'t touch a gasket and bond them with RTV silicon, whereas most of the advice I\'ve had on here is to use some sort of gasket.

My engine had the sump bonded on with silicon and didn\'t have any leaks but elford had used a gasket to seal their sump. I decided therefore, to use a gasket as I was putting the elford sump onto my engine.

This plan went out of the window this morning when I went to fit the sump.
I started to clean it up and found a pinhole in the bottom of the sump where it had been grounded at some point. I had 2 choices:
1. Weld up the elford sump
2. Use my existing sump and fit the oil return to it.

Rather than drag the mig out, I took some measurements, put a tank cutter through the side of the sump and then installed the oil return to my existing sump. As this sump was originally bonded and sealed using silicon only, I went down this route again... no gasket, just cleaned the mating surfaces over and over again with brake cleaner and then bonded it up.
I put 2 beads of silicon around the bottom of the engine, one inside the bolt holes and the other outside the bolt holes. I then put the pan into place and put a dab of silicon into each bolt hole then put the bolts in, going round the pan slowly tightening them until I finished off torquing them up to the factory spec.
I\'m pretty confident it will be ok but we won\'t know until its all up and running.

captainbizzaro · October 10, 2010, 06:22:56 PM

Ok cool cheers Ian, there was no gasket on the sump I removed today just sealant so I think I will do the same as you.

Ian65 · October 16, 2010, 03:41:17 PM

I\'ve come to a bit of a stop on this at the moment as I\'m waiting for parts to arrive so thought I\'d sand down my Elford rear spoiler to get it ready for paint.

I\'m thinking of cutting a slot in the back of it and setting in a LED strip brake light as standard equipment these days on many modern cars.
I thought in this postion...

unsure about the width yet but thought around 60cm, flush fitting...

The underside of the fibreglass spoiler is hollow so should accomodate a light easily enough...

this gives a rough idea of how it will look but a lot lower as this is sitting on top of the factory rubber spoiler at the moment and will be painted metallic black to match the car...

I\'m undecided at present. Will it be a worthwhile safety feature and update the look of the rear of the car.... or will it just look naff and should I leave it alone.
Obviously, these things weren\'t available back in the day so weren\'t fitted but is it a good idea to put one in now or not?
What do you reckon?

A7RXY · October 16, 2010, 04:00:25 PM

I\'m all for originality, but as this is hybrid I think it would be ok.

Good luck
Dibs

captainbizzaro · October 16, 2010, 05:22:00 PM

I think that would look okay-is there a trim on the light which would cover the cut thats the only thing that might make it look a bit nasty if you can see the cut line.

Ian65 · October 16, 2010, 06:07:26 PM

I could use one with a trim but was thinking of using one that finished flush with the outside of the spoiler and the cut edge of the fibreglass would be sanded and painted so wouldn\'t be seen by the time the led strip was in.

captainbizzaro · October 16, 2010, 06:15:06 PM

Yeah I see what you\'re saying, that\'d be cool.

Ian65 · October 17, 2010, 08:57:57 AM

I\'m thinking of using the led out of this spoiler...

it\'s available pretty cheap.
What do you guys think? Is it too narrow, too wide, etc, etc...

captainbizzaro · October 17, 2010, 09:29:27 AM

Well it\'s roughly the same length as the number plate so I reckon that\'d look good. How does it mount then?

CHC (RIP) · October 17, 2010, 09:46:58 AM

Very nice work Ian, it\'s coming along really well.
I agree with Dibs mate, all for originallity but as this is so called retro build if think it would take it. I like the sleakness of the LED unit and think it would be look quite cool.

Ian65 · October 17, 2010, 10:02:40 AM

I agree, I like my cars to look as original as possible, I think the original design was so good, after market add-ons look out of place and can spoil the look of the car.
Having said that, I\'m all for updating to modern technology that wasn\'t available 30 years ago.
I like the idea of the led brake light as it will be discreet and I imagine Elford would maybe have included one themselves had it been available back in 1983

CHC (RIP) · October 18, 2010, 10:20:36 PM

The more I look at it Ian the nicer it is - go for it mate with a big YES.
:yes

Ian65 · October 20, 2010, 07:27:10 PM

My gaskets and the pilot bearing and seal have arrived today so I\'ll put the part numbers up. They might help someone else ordering some as they are standard to all 1st gens and they are all genuine Mazda with Mazda part numbers...

The inlet manifold gasket...

The exhaust manifold gasket...

Clutch pilot bearing...

Pilot bearing seal...

I can finally put the engine back in and get the car back together.
Pity the weathers turned nasty!