1stGenJake

1. sorry, but you know what i ment.

2. I LOVE REVIVING DEAD THREADS

SerpentKing

Yes, I've noticed. BTW, I revived this thread, which happened 2b my own.

After about three hours of toil, I've pulled the 12a out. Most of that time was spent cutting the head off a siezed starter bolt with a hacksaw blade.

The sight of Katie's heart dangling from a steel cable almost brought me to tears (did I mention this is my FIRST engine pull?)

SerpentKing

I got a GSL-SE oil pan and front cover off eBay, from a vender called Red Tail Racing. The pan was $50, the cheapest I've found. The front cover was $110, and is brand new.
Total cost was $198, with FedEx shipping.

BUILD COST TO DATE:
$200 Core engine
$198 GSL-SE Oil pan & front cover
$398 Total

SerpentKing

I'm particularly proud of this; a Racing Beat manifold & Holley 600 carburetor. Obviously used and in need of rebuilding, I bought this on eBay for $355.01 shipped.

BUILD COST TO DATE:

$200 Core engine
$198 GSL-SE oil pan & front cover
$355.01 RB intake manifold & Holley 600 carb
$753.01 Total

SerpentKing

So my cowl panel has always had a dent in it, and needs replacing. Besides, every piece of crap in the world falls into the vents. I've had nightmares about the rust I'm gonna find when I open it.

I bought a new cowl panel on eBay ($64). The seller was a real stand-up guy. I told him my car was red, he sent two just to be sure (good thing too, since one of them wasn't perfectly straight).

I removed the old panel, and found the inside to be completely solid (filthy, but rust-free nonetheless). That's ONE thing I won't have to fix. I should give Mazda engineering more credit.

Build Cost to date:

$200 Core engine
$198 GSL-SE Oil pan & front cover
$355.01 RB intake manifold & Holley 600 carb
$64 Cowl panel
$817.01 Total

SerpentKing

The bumper shock absorbers on my FB are twisted junk (even the bumper mounting bolts were bent!). I pulled a perfect set off my parts car, but . . .

Before I can put them on, gotta fix the frame damage. My plan is to drill out the spot welds to disassemble the individual pieces, pound them out straight, then weld the whole mess back on.

Zero dollars spent on this one.

SerpentKing

On the downside, my radiator is graveyard dead. It looked pretty sound in the car. But after removing it, I lightly brushed my hand over the fins, and they flaked off in a powdery mess. Turns out, it's a rotted POS. Something else I'll have to buy.

T_Wrecks

Its getting there man... Dude that engine you bought looks real good. When you told me you bought one for 200 I was thinking it would look like crap, but that thing is almost shiny! SWEET. Still waiting to here from mike about the rotors. Once you get the thing rebuilt I want to help with some of the restore... I help you, you help mee.... When I get my other car.

Lookin good buddy.

SerpentKing

How'd you end up with more posts than me!? I'll be welding soon, so I'll holla.

bliffle

Looking good! I like the way you work.

SerpentKing

Katie's moving along.
I worked the interior hard over the weekend. You may look at these pics and think "what the HELL is this clown doing?!?!?" It's not as bad as it looks.

SerpentKing

This first picture shows one of the reasons all this was necessary (sortof). That black vent goes through to the cowl area, and has the one spot of bad rust on the whole car (the rust is visible on the other side, and it looks like a future problem). I'll do some cutting/welding, then button this back up.

blackdeath647

iTrader: (2)

probably stupid question, but what is an fmoc?

'87 turbo II

iTrader: (1)

FMOC=front mounted oil cooler

blackdeath647

iTrader: (2)

well damn, i thought all first gens had the "beehive" in them...learn something new everyday :P

SerpentKing

I haven't been able to work much on the Rex (I've been working on the road). But I'm buying a MIG welder in a week, so Katie can make the next leap.
Meanwhile, I picked up another Rex for a daily driver. My new ride is an '82 GS. It's approaching 230,000 miles. The previous owner had many receipts for work done over the years. The engine was rebuilt about 100K ago, it has a rebuilt auto trans, among other things. I paid $800.
The car has a terrible repaint (in an ugly green), the interior is fragged, and the AC doesn't work at all. Otherwise, I couldn't be happier. It will be appearing here as a project car within the month. I'll post pictures when I'm home at my own computer. PEACE!

SerpentKing

Here's my new Rex: a 1982 GS with auto trans.
It runs well for being very cold natured, but has MANY other issues:
1. Pretty much every button in the cockpit is graveyard dead
2. The map light lense is missing, and has wires hanging out
3. Interior is shot to Hell, headliner droops, cracked dash has had a new cover GLUED ON (?!), storage bin lids broke loose immediately, seat mounting tracks are loose, glovebox door pops open constantly, etc, etc . . .
4. AC doesn't work (you picked a find time to leave me, Lucille).
5. BOTH taillights were smashed (one held in place with duct tape), I had to swap them out for a spare set just to drive legal
6. Driver side interior door handle was broken (found a replacement stashed in the self-popping dash box)
7. The WORST repaint in bodyshop HISTORY!! Only the windows & tires got taped off! Mirrors, door handles, EVERYTHING got sprayed green. Window trim was repainted with a BRUSH!!!!!
8. Replacement windshield wipers are 2 inches shorter than stock, so driving in rain feels like cheating death
9. . . . and many more

This will be my next project car, so this is the only time you will see this car on this thread. If you look closely in the upper left of the second photo, you'll see my red '85 being rebuilt in my makeshift shop. Peach & love.

SerpentKing

Katie's rear end is pretty much disassembled now. The car is undergoing complete teardown for bodywork & paint.

SerpentKing

I found a badly rusted spot under the right tail light. The bumper had mostly covered it from view. The rust is deep (a few pinholes are visible).
I've cut a good solid patch piece from my parts car, just have to weld it in.

SerpentKing

I've removed the left side towhook (an unsightly 4 pound ingot of 1/4" steel), and it won't be coming back. The mounting tongue will be removed from the frame, and the rear valance will be filled in with a seamless patch.
I never liked the 'born to be towed' look of those things, and I'm getting ride of all of them. No self respecting sports car is built to be dragged around (besides, I've towed this car before, and NEVER used them).

SerpentKing

Finally got to rid of the old exhaust system, won't be needing it again. Replacing the absurd manifold with a header is probably worth 2 tenths for the weight reduction alone.

SerpentKing

The engine bay is almost stripped clean.
Now I'm not working out of town, I work on the car at least 1 hour everyday.

graemefarr@optusnet.com.au

cant go wrong.
body looks great.

DivinDriver

iTrader: (15)

Meticulous... I like that.

I always found working on the dash parts (expecially up under) a lot more comfortable if I yanked the seats first. 4 bolts each, and no more pretzel spine. I have a stiff foam pad that fills in behind the front stringer perfectly. Like working from bed, that way.

vxturboxv

iTrader: (2)

Looks good, kinda rough car to totally restore isn't it?

Anyway radiators.com had cheap rx-7 radiators. Direct bolt in and fast shipping. My car with the OEM thermostat runs at 160*. I have to physically block the radiator w/ a piece of sheet metal to get my heater to work!

Awesome for the price... I'm wanting to say 150 shipped. But it's been about 3 years.

Good luck! hope U get it all back together.