JustDrewIt215's build thread - Project Baby Shark
 

Hey everyone, I joined these boards last year when I first purchased one of my dream cars, the FD RX-7. I'm a sucker for 90's to early 00's JDM as well as vintage muscle, so between growing up on franchises like F&F/obsessing over car magazines any chance I could, I was always discovering new cars. Ever since I first saw the FD, I fell in love with its body lines. When I first got it, I was super excited to start working on the car and turning it into what I had already visualized, but unfortunately life prevented me from getting started until recently, so I decided to create this build thread to keep a living journal of progress with the car and as a means of keeping myself accountable.

***BACKGROUND***
I purchased this car from a seller on ebay, and boy was I in for a treat; things weren't disclosed, and I realized quickly that I had more on my hands than I expected, but it's okay as I have a solid plan for the car. I have no rotary experience, but I'm willing to learn. Have experience doing basic stuff on cars (bolt ons/general maintenance). This car will be a weekend driver/auto-x car in the future. This is also my first build so I'm excited to get it underway, and willing to take my time to do it right.

***THE GOOD***
1. The car runs.
2. The car came with the factory popups(uninstalled, but glad to have them as this is part of my vision) which were important to me.
3. Car came with the 99 style wing, which for me came down to wingless or 99 style wing for now. Not a fan of the smaller funny looking wing that came on FDs.
4. Despite being a ricer, the seller included stuff with the car that they ended up not having the time or energy to install or just didn't have a use for(door speakers, lighting, OEM suspension, OEM headlights, etc) so that was cool.
5. The car is still stock twins. Very important to me.

***THE BAD***
1. The odometer doesn't work. The display definitely needs to be replaced. Also, JDM cluster. (not the worst possible outcome, as I have plans to replace the gauges)
2. Unidentified exhaust components. It would've been nice to know the brand of the components.
3. Cruddy seats; the OG seats had a huge rip in them, with the foam exposed (I knew about this from the pictures, so not a big deal).
4. Plasti dip wheels, because rice.

***THE UGLY***
1. A HORRIBLE LEAK. Seller didn't disclose that there was a leak somewhere between the driver side door and the sunroof. Found out the hard way when I got in the car to start it and was greeted by a huge puddle in the footwell, beneath/behind the seat and dampness on the passenger side/mildew and mold galore.
2. Electrical issues; The installed radio doesn't work. The installed knockoff ricer headlights don't work. The brake lights don't work. The ricey aftermarket gauges work though. Awesome! /s
3. The headlights were wired poorly, and the bumper/fender liners/various non metal parts were secured with zipties in places, or random screws.
4. The hood latch wouldn't work, as well as the fuel door.
5. Rear hatch lift supports didn't work whatsoever.
6. Gas pedal had a bunch of play and was worn down, clutch had a lot of play also
7. The car was essentially a project that never ran it's course (or barely took off, more appropriately).

***IMMEDIATE PLANS***
1. FIND. THE. LEAK.
2. Diagnose the electrical issues
3. Get OEM headlights working

***LONG TERM PLANS***
1. Improve on the performance of the car all around in small steps (braking, grip, tq/hp/response)
2. Invest in auto-x/track days to become a better driver/comfortable with the car
3. Improve the aesthetics of the car(interior first, then exterior).

I'm here for any advice/tips any of you would like to provide(especially electrical). Thanks for checking my thread out, I'll be sure to post updates pretty often!
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...bd506b3dee.jpg
how the car came, with tacky headlights and weird bumper fitment

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...a9fa585c78.jpg
seller decided to keep the tacky diy cooling plate
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...4955601d66.jpg
These cars look mean from the front AND the back.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...44be21d2b4.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...4baa61124c.jpg
The OG seats aren't bad but I planned on replacing anyway.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...4e4ce816a9.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...3c2ae90e0d.jpg
The single din radio doesn't work at the moment, I'll have to figure out why. I plan on going double din anyway.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...4e03d49bc4.jpg
Seats developed mold form the leak in the car. standing water is no bueno.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...eb301b20a4.jpg
Mold developed on the driver door mainly, as well as the passenger door. I got rid of all tan interior pieces as a preventative measure. Other pieces were removed and cleaned thoroughly, no signs of mold coming back on them.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...8f117a6511.jpg
Had to get rid of the seats, and door plastics.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...706297566e.jpg
Mentally planning out seats and other aesthetic things for the interior with this shot.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...cdda9e4dea.jpg
The carpet had mold too, so at this point this car is getting gutted. Previous owner left rolling papers and a lighter in the car. Priorities.

Awesome! Car looks great! Welcome to the club! I recently purchased an fd as well so many small stuff I gotta fix =/ where in pa r u from? I'm in the king of prussia area. Not that many around here.

It seems like it's never ending right? Between visualizing what I want and wanting to do things a certain way, I have a nice list lol. Philly! I work not too far from there, I'll PM you later.

Apologies for the radio silence!

I was away at military training for the past few months but I'm back and ready to continue working on my car. Time is limited but I've continued the slow process of gutting the car out.

I'm taking a slightly different direction with this car now, which I'll be documenting as I work on it. Expect weekly updates at a minimum. Here's a few pics of more removal of the interior pieces/carpeting. I'll definitely be removing the dash, as well as cleaning up the interior carpet residue/gunk on the floor.

So, I've been sidelined due to an on again, off again leg injury. Pics will be coming soon!

As an update, I have partial lights on the dash(high beam/battery but no light behind the tach/oil/fuel gauges, etc.), but no interior lights/tail lights. I've been browsing electrical diagrams while I've been sidelined, so I'll be getting to the wiring issues next time I work on this build. My plan is to remove the dash completely and start looking for continuity issues along the wiring. I'm not the biggest fan of working with electrical issues, but I'm using this as a learning experience. If I have to, I'll pull the harness from the car, as there's no rush to get this thing on the road(and I'd prefer to do it right, not twice).

If anyone has any thoughts as to what the issue could be with the problems below, feel free to drop them in this thread.

1. No turn signal/hazard lights
2. No running lights
3. No brake lights

Hey, double check the fuses and you can find more wiring information with the manuals here: Mazda RX-7 Reference Materials