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looks nice and shiny. where did ya get the short block?
Gotta thank Atkins for that one. I know they have a rep that is some good / some not so good, but they've always treated me well.
Back in 2014 i did my own rebuild on another 8 that i eventually sold, they set me up with everything and it turned out solid for as long as i owned it.
Have to give a shoutout to Scott, that bum at RX8Performance... he stiffed me for ~$1200 as he is known to do.
I take full responsibility for that, I knew his rep before I bought, but I had a few good parts I got from him years ago so I took a chance and got GlassBurned.
Enjoyed a few flashbacks of my early days while visiting the Atkins compound... my first 7 was a gold '83... seeing this one gave me the feels... damn I loved that car.
Gotta thank Atkins for that one. I know they have a rep that is some good / some not so good, but they've always treated me well.
Back in 2014 i did my own rebuild on another 8 that i eventually sold, they set me up with everything and it turned out solid for as long as i owned it.
Have to give a shoutout to Scott, that bum at RX8Performance... he stiffed me for ~$1200 as he is known to do.
I take full responsibility for that, I knew his rep before I bought, but I had a few good parts I got from him years ago so I took a chance and got GlassBurned.
yeah my buddy got screwed by him too, had to sue him which put him out of business
Atkins has always treated me very well and I would have no issues buying from them. That Maya Gold RX-7 looks great. You don't see many of them around in that color any longer. Definitely keep us updated on how everything goes with your engine replacement!
Atkins has always treated me very well and I would have no issues buying from them. That Maya Gold RX-7 looks great. You don't see many of them around in that color any longer. Definitely keep us updated on how everything goes with your engine replacement!
I'm pleased to say that another Brilliant Black is back on the road, although it could probably use some fresh paint to make it 'Brilliant' again.
overall it's running smooth and there is very little cause for concern except for one detail:
there is a faint whirrr coming from deep inside that i can't quite track down, it can be heard clearest from inside the cabin.
the whirrr hums steady along with the rev of the engine and does not change or reduce when the clutch is depressed.
it remains a consistent volume, does not get louder nor softer when the engine is under load, nor with exhaust noise.
the noise can be heard at all times but does seem to get a bit softer after things get warmed up, or perhaps that is simply an illusion.
my first guess is that perhaps the Power Plant Frame is a wee bit out of adjustment, and maybe it's putting a bit of stress on the pilot bearing?
i've also removed all of the insulation from the engine bay, so i'm never quite sure what amount of noise is truly normal... i'll try and get a recording of it.
had a chance to get under there after the shakedown and sure enough... the PPF was notably out of adjustment and it's now back in place.
i've been hanging onto a bolt i use to measure the frame alignment and there was about a third of an inch gap...hopefully it has been remedied before any significant damage was done.
but sadly, upon inspection it does seem like the oil pan is weeping from the rear of the seal.
i think i was so paranoid of snapping a pan bolt that it wasn't secured with sufficient torque. i have a fancy digital torque wrench, but i was dumb and didn't use it.
Glad you were able to get rhe car back on the road and resolve the whirring noise. Do the PPF bolts require sealer? I can't remember if they do or not.
With the oil pan, maybe just try snugging the nolts up a touch amd see if that will squish the sealer enough to stop the weeping. You will want to make sure that there is no old sealant present at the tip of the bolt where the threads start. This will prevent the bolts from fully seating and can cause them to snap when torqued.
there is a faint whirrr coming from deep inside that i can't quite track down, it can be heard clearest from inside the cabin.
the whirrr hums steady along with the rev of the engine and does not change or reduce when the clutch is depressed.
the noise can be heard at all times but does seem to get a bit softer after things get warmed up.
i managed to get a better seal on the oil pan the second time, but the whirr mentioned here has not gotten better after re-aligning the PPF...
i'm beginning to have hot start issues, and the engine will softly die at idle when it reaches operating temperature. i've driven it a total of 130 miles premixed well and it never lost oil pressure.
i haven't run my compression tester on it yet, but i'm pretty sure what i'm going to find.
this is my fifth rotary swap, my first four all ran for years after... including a rebuild i did myself in 2014. all of which were done with far less attention to detail.
i'm not saying that i'm not capable of mistakes but i didn't build the block either... so i don't know if the block was a dud or if i've done something wrong.
Sounds like a warranty call to Atkins. If they want to argue it's your fault, they need to prove it. But at a minimum they could offer some options. I can't think of what you could do to an engine that would make it lose compression this quick. You can starve it of oil but that's a bearing problem, not seals. You premixed so even if the OMP is dead/disconnected, it's still getting oiled.
Hey It's an old discussion and i am new here but kind stop myself after looking this.
It's always rewarding to see a project like this come together after all the hard work. I’m curious, did you stick with the stock parts or go for some aftermarket upgrades? The RX-8’s rotary engine can be tricky, but with the right adjustments, it can run strong for years. I would loved to know what you have done and what's the status right now?
Last edited by unerydeth; Feb 28, 2026 at 02:23 AM.
Hey It's an old discussion and i am new here, but kind stop myself after looking this.
It's always rewarding to see a project like this come together after all the hard work. I’m curious, did you stick with the stock parts or go for some aftermarket upgrades? The RX-8’s rotary engine can be tricky, but with the right adjustments, it can run strong for years. I would loved to know what you have done and what's the status right now?
After a lot of headache the block is rebuilt yet again and the car is running as it should. I'll get to posting some new pictures sometime soon. It's all rain and gloom up here.
Don't let the sour direction things took sway you, you are right that with proper care and careful modification a rotary can live a long, healthy life.
This wasn't my first rodeo, but it was by far the most thorough build I've undertaken, I've always had RX-7's as daily drivers and the ones I've lost were for logical reasons.
Here's what I've learned along the way:
A lot of people say car projects like this are a money pit, which can be true, but not always for the conventional reasons, if you aren't prepared to do everything yourself then it's not quite the cost demand, but the people who gouge you along the way...
This forum is great because we share our experiences with vendors, some of whom I trusted and as you can see some will burn you.
On that note, let's talk about the elephant in the room. These days it has become clear that Atkins sits all too comfortably on their sphere of control in the rotary space. You'll hardly find any vendor or serviceman who doesn't have a working relationship with them and lives in abject fear of spoiling that. When taking the block apart it was evident that it was not built to the specs I requested... Atkins used their seals and not the factory Mazda seals and the compression numbers and wear to the surfaces inside were already bad. If they ported, it sure didn't look like it was by much, oil scraper rings on the rear rotor were totally trashed after only a few cycles. Based on the fact that they didn't provide any pictures of the build, no markings were present and the way they tried to talk me out of mods I would venture to guess this block wasn't made for me but rather something they had on hand and sold as if they put it together on demand.
( don't expect a warranty either, they have clever lingo in the paperwork that contains a poison pill / catch 22 on the priming instructions, to prime properly you must disregard their instructions and crank the engine in short cycles in the manner illustrated by RotaryResurrection, which voids any guarantee in the process. )
Finally, they aren't at all service oriented, they won't make the effort reach out to see how things are going or answer questions, not that i really need them to... if you value working with someone who deserves your patronage and puts pride into their work I would suggest having someone like Adam from Rotary Engine Specialties in Calgary do your build, you won't find a more honest guy, period.
Much of this build was aftermarket parts, here is a list of some of the goods:
Sohn Adapter!!! ( absolutely essential for healthy engine life )
Instead of included gasket subbed Sterling Seal Green Aramid CNAF gasketing material ( 0.015" Thick ) and blue Hylomar spray is amazing, though not so much when taking it back apart again, lol.
Epitroch Reservoir Kit. Premix fuel anyway, I use a 150ml syringe from Amazon, perfect size for a full tank of gas, you can draw it right from the overflow bottle and spray it into the tank before filling.
Racing Beat RevI Intake, Intake Scoop, Exhaust Headers, Dual Presilenced Mid Pipe and CatBack ( ideal performance with a pleasant tone that's low noise, noisy cars are dumb )
Cut a small 1" hole in the top of the RevI intake box so you can see the filter and dome, these can come loose due to oils saturated into the rubber, so it's reassuring to be able to inspect that it is still in place for the first few thousand miles )
Silicone Coolant Hoses & Vacuum lines ( ebay or amazon ) and a Silicone Intake hose fits perfectly between the RevI air box MAF tube and the throttle body.
( cut one coolant hose and routed the small outlet from the rear engine housing back around the outside of the intake manifold to the thermostat instead of using a throttle bypass kit )
CSF Radiator with the Mishimoto fan kit, this was my second pair, they're awesome, easy to install quiet and clean. Racing Beat radiator & oil cooler screens.
Racing Beat Oil Cooler Lines ( don't bother with the elaborate mounting bracket mods, these nestle up into the underside of the crossmember perfectly and a few good zipties are all you need )
The full LRB Speed aluminum undertray with the Aero is another essential, it keeps your engine bay clean and the oil pan well protected. Fits great, keeps the airflow straight.
GReddy makes a great high capacity oil pan that offers excellent cooling.
BennettBuilt Radiator Overflow Tank is built like a beast. ( get an extra long vent hose and run it down between the radiator fans to the bottom of the car so it doesn't spray in the engine bay. )
BHR Ignition Coils are excellent, get an insulator pad to space them from the coil bracket. The Pettit Racing one is fine, anything you can fab will do though.
BHR Engine Mounts are a must, the oem ones are trash and won't even last 100k.
BHR also makes a great reinforced clutch pedal, the welds on the original will break eventually, it's a no-brainer.
Always use new fuel lines, the red and blue ends get loose and can be re-used if you zip tie them tight, you'll be happier if they're snug and new. Series 2 Fuel Pump swap is also a must.
Lightweight flyweel feels good on the butt dyno, as does swapping in the Series 2 Differential which gives you a better gear ratio.
Right now I'm running the generic Stage 1 tuning that came with the MazdaManiac AccessPort, it moves pretty good with the Racing Beat street porting. I'm sure the RB tuning is probably best.
When it comes to OEM parts Jim Ellis out of Marietta has been legendary, true there are quite a few dealership sites and prices can vary, but overall their site is well maintained with all the schematics you'll ever need. Also, the team that processes the online orders there are total rock stars, if you ever talk with them on the phone you'll see what i mean.
In the end the RX-8 is a great little naturally aspirated project that takes its cues from the old FB RX-7, a car I've owned and loved since I was a young lad. I'm sure it could handle a little supercharging boost without dramatically impacting the lifespan, turbos are not the right fit though with the exhaust routed through the side housings.
We've got a wealth of knowledge here that should cover just about every issue you might run into, and because so many of these vehicles were in circulation parts are still reasonable to find.
Treat your engine wiring harness well though, clean it, wrap it, reinforce it... they'll be impossible to come by soon enough.
