Hi Everyone, Mazda fanatic new to the site

[chuyler1]

Oh yeah, it's still rotary. Original 4-port 13B. VIN doesn't match but its appropriate vintage and came off a crate that was in storage for 35 years. Less than 500 miles on the block when I bought it.



Emissions removed.
Stock Hitachi carb/intake.
Racing Beat Header, 2.5" silencer, 2.5" straight-through muffler.
I also had Lou's Custom Muffler install a 2.5" additional muffler to eliminate the drone. It was just too loud for the street otherwise.
I added MSD coils recently but not much noticeable gain.



It might be a little on the quiet side now...but it still turns heads.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36E48aYGOqY

[JustMe]

Very much digging that truck. Welcome.

[Boosted Euro]

Wow, that truck it dirty.... And by dirty I mean clean as hell!

[NHMR2]

rotary... that thing is so friggin cool....

[MrSupra9-1-1]

Luv the truck!

Welcome.

[ill_eagle94]

Love the truck!

[sLoWsTaNg]

Welcome man

[chuyler1]

Thanks

The truck has been a fun series of projects since I got it. I was told everything was pristine and working. That may have been the case a few years ago but since I purchased it I've had to tinker with things here and there. It drove, turned, and stopped but that was about it.

Thus far I've done the following in the past 2 months...
Replaced the clutch master and slave
Installed a new speedometer cable
Installed a new choke knob and cable
Finished off the exhaust so it doesn't dump out under the truck
Fixed some squeaking in the front suspension
Replaced the horn and fixed the switch
Repaired the turn signal relays
Repaired the back up light wiring
Repaired the interior lights
Fixed the old radio and eventually upgraded to a new FM radio
Installed a speaker in the dash...a little pissed the previous owner said the radio worked even though he never installed a damn speaker.
Installed a 12v acc jack
Fixed the heater fan
Fixed a leak in the gas tank evaporation collection system
Replaced various vacuum plugs that cracked over time

So anyway... it is clear to me now that the previous owner spent a lot of time and money on the body work and chrome. Then when he was done with that, he hurried the installation of everything else. It kind of sours the price I paid for it, but if I think about it, the chrome work, paint job, NOS parts, new engine block, and other stuff that he did take care of would have cost way more than what I paid anyway.

I've got a few projects in mind for the truck down the road which include...

Street Ported motor - I'm hesitant to pull a part a block that only has a few 1,000 miles on it but the truck could definitely use a little more power. It already has Racing Beat headers and exhaust so next is to port it and upgrade the intake. I want reliable power from this truck so I'm not going to bother with a turbo. It just doesn't need it. My daily driver has a turbo if I want that kind of thrill.

Electrical upgrade - I want to swap the 50a unregulated alternator for an RX7 100a regulated alternator. I'll have to source a better fuse box because the current one cannot handle the HID highbeams. It blows the fuse and melts the harness if i turn them on. I'll also upgrade to an electric radiator fan when I do this and perform a wire tuck.

LSD - A custom kit is available to swap an FD torsen diff into the truck's rear end. The current open diff is pretty easy to break loose with the minimal power I have.

Exhaust - So I finished off the exhaust...but now its a little too quiet. I think I want to either find a better final muffler or make a dump out pipe that I can open and close at will. Before I put the muffler on the truck had an aweful drone at cruising speeds around town that was unbearable. However it sounded great under acceleration. I want something that is a compromise I guess.

Interior - I'm going to install component speakers in the kick panels and maybe a slim subwoofer under the bench seat. Since an amp to power this will draw 10-50a I'll probably wait until I've done the electrical upgrade. I also need to do something about the bench seat. I have two seat backs. The one that is custom upholstered is too cushy and takes up all the leg room. The seat bottom isn't very comfortable either. So I may try to find a more modern bench and have it upholstered to match, or I have a shop carve out some of the extra foam from the current seat.

I may start some of this stuff over the winter...but for this summer and fall I want to keep it on the road so I can enjoy it.

[barkz]

nice exhuast with a port job(bridge port it pussy ) will be awesome! why not just use a TII diff?

[chuyler1]

No idea...but the kit specified a 3rd gen.

Bridge port will produce more power but it isn't very streetable and they don't last long. Since this is a cruising truck, not a drag strip truck, I think the bridge port is overkill.

One other thing I was going to mess with was the steering. I might try a later mazda unit to tighten up the steering. It's a little sloppy now, especially on the highway and has a painfully slow ratio.

[barkz]

my manual rack in my tII is awesome! so tight that when i get into a car with power steering it takes some work to stay on the road lol and if im in a truck? forget it!

[chuyler1]

I know what you mean. I occasionally go from my MS6 to my father's Chevy Avalanche. Although the 6 has power steering, it still has a heavy weight to it. The REPU is a different experience though. You turn the wheel 15 degrees and nothing happens...then you turn it another 5 degrees and it darts across the highway...and to straighten it out you gotta crank back 20 degrees in the opposite direction.

[barkz]

lol, any manual racks that can be retrofitted in?

[chuyler1]

One from an 80's Mazda truck works. I can probably find one on car-part and it should be a quick swap. Some one has already done it. Only thing I'm not sure of is the steering ratio. If it is a quicker ratio it makes sense to do it.

http://www.rotarypickup.com/replacement-steering-box-for-mazda-repu

[barkz]

at first i hated manual steering but now i think ill depower all racks after this one lol