I'm back in the 1st gen game... My new 1980
07-17-13, 06:25 PM
#27
life's a drag*)
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I agree on painting the wheels back silver too. the po of my 80 ls had painted over the original gold on my waffles with white, and it sucked horribly. atleast they left my spare alone.
08-10-13, 11:55 AM
#30
I'll get a photo shoot soon. I've been too busy working on it! As soon as I get my box from Racing Beat I'll take some...
UPDATE::
-Cleaned the waffles with concentrated Simple Green and a stiff brush. Took 2000 grit sandpaper to the lug studs and chrome lug rings on the waffles.
-New Tires! 185-70-13 Falken Cheapos. Seem to be pretty nice so far though. Good grip. Good looks. Hopefully they wear evenly.
-New front brake calipers. Old ones were dragging. Feels like I gained 20 horsepower back!
-New windshield wipers.
-Used Racing Beat header, Racing Beat presilencer, Unknown high flow muffler (loud and raspy, so probably blown). I painted it all black with the silicone VHT header paint.
-Fixed all the rust spots. Behind the rear wheels, under the driver door rocker panel, Near the driver windshield wiper (odd rust spot...). Ground it down, knocked it out. I sprayed it with converter, used a rust proof primer on the smooth surfaces, used undercoating on the textured surfaces. Painted it all white.
-Full black interior conversion. High back vinyl seats that appear to have been recovered, but look professional.
-I managed to get my Redline Goods leather shift boot, ebrake boot, and armrest cover from my FC to fit in the SA! Looks NICE!
-New Radiator hoses and another coolant drain/refill.
-New alternator belt.
-New fan, fan shroud, and radiator metal cover.
-Undercoated the wheel wells and gas tank.
-Silverstar headlights.
-ACV block off and air pump removal.
Its been a busy couple weeks for the RX7! I'm waiting on my Racing Beat intake kit (white topper and blue filter), and a new header gasket.
Parts I need...
-Racing Beat muffler
-New fuel line from tank to carb plus new filter (I'll tackle this in a couple weeks)
-Dual belt alternator pulley
-NOS black interior door handle cups
-New molded rear cargo carpet (This ones a bit rotted)
-Mazdatrix floor mats.
-Clear turn signals (Atkins)
-SS brake and clutch lines.
-Lowering springs
-NOS front and rear MAZDA badges.
-Metal louvers???
If you have any of this for sale let me know!
UPDATE::
-Cleaned the waffles with concentrated Simple Green and a stiff brush. Took 2000 grit sandpaper to the lug studs and chrome lug rings on the waffles.
-New Tires! 185-70-13 Falken Cheapos. Seem to be pretty nice so far though. Good grip. Good looks. Hopefully they wear evenly.
-New front brake calipers. Old ones were dragging. Feels like I gained 20 horsepower back!
-New windshield wipers.
-Used Racing Beat header, Racing Beat presilencer, Unknown high flow muffler (loud and raspy, so probably blown). I painted it all black with the silicone VHT header paint.
-Fixed all the rust spots. Behind the rear wheels, under the driver door rocker panel, Near the driver windshield wiper (odd rust spot...). Ground it down, knocked it out. I sprayed it with converter, used a rust proof primer on the smooth surfaces, used undercoating on the textured surfaces. Painted it all white.
-Full black interior conversion. High back vinyl seats that appear to have been recovered, but look professional.
-I managed to get my Redline Goods leather shift boot, ebrake boot, and armrest cover from my FC to fit in the SA! Looks NICE!
-New Radiator hoses and another coolant drain/refill.
-New alternator belt.
-New fan, fan shroud, and radiator metal cover.
-Undercoated the wheel wells and gas tank.
-Silverstar headlights.
-ACV block off and air pump removal.
Its been a busy couple weeks for the RX7! I'm waiting on my Racing Beat intake kit (white topper and blue filter), and a new header gasket.
Parts I need...
-Racing Beat muffler
-New fuel line from tank to carb plus new filter (I'll tackle this in a couple weeks)
-Dual belt alternator pulley
-NOS black interior door handle cups
-New molded rear cargo carpet (This ones a bit rotted)
-Mazdatrix floor mats.
-Clear turn signals (Atkins)
-SS brake and clutch lines.
-Lowering springs
-NOS front and rear MAZDA badges.
-Metal louvers???
If you have any of this for sale let me know!
08-11-13, 11:51 AM
#33
I played the lottery about 10 years ago when I turned 18 and lost like $50 on scratch offs. Never again I said.
As for the rust near the wiper... I think there is a slight dip in the sheet metal from the factory there so water settles every time it rains.
I'm waiting on new door handle cups, front MAZDA badge, Racing Beat intake kit, dual belt pulley. They should all be here shortly along with pictures! I really like how nice the interior swap turned out. BTW all the chrome was flaking inside so I just sanded it off and painted it black. Looks much sleeker. The Redline Goods leather from my FC fit the car great too with minor modification. For those with fading silver shifter bezels, a very thin coat of gunmetal wheel paint looks great to refurbish the finish.
As for the rust near the wiper... I think there is a slight dip in the sheet metal from the factory there so water settles every time it rains.
I'm waiting on new door handle cups, front MAZDA badge, Racing Beat intake kit, dual belt pulley. They should all be here shortly along with pictures! I really like how nice the interior swap turned out. BTW all the chrome was flaking inside so I just sanded it off and painted it black. Looks much sleeker. The Redline Goods leather from my FC fit the car great too with minor modification. For those with fading silver shifter bezels, a very thin coat of gunmetal wheel paint looks great to refurbish the finish.
08-11-13, 12:05 PM
#34
BTW this is for sale... $50 gets it. I believe it is a Monza muffler and mid pipe. They go for something like $200 new. It was on the car for a little while, but it is too raspy for my taste. I'm partial to Racing Beat. Should fit all 79-85s ok.
08-11-13, 04:53 PM
#35
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how on earth did you find such a nice interior?
08-12-13, 01:16 AM
#37
I found a guy selling his project 79 on Craigslist. He said it had an exhaust system and black interior so I went to take a look after work that day. When I got there it was custom painted black and silver with Mk2 Mustang wheels. I looked it over after he said hed take $1000 for the whole car so I offered him $500 for the parts I wanted. Since he could sell the engine etc and make $200 off of junking the shell (rust bucket) he agreed. Turns out it was originally spark yellow with the tan interior. I got onto him for repainting a spark yellow 79... I made off with the Racing Beat header, presilencer, Monza muffler, engine fan, fan shroud, radiator cover, and full interior for $500! I got several bonus items as well such as fender RX7 emblems,and misc extra interior bits from his parts car.
09-22-13, 03:24 PM
#43
For the interior ...
-Razo weighted metal shift ****
-Redline Goods leather shift,ebrake, and arm rest boots (from my FC, arm rest cover required slight modification)
-Blacked out all the flaking chrome trim
-Spray a light coat of gunmetal wheel paint over the shifter surround to fix the blemished original coating. Gunmetal matches the factory color nicely.
My only plans left for the interior are ...
-New Mazdatrix floor mats
-New weather stripping for the doors and glass
-Miata cup holder to replace the ash tray
-New rear carpet. Current carpet isnt bad... just a little worn out and Im a perfectionist.
-Razo weighted metal shift ****
-Redline Goods leather shift,ebrake, and arm rest boots (from my FC, arm rest cover required slight modification)
-Blacked out all the flaking chrome trim
-Spray a light coat of gunmetal wheel paint over the shifter surround to fix the blemished original coating. Gunmetal matches the factory color nicely.
My only plans left for the interior are ...
-New Mazdatrix floor mats
-New weather stripping for the doors and glass
-Miata cup holder to replace the ash tray
-New rear carpet. Current carpet isnt bad... just a little worn out and Im a perfectionist.
09-22-13, 04:06 PM
#44
For the engine ...
-Full Racing Beat cat back
-Racing Beat filter kit
-Optima battery
-New fuel filter
-Coolant flush
-A/C recharge
-Dual belt pulley with new belts
-ACV, air pump, hot start assist motor, sub-zero start all removed
-New coolant,vacuum,and fuel hoses
-Rebuilt Nikki (cost the original owner $800 just a year ago, I have all receipts for the car.
-91,000 miles total, 21,000 miles on the engine rebuild (original engine)
-New plug wires
-New NGK plugs
My plans for the engine ...
-Maybe a new OEM style radiator
-Maybe new engine mounts
-Deep cleaning
-New ignition coils,MSD B2 of course...
For the body ...
-Original paint
-Cleaned a few minor rust spots up. Treated with rust isolator then coated with rust preventing primer then coated with white Flex Seal! Turned out so good I decided to mask off and spray the entire lower perimeter of the car with it. Rocker panels, front spoiler, rear valance, rear fenders.
-New front MAZDA badge NIB
-Painted windshield trim with self etching primer then matte black auto paint.
-Sprayed entire under carriage and wheel wells with rubberized under coating
My plan for the body ...
-Window tint
-MAYBE OEM metal louvers
For the suspension it is all stock and I plan to keep it this way. Stock springs, shocks, and waffles at the moment. All I plan to do in the future is replace the strut cartridges and shocks with OEM types and strip and refinish all the springs and strut tubes to look like new. I need to replace the idler arm though as the steering wheel has a slight bit of play.
For the brakes all I have done is replace the front calipers with OEM remans. I plan on replacing the pads with Hawk HPS and new rotors along with them. Stainless brake and clutch lines will come too.
-Full Racing Beat cat back
-Racing Beat filter kit
-Optima battery
-New fuel filter
-Coolant flush
-A/C recharge
-Dual belt pulley with new belts
-ACV, air pump, hot start assist motor, sub-zero start all removed
-New coolant,vacuum,and fuel hoses
-Rebuilt Nikki (cost the original owner $800 just a year ago, I have all receipts for the car.
-91,000 miles total, 21,000 miles on the engine rebuild (original engine)
-New plug wires
-New NGK plugs
My plans for the engine ...
-Maybe a new OEM style radiator
-Maybe new engine mounts
-Deep cleaning
-New ignition coils,MSD B2 of course...
For the body ...
-Original paint
-Cleaned a few minor rust spots up. Treated with rust isolator then coated with rust preventing primer then coated with white Flex Seal! Turned out so good I decided to mask off and spray the entire lower perimeter of the car with it. Rocker panels, front spoiler, rear valance, rear fenders.
-New front MAZDA badge NIB
-Painted windshield trim with self etching primer then matte black auto paint.
-Sprayed entire under carriage and wheel wells with rubberized under coating
My plan for the body ...
-Window tint
-MAYBE OEM metal louvers
For the suspension it is all stock and I plan to keep it this way. Stock springs, shocks, and waffles at the moment. All I plan to do in the future is replace the strut cartridges and shocks with OEM types and strip and refinish all the springs and strut tubes to look like new. I need to replace the idler arm though as the steering wheel has a slight bit of play.
For the brakes all I have done is replace the front calipers with OEM remans. I plan on replacing the pads with Hawk HPS and new rotors along with them. Stainless brake and clutch lines will come too.
09-23-13, 01:36 AM
#46
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Funny to see that SIGNAL HILL MAZDATRIX license plate. I live about 12 miles from the place. Gotten some great advice and work done there. I'm sure most people in Tennessee wouldn't have the slightest idea where SIGNAL HILL is LOL
09-23-13, 04:19 AM
#48
Few things I'd add to the to-do list:
-replace the taillight gaskets - they will be SHOT, and a source of water leaks. (hint: when installing new ones, add a thin layer of axle-grease to each side of the gasket on install. Better seal plus if/when you pull the lights, the fragile gaskets won't stick and tear as you remove)
-replace the FMOC (oil cooler) rubber support mounts. they will be cracked and failing. These are unique to the SA so availability won't be forever.
-all/most of your tranny/shift cover gaskets will be split. there are 3. Not sure all are even available anymore. also unique.
-window seals on doors, and door seal might be do for renewal. Some of these are available as aftermarket. Could do wonders to quieten down your car.
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska
-replace the taillight gaskets - they will be SHOT, and a source of water leaks. (hint: when installing new ones, add a thin layer of axle-grease to each side of the gasket on install. Better seal plus if/when you pull the lights, the fragile gaskets won't stick and tear as you remove)
-replace the FMOC (oil cooler) rubber support mounts. they will be cracked and failing. These are unique to the SA so availability won't be forever.
-all/most of your tranny/shift cover gaskets will be split. there are 3. Not sure all are even available anymore. also unique.
-window seals on doors, and door seal might be do for renewal. Some of these are available as aftermarket. Could do wonders to quieten down your car.
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska
