FD3S: Resurected from the dead!!
 

Long story short: I've had this project for about 6 months now and today I can finally say that everything that needed to be done is done. There are 3 minor things that still need fixing before I take it through the Japanese Compulsary Inspection (JCI) next week. 1. Left blinker isn't working, changed the bulb and still not working--I suspect the socket is bad; 2. My seat belt light does not turn on when I take off the seat belt--they check on this and will not pass the inspection uless the darn light comes on; 3. Need to paint the left side caliper to match the right--not critical, but needs to match!

Aside from the above, the car has been completely restored from a shell that was about to get junked to what you'll see below. Today I installed the rear seat belts, back support of the rear seat. Yesterday I installed the wing that I finally got in from main land Japan. As you'll see in the pics, I had part of the FEED wing, but decided against it as I didn't want to go have to paint--I did this with pretty much everything on this car, just waited until I found the part I needed in black.

Anyways, if anyone has questions about the car, please feel free to ask, I will answer them as they come.

Here's when I first picked it up from my buddy's house.
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Shell had no engine, but I beleive they dropped in a 99 13B.
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In My garage now and changed hood!!
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Steering wheel in to replace worn out momo replica like wheel
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Pics of the gutted interior before I started buying the parts to put it back together
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cont...

Interior coming together slowly, but surely!

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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...7Project41.jpg
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When I first thought I would use the bins...
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^^ I was thinking of making it a box for 1 8" JL Audio sub--never happened though

Pushed out of the garage for the first time, was looking for some air when trying to install the cat
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before taking it out I had installed the bumper, but needed to spray paint the brackets for rust control
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cont...

bumper support only
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with aftermarket bumper I originally thought I would use, but getting this painted would have cost me around $300-$400!
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fast forward a few months and this is what I went with: stock bumper with aftermarket lip, much better looking if you ask me
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Out for a wash and notice parts of the feed wing, mainly to cover the holes. Oh, I also got rid of the nasty looking 18" chinese made wheels the car came with and replaced them with a more conservative enkei ones
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A more recent pic with the lip painted and complete bumper. The car had temporary plates on, so I was able to drive it for the first time and what a joy it was...this was last week.
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And this is how she sits today!!!!!
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Notice the painted caliper
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Finally got a wing that matches the car and it's like new, too!!
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Clean rear seats and belts
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While at it, I replaced the rear speakers for something that actually fits the oval hole:
Before:
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After:
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cont...


And this is how the engine presently looks
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As I mentioned at the beginning of my thread, I installed the wing yesterday and finished the rear seat and seat belts today so I can pass inspection. I just got another set of temporary plates so I can drive it over the weekend and do a few things to it.

I don't think I mentioned this earlier, but this is a 95 RX7 Bathurst Edition with newer spec engine.

I will be posting more pics of the car sometime this weekend after I wash it and maybe give it a nice polishing.

Thank you all for looking at what has been my project for the last 6 months. This is my first FD and what can I say, no better way to learn about a car than to put it all together from sratch!!!

Cheers!!!

Very impressive build! That is a lot of work in very little time.

Who makes your front lower bumper part?

Great job so far!

Vince

nice ride and clean taste!

Vince,

I don't know who makes the lip...it looks pretty stock-ish, but a bit more agressive.

Nice transformation. Much better than its previous identity.

Very nice

That roll bar is odd. Any idea who made it?

Great Job!!

yikes, great save on this one.

Don't know who makes it, but you know them Japs, they've got stuff you'd never imagine was out there.

Haven't seen any aftermarket OEM carpet kits.

very nice build and bringing car back to life , awesome

Clean looking car, nicely done!

Looks like racing beat

Way to go... I've been working on mine for a few years now. Got diked a few tines so I lost time. But keeping hope alive on Projecr Forever.

Oh, 98 RZ with GT-C body

Sick job! Very inspiring (I got a rebuild of my own to do :P)!

subscribed!

always good to see a FD back from the dead.

Good job ;) Good call to put back to original those ugly parts (rear + front bumper, fugly frog eyes, etc)

So today after all the hard work I put on this car I had to let her go due to my move back to the US. All the knowledge I gained from building this car will be put to good use whenever I find another FD shell, will be more than ready to put another one together, maybe this time with my 3rotor engine. Thanks for all the comments. Until then....

hey everyone, I am the new owner of this car! I am really excited to continue the restoration on this car. I will be posting pictures on its progress

did this originally have bins in the back and you put back seats in?