Just picked up my first 7 last night!!! Whoohooo. Silver 94 touring with only 32k miles on it.

The previous owner and only other owner considered this car his baby, he drove it the 7 miles to work and back each day, except when it was snowy, or roads were covered with salt from a recent snow.

The car is in perfect shape (considering it's 8yrs old), had it checked out at a local motorsports shop by an experienced rotary mechanic. (JJ @ Passen for anyone from Ohio, he took the time out of his busy day to provide a newbie with many suggestions both prior to inspection then again afterwards).

Although the previous owner took emaculant care of the interior and exterior of the car, it doesn't appear he did much cleaning of the engine compartment.

so, now my question: What do you guys use to clean the plastics, metals, etc and bring the shine out of what could be shiny under the hood. Obviously mods and new parts I add to the car will be easy to keep up with, I'm just looking for suggestions for cleaning the last 8 years of gundge up a bit!

thanks in advance, this forum has been great, I've spend an easy 50 hours over the past few weeks reading up on everything I can since this is my first 7 and I'll want to take good care of her so she is good to me for many years to come!

 

hmm, it shouldn't reall ybe that dirty if it has the milage and has been treated the way you say it has..

But oh well.

Here's a quick link:

http://www.autopia-carport.com/Detai...0Detailing.htm

I use simple green engine degreaser, people say it etches aluminum (like your upper intake manifold), but I have yet to see anything of the sort.

I suggest using plastic wrap to cover up all your fuses and your battery. You may want a light brush, as it's kinda hard ot fit your hand, with a rag, in some places.

 

and as im sure you know that real SHINY shine you see from alot of the really nice cars is because they spent a couple hundred to git it polished which isnt a bad idea if it really bothers you that much. id rather put it toward something else though, but thats just me

 

Well yhis is my pet peve. I hope you plan on loving this car. Most cars I see have un-polished manifolds,crappy oil resedue,etc. You should definately keep up yhe looks same as performance or your just a donkey.I suggest cleanning all oil of first. Then after you get all this clean you can really get into it if you really want further suggestions on polishing parts,dressin up wires and generally getting your engine bay close to show e-mail me .
Enjoy your new life

 

Congratulations!

First off, I am not sure Passen motorsports knows a whole lot about rotaries. I would hook up with a guy named TOMMY on the forums. He lives up by Passen Motorsports. I don't think he takes his car there. He has another mechanic I believe.

I live in Cincy. You guys should come down to the next meeting we have. Check out our forum..and look at our meeting times.

http://65.27.221.79/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi

You can email me privately if you have any questions.

paw@ite.com

Later,
Patrick

 

use steam to clean it

 

I used Simple Green and it seemed to work great. I asked Rotary Performance and that is what they told me to use. If you have some stubborn areas, spray it the night before and let it soak in. I have also heard that it etches some metals, but have not seen that. I also did what Martini did with plastic wrap. I had to put it on my Apexi intake. I used an old toothbrush that worked great to rub the stuff in and help take it off.

 

With a bit of help from 89turbo2dutch, my engine compartment looks awesome!

http://mediaservice.photoisland.com/...9613546644.jpg

Thanks for all the suggestions guys!

K

 

I use the "Mothers" line up of goods. For the Black rubber hoses and Black rubber trim ect. I use BACK TO BLACK. They also have chrome Magnesium polish and other things. Of course everyone has their opinion as to what is better.

 

Hi Kyle,

congrats man! The engine bay looks stock though...time to do something about that

Hey, if you ever need any more help or advice, feel free to PM me

 

I use carb cleaner for lots of things. Some don't like it .. I do. I also like using Mothers and LOTS of it to keep plastic looking good.

 

GoodfellaFD3S -- the mods are coming...just put f/r strut bars on last night...got a boost gauge and turbo timer in last week...the mods are coming