From Disaster to Gold
   by David Lane
   dlane@peabody.jhu.edu

   I posted this under the [gen] heading because my car has been in the "project" category for almost three years now. It is a 1st gen GSL-SE with a CarTech Turbo on it.

   This is to let all the old timers know that it is finally running properly, and to bring everyone interested up to date. First a little background in very short form.

   The car was bought new in '85. I installed a CarTech turbo kit in '87, which developed 263 bhp @ 8-9 psi. The engine ran well for about 60,000 miles and then started to slowly lose power. At about 72,000 miles it started to show the classic flooding problem, then calmly cracked an apex seal.

   I drove the car from Baltimore to Chicago to have Bill Hahn (Hahn Racing) replace the engine and enhance the turbo system. He speculated that the engine failure was probably due to a lot of years of mildly lean running, and proposed two extra injectors as the solution, guesstimating that the engine would be safe to 12 psi. He figured the car should be "a 12 second machine" in the quarter mile. He suggested using a Mazda Rebuilt engine. I didn't know any better (and neither did he) so I agreed.

   He had the car for 21 months, trying to deal with all sorts of teething problems, and not being able to do much with it during the Winter when it sat in storage. The agony of that time has been documented for the list before, so I won't repeat it. After final testing, the car had posted 13.5 in the quarter -- still not too shabby -- and I flew to Chicago to pick it up. Bill, it turns out, was a hell of an engineer, but knew little about the quirks of rotaries. By the time I got it home, I had observed the following:

• The car smoked more than normal at start up.

• The radiator water was full of brown sludge.

• Any time the engine was shut down for a short time, it would flood when attempting to start it up. I had asked Hahn to install a fuel pump switch when he told me it was having that problem.

• The car would not idle steadily and would stall -- especially during the warm-up cycle.

• The car was prone to detonate -- sometimes even at 6 psi in cold weather. I installed a J & S knock sensor for security.

• The car was not capable of producing more than 11.5 psi -- no matter where the controls were set (even if the wastegate was disconnected). It did not run well at higher boost settings, although it was able to do 3.6 to 3.8 in the 3rd gear 40-70 derby at about 8 psi.

   As I was working through these problems, the transmission grenaded, and I came to realize that the LSD had been toast for quite awhile. Bill had said he couldn't get the car to hook up while launching at the drag strip. The transmission was rebuilt by a local company, and, with much help from the list, Mark Schroeder, Mazdatrix, Mazda Comp, Donny at Sun Auto (who did the installation), and others, we managed to put a Torsen LSD in the car.

   Shortly thereafter, one of the engine's water hoses let go, and the car experienced a very short excursion into overheating. About a week later, the internal o-rings started letting water into the combustion chamber (and visa versa) and that was the end of the Mazda Rebuilt engine. Total mileage--probably less than 2000, including the trip back to Baltimore from Chicago. Since it had been installed over two years earlier, and was being used with a turbo, I had to consider it an expensive lesson learned.

   Now for the good news:

   I brought the car to Bret at Rotary Performance in Manassas.

   Disassembling the Mazda Rebuilt engine, we discovered that most of the water passages were crudded up, some of the aluminum was corroded away, and all of the water 0-rings were, to some extent, compromized. It was probable that the engine was not too strong to begin with, and that the corrosion, combined with turbo stresses, combined with some extra heat from the broken hose, resulted in an untimely failure.

   Further, to allow for engine vibration, the CarTech kit used a rubber bellows-like section between the air filter and the compressor (turbo) inlet. This is supposed to have a metal sleeve inside to keep it from collapsing. The sleeve was not in there when Bret took the engine apart. This explains why the engine would not produce over 11.5 psi, why it was unstable, and why it was prone to knocking. It was sucking its intake shut. A turbo trying to produce boost with a constricted intake produces heat, and that effectively limits its ability to produce power. In fairness to Bill Hahn, the sleeve I used when I installed the original kit was a piece of galvanized pipe, and he probably had the engine apart for long enough that it might have been mistaken for a piece of trash. One can only conjecture.

   With good advice from Bret and the RX-7 list, I opted for all new housings, a very mild street port, '93 seal springs, early 13B o-ring shields, and a higher pressure oil pump setting. Bret also sent the injectors to Marren Motorsports for blueprinting. They came back balanced, and capable of flowing 8% more fuel. Since Bret is a local guru of Spec RX-7 racing, I asked for advice about the suspension. He recommended Eibach progressive springs to go with my Tokico Illuminas.

   After breaking the engine in, it was immediately clear that it is an absolute jewel. It smokes very little at start-up. It has never flooded. It idles beautifully, and the boost/vacuum gauge reads -19.5. I was still having boost problems, but we have solved them, and the car is so responsive, I feel no need to see if it will exceed 11.5 psi. I am running it at up to 10.5 psi and it has shown no tendency to detonate. None. Nada.

   So now I am experiencing all the improvements -- engine, drive train and suspension -- in full bloom for the first time.

   Bill Hahn's engineering is finally performing as it was intended to. The Torsen is now in full song, and the Eibachs are little short of amazing -- giving a nearly stock ride on the highway, but clamping down harder as you push harder. For the record, they lower the car only about 3/4 inch, and tire rubbing (3 sets of wheels and tires) has not been an issue. Combined, you can now actually fly the car using the steering wheel for directional control and your right foot for attitude control. There are no surprises--just shear rapture. The car and I had a delightful romp through an autocross course two Sundays ago. It has all finally come together. Only my driving is lagging behind.

   I sold my OEM leather seats to a list member last weekend, and bought Bret's ratty old Recaros. Actually being held in place by the seat is a new experience for me. The driver's seat is much lower, and the whole car is now much more of an extension of my body. Frankly, I have always wanted Recaros, but I was never willing to pay the price. Oddly, the whole car makes more physical sense now. It is hard to explain. The last item on my budget of borrowed money is to have the Recaros refurbished.

   Yesterday, I took delivery of a set of BFG R-1s. Since my car has the turbo, I run in a modified class, so I have been using M & H gumbal slicks. It was a big mistake. They pick up so many pebbles, it is like driving on ball bearings. The R-1s are a whole new ball game, and I am more than impressed; I am almost nauseous from the side loading they create. If you ever have a chance to drive a car with these tires, do it. I wish (a.) they were compatible with rain and (b.) they would last more than about 7,000 miles on the street.

   So, that's the story of one guy who wouldn't give up on his little red rotary -- not even in the face of relatives and friends who, upon hearing of literally years of disasters and countless dollars wasted, could not understand what was going on. The car is so complete now, so unusual, such a sleeper, and so... well.... mine, that the fact I will be several years getting back on my financial feet is of no consequence. Eventually, I will recheck the 40-70 time and see what it is doing, but strangely, the car is such a blast to drive, it hardly matters.

   One other thing is obvious: Virtually all the positive things that have happend over the past year have been a direct result of the people on this list -- individuals and businesses. When I consider what went into the car, nearly every part is associated with a list member's advice, and willingness to get involved. It is absolutely certain that without your help, I would have just gone on trusting the wrong people and eventually given up.

   I think, in the middle of the occasional frustration and flame war, we need to keep in mind that the collective knowledge and experience of the people associated with the list are our only defense against the slow erosion of qualified mechanics at Mazda dealers and the seeming growth in numbers of pompous idiots who speak with authority but may actually know very little.

   In a real sense, you have given me my car back -- far better than I dreamed it could ever be.

   Thank you.