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I'm gathering a parts list currently and ordering what the car will need to make it reliable once again. Tires are shot so they will be one of the first consumable parts to be replaced. I also noticed that the water pump is leaking. I'm going to order a new water pump, gasket, and housing gasket and some more FL22 and get that sorted. I may replace the belts while they're off as well. Spark plugs are on the list, but I'm going to look into some RX-8 spark plugs to use in the car. I also need a new fuel level sender, wiper blades, air filter, oil change, and a cap and rotor. I noticed some corrosion on the cap when Sean and I were diagnosing the no spark issue. Also contemplating a full Racing Beat exhaust system. So, I'm glad its running very well and looking forward to driving the car some this summer. Definitely more pics to come!
The new belts, spark plugs, water pump and gaskets came in. Waiting on the fuel level sender from Mazda ro arrive on Friday. I'll go to the dealer and pick that up and hopefully get going on the car this weekend. Next up is new tires and to rebuild the front calipers. I have one rebuild kit and I'll order another to be safe.
The water pump and belts are in as is the new fuel level sender from Mazda, and the new BR8EQ-14 spark plugs are ready to go in. Going to replace all of that this weekend. New tires are on order as well. The ones on the car are dry rotten pretty bad.
Got the car in the garage last night and am planning on getting some things done over the weekend. I have a lot of things that need done. My near three year old absolutely must ride in every car I start up. She will point to the car and then I install the car seat and we are off for a quick cruise. She seems to really like this car and must be as excited as I am to get it back on the road for the summer!
Got a few things done last night after work. I removed the rear carpet and plastics and cleaned and repainted the hatch area. Had some help from two of my girls and my dog Foxy!
Need some ideas on what to replace the rubber cover under the carpet with. Its molded and deteriorated and its not going back in.
i think you could find a piece of rubber, cut it to the same shape and then line it with some carpet insulation, and it would be pretty close to the original
Maybe something like this, and as J9 suggests, carpet pad glued on. A generous amount of contact cement (same stuff used for laminates) on the felt, normal on the rubber. Cut it to shape.
Those are really great ideas! I'll measure the original pad and just buy a roll of rubber and cut it out. As for the padding, a thin carpet padding would likely work well. I have 3M trim adhesive that really works well and would likely secure the carpet padding to the rubber. I'll just need something fairly thin.
Got the water pump and housing removed and got the housing cleaned up and prepping the water pump housing mating surface on the front iron as well. I have to clean the front cover and I should have this back together by the weekend given my schedule.
I put new tires on a set of nice wheels I had on the shelf. The tires on the car were from 2002 and were really dry rotten. Will get better pics once its out of the garage.
Last pic I took of the freshly painted hatch area before I started putting it back together. I'm happy with the way it turned out.
Looking great! And interestingly, that wheel from the shelf has the casting detail that was highlighted recently on the forum....the "sunken" Mazda logo, all black, no machined surface. I wonder if all four are that same type.
I will check when I get home from work and let you know. Interestingly enough the build date on these wheels is 10/89. The original wheels I think are 4/85. I'll check the Mazda logo on those as well and report back.
All four have the sunken black Mazda logo. The original al wheels have the Mazda logo but its raised and flush with the wheel. It also is not all black like these. Its outlined in black but has the same machine finish as the rest of the wheel.
Replaced the water pump and gaskets yesterday....for the second time, serviced the front brakes, installed new hatch struts, and got the led headlights installed. Some modification was necessary but the result was worth the minor effort. Changed the oil, installed new spark plugs, installed. New K&N air filter, and adjusted the idle and the car is currently running and driving pretty well. Still more to do and more cleanup but for now I'm happy. Took the car for a spin and grabbed a few pictures yesterday and wanted to share!
My oldest son and I took the car for a cruise last night and it ran and drove very well! I'm very happy with the new led headlights i put in. Took a few pictures and wanted to share!
Small update.. The car has been running excellent all summer and I'm glad to have it back on the road! It still needs some minor things and some paint, but wow, what a great car!
The headlights are H4 housings that came from only944.com. They are a kit for a Porsche 944 and came with bulbs. They worked so well in my 944, I decided to try them in my RX-7. I modified the mounting tabs by cutting the middle of the tab and folding each end as the tabs were too tall for the RX-7. I replaced the bulbs in the kit with Oxilam 9003's as the bulbs in the kit fit the 944 but were too long for the RX-7. I wish I had taken more pictures of the install. I will take more as I have a mounting bucket to replace on the left side. I can post more this weekend.
My youngest son and I took the 85 for a ride the other evening. I haven't driven the car much lately so this was a nice change. It performed flawlessly and we really enjoyed driving the car!
My youngest son and I were in the garage last night and were hand cleaning the engine bay in the 85 and my 80 LS and I grabbed a few pics to share. It was fun letting him play in the cars and start them up!
