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Hi all -- I'm going to go ahead and start a build thread on fixing up and restoring my '83 GSL.
I've had this car since 1986, it had 9K miles on it when I bought it. I used it a a daily driver for a few years, but realized I was piling up the miles on it, so got a different car for daily use and relegated this one to toy status. That had to be about 30 years agao at this point. Anyway, after that the car has seen very infrequent use and eventually it got to the point where I only got it running for the yearly, then bi-yearly emissions tests. I never had too much trouble getting it running - usually it was just charging (or replacing) the battery and changing the oil every once in a while. Then about 7 years ago I got historic plates and the emission test requirement went by the wayside. With that, so did the periodic starting. The car has been sitting in my shop since then, and at some point the interior got some moisture in it (I think I just opened the door on a very humid day) and the interior bloomed with mildew...
My goal for this car is multi-staged. First I want to get it cleaned up and running. Then deal with any lingering maintenance issues. For example, I'm pretty sure it was acting as if it had a heater core leak (white fog from the vents) but it didn't exhibit full on dumping of the coolant onto the floor, and I was never able to get far enough into the dash to get the heater assembly out. A lot of the black exterior trim (around the windshield for example) is loosing the black paint exposing the underlying chrome - I'd like to get that cleaned up. Finally I'm going to be looking to do some conservative performance mods (free-er flowing exhaust, are there any emissions controls that can be removed to improve performance, etc). Depending on where this ends up, I would even consider a 13B engine upgrade - but I'm not sure yet whether that is really feasible.
Anyway, first things first... Step 1 is I have to get the interior to the point I'm comfortable even getting into the car!
That began last week. I started by pulling the seats and giving them a spritzing with a solution of vinegar and water, then running a wet/vac upholstery machine on them, then some spray on upholstery cleaner then a final pass with the machine. That did a surprisingly good job of cleaning up the seats:
They stunk of vinegar, but overall seemed pretty well cleaned.
I then turned my attention to the interior of the car. It took a couple of days, but I basically followed the same procedure on the carpets as I did with the seats, and did the solid surfaces with just a vinegar spray, then a scrub, then a wipedown with straight water. Again, I was pleasantly surprised with how good everything looked when done. I wouldn't hesitate to roll around inside the car anymore:
We finally got some sunny dry days, so I've had the seats and floor mats sitting out in the sun, and a fan blowing air through the car in order to make sure everything gets completely dry and to (hopefully) finally drive out the last of the vinegar smells.
I popped the hood to see what I've got going on under in the engine compartment.
Not too bad -- it looks like I had a mouse setting up house on top of the battery, but I don't think that was going on for too long (because it wasn't that big of a mess). I pulled the air cleaner and the carb intake looks pristine (so the mice didn't dig in that far). One thing that was odd when I popped the air cleaner cover is that one of the rubber gaskets on the underside of the cover seems to have stretched:
I'm not sure what is actually going on with that since it looks like it probably happened as I pulled the cover off, but the rubber doesn't 'feel' any different than I would expect it to (doesn't seem to hold its shape when stretched??? Very confusing...
Ok - so I have a couple of questions to kick this off...
First, how in the hell do I remove the head rests from the seats? I've searched and found suggestions of using a key to press on a tab, but my seats do not appear to have any slots, or holes, or tabs, or buttons, etc. What's the secret to get these off?
I just want to pull them to clean up the shafts because they're kinda funky:
Second, I don't suppose there is any chance of anyone having a stash of the door opening trim pieces? Mine are both trashed.
If I can't find a source for them, I may try modelling them in Fusion and carving a set out of aluminum...
Let's see, one last question for right now... What's the proper way to go about reconditioning the window trim (that appears to have originally been paint over chrome? For example the trim around the windshield:
Ok, I lied - one more question... Can someone point me at a definitive guide for a safe startup procedure for the engine? I've verified that the engine will turn by hand. I would assume the gas in the tank is bad, but I'm not sure if it would require pulling the tank and cleaning it, or just draining it and starting with some fresh gas? I've seen mention of the "ATF treatment", I've heard squirting a little oil into chambers, etc... Just looking for a nice tried and true procedure to ensure I don't do any harm when trying to see if I can get it to start. Honestly, I suspect with some fresh gas and a charged battery it would start, but since it's been sitting for about 7 years, just looking to play it safe right now.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to the project and hoping folk here can provide valuable insight into the paths I don't want to follow, and helpful tips that will help me avoid the pitfalls. Thanks in advance!
That upholstery is beautiful, excellent design and looks to be in great shape.
Yes the windshield trim is just painted. When you remove the trim the clips underneath will break and you will need new ones . If you need a new windshield that would be a good time to replace it as well (depending on how spendy you want to get!). The alternative would be to recondition them in place. Of course removal would yield a better result . Whatever case, use a dark primer because it will chip again.There's a guy on here who molds new interior plastic, he makes door cups but might also make other parts. https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...1089623/page7/
The fact that you can hand turn the engine is excellent. Other folks here can give you a better set of instructions but the main thing is to make sure it's all lubed and to go gently. Sounds like you're on board with that.
Hey Toruki, thanks for that link to the guy making the door parts. Unfortunately it's not the same piece. The second link you gave to how someone fixed a similar part with epoxy was an interesting approach - may have to go that way...
I found this page https://www.aaroncake.net/rx-7/unstore.htm which goes through what looks like a pretty thorough procedure for getting the engine going again.
I pulled the plugs, put a little Marvel Mystery Oil in the chambers and turned the engine for quite a few revolutions. Motion was smooth and relatively easy. I'm definitely getting (some) compression as I can hear and feel it through the plug holes. I put the plugs back in and will give a couple turns over the next few days, just to play it safe.
Gave the engine compartment a thorough inspection today also, all of the rubber hoses appear to be in pretty good shape - no obvious signs of dry rot. Will probably end up replacing all the vacuum lines eventually, but probably not before trying to get it started. Engine oil looks in pristine condition - no visible signs of water (not cloudy). Plugs and air filter will be replaced before starting. So far everything is looking pretty solid.
I got some carpet samples from StockInteriors today. My front carpet is in good shape, but the rear hatch section was trashed years ago. I had replaced that way back then with some random fabric I found, and that has deteriorated away as well. So I'm going to order the rear section from StockInteriors. Here's a shot of how the samples I got compare to the original (front) carpet:
None are a perfect match, but top-middle is closest - Ruby-875.
The only problem is that they don't provide the piece of carpet that makes up the tail-light cover in the very rear. Looking like I'm going to need buy a whole yard of the basic carpet from them for just that (relatively) small piece - oh well...
Definitely change the engine oil! And you should also flush and change the coolant, brake fluid, clutch fluid. The coolant is a time based thing...the corrosion inhibitors do their sacrificial job and "wear out" whether the engine is running or not. Use the classic prestone stuff (green). The brake/clutch fluid will attract moisture over time and should be flushed and replaced. Check the manual and make sure to use the right DOT number. My 1983 manual says DOT3 or 4. Don't use DOT 5, different formulation.
Not a ton of progress to report on, but a little...
I cleaned up the seat rails and gave them a new coat of paint before reinstalling them on the cleaned up seats:
I was browsing the AtkinsRotary site and basically stumbled on the door opener trim pieces I need - those are now on order.
The struts for the rear hatch are shot, so I got a couple of those on order as well.
I remembered that this car had what I had assumed at the time was a leak in the heater core. After reading through some threads I'm now not convinced it's an actual core leak, but maybe (fingers crossed) the valve or one of the internal hoses. In any case, I'm not interested in pumping water into the interior, so to avoid that until I'm ready to pull the dash out I turned a couple plugs for the coolant lines feeding the heater core:
and installed them under the hood:
I've got all my filters in hand now, a new battery, and just about ready to start working on starting it...
Awesome progress, the before and after of the interior are amazing.
Atkins is a good source of parts, and keep in mind that your local Mazda dealer is still able to get a large number of OEM parts, they come in a few days and the pricing is usually pretty good.
Download your parts catalog from Foxed.ca and give them a call with any part numbers.
I repainted my windshield trim while it was still on the car. I decided to try that route instead of risking damaging all of the clips or the trim. Overlapping Playing Cards are useful to slip under the trim as your first level of masking then go with tape and plastic sheet.
I would take a really good look at the fuel system before trying to start it. Maybe you can disconnect your fuel line to the carb and see what you get from the pump first, can even drain it that way. You can inspect the gas tank from the drivers side wheel well by removing the sending unit.
Also maybe fresh coolant, new OEM rad cap etc. Check the forum FAQ/Sticky I think there are tips on bringing an FB back from sitting.
Thanks man!
I was extremely pleased with how well the interior cleaned up. I ordered a replacement rear section of carpet which should be here tomorrow...
For the fuel - today I siphoned out most of what was left in the tank, then pulled the drain plug and got the last bit out. The gas didn't look too bad, as I got towards the bottom of the tank it definitely took on an amber hue, but no chunkies or gummy bits so I think the tank itself is probably in good shape. My plan is to put a few gallons of fresh gas in it, then pull the fuel line at the carb and let the pump push through a quart or so just to 'clean out' the line. After I get it running I'll let it go for a little while, then replace the fuel filter.
Planning on doing something similar for the coolant even though it's bright green. I'm planning on draining the radiator and refilling with about a half gallon of antifreeze plus enough water to fill it. Then after getting it running I'll redrain and fill it proper.
So far I'm not seeing anything that's making worried about starting it - of course, that probably just means it wont start
Edit - BTW thanks for that playing card tip -- will definitely keep that one in mind for when I do the window trim!
So I was draining the radiator today and decided I should do something about the rusted hose clamps before they get into too bad of shape. I pulled the top and bottom radiator hoses without too much grief, but I also tried pulling the last section of rubber hose on the heater pipe (going into the bottom of the radiator) and I can't get that puppy off.
Will I hate myself if I just cut that section out and replace it with short segment of generic heater hose???
It has a slight bend formed in it, but I would think a segment of straight heater hose would form that corner fairly well...
You'll be fine just cutting that hose off and replacing the entire hose. Just cut a little bit through or use pliers on the part not on the metal and twist.
I figured it was a no-brainer, but didn't want to get surprised and find out it had a different diameter on each end or something equally odd like that.
Just a little update...
Replaced the coolant, new radiator hoses, new thermostat, new wires, new plugs and new battery. Added a few gallons on fresh gas to the tank then disconnected the fuel line at the carb and let the pump pump out about a quart, just to clear any old stuff from the fuel lines...
Then I decided to give a try at starting it... It turned over a couple of times, but didn't feel like it wanted to start -- then it just stopped turning over. Turn the key to start and nothing... including no drop in battery voltage. It really felt like I had tripped over some form of ignition cutout, but even though I did add an alarm way back when, I'm 99.9% confident it didn't have any kind of ignition cutout (I added a hidden fuel pump switch instead)... Since the battery didn't seem to be being dragged down (and also no click) I'm assuming the starter solenoid was probably not engaging.
Spent today pulling the starter and giving it a good cleaning (inside and out). The starter itself worked on a bench test, but the spade connector was pretty oxidized, wouldn't be surprised if that was the entire problem. But the exterior was pretty corroded so I decided to go ahead with the re-build. Internally it looked to be in pretty good shape. I forgot to take any before or after pics, so you'll just have to trust me that it looks 1000-times better now. Thought I had screwed myself when I pulled the armature out and saw there was no way to get the brushes reseated, but I eventually figured out how to get it all back together.
Put it back on the car and now when I try to start it, it at least turns over again. Still no signs of wanting to actually start though...
It's getting gas at the carb, so the next thing to check on is spark... I replaced the plugs and the wires already (both NGK) but maybe there's something in the distributor or coils that didn't like sitting for that long...
Car starts and runs now! Woo-hoo!
Problem was in the ignition system -- when I replaced the wires I screwed up and got rotor-1 and rotor-2 reversed. Yeah, dumb-*** mistake, but at least it was a simple problem.
When started the car smoked a bit more than I was expecting...
In fact it smoked me out of the shop. I didn't run it long, but I'm assuming that was the MMO I put in the 'cylinders' and will clear up after a few minutes of running...
Also installed the replacement rear carpet:
I'm pretty happy with the fit and color match. Just wish there was an option for the tail-light section without having to resort to buying a yard of the base carpet and making it myself, but that's probably what I'll end up doing...
A little more progress to report... I took it out for a very short test run (about a mile) - first run it smoked up a storm! So much so that I was seriously concerned about it. It continued to smoke for about 15 minutes after I stopped it, and eventually I realized that most of that was coming from the PB-Blaster I sprayed on the exhaust system fasteners... After that baked off, I started it again for another short run and this time the smoke output was significantly more reasonable...
For cleaning up the engine bay I think my plan is to basically pull and refresh each piece one at a time. I pulled the alternator and gave that a good cleaning.
Before, you can see the aluminum housing is quite coroded:
After a bit of the wire brush and some mother's polish - oooh - somewhat shiny:
So I've got lots of stuff to keep me busy just cleaning up the engine compartment, but I'm also starting to firm-up exactly what I want to do with the car beyond cosmetics...
The exhaust is toast, so I need to do something there. Obviously this is also a pre-condition for any performance enhancements, so I think I'm leaning toward the Racing Beat street-port exhaust. I've tried to read up and weigh the consequences of going that way vs the Bonez system (with a cat). I'm not too concerned with the sound, but it seems the Bonez cat does clean-up the smell out the tailpipe quite a bit...
Can anyone weigh in on whether there is a significant performance difference between the RB system and Bonez (with Cat)? Any other good reasons to go one way or the other? If so, please speak up!!!
(@Toruki I've read your posts on going with the Bonez cat setup -- they were helpful - thanks for posting those!)
Beyond that I think I'm leaning toward going with a fat/hogged nikki - if I can find a donor carb to work with...
Of course a lot of the suspension and steering rubber need replacing, most likely will just stick with a stock setup there...
Not really planning on any engine porting.
Open to any and all input of course! Please feel free to offer up opinions. I've been scouring the archives for ideas/answers/etc, but sometimes it's hard to figure out what information is OBE and what isn't...
Thanks!
Since I apparently have to pull the fan just to replace the belts, I went ahead and pulled it and the fan shroud for cleaning...
Only issue is that I managed to break the top shroud mount off the radiator:
It looks like it was originally brazed on, so reattaching that will likely be an adventure...
I think I will eventually pull the radiator for cleaning and a repaint. Any comments on whether the interior looks ok, or should I consider getting it dipped or replacing it?
My preference is to keep it stock, so will likely just clean it and wait to replace until it fails...
I started tearing into the brakes with the intention of replacing the old flexible hoses and cleaning up the rotors and calipers...
That's progressing well enough:
But with access to the suspension bits it's even more obvious how deteriorated the old rubber bushings and seals are. So I'm seriously considering going ahead and ordering the Energy Suspension complete kit and refurbing the suspension at the same time. My goal is simply to refresh the car back to fairly stock, so I was planning on sticking with the original springs and just cleaning up what's there.
So, while I have it torn down - should I go ahead and rebuild the struts as well? Car has ~50K miles, obviously 37ish years old -- should I just go ahead and replace the struts with KYB Strut inserts from Mazdatrix? I really have no idea whether what I have is ready for replacement or not, but it seems like I'll have access to make the swap so now might be the time to do it? Thoughts, please!
Thanks for the input!
That's the way I was leaning. Having found the same struts at RockAuto last night for only $30 a pop pretty much seals the deal. For that price there doesn't seem to be any reason not to go ahead and do it.
Front suspension is just about out at this point...
I've run into a stumper on getting the old brake hose free from the front calipers though. Is there a trick to getting this hose off?
So far nothing is working to break it free. Even a flare nut wrench isn't helping -- the flats seem to desperately want to round over...
I'm thinking my next step is to cut the line and use an impact wrench on it -- wanted to see if there was something (un)obvious that I'm missing???
Update -- with everything off the car I was able to slip a box-end wrench down the length of the hose and get a decent enough fit on the stuck end that I could get it broke free.
Also completed the front suspension removal:
Last edited by Kizmit99; 10-03-20 at 05:57 PM.
Reason: update
Front suspension is just about torn down to the piece-part components for cleaning, painting and rebuilding...
I ran into the same issues others who've led the way before did -- searching for info on this forum and youtube were a big help in getting past them...
I also received (most of) the Energy Suspension replacement bushings - I ordered them from energysuspensionparts.com (which I had assumed was directly from the manufacturer, but now suspect it is not). In any case, it was packed extremely poorly and FedEx managed to rip open the envelope during shipping, so only *most* of the kit arrived...
One thing I noticed this evening is that the tie rod end dust boots are not properly sized (they're too big). They don't fit either the tie rod ends or the ball joints. I've going to have to find and order appropriately sized replacements before I can start putting everything back together. I'm surprised I find no mention of this anywhere on the forum, or anywhere else online -- which tends to make me think I'm probably the one in error, but can't see how - the base of both the tie rod ball joints and the main ball joint are 1.275" and the dust boots supplied are ~1.4" definitely too large...
The ball joints are all in good shape -- smooth, but very tight movement -- so hopefully I can find appropriate dust boots just to get them sealed up again.
I did end up replacing the rotors as well, they were just too cheap at $20 a pop not to...
For the dust boots I cut the retaining rings off the original boots and pressed them back onto the ball joints. This increased the radius at the base to the point that the replacement boots could get a decent fit over them.
Next step is to move to the rear end. I have similar plans for that, replace all the old flexible lines, bushings and shocks, rebuild the brakes, and give everything a good cleaning and some new paint.
I do have a question though -- should I just plan on just dropping the whole axle or should I try to do this work in-place? My original plans where to work with everything in place, but it looks like if I remove the shocks and all the links that need to be rebushed that I will basically have the rear end free (except for the drive-shaft to diff connection). I'm thinking just pull the whole thing out and work on it - am I missing anything I should be worried about?
Only had to cut 4 bolts to get it out... At least, so far -- three of the links are still attached to the car, next step is to see if they can be broke free now that there's more room under there.
I continue to be pleasantly surprised - the only real rust I'm encountering is on the suspension and exhaust bits -- the body is in really good shape.
I did a similar overhaul of my front suspension, one thing to watch out for is if you have a layer of paint built up between the bottom of your spindle and your steering knuckle... I had mine loosen over time as the paint thickness did not allow a proper clamp load to be maintained... it is the connection with the two ~M12 bolts and lock washers per side.
I will be dropping my rear end soon for replacement and will probably do what you have done, also I found Mazda dealer has most of the OEM hardware still available, you can order replacement bolts from them.
There are a few threads with info on which suspension links you can replace with stiffer polyurethane vs what should stay OEM to ensure a bind free setup. From my understanding, the rear end geometry relies on compliant bushings in the watts links and upper links. You can stick OEM.. Mazda has the links all still available new. They are a bit $$ but will last another 30 years.
I did a similar overhaul of my front suspension, one thing to watch out for is if you have a layer of paint built up between the bottom of your spindle and your steering knuckle... I had mine loosen over time as the paint thickness did not allow a proper clamp load to be maintained... it is the connection with the two ~M12 bolts and lock washers per side.
I had wondered about whether I should paint those surfaces or not. I ended up painting them. Based on your comment, I will be sure to keep an eye on them and monitor for any signs of them working free.
Originally Posted by tommyeflight89
There are a few threads with info on which suspension links you can replace with stiffer polyurethane vs what should stay OEM to ensure a bind free setup. From my understanding, the rear end geometry relies on compliant bushings in the watts links and upper links.
I did a lot of searching and reading on this as well -- my conclusion was that the consensus seemed to be that the poly bushings were ok as long as you didn't drop the ride height in the back. I'm certainly willing to be convinced otherwise, that's just the conclusion I reached based on my reading... I toyed with the idea of lowering the ride height, but it seems like dropping it more than about an inch introduces all kinds of compromises, so I've decided to stick with my original plan of just leaving it stock height. I also don't have any illusions that I'm going to be driving it super hard anyway, so I suspect I wouldn't run into the travel limit issues with the urethane bushings. Again, I'm totally open to the possibility I've misinterpreted what I've seen, but those were the conclusions I reached...
FWIW your "stock height" right now is on the factory springs that might have sagged a bit, so your ride height might already be a bit lower. Based on your plans for how you'll drive it, the KYB shocks are prob a good match for those.
Since you are taking stuff apart, these might be interesting...
09-07-20, 03:35 PM
. Whatever case, use a dark primer because it will chip again.There's a guy on here who molds new interior plastic, he makes door cups but might also make other parts. https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...1089623/page7/
Yeah, dumb-*** mistake, but at least it was a simple problem.
At least, so far -- three of the links are still attached to the car, next step is to see if they can be broke free now that there's more room under there.
