Satisfying...

 

I’m definitely checking this out after dinner..

 

Now that was fun to watch and an awesome restoration.
Almost as nice as my '94 restoration

!!

 

Cool video. Makes me want to polish my glass.

 

I couldn’t imagine ever letting mine come to the point this one had. Thankfully they restored her to the proper level.

 

Not from Hiroshima headquarter, it's being restored in Shonan Mazda dealership.
They restored nice red FC as well.
It is indeed satisfying for OCDs alike.

 

Interesting they used aftermarket mounding for the windshield. I was annoyed with my Bodyshop when I provided them a new OEM molding for when reinstalling the glass after paint and they used their roll of generic molding instead.

 

A couple years ago I called Ray Crowe who said something to the affect that there were only a few of those moldings left…at least in North America. I got one and then Safelite tried to do the same thing to me on a WS replacement.

 

Looks like this is a '96? Anyone know what trim this would be? Really like the combination of original front bumper, optional 17" wheels, whale tail, and updated rear lights. This was a great spot in the car's evolution over the years.

 

Did the radios look different in cars for the Japanese market? Right at the end of the video that one looked aftermarket.

 

Yup 96 or 97 car, 3rd Iteration.

Kansai mazda on this one, not shonan.
Old man with glasses on Shonan FC restoration also.

 

Love the video... tons of great work to bring her back to life.

I think black FDs look so sexy all polished/cleaned up!!

I noticed they did mess with the cluster/hood.
They probably already know it'll explode on them as they try to pull on it for removal ......lol

Steve

 

Looks like a 1996 type RS (the 1997 type RS had a different momo steering wheel)

 

Now they just need to remake all of these parts for the whole market so we can keep our fd's just as pristine. Bring it these parts to the USA please Japan. 🙏 haha

 

Meh. Call me when they start a LHD, and have to overpay a fortune for used-up, scratched, and cracked plastics that are NLA. Then they can call Ray and hope he has any of still-available parts. Then they can hit up Drake's, Alpha, and whoever else to get good reproduction replacements of the OE junk. The video would grind to a halt as they scour the classifieds here, and thumb-through facebook marketplace parts listings costing "$1,234" with shifty dorifto kid sellers. Now that would be an entertaining restoration video!

 

^lol, a bit off-topic but oh-boy this for emphasis. Lazyasses and/or dumbasses, they list a chaotic mound of parts or a box full of **** laying on a random greasy vinyl floor, along with a dark photo from across the room. Parts they don’t need any more for their “project”. You know, stuff you always have extras of…like a wheel hub, transmission or one seat.
The ad tells you to DM them an offer. When you check his FB profile and posts you learn he’s a 22 year old asst. mgr at Jiffy Lube, way behind on child support and apparently only involves himself with “greedy bitches” or women who like neck tattoos.
If you DO DM to ask for a price on something, you’ll wait a week for a response apparently authored by a 3rd grader that indicates he doesn’t even know which part you’re talking about…and “what’s a module anyway”.
And I’m suppose to have enough confidence in them to send them money? Just as well give it to the fake homeless guy with a cardboard sign at the freeway exit

 

Well said......and that's why I sell every piece of my part-out FD's with a "return if not satisfied" policy.

 

LMAO
The accuracy has me dying

 

whats a service like that worth to you guys? what would you pay to have something like that done by a qualified mazda team?

 

I have a feeling that a great irony is upon us.
Once all the BaT cherry JDM dream car examples are sold, and all the money is laundered, the buyers of the "driver grade" examples will then have to live with all the stuff that comes along with owning a rotary powered sports car. Eventually, a certain percentage of those cars will be driven to the point of some failure. Maybe a new engine is needed. Maybe a rouge vacuum leak has presented itself. Maybe a (very probable) electrical issue has reared it's ugly head. Everyone who bought these cars will eventually realize what was realized and dealt with long ago - that rotary specialists that were few-and-far-between long ago, are even fewer and farther between now.
The result will be a slew of new rx7club members (we're already seeing this) either re-hashing long-dead posts, or asking the same ones. Meanwhile there will be two types of new "rotary specialists" around: Ones that have watched a few Rob Dahm videos and have decided to call themselves a rotary mechanic, or the few specialists that have stuck with this car since the '90s. Those shops will likely refuse much of this new work.
It will quickly become evident that more of the "driver grade" FD owners will start seeking this level of restoration, and that's where the real fun starts! Unless you know that a body shop knows how to deal with the FD, you can be assured that things will be broken during removal. You can then scale that with the extent of restoration.
Here's the irony I first spoke of:
When the cars eventually break, and there are not enough people who specialize in the engines, complicated twin turbo system, and PITA electrical OBD0 system, I expect there may be a pricing-down of many of these cars as buyers just reach a point where they just want to cut their losses. Combined with the economic hardships that I expect fairly soon, I think that will send enough of them back on the market.
I expect Mazda may eventually offer services like this through some select dealers, but I'm not too confident that the small amount of LHD models will warrant anything like that in the U.S. IF they do, I would expect that to cost an un-palatable amount to the people who actually do have the kind of money it would take. There would be better asset classes in which to park money.

 

I agree. They'll be dusty ex-projects and non-running cars, waiting for parts or expertise to revive them and their values.

I don't think Mazda is going to invest a cent into rotary training or parts in the US – they are clearly on a path to make the brand more upmarket and they'll be dumping every bit of resources into electrical and alternative-power products.

 

Looks like the great idler pulley dilemma playing out again, before and after!

Vapour and dry ice blasting an unknown tech it appears.

 

And you identify, describe if necessary and list stuff indivually, each with a price. And you have a sellers record here. And I know from experience the part is packed well and shipped quickly.
Nobody has to learn how to speak “dipshit” to deal with you.

 

As I get older and my body gets creakier, the amount I'd pay is going up. Especially when I can't seem to find much in the new car world that grabs my attention for (what I think) is a decent price. So weighing a restoration of the FD vs. a new car-- for the $$, I'm leaning more and more toward restoration.