Not bad. Rust though.... Bummer.

You going to cars and coffee tomorrow? Well today... If it's raining I will not go lol.

 

Almost every one of these have rust in that same place. Some of them go through, like this one did on the left side. I just wanted to avoid it happening to the other side as well - so new metal was in order for both sides. It'll take a few extra days to do but I don't mind since I need more practice with welding again. Once I'm done I'll POR-15 over it to prevent any future rust and just leave it at that.

I wanted to go to C&C but don't have anyone planned to go with me, so I'm gonna sit this one out I think. I know Robert had a whole list of people and most of them say they can't go. If I can get my brother to come out next month I'll shoot for that. He's never been down there and it would be pretty cool for him.

 

Today I ordered the following parts:

Jim Ellis Mazda Parts order


RockAuto Order of the day


Transmission shim for between the bell housing and center section
Shifter return spring

Two wheel bearing retainers (collars)
Transmission input shaft seal
Transmission output shaft seal

 

calm down baller :p.

 

I know right - big spender here!

I checked and the collars are the right size for the axles, so that's a really good thing.

My big news is that I accepted a job offer with a starting pay increase of 150% of what I'm making now, with better hours and benefits. By the end of the year I could be making 200% of what I'm making now (that's double) while working full time. This means that I should hopefully actually have some car money left over to try and finish this build up before I'm 30 (which is more than 8 years away, I'm just being dramatic). So in other words, it's going well!

 

Congratulations on the new job, that's great

 

Thanks man, I appreciate it!

I got my two parts in from the Mazda online parts system at Jim Ellis Mazda. The front shim for the bell housing and the shifter return spring.


Well...the adjustment shim is the wrong one. I'll need to order the correct one.


As soon as I got the new spring in, I find an old one that I've had sitting around.


First I cleaned the tank twice with the POR-15 cleaner/degreaser and now it's sitting with the metal prep in it.


The long bolt sitting in the tank for electrolysis, as the positive polarity sacrificial metal.


Electrolysis setup, grounded to the tank and 2a positive power to the long bolt through the wood to collect all the rust particles.


I start the new job tomorrow morning, really early. It'll be a nice change and some long hours, but the pay will be worth it.

I snagged up another rare part yesterday that will arrive sometime this week

 

You're going to be amazed at how good the electrolysis works. What did you use for the sodium carbonate. Washing soda , or swimming pool pH booster. Just curious because I used washing soda and I want to know if the pH booster works any better

 

Did you run the cleaner before the electrolysis?


I'd advise running the cleaner through it again after you finish the electrolysis. The tank prep chemicals are designed to etch the metal to help with the bonding process. Electrolysis kinda negates that effect.

Also, it releases a ton of gunk and washing the gunk out is easier with harsh chemicals in hand.

 

I didn't use anything that first time, just had the metal prep in the tank. Needless to say, the process didn't work. I was just curious whether it would or not so I ran it for a day or two. I just ended up putting baking soda in the tank today so that should actually complete the process correctly, with fresh water and no cleaner.

I ran degreaser before the metal prep, and while the metal prep was in the tank I ran the electrolysis. Needless to say, it didn't work with just the cleaner and water in there. I ended up dumping that water out and filling the tank with a new mixture of baking soda and water and started the process over again. I can actually see the particles moving around in there now so I know it's working! I'll do another metal prep cleaning after the process is done. There's almost no rust in this tank so I won't see amazing results, but I do believe that it'll help clean the tank.

Residue that came out of the tank after it soaked in the metal prep chemical for a few days - nasty!


JudgeITO huge street port 13b template, I'm so stoked!


JudgeITO center iron huge street port enlargement


JudgeITO center iron huge street port enlargement


JudgeITO front and rear iron huge street port enlargement


JudgeITO front and rear iron huge street port enlargement


Tail shaft is finally back on the transmission!


I picked up that JudgeITO huge street port 13bt porting template from a guy on Facebook last weekend. I can't wait to run those ports! I've only read rave reviews on the port size and shape so I hope to replicate it accurately and effectively.

The tail shaft going back on the transmission is a huge deal to me - it has taken a long time to get there. I took every single bolt and piece off that I could in order to have everything be 100% clean and ready to go. It took a lot longer than I thought it would but I'm glad I took the time to do it right!

 

All the crap I got out of the tank by electrolysis with baking soda water at 2 amps on the battery charger for a few days. This tank was clean compared to others I've seen!


Cut out the rest of the metal needed and welded in new patches there.


POR-15 rust painted the new metal repair.


POR-15 rust painted the new metal repair.


All the nastiness left from cleaning up the fuel tank liner!


Inside the fuel tank after relining it with POR-15's gas tank liner restore.


Inside the fuel tank after relining it with POR-15's gas tank liner restore.


Inside the fuel tank after relining it with POR-15's gas tank liner restore.


Inside the fuel tank after relining it with POR-15's gas tank liner restore.


So the fuel tank will be done with a 4 day dry time. Then it's just double checking it and dropping it in. I'll finish up repairing the other side of the bin rust before putting the gas tank back in.

Once the rust repair is done on the driver's side I'll start throwing the axle back in the car. Then I will FINALLY be able to see the fitment of the Epsilon's on the back of the car with RB springs!

 

Atta boy! Looking good.

 

Wow, that fuel tank wasn't bad when I sold it to you, but it looks minty fresh now! Can't wait to see how those wheels fit, hopefully they won't be too wide considering they were under a widebody.

 

You could eat off of that. If you liked eating silvery looking material, that is. Yum?

 

All these posts about electrolysis on gas tanks have me thinking I should pop mine open while it's out of the car an take a peek inside (I need to source a replacement or repair my sending unit anyway). It did sit for a REALLY long time not being driven afterall...

Oh! And CONRATULATIONS on the new job! I haven't been on the boards much over the last couple months and missed that part of your post earlier. Hopefully your long hours won't last too long and you can spend some of that new hard earned cashola on the project.

 

Thanks man, moving along!

Haha yeah, it was in pretty good shape when I got it from you but I really wanted to be sure it could be clean and safe to use. Now it's a very nice, rare, useful part to have in an EFI turbo setup on these cars!

The wheels will be stupidly wide on the car - I'll be amazed if I can make them fit under the stock fenders. But there's no harm in trying!

Yes sir, it is that clean! There were metal chunks in the paint can of sealant at first though, so just to be safe I'd avoid the eating

It's super nice to know that the tank is as good as new! The electrolysis didn't do much for this tank because it was in such good shape already. It did help somewhat, but the metal prep helped the most I think. Ah well, it's getting there!

Updated To Do List
Cut out bin rust on driver's side
Weld in new bin metal on driver's side
Paint driver's side bin metal with POR-15
Install gas tank with pickups and level sender
Press on rear wheel bearings and collars
Repaint rear axle dust covers and axle retainers
Put in rear differential
Install axles in rear axle carrier
HAVE A ROLLING CAR AGAIN! (Granted, the rears would be 4x114.3 and the fronts 4x110 - but still!)

I plan on completing that list in the next week and a half - by the weekend after the 4th. Then it's just working on the front suspension and I will have a rolling chassis again!

After this comes engine part collecting and then a rebuild kit, so I'm getting towards driving this beast sometime soon!

 

I don't recall, did you plan on installing flares? I'd love to on my own car but I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there... But I'd hate to cut the fenders when they're not rusty

 

I'm going to probably have to install flares I'd bet. I think the rear wheels are 9" wide and the fronts are 8" wide, or somewhere along those lines. The rears would be cut and the underside of the fender would be rolled out and hammered flat onto the exterior fender metal. This would create a seamless new fender capable of much more drop and wider wheel fitment that I shouldn't ever have to modify again. Doing this would make the rear inner fenders as sturdy as they were before, not cause any rusting or leaking problems like the black car's issue was, and make it so once I move on from the flares to a widebody it'll be an easy transition. I'll just unbolt the flares and mold on a widebody!

I got the idea from one of the guys in this thread, but won't post details or pics yet since he's going to be making a bad *** recap of his whole build

 

I finished up the fuel level sending unit. I had to JB Weld the outside ring of the unit because I drilled and tapped those M6 bolts through the tank itself.


Fuel sending unit installed.


Perfectly good bearing had to be cut off, I forgot to install the wheel bearing retainer and brake disc dust cover (like an idiot). Ah well, I got to paint them up nice now anyways.


Cleaned up the dust covers and wheel bearing/axle retainers in order to paint.


Painting the dust covers and retainers.


Painted the rear louvers really quickly, not a great job but better than before.


Started in on the driver's side bin rust, finally.


Initial holes drilled out of the metal.


Rough cut of the metal.


After it was cleaned up I started welding in a new piece of metal. This is the inner bin part, there will be another piece of metal on the outside for the mount.


After it was cleaned up I started welding in a new piece of metal. This is the inner bin part, there will be another piece of metal on the outside for the mount.


I spent my 4th of July in the garage with my great uncle wiring in 4 new boxes with 1/2" conduit and new wiring to feed each of the 8 new outlets. Two new 20a circuits feeding 3 of the boxes with a total of 6 outlets, on their own circuits. This made the garage much more user-friendly and so much more convenient. I wired in two new ballasts for fluorescent light bulbs and really decked the place out now, so I'm very happy with the results.

I'm going to order a new wheel bearing here in a minute to be able put the axle shaft together properly. Luckily my neighbor has a press and taught me how to use it effectively (for his setup) and offered to let me use it when I need it. So I'll be able to whip those shafts together as soon as the bearing comes in the mail. Next thing I need to get is some solid brake line to make new hard line for the rear axle itself (since the old stuff broke off). Once I'm done with that then it's pretty close to being put back together for the rear end!

 

Nice job on the rust repair, it looks like I'll be doing that too, I took my tires off and found some slight rust on my rear wheel wells

 

lmao, i've totally done the same thing with the wheel bearing, i think it might be one of those milestones in Rx7 life. like starting the car open header, or building an engine or something

 

Good luck with your repair! It's kind of a bugger to do, but I feel better knowing that it's done and I don't have to worry about it anymore.

I felt like such an idiot! Ah well, I learned from it - that's for sure. I made up for it today so it's all good!

Prepping everything to be pressed on.


A random piece of metal that I found in the neighbor's garage that worked perfectly for pressing the bearing collars on since the v-block wouldn't work safely.


A random piece of metal that I found in the neighbor's garage that worked perfectly for pressing the bearing collars on since the v-block wouldn't work safely.


Pressed on the wheel bearings and collars finally, in the correct order!


Painting the rear differential cover to match the freshly painted rear axle carrier.


Finally got the gold bell housing on the transmission - looks great!


Finally got the gold bell housing on the transmission - looks great!


Old rear wheel seal after being removed, versus the new one.


New rear wheel seals installed.


So I'm about ready to put the rear axle back in the car, once the welding is done and I need to make a new hard brake line for the axle.

Anyone happen to know the fitting size for the stock hard brake line in an FB?

 

I have to say I'm actually surprised after taking all this time you're only rattle canning the pieces you're painting. Especially that rear loaver thing.

Unless I overlooked you having an hvlp gun to do the paint?

 

If you want to pay for shipping, just box up a bunch of metal parts and I'll powder coat them for free as long as they fit in my oven (no wheels).

 

What do I need to HVLP paint brake dust covers for though? Most, if not all, of the parts that I rattle can go under the car where no one looks except me. That rear louver is the lowest quality set I've ever seen - and I did almost no paint prep to the piece before hand. That was mainly just practice rattle canning to be honest. I'm not sure I'll even run them

I appreciate that man! I'll need some parts done soon. I really need my own sand blasting equipment so I can clean up the parts I end up painting or that get powder coated.