Massive Update On My Restoration! PICS!
10-19-04, 07:26 PM
#1
Massive Update On My Restoration! PICS!
Ok guys,
As promised here are some restoration update pictures of my baby. She is coming along quite nicely, and I am hoping to have her driveable by this spring. It has been one heck of a journey but things are starting to get to where I want them. It is looking more and more like a whole car and I can't wait til I get the engine and tranny back in there. (really close to being able to) Anyway, before I start the slide show, here are a few snapshots of day 1. This is about 15 minutes after I pulled her into the driveway, roaring, backfiring, and stinking the whole way.
Basically my car was a POS when I got it. It was really a lot farther gone than I thought. Significant rust in the rear wheel wells, lots of dents, crappy paint, tons of small mechanical oversights, crappy exhaust, torn up interior, very unreliable. I am fairly certain that I saved this car from the crusher. It wasn't quite that bad, but one or two more irresponsible owners, and she would've been a goner. Luckily I saved her and she is nearly back to health.
The car was rock solid before I stripped it down. It was running really well after the carb rebuild, and I think she'll be darn near perfect once I complete the reassembly. Anway, on to the new pictures... here they come.
As promised here are some restoration update pictures of my baby. She is coming along quite nicely, and I am hoping to have her driveable by this spring. It has been one heck of a journey but things are starting to get to where I want them. It is looking more and more like a whole car and I can't wait til I get the engine and tranny back in there. (really close to being able to) Anyway, before I start the slide show, here are a few snapshots of day 1. This is about 15 minutes after I pulled her into the driveway, roaring, backfiring, and stinking the whole way.
Basically my car was a POS when I got it. It was really a lot farther gone than I thought. Significant rust in the rear wheel wells, lots of dents, crappy paint, tons of small mechanical oversights, crappy exhaust, torn up interior, very unreliable. I am fairly certain that I saved this car from the crusher. It wasn't quite that bad, but one or two more irresponsible owners, and she would've been a goner. Luckily I saved her and she is nearly back to health.
The car was rock solid before I stripped it down. It was running really well after the carb rebuild, and I think she'll be darn near perfect once I complete the reassembly. Anway, on to the new pictures... here they come.
10-19-04, 07:27 PM
#2
First off here she is with her new coat of paint. Done by none other than myself. 
First time I've ever painted a car, and though it isn't perfect, I must say I am extremely pleased with the results. Not too bad for a do it yourself job during a weekend. I just wanted to get the shell painted so I could put it back together over the winter. I'll be painting the doors, hood, fenders, etc, this spring once I'm ready.
Here's a picture of the recently installed windshield trim. I painted all of it with a fresh coat of gloss black. If any of you are thinking about fixing your windshield trim I say go for it!! I tried carefully to take the pieces off but most of the fasteners broke. You can get an entire clip kit for about $10 from VB though, so I think it was definitely worth every penny. It looks so much better than that crappy half chrome half black scheme.
Here is a picture of the back right fender. I had to re-create the body crease on that part of the car because it was screwed up for some reason. I have about 20 hours in that freakin' thing and I'm glad I didn't give up. It turned out pretty good. Vipernicus42 (Jon) hooked me up with the rubber antenna and it looks fantastic.
First time I've ever painted a car, and though it isn't perfect, I must say I am extremely pleased with the results. Not too bad for a do it yourself job during a weekend. I just wanted to get the shell painted so I could put it back together over the winter. I'll be painting the doors, hood, fenders, etc, this spring once I'm ready.Here's a picture of the recently installed windshield trim. I painted all of it with a fresh coat of gloss black. If any of you are thinking about fixing your windshield trim I say go for it!! I tried carefully to take the pieces off but most of the fasteners broke. You can get an entire clip kit for about $10 from VB though, so I think it was definitely worth every penny. It looks so much better than that crappy half chrome half black scheme.
Here is a picture of the back right fender. I had to re-create the body crease on that part of the car because it was screwed up for some reason. I have about 20 hours in that freakin' thing and I'm glad I didn't give up. It turned out pretty good. Vipernicus42 (Jon) hooked me up with the rubber antenna and it looks fantastic.
Last edited by Glazedham42; 10-19-04 at 07:31 PM.
10-19-04, 07:32 PM
#3
Here’s the same angle from the opposite side. You can see my new gas cap, and my meticulously cleaned fuel neck compartment.
Here you can see my gas cap from close up. Got the new cap from VB for about $4. Looks really nice compared to the old dirty one. Four dollars well spent.
Here are my restored hatch hinges. Did a little sanding on them and gave them a coat of glossy black also. They look much better. Another small thing I would recommend to spruce up your 7 if you have the time. The small things make the difference.
Finally, here is a little project I undertook in about an hour just to see if I could do it or not. I always wondered why they had stamped “Rx-7” on the hatch emblem if you couldn’t see it. Didn’t make much sense to me why they would do that and then use a black on black color scheme. So, after much taping and cutting with a razor blade I finally arrived at this.
Here you can see my gas cap from close up. Got the new cap from VB for about $4. Looks really nice compared to the old dirty one. Four dollars well spent.
Here are my restored hatch hinges. Did a little sanding on them and gave them a coat of glossy black also. They look much better. Another small thing I would recommend to spruce up your 7 if you have the time. The small things make the difference.
Finally, here is a little project I undertook in about an hour just to see if I could do it or not. I always wondered why they had stamped “Rx-7” on the hatch emblem if you couldn’t see it. Didn’t make much sense to me why they would do that and then use a black on black color scheme. So, after much taping and cutting with a razor blade I finally arrived at this.
10-19-04, 07:34 PM
#4
Here is a picture of the rims that I’ll be putting on when she is finished. I’m going to be using wheel adapters just to save myself a lot of headache. Got the wheels on e-bay. They are KONIG something or others. Don’t remember the name of the wheel. The center caps were pretty ugly, so I did a little work and made my own caps for the wheels. I hope they look as good as I think they will.
Here is an engine bay picture. I have a question for anyone that is still reading at this point. The small fuel tank vent hose that goes to the charcoal can. Does is go above the heater lines or below them? I can’t seem to remember and it doesn’t want to lay correctly either way, so I can’t really tell. Let me know if you would please.
Here’s a blurry picture of the pedals installed. Took me eight hours one day to get them in there, but I’m glad that they are done. The worst part of the 5 spd swap is supposedly behind me.
Here is an engine bay picture. I have a question for anyone that is still reading at this point. The small fuel tank vent hose that goes to the charcoal can. Does is go above the heater lines or below them? I can’t seem to remember and it doesn’t want to lay correctly either way, so I can’t really tell. Let me know if you would please.
Here’s a blurry picture of the pedals installed. Took me eight hours one day to get them in there, but I’m glad that they are done. The worst part of the 5 spd swap is supposedly behind me.
10-19-04, 07:35 PM
#5
The rest of the pictures are going to be pictures of the cancer surgery. You can see the scars in the pictures. I had rust in both rear wheel wells, in the front of both the passenger and driver floors, and some in the back bumper. All is fixed now, and I’m pretty sure that she is rust free! Yay! Saved her from the deadly cancer. She’ll never see the salt of an Indiana winter again.
10-19-04, 07:37 PM
#6
Whew! That was a lot of work!
That is about it for now, but you’ll be seeing lots more pictures and they will be more frequently. Finally saved up enough to get a digital camera, so you’re going to see all kinds of updates now. Let me know what you think guys! Thanks! Later,
Jamie
That is about it for now, but you’ll be seeing lots more pictures and they will be more frequently. Finally saved up enough to get a digital camera, so you’re going to see all kinds of updates now. Let me know what you think guys! Thanks! Later,
Jamie
10-19-04, 07:41 PM
#7
Banned. I got OWNED!!!
Join Date: Nov 2002
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dude, it took you 8 hours to get the pedals in?!?!?! when i did my 5 speed swap in my 81 i took out the old ones and put the new ones in in 45 mins, with the drivers seat still in,
yeah i know, im good
yeah i know, im good
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10-19-04, 08:17 PM
#12
Airflow is my life
Ok, all the lines go above the heater. You know those black plastic coated clips? Well from bottom up first comes the skinny vent line, then the brake line, they are both below the mount bolt. Above the mount bolt, the thick oil vent line is clamped there. hth
10-19-04, 08:20 PM
#13
Gregs - I know I'm not as good as you BUT... I ended up taking the pedals in and out about 4 times because I didn't know the brackets were different between 83 and 85. I ended up just putting the two assemblies together to make one that worked. So I guess it really took me about and hour and a half each time. Most of that day was spent running back and forth to the hardware store. But 45 minutes, I commend you for that. I think it took me that long a couple of times just to get situated under the dash. Man my back was sore the next day from lying in the 7. Much thanks to you for doing the swap though. I got most of my info from your old posts. I appreciate it!
9d7gst - Yeah I painted it in the garage. It actually didn't make as much of a mess as I thought it would. I covered everything up that I didn't want to get paint on, and taped up the door to the house so I didn't get fumes coming inside. White was pretty easy though. Anything else probably would've made a huge mess. I can't imagine doing red....
I ended up taking the pedals in and out about 4 times because I didn't know the brackets were different between 83 and 85. I ended up just putting the two assemblies together to make one that worked. So I guess it really took me about and hour and a half each time. Most of that day was spent running back and forth to the hardware store. But 45 minutes, I commend you for that. I think it took me that long a couple of times just to get situated under the dash. Man my back was sore the next day from lying in the 7. Much thanks to you for doing the swap though. I got most of my info from your old posts. I appreciate it!9d7gst - Yeah I painted it in the garage. It actually didn't make as much of a mess as I thought it would. I covered everything up that I didn't want to get paint on, and taped up the door to the house so I didn't get fumes coming inside. White was pretty easy though. Anything else probably would've made a huge mess. I can't imagine doing red....
10-19-04, 08:20 PM
#14
Airflow is my life
Originally Posted by Gregs
dude, it took you 8 hours to get the pedals in?!?!?! when i did my 5 speed swap in my 81 i took out the old ones and put the new ones in in 45 mins, with the drivers seat still in,
yeah i know, im good
yeah i know, im good
Good at what?
10-19-04, 08:29 PM
#17
Originally Posted by Rx7carl
Ok, all the lines go above the heater. You know those black plastic coated clips? Well from bottom up first comes the skinny vent line, then the brake line, they are both below the mount bolt. Above the mount bolt, the thick oil vent line is clamped there. hth
Ok.. I'm not quite following Carl. From bottom up, you mean as the lines are running horizontally right? If I'm correct then that means my vent line is in the correct clamps it just needs moved up right? And also, that would mean that I have the fuel return hose clamped in the wrong place? Can you tell by the picture? These things are giving me a heck of a time. Lol. I looked for some detailed pics on here for a long time but wasnt ever able to come up with much....
10-19-04, 08:31 PM
#18
My wife bought me 2 RX-7s
Join Date: Aug 2001
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Originally Posted by Rx7carl
Good at what?Back on topic...
That's fantastic GlazedHam, that car is in superb hands. It's always a treat to see someones project car come to fruition. Hopefully I'll be doing the same to my '79 this winter, if I can ever get my hands on a functional winter beater.
