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Thread: New REPU Owner! Diary of Questions!
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chuyler1
Hauling
Posts: 140
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posted April 09, 2012 09:18 AM |
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New REPU Owner! Diary of Questions!
Hi everyone,
I'm Chris and I live in New Hampshire. I recently bought Gary's Orange REPU that was listed on this site. West Coasters probably know the truck and have seen it at shows.
The truck was shipped from CA to NH and arrived on Saturday. The body survived the trip but the interior did not. The driver(s) got grease all over the white interior. Someone also flooded the truck and killed the battery trying to start it. After some back and forth and help from Gary I got it running. Here's what it looked like when it came off the carrier: https://picasaweb.google.com/chrishuyler/REPUArrivalAndDirtyInterior?authkey=Gv1sRgCLDylvq3rJW__gE
Anyway, I've been poking around the truck a bit this weekend and I've got lots of questions. Gary has been great with answering some but I don't want to pester him every day with new questions.
Let's start off with some easy ones...
1) What is the knob at the bottom left of the dash supposed to do? It's connected but appears to be seized.
2) What is the knob to the left of the cigarette lighter supposed to do? This one's not connected to anything.
3) The turn signals work for a bit, but then they stop blinking and stay on. Anyone know how to fix this?
4) The dash lights don't work. I haven't investigated the bulbs yet, but I was curious, what is the little light to the left of the speedometer supposed to do?
5) The radio isn't hooked up and there is no speaker. I'll probably upgrade to one of those Retrosound units that Crutchfield sells. Any idea what size speaker will bolt up to the dash?
6) The heater isn't hooked up either, not a problem for SoCal but I might need it here in NH. I think some pieces are missing because I can see ducts that lead to the defrost vents but they aren't in any way connected to the blower. If someone has done work on this and could supply me with some pointers that would be great. I really don't know where to start.
7) The driver's door won't close unless I remove the rubber trim along the floor. Overall the doors don't close very well. You really have to slam them to compress the rubber molding. I'm wondering if there is another molding that isn't as thick.
8) Wiper spray doesn't appear to be hooked up. I see an empty reservoir under the hood but nothing attached to it. What will it take to get that working?
9) Gary has installed what looks to be a header, silencer, and muffler from racing beat. The pipe terminates just past the rear axle. I'd like to extend this to the back of the truck and maybe install another muffler. The engine is quite loud (low freq drone) at 3k cruising speed. With the 4 speed tranny, its either 3k or 5k for driving around at 40mph and although its quieter at 5k, it just doesn't seem right to cruise at that rpm...but then again, I've never own a rotary before. Please advise :)
These are all minor issues. Gary has done a superb job restoring the body of this REPU. The suspension rides beautifully and the drive train is mechanically sound. I'm pretty good with bolt on stuff and electronics. My plan is to make this an enjoyable car to drive around. It won't sit in the garage and collect dust so I just need the typical stuff you expect to work in tip top shape.
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zionfarm
Newbie
Posts: 1
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posted April 09, 2012 12:31 PM |
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you might get some help more on this forum.
japanesenostalgiccar.com
And by the way great truck and it looks fantastic.
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[url=http://img51.imageshack.u
s/i/mazdarotaryemgine1.jpg/]
 [/url]
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papsmagu
Revvin Up
Posts: 96
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posted April 09, 2012 01:36 PM |
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quote:
Hi everyone,
I'm Chris and I live in New Hampshire. I recently bought Gary's Orange REPU that was listed on this site. West Coasters probably know the truck and have seen it at shows.
The truck was shipped from CA to NH and arrived on Saturday. The body survived the trip but the interior did not. The driver(s) got grease all over the white interior. Someone also flooded the truck and killed the battery trying to start it. After some back and forth and help from Gary I got it running. Here's what it looked like when it came off the carrier: https://picasaweb.google.com/chrishuyler/REPUArrivalAndDirtyInterior?authkey=Gv1sRgCLDylvq3rJW__gE
Anyway, I've been poking around the truck a bit this weekend and I've got lots of questions. Gary has been great with answering some but I don't want to pester him every day with new questions.
Let's start off with some easy ones...
1) What is the knob at the bottom left of the dash supposed to do? It's connected but appears to be seized.
2) What is the knob to the left of the cigarette lighter supposed to do? This one's not connected to anything.
3) The turn signals work for a bit, but then they stop blinking and stay on. Anyone know how to fix this?
4) The dash lights don't work. I haven't investigated the bulbs yet, but I was curious, what is the little light to the left of the speedometer supposed to do?
5) The radio isn't hooked up and there is no speaker. I'll probably upgrade to one of those Retrosound units that Crutchfield sells. Any idea what size speaker will bolt up to the dash?
6) The heater isn't hooked up either, not a problem for SoCal but I might need it here in NH. I think some pieces are missing because I can see ducts that lead to the defrost vents but they aren't in any way connected to the blower. If someone has done work on this and could supply me with some pointers that would be great. I really don't know where to start.
7) The driver's door won't close unless I remove the rubber trim along the floor. Overall the doors don't close very well. You really have to slam them to compress the rubber molding. I'm wondering if there is another molding that isn't as thick.
8) Wiper spray doesn't appear to be hooked up. I see an empty reservoir under the hood but nothing attached to it. What will it take to get that working?
9) Gary has installed what looks to be a header, silencer, and muffler from racing beat. The pipe terminates just past the rear axle. I'd like to extend this to the back of the truck and maybe install another muffler. The engine is quite loud (low freq drone) at 3k cruising speed. With the 4 speed tranny, its either 3k or 5k for driving around at 40mph and although its quieter at 5k, it just doesn't seem right to cruise at that rpm...but then again, I've never own a rotary before. Please advise :)
These are all minor issues. Gary has done a superb job restoring the body of this REPU. The suspension rides beautifully and the drive train is mechanically sound. I'm pretty good with bolt on stuff and electronics. My plan is to make this an enjoyable car to drive around. It won't sit in the garage and collect dust so I just need the typical stuff you expect to work in tip top shape.
I will try and answer some of your questions. I am no REPU expert but this forum has been great help to me and figure I would try and return the favor. I recently bought a REPU and in the process of restoring it myself.
1. Knob to the left of the steering wheel below the cluster is the Choke.
2. Knob to the left of the cigarette lighter is the dimmer for interior lights. A lot of people disconnect this and run the lights without the dimmer. I have heard that it makes the lights brighter inside the cab. Mine is still connected so I don’t know if this actually works. From what I have read, it works pretty well.
3. Normally if turn signals stay on it means that one of your bulbs is bad. Check the bulbs, if not check the box behind the guage cluster. That is the turn signal relay. That would be my second choice if you find that the bulbs are all in good working order.
4. Don’t remember but I will check when I get home.
5. Pretty sure it’s a 4�
6. You should have two water lines coming into the cab from the engine bay. Return and supply. There are two vents that run from the heater core to the passenger side and one to the drivers side. I took mine out (live in South FL). I may have the vents if you are interested in buying them. Let me know.
7. Ask the previous Owner if he installed the B1600/2200 door jamb seals. If he did this is why your door is hard to close. They are actually better than the stock seals and I have read that they get better over time. Leave them in there.
8. Look on the bottom of the reservoir and make sure that the pump is still there. If it is, connect it to the squirter by the windshield. Make sure the pump has power going to it. Pretty simple
9. NA Rotaries are loud. I would suggest a midpipe and rear muffler and it will quite it donw a bit. Also you can install a 5 speed tranny to get the revs down a bit but the muffler will be much cheaper and easier to find.
Good luck and congrats on your purchase.
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chuyler1
Hauling
Posts: 140
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posted April 09, 2012 03:38 PM |
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Thanks a ton!
1) The choke eh, I guess that one will need some work. I'm pretty sure the choke is not connected on the intake. While I was poking around I found the lever that looks like a cable should be connected. I'm guessing the choke would help cold starts or cold weather?
2) Dimmer, great. So if its not connected I should still have dash lights. Thanks!
3) Well, I get a few blinks per trip, then they stop working. I'll check the lights but I'm thinking it might be the relay. Is there a replacement part number I can lookup?
5) Ok, I may have an old 4" floating around from my wife's Jeep I can try out.
6) I'll take a look. I didn't see any vents under the dash. I'll take some photos to show you what I do have. I'll definitely purchase whatever you've got that I don't have.
7) That's probably it, I have to remove the bottom portion just to get it to latch. There is a metal clip array inside it which I think is to fan out the rubber...whatever the case it will not close unless I pop it into the car.
8) I'll take a look tonight.
9) Tranny probably won't happen anytime soon but I'll look into mufflers. I also found a thread this afternoon discussing the Apexi ECV, a valve you install in the exhaust which limits flow but can be opened back up with a lever you install in the cabin.
Thanks a lot for the info! Too much to digest all at once but I'll be here posting questions all summer and I'll check out that other site too.
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jm1fd
Revvin Up
Posts: 83
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posted April 09, 2012 07:20 PM |
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Ok...the knob at the left of the dash...there's several. They do different things. Post a pic.
Blinkers not blinking...may be a short somewhere.
Little light to the left of the speedometer? I think the California emissions trucks had a choke light and maybe a coolant light over there. Post a pic?
As far as the heater goes, the hoses that attach to the defroster vents should have some little rubber pieces on the ends of the hoses that kinda fit into holes on the metal heater box. There aren't any vents under the dash...it just blows hot air out the bottom of the heater box. Very primitive setup.
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chuyler1
Hauling
Posts: 140
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posted April 10, 2012 11:06 AM |
 Edited By: chuyler1 on 10 Apr 2012 11:06 |
quote:
Ok...the knob at the left of the dash...there's several. They do different things. Post a pic.
Blinkers not blinking...may be a short somewhere.
Little light to the left of the speedometer? I think the California emissions trucks had a choke light and maybe a coolant light over there. Post a pic?
As far as the heater goes, the hoses that attach to the defroster vents should have some little rubber pieces on the ends of the hoses that kinda fit into holes on the metal heater box. There aren't any vents under the dash...it just blows hot air out the bottom of the heater box. Very primitive setup.
http://i805.photobucket.com/albums/yy333/gborch/orndash.jpg
Here's a photo of the dash. If you see anything else missing let me know.
I'm pretty sure the knob is the choke. It is very difficult to turn and I'm afraid of breaking the knob. It has a wiring harness attached and a frayed/clipped cable cut from the back. I see someone selling a choke assembly on eBay but I wonder if I could just attach a new cable (how different is it from a bicycle cable?). The engine is tough to start when its been sitting over night. I usually end up stalling it a few times and eventually revving the engine to 2,000 rpm for a bit once it finally does catch. I read the shop manual and it sounds like the choke is manually engaged but will automatically disengage using the temp sensor. I'd be interested to see if anyone has that actually working.
In the photo you can also see the light I'm talking about. It looks like an alarm activation light, but I've seen it on other repu photos.
With the defroster vents. I have a round plastic tube that leads up to the dash. If you look up, you can see daylight. It's pretty far up inside the dash so I'm guessing I need an additional hose to connect to the heater. I could probably fab something up once I figure out what they are supposed to connect to. I assume there is also a flap inside the blower unit that opens and closes to redirect air up the defrost vents. I may have to pull the blower out to verify it works.
Are any of the heater controls vaccuum actuated? I know the heater core is connected since I see the big water hoses going in and out of the firewall, but I couldn't specifically identify any vacuum hoses going through the firewall.
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mazdarx605
Redlining
Posts: 314
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posted April 10, 2012 02:54 PM |
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Where in NH are you located? I live in MA, and could come help you out with th etruck if you want as long as you aren't way up north. My Blinkers weren't working when I got my truck 9 years ago and I traced it down to the control unit on the kick panel on the drivers side. Let me know where you are and maybe I can help you out.
Chris
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Chuyler1
Hauling
Posts: 140
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posted April 10, 2012 06:52 PM |
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quote:
Where in NH are you located? I live in MA, and could come help you out with th etruck if you want as long as you aren't way up north. My Blinkers weren't working when I got my truck 9 years ago and I traced it down to the control unit on the kick panel on the drivers side. Let me know where you are and maybe I can help you out.
Chris
Awesome! I'm right over the border in Londonderry. On Saturday I'll be at Wankel Works garage in Leominster for a Mazda meet. Otherwise, I'm down in Mass for work twice a week (Waltham). Drop me an email so we can coordinate. Chris(at)Huyler.net
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jm1fd
Revvin Up
Posts: 83
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posted April 11, 2012 09:54 AM |
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Yeah...that light is in the shop manual I have. In the pic in the shop manual the light is labeled "COOLANT-LEVEL"
There's two knobs in that picture. Are we talking about the chrome one, or the one to the right of it? The chrome one is pulled out to open the driver's "fresh air flap". The one to the right is the choke. The choke knob is pulled out, not twisted.
All the heater flaps are cable actuated. One for heat/defrost that goes to a flap at the bottom of the heater unit. One for hot/cold that goes to the water valve. One for fresh/recirc that goes to a flap on the right hand side of the heater box. Should be a duct from the passenger's "fresh air flap" across to the heater box.
Far up inside the dash? Nah. The dash on these things is so simple and small, nothing is "far". LOL
quote:
http://i805.photobucket.com/albums/yy333/gborch/orndash.jpg
Here's a photo of the dash. If you see anything else missing let me know.
I'm pretty sure the knob is the choke. It is very difficult to turn and I'm afraid of breaking the knob. It has a wiring harness attached and a frayed/clipped cable cut from the back. I see someone selling a choke assembly on eBay but I wonder if I could just attach a new cable (how different is it from a bicycle cable?). The engine is tough to start when its been sitting over night. I usually end up stalling it a few times and eventually revving the engine to 2,000 rpm for a bit once it finally does catch. I read the shop manual and it sounds like the choke is manually engaged but will automatically disengage using the temp sensor. I'd be interested to see if anyone has that actually working.
In the photo you can also see the light I'm talking about. It looks like an alarm activation light, but I've seen it on other repu photos.
With the defroster vents. I have a round plastic tube that leads up to the dash. If you look up, you can see daylight. It's pretty far up inside the dash so I'm guessing I need an additional hose to connect to the heater. I could probably fab something up once I figure out what they are supposed to connect to. I assume there is also a flap inside the blower unit that opens and closes to redirect air up the defrost vents. I may have to pull the blower out to verify it works.
Are any of the heater controls vaccuum actuated? I know the heater core is connected since I see the big water hoses going in and out of the firewall, but I couldn't specifically identify any vacuum hoses going through the firewall.
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chuyler1
Hauling
Posts: 140
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posted April 11, 2012 11:06 AM |
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Awesome, very helpful. I'll make sure all the cables are connected...and I'll dig around to see if I can find the disconnected blower wiring harness. It could simply be that it isn't connected and everything else is working.
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top1usa
Redlining
Posts: 264
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posted April 19, 2012 03:49 PM |
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quote:
Hi everyone,
I'm Chris and I live in New Hampshire. I recently bought Gary's Orange REPU that was listed on this site. West Coasters probably know the truck and have seen it at shows.
The truck was shipped from CA to NH and arrived on Saturday. The body survived the trip but the interior did not. The driver(s) got grease all over the white interior. Someone also flooded the truck and killed the battery trying to start it. After some back and forth and help from Gary I got it running. Here's what it looked like when it came off the carrier: https://picasaweb.google.com/chrishuyler/REPUArrivalAndDirtyInterior?authkey=Gv1sRgCLDylvq3rJW__gE
Anyway, I've been poking around the truck a bit this weekend and I've got lots of questions. Gary has been great with answering some but I don't want to pester him every day with new questions.
Let's start off with some easy ones...
1) What is the knob at the bottom left of the dash supposed to do? It's connected but appears to be seized.
2) What is the knob to the left of the cigarette lighter supposed to do? This one's not connected to anything.
3) The turn signals work for a bit, but then they stop blinking and stay on. Anyone know how to fix this?
4) The dash lights don't work. I haven't investigated the bulbs yet, but I was curious, what is the little light to the left of the speedometer supposed to do?
5) The radio isn't hooked up and there is no speaker. I'll probably upgrade to one of those Retrosound units that Crutchfield sells. Any idea what size speaker will bolt up to the dash?
6) The heater isn't hooked up either, not a problem for SoCal but I might need it here in NH. I think some pieces are missing because I can see ducts that lead to the defrost vents but they aren't in any way connected to the blower. If someone has done work on this and could supply me with some pointers that would be great. I really don't know where to start.
7) The driver's door won't close unless I remove the rubber trim along the floor. Overall the doors don't close very well. You really have to slam them to compress the rubber molding. I'm wondering if there is another molding that isn't as thick.
8) Wiper spray doesn't appear to be hooked up. I see an empty reservoir under the hood but nothing attached to it. What will it take to get that working?
9) Gary has installed what looks to be a header, silencer, and muffler from racing beat. The pipe terminates just past the rear axle. I'd like to extend this to the back of the truck and maybe install another muffler. The engine is quite loud (low freq drone) at 3k cruising speed. With the 4 speed tranny, its either 3k or 5k for driving around at 40mph and although its quieter at 5k, it just doesn't seem right to cruise at that rpm...but then again, I've never own a rotary before. Please advise :)
These are all minor issues. Gary has done a superb job restoring the body of this REPU. The suspension rides beautifully and the drive train is mechanically sound. I'm pretty good with bolt on stuff and electronics. My plan is to make this an enjoyable car to drive around. It won't sit in the garage and collect dust so I just need the typical stuff you expect to work in tip top shape.
Congrats Chris!
____________
74' Mazda Repu-Flare
yellow
85' Toyota ae86-Red-SOLD
88' Toyota ae92-Gray
14' Toyota Prius
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