Resurrecting a 144k FD
iPrologue:
I sold my last fd in 2010 just a few months before my daughter was born. While I sold the car in 2010 I really lost interest in my fd in 2007. After five or six years of constantly tinkering with car, mods, paint, polishing, a single turbo conversion and tons of cash later I was not all that thrilled with the car in general. Really die to several reasons, mostly of my own doing such as removing A/C etc. I pretty well burnt myself out on RX7's. Now Fast forward to two months ago. I'm working a claim in a small community in Arlington VA, Just of Glebe rd near Rt50 for those in the area. Low and behold I see a red fd that had been obviously parked for a long time and it had expired tags. I looked at the car out of habit but really didn't may to much attention to it. I ended up going back to the same community a week later but this time, I couldn't help but to leave a note testing the waters. I got an email from the owner the following day. He said that he was interested in selling the car and would like $5,000 for it! I asked a few questions and then agreed to meet. A few days later I met the guy who was a Surgeon in NOVA who was in his mid 60's. He told me the story of him buying the car in Fairfax in 1992 and wrote a check for the full amount the day he drove it home. So with the cool story also came some cool miles. The car has 144,+++ miles on the odometer. I'm told the engine was replaced several months ago from a coolant seal failure. He also claimed to have had the radiator, AST, Hoses and even the turbos replaced. He then tells me that the car hadn't been started in months. We jump the battery which is dead and I turn the key, CHCHCHVRooommm.. She fires right up I went ahead and checked on the electronics, the wipers, lights etc and everything worked fine. The only obvious downside was the visible wear on the car. Some kids broken off both door mirrors, The drivers leather is worn through and there are some small dents on the rear fenders, faded crappy VR paint job etc... So now knowing that I am dealing with the original owner , who has free & cleared owned the car since 1992. I'm thinking i have a major score on my hands. I counter offered him with $3000, We ended up at $3,500 for a totally stock, 1440 mile FD that I was going to drive home to Maryland. This deal is unheard of! So here is the car the first day I saw it. http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319103988/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319103988/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr 144K miles and still bone stock under the hood... http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316317001/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316317001/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr Rear side profile, http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316316577/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316316577/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr |
Can't beat that, great find :icon_tup:
|
I was lucky, i already had a pair of VR replacement mirrors from a part out i did way back when. I bolted them onto the doors and headed home with my new fd. So right off the bat the pillow balls were obviously shot. The rear end was beating itself to death on the ride home. Believe it or not the car didn't even have a boost gauge. Regardless the sequential twins seemed to be boosting pretty normal. I drove safe most of the way home but i started to light her up when I got home and i knew a tow bill wouldn't be to bad. Surprisingly the car drove fine aside from the bushings.
So first thing on the agenda was to just clean her up and see what it would look like after a few hours of love. The P.O. really kept the inside dirty, you can tell he was a Doctor who lived out of the car. He was also a smoker so the car need a good cleaning. Wife & Daughter checking out the new fd.. http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316711831/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316711831/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr Pic of me and my daughter washing it. http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319106408/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319106408/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr Getting to the inside, and stripping it out. My son chilling in front yard. http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319106730/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319106730/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr Starting to get to the meat of it. http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316701997/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316701997/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr |
Okay so she cleaned up pretty good.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319493234/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319493234/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr & http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316703533/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316703533/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr But I realized that the paint is only going to clean up so much. The hood at this point was pretty well faded and needed to be buffed. Luckily for me, i have a buffer. :D So fast forward another two hours and I have buffed the car out as best I could. http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319107546/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319107546/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr Now time to get her in the garage and get started. |
So the goal for the car is pretty simple and straight forward. I plan to resurrect this car to a respectable street car. I will be doing all the reliability mods, a few power mods for twins, and improve the suspension/ bushings.
But I like to start with the basics for a nice car which is paint. So the car was put on jack stands and i started to tear it down. I started in the engine bay and worked my way around and under. I've ghot it just about stripped all the way down now. A few pics along the way.... http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316320865/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316320865/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319110102/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319110102/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316323151/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316323151/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319110342/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319110342/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319110746/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319110746/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316324245/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316324245/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319111092/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319111092/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319111214/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319111214/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickrhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319119300/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319119300/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319141176/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319141176/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr |
So now that I had the car stripped off it was time to start getting to the body work.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319111918/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319111918/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316324375/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316324375/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickrhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316325579/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316325579/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickrhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319112666/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319112666/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickrhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319112080/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319112080/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319117616/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319117616/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr |
Molding the brake ducts into the fenders.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316327529/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316327529/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr Glue these down with epoxy, http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316329045/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316329045/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr Then body fill, http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319116650/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319116650/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316829835/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316829835/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316830209/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316830209/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr |
More to follow,
Good night all. |
Strait home, engine out :lol:
Looks like you got a steal there :) I like the molded vent idea, may copy you if it looks nice after paint ;) - Look forward to seeing updates :) |
Wow! Amazing find. Looking forward to see where the rest of this goes. I'm still in shock from you finding a running FD for 3.5k
|
Originally Posted by gmonsen
(Post 11524677)
Fd3Boost... Hopefully your son is Jr? Looks just like you. The picture of you and your daughter washing it is great. I really like molding the vents into the fenders. I am having a guy down in FLA doing the same out of metal and its nice to get a better idea of what it will look like. Sub'd.
Gordon I have more pix coming tonight after I get my work done. I'm further along than I have posted. |
Wow! an amazing deal if the drivetrain was replaced "recently". Incredible that you got a running car from the original owner for less than what shells are going for.
|
I cant believe that price, it makes me want to hit myself when I think about it considering what I paid and what I got. I'm going to follow this because I love to see cars like this brought back to life. There's one near me that just sits kind of like this(but in terrible shape) but the backyard mechanic won't sell.
|
Looks like you're making great progress already! It def. can't be easy to find a one owner, completely stock FD like that either, and the price is great.
|
Crazy good deal and clearly went to a good home :icon_tup:
I have lots of goodies that this car could use :egrin: |
Another VR restoration in MD ? Subscribed!:icon_tup:
|
Looking good, sub'd.
|
Love the picture of you and your daughter washing the car! I think I will wash the FD with my daughter this weekend~
|
Originally Posted by gmonsen
(Post 11524719)
Ceylon... Molding the vents in will eliminate the seams that you see that make it look like it was grafted on. I always found the stock vents a bit cheap looking and this fixes it. If I didn't hate plastic so much and wasn't so willing to spend ridiculous sums on little things, this is how I would have gone. Its a great solution and will look really good when painted.
G |
Thanks to all for the kind words. You really do need to keep your families involved in your hobbies otherwise it can drive you apart.
So about the car again. I had not originally planned on painting the car but in all honesty I just have no desire to own a red car. It's not my color, never has been and so the decision to paint the car was pretty easy to make. I know that I wanted blue but I wanted something different than the 99 factory Innocent Blue mica, which was on my last car. Now my wife thinks that using blue at all is silly considering I just sold a clean blue rx7. I'm a creature of habit so blue it is. I spent several days pouring over paint chips form House of Kolor. I really wanted to go with Cobalt Kandy blue but I've never sprayed a Kandy and they Kandy paint is not something to play with unless you're a professional body man, which I am not. So I decided to go with Lake violet Pearl as seen here... http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9328620802/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9328620802/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr So I made a list of all the supplies I will need, and placed my order through Amazon. About 10 days later the supplies started arriving. After I got a look at the paint I felt that it had more purple in it than I really wanted. Here is the House of Kolor Lake Violet pearl in the can. http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9325841259/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9325841259/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr Under light, http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9328638412/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9328638412/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr |
Now after ordering $900 worth of painting supplies, I then decided that I did not like the color and wanted another House of Kolor paint, Majik Blue Pearl as seen here...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9328669716/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9328669716/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr At this point i called in and spoke to a rep at TCP Global, the supplier who I was getting the paint from and he sold me on a few more products. So another $850 later I get the remaining products to get rolling on the primer, paint etc... I have extra supplies that I will likely return when I am done to recoup some of my expenses. Here is the Majik blue pearl in the can. This paint is a lighter shade and does not have the added Purple. I have considered mixing two quarts of the Lake Violet into four quarts of the Majik pearl and renaming it the custom color " Majik Haze" Hey I'm a Hendrix fan... http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9325938671/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9325938671/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9325938223/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9325938223/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9328735096/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9328735096/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr |
Another topic,
Front bumper: As you can see from years of using a front plate on the car, the front had become deformed. I never had a front plate on any of my three previous FD's so I never before encountered this problem. http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9326106085/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9326106085/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr So I heated it up with a heat gun and rubbed it out as best I could and then started to do some fill work. http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9326113865/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9326113865/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9326114039/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9326114039/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9328908790/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9328908790/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr It came out okay... http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9328908940/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9328908940/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr |
Then I got it in my head that I wanted to eliminate the side markers. This was a purely esthetic choice and really probably not legal, but since I have a car that is getting Historic tags, I won't have to worry about passing a safety inspection in Maryland.
Here is the process of the removal of the side markers. http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319142538/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319142538/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr Making a paper template, http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316355119/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316355119/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr Transferring to 18 gauge aluminum, http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316355279/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316355279/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr Cutting out on the bandsaw, http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319143598/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319143598/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr Epoxy the blanks into place, http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316355967/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316355967/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr Now to fill the void with Alumilite plastic http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319142964/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319142964/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr Filled in, http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316356229/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316356229/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr Starting to skim fill with "Rage" http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319144544/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9319144544/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr And the final result prior to primer, http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316330747/http://www.flickr.com/photos/99171313@N08/9316330747/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/99171313@N08/, on Flickr And for those interested in how to do this, a 4 min vid. can be found on this link. I tried to embed the video but apparently I don't know how. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW1cx...ature=youtu.be |
More to come, I have not caught the thread up to my progress yet.
|
Originally Posted by Dliverance
(Post 11525120)
My thoughts exactly. I'm dying to see what they look like when painted. I might have to do this myself. |
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 07:57 PM. |
© 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands