Bought the RX, actually it's a 1985 Turbo Sedan, in 1998 from a wholesaler who had it on their shop floor for about 2 years. It had about 120k on it, the original AM/FM radio and it became the family car. Drove it everywhere and then it started to overheat, so out came the radiator and a new modified one was built using a Liberty twin core. Then as the kms mounted up I grew sick of the air suspension handling like a house boat, so out it came and was replaced by gas dampers and lowered k-mac springs. Now it handled a little better it was time to update the shoes and a set of Rallysport (UK made) 15' minilites were ordered from an importer in Nowra and they were shod with 15/205/55 Kuhmo tyres.
Then around 2000 the auto started slipping giving me the excuse to change it to a manual. So a second hand box, flywheel, pedal box was purchased and the box shipped to Brisbane, sorry I can't remember the name of the w/shop, to be rebuilt using Liberty internals and an RS centre diff (3.9), that was then fitted with a ceramic four paddle clutch, a shortened commodore tailshaft, modified linkages and an original L Series Brown (matching) centre console. Four or so months later it's back on the road and you wouldn't believe it's the same car.
With the exception of an over fuelling issue, which was sorted with a replacement airflow meter, it ran beautifully until October 2004. Yeah it could have had more power but it scared a few who though they were something special.
So October 04 and we are working on the Escarpade variety bash, about an hour outside of Glen Innes on a dirt road and it just drops power, followed by that sound when you just know your car is now missing that essential bearing in the big end of a conrod.
So out came the engine, a new crankshaft was sources, it was bored .40, everything was balanced, conrods shot peened, forged pistons were source from NZ (the guy who use to supply Possum Bourne's rally RX), the heads ported and polished and o-ringed. A new flywheel was made, less than half the OE weight, and it was modified to take an RX7 pressure plate - making it much easier to source an uprated PP. Larger injectors and a higher pressure fuel pump along with a K&N filter pod were meant to take care of the air/fuel intake. Then a set of stainless Techworks headers and a Garrett GT28 were fitted, with a PWR air to water intercooler and a custom 3" stainless exhaust was made.
It looked amazing but do you think would run? No. To get to that point had taken 18 months and a divorce. Then the new girlfriend's brother in law suggested "we" fit a Haltech ecu, so more $$$ was parted and the next few months soldering up the loom.
As the car was a 1985 model it was running the vacuum advance distributor, so a later model optical unit was found so the Haltech had a crank position sensor. Finally after two years, about the last time I posted on the board, we were ready, it turned over, it tried and tried to run but nothing. The girlfriend's brother inlaw was no help, a mate who was "motec trained" tried but as it wasn't a supported vehicle he didn't get much further.
So it's the end of 2006 and nothing I'm at a loss.
Since then we've moved house, made the g/f the 2nd wife, bought a wrx and poor rex (yes I know how unoriginal) has sat there, waiting.
But now it's time. After recently finding copies of factory service manuals I've discovered a bunch of wiring issues we could only guess at the time, a Chilton's manual being our best and only source of info. So hopefully rex will run.
And when it does there's a spider manifold waiting to be fitted and a 5 stud conversion planned (no doubt after we've had to replace everything rubber that has gone off).
