My vision was for a representation of cat-on-string. I'd have to say that I'm getting better with the editing. I'm just trying to keep the balance between not skipping details, and not boring everyone to death.

You're video log of the Cosmo is fantastic!

Keep up the great work Aaron!

I hope you had a great Xmas/Boxing day!

It's a month off, but re: Dynamat I once found an awesome site with lots of great information on different sound deadening materials, comparisons, and even tests the guy did to figure out which ones will stand up to heat and cold better.

Unfortunately, his once-informative website has become a place for hawking wares, so here's the Internet Archive version of his site. There are quite a few "next" pages, but I think it's worth it for the information and tests he does later on.

http://web.archive.org/web/200807302...rshowdown.com/

For my car I settled on the butyl-based Damplifier Pro from Second Skin Audio. It's very similar in composition to Dynamat Xtreme but only costs about half as much. It adds the same amount of mass and withstood the heat tests, so I'm using it front to back. I won't be able to report on the results until my car's back from ClassicAuto in the spring and I've had some time to drive it.

Jon

I remember the days when that site didn't suck. This is the first time I have been back there in years and wow, what a way to ruin a site. I wonder if he even makes any money knowing that he pissed off his readership so much by basically giving them the finger and then turning his site into a store?

Anyway, I'd think that any of these products perform about equal to one another with only a small percentage difference in the real world. Let's face it, they all do about the same thing; add mass to a panel and stop resonance. The difference between them is going to be weight, thickness and how well they stick. That said, I have about half a large box of Dynamat Xtreme left from the RX-7, so I'll probably just use that in the passenger areas then if I have to purchase more, I'll make a price comparison between Dynamat and the others and see how it comes out.

Part 9: My 76 Mazda RX-5 Cosmo Restoration - Shaving The Door Handles
 

I've been doing a lot of engine work lately, so for episode 9 I change gears a little and move onto a random task: shaving the door handles. This involves installing a solenoid into the door which will now electrically activate the door latch, and then removing the exterior handle holes from the door. What I thought was a quick task turned out to be more time consuming than I thought due to the difficulty of working inside the door and my lack of sheet metal talent. Included in this episode: installing AutoLoc 50LBs shaved door solenoids, modifying solenoid bracket to fit doors, setting up a pulley mechanism, modifying stock door latches for shaved doors, door window removal, wiring the solenoids, cutting out sheet metal patches for the door handle holes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj85UXEsRuA

What's the orange and black car in the background Aaron?

those door popper are pretty sweet
you should try to have a bit of a gap between the sheet metal for the weld to fill in, so you can grind it down flush but still leave a solid weld .you could tack it the run the little cutting wheel down the edges to create an even gap

I was thinking the same thing,, any time i make a patch i have a little space to fill with weld
also leaves a little room for expansion as the patch heats when welding.

Aaagh! I'm blind! My mind's eye has gone blind!

My friend's wide body 1st gen. Megasquirted 13B 6 port with a healthy half-bridge and a 60-1 turbo. It has also just underwent a 2nd gen front subframe swap.

The video doesn't show it well but there is about 1MM around the panel. As it turned out though, that gap was the least of my worries as welding in the panel turned into a bit of a disaster. Turns out that I basically did everything wrong. You'll see in the next video what I mean. Thankfully, after doing a bit of quick research and asking some body people, the drivers door patch is working out much better.

I was wondering that myself I have only helped do the shaved door handle thing once
and when we did it no cutting of the door skin was done just a small patch was made to
cover the area where the handle was and welded along that edge, reduces warp-age.
but with the cosmo that top edge does have a lip which would complicate things.
matt

Theoretically I could have made a panel to fill in the stock handle depression then just cut out the top lip and welded it up with a second smaller patch. That would have been the way to approach this instead of hacking out a huge hole in the door which just invites warpage with open arms. Hindsight, as they say, is 20-20. Live and learn I guess.

No seriously Aaron, how do you honestly feel about welding inside a door frame. You seemed to be rather vague. I'm not quite sure what you mean.
(rolling my eyes...OMG)

The welding inside the doors was unpleasant, but it pales in comparison with the massive cluster-shag I created when I decided to cut the handles out. That must be the weakest part of the door, and even looking at it while holding a welder causes massive warp. I should have left the handles in place, cut a fill panel, welded it in, then just ground down the top lip and filled it with a small strip of metal. Now I'm paying for it as I sit for hours on end pounding the warp out of the doors with very little access to where I need to hammer and dolly.

Part 10: My 76 Mazda RX-5 Cosmo Restoration - Shaved Door Sheet Metal
 

In part 10 of my 1976 Mazda Cosmo restoration, I continue the surprisingly long task of shaving the door handles. Last episode I left off after cutting the patch panel to fill the hole in the passenger door. This time I weld the panel in, fix the huge amount of warpage my improper welding technique caused, then do the same on the passenger side. Shaving the door handles took a lot more time than I thought it would and it feels nice to have it all finally done. Included in this episode: patching door handle holes, welding sheet metal, grinding down welds, hammering out warp caused by welding, learning how to not screw it up next time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cr--NhcZw80

My face looks kind of funny in the preview image.

Ok, as a professional welder.

PUT GLOVES ON.

Even tacking will give you a UV burn.
Great job other wise!

You never seize to amaze me buddy.

Keep up the good work.

Yes yes, I know. :) It is just easier to deal with the camera without having to try and push buttons through thick gloves. And I needed my dexterity to check panel flatness.

We Want Engine Build! We Want Engine Build! We Want Engine Build! HaHaHa
looking good man

The assembled engine is on a stand near my work bench.

Part 11: Power Windows Installation - My 76 Mazda RX-5 Cosmo Restoration
 

I now present episode 11 of my '76 Mazda RX-5 Cosmo restoration. This episode deals with the task of installing the AutoLoc PW4650 universal power window kit. This kit includes motorized actuators which rotate the existing manual window cranks, driving the manual regulator and thus converting it to power without the need to fit an entirely new window regulator. Additionally it includes all wiring and switches (not installed yet), and mounting brackets. As it is a universal kit, it is universally wrong for every application and must be customized to fit. The installation was straightforward though time consuming. I have to admit, this episode is a monstrosity and quite a bit longer than normal. But for good reason, because I didn't want to do a "To be continued" as the next episode will be quite special. Included in this part: custom fitting AutoLoc universal power window actuators, making cutting channels into the inner door for space, patching and finishing off the channels with welding and sheet metal, cutting sheet metal from templates, media blasting before painting, making brackets for actuators, a surprise at the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeDWptbUHMw

Putting that last set screw in reminded me of my friend tucking his daughter into bed every night: "Don't strip, Don't strip, Don't strip, Don't strip, Don't strip, Don't strip...."

Nice work as usual!

You are a fabrication GURU! You need to be part of our race team! lol

What i'm curious about is what you will do with the holes in the door panels for the window cranks?

Did those cars come with power windows at all?

Damn Aaron, I can't wait for the next Installment.