uRizen

iTrader: (2)

Looking awesome, can't wait to see this thing when it's done.

Are you going to re-paint all those fading interior pieces too (like the ashtray, vents, etc.?)

SCCAIT7

Absolutly UNREAL. I am impressed. Great job man... I have an 88 convertable that has a tired motor...dent in the left rear...interior is shot... Man I would love to do this to mine... However my money seems to go into the racecar! ohh well...

Two questions...both are rude...lol...but funny in their on respect!

1.) What does your wife say about this! I know mine would...well...lets just say I "get" to go racing 6 times year...The rest is spent at the beach or lake...lol!

2.) What do you do for a living!!

Keep up the amazing work! What is your timeline? Any clue of when she will be done?

Trav

Actually most of the interior peices have already been repainted. I don't remember if I really covered that in this thread or not, but the interior was originally blue. I dyed the carpet black and painted all of the rest of it black using mostly Fusion paint on the plastic and black vinyl paint as well.

Trav

That was 4 questions not 2.

1) Not a lot -- I go in moderation honestly. She has her scrapbooking, I have my car. I just make sure I don't spend every waking moment out there and she's pretty good about not giving me too much of a hard time about it.

2) Ex-Senior Software Developer/Analyst -- now I'm an application manager / project manager /analyst / developer / .... well you get the idea.... I'd like to sink a lot more money in the pit obviously, but the wife stays home with our 2 kids, so I can't complain much -- wouldn't change that setup -- until they start going to school at least.

3) Timeline is...when I get time to work on her I put parts on her. February-March is going to be a bad time for us -- but I need to burn some vacation by the end of April, so hopefully I'll take a few days here and there and make some progress. Next goals I stated earlier, but maybe the engine will be sitting in it by spring. I won't have everything else worked out, so she won't be drivable, but . . .

4) Done? Hopefully by the time my son starts driving. He's 4 now, so I hope it will be ready in time.

jacobcartmill

iTrader: (6)

wow i remember when you started this back in the summer!


my only beef with this project is you're reinstalling the stock shocks/springs/swaybars...

i have a couple questions though:
it looks like, in the rear underside, that you were pretty conservative with the bedliner spray... any reason for this? or maybe its just the pictures deceiving me.
also, maybe i overlooked this, but what are you doing with the engine? stock NA? rebuilt? ported?

this project is awesome man... one day i'll take on something of this magnitude GREAT WORK

edit: also, buzz the paint off of the "MAZDA" on the brake calipers.. it makes it look 10x better

JerryLH3

iTrader: (11)

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is how you restore a car! It's so nice to see someone taking their time with an RX-7 and doing things the right way. It gives me hope that these cars will still be around and maybe even become (gasp!) a more collectible sports car.

Ah, such a refreshing sight from the normal hack jobs.

Rx7Ridah

iTrader: (8)

i agree with jerrylh3, if ever there was a definitive guide to the perfect restore here it is. My hats off to you, Trav. I was actually considering doing similiar work of course minius the rotis but man that looks sooo much easier! im jealous!

theagavejazz

iTrader: (4)

wow, I never thought anyone would do this to their fc, with the reputation fc owners have of being cheap, it's coming along so beautifully though, interior is going to be awesome.

Trav

Yeah, I actually plan on upgrading those at some point -- just really don't have the funds to drop on that right now. Probably will just go w/ the AGX and some Eibach springs or something. Had originally considered a Tein coilover, but I think that will probably be overkill -- and some of our streets around here aren't the greatest. I still want to be able to drive it and enjoy it -- my thought is just a mild upgrade there will do wonders.

I think it might be the pictures -- I don't think I was conservative unless you're talking about the fenderwells. I see a couple of those rear pictures that seem kind of light due to the flash and that may be what you're talking about. There were a couple of nooks and crannys that maybe I didn't get a lot in, but in general the entire bottom got a really good double-coat. The inside and the fenderwells were really the only conservative applications -- and the fenderwells I may go back over again with more at a later date -- I didn't do the fronts either, and may do all of that at the same time.

Also, I'd like to drive it and see how well this stuff works as a sound dampener. I'm not holding my breath, but I figure it's rubber, it has to help some. At some point down the road I may actually pull the carpet back out, do another good coat on the inside and then lay down some good sound dampening after I get a feel for how it sounds as-is.

RE Swap -- eventual single conversion, but I may toy w/ the twins for awhile just to make it run before I drop the big $$.

Had thought about that, but didn't. Probably will later.

Thanks everyone for the comments and positive remarks so far!

deadRX7Conv

Break out the expanding foam frame stiffeners, mix, and pour into that body!
I'd also fill any other hollow areas like control arms or subframes if possible.

Let me know when I can drop off my 'vert. Gotta run and buy a lottery ticket.

Trav

Yeah, I'm glad you brought that up -- I really would like to do that, but I also figure that can be done at nearly any point down the road. First goal was to get it on the ground, second goal is to get engine & tranny in, 3rd goal is to make the sucker run (drivable), and then last goal is to make all of those "nice-to-have" enhancements such as frame stiffening, sound dampening, suspension upgrades, larger turbo, etc.

Oh, and anything can be done for a price. Just bring that winning ticket and we'll talk.

DavidHensley

I have know Trav for a few years and have been keeping pace with his progress on this car, and I am sure you will all agree its shaping up quite nicely.

If I had know about this thread I would have posted sooner, but its really cool to see that so many people appreciate what he is doing, and it would seem have benefited from his work.

I live just 15 min from Trav and have seen this car many times and the pics of course are nice but seeing it first hand is a real treat. I have offered to help him several times but I think he just wants to do it himself. Though I know he could use the help he will probably never let me participate...

The car is coming along great and I am anxiously awaiting its completion, as are all of you I'm sure. Difference is, I will get to actually ride in it and sit in it at some point! NAH NAH NAH NAH NAH...just teasing! I really am looking forward to seeing it on the road, but Trav will probably take it out on his own (and rightfully so) the first time it is driven.

Keep up the good work and dedication buddy! I am impressed by this thread you started and the responces you have received!

RRTEC

iTrader: (13)

Damnit... One day my garage will be done and I can do this.... Nice work, I hope you get it done.. If I remember correctly this is an extention of another persons dream.....

InNeedOfBoost

wow, thats all i can think of saying! it looks great so far, i wouldnt mind doing this to mine if it wasnt my daily. mine is in almost perfect condition and drives like a new car, but its in dyer need of a paint job. its red, but its faded and doesnt shine anymore.

Trav

haha, you'll be lucky if I let you ride in it. Yeah, I think the first ride will have to be my own personal joy ride. We'll see though, I might sell raffle tickets.

Thanks for the comments so far -- feel free to critique or ask questions. I can take it.

bargeria

Hey Trav! Lookin good man! I'm glad this one is making it's way to life. (unlike certain MOPAR's that I can remember) I'll be looking forward to a ride sometime after the snows thaw up here.

Two questions:

1. Where are the car seats going to fit?

2. I couldn't remember if you touched on the front end kit here or not. I remember looking at a couple options but can't remember what you decided on.

Keep it up! You're a credit to car guys everywhere.

the King of Bargeria

BOOSTD 7

Somebody showed me this thread months ago, and I loved seeing somebody put this much effort into a FC! Trav, if you need any help saving bucks on parts, let me know. I'll help you out in exchange for you letting me do a story on the car in RX Tuner Mag when it's ready

MattB

wow...way to have a brand new RX7...nice work...cant wait to see the finished product...your getting there

Trav

Hehe, yeah, the poor Dart just wasn't making any progress -- mostly because of lack of interest. Maybe someday when I need to get my "muscle-car fix" again. I might not make the trip in the 7 up there though man... You may have to come back here for the ride.

1. Car seats? By the time I get it done, I won't need car seats -- they'll be fully grown.

2. Haven't really decided on the front-end yet. I've got the stock bumper, but it's not in so great of shape. I like the Border-style front ends (either Type I or Type II).
Here is Corksport's version of the type II kit that I've considered:


I'm just not sure yet what I'm going to do -- both the front and the rear bumper are going to need some attention and there are a lot of options out there.

Thanks for the compliments!

Trav

That sounds like a fantastic deal to me -- I'd be honored to have a story ran (as long as you're willing to wait until I have it complete and running).

I'll keep you posted -- more than likely there are going to be some needs in the engine bay to complete the RE swap.

Thanks again for the comments.

iceblue

I did not know this was out here. I share your pain! I realy like your work and it is nice to see another FC build from the ground! I like you took attention to little things and painted evrything. Just looks awsome it takes alot of skill to acomplish something from the ground.

91verty

I am with ice on this one! Amazing work trav and very inspiring to all old and new enthusiest! I was so in awe of Iceblues resto and now i get to look at 2 incredible features. Keep up the good work guys and a quick word for everyone to remember when looking at this thread is ''PATIENCE''!

Trav

Yeah, I have to admit I haven't kept up with your blog, but I do remember seeing you start yours not long after I had started updating my thread w/ on-going progress. Definitely a lot of work and again thanks for the on-going comments everyone. I hope to dive back into it in the next few weeks and have some more updates after that.

wicked_rotary

You car is lookign amazing, I just read through every comment on here lol, amazing, cant wait to see more progress of it

Trav

Geez, I can't believe it's been over 2 months since I posted a real update... I feel like I've done so much yet not gotten much done!

Anyway, maybe a quick update is in order just to keep this thread alive.

I ordered a few parts in the last few months and have gotten the opportunity to put them on. First major purchase in quite awhile was exhaust. I got in on the group buy for the motoria turbo-back dual SS exhaust. I have to tell you, this stuff looks even nicer in person than in the pictures. Of course I forgot to take a good picture before I got it on the car -- BUT, I do have some pics of it installed & mounted.

Cat view -- wrapped for protection while I'm still banging around on stuff


Semi-fuzzy shot of the y-pipe & mounting points


Shot of the dual pipes coming out the rear


The exhaust fit like a glove really. My rubber donuts were fairly shot so I just went and bought some generic new ones (Advance Auto Parts had to order them). Only like a buck or 2 a piece I think. I also had some problems finding the rubber hangers (the 2 holers). I had some left over that were in decent shape, so I re-used those -- I also found a really thick (wide) one at O'Reilly's and ended up cutting it in half (lengthwise) to use for the Y-pipe hangers. Worked out fine and the exhaust hangs nice and seems firm yet flexible.

Also spent some time this last week dropping the motor in. Most of this was just because I didn't know what else to do and beings as I had purchased a new FMIC and pipe kit, I knew I'd have to have the motor in place for fitment.

A couple of engine shots: