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Hello everyone. I have a 93 FD roller. It was in an accident and one of the previous owners started a tubed front end on it. It's not particularly well done though.
Anyway, I found a complete front clip for sale and it looks like it was cut in the same place as mine. Do you think it's worth it to buy the clip and weld it on, or keep it a tubed front? They're asking $1700 for the clip.
Unfortunately, welding this correctly will be difficult due to limited resources. There's nothing wrong with welding body panels, but I wouldn't recommend combining two different body panels to make one complete panel. You'll need a left and right apron, part numbers FD01-53-210E and FD01-54-210F. This would give you a clean canvas to weld on the clip, so the clip is still useful, but you need something to bridge the pieces together, like I mentioned earlier. Basically, you need a good foundation to weld from, because you'll have a hard time getting the fender, hood, and bumper to line up if you're off by even a little. Those new aprons will help. You could get a set of used aprons from another car, but to do that, you'd need a different clip—basically, the whole front of the car. I'm sure you already know about grinding off the spot welds, fitting the new panel, welding again, and using seam sealer. I'm not a body man, so maybe someone else can chime in, but this is how I would do it if it were my car. The body panels have been discontinued, but maybe you'll have some luck by calling Ray Crowe at 703-785-5554 or emailing him at crowe.ray@aol.com.
Edit:
I forgot to add that if you stick with a tube front, it would be easier to install a one-piece front like I have pictured. It would be challenging to build custom brackets to hold the fender, hood, bumper, etc., separately. You’d probably have to get it custom-made since it seems like no one sells it, but I could be wrong. Also, these forums are dead, so be prepared not to get many responses. A lot of people are using Facebook groups for advice, which is stupid, but anyway, I'm rambling. Good luck.
Last edited by CREEPENJEEPEN; Aug 2, 2024 at 09:47 PM.
Double post but I realized your frame rails are gone too, you can buy them but probably discountined too, part number FD01-53-200A and FD01-54-200A, these come with the apron attached, along with 3 other body panels. It seems like this place has it in stock but local pick up only. https://www.mazda-parts.com/oem-part...bly-fd0153200a, that is the right side but most likely their system has not been updated so there's that. Alright I'm out now.
Wow, great find, Redbul. I'm surprised they still have the panels for sale, even in Japan. It can be quite challenging to get larger items shipped to the US, as it often requires knowing someone who can bid for you and has connections to a port.
I would definitely try to get those frame rails. It would be tough to get a front clip that includes the entire frame rail since it extends a bit past the firewall, if I remember correctly. I'd also recommend taking the car to a body shop to ensure the strut towers are in the correct position after the accident. Reputable shops have access to precise measurements for specific cars and use a body alignment gauge to check if the car meets specifications. It's important to make sure the car is square before welding any panels on. Of course, if you're going for a full-on race car or drift missile, you might skip all this and stick with a tube frame and a one-piece fiberglass front end. Lol.
I would add up all the cost and weigh out your options, this can easily become a 5K-10K repair.
In 2016 cut-up a complete FD because....no storage and no buyers. Salvage only title. Engines and turbos were mint and are in my car now, 47,000 km later.
A
A testimony to Mazda's internal balance engineering. The half side stands on the dolly without tipping over.
Thanks for all the advice everyone! I think I'm gonna try and buy it. It's cut almost exactly where I need it. I'm a decent fabricator, and my brother is a very good one. I think together we can make it work and it'll be much nicer than the tubed front.
This front clip has the majority of what I need. It is easily accessible, and will end up being much cheaper than buying new individual pieces to totally rebuild the front end. Additionally, it will be way less work and probably turn out much nicer than me stitching together each piece that makes the front of this car.
What is existing on the car is straight. Yes, it would be optimal to get a whole new apron for each side like you said. I'm not disagreeing with you. I would love to be able to buy both sides and replace everything from the firewall up.
I'm not expecting this to be perfect. I'm just trying to make it decent. I was going to just redo the tubed front but I think this a better option. Worst comes to worst I'm sure I can sell clean up and re-sell the front clip. Regardless of the frame rails, I still need everything else on the front clip.
The clip you're planning to buy doesn't have enough frame rail to replace this section of the tube frame. Unless you're planning to keep that part of the tube frame, it seems like you'll end up with a partial tube frame. No worries man, I'm just trying to bounce ideas with you. Since the frame rail is the most critical part of the car, I was curious about what solution you're considering.
The clip you're planning to buy doesn't have enough frame rail to replace this section of the tube frame. Unless you're planning to keep that part of the tube frame, it seems like you'll end up with a partial tube frame. No worries man, I'm just trying to bounce ideas with you. Since the frame rail is the most critical part of the car, I was curious about what solution you're considering.
Ah yeah I did notice that. Probably just add material, not much else I can do. Looks like the mazda parts site has the right side available but not the left. I will definitely keep my eyes peeled looking for them though.
This is going to be a long project for me, I'm just buying pieces here and there.
Genuinely curious how this project is going? Any updates?
I have a build thread you can view here to see updates on the whole car.
Progress is slow, the car is stored in another state so I don't get the chance to work on it much. There's still a fair bit I need for it, and I've slowly been getting parts for it. But I do have the majority of parts that I need for it now. I'm at the point though where I just need to put some elbow grease into it.
