Part 2: My 76 Mazda RX-5 Cosmo Restoration - Engine Removal

[sacheus]

whats the air pump for/was for?



[aaroncake]

@sacheus It's part of the factory emissions system. Air is directed to the exhaust ports, thermal reactor manifold, heat exchanger and/or exhaust cooling jacket via a series of solenoid controlled valves as dictated by the emissions computer. Worked very well in the '70s to easily meet the new emissions regulations. Now the pump is not needed as the car will be fitted with fuel injection and a modern high flow catalytic converter.

[thebigdille]

@aaroncake Exactly, it was just something Mazda came up with, being successful with the small size of the rotary. The thermal reactor was an alternative to the current catalytic converter, the air is pumped into the reactor to keep the combustion process present and further the reduction of unwanted emissions.

[aaroncake]

@thebigdille And thermal reactor rotarys had such a unique smell. The system works quite well, and in the mid 2000s I had an all stock '78 RX-7 where the thermal reactor system still worked perfectly. Even passed emissions. Just too bad that the whole system was massively heavy and very restrictive.

[CarManiac82]

Hey thanks a lot for the videos its really entertaining and always fun to watch for me how person puts a lot of work and heart into a project like this. an beautiful car coming back to life little by little. looks like a have lots of parts to watch hehe :o) Greetings from Chicago nice work man...

[eversor111]

Hey, It's been a while now. Hows the restoration coming?

[aaroncake]

@eversor111 Have you watched part 3 to part 15?

[eversor111]

@aaroncake omg, no,.. I am subscribed, but never got notified of the new videos! I know what I'm doing tonite :) thanks!

[catfisher10100]

You know how fun it would be to jst strip down a rotary engine lol

[brianbili]

eres un fiera tio lla me gustaria azer lo que tu con este coche estas aciendo te felicito una maravilla de video y de restauracion me encanta tiene mas valor lo que aces tu aunque te costara mas que conprarte uno que lla este bien no es lo mismo que armarlo tu es mil veces mas satisfazorio azerlo tu un saludo dtb y felicidades me encantan tus videos soy de asturias

[aaroncake]

@brianbili I think I got what you are saying via Google translate. :-) I agree, it costs quite a lot to restore a car but luckily for me, at this point my biggest investment is time. A lot of people have come forward with rare parts at reasonable prices that I thought I would have to pay huge sums for or that I never thought I would find. I'll be posting the next video very soon.

[emomotorgeek]

What color was the car before it got that red oxide primer?

[aaroncake]

@emomotorgeek I have only had the car in primer, but I am guessing that it was a light silver with a slight greenish tint. Whoever had it before me media blasted it, then primed, then just let it sit...

[breaktobroken]

Hey Aaron you wouldn't consider selling that cool steering wheel would you?

[aaroncake]

@breaktobroken I'll be refinishing the stock steering wheel, so no. :-) Most Mazdas of the era have a very similar wheel, including the RX-7s so you should be able to find one on eBay.

[breaktobroken]

@aaroncake

right on thanks dude,

good luck, can't wait to see this when its done!

[1973mazdarx4coupe]

Dude ! you reming me of Duff McKagan from now defunct Guns and Roses ! Good luck with your car, im doing an rx4 coupe and my videos are on youtube too

[22ness0hayden]

These engines perform excellent on carbs. A friend of mine runs a 48IDA on his 13B six port and it makes more power than it ever did with injection. A catalytic converter on a 70s Mazda... lol. Sorry dude, as much as I like you video I think you've got some strange ideas but an awsome mullet

[aaroncake]

@22ness0hayden I'm sure the carbureted car made more top end due to the short runners in most IDA systems, but it likely lost low end and midrange if swapping to the carb was the only mod. Of course, with a properly tuned EFI system it would still have made similar power at WOT, but all other characteristics would have improved. Keep in mind that my Cosmo will make 300HP @ 300 FT-LBS, start hot or cold, not stick, get good mileage and idle perfectly at 750 RPM in all weather when I'm done.

[yerboogieman]

What was the thing in the center console? All men, everywhere, act like they know exactly what they are doing, whether they are doing it right or not. In our Comet and a bunch of other old cars, we always kept the original stereo in place if it was built into the dash, and put an aftermarket stereo in the glovebox. Is that what you are going to do, or does the stock stereo work?

[aaroncake]

@yerboogieman It is a 1/4" headphone jack. It is wired somewhere into the dash. I can only assume it is for a set of headphones connected to one of the stereos. The original AM/FM is still there but someone has installed an AM/FM/Cass unit, which is a little annoying because I how have a hole in the dash to deal with. I'm planning to remove the stock unit (if I recall it is DIN sized) and install something more modern.Sometime in the '80s someone already tried this and made a mess.

[OneisneO]

This is so priceless...

[wild13bt]

haha completely agree with the carby comment. Nice work mate, funny commentary

[fbm914]

Awesome project aaron. Loving all the footage. Gives me inspiration. Think I'm gonna go work on the7...

[yerboogieman]

I hate cleaning up transmission fluid. Use cat litter or saw dust. Keep 'em coming Aaron. And there is nothing wrong with carburetors.

[aaroncake]

@yerboogieman I had just run out of quick dry, but after making the mess I ran out and purchased a new bag. Cat litter is basically the same thing. It's all diatomaceous earth. One worning though is that quick dry mixed with some solvents will spontaniously combust!

[yerboogieman]

@aaroncake We use this stuff at work for spills and it sucks up any liquid in a few seconds and you just sweep it up.

[Grappler130]

The carburetor will go into the garbage where it belongs :D

I wish I had nice tools like you hahaha

[aaroncake]

@Grappler130 Carburetors are nothing but "controlled fuel leaks into the intake manifold" and have no business on a vehicle. Hell, with the cost of manufacturing small electronics at basically zero, carbs have no business on even lawnmowers where EFI could easily be adapted (small mechanical fuel pump, single integrated module driven from another coil on the magneto). It's good to have a full shop of tools but it has taken years to accumulate them.

[22ness0hayden]

@aaroncake What are you saying? These old school cars are meant to run on carbs! It's all part of the appeal! Yeah, removal of the air pump is bad as you have tough emissions over there aye?

[aaroncake]

@22ness0hayden The air pump thing was kind of a joke because of the ominous warning on the sticker. We have emission laws here, but with EFI and a catalytic converter, the car will run cleaner and make more power than it ever did with the carburetor and thermal reactor. Carbs to me are scrap metal, and just because a car is 34 years old, it doesn't have to drive or perform as badly as a 34 year old car.

[1SWEETRX7]

Can't wait to see more. 

[noob5000000]

Nice! Can't wait to see the next one :D.

[cartmankk2]

i really want to see the engine rebuild

[aaroncake]

@cartmankk2 I don't quite know when that will be. There is a lot of prep first and I still need to decide a few things like whether I will powder coat or paint the irons/housings. And I may take a break with the engine stuff to clean the engine bay first and do a little random body work.

[h4inf]

Great video! Looking forward to the next installment :)