eric e

hi all

when the previous owner had my Fd repainted my FD they didn't bother to mask off the black grills in the side ducts, ( just between the front wheels and the doors)

i want to remove the ducts so i can remove and repaint the grills black

they look as though they should just pull out from the metal car body...

but before i go breaking anything i thought i'd better check with you guys...

eric e

having some luck with repainting my peeling panels with a plasti-cote paint called black gold, will write it up with photos when i'm done

lost_rotary

to get to them you'll have to take off the fenders or you can pry them out of the spot (the whole vent not the grill). they're clipped in with 2 small clips if you break them they're like $2.55 from dealer which is a rip off or you can make your own some how. but once you have the fender off you'll see how it's held on.

wonder1and

he means fender well... the plastic thing...

lost_rotary

actually i meant the whole fender, but you could take off the black fender lining. might be a little hard to see but just put your hand in and feel around. remember there's 2 small clips where u squeeze 2 tabs on the side(the < >) and the whole vent should pop off. here's an idea of how the clip holds it on
_
___< >___
||
||

BATMAN

lol.. hmmm that diagram doesnt look right.. pics anyone? ;P i need to do it aswell thats why i ask

lost_rotary

err..yah it didn't come out the way i had it in the reply box. like is said in the last reply, just simply stick your hand in and feel around the vent. there's a phillips head screw holding each clip or "grommet" as mazda dealership refers it as. i'll try to take some pics tomorrow and post them. while you wait just go take the lining off and try to take a look yourself. earlier when i said to take off the fender itself, i just realized its a lot easier for me to do that because my bumper is off :P i'll try to redo the diagram. just squeeze the <> together and it'll pop off. ignore the .'s
......_
__< >__
......ll
......ll

Snook

iTrader: (12)

Wait are you talking about just the part that should be black? that square pattern plastic? Why don't you just very carefully tape around it and then use newspaper to cover all of the parts of your car around the area and then spray paint them black! I think that would take you a total of 1 hour for both and that includes them being totally dry.

rotary-tt

Take off the plastic inner fenders and squeeze the attaching clips with a long pair of needle nose pliers (or your hands if they are small).

eric e

thanks guys

got a good mental picture of it all now

eric e

Snook

iTrader: (12)

why was your car repainted? was it hit?
did they do a nice job on the paint job?
which interior parts are you painting over again?

RonKMiller

Uh Oh - do I have to give you guys yet ANOTHER mod that is totally awesome?

I put stainless steel mesh in mine in place of the plastic grill, formed by hand and held in place with plastic epoxy putty.

A very nice "touch". NOT ghetto.

I will custom make them for anyone for...... $100.00 .......including the epoxy, instructions and Fed Ex next day delivery. PayPal accepted at RonKMiller@cs.com.

The fenders are EASY to take off with a 10mm socket, wobble, extension and a box wrench. 10 minute job.
If you take the ducts off any other way you will break stuff, guaranteed.

RonKMiller

Jeez Snook - too much coffee?

***** wagon...

rotary-tt

Taking off the plastic inner fender and squeezing the clips is all that is needed (unless you have a Maaco paint job where the duct is painted\stuck to the fender). I got mine off easily this way w/o removing the fender and without breaking anything...I do agree that the fender is easy to get off but it is unnecessary. Might be a good idea if you take off the fender to clean out the area (leaves get stuck in there) and hit it with a good rust inhibitor...

Wait a second, Isn't one of the bolts for the fender behind the front bumper? I think you have to pull the bumper to entirely unbolt the fender...

ejmack1

2.55 a ripoff? thats the cheapest thing i have ever heard of on this car

lost_rotary

it is a ripoff for a piece of plastic thats just slightly larger than a grain of rice

RonKMiller

Yep, there is. One or two if I remember. But if you carefull insert a small cloth wrapped wedge between the fender and bumper once the fender is loose you can get to it with the box wrench without taking the bumper off. That's why it only takes 10 minutes. 11 if you drink a beer while you do it

While you've got the fender off you can do my ghetto
"hot air out" mod to give you a negative pressure ventilated engine room and use the naca ducts the way Mr. Chin originally intended them to work. Awesome.

eric e

"why was your car repainted? was it hit?"

not sure, but the front bumper doesn't line perfectly, come spring i may try pulling of the fenders to have a go at getting it better

"did they do a nice job on the paint job?"

not so good, the paint seems to be a good tough 2-pack but the preperation/sanding esp. of the roof was poor, you can see swirl marks from the sandpaper

"which interior parts are you painting over again?"

just the peeling panels, so that'll be inst. surround, radio panel, center consol and door panels
bought some of the tamiya gunmetal spraypaint mentoned in the digests but found it too soft and glossy for my liking, much prefer the plast-coat black gold, esp. as it uses some sort of non thinner base and i can spray it straight over the peeling paint without spending a day with thinners and a rag...more on that later when i can do a little more experimentation

like that idea of the stainless mesh, will be making up some frp to repair the broken mounts on a headlight cover so may look into the mesh as well

where can i find out more about this
"negative pressure mod. to do with naca ducts and the inner fender?

eric e

Toadman

RonK put strobes in his ducts.

Street King

OK one of my ducts fell off from its place, I used to be able to see it in there but now I can't. You think it totally fell off or is it hiding somewhere. now that I know how to do it(been wondering) I'll dig in. I hope it's still there

skunks

oh man, i cant believe you guys are using ascii photos to try to show him how it looks like hahaha . In anycase, I got off my ***, took off one of the fenders off one of my fd's and here are some real pics

http://silverfd.efiunlimited.com/fenderhole

P.S. Server might be down, check back later if it is...

skunks

eric e

way to go!

service like that is worth every penny i don7t pay for this service

thanks for that

eric e