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Time to FINALLY get a damn paint job on my car so I figure enough change is happening to merit doing a build thread.
First, how about some Fun History?
I've always dug cars. Watched Knight Rider as a kid (yes I'm pushing 50 years old), made cool cars out of Lego, etc. Never really was super big on Hot Wheels, had some but they were secondary.
My parents bought an '89 Nissan Maxima new, that was the first year of the more round "4 Door Sports Car" body style. It was a loaded out model with the Bose stereo and all the high-tech gadgets. It wasn't my car but I drove it plenty in high school, at the time it was FAST and it blasted plenty of hair metal on the Bose stereo. It was an automatic and front wheel drive but I didn't know any better at the time.
Fast forward to '91, I graduate high school and start college at UWF here in Pensacola. I eventually get our '87 Camry as a hand-me-down. Slow, uninspiring, but reliable. I remember seeing the dope '90s sports cars start popping up, there was as professor at my university with a Montego blue '93 that I drooled over. Also was a big fan of the 300zx of the time too.
Two big things happened in the mid-90s. I had a roommate with a '90s Volkswagen Corrado VR6 that was clean and fast. I was super impressed with that and wished I had a cool sports car. I also had a friend at work, Big John, who ended up being a lifelong friend and was in my wedding. He taught me the basics of how to turn a wrench and the basics of how a car makes power and how to make MORE power. I learned 12v electronics hooking up a stereo in the Camry but it was still unimpressive.
I remember looking around trying to think what would be a cool car to have that I could actually afford. I remember looking at 944's and then saw in a magazine an aftermarket exhaust that was like $1500 - no way could I afford something like that. I then was in San Antonio visiting my mom one year and we went to a book store after dinner. I looked through the car books and saw the "Mazda RX-7 Sports Car Color History". I was really impressed that the RX-7 was a big enough deal to have its own book and also hadn't really considered the earlier RX-7's. Bought the book and ended up reading it many times cover to cover and DROOLING over the pictures.
So, the quest to buy an RX-7 was on. I remember looking at a few first gens, which I liked, but I didn't fit in them well at all. I remember going to Mississippi once to look at a first gen that was cheap and needed work but I could tell it was way too much of a basket case.
Around this time I got on the old school RX-7 mailing list. I read EVERYTHING. Many times at work that's literally all I did all day was read RX-7 stuff - very few websites back then. This was around '95-96.
So, finally, I found an '87 Turbo for sale in town. Traded my '87 Camry in and put up another $1500 and I had me an RX-7. Woo! I was AMAZED with how fast it was. It was burgundy with a burgundy interior, a color combo that I found out later was very uncommon. Owned the car for about a year before I sideswiped a tree and totaled it. I learned my lesson then on RWD cars - how far you can push it and also the importance of good tires.
A week later I bought my dream FC, an '88 Turbo 10th Anniversary. Car was one owner, very clean, ran great, and looked great. I think I paid about $6200 for it and financed it. First thing I bought was a good set of tires for it.
Over time I modified that thing to a ridiculous point. By the end it was a big single turbo, tons of electronics, suspension that would rattle your teeth out. I realized that I had built a car I didn't like driving any more, time to sell it and move on.
So, I bought a Lexus SC300. It was a '92 with a 5-speed. Super cool car, and in hindsight you can actually make a ton of power doing a "NA-T" setup since it has the same straight 6 as the non-turbo Supra. The car was quick off the line but then was meh. About that time the rental house across the street had a new owner move in with an FD....
I helped him out with his car but the big thing was I had to look at that sweet FD EVERY DAY and it made me REALLY want one. So, with the backing of my awesome wife and a car loan approval, I went out to find an FD.
October 2004 I bought my car. 1994 R2, black, 68,000 miles, just had a Mazda reman installed, downpipe and cat-back, and aftermarket stereo. Bought it up in Pigeon Forge, TN and just fell in love on the trip home. Oh yeah, paid $14,500 for it - you aren't finding those prices any more!
I've got about 139,000 miles on it now. I built the engine myself that's in the car at around the 80,000 mile mark - I blew the engine knowing I was on the edge fuel and tuning wise but "it seems to do OK". Car has been rock solid since then.
Next post will be some pictures and a current mod list.....
Sorry to hear about the twins Dale. I also wanted to take a moment to thank you for giving me the idea of painting my car at home. This is someone that I did not think was possible until starting to watch paint society and garage noise on YouTube.
Been working on the FD for several months now on and off and am getting close to the finish line.
I will more than likely start a build thread when I have more time but here are some pics for motivation. It is actually a lot of fun to paint a car. Hopefully you can switch back in a few months.
Current mods as it sits and as I remember it, probably more I've forgotten -
EXTERIOR
Plastidip Nebula Yellow Pearl
Cheap RE-Amemiya stickers from Ebay
JDM vented headlight cover (it's a real deal part but I can't remember the brand )
OEM 99 side skirts
Shine Auto Mazdaspeed replica front lip spoiler wrapped in satin black vinyl
RE-Amemiya rear wing
Real '96+ round tail lights
JDM front fenders with side markers
JDM side reflectors
Carbon fiber wiper cowl
Sakebomb HID headlights
All bulbs upgraded to LED
WHEELS
Racing Beat 17x8 and 17x9 35 offset - they were made by Racing Hart for Racing Beat. SUPER old school.
ENGINE
HKS RS intake with K&N cone filters
Blitz front mount IC
Koyo radiator
99 spec twins running 1 bar
HKS Twinpower
JDM aluminum TB elbow
AEM water injection at primary inlet and TB elbow
1300cc bored out secondary injectors
Stock port engine
Knight Sports Dual-tube downpipes, Jet-Hot 2000 coated
SMB metallic high-flow cat
GP Sports cat-back
Apexi PowerFC
Apexi AVC-R boost controller
INTERIOR/ELECTRONICS
Greddy boost and water temp gauges
Innovate wideband O2
Custom blue PFC screen from Michael Gagne
Mazdaspeed shift ****
Momo D-shape steering wheel
Alpine head unit
99 tach
JDM oil pressure gauge in instrument cluster
SUSPENSION/BRAKES
Tein Flex Z coilovers
Pettit Racing diff mounts
OEM motor mounts
Urethane trailing arm bushings
Urethane steering rack bushings
Racing Beat braided brake lines
Some sort of good brake pads? It's been a while on those
DRIVETRAIN
Exedy Stage 1 clutch
Idemitsu gear oil
RX-8 4.44 ring and pinion
JDM trans with US 5th gear swapped in
First off, the paint under that Plastidip is SHOT. Not "oh it's got a lot of swirls" - no, it's got primer spots, major damage, rock chips half-*** filled with spot putty, it's BAD.
The dip has been on for probably 5 years now and it's time to move on. I'm hoping next weekend (Memorial Day) to peel all the dip off and get the ball rolling on a paint job.
So, what's the plan?
- Peel dip
- Both front fenders have some damage and I cut holes in one to do the JDM side markers. I have a good set of red stock US fenders in the attic that is going on.
- May swap out the 99 side skirts for the Shine Auto ones. The 99 skirts are VERY heavy and don't take paint well at all.
- I have a Knight Sports front bumper in the attic that I may go with, I'll have to test fit and see what I think. Either that or stock.
- Repaint car in RX-8 Brilliant Black Clearcoat, which is the same as the OEM color the car came in just with a clear
- Replace vented headlight cover with a stock one
- Car has a few dings and spots in it that need some love from the body shop
That's the big stuff for now. I figured this thread will give me some motivation to keep pushing forward and getting this sucker looking good again. This year at DGRR I swore was the last year it came in the dip. I've had fun being a "CYM" car for a while but I think black is the way to go.
BTW, I have nothing but love for Plastidip. Here's my thread about it -
If you have a shot paint job this will buy you time. It's also a great way to make your car look different if you've had it a long time and have gotten bored. You can easily do this with a few friends in the driveway in a half day for $500 total, you can't beat that. I've also had a color shifting pearl dip and had blue vinyl racing stripes on previously as well.
I mean, I love FDs in all colours... But that yellow dip colour, with the satin finish it has is just gorgeous. The satin works so well with all the flowing lines of the FD. Can totally understand wanting a good body and paint though, looking forward to seeing you progress through this! :-).
PS: Don't get into vaporblasting and zinc plating. You'll get addicted and it'll take over your life ;-).
I mean, I love FDs in all colours... But that yellow dip colour, with the satin finish it has is just gorgeous. The satin works so well with all the flowing lines of the FD. Can totally understand wanting a good body and paint though, looking forward to seeing you progress through this! :-).
PS: Don't get into vaporblasting and zinc plating. You'll get addicted and it'll take over your life ;-).
Read my original Plastidip thread that I linked, it has pictures from when it was still new, REALLY looked good then. It's definitely faded now but for 5 years of use I can't complain.
I'll add "powder coating" to the list, fresh powder coat looks SO good and holds up awesome. When we did a buddy's car he got a ton of stuff done at a local shop for a good rate, turned out amazing.
The IC pipes and a lot of stuff from when I did the IC install are painted with a real HVLP gun with single stage silver paint. Looks awesome and has held up very well. I did that myself.
I'm also big on fasteners - old crusty rusty fasteners got to go. Either new or good used, I've actually had awesome luck at pick and pull junkyards finding good 10mm bolts - look under the door panels and on the interior of other Japanese cars, it's an easy treasure trove.
I think it will look sexy as hell in black, have you found a shop to do the job yet, or are you going to DIY all the body & paint work?
It is kind of weird that I've got a zillion posts on the forum and probably 99% of the people here have no idea what my car is like or what's done to it . Another reason for this thread!
I'm going to work with a shop on the paint and body. I have a TINY (but well sorted) garage, just don't have the room to properly do an at-home job. It needs enough body work finesse that I'd rather have a pro do it than go through the learning curve.
My buddy Josh (he rode with me past 2 years at Deals Gap) is getting his 240 painted any day now, he found a local shop that does a lot of full-on quality paint jobs, bunch of older guys that have been doing it for years. That's what I'm leaning towards. But I'll be doing a lot of the grunt work myself - unbolt everything, get the new fenders on, etc. etc.
Nice car Dale!
That engine bay is very nice! Clean!
It looks like the car was originally black?
I just had my car fully repainted back to Brilliant Black last year.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks!
Yes, the car is BB originally. I've touched up the paint under the hood a number of years ago.
Wanting to do the RX-8 A3F paint which is Brilliant Black Clearcoat. Really want a nice clearcoat on the car so it will last and I can buff out scratches and scuffs over the years. I plan on USING the car not leaving it in the garage, but I would like to take measures to keep the car nice.
Once done I will be looking into a clear bra and definitely doing a good ceramic coat on it. Doing ceramic coat on my RX-8 daily (which lives outside) is what pushed me over the edge to going black again. Black is just such a hard color to keep up, car always looks dirty, but when it's on point it looks SO good. The ceramic coat keeps junk from sticking to the paint, it stays cleaner longer and takes less effort to clean, many times just a good once over with a hose and the car looks great again.
BTW I've been using the Avalon King stuff that all the YouTubers hawk, been happy with it and the price is fair. One bottle goes a long way too.
Super excited for Dale. As someone who has driven his car and seen it many times up close it is the "perfect twin turbo FD." The pictures do not do the engine bay justice. Everything is super well thought out and it is so clean you could eat off of it. The only thing the car is missing is a good paint job.
I get orders this week. I might be moving back to the old panhandle. Hopefully I will get to see a brilliant black FD up there.
I truly wish you the best of luck, it will all be worth it in the end. Will you be stripped down the bay at all and bagging the engine so the core support, firewall, and strut towers can be refreshed as well?
Finding a shop to do body and paint for me has been one of the most stressful and difficult parts of my build.
I truly wish you the best of luck, it will all be worth it in the end. Will you be stripped down the bay at all and bagging the engine so the core support, firewall, and strut towers can be refreshed as well?
Finding a shop to do body and paint for me has been one of the most stressful and difficult parts of my build.
Under the hood actually isn't too bad. I repainted the shock towers a while back and that got a lot of the ugliness in the under hood paint. It generally looks really good, I don't have any faults with it.
That said, next time the engine comes out (which I have a lot of stufff I'd like to do with an engine-out) I would definitely evaluate and I could spray it myself if needed.
Super excited for Dale. As someone who has driven his car and seen it many times up close it is the "perfect twin turbo FD." The pictures do not do the engine bay justice. Everything is super well thought out and it is so clean you could eat off of it. The only thing the car is missing is a good paint job.
I get orders this week. I might be moving back to the old panhandle. Hopefully I will get to see a brilliant black FD up there.
Thanks Steve! We'd love to have you back in the area!
So, stage 1 of this whole endeavor will be peeling the Plastidip. I do have a proper thick multi-layered coat of dip on so most of the large panels should pull off in one sheet. Big "should" here since all bets are off since it's been on so damn long.
Now, peeling the dip could be a tedious process of me sitting in my garage picking at it. Or, do it the smart way - throw burgers on the grill and invite all the local RX-7 guys over to help peel it off! I did a Facebook invite and will probably have about 10 of us over, should make light work of the project and it's a great way to keep up with everyone and hang out.
If you haven't read my "best mod you can do" thread, do so -
This is another case of how great it is to have a solid local group.
All that said, the plan is -
- Put car on jack stands in the driveway
- Put up my 10x10 pop up canopy (which was on sale a while back at Northern Tool for $70, WELL worth it)
- Start peeling
- Use DYC's Dip Dissolver on all the parts where it's too thin. Spray, let it soak in, wipe off with a rag
- For some hard to reach spots, spray Dip Dissolver and hit it with a pressure washer.
05-21-22, 04:23 PM
DaleClark's '94 R2 Back in Black Build
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