1985 Series 3 restomod with s5 13BT on LPG, R&P steering

[KYPREO]

thanks, got it now The FB has a pair of studs on each chassis rail to mount the crossmember... do you use all 4 studs?

I'm not sure whether both are used. I suspect not since there is only 1 stud each side at the front on the FC (with the load spread through the rear mounts as well). But i'll take the question on notice and get back to you.

[shambo]

KYPREO, this looks great and is inspiring me, I have to replace my front chassis rails so I may well do this mod, I'm curious about these Alloy hubs you refer to??? Are these machined custom or available off the shelf? If they're custom I have an engineers shop next door to me so I could go and see them (6061-T6 I take it?)

Furthermore, the track width of the FC is some 1.2"/~30mm wider than the stock FB, will you be running spacers on the back to match up to the original track difference or keeping it tight on the rear?

I could look at making something along the lines of a kit to do this for UK owners but "Felix" knows when I'd get time with everything else I have going on

[KYPREO]

Hey sambo, thanks for following.

The N/A version of the FC RX-7 in the US actually came with a down-specced brake/wheel configuration. For the 1986-88 N/A FC in the US, instead of a 5 bolt pattern, it used the same 4x114.3 wheel pattern, 14" alloy wheels and the same size single piston front brake calipers and 250mmx22mm vented brake rotors that came on the series 3. Unlike the integrated hub on the series 3, however, it used a rotor over hub design. It also used nice and light alloy hubs with 4 lugs instead of 5. You need series 4, not series 5. Series 5 N/A US models still had the smaller brakes but switched to the normal 5x114.3 bolt pattern.

So armed with that knowledge, I located this pair of the alloy 86-88 N/A FC hubs from the US:

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The hubs will be milled to make the bearing replaceable. A spacer will be needed to offset the FD brake rotor being used and allow the brakes to fit with my wheel combo. I will also be installing ARP extended heavy duty wheel studs.

As for track, it is true that the FC overall track is greater by 30mm overall (ie 15mm each side), but the body dimensions and strut top location on the 1st gen are also different, so the FC track measurement becomes somewhat theoretical - everything changes. Plus the guard clearances are different too. When this mod has been done in practice, the hubs end up in basically the same spot as a 1st gen.

The main practical consideration is really brake and wheel fitment. The combo I've chosen has worked for others, but if there are any fitment issues, these can be addressed with the hub spacer if too narrow, or if too wide I'm assured ACBron has ways of fixing it.

Track can also be manipulated through playing with wheel offset. But in my case, I've already got 17x7 wheels with custom offset, which I'm keeping. My current offset is such that my track is probably narrower than factory right now. There's lots of room under the guards even if the steering and brake conversion pushes out the wheels slightly (see below). Plus with the adjustable strut tops, I easily have another 2-3 deg of negative camber I can dial in.



Rear track I'll be leaving alone, but pictured above I have 17x8 wheels with 235 tyres.

[shambo]

Awesome, thanks for the info dude. Much appreciated Now I have to find hubs and a subframe

[KYPREO]

No big updates mechanically but thought i would share this.

Reproduction decals...

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[Hobbawobba]

Those are cool as bro. Is that from one of the members on Ausrotary? I think I've seen the thread.

[ian65]

they look great... how authentic are they in real life?

[KYPREO]

Thanks guys.

I posted up the samples on AusRotary a while back. The guy who did them runs a business called Letzgo. He operates on eBay and Facebook only these days.

The stickers are very high quality. Because my car is at the workshop, I can only compare the decal for the steering column cover. To compare, I actually have a NOS steering column, the very last grey one in the warehouse in Japan..

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The original sticker actually looks like a reflective metal substrate with the ink printed on, so the silver bits are actually metal. Over time the black ink fade off just leaving silver. The repro decal uses a metallic ink and is slightly darker. The black ink is a slightly different shade. The design itself is spot on. You can only see the difference side by side.

The other decals are likely to be closer matches because they are just ordinary black on white etc. But from what I understand, you can never get a 100% match unless you have the same paper stock as the original manufacturer.

[KYPREO]

Milestone reached. Steering conversion complete and car back on solid ground. It is using 5 stud FC hubs and brakes for the time being to get it mobile (hence the different front wheels, which were whatever they had lying around). But it is sporting new ACBron Ultimate Coilovers.

Steering rack looks right at home:

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Next we'll need to do the FD brake conversion and test out the electric power steering. Then it's time strip out the engine bay and get about prep and paint, powder coating, zinc plating etc.

[Hobbawobba]

Any updates at all, Greg? I've spoken with ACBRON a bit lately about various things including the subframe swap. I'm pretty keen on it when I get my coilovers and new wheels on aye. Dailying my car is making me notice how irritating the steering is with these cars . Have you got any pictures how the engine gets mounted? I realise it is on the middle plate but I can't seem to remember seeing any pictures