I'd also really enjoy seeing that car at MatG. Lmk if you're going to make it out here.

 

i'll be there this year in my NA again. I plan on taking the NC next year, but i've been saying that for three years

 

so if I understand this correctly the RX8 diff bolted right into the NC no modifications needed? That’s awesome

 

AFAIK the PPF needs to be modified

 

nothing needs to be modified, but some adapter plates need to be made up. there is a pretty good writeup online for it.

https://www.anthonylleras.com/post/d...-rx8-to-an-mx5

 

There's literally a guy modifying the holes in the PPF in one of the photos, plus a reference in the text to do so. That being said, not a crazy amount of work, and in a component that is easily replaceable if you decide to go back for whatever reason.

 

the NC is finally up on stands again. Had to clear out a nest of black widows before i could even get a jack under it.



First job is a clutch and flywheel. Rear end will be next, then exhaust then all the zillion little things. Getting a little old to be bench pressing a transmission but it seems easier than lifting the body off the rollerskate like last time. Guess we'll see. have a decent chunk of parts ready to install, but i still have a bunch of stuff i need to pick up as well. Most notable purchase i still need to figure out is the exhaust. I contacted Racing Beat a while back and they suggested i pick up one of their universal rotary mufflers and make the rest up. I don't think i want to do it myself, so i guess i'll probably pay a shop to do it. Likely to do the same thing for the AC if i'm being honest. I would have no idea where to even start on DIYing AC lines.




Everything looks quite good the car. nothing rattled loose at the adapter plate i made. everything else is pretty much just OEM from the rx8, so no huge surprises there. Engine bay's a slightly different story tho... Gonna be death by a million cuts finishing that up. need to make a lot of brackets and such.




Anyway, hoping to get at least the clutch and rear end done pretty soon. Transmission is ready to come out. just waiting for a slightly warmer day to get out there and finish it up.

 

Transmission came out easy. Getting it back up will suck



my little impact lost the battle with the 52mm flywheel nut tho. Gonna go pick up a bigger one this week hopefully. Will also need to grab myself a new flywheel, the one that i used is toast

 

52mm flywheel nut? Holy hell hahaha.

Meant to sub to this thread a while ago. Love watching this project progress, man.

 

You should look up the torque spec on that nut..... good luck doing it on stands.
And if you're doing it on a lift...... don't push the car off the lift.

 

got this tool from racinbeat about it. need to order yet another tool to get the dang pilot bearing out.

 

Not sure what the spec is, but I will convert it to ugga duggas.

 

Had a bit of trouble getting the old pilot bearing out. Can't believe i didn't replace this last time i was in here. it was completely seized up



Was worried about reinstalling the new one cleanly since the engine is still in the car and not exactly the easiest thing to work under, so i designed up a quick little jig to perfectly center the new bearing.
This worked so great i accidentally reinstalled the old bearing while test fitting. It just slid right in lol. It simply screws onto the E-Shaft in the same way that the big nut does, and allows the bearing to be placed
in the center and pushed in with a 14mm socket. Quite surprised that one of the rotary shops doesn't sell this for $90. Maybe im the only one that thought it would be trouble without something like this.

New flywheel and clutch got installed. ready for the transmission to go in. Awaiting a few other things before i put it back tho.
While i'm waiting, i started making up brackets for the engine bay. starting with the fusebox as it's the most obvious glaring issue when just looking in. It also seemed like the most complex as it had to locate the fusebox kind of in "free" space. there wasn't really any nearby existing mounting pickups. I ended up using the original NC ECU box mounting post primarily.
Pardon the mediocre craftsmanship, it's been a while since i was behind the welder or grinder. Nothing some grinding and paint wont fix. The notch out of the side is because of course, the fusebox isn't actually flat on the bottom.




Also ordered some exhaust parts from Good-Win over the weekend. Hopefully they turn up this week. No major showstoppers forseen in the future. Just a bunch more little tasks.

 

whipped up another one for the bigass intake toob. this has been bothering me for a while, was very floppy in there. Im hopeful of getting a box around the air filter, but we'll see how it goes after i get everything else in place. im finding that there are a lot of items that all want to be in roughly the same place and the more i fix things in place, the harder it is to find space for everything else.
Anyway, next time it'll be the battery box and ABS module brackets. i think that about secures everything major in the bay.

 

Got both axles out. real nightmare of a job. luckily no messed up ball joints or anything so should be smooth sailing on the way back together.




NC differential is out.



gotta




Gotta make up a spacer here, get some longer studs and slot the PPF holes.

 

Made up a quick simple spacer made the holes a little oversized, but shouldn't be an issue. sending it off to get made at SendCutSend or something later today. Also ordered about 500 bucks worth of brake parts while i'm in here. Rotors, pads, wheel bearings etc.

 

Hell yeah, stoked to see the progress is still coming on this thing!

Prob not worth the work, but I'm surprised nobody sells a spacer for the NC to RX8 diff mod. Seems more than a few guys have done it/want to do it for the shorter rear end ratio.

 

i was thinking about putting that together. it's such an "easy" mod in a way because it's really like 90% routine maintenance. you only need one 5/8in piece of metal, drill and slot a couple of new holes and put it all back together again. i ordered the part on JLCPCB for $30 shipped to my door.

 

Finally got the flange in. Haven't done a full test fit yet, but i offered it up to the header and it seems to be a perfect fit. Wish i'd have slotted the three mounting holes just ever so slightly but oh well.

Once i'm finished up with the diff and rear-end, i'll know for sure.

 

Keep up the progress! A rotary in an NC is so cool.