"KIMI" - The RPM 1st Gen S2 (with bits of S3...)

[captainbizzaro]

Seriously, unless there is one breaking near you, you won\'t go wrong with rxmotors he has such a huge amount of 1st gen spares it\'s unbelievable and he\'ll post parts nice and prompt.

[Casey]

it\'s certainly a puzzler... I would have thought he\'d have used the s3 running gear... the s3 has stronger suspension, bigger brakes, ventilated discs as standard... then again, he may as well have just bought a s3 if he was going to do that.. does the shell still have the s3 stamped in vin or did he change that over too?

The puzzle, and the fact we can\'t ask the previous owner, is half the fun at the moment. Trying to determine which bits were original and which bits have been added will take some time I reckon. BTW, is it standard to have the oil cooler sitting just in front of the main rad on the S2? There\'s some VERY new (I\'d say brand new) hoses connecting the cooler to the engine.

VIN, now there\'s a question! Dave Nock spotted the V5 VIN, and the one on the latest MOT, didn\'t match the number stamped on the chassis!! After pondering this, and considering Dave\'s views, I decided to send the V5 back with the "correct" (later) VIN number, as a "change". We\'ll see what that throws up at DVLA! Thought we\'d better do this now, rather than it get spotted when a fresh MOT is done.

All adds to the "Odd" history of this car.......

[Casey]

Seriously, unless there is one breaking near you, you won\'t go wrong with rxmotors he has such a huge amount of 1st gen spares it\'s unbelievable and he\'ll post parts nice and prompt.

Thanks, that\'s very handy to know.

[Ian65]

The puzzle, and the fact we can\'t ask the previous owner, is half the fun at the moment. Trying to determine which bits were original and which bits have been added will take some time I reckon. BTW, is it standard to have the oil cooler sitting just in front of the main rad on the S2? There\'s some VERY new (I\'d say brand new) hoses connecting the cooler to the engine.

VIN, now there\'s a question! Dave Nock spotted the V5 VIN, and the one on the latest MOT, didn\'t match the number stamped on the chassis!! After pondering this, and considering Dave\'s views, I decided to send the V5 back with the "correct" (later) VIN number, as a "change". We\'ll see what that throws up at DVLA! Thought we\'d better do this now, rather than it get spotted when a fresh MOT is done.

All adds to the "Odd" history of this car.......

That could open a nest of spiders... I hope it doesn\'t.
With monocoque bodyshells the id is non transferable and the car might end up getting vosa inspected to determine it\'s provenance
It may end up with the s3 identity on it or a Q plate if they can\'t be sure which of the 2 cars it actually is.
I\'m surprised it\'s cleared a previous mot if the stamped in vin doesn\'t match dvla\'s database in relation to the index number.
I hope all goes well and no one picks it up but it could possibly be a little bit dicey.

[CHC (RIP)]

Cripes, I\'ve just remembered the last time I stripped down a steering column was back in 1974, to cure a squeaky nylon bush on a Mini 850 (1966 vintage).
 
So, I suppose I\'m overdue to do another one - we can give it a good clean up too whilst at it. It\'ll have to wait as I have to take my ever forgiving wife, Gwyn, on a cruise this Friday to make up for all this "old banger" trauma (as she\'s dubbed it) Only away for a week though.....:2Rolleyes
 
Gwyn didn\'t quite appreciate the fact that, by sheer accident of dates with the trailer delivery guy, the car was dropped at our home on the very day of our 31st wedding anniversary, oops, tactical error :eek
 
Will add this task to the list I\'ve started, following our quick inspection yesterday. If it\'s not in the column, then we\'ll have a look at the bush in the engine bay, as Shaun has suggested.

 
Now that was a very crafty move - what a way to remember your wedding anniversary, have an RX7 FB delivered to the house, brilliant idea - wish I\'d thought of that one!

Back to earth now Cliff - glad to see the car has polished up so well and getting some very good information of the cars\' condition.
The guys here will help out the best way we can - as a team, well actually, more like a family so just ask away.
Good luck guys with the project.
Cliff
:yes

[CHC (RIP)]

I guessed something like that - hope not too boring!
 
I hope Sean won\'t mind me posting up a link to the photos he took yesterday. Can anyone identify the spare set of 13" rims that came with the car? - pics of all 4 at the end of the photos.
 
LINK TO SEAN\'S FB PICS
 
They look in better condition than the rims on the car itself. Not sure what they\'ll look like on the car though?

1stly I\'ve not read any of the later posts but the 13" rims are the original SA S1 alloys - I had these with my 1st RX7.
Cliff

[A7RXY]

Hi Casey, I have a set of 4 series 2 wheels in my garage that I got for £10 each from a breakers when I picked up some bit and pieces, you can have them for what I paid if your interested.
 
   Dibs

[Casey]

Dibs - many thx, we might take you up on that offer. Condition is everything; the ones we have are very corroded and manky! Could you post up a pic of the worst one in the set you have?

We\'ll also see how well the S1 alloys clean up and how they\'ll look on the car. I might also have a word with a local wheel refurbisher that I\'ve used before and see if they think the S2 wheels can be salvaged, but I think I already know that\'s going to be too expensive!

[A7RXY]

Casey The Wheels are stored in a place not easy to get at and I\'m out of the country for a couple of weeks, so when I get back I\'ll get in touch.
   Dibs

[Casey]

Dibs, no rush, I\'m out of the country for 10 days at the end of this week too. It\'ll also be a while before we sort out the brakes, etc, before we worry too mauch about the wheels. Whenever you\'re ready; many thanks.

[Steve-A]

Looks like a really good project guys, nice to see its gone to a good home and sounds like you\'re not gonna be scared to get stuck in.

I have to say compared to any other car I\'ve worked on the 1st gen is just like mechano, so easy to work on

[seanp]

Hi Folks,

Just thought I\'d pop my head above the parapet here (is is it out of the engine bay!).

No problems Malcolm, posting the pictures - I was going to post them myself but have had a bit of a malfunction on my main PC :-(

Well, I must say I thoroughly enjoyed Saturday and getting down and dirty with the FB... I even did some "mechanical" work - undoing some bolts (yes, really a first for me!), and manging to snap one on the rear seat hinge... Will remember to WD40 liberally next time before attacking rusty bolts! (hopefully easy to drill-out and replace!)

With respect to the Steering box, I noticed that there\'s some kind of adjusting screw on top - would that have anything to do with the play, or some other purpose?

The wheels stories here are very interesting, and the pictures above of "good" S2 alloys look amazing, but as Malcolm has said the ones fitted are truly shocking.

I think we have no choice to name her "Odd" - or in true Japanese Style "Kimyona" (which is japanese for Strange, but also seems to mean "Odd" in the sense we mean here! http://translate.google.com/#en|ja|Strange%0A%0A :-)) Maybe Kim or Kimi for short?

Kimi and Kimiyo also mean "Withou Equal" as a Japanese girls name: http://www.issendai.com/rpgs/japanese-girls-names-3.shtml

[Ian65]

Sean,
have a look here on my website and you can download the factory workshop manuals for free for your car...


http://www.tech-leisure.com/index_files/Page344.htm

I\'d download both 1981 -1983  and the 1984-1985 manuals as you\'ve got a bit of each on that car... the steering box was slightly different between the series 3 cars and the series 3.
The s2 box usually has less play in it and is easier to adjust but gives slightly heavier steering, the s3 is a touch harder to adjust and is a bit lighter on the arms.
There is also a cheap haynes workshop manual on ebay at the moment that
will give you loads of good info for maintaining the car...


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MAZDA-RX-7-OWNERS-WORKSHOP-MANUAL-1979-1985-/290552259134?pt=UK_CarParts_Vehicles_Manuals_Litterature_ET&hash=item43a643a23e

download these books and get a haynes and you\'ll be sorted... all the info you need!

[seanp]

Hi Ian,

Thanks for that -- actually I have downloaded them, we were also supplied with 2x copies with the car! Time to start reading I guess :-)

Will keep any eye on that Haynes manual on eBay (and probably bid on behalf of the \'RPM\'), hopefully not bidding against anybody else here??

[Casey]

I think we have no choice to name her "Odd" - or in true Japanese Style "Kimyona" (which is japanese for Strange, but also seems to mean "Odd" in the sense we mean here! http://translate.google.com/#en|ja|Strange%0A%0A :-)) Maybe Kim or Kimi for short?

Kimi and Kimiyo also mean "Withou Equal" as a Japanese girls name: http://www.issendai.com/rpgs/japanese-girls-names-3.shtml

Very clever Sean - the idea of "Kim" or "Kimi" is growing on me, given those Japanese connections