by Jeff Naeyaert
In Part 1 of our improvements to the Project V8 RX-7's oiling system last week we got an oil cooler, Ano-Tuff fittings and Pro-Lite 350 hose from Earl's and an oil thermostat from Improved Racing. In Part 2 we'll finish it off by walking you through how we put it all together.
It’s no secret the LS family of engines can have oil starvation issues particularly on the racetrack. In high-g turns oil is forced to once side of the pan leaving the oil pickup dry and thus starving the oil pump and the engine's components of oil. Catastrophic damage can result in as little as a few seconds depending on engine speed. We already installed an Improved Racing oil pan baffle, today we'll go one step further to protect our E-Rod LS3!
by Dave Coleman
It has been so long since our last update that you could be forgiven for dismissing Project Miatabusa as dead and forgotten. It is not.
It has, in fact, moved forward in such complex bursts of productivity that there was little time to document it as it happened. And then, frankly, I forgot some of it. What follows is my best recollection of what the hell just happened.
In Part 1 of our Wheel, Brake and Tire miniseries, we ordered a set of SSR Professor SP4 wheels for our RX-7 from Tanabe and were patiently enduring the two month wait for them to be built in Japan. During that time we fitted our car with a Stoptech Trophy big brake kit (in Part 2) hoping they would clear the wheels. Right on schedule our wheels arrived and we were able to pick them up from Tanabe's facility in Torrance! In Part 3 we’ll finally see how close all our guesses were to being “good enough”!
Ever since our projects, Project FR-S and Project STI got the Stoptech Trophy kit on them and we felt how amazing and confidence inspiring those brakes were, we HAD to have them on the FD. After all, it IS our flagship project and that nickel finish is just way too bad ass and EXPENSIVE looking! Stoptech makes a Trophy Big Brake kit for the FD RX-7 and those are the brakes we alluded to in the last article that our wheels needed to clear!
Two installments ago we put the Rocket Bunny wide body kit on our Project V8 RX-7 and if you remember it was looking pretty damn stupid on the stock wheels and tires inboard at least 6 inches on each side. In Part 1 of this 3-part update we'll be feeding you over the next 3 weeks we get some ridiculously large tires for our FD and try to find some wheels to match!
If you’re one of the 6 people in the world who isn’t familiar with this car, step back, go HERE, and read every word of the drama (or comedy, or tragedy, we won’t really know until the end) that is Project Miatabusa. For the rest of you who have been waiting to hear what we did about the sackfull of hammers trying to beat their way through the bottom of our car, wait no more:
Step 1: Redesign everything...
A couple of annoying sharp eyes on our last update a few weeks ago revealed that we had some KW suspension bits on our RX-7, so we've been forced to get off our lazy butts and write about them, some SuperPro bushings and a bunch of Improved Racing suspension goodies we put on as well in our attempt to make Project V8 RX-7 not only corner as well as it goes straight, but also remain tolerable and civil for daily driving.
If you follow us on our Instagram or Facebook page (and if you don’t why the F not? seriously, click up there on the top right of the page and connect!) you know we received one of the first batch of FD RX-7 Rocket Bunny kits to come into the states! If this seems out of character for us, it is—never in our history have we put a bodykit on one of our project cars—and for good reason, most of them look terrible, are molded poorly and are difficult to install.
Today we bring you a very special Flashback Friday to Part 1 of Project Miatabusa. Why would we do this you ask? It must be because Part 17 is just around the corner! So for those who aren't familiar with the project here's a chance to start at the beginning. For those who are already familiar here's a chance to stroll down memory lane and get excited for the next installment.
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