Putting my 1984 mark2 elford turbo back on the road

[A223UYW]

Hello
My 1984 car has been in storage since 1990. I have owned it from new.
It has an Elford turbo conversion and has 28,000
Miles on the clock. The engine has not turned for
26 years! Any suggestions on what I should / should not do
to get it going again?
Many thanks in anticipation!

[codge]

These engines do take to standing more than piston engines but hey, that is a long time!.
So......what would I do?......
Engine oil/filter out and refilled before turning engine.
Antifreeze changed......hopefully it's dry now? When refilling check the hoses carefully and change any that look at all aged.
Carb.....Elford guys on here will advise better than me, but there's a dashpot to check out?
Plugs...clearly pull them out to check/ replace but when they're out that's the time to turn the engine....first by hand then cranking over and over on the starter. (Put a thumb on the plug holes to roughly gauge compression.....should blow your thumb off the hole).
Fuel tank to drain and replace with fresh fuel.....the fuel filter must be changed.
Brake and clutch fluid to change.....any bad looking hoses to change. Calipers / Pads to check.
Gearbox and Rear Axle Oil to change.
Tyres.....well a complete change will have to be carried out at this age.
Lots more things no doubt....anyone else comment?

Hope that helps.

[ian65]

Hi there fellow Elford owner, welcome to the forum
Having re-commissioned two 1st gen RX7's that had been off the road for 20 years each I might be able to share my experiences of them and what it took to re-commission them to a point that they were usable and reliable cars.
The first thing everyone wants to do is rush in to seeing if the engine will run but there is a fair bit of work necessary before trying to fire it up.

First step, as Dave pointed out is to clean out the fuel system, starting with the tank. 1st gen fuel tanks rust from the inside out due to condensation forming on the roof of the tank and these tiny rust particles will soon find their way through the pump, into the fuel lines and then into the carb
From memory I don't think the series 2 tanks have a drain plug like the series 3 cars and the best move is to drop the tank, remove the fuel line pick up plate and flush the tank out thoroughly.... while you've got the tank off, check the rubber fuel hoses that lead from the tank to the hard fuel line to see if they are perished.... they quite often are. The fuel pick up pipe that goes onto the the tank also needs checking to make sure it isn't gunked up with stale fuel and also check that the strainer on the end of this pick up pipe it clean too.
Hopefully the fuel pump will be ok.... once you put a battery on the car you will here the pump running with the ignition on. Change the fuel filter as a matter of course. The Elford only uses 1 rubber fuel hose in the engine compartment... make sure that's in good condition or replace it.

The carb on the Elford is a HIF44 SU carb and this will need stripping and cleaning out.... stale fuel plays havoc with the jet,needle and float in the carb but it's a simple job to take it apart and clean it out.... rebuild kits are also available from SU for about £45.
When you move the throttle, make sure the lever on the throttle spindle on the cab moves the rod that attached to it and also the oil metering pump on the side of the engine and that this linkage isn't seized.

Drain your old engine oil and change it along with the filter and also drain and flush out the cooling system remembering to remove the engine drain plug located at the bottom of the centre iron below the dipstick......then refill it with coolant.

Next up, drop out the leading spark plugs ( the bottom ones) and squirt a little engine oil into each rotor housing then if possible turn the engine over by hand a complete revolution.... you can then remove the fuel pump fuse from the fuse box under the dash, put the battery on the car and spin the engine over on the key.

It only takes a few spins to build the oil pressure and you can there re-instate the fuel pump fuse, give it some choke and try to start it up.

Hopefully it should fire up and run...... if it does then that's a good milestone on the road to re-commissioning the car.

OK, assuming that it runs you will next need to change the drive belt to the fan..... RX7 viscous fans hate long periods of inactivity and are seldom coaxed back to life without giving loads of trouble... they either seize up and put too much stain on the fanbelt causing it to shred or else they go the other way and freewheel too much and fail to cool the engine enough resulting in the engine overheating..... see how you get on with yours but be prepared to replace the fan.

Next up are the clutch hydraulics... hopefully your clutch and the relase bearing won't be seized and you just need to sort out the hydraulics.... don't even think of driving around with the old clutch master and slave cylinders on the car unless you have breakdown recovery cover.....after 26 years they will be knackered... new ones are available from Rockauto really cheap and are easy to fit..... a must do in my opinion.

Finally the braking system...... get a brake master cylinder from Rockauto at the same time as the clutch stuff and also caliper repair seals for the front and rear brake calipers..... rust on the discs should sand off but the calipers will either be sticking, seized or about to do both.
Caliper repair kits are only about £10 for a full car set from Rockauto.
Check the brake line flexible lines for signs of perishing and cracking at the same time.

You should now be able to start, drive and stop.

Other parts you'll need to replace are pretty obvious.... battery, tyres, wiper blades, spark plugs. air filter etc.

If you need any help selecting which parts from Rockauto fit your car, shout up and I'll put a list together for you...... don't buy from UK based vendors or specialists..... they will fleece you.... 1st gen part prices in the UK are outrageous.

Being an Elford, once the car is up and running ok, you should service the wastegate to ensure it isn't seized... easy job and instructions are on this forum.

Good luck with it.... when you start work on it please start a thread in 'rides and projects' so we can follow your progress and offer hindrance/help.

[A223UYW]

Hello codge and Ian.
Many thanks for your fast and comprehensive responses! This gives me much to think about. Clearly it is not just a question of putting in a new battery and turn the key......!

My car is stored in a garage in Lincoln. Do you know of any Rx7 expert nearby who could help me with some of the more technical tasks?
Alternatively I may decide to sell it to an enthusiast who has the expertise to get it going again. Is there somewhere on the forum I could advertise it?

Your help is truly appreciated.
Thanks and all the best.

[codge]

No harm in attaching some pics to this post since as we say on here "we all like pics!".

I think you will find it will attract interest easily enough if you just say you're thinking of passing it on.
There is also the FB RX7 cars for sale section, however you may need to generate a small post count in the general Forum areas (10 or so?) before you can post in there.

What colour is it by the way?

[A223UYW]

Hello codge
Thanks for responding so quickly.
Do you ever see 1st generation cars on eBay?
Mine is white with red interior. It has been stored in a dry garage
so no rust whatsoever; the interior is commensurate with the mileage (27,000) so hardly used and in excellent condition. I had a car phone (now removed) mounted on top of the armrest so there are a couple of small drill holes in the armrest, apart from that - it is untouched. I will take some photos next week and post for you information.
All the best

[A7RXY]

Hi where in London are you ? I've owned mine since '89 and layed it up for about 10 years, as the others have said I had to go through a similar process to get it back on the road. It's well worth doing as driving it again after all that time more than paid back the effort. Mine today has 37K on the clock.

Good luck
Dibs

[codge]

Hello codge
Thanks for responding so quickly.
Do you ever see 1st generation cars on eBay?

Have a look in the Forum 'Spotter's Corner'.
Most cars for sale pop up in there. A lot of pages, I think 247 is the most recent.

http://rx7fb.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=1 ... 460#p33739

[A223UYW]

Hello Dibs
It is encouraging to hear that it can be done!
I am in Wandsworth but the car is in Lincoln, in a garage that I am slowly emptying.
All the best

[A223UYW]

Hello codge
Many thanks for the link to the 'spotted pages'! Makes interesting reading.