Elford Turbo Conversion...

[yoeddynz]

Thats awesome news Ian!!!! And I must say I am quite relieved to hear that you love it- wow imagine what it will be like in my viva less 200+ kg!!!:3gears-rh

Its that extra torque I\'m keen on- in the road tests back in the day the Elford dropped its 50-80 mph time in in top gear from 11 secs to 5secs thereabouts.

Are you gonna get it on a rolling road?

alex

[Ian65]

your Viva is going to absolutely fly Alex!
Sorry to hear about your engine woes.... did you manage to get any new plates / housings?
I hadn\'t thought about putting it on the rollers but that\'s a good idea... I may well do.
By the way, I sussed out this electronic wizardry in the end... click on the picture to see it in action...just before your engine blows up due to overboost, this bursts into action and does this!

[shaunwil]

Great to hear

Get it up to WGT onto the rollers and let pip do his magic ! They are fantastic cars

Shaun

[yoeddynz]

Cool- Thats exactly what I need- extra beeps!:2Confused I still have mine sitting on the shelf- we could wire them up together and have loads of flashing lights and beeps- like a monty python hospital sketch.

Yeah I have a plate and a housing on the way. Some new water seals and away I go. I think I might look for the later oil pump with wider rotors- 17mm. Mine is an older rx4 one with 12mm rotors so less flow. Plus maybe modify the oil pressure reg.
I\'m hoping to at least get Viva running and then store it for a bit as we set sail south in the housetruck for winter work.

Btw- I re made the little pressure switch holder that normally bolts to the bell housing. I get a photo when I have a chance.

alex

[Steve-A]

Great news Ian, always good when things live up to expectations!

I think for those of us who aren\'t just round the corner from you, unlike Keith, we need videos

[rei99]

At long, long last, I finally got to test drive this car today. It\'s been off the road since the clutch went in Sept last year and stayed that way whilst I did the turbo conversion.
I\'ve always drooled over the Elford turbos... the first 1st gen I ever saw back in 1984 was one but I\'ve never got to drive one before today.
And the verdict is...........................
I LOVE IT!!
The turbo transforms the car, the engine seems silky smooth and it pulls like a train.... fantastic!
The mid range power and torque is phenomenal.
There are a couple of niggles..
I need to adjust the carb, it ticks over too high at 1500rpm but the carb has had a full strip and rebuild so it was bound to need some adjustment.
When the old clutch exploded, it allowed the piston seal in the clutch slave to pass over the rust part of the bore at the end of the cylinder. I

Great :cheers
The French RHD I drove this summer, wasn\'t perfetcly fixed, but I felt the boost very linear and stronger. It was very similar to a Turbo II for response, and seems maybe a little faster (in a straight line) than a Turbo II that I drove times ago.

[CHC (RIP)]

Fantastic news Ian - brilliant, awesome, well done and back of the net!!

It looked raring to go when I saw you last weekend :yes.  No stopping you now.  Roll on project 2.

[David Nock (RIP)]

Great news mate, glad she\'s fit and well again.

[Ian65]

Great news mate, glad she\'s fit and well again.

sure is Dave!
you can now move it from the \'sorn/project/in bits\' catagory to the \'alive and kicking and rotoring around Englands green and pleasant\' catagory!

[Ian65]

had my 1st full day of driving this car in the sunshine today and I\'ve been grinning that much I look like I\'ve swallowed a coathanger!:D

I\'ve done 71 miles in it today, A road, B road and city centre driving and it\'s behaved impeccably.
I\'m pleased that there are no gremlins that have arisen from the conversion, the engine is water and oil tight with the exception of a slight weep on one of the metering pump lines which was there before but which I\'d forgotten about. It\'s just the rubber bit where it meets the pump so I\'ll fix that this weekend.
A problem that has come up is the offside front caliper is sticking on after the long lay up so a freshen up of the front brakes beckons but no big deal.
Around town it\'s no different to any other 1st gen, just ticks along in the traffic but the magic comes when you can get it on some open road and stretch its legs.... once it\'s on the revs and the turbo comes in, it flies.
It\'ll accellerate up to 90 in no time but the power isn\'t on/off instant like some turbo setups, it\'s smooth and progressive, all the way through the rev band. It\'s the increased mid range torque that makes the difference.
It\'s addictive!
If I get plenty of RX7 driving days this year like today, I\'ll be a happy man!

my baby safely back on the drive...





the engine bay as it stands now all put back together...





I\'m going to put the e-fan back on it but just to get the car back on the road, I took the easier route and put the vicious fan on it temporarily.

.

[A7RXY]

Its a shame as the orange fan shows that there is something special  in there.
  Good luck, and I\'m even smiling as I write this.

   Dibs

[shaunwil]

Looking really nice.

Shaun

[johnnyboy]

Welcome to the Elford club.....
 
Glad you are happy with it. Beautiful work.
 
I have just realised it has been some 25 years since I drove a none Elford FB so I don\'t notice the performance any more! 24 years 364 days to go for you....
 
John

[CHC (RIP)]

You couldn\'t have chosen a better day for your 1st Elford Day - really pleased for you and she looks a dream.

[seanp]

Glad to hear all your hard work has come to fruition! Enjoy :-)