My 87 n/a Work In Progress

PistonSmash · 04-15-12, 05:03 PM

My brother bought the car in, I believe, 2006 for $3300 and this is how he bought it:

Over the years he replaced several things, such as the seats, the side mirror (which he bought cracked, and then someone else hit him and ripped it off I believe), alternator, coilovers, and rear hatch.

Here is a picture of the original rims the car came with, and how the paint was originally:

I don't remember what year it was, but not long after my brother replaced the ugly rims with these:

This is generally how the interior looked during my brother's ownership of it:

The radio and warning light surrounds where broken when he owned it as well:

While he owned it, my brother was able to put this nice decal on:

as well as several other hit and run dents on the body.

PistonSmash · 04-15-12, 05:05 PM

Then, still forgetting what year it was, the engine the car came with finally died, and my brother bought a used one from one of his friends which we put it ourselves during the Easter season. He bought it for about $600 running, with trans and everything at about 60k miles. Here are some pics in order of the job:

I'd say that job took about a month.

PistonSmash · 04-15-12, 05:05 PM

Many years later, in August 2011 the stock passenger side muffler broke from rust:

So my brother and I replaced it, leaving the driver side one there, since it was still intact. Fast forward to about February 2012, I finally took possession of the car fully. Shortly after, the driver side muffler also breaks from rust:

So I replace it, which becomes my first expenditure on my car:

From then until now, I've done minor things such as a full brake job, washed the engine, changed the belts and an oil change. Just minor maintenance. I recently mounted the switch my brother installed into the center console for the rear wiper (since the car didn't come with a rear wiper). He left it hanging, which I didn't like. I also sanded and spray painted my front wipers because they were rusted terribly:

Two days ago, I just bought and replaced all the plastic interior surround pieces, finally making it look nice again. The second picture is a hard to see, I'm going to update that soon:

As you might see from the second picture, I put the radio where it is supposed to go. My brother had it above where it is now.

Also, my oil pressure gauge is broken on my cluster, I don't know if I plan on fixing that, but it is not a priority:

That's basically it for now. I'm currently desperately seeking the T2 hood and wing, as well as the aero side mirrors. After I get those, I'm bringing the car to my friend's body shop to have the dents, rust etc. fixed and then have it primed for painting. I'll be getting it painted basically the same color, but obviously I highly doubt it will be matched perfectly.

I'll upload some pics of the interior, engine bay, and body as they are now soon. Thanks for reading and taking the time to look. I'm not done yet!

PistonSmash · 04-15-12, 05:18 PM

My brother also put in the '91 turbo braking system when he put in the coilovers, and we replaced the rear driver side control arm after he snapped it, and my old rim in a pothole late last year.

beefhole · 04-15-12, 06:06 PM

I have these mirrors if you want. They are primered already!

PistonSmash · 04-15-12, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beefhole

I have these mirrors if you want. They are primered already!

Those are Aero's right? They work the same as the stock n/a mirrors right?

beefhole · 04-15-12, 07:02 PM

I do believe they are the S4 aero mirrors, is this the style you were looking for? There are a few types of mirrors on these cars, I am not sure the terminology used for all of them... They are power mirrors, do you have those on you car now?

PistonSmash · 04-15-12, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beefhole

I do believe they are the S4 aero mirrors, is this the style you were looking for? There are a few types of mirrors on these cars, I am not sure the terminology used for all of them... They are power mirrors, do you have those on you car now?

I do have the power mirror switch in my center console, but I also have a "manual" mirror hole in the triangle on the interior opposite the mirror. I'm sure they must be power I can't imagine them not.

beefhole · 04-15-12, 08:12 PM

Are you saying you have the hole there, but not the lever for manual adjustment? Do you already have functioning power mirrors?

You can pop the center console cover off (the entire piece) and you'll see if the switch has wires. Then you can pop the mirror plastic triangle off and see if there is a harness plug in there (careful not to break the plastic piece).

PistonSmash · 04-15-12, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beefhole

Are you saying you have the hole there, but not the lever for manual adjustment? Do you already have functioning power mirrors?

You can pop the center console cover off (the entire piece) and you'll see if the switch has wires. Then you can pop the mirror plastic triangle off and see if there is a harness plug in there (careful not to break the plastic piece).

I do have power windows. I just checked

PistonSmash · 04-16-12, 11:23 PM

I just picked up a T2 wing and a power mirror switch from a craigslist seller for $70 plus the $22 I spent on gas. Am I completely happy with what I paid? Mmmmm, no not really, but its done. The switch is to replace the one my mother broke by leaning on it and crushing it. I tried using it however, and my mirrors still wont move, so i believe I have problems past the switch. Here is the wing, which has a few problems, but nothing major.

I think it may be special? Never seen one with "mazda" printed on it.

Missing a bolt

Small crack. Think this can be fixed?

The wing will go on the car along with the T2 hood and aero mirrors once I get them and be painted along with the car.

PistonSmash · 04-19-12, 07:42 PM

Here are all the dents, dings, rust, scratches and issues with my car (all dents are from hit and runs):

Paint issues:

Scratches/Dents/Rust/Cracks:

Missing side strip:

PistonSmash · 04-19-12, 07:43 PM

Pic of my Racing Beat mufflers:

Better pic of my wiper arms that I painted. They look practically brand new:

PistonSmash · 04-30-12, 08:05 PM

Here's an update:

Bought the wrong aero mirrors for $60 by mistake, selling those [FC Aero Mirrors for sale or trade for S5 stock mirrors.

Bought a cigarette lighter receptacle to replace my "broken" one, ended up frying a 10 amp fuse, and two 15 amp fuses only to find out my old receptacle works with a 30 amp fuse. Cracked it up to being an old car not compatible with modern technology.

Bought a new-used TPS to replace my "not-working" one, according to my brother, only to put it in and find out my original one works BETTER. I don't know what that is about, not really worried about that right now.

TPS and receptacle cost me $50, for no good reason so far, only to have an extra set.

Bought a gas cap to replace the one my mother apparently lost when she drove my car for about 3 months before I did. Waste of money for no reason.

Broke the passenger side triangle air vent cover accidentally.
------------------------------------------
Good news:
S5 rear bumper on the way.
Cigarette lighter is finally working.
Going to pick up a T2 hood soon.

So all in all, the good is outweighing the bad right now. Still optimistic. Will update with pictures of my interior as it is now soon, and will update with pictures of the items I'm getting soon when I do. Cheers

PistonSmash · 05-02-12, 09:10 PM

Got my S5 bumper today. One more thing off the list:

I keep forgetting to take pics of the interior though.

PistonSmash · 05-06-12, 07:02 PM

Took an 4 hour trip down to Maryland yesterday to pick up this baby for $200:

Well worth it.

The car has since gone from this:

to this:

--------------------------------------

Besides that, the car has been having some strange acceleration/idle/throttle/clutch problem. Yea, I narrowed it down to that... It's quite difficult to explain, so I won't try to. I'm taking things one step at a time now with it.

AGreen · 05-06-12, 08:30 PM

While I'm glad you got a nicer hood, I'm not a fan of seeing a TII hood on a NA car. Just my preference, but I must say nice things

It is in better shape

Try these things to fix your idle/throttle/acceleration/clutch issues, pretty much in this order:

Check for vacuum leaks by spraying with carburetor cleaner around the intake manifold. If the idle changes tune, you have located a vacuum leak. Fix any of these first.

Warm the engine to normal operating temperature. If the idle is surging, get a multimeter and tap in to the TPS wires, one on the green/yellow and the other on a good ground. You can just shove the lead in the back of the connector. There's a screw with a spring on it that you need to adjust until it reads 1.00 volts. Rev the engine a few times, recheck the voltage at 1.00 volts. Repeat until there is no change in voltage between revs.

Get a timing light. Jumper the initial set coupler, and re-adjust the idle speed to 750 rpm. Verify the timing is set properly.

Those simple things take care of 90% of all Rx7 idle/acceleration/throttle issues.

Edit:
Also, check your compression. You should always have a good idea of how "healthy" the engine is. I do this around every 10k miles.
http://www.banzai-racing.com/compression_test.htm

PistonSmash · 05-06-12, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AGreen

While I'm glad you got a nicer hood, I'm not a fan of seeing a TII hood on a NA car. Just my preference, but I must say nice things

It is in better shape

Try these things to fix your idle/throttle/acceleration/clutch issues, pretty much in this order:

Check for vacuum leaks by spraying with carburetor cleaner around the intake manifold. If the idle changes tune, you have located a vacuum leak. Fix any of these first.

Warm the engine to normal operating temperature. If the idle is surging, get a multimeter and tap in to the TPS wires, one on the green/yellow and the other on a good ground. You can just shove the lead in the back of the connector. There's a screw with a spring on it that you need to adjust until it reads 1.00 volts. Rev the engine a few times, recheck the voltage at 1.00 volts. Repeat until there is no change in voltage between revs.

Get a timing light. Jumper the initial set coupler, and re-adjust the idle speed to 750 rpm. Verify the timing is set properly.

Those simple things take care of 90% of all Rx7 idle/acceleration/throttle issues.

Edit:
Also, check your compression. You should always have a good idea of how "healthy" the engine is. I do this around every 10k miles.
http://www.banzai-racing.com/compression_test.htm

Yea I get that a lot, but I'm not going to keep it NA. Right now I'm focusing on the body and paint. There would be no point in getting the hood down the road when I get the engine, and then have to waste more money painting it the color of my car, when I can just skip that entirely and do it now.

PistonSmash · 05-06-12, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AGreen

While I'm glad you got a nicer hood, I'm not a fan of seeing a TII hood on a NA car. Just my preference, but I must say nice things

It is in better shape

Try these things to fix your idle/throttle/acceleration/clutch issues, pretty much in this order:

Check for vacuum leaks by spraying with carburetor cleaner around the intake manifold. If the idle changes tune, you have located a vacuum leak. Fix any of these first.

Warm the engine to normal operating temperature. If the idle is surging, get a multimeter and tap in to the TPS wires, one on the green/yellow and the other on a good ground. You can just shove the lead in the back of the connector. There's a screw with a spring on it that you need to adjust until it reads 1.00 volts. Rev the engine a few times, recheck the voltage at 1.00 volts. Repeat until there is no change in voltage between revs.

Get a timing light. Jumper the initial set coupler, and re-adjust the idle speed to 750 rpm. Verify the timing is set properly.

Those simple things take care of 90% of all Rx7 idle/acceleration/throttle issues.

Edit:
Also, check your compression. You should always have a good idea of how "healthy" the engine is. I do this around every 10k miles.
http://www.banzai-racing.com/compression_test.htm

If this doesn't read 1.00 volts, what will change?

AGreen · 05-06-12, 09:39 PM

The idle will surge really, low range throttle operation will be off, etc.

PistonSmash · 05-10-12, 08:05 PM

Interior shots:

PistonSmash · 05-10-12, 08:06 PM

Some candids with my new hood:

AGreen · 05-10-12, 08:45 PM

Does the oil pressure gauge not read, or is the actual meter broken? You should really get that fixed, I saved my engine from total toasting with that gauge.

PistonSmash · 05-10-12, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AGreen

Does the oil pressure gauge not read, or is the actual meter broken? You should really get that fixed, I saved my engine from total toasting with that gauge.

The meter is broken, and I'm not really worried about it. I'm not keeping the engine for long, so if it blows, its all the more reason to get a new one.

AGreen · 05-10-12, 09:53 PM

Better to fix it before replacing the engine. That way when you start your new one up and don't have a reliable indication of oil pressure, you won't melt down all that blood/sweat/tears/money