JerryLH3's RX-7 Turbo II Restoration
07-01-10, 11:48 AM
#51
Full Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: el salvador, central america
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09-13-10, 08:57 PM
#52
Black 91 gxl
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Vancouver, WA
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what? are you saying that black dragon doesn't carry fc switches anymore?
11-22-10, 04:04 PM
#53
Well, I suppose it's time for an update, eh? Yeah, it's been awhile as there has been much preparation around here for the upcoming arrival of our first child towards the end of December. The RX-7 has taken a backseat to painting my son's room, putting together cribs and nursing chairs, hanging decorations and shelves and what seems like hundreds of other little tasks.
I got a few minor things done today. First up was the "RX-7" emblem on the rear of the car. I'd never liked the fact that there was a plain "Mazda" in front of it in much smaller type and not in the traditional Mazda font. So, I chopped it off with the Dremel and filled in the gap with some putty. I am happy with the results. Once I get farther along in body work, I will fill the hole that will be exposed by the removal of the "Mazda" part of this emblem.
Then, I sorted through all of the B pillar and quarter trim I have accumulated over the past couple of years. I think I've finally picked out a good set. They aren't too dry for 20 year old plastic, and shine up nicely with application of dash and trim cleaner. I think eventually once they get a little moisture in them, they will look nice continually. I just needed to repair one of the mounting posts and they are now reading for bagging and tagging.
That was it for today. Depending on how things go, maybe some more tomorrow.
I got a few minor things done today. First up was the "RX-7" emblem on the rear of the car. I'd never liked the fact that there was a plain "Mazda" in front of it in much smaller type and not in the traditional Mazda font. So, I chopped it off with the Dremel and filled in the gap with some putty. I am happy with the results. Once I get farther along in body work, I will fill the hole that will be exposed by the removal of the "Mazda" part of this emblem.
Then, I sorted through all of the B pillar and quarter trim I have accumulated over the past couple of years. I think I've finally picked out a good set. They aren't too dry for 20 year old plastic, and shine up nicely with application of dash and trim cleaner. I think eventually once they get a little moisture in them, they will look nice continually. I just needed to repair one of the mounting posts and they are now reading for bagging and tagging.
That was it for today. Depending on how things go, maybe some more tomorrow.
12-08-10, 09:04 PM
#58
Not a whole lot to report on. I neglected to mention in my update a couple of weeks ago that while my friend and I were doing some body work, we came to the conclusion that not only do I need a passenger side fender, I probably need both doors. The passenger side door is in pretty rough shape from where the workbench fell on it, (yes, you read that correctly, not one of my better days) and no matter the amount of massaging we do, it just never looks quite right. The driver's side door appears to have a pretty big indentation from when I butt slammed the door one too many times when it was having latching problems. As long as good ones can be sourced from the junkyard, it's not really worth the time to do hours and hours of body work on it.
In the meantime, here are the B pillars and quarter trim I ended up bagging for reinstallation someday:
And comparing them to a brand new A pillar:
The car as it currently sits:
I hope to pick up the pace a little as the year comes to a close and I start approaching the one year mark of this project. However, with a newborn in the house and a wedding now less than six months away, life might have other plans. I'm not giving up though, it's just going to take longer than I wanted.
In the meantime, here are the B pillars and quarter trim I ended up bagging for reinstallation someday:
And comparing them to a brand new A pillar:
The car as it currently sits:
I hope to pick up the pace a little as the year comes to a close and I start approaching the one year mark of this project. However, with a newborn in the house and a wedding now less than six months away, life might have other plans. I'm not giving up though, it's just going to take longer than I wanted.
01-20-11, 03:50 PM
#61
My son turned one month old today, and I managed to get out in the garage for a little bit. I didn't accomplish a whole lot, but it was something.
I will be installing an aftermarket Alpine head unit in the car once it's time for reassembly. So I wanted to take the Alpine harness and solder that to the adapter harness that Crutchfield is really good about giving you for free. I also had to tie in the relay for proper power antenna operation, also provided free by Crutchfield, so kudos to them.
Being that the assembled harness would be way too long if soldered together like this, I cut a few inches off of each piece to turn what would have been a 12 inch harness to a more manageable 6 inches, still leaving more than enough slack to plug in and unplug as needed.
The finished result was probably some of my best electrical work ever. I've never been very fond of soldering, but I guess I learned a little patience over the past month. I wonder what may have caused that?
Next it was on to the dash I will be using in the car. These dash frames rust very badly, and even though it can't really be seen, I don't like rust. I thought about using POR-15 over the entire frame, but I decided to instead just grind, sand and then topcoat with traditional primer and paint. As far as I got today was disassembly of the dash to get to the bare frame.
Hopefully, there will be more to come soon.
I will be installing an aftermarket Alpine head unit in the car once it's time for reassembly. So I wanted to take the Alpine harness and solder that to the adapter harness that Crutchfield is really good about giving you for free. I also had to tie in the relay for proper power antenna operation, also provided free by Crutchfield, so kudos to them.
Being that the assembled harness would be way too long if soldered together like this, I cut a few inches off of each piece to turn what would have been a 12 inch harness to a more manageable 6 inches, still leaving more than enough slack to plug in and unplug as needed.
The finished result was probably some of my best electrical work ever. I've never been very fond of soldering, but I guess I learned a little patience over the past month. I wonder what may have caused that?
Next it was on to the dash I will be using in the car. These dash frames rust very badly, and even though it can't really be seen, I don't like rust. I thought about using POR-15 over the entire frame, but I decided to instead just grind, sand and then topcoat with traditional primer and paint. As far as I got today was disassembly of the dash to get to the bare frame.
Hopefully, there will be more to come soon.
02-15-11, 10:39 PM
#63
Wow this is awesome! I'd missed this thread before and throughly regret doing so..
I'm trying to piece together a '91 Package A [and Turbo swap it], and some of your take apart pictures are exactly what I've been hoping to find since May
Can't wait to see what this looks like when you're done with it! ^_^
I'm trying to piece together a '91 Package A [and Turbo swap it], and some of your take apart pictures are exactly what I've been hoping to find since May
Can't wait to see what this looks like when you're done with it! ^_^
04-13-11, 04:46 PM
#65
After starting the project just over a year ago and this thread one year ago today, a lot has changed in my life. Since then, I have had an engagement ring made for my girlfriend in May, found out she was pregnant the very next day (the day before Mother's Day oddly enough), proposed at the Grand Canyon in August, witnessed the birth of my son in December, and finally, will be getting married in just over three weeks - one year to the day I dropped off those diamonds to have that engagement ring made.
In that time, not a whole lot has happened to the RX-7. Sure, it's in a thousand pieces and I've stockpiled lots of parts, but that could have been done in a long weekend off. I have not lost motivation to finish the RX-7 and restore it, I have only lost a lot of spare time. Two catalysts have helped to restore a sense of urgency to find the time to work on the car. One happened a few weeks ago, when my fiancee asked when I was going to finish the RX-7, because "she missed riding in it." She'd always supported the project, but that was really the first time she tried to motivate me along. The second was when I had to renew my registration. As I have a personalized plate, paying $72 for a tag that just sits on a shelf in the garage starts to seem a little silly.
Hopefully, once the wedding is done and over with, I can find some more time to work on this car and get it back on the road again. The project goals have slightly shifted. First, paint and body work along with a newly redone interior are the main goals. Once it's on the road and running again, then I'll start modifying it, but I want a car I can enjoy again before I worry about that. Even in stock form, they are fun cars, and I miss driving them.
In that time, not a whole lot has happened to the RX-7. Sure, it's in a thousand pieces and I've stockpiled lots of parts, but that could have been done in a long weekend off. I have not lost motivation to finish the RX-7 and restore it, I have only lost a lot of spare time. Two catalysts have helped to restore a sense of urgency to find the time to work on the car. One happened a few weeks ago, when my fiancee asked when I was going to finish the RX-7, because "she missed riding in it." She'd always supported the project, but that was really the first time she tried to motivate me along. The second was when I had to renew my registration. As I have a personalized plate, paying $72 for a tag that just sits on a shelf in the garage starts to seem a little silly.
Hopefully, once the wedding is done and over with, I can find some more time to work on this car and get it back on the road again. The project goals have slightly shifted. First, paint and body work along with a newly redone interior are the main goals. Once it's on the road and running again, then I'll start modifying it, but I want a car I can enjoy again before I worry about that. Even in stock form, they are fun cars, and I miss driving them.
05-28-11, 09:00 AM
#68
Progress is slowly starting up again. The first priority had to be to get the garage back in working condition, as it had become a mess over the past few months. I threw away a garbage can full of trash, installed some new shelves to hold parts, and most importantly, restocked the fridge.
Some before shots:
And after:
With the garage able to be worked in again, I turned my attention back to the dashboard. I don't like rust, so even though this part isn't visible, it needed to be dealt with in my mind. I went over it with some rust converter primer.
I did that on Thursday. The directions say to allow to dry for 24 hours, so this morning I went out and put some primer on.
I may not get a chance to topcoat this for a few days, but at least something is getting done again.
Some before shots:
And after:
With the garage able to be worked in again, I turned my attention back to the dashboard. I don't like rust, so even though this part isn't visible, it needed to be dealt with in my mind. I went over it with some rust converter primer.
I did that on Thursday. The directions say to allow to dry for 24 hours, so this morning I went out and put some primer on.
I may not get a chance to topcoat this for a few days, but at least something is getting done again.
05-28-11, 12:07 PM
#70
Ruckin'AwesomeFC
Excited to keep tabs on this build for a while to come! I also have a black 91 T2, but in JDM form. This kind of restoration is what keeps me going, and feeds my OCD. Keep up the good work, sir!
05-31-11, 04:48 PM
#72
The dash frame is fully painted.
I also set aside my best set of dash vents and gave them a preliminary cleaning. I have a way of trying to stay on task now and check things off the list as I go. Many years ago, a tire shop left this holder in my car. I finally found a use for it. It helps to make a list and then see things get checked off.
More to come, will probably be in the garage again later this week.
I also set aside my best set of dash vents and gave them a preliminary cleaning. I have a way of trying to stay on task now and check things off the list as I go. Many years ago, a tire shop left this holder in my car. I finally found a use for it. It helps to make a list and then see things get checked off.
More to come, will probably be in the garage again later this week.
