In-progress: RX-7 Cusco racer/drifter/monster

I couldn't decide what I was going to work on over break, and since I got two weeks of no work before I head to Boston and really waste my break, I just started fartin' around with several kits at once. The RX-7 model really took off, though, so I put them all away and concentrated on this one.

It's loosely based on the A'PEX drift car that was featured in the December Sport Compact Car, though if you want pictures of it I'm sure you can find it on countless drifting sites or anything that covers the D1. I'm not huge on drift (though I think it's cool) so this is going to be more a racer or street monster, but whatever clothing this wolf dons it will look about the same as far as set up. In the abscense of A'PEX decals and the spirit of being my own, phantom car it's gonna use the Cusco decals from Studio 27. Work so far has been pretty limited to mocking up and thinkin' about how I'm gonna do this thing.... Scratchbuilt intercooler and turbo, BOV, and twin fans from a Revell Civic on the now visible top of the radiator get the engine bay looking suitably mad, and I've cut the interior tub and am going to scrathbuild a flat deck clear to the back through the trunk (some already done) where a battery, and fuel system (with surge tank, twin pumps, and fuel cooler) will reside. Further details will include an oil cooler or two remotely mounted, remote reservior struts, mostly racing interior and roll cage. The wheels are going to be the crazy Mazda Speed ones Fujimi makes. Color will be white (with sponsor decals, of course).

Progress so far:

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=502/75086RX-7Cusco02.jpg

Thanks. Any feedback (like pointers) appreciated since I'm going off the deep end with this. I'm considering doing a body kit on this, but probably not considering the front end is part of both the body and chassis so it would be a pain. I may do some simple body mods, but I'm still scared of that (if I had a spare body, I'd go crazy on it!) so any advice there would be a-ok.

sounds like an ambitious project!! good luck.

BTW...did u receive my PM?

Sounds like you're off with a good plan! Here are some photos of My RX7 Drifter that I've been working on but paused because I broke the back window and rubbed through the paint anway....

To separate the front lip from the chassis isn't too hard, I just removed it with a piece of string then glued it on so It would still line up nicely. I also removed the back seats.

Link to progress:
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=135594&highlight=rx7+drifter

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=502/92112rx7p4.jpg

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=502/92112rx7p14.jpg

Sonds like a good project. Keep us posted.

Sounds like you've got a cool project on your hands. I think the RX7 is wicked enough not to need a body kit, maybe just a front lip of some sort would go nicely.

Wow, the engine bay is already looking mean with that polished pipes hanging out there... let m eknow if you need any engine detailing items or help. I would suggest a couple of large polished noitrous tanks in the back panel, one racing seat only for the interior...

do sleepy eyes if you can, That will add character to the front end.

oh yah, build an under defuser, that would be sweet!!

Nitrous tanks... nah, though I momentarily thought about a little one to spray the intercooler. That's a neat idea, I think, the nitrous intercooler cooler thing. It'll probably get one seat, though really this will be a privately owned car, and isn't half the fun of an insane street monster scaring the pants off your girlfriend? I'd like to do the sleepy eyes, actually, but I don't have any thing to make the lenses from so I probably won't. The interior on this thing is killing me already, so I don't think I'll be doing much body work. Diffuser will most likely be there, though.

Awsome project, im gonna have to keep a close eye on this one, you've got my interest now! I like the back deck thing, the panel from the back seat to the trunk, the battery/fuel system should look sweet, any thoughts on a roll cage or anything?

is that gonna be a v-mount intercooler?

It looks like one fujimituner, but I've never seen a v-mount on an FD

I'm not sure what you mean by v-mount, though I've heard people talk about it before. What I do know is that the FC's radiator is already at about 45 degree to vertical, I suppose to present more cooling surface to the oncoming air stream and to possibly pick some air out of the high pressure area under the front lip. The intercooler, like the A'PEX D1 car is above the radiator, and maybe 15 degrees off of horizontal. If I vent the hood, the air flow will go in the nose, through the radiator, over the intercooler and out the hood. I hope that answers your question, and I wouldn't mind if you explained to me what a v-mount intercooler is.

V mount is when the intercooler is mounted horizontaly in the engine bay and the radiator is mounted on an angle underneathe the car, so that the top of the intercooler and the top of the radiator meet at an angle, the openining in the bumper allows air to flow into the "V" and is then equally distributed through the rad and the intercooler

Front Of car
air comes in V mount intercooler Intercooler
-------------------------> >
Radiator

not a very good diagram, but it was also in the last issue of super street (not the newest one)

Hopefully I helped out a bit

It looks like one fujimituner, but I've never seen a v-mount on an FD

I'm sure you have. The ever popular D1 white APEX-i RX-7 that Imamura drives utilizes v-mounts.

In fact Willimo.....the car you're loosely building this after has V-mounts. If you have the Dec. 03 issue handy be sure to read the captions on page 50. The one problem is that if keep the Tamiya RX-7's radiator the way it is "out of box" it kinda defeats the purpose of mounting it the way you do because airflow goes through the radiator first. Not good with a 400hp FD. To have V-mount you would have to cut the radiator out and angle it the other way.

Niska, I've only seen maybe 5 fd's engine bays tops. I've never owned one (tho, I wan an FC) So I'm not too familiar with the intercooler position for an FD. i've seen some v-mount radiators in FD's, but only 2 of them were like that. Thanks for the schooling on the Fd.

I see. Thanks SonyMobile and Nis.k.a. That really makes it clear, your explanation was way better than what I could learn in the magazine, they didn't really explain it well at all. This car is full of decisions regarding mods... giving it a v-mount would be badass, but the way the Tamiya model is set up, the radiator has these posts that run up to hold up the otherwise unsupported front body work of the engine bay. I think I will end up doing it, though, sourcing a radiator from somewhere. Since I'm not doing any body work, I figure this motor should be art. Thanks for the help guys! I really appreciate it.

No more work on the engine. It seems like a radiator that would fit in the v-mount ya'll are talking about would be entirely too small to cool the insanely hot rotary motor. I think I'd rather lose a little intercooler efficiency instead of overheating the motor. Plus, I can'f find a decent donor radiator anywhere. The radiator out of the Tamiya NSX kit would probably be perfect, but I used it in my S2000....

Mocked up the interior, those won't be the seats I use. The roll cage is half complete, the easy part is done, using most of a JACCS Accord cage. I need to scratchbuild the main hoop and various supports. The parts for the fuel set up have been accumulated and layed out. Behind the driver seat on the deck is the automatic fire extinguisher (yay or nay?), then the battery, then the surge tank with the twin pumps just to its right (facing the front of the car). The little oval is the fuel tank access cover where all the plumbing will dissapear to, and to its right will go the fuel cooler. Still waiting on a lot of parts. Heres the picture I was referring to:

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=502/75086RX-7Cusco03-med.jpg

I'm starting to confuse myself with this car. I'm starting to think it will be less a drifter and more of an amateur racer/play car. I really want to go with two seats, and the the wheels I'm going to use (http://www.hlj.com/cgi-perl/hljpage.cgi?FUJ19193) are very un-drift like. But I love those wheels, they look so badass on an RX-7.

Anyway, feedback, criticism... this thread doesn't seem popular but those who do respond are giving me good advice and information. Greatly appreciated!

im guessing your not using door panels or any sort of sound system, and the automatic fire extinguisher and extensive fuel set up would leave me to believe this is more of a novice racer. Maybe not a full on race car, but this is looking to be a novice racer which is still street legal. A drifter/ street car would still have door panels, less of a cage (probably), and probably no auto. fire extinguisher,

i like the direction you're going with it! keep it up! :smile:

MazdaSpeeds are filthy...the Fujimi RE Amemiyas are pretty tight as well.....

Engine...hmmm. This is what I'd do BUT take into consideration I go to great lengths for realism...I'd either do a front mount intercooler or pivot your existing design and bring the intercooler flush with the bottom of the hood. Then probably make some kind of inverted scoop with a mock rubber sealing around the intercooler fins so that it would seal when the hood is closed. That way it draws cold incoming air from your hood inverted scoop/vent.

The reason I'd do this is just as you say. The 13B gets super hot. I used to work at Mazda and yes the horror stories are true. That is the reason I personally would find a way to make sure the intercooler is being used to it's full potential. I mean hotter intake air will also cause detonation. Especially with the bad ass gear you're running.

Enough of my blabbering. GOOD PROGRESS.....I'm glad to see someone shares my taste regarding the MazdaSpeed wheels.

Nice work, Im liking everything Im seeing so far, Have u thought about adding a stockcar/nascar style fuel cell to the back deck? im not to sure what u call it, but I no they are in the back of most rally cars, and i have built several nascars, and they all have these "aluminum race fuel cells" in the trunk area. maybe a full size spare resting on some bars coming back from the roll cage? these are just a few of my pennies, somethings that i would like to do to future models of mine, but i doubt i have the skills to accomplish such things. Im loving what you have done, and i think some type of RX-7 is going to be included in my future order from modelexpress.

Great work, Happy Holidays

Devon.

Wow, that looks good! Believe it or not but I'm in the process of build the exact same car, only I'm using the Apex i decals from the Fujimi Altezza. I'm also using the extra front bumper from my Greddy rx-7 because it looks pretty similar to the APex RX-7. I was orginally planning on making my own rollcage, but from seeing how you're doing yours I'll just have to order that parts tree from Tamiya. BTW did you stratchbuild those fuel pumps and battery?


im guessing your not using door panels or any sort of sound system, and the automatic fire extinguisher and extensive fuel set up would leave me to believe this is more of a novice racer. Maybe not a full on race car, but this is looking to be a novice racer which is still street legal. A drifter/ street car would still have door panels, less of a cage (probably), and probably no auto. fire extinguisher,

i like the direction you're going with it! keep it up! :smile:

I found have the magazine with the pictures of the actual car and it doesnt seem to have door panels...

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/522963_psd.jpg

I have another picture of the fuel pumps, cooler and battery.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/5229621.JPG

o i know i know it doesn't have to have panels and stuff thats not what im saying, i was just saying i though he was originally going for a privately owned street legal drifter that could also be driven daily (if necessary)

i like it door panel-less, and the fuel stuff :)

I was orginally planning on making my own rollcage, but from seeing how you're doing yours I'll just have to order that parts tree from Tamiya.

Hey before you go ordering the parts, the roll cage in the picture I posted before is actually from a Castrol Mugen NSX. With all the parts I have floating in my parts box it's hard to tell what from what, and it wasn't until late last night when I was comparing it to an old trashed PIAA Accord that I realized my error. Unfortunately when I was buying styrene rod to finish out the cage, I left the original at my hobby shop. Oops! I tried to fit the cage from the Tamiya Accord but it just didn't fit right at all. So now I have to scratchbuild my cage. Funny how things work, eh?

The pumps and battery were also from my spares box, from the JACCS Accord, I think, but I'm not going to say for sure after putting my foot in my mouth about the cage. I could scratchbuilt them both to make the car more like the A'PEX one, but I'm enjoying this "loosely based" stuff. I have an extra of each, if you like? though neither match the car you're doing very well at all.

Looks good. Is this FD LHD? I think your heading in the right direction, for motor suggestions, I was thinking pretty much what niska said. Your right, the wheels aren't very drift like, but they are quite nice. I would like to see what else you have in store for the car. Maybe, yeah this might work, I'm not familiar as I've said with the FD, but how about doing 1 sleepy eye, and make like a ram air thing, where it rams air from the lamp into the engine bay.

my dad has an rx7 and i love it... and i like the idea of this car... good job on the rollcage.

MazdaSpeeds are filthy...I'm glad to see someone shares my taste regarding the MazdaSpeed wheels.I just got a set but they're not 18":mad: Mine are about 16"-17"!!! Any help in the right direction would be appreciated!!:iceslolan

Damn cool car! This is gonna look mean when finished. Keep up the good work.

I just got a set but they're not 18" Mine are about 16"-17"!!!

That doesn't bother me any. This was the first set of rims I was looking to get at 18", but that's ok. I'm not a real big fan of big wheels on cars. Outside of actual racers that are extensively modified to accept 18" wheels, wheels that large don't do a whole lot of good. Often they are tough on a car; they weigh a lot, have a lot of intertia, bottom out if the suspension travel is too great and the springs aren't hard enough. It's more important to have a wide tire than a tall one. Maybe, though, that's just me thinking about my autocrossing Civic, where my 15x6.5" are ideal.

I just got a set but they're not 18":mad: Mine are about 16"-17"!!! Any help in the right direction would be appreciated!!:iceslolan

4 real? I thought the Fujimi ones are 18"?

I just got a set but they're not 18":mad: Mine are about 16"-17"!!! Any help in the right direction would be appreciated!!:iceslolan
You're right, check this.. Turbos86 RX-7 (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=102966)

Those don't look like 18" to me.

The MazdaSpeeds are bigger than the Watanabes on the FC. If the FC has 17" Watanabes then.........

Did a little work, I've been waiting on part so progress has been slow. I got the fuel system done as well as the battery and some random wires (wish I hadn't done that one, it was a pain to glue in. I don't think the epoxy mixed well and it just made a mess.).The dash and center console is done, as well, though the steering wheel isn't painted or glued in, nor are the seats. The seats are Reji castings, they rock! I should have gotten a couple pairs.

Here's the cockpit:

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=502/75086RX-7Cusco04-med.jpg

Here's the fuel system:

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=502/75086RX-7Cusco05-med.jpg

I'm really not happy about how it came out, but I'm starting to think under glass in the trunk it'll be ok. I've gotta start mocking it up with the body and check that out, if I don't like it I'll have to rip it out and start over if I'm going to use those seats. I don't want to waste them!

No updates until mid Jan. 'cause I won't be near my cars until them. any feedback is welcome, espescially on the fuel set-up. That was supposed to be the car's centerpeice, so anything I can do to improve it is good.

NICE!! I like it alot

I've been watching this progress from the beginning, and it's looking really good. Everything is nice and tidy for so much scratchbuilding. That's always the hardest part of scratchbuilding. Making everything look like it was meant to be there. And you've done that well.

I like those seats, where'd you find them?

What are your plans for the space behind the seats, under the cage?

I like the way you setup the fuel system. BGID, basic gets it done'. it'll look fine, and hey you could always paint the underside of the glass with black to simulate limo tint.

The seats are from scaleracecars.com. They are made by Reji. I am beginning to really like that site, it's easy to find what you need and they have a pretty good selection. I think I've seen a few entire resin models made by Reji come through here, there as a rally car just recently, if I recall correctly.

Thanks for the kind words CADguy, this has been a little more work than I expected. I originally made the whole space behind the seats to the rear of the car flat but it looked so bad, just like I'd gotten lazy and glued some sheet down and said "Done!" (which is exactly what I did). I had to go back and make change it to the contoured surface, with the hump for the driveshaft tunnel, like I had originally intended. Now it looks like it was supposed to be that way, like you said, instead of half-assed. I'm on the fence about the space behind the seats, after looking inthe magazine I'm studying for the car, I noticed the battery was there, just ahead of the rearmost rollcage bar. D'oh! That would hae been nice, too, since I could have laid out the fuel system closer to the front of the car and it would have been more visible under the rear glass. So after my holiday to Boston I may come home and break it all up and do it over, so I can straighten the pumps and make it look nicer, and place it better. I'm also considering putting a automatic fire extinguisher in the car, and the tank would go there. I don't know how appropriate that would be for this car, but I'm considering it. Otherwise, there won't be anything there.

Anyway, I haven't been in the mood to actually build anything, so I've been thinking a lot about it. That's why I talk so much about it, too, so sorry if I'm rambling....

Thanks again, guys.

About time we had an update I think :)

The fuel system looks great! I attempted something like that on my own RX-7... but that was ages ago!
The MazdaSpeeds are bigger than the Watanabes on the FC. If the FC has 17" Watanabes then.........
Actually his FC has 15" RS Watanabes... the same rims that come with any of Fujimi's AE86 kits.
Take note of the ninth picture.. read the lettering on the front tires.."245/40ZR17." Still wondering why Fujimi made them that way.

Sorry, no updates until late next week, but thanks for the interest!

I lucked across an Efini RX-7 at the lhs so I picked it up and got brave enough to try a body kit on this one, since I have a spare body. It'll be something simple, just a reshape of the front end, and a simple overlay sideskirt (like the A'pex drift car) and something for the rear end, I haven't decided yet. So wish me luck, I've never don anything like this and I'm sorta nervous.

I also got some SAS brakes in the mail. They are awesome, and it would be a shame to cover them with the almost solid Mazdaspeed rims, and they aren't all that appropriate for the car so I might save them for the Efini. Instead I want to use some Work Emotions or Weds TC-005 with some offset in the rear. I think that will look a little more appropriate on this car and show the brakes better, plus Ratdat has been a great inspiration so I want to scratchbuild some coilovers and I want those to be visible as well. I am also considering displaying it like they do with NASCAR models, one side on a jack with the wheels off to show off the brakes and suspension. We'll see.

Yeah yeah, I know, no pics, worthless, blah blah, but when I get home and get some more work done then I'll update better. Thanks for the interest, guys!

Ok, finally some progress. Not much, nothing worth showing really. I've kinda been sitting on this one, having to push my way through it. I might be having some modellers block or something but I really want to branch out into some new skills with this model. Did a subtle mod to the front end, and had originally planned to putty it all up, but in the end the putty only provided enough material behind the bumper for me to open the intakes a little more, and fill the gaps at the front and rear edges of the side skirts. The sideskirts are just a peice of thin styrene sheet cut to shape and glued to the side and reinforced along the bottome edge. There will be a seam where the skirt attaches to the body, and though not apparent now will be under primer and paint. That's the way the A'Pex car did it and what turned me on to build this in the first place. We'll see how that looks. I got the MazdaSpeed rims, and they are indeed small for a car like this, plus I wanted to show off the brakes and stuff so I went with work emotions with a little offset. Here are pics:

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=503/75086RX-7Cusco06-med.jpg
The subtly modded, uninspiring front end. There will be a CF splitter under the the Mazda body work. It is smooth, there just appears to be a lot of texture because of the different colors of materials. At least, I hope.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=503/75086RX-7Cusco07-med.jpg
The side view with the wheels under it and the chassis in place. The car will probably sit a little higher, with the wheels just under the arch instead of having that tuck. The wheels won't be much different, black centers chrome lip. Keep in mind the car will be white with red and silver graphics.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=503/75086RX-7Cusco09-med.jpg
Here are the wheels, you can see the difference between the front pair and rear pair. The new rim was made with the same technique as can be found in the how-to. A tip: once you find the grain of the plastic you are going to use, drop the strips into boiling water. This will let the plastic curl a little naturally, and make the task just that much easier.

The girl is a side project, left over from my S2000. She was going to be a Mugen girl, but now probably a Cusco girl. The Tamiya putty was used for her tube-top and skirt. I rolled the cap to my exacto knife over it to make a thin layer (like a rolling pin on cookie dough) and cut it into bits that I placed on her. It wasn't that hard, but my other putty, Milliput, wouldn't stay together like the Tamiya stuff does so I couldn't do it until now. It's not as convincing from behind (she's got a big butt!) but it will look ok for display.

Feedback would be appreciated, like always!

I like the subtle offset of the front wheels. They could have been left stock and still looked good. The extra effort was well worth it. They look great.

The Cusco girl is cool. Good job with the putty.

That color combo shoudl look killer.

LIke the front end very much, smooth work man! Can't wait to see it with some color and some decals ;)

Looks great so far. Keep us posted.

nice. I'm feeling those sleek side skirts.

Post whore time: Got it primered and mostly smooth. A couple more times back and forth with the grit and the can and it should be ready for paint. So I decided to mock it up and get an idea of what's coming, and decided to share (because I am so nice!). The hood will be CF, with a vent that seals around the intercooler and the car won't sit so low. This model is coming along slowly, so slowly that I am considering getting the A'PEX decals from Joecwlaw... who knows. Classes pick up again Tuesday, so progress will either slow down or speed up....

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=502/75086RX-7Cusco12-med.jpg

awsome,awsome,awsome. this is just awsome... it looks awsome... just in primer!

Woho, nice built dude. The Rx7 looks stunning.

Lovely Racegirl,

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=503/75086RX-7Cusco09-med.jpg
:rolleyes:

Wow how did i miss this thread!!!

Wicked!! :)

Lookin to be a nice lookin rotary! I especially dig the rear of the interior.

nice. how about a rear carbon diffuser?

Nice work

Nice rims. Can't beleive they're Work Emotions.

:grinno: I had no idea i was making the same kit as you are :grinno:
hehe... except for the rear and front we have the same kind of skirts :rolleyes: oh... and the front lights
So whats the engine like? and your color? (so that my kit wont look like yours) :iceslolan
Keep it up dude! cuz that car is going to be bette than mine :sunglasse

Nice work. :naughty:

Update time! I've been slogging through this model. Work has been going slow to slower. I painted the body white on Saturday but it will require a bit of cutting before it can receive decals. I started painting on a warm, sun shining day, but finished practically in the rain. Stupid Louisiana. My goal was to get the entire engine and interior finished up so next weekend I could do the chassis, and the following weekend go to the body and be done. But I only got the engine done, so I'm a week behind that schedule. The engine really took it out of me, and really isn't that great. But to hell with tearing it down and starting over, it's done now and it's going to stay. Actually, not done, a few decals, some more detail painting, and maybe something to fill the empty space behind the passenger headlamp. The wiring is all educated guess, I'm not as much an RX-7 fanatic as I am an S2000, but it looks alright in my opinion. Anyway, enjoy, and feedback is always welcome.

Ignore the red body, it was for test-fitting purposes only.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=502/75086RX-7Cusco13-med.jpg

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=503/75086RX-7Cusco14-med.jpg

That engine bay looks very nice.
Neat, clean, & simple = perfect.

perfect!

That engine bay looks very nice.
Neat, clean, & simple = perfect.
exactly!

Though, a lage turbo sticking up on the side of the intake plenum would've been cool!

Wow... nice work!, where did the engine come from? looks pretty awsome to me, cant wait to see this one all finished off, deadly work!