Howard Coleman

iTrader: (6)

that is going to be one fine ride w the top down when you get it finished...

envy everywhere on this thread.

we all know you are heading toward obsession.

good luck,

howard coleman

Omicron

Wow dat dere is some serious bracing. Pity you can't take it out and see how much it weighs versus the normal non-convertible car. Maybe when you're all done go get the car weighed and compare that to a know fixed-roof weight. Hmmm.

Lookin good Zach.

Omicron

Yeah, I find myself thinking about this project quite a bit too. At one point someone posted a link to a similar 'vert on eBay but the auction had expired and I cannot now reach the seller, or I too might be following in Zach's footsteps on this one.

The Wankler

iTrader: (14)

I do have a shifter surround. My car has been tapped off for paint, so i can not take pics. For the dash, I will keep my eye out. I go every week to the wreckers Zack..... Fking guys beat me to a S5 T2 this weekend... I could have crapped. Still on my mind damned it! I will keep you in mind, and let me know what else you may need Zach.

Chris

BoostedRex

Thanks Chris. I'll be sure to give you a parts list when I have a full one and some money to buy the parts with.

Howard and Paul, thanks guys. The bracing is pretty nuts huh? And there is also some crazy bracing on the underside of the car as well as up through the A pillars. They didn't want chassis flex to be an issue from what I've read. And from the looks of things I'm sure it wasn't an issue.

Zach

*RX007*

iTrader: (4)

lookin good zach!

Cowboyfun

Zach, make sure you get that plating media blasted, then if possible get the floor sprayed with an undercoating or a line-x type product. It will quiet it down a lot, plus, no rust worries (not that we really have them here in Cali, lol). So far everything looks good, glad to see you got the dash out okay after we spoke.

ultimatejay

iTrader: (1)

I got 10 bucks says Gloria was a **** star. LOL

BoostedRex

Ben, the floor pan will get media blasted as well. Then it's going to get the super treatment of POR-15 (rust preventative sealing paint). Covering that will be some Elemental Designs eDead v3 (A paint on dynamat) finished off with a layer of eDead V1se (regular looking dynamat) That should keep things quiet and rust proof for MANY years to come.

And yes, the few screws you mentioned in that phone call were the ones that I hadn't found yet. Good call bro. I took the pictures of the bondo work around the trunk, but forgot to send them to you. I'll do that this weekend. Sorry for the delay meng.

Zach

BoostedRex

Ok, so I went to work under the hood this afternoon. I only worked on it for a couple of hours but I got a few things done. I'm on hold now until I have the time to get under the car to continue what I've started.

Start with the engine compartment all covered with dirt:




And now after I simply hosed it off. No actual cleaning was done, just a fresh water rinse:

BoostedRex

Here's the Holley 4brl with the air cleaner off:



Now the clutch fan and fan shroud are removed:



Now the alternator and distributor are removed: (notice how nice and shiny the metal is where the distributor was. )

nick812

amazing how just hosing it off makes it look different.

BoostedRex

The carb is off now:




Here's the elbow that runs from the carb to the compressor inlet:



And here's the intake mani that sits underneath the carb:


The two lines on the underside of this mani are coolant lines in case you're wondering

BoostedRex

Here are some pics of the turbo. While the kit is from Arkay, the turbo is a Rajay. I'm not familiar with it, but Robert from Rotary Shack was telling me about them. This thing has ZERO shaft play! Granted it only has 17K miles on it but still, I was happy. :




And this turbo is good sized. It's EASILY bigger than the stock FC turbo. I'll be very interested to see exactly what the specs are on it after I send it off to get "freshened up." And the inside of the intake tract is so perfectly clean and shiny. It's funny how great of a job fuel does at keeping things clean. That's it until I can get under the car. Next up will be pulling the exhaust, turbo, exhaust mani, and getting ready to pull the motor itself. Then I'll be on hold until I save up money to buy parts to start the rebuilding process. Hopefully I can save up that money in a timely fashion. We'll just have to wait and see though. As always, thanks for checking in and keeping up with the restoration of my baby.

Zach

*RX007*

iTrader: (4)

wow thts pretty sweet, and that turbo does seem like a really good size, so will she make it to rotary fest 2?

BoostedRex

Nah, there's no way it will be up and running by RotaryFest 2. But I am hoping that it'll make it's debut at SS10. We'll just have to see how the money thing goes and if the Rotary Gods decide to smile on this project or not.

Zach

twinkletoes

iTrader: (17)

Wow, keep up the work. I would love to see this a SS10. God bless

woodonastick

iTrader: (1)

ss10 you say? if so, hope to see u in the caravan. im tired of being the only 1st gen in there...

cptpain

iTrader: (1)

i read every page! this is a timeless car. great find, great progress! cant wait to see what you got in store next!

you'll be pimping a vert SA!

680RWHP12A

its waaaayyyy bigger than a stock fc turbo zach
that turbo you have there is capable of making 400 hp all day long.. its got a 60mm compressor wheel while the turbine wheel is slightly bigger than a p trim, rayjay turbos were one of the top mfgs. back in the day..

BoostedRex

Thanks for the heads up Robert. And I'll be sending the carb and turbo off to you in the beginning of Feb. I'll be sure to call and give you the tracking number for them after I ship them out to you.

Zach

Whizbang

mmm...non intercooled goodness.

congrats on finding a badass car.

BoostedRex

Thanks Low Impedance, I'm really happy that I found this car. Now I just want to get it restored so I can enjoy it the way it was meant to be enjoyed.

Zach

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

now we know where that oem oil cap got to and why there's a funky aftermarket cap on the engine

BoostedRex

Yeah, I had a good laugh when I found it sitting there. Needless to say it was cleaned off and put in it's rightful place. The funky oil cap didn't even seal. It had no threads and didn't do anything other than just sit there. I brushed it with my hand by mistake and it went flying. Go figure.