Convince me to keep my car

[Sabre002]

he has the same oil Sponsor as we do cool.

Also if you want a sprite but don't want to pay bug eye prices.  Get a non bug eye.  My mom has a 65.

[Rosey]

I just found myself in the same position (minus smog related stuff).  I'd had my rx7 since 2004, and it had most of the parts I wanted in it already, and it was running and driving fine, just had a bunch of little issues that needed fixing.  I didn't have the time or motivation to really make it nice so it had been sitting for almost 2 years.  During that time I graduated college, got a real job, and moved into a house with a nice garage.  I now finally had the money and resources to really make my rx7 into whatever I wanted, so what did I do?

I sold it.

IMO life is too short to get attached to one single car forever...there's just too much cool stuff out there, and once you have the knowledge and money to build what you want then why wouldn't you?  I lost a bunch of money on my rx7 but I just don't care - I had a ton of fun building it and driving it and learned a lot, I could have pretty much given the car away and it still would have been worth it.  I know my next project will be way faster and nicer than the rx7 probably ever would have been, and I now know exactly what I want out of the next car so I can focus on that from the get-go.  For me the sadness of losing the rx7 is completely overshadowed by the excitement of the next big thing.  So if you're not going to be 100% happy with the finished product, I say it time to move on.

 

[Sho Amo]

Omg that video was awesome. Joel, please build one.

Maybe a new school I4 turbo motor. Sr20, f20, 4g63, etc?

[largeorangefont]

If I stay Rx7 I'd put the 429 in.  If I sold it later I'd pick up a stock-ish ls2, swap it again (harness would fit an LS2 by then) and keep the big motor for another project.  Technically I could swap the fuel bits back as well but I'd decide that later, and new fittings for a new project always makes life happy.

Going simple on the exhaust would probably be a good call for the rx7.  Buying drop in headers would be the way to go to greatly simplify my life.  I'd keep the burns merges for a future project.  I would have to find a set of 1 7/8" JTRs (which might require a lot of begging and pleading to get him to make me a set since he's not planning on more.) Hell maybe Phil/Spoolin wants to step up to fill a market hole...  I talked with him briefly before I headed down the path of a custom custom over the top version.

I really like the sprite I looked at and a truly rust free car from 50 years ago is remarkable but I'm trying hard to listen the feedback I'm getting about it trying to kill me regularly.  Traction control would be a big help and at least it does have a cage, so I think it'd try to kill me less than a sport bike.  The thought of taking a huge hp sprite out to a cruise or car show with a snorting v8 under the hood is REALLY appealing.  It would be a less track capable car, but while I do that occasionally, I'm doubtful tracking it would be a real focus unless I start competing (unlikely as a family man).

The compromise position is to finish the RX7 (simplifying exhaust as that's a biggie) call it a fun driver for now and don't bother with traction control as of yet.  Once the rx7 is running I buy build up a classic slowly (cage, suspension etc).  I have a foam block I can borrow indefinitely, so I basically get it ready and then sell the rx7 down the road after another round of engine swapping.



Josh, I knew you had a MGB (hence the question about small wheelbases earlier), but I haven't followed the build nor could I even have told you it was a GT.  Do you have a build thread or info I could read up on?  Shoot me your number on PM if you don't mind my calling to pick your brain.   If I did an MGB I'd likely make all new suspension and cage if not a full on tube chassis...  and it's unlikely it would be ready until five years from now.

I think you answered your own question with the compromise position. A quiet, simple exhaust and the 429 will be relatively easy. 2 mufflers and 2 resonators will quiet it down, and reduce attention.

[Bowtie7]

You owe it to yourself to finish it Joel. I have some years on you and have had a bunch of very cool, fun cars and other than my RX2 and RX3, my current RX7 is my favorite. I continue to enjoy tinkering with it and making it better. It helps that I also got to build Russ' race car and see how well it works on track.

I hate that California is such a police state but I realize it is your home and you are staying. Personally I would rather get kicked in the balls than have to deal with the BS that you guys endure. I guess the great weather makes it more bearable. I guess you know that my daily is a Mazda van that I take my pup to work in every day. Having a practical, comfortable daily is key for me and makes the fun cars even better when I get out on the weekend.

Make a to do list and whittle away at it as time permits and finish the car.

[gnx7]

Finish what you have Joel and see it thru.  Then after it smacks around a bunch of track cars your mind can wander on to the next project.  With 2 kids, a wife, and a full time job, plus your time with Ronin.... I would rather be driving your FC in the near future than building another car for a few years.

I'm seeing my gray FD thru after it collecting dust for the past 5 years and nothing really being done to it.  I'm back in high gear again to get it done before end of 2012.

Smog isn't really a huge issue unless you drive like an *sshole on the street or have an obnoxiously loud exhaust system 

[largeorangefont]

Smog isn't really a huge issue unless you drive like an *sshole on the street or have an obnoxiously loud exhaust system 

QFT

[frijolee]

95% of the way decided to stay the course.  I may need to do something on the excessively loud exhaust front though because Mark and Ash are right I'm sure.  I'll likely build up what I have and see how loud it is, add an undercar resonator if needed.

I read somewhere that NHRA rules dictate a minimum 90" wheelbase to run.  There's a few videos of guys putting short wheelbase vehicles into the walls for no apparent reason.  Example:



I know this kind of thing happens drag racing in all kinds of cars but still it does make you think...  FYI the R100 above is an 89" wheelbase.  The Sprite is 80".  FC is a 95.7".  FDs are 95.5".  I'd run traction control which would certainly be a big deal for keeping it pointed in the right direction.

[AKINA FC]

I would stay the course Joel, the reason I say that is because I am basically in the same mental boat as you are. I have been throwing around the idea of selling mine and building a GTM for a while now (amazingly the wife is for it as well)  but have come to the conclusion that I don't have the time to take on another full build. With my current family and work schedule it would take me two to three years to build it the way I want to and I would much rather be out there flogging the crap out of this car than spending all my free time building another at the moment. I kinda feel your the same way, maybe I am wrong?

[largeorangefont]

Honestly Joel I would just build the resonators into the exhaust from the start, then stuff the largest mufflers you can in the back. If you go with larger than pipe size I/O mufflers they will have less packing, leaving your car louder than it was before.

An alternative would be cutouts. I've used drilled out exhaust cutouts before to cut down on noise. Not the best thing for performance, but will cut down on the noise a lot for mellow drives, or some bolt in baffles in the tail pipes.

[Bowtie7]

There have been some good tests done that show Magnaflow mufflers compared to no mufflers and the results were the same. I don't know what size tubing was used but we have seen very liitle difference in hp/tq between 3 and 3.5" single compared to dual 3" or 2.5". I have not tried anything on a big inch engine like you are playing with. Oval mufflers are definitely quieter.

[frijolee]

These are the mufflers I have...
http://vibrantperformance.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=1022_1031_1052&products_id=1165

I did just notice that they have an inner silencer option.  Unfortunately uses 2.5" tubing.
http://vibrantperformance.com/catalog/product_info.php?osCsid=5d4f8797c99320544c313b9955027013&products_id=67&cPath=1022_1070_1133

It's been several months since I purchased them but I might be able to swap for the 3" inlet version.  That would have notably more packing material and wouldn't be too different from where I was before sound wise.  I just called to ask the question, receptionist took a message for me.
http://vibrantperformance.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=1022_1031_1052&products_id=14

[mefarri]

I would stay the course Joel, the reason I say that is because I am basically in the same mental boat as you are. I have been throwing around the idea of selling mine and building a GTM for a while now (amazingly the wife is for it as well)  but have come to the conclusion that I don't have the time to take on another full build. With my current family and work schedule it would take me two to three years to build it the way I want to and I would much rather be out there flogging the crap out of this car than spending all my free time building another at the moment. I kinda feel your the same way, maybe I am wrong?

I would find you and kill you if you sold your car.  It's my favorite FC of all time.  Speaking of, go update your thread.   

[LSRX7]

I realize this thread is already a couple months old so dont jump on my ass for 'bringing it back to life'

I feel your pain Joel! I left California for Florida 7 years ago and have never looked back. California has made it almost impossible to own a hot rod or make any type of modifications to a vehicle. I like to refer to Cali as the nazi state. Someone earlier referred to Florida as the 'wild west' and I couldn't agree more. The laws out here are super friendly to modified vehicles and we dont deal with smog checks. The best advice I can give you is to move. Seriously!

[frijolee]

Thanks for the kind words.  I know it's crazy some times, but it's still home.

FWIW I did decide to keep my car.  I figured the best thing I could possibly do was to finish the damn thing and fall back in love with it.  I still might take on a full up tube chassis project someday, but it'd be so much smarter to have a driving fun car before I started that.

It's also be smarter to own a house before I launched in a project gone off the deep end and that's still a challenging prospect in Cali.