Halenstone

Ok, I started the thread. Thanks for responding with the info I asked for. I really want my ride to be nice. If you can give me some advice due to experience on how to pick a body shop, and a place for interiors I'd appreciate it. Thanks again.

Lee Lyons

body shop would be easiest if you just looked in the yellow pages for your area or an area within reasonable driving distance and just ask around...as for interiors its basically up to yourself to mod or redo anything and tips on changing the interiors color is easy with the search function...basically everything you need to you can find by using the search function at the top of the forum...good luck!!

Dan_s_young

iTrader: (1)

for bodyshops and stuff i would goto a local forum and search... Its always nice reading reviews of local body shops, you get an idea of what kind of work they do... Im in the same boat as you are, looking for a decent paint job though. But i will base my body shop decistion on what other people recommend.

christaylor

I'll paint you car if you bring it here.

Bob Holton

Maco is running a special on their middle best paint job , am thinking of doing it. any comments from the rats nesters out there?

anthrax

Word of mouth is the best way to find out abouot body shops...

Get involved with a car club, and talk to those guys they will have lots of insight on who is good and who is not so good. It will also give you a chance to look at some of the work the respective shops have done...

It has been my exsperiance that most of the best work comes from guys that do it on the side after they have finished their 9-5 ...

But as I said before talk to car people to find out...

WOOT 1000 Posts!!!!

Halenstone

Thanks fellas. I've been doing research of my own. I was just seeing what others did to gather information. Looks like I'm on the right path. I'm trying to change the color of the car, also the interior if possible (meaning if I can find all the parts). It'll take me a while, only problem is I use the car too. Guess I'll just have to add miles to my truck. besides, I wanna swap in a 13b. which remindes me I have to do a search on that to see what all I need.

christaylor

Oh, and taking it to Maaco/Earl Schieb/etc. is about the stupidest thing you can do, ever. Might as well bust out the Krylon -- the quality will be similar, probably better, and will last as long or longer, depending on how well you prep the car and if you buy the high-quality **** from Wal-Mart.

And no, I'm not really exaggerating. At all.

LongDuck

Hey, first off, thanks for starting a separate thread on this to talk about the mods that I've done to my car. Sometimes, I get people who show an interest in what I've done, and it makes me feel good about all the time and $$ invested! I'll include some pictures in here so you can get a 'feel' for my car.

The car in my signature line is a 1984 GSL-SE that came with the 13b RE-EGI engine. With this 'upgrade' package, you also got power steering as an option, power windows, door locks are manual, however, and the front mount oil cooler, LSD, vented rear brakes (4-wheel disks), and the glass moonroof. The GSL was the next package down and had solid rear disks instead of vented, and you got the 12a engine.


This car was bought off the dealer lot in Phoenix, AZ by my dad, who used it for a commuter car for many years. During that time, all that he did was oil changes and tire rotation, and when I bought it from him, it needed a lot of TLC to restore. The project took me the past 3 years when I really focused on making the car 100% - including such minor things as interior trim, weather seals, shocks (Tokico Blues), suspension components (anti-sway bars by Koni front and rear, adjustable), and then the cross-drilled brake rotors and wheels, with paint as the finishing touch.

Paint should be done last so that you have no risks of damaging the paint when you work on the other components of the car that need to be updated. The bodywork is a combination of body kits that were sold in the 80's by Pacific (whaletail), Kamei (front airdam), and Mazda Factory Race parts (sideskirts), and Maria rear hatch (which some members here hate!). These parts have been installed by me and can be quickly and easily removed to return the car to stock appearance - I even had the bodyshop paint with all parts removed, in the event that I want to swap a part out. Choice of color was the 2004 Mazda color offered for the Mazda6, named BZ-21T "Chrome Yellow Clearcoat", both to increase the visibility of the car, and also to give it a '20-year newer' color from the Mazda catalog:


Currently, the car has 185k miles on it and the list of modifications are in the signature line for everything that I've done to it along the way. It has the suspension from my 1980 LS RX-7 that I used to race in SCCA (still own, and in the garage), and the stock interior trim and seats - maintained through careful use. The engine modifications include exhaust, intake (CAI, Ram) through the Mariah lid scoop, and otherwise stock control systems - this is to maintain reliability since this car is my daily-driver. Wheels and tires were added to compliment the design of the car, and the MB 272 wheels make good use of 'negative-space' and circles/holes which create the final touches, IMO. If you look at the design cues on this car, I spent a lot of time studying the new Lamborghini Murcielago - also a key driver for the overall color choice and wheel selection.


As it stands today, the car is an excellent street car, offering good handling performance, reasonable fuel mileage (17 city/20 highway), and gets a lot of stares and 'thumbs-up' from other drivers in traffic. About every day that I have this car out, someone will approach me and ask about it. It's been mistaken for a brand-new Mazda, a Porsche, and really catches people's attention. This car is also our ride with the Rotary Car Club of Arizona (RCCAZ.com), and can be seen cruising the Arizona Territory on the weekends. I do all my own maintenance, which means EVERYTHING, and don't trust anyone else to work on my car. I've spent a lot of time and effort getting it here, and don't want someone else to screw it up.


All in all, I've owned a 1st Gen RX-7 since my first car, and can't see a time when I wouldn't want to have one to drive everyday.



Hope this helps to illuminate some of the changes you can make to your car in the course of 'rolling restoration' and maybe, just maybe, it will give you some inspiration to keep your restoration going even when it gets expensive or troublesome. Take care,

1stgen4life

iTrader: (1)

God I love your car LongDuck. (Except for that Mariah hatch!! JK) Good write-up about your car.