fireman602

I would appreciate any suggestions on my restoration project. I am about to finish paramedic school (6 months in hell ), so I am starting to work on my '86 GXL.

I am just trying to decide where to start. I am going to go through the entire car and restoring it to as new as possible. I just need to know if there are any specific things to watch for and where to start.

I am planning on almost stripping the entire car inside and out, then refurbishing or buying new parts as I put it back together.

Are there any specific things I should NOT do? I have the Haynes manual and am very mechanically inclined. I have just never done a full restoration.

Any help is appreciated. And I know I will be sinking more time and money into this car than it will be worth dollar wise, but it is more of an ego thing!

Oh, one last thing. You can see by the pictures that it is in good shape so restoring it should not be that bad, but what is this color? Is this the artic silver?

fireman602

I can't post the pics. I tried once and that is enough for me. I guess they are not that important.

hIGGI

iTrader: (7)

take a LOOOOOONG vacation if u want to do it right

banzaitoyota

Baggies, wire tags, sharpies, notebooks and digital camera are your friend.

Have you thought this thru?
What kind of shop/equipment do you have
What vendors / suppliers have you contacted? CAD plating is EXTREMELY high right now
Make a schedule/budget

Multiply results by 200%

fireman602

I plan on doing this SLOWLY over the next year or two. I am in no hurry to get it running. Seeing my dad restore numerous cars growing up I know it takes time and money if you want it right.

I started with pulling out the interior pieces and fixing minor things like broken brackets and things. JB Weld is a miracle. I labeled each piece and put all screws and bolts in baggies.

I have only my garage. I have most tools I will need, but I have access to any tool you can imagine.

I made an excel spreadsheet and budgeted the things I know I want to do and it is around $8,000 with the engine rebuild being done for me. The engine rebuild is not something I want to tackle on this car.

Should I do the restore in sections? Like the entire braking system first, then the suspension, then the exhaust and lastly the engine bay.

My main concern is where to start. I am thinking start with the easiet to the most complex. And I do not want to mess with something I should not touch. (ie, the engine rebuild) I could do it, but why? It's like cutting my lawn, have someone else do it to help the economy and save me the hassle!

WonkoTheSane

iTrader: (2)

I just got done restoring my GXL (see sig), here's how I did it. I started with my engine out, and rebuilt that first, all by itself, so I wouldn't have too many projects at once. Once I did that, I started with the body work. I started by sanding it down of course, then did the fiberglass work (I took out that rubber bump-strip around the diameter of the car), by doing this with the eingne out allowed me to do my color paint to the engine bay as well. I put the engine back in, after painting, and now i'm going to start on suspension. I've been driving it for two weeks, with no problems

Just a note: If you're ambitious enough to restore the car, you already have the right frame of mind/technical know-how to rebuild the engine. get ahold of Bruce Turrintine's (sp?) "How to overhaul your Mazda 13B Rotary Engine" video, avaible from mazdatrix.com or (I think) atkinsrotary.com . I think you'd like doing it if you're into mechanical stuff, and it really wasn't that hard with the help of the video.

PM me if i can help you more, I'll try to remember to check the thread, though...