as many of you here know, i'm restoring my 10AE and have started a few threads regarding the 10AE and some diagnostic questions regarding the car. i feel its time for an update on my progress. here's the story: i bought the car in november after lengthy discussions with the previous owner and some price haggling. the previous owner literally destroyed the car. he was ripping up the interior and painting parts of it and on top it, he smoked the engine. i bought the car to restore, as the 10AE was the RX-7 that i've always wanted. this particular car i saw at a dealership back in 2000. i test drove the car and two days later decided to buy it. when i returned back to the dealer and the car had been sold. lucky enough for me, i wrote down the vin. fast foward to 2006. my neighbor tells me about this 7 his friend has and he wants me to look at it. when i did go to look at it, the car turned out to be a 10AE. i immediatly wanted the car. even through its staggering condition, i saw my next baby. my new project. something my wife would frown upon. i had to have it. i went home that night and looked at the pics i snapped and was looking at the pic of the vin i took and something jumped out at me. i dont know why but i dug out that old estimate from the dealer from the 10AE i test drove and compared the two vins. it was a match!!!! six years later i have the car i fell in love with! here are the pics of my progress.

this is the condition i got the car in and the first few pics i took:









here is the condition the is in now:









old radio wiring:


new radio wiring:


basically, i've replaced and cleaned most of the interior, ran a compression test(not good at all), instaled a new speedo cable, replaced all lights in the instrument cluster, dug all of the expanding foam out of the bin holes, completely rewired the entire audio system and installed new speakers, and i've cleaned the exterior and under the hood some. there's probably some things i missed but i'm pressed for time and i'll update soon.

 

Good job. After you signed over the title did you smack the PO for being a complete douche? I would have.

 

exterior looks pretty damn clean, except where those fog lights were
interior looks a lot better now.
do you have any plans for the motor?
keep up the good work

 

i am going to replace the engine as money permits. i plan on a complete re-paint with ppg's crystal white and to keep up with the interior. there's still so much with it that needs to be done. i'm always making deals with forum members for interior parts. the fog lights were easy to get off but required re-wiring the turn signals because the PO used that wiring to operate the fog lights. the rust would not clean off of the bumper where he screwed the lights in a re-paint will solve that though

 

that purple arm rest cover is nice. we'll have to meet up sometime

 

wow the exterior is just about flawless... best of luck!

 

thanks for the coments! and 87 t-66, i'm always up for a meet! i dont know much about the armrest cover being nice, lol, but you can have the fabric if you want. i still have it on my garage floor.

 

Thank God you saved this car. Another 48 hours, and it would have been part of the Icy Hot Stuntaz!

Nice find. I too have an AE with a glass sunroof.

 

Yeah man, im glad you were able to save it. If I was in your shoes, finding out that its the same car i fell in love with 6 years ago, I would have cried. Glad you are going to save it though!

Oh and looking at the painted interior pieces, i would guess you bought it from some punk-*** kid?

 

You are lucky. My 10ae was so abused, I'm not sure at this point I can recover her. Love the pics, unfortunately, if you see my avatar, I would consider you lucky.


I am in the opposite condition you are: Good compression, OK interior, everything "works" ( except the usual culprits), paint is fucked, compression test is unusually high (like recently rebuilt, dont know what to expect on that one, thinking about rebuilding for the hell of it, might find cracked housings or some ****).....I say, engines are easy, and relatively cheap, body work isn't. Go with it! I envy you so much, i wish my paint was OK. . Best wishes on a fellow 10ae owner.

Dave

 

he was a punk who knew nothing about what he had and knew nothing about cars in general.

 

nice, I thought you were coming to meet up with me sometime? anywho good job, I cant wait till mine is done

 

I gotta get pics in my sig... im pretty much opposite your situation too my friend I got unusually high compression on my j-spec swap, my paint is half primer and my dashboard is so cracked a dash mat barely fits over it. Hood scoop is cracked and hood dented in, front bumper cracked... your car looks smooth though! Good luck, i actually JUST got my AE registered yesterday and back on the road today!!

YEAAAA

 

you should definatly see my thread "how many 10AE owners do we have" and register your car on our list!

 

Where's the restoration? Or is this just the beginning? Aside from the storage bins, your car looks like it's in very good condition.

The front half of the car's paint (aside from the very bottom of the bumper) looks flawless, too, I'm actually quite shocked. How many miles are on it? And nice job keeping the stereo wiring neat. When I rewire my car I wanna have everything perfect, too.

Don't take my first question of this post like I'm being a dick, please. In fact, I'm quite jealous of your AE. What are your plans for the rebuild, and rest of the car? Or do you plan on keeping it stock? I don't know what I would do if I had an AE...probably keep it stock and get another 7 to mod the **** out of...

Really nice car bro, I'm diggin that glass sunroof

Nice work,
James

 

thanks for the compliments! it is a small restoration. it is going to be mostly stock. i am goint to add a racing beat exhaust to it. the car already had an fcd, so i'm going to use that. but other than that, maybe an upgraded fuel pump. the paint is flaking and the pics really flatter the car. i want to repaint it the original crystal white and give it all new weather stripping and body seals. i do need an engine so that will be my next step. i absolutely love this car! it did dawn on me that i forgot to post a pic of the engine as it sits.
here's a pic of it when it was still a bit dirty. i've done more cleaning since this pic was taken.

 

and james, i almost forgot, when you do wire in your stereo, dont forget to wire a relay for your power antenna.

 

Who the hell wired that radio?

I thought this was a restoration? You only commented on adding an exhaust.

 

i wired the radio myself. the first pic is when it was a mess and the second was part of what i did behind the dash kit. i ran a new ground, all new speaker wire to every speaker, and new speakers. i tapped into the existing 12V constant and 12V switched wires. i am restoring the car. take a look at the first set of pics compared to the second. i am starting with the interior, then i'm going to do the mechanical. i plan on putting in a new engine, going through all of the brake and fuel lines, all fluids and filters, all bodywork, new tires, and brakes. the only performance modification i am adding is going to be a racing beat exhaust.

 

and this was when i had to diagnose the non functional fuel injector on monday. its back together now, awaiting a new engine. compression tests showed 85psi on the front rotor and barely 10psi on the second rotor

 

Might as well port it while you rebuild it. Unless you're going Reman...

And I don't listen to the radio, too much **** on it.

James

 

dont forget to replace the clutch line. very simple thing that gets allot of people stranded.

 

i wont forget. its pretty scummy. might as well do the slave cylinder while i'm in there.

 

in looking for an engine for my car it seems that finding a used S4 engine is almost impossible. i cant afford to rebuild or to buy a rebuilt at this point so i have to buy one used. i cant let this car rot into the ground. if anyone has any suggestions i'm all ears