Okay, today we began the beginning of the rebuild of the 13B Streetport engine for our 1st Gen Mazda RX-7. This is the SCCA Club Racing E-Production class car that runs for Thrust Motorsports.
When I say began I actually mean simply carting the car and all of the engine pieces from the garage at my old house to our newly established “shop”. In truth no rebuilding has actually begun yet, but some serious commitment has been made amid many affirmative nods and grunts.
The back story is this: I bought the RX7 in July 2006. She was already prepped and log-booked for SCCA E-Production racing. The seller told me she had a “fresh engine”. Of course, “fresh” being in the eye of the re-builder I understand now. I ran her at Daytona Speedway in October 2006 (for regional drivers school) and blew a side seal on Sunday.
After much vacillating (mostly of the checkbook variety) I decided to rebuild the engine myself. It only took me two Sundays to tear it all apart. Wow, piece of cake. Hundreds of pieces, neatly bagged in zip-lock baggies and marked with a Sharpie for easy reinstallation. I looked at all those pieces, decided I would call it a weekend and tackle it the following weekend. Well, that was a year and a half ago.
Part of the problem was lack of tools and facilities to handle the project. That has now changed with the new shop. I have gone in on a shop space with a friend who happens to own a collection of machining tools, welders, and many other precision instruments which will be needed to properly overhaul the 13B.
That said, here are some pics of the beginnings. As the project moves forward I will post continuing photos and info on how it goes, for the few who may be interested.
Ralf running electrical outlets for his machines.
This is where it’s going to happen.
Main engine parts
Bolts, baggies and more.
That’s it for now. See you next weekend.
Grant Boshoff
Thrust Motorsports
Grant Boshoff's Weblog 