Man... can't wait to start up this type of project on my SA. DERUSTIFICATION!!

Just gotta get the turbo FB running first to replace the DD.

 

My inner fenders have seen better days! Anyone know if the FB inner fenders will fit an SA? I haven't found any info on the website that indicates one way or another, and I haven't found an online resource for remans or used ones. Worst case is I could buy some at a junkyard and try them, but I prefer to know without spending the money if I don't have to.

 

i just looked and there are three different part numbers

79-80, 81-83 and 84-85.

the only ones available new are the 84-85 style, FA54-56-130 (rh) and FA54-56-140 (lh), if you get a wholesale price they are around $100 (list is $130, each)

i would imagine that the liners are all really similar, and the only difference would be at the bottom front where the bumpers/airdamns change

 

Excellent!! THANKS j9! I was thinking that might be the case that they'd be broken down by year like that. A little trimming here and there though and I'll bet it will work. I'm gonna try and dig one up.

Thanks for the assist.

 

congrats on the rex!

 

I got into it a bit today and was gonna remove a bit more rust from the engine bay and hand sand a bit more when I noticed some rust spots coming back where I've already removed all the paint to bare metal. It's been a few months since I exposed it and the rust has crept back in. I can't procrastinate on sandblasting anymore.

So I decided to begin building my tent. Ran the ropes and looked at the engine bay and said to myself "this just isn't gonna work. I need to take the suspension and engine mount cross bar completely out and see what I have under them - between them and the frame". If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right, so out came all that stuff. I need to get my hands on a ball joint fork so I can disconnect it all from the steering linkage but other than that the rusty crap is all off the front of my car and from the firewall forward it's just body.

I need to save up and buy all new linkages and stuff. I'll tackle the stuff I'm keeping with electrolysis and POR-15 and hopefully that will keep it rust free for a few years. I need to save for some suspension parts because as you can see, the NY weather has taken a toll on it....

So this is where she sits tonight:













I know I have few choices for front shocks except for OEM. No more Tokiko or Illumina's, but I'll keep my eyes open for some decent rebuilt ones or donor originals that are in better shape than my rusty ones.

Oh, and does anyone know why the right (passenger side) fenders are NLA??? I know, "because they don't make them anymore", but why??

Next time I run into some I'm hanging on to them!

 

That fine line between "I'll take out the engine and freshen up the engine bay" to full on "take it down to the body and fully restore". All I have to do is take off the doors, take out the interior, take out the glass, remove the rear end, tail lights, and rear suspension and I have a naked body...

Here's how she sits as of this afternoon. Nothing left on it from the firewall forward.





Now it's ready for sandblasting which I hope to tackle soon. Unless of course, I decide to follow through with paragraph one above.

 

OK. Prolly been done to death here on this website, but for Dad (cause he's not here and hasn't seen this in about 6 months) here's some pics of the front passenger side undercoating that I removed to see exactly what type of rust damage I'm looking at. I keep thinking of that thread about the 85 in MN and the pandafb thread that inspired me to redo this ugly mess. Good thing I did because I found some pinholes on the outside of the frame rail. And I'm gonna do my best to sandblast that rust out of the top underside of the shock towers - drivers side is identical. And I have some gaping holes to patch in the floors as you can see.

 

I took a page out of Aaron Cake's book and built a tent around my car to do the sandblasting. Wish I had done that prior to removing the undercoating from the passenger front wheel well - I had a heck of a time cleaning up after that. So much so that I decided it was time to create the tent. Not quite up to Rickover's standards, but he probably never restored an RX-7 before either!!

I put a trashbag condom on the wiring harness to keep it from getting too nicked up with the sandblaster. Check this out:









I have some rust holes here that are worse than the passenger side as you can see in that last pic, but nothing that a good rust free patch panel and a welder can't fix!

Not sure why, but the undercoating on the drivers side was like and eighth of an inch thick at least. I mean it was CAKED on there. Glad I had the tent up! Makes cleanup a snap!

 

Score!!

 

Oh its getting there

 

What kind of sand blaster are you using?

I'm gonna get on this on my gold 7 asap, but I don't have a sand blaster. I was wondering if it was the kind of tool I can get away with el cheapo HF.

 

It's and old-skool handheld kind called a "Handi-Sand Blaster" made by Gilmour. I borrowed it from a buddy of mine that used it on several old BMW 2002's back in the day. It's a small one quart handheld, but on this "no budget" build it fits the bill nicely!



I'm sure HF has one, but the thing I want from there real bad is a 90 Amp flux core welder they have on sale for $100.

 

I used to have one of those MIGs... not that impressed. I had a ton of problems with feed. But it was my first welder. Its somewhere to start I supose.

Eventually I found a lincoln 220 MIG used on CL for $160 with 20#s of .35 wire. I can actually weld with it. :P And should I decide to upgrade to TIG there is a bolt on TIG attachment for it

I've used the lincoln 110volt MIG and its pretty good, but I don't like the limited voltage selection.

 

Ugh... This is turning out to be harder than I thought. I've gotten close to half way done and come through some equipment failures and learned some lessons. My tiny 125 psi 5 gallon air compressor couldn't produce enough CFM. It would give me about 2 seconds of blasting and then it wouldn't do anything, so I borrowed the neighbors. He said that the manifold leaked and that I may need to redo the patch. Well, I fired it up and the fitting about blew off! I just removed the manifold and installed a new single 1/4" coupler.



So then I get the bottle to work and start blasting away, but then learned that my tiny 15 amp circuit couldn't keep up. It would trip the breaker every time that the compressor would kick on after the initial blast. UGH!! Well, I fight for through this for a couple days for about 2 hours at a time. Oh, I have a suit on and it is HOT in that tent. I'm constantly fighting the particles from getting through the goggles and under my safety glasses, so yesterday I bought this:



That should help!!

THEN, I get to town and notice that the old-school air blaster bottle isn't working quite right. I looked and see that it finally gave up the ghost. Last weekend I was screwing the lid on and put my thumb thru the side. Nothing that gorilla tape cant fix tho! It worked ok for a while. It finally blew up on the collar two days ago.



So off to the store I go and get this and it works GREAT!!



Off to the beach today, but I'll keep plugging away as and when I can.

 

This is where I'm at now. Not too shabby... I'm happy with the results so far but I have GOT to finish and seal it up. I'm tired of messing around with it!! Found a surprise, but really it is no big surpise...

 

Nice work

 

Just like this:







Actually, it's like half an RX-7. Rear clip and front from firewall back. Thanks RotaryHaven for the hookup!!

And this is all the room I had in my garage for these pieces. What it looked like before and after...







Now I have to finish up that sandblasting and make some room. I have no space to maneuver!

Thanks again Jerry!

 

Mike, likewise,LOL!!!!! Damn, it looks like you custom ordered it to fit in your garage exactly...Now thinking about it, you actually did custom order it, LOL!!!!Glad that it fits, stays dry and away from the elements, and it will bring your heirloom back to its glorious state it had at one time...You doing it right....Take your time and it will get there....

 

Thanks again for the hookup Jerry! Awesome seller here folks.

Finally got done blasting. Man, I learned that you REALLY need high volume at about 100 psi (ish) to do it right. Took the tent down and cleaned it up with the POR-15 cleaner and sealed it with the prep and ready. Gonna let it dry for the afternoon and maybe put a coat of silver POR-15 paint on it.

 

Wow. Seeing all the rust problems you are having, really makes me appreciate the fact the 85 SE I'm fixing up is a California Car with Zero Rust. Makes restoring a lot easier...

 

There are no rust problems, only rust challenges!

I don't really think there's any rust that can't be overcome. Floorboards, and rear inner fenders - typical places. I have no schedule and now that i have the donor parts, I have enough to keep me busy all fall and winter until it gets too cold to work in the garage. It does suck to have to deal with it and it would be nice to have a nice rust free CA car to work on, but then I wouldn't have half as much fun.

 

It all depends on where in ca the cat came from...I have seen plenty of rusted ca chassis...

 

Yep, dazzzrayt... More engine bay pics. It may not be perfect, but it's better than it was FER SHERR! Got the silver POR-15 paint on it. Need to let the wiring harness side dry and then throw the harness over and get in that corner. I'll have to sand it down good to get a real nice smooth surface in the end, but at least it's sealed up for winter!

It sure has come a long way and it feels good to finally be doing something that isn't tearing it apart!












Now I can start re-arranging my garage and get that welder fired up!!

 

looks WAY better than before!