Messages

286

1st generation RX-7's / Newbie

« on: March 28, 2010, 10:18:23 AM »

I used a red LED unit on one of my 323s, and it isn\'t that bright, but it shines red, and that\'s all the MOT man requires

I already had the red paint...and the bulb...so I went with that option this time - and yep, it\'s pretty bright...and much better than the bolt on unit under the bumper

As far as the windscreen goes, the deeper marks are still there - I\'d need to polish it so much I\'d have no glass left - but it is a great improvement. It took me several hours, but I had to keep stopping to let my old drill cool down

I bought this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-Windscreen-Scratch-Repair-Kit-Glass-DIY-Remover_W0QQitemZ380115564434QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item5880a73792

but this one looks the same, and is cheaper

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Glass-Windscreen-Scratch-Remover-Repair-Kit-DIY-New_W0QQitemZ120496319585QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item1c0e23ec61

287

1st generation RX-7's / Newbie

« on: March 27, 2010, 09:51:42 PM »

Had a go at improving the scratches on the windscreen today. I used a "scratch doctor" kit from ebay, and it was £12 well spent.

Hard to capture with the camera, but there were lots of deep scratches, caused mainly by the wipers






Started off by masking it off a bit




Then used the pad supplied on my old faithful electric drill




The deep scratches are still there, but they\'re much improved, and hopefully it\'ll be ok for a while, until I can afford a new windscreen...








I also got the red bulb paint out, and finished the rear foglamp

288

1st generation RX-7's / Newbie

« on: March 26, 2010, 08:35:55 PM »

Made the most of my afternoon off today...

Got all the interior back in, and cleaned the carpets, then I fitted a remote central locking kit

Fixed the windscreen washers - a new pump, and a good clean of all the pipes and it started to work!

Lost the rear foglamp, rewired the drivers side reversing lamp - just need to paint the bulb red


Hopefully I\'ll have enough time to polish out the scratches on the windscreen over the weekend, then it can go for an MOT in the week!!!!

289

1st generation RX-7's / Newbie

« on: March 22, 2010, 06:06:07 PM »

God, I love that Gareth to bits.

(Said in a big blokey sort of way).

:rollin


yep...me too - he\'s the bestest friend I\'ve ever had :Thumbs-up


I wouldn\'t have been able to take on this project without his help, and it certainly wouldn\'t be anywhere near the position it\'s in now, that\'s for sure!

I\'ll have a nose at the washer pipes at the weekend, thanks for the tip - need to find some better wipers too, as it is those that have scratched the windscreen...but they seem to have some old fashioned clip system, so I can\'t fit nice bosch aero ones
Wonder if Garath fancies welding some new type ends to the original wiper arms... :cool

290

1st generation RX-7's / Newbie

« on: March 21, 2010, 08:10:06 PM »

Thought today was going to be a write off, as it was raining first thing...however, work started about 11, on the passenger side...

Not as bad as the other side, started off as just a small hole in the rear arch/sill - with nothing else further up the car

Garath started to cut away the sill, to gain access and see how far the rust monkeys had been playing









Ended up pretty much the same as the drivers side



Garath used his joggling tool to punch some holes in the new shiny bits



So he could weld them together



Then it was some panel seal, and some underseal paint, and it was job done :shock:


So, 3 full days, and it\'s solid

Need to get it home, and then do the other little jobs, then it\'ll be MOT time...


Thanks a million Garath - you\'ve worked bloody hard on this one, and done an awesome job

291

1st generation RX-7's / Newbie

« on: March 18, 2010, 05:37:18 PM »

Hi marcs. Lethagized here from 323club.com. Glad you made it over to the dark side lol

Hi mate, thought I\'d find you here somewhere :Giggle


Hoping for some good weather this weekend, but it doesn\'t look too promising, might be a week of little or no work :Yawn
Want to start the passenger side floor, and also try and tackle some of the other jobs, windscreen washers not up to much (luckily the motor is the same as a 323f one) and maybe try and get the windows to work

Got my eye on some new mirrors too, I soooo need to replace those nasty ones Mazda saw fit to put on there :2Rolleyes

292

1st generation RX-7's / Newbie

« on: March 15, 2010, 01:28:08 PM »

Thanks for the postive comments, they\'re really appreciated
 
 
Noticed while taking out the interior that I have no rear seat belts at all - I doubt it\'ll go through an MOT like that, so if anyone has any, give me a shout please

293

1st generation RX-7's / Newbie

« on: March 14, 2010, 06:43:45 PM »

Had another full day at it today - again a massive thanks to Garath, dunno what I\'d do without you mate

Back up in the air...




Where did I leave that screwdriver? In the car mate, literally, in the car :lol:




small hole in the floorpan




and another in the chassis rail




and one in the front...




which turned into several large holes :roll:




and a big bit for the chassis








Then it was time for panel seal, and some underseal paint As Garath had done all the hard work, I felt it only fair I did this bit








and, somehow, in just one weekend, the drivers side is finished :shock:






We\'ll start on the passenger side next weekend, if the weather allows

294

1st generation RX-7's / Newbie

« on: March 13, 2010, 07:19:23 PM »

Thanks David, I\'ll give them a call in the week


Went over to see Garath today, and took him some shiny metal to fit :lol:

Decided to tackle the drivers side rear first, as this looks like the worst part

Started off by getting her up the air, seats and carpets out etc

(that\'s another of my 323s in the background )











Time to assess the rust monkeys...







Then Garath started to grind it back...







First panel was pretty complicated to fabricate...







But it fitted perfectly







Then it was back out with the cardboard for more templates





and some nice panels - including a joggled edge to follow the original lines of the sill







After some work to brace up the inner panels (missed that bit, I had to go buy lunch the outers went on, and I\'m really pleased with the result










Needs some panel seal and some paint, then on to the next bit...


Biiiiiiig thanks to Garath, without his time, effort and talent, this car would probably never make it on the road!

295

1st generation RX-7's / Newbie

« on: March 11, 2010, 05:35:02 PM »

1st gen steering is notoriously vague due to the steering box setup which is inherently less precise than a rack and pinions setup.
It wears over time and goes out of adjustment.

The 1st thing to check is the idler arm bushes which don\'t last 5 minutes and will cause vagueness in the steering.
The steering box itself can be adjusted but a better option is to get a steering box and column from a series 2.
They are more precise and easier to adjust.
The last thing is to look at the various ball joints and links whilst someone turns the steering wheel lock to lock and look for any slack.
...
I\'d go for a refurb of the idler arm bushes and a series 2 steering box first, that should tighten things up a treat.

So, is a series 2 box better than a series 3 one? Sounds like some good old backwards engineering :3Confused

Might be a daft question, but can you point me in the right direction re the idler arm bushes - best place to buy etc please


To answer other questions, yes, it does look really good in the pics, camera hides most of the surface rust pretty well :2Rolleyes

and yes, I do have a 323f or two

my garage currently stands at this...

296

1st generation RX-7's / How Many 1st Gens Still Running?

« on: March 09, 2010, 07:49:33 PM »

They must live somewhere very foggy.
The rear foglight on 1st gens looks tacky,like an afterthought,it could be built in to one of the reverse light apertures on the main rear lens.
ta stu..

I considered this too, but I think I\'ll modify the rear lights, so they are both twin filament bulbs, one pair for tail & brake, and one pair for tail & fog

297

1st generation RX-7's / Newbie

« on: March 08, 2010, 09:48:25 PM »

Thank you for the warm welcomes, and some good tips too - I\'ll try the windows at the weekend.


That is a spitfire in the garage...of sorts

It\'s actually recently been rebadged (tastefully) as a sprintfire - it is a MkIV spitfire, with a Dolomite Sprint engine
It is my friend\'s driveway, garage, and spitfire, he has generously given up some space, lots of time, and his good skills, in order to help me get the rex on the road - he\'s good like that
His late father built the spitfire, and it was his intention to get it back up and running this spring, but my RX7 has delayed proceedings a bit...like I say, he\'s a very very good friend, and his love of RX7s has I\'m sure helped me to persuade him to work on this one

It\'s a weekend only project, until it\'s MOTd and on my driveway, then I can play away all evening


One thing I will ask - the steering...it seems very vague, and very stiff at low speed - I might consider changing the fluid in the box...but long term would consider swapping the box for a rack. Has anyone done this? I\'d probably look at an early MX5 rack, but I\'m open to any advice on this one!

I\'ll be posting up pics of my...sorry, our work, and will no doubt be asking many questions along the way...

298

1st generation RX-7's / Newbie

« on: March 07, 2010, 06:02:53 PM »

Hi all,

My name\'s Marc, and I\'m new to the world of the rotary engine, so bear with me

Just bought a series 3, with quite a few problems, not least of which is the rust...which I intend to deal with, with a lot of help from a good friend of mine, who is going to teach me to weld!!






That\'s one of my Mazda 323Fs in the background




Dont think you should be able to get your hand in there... :2Confused





It\'s been delocked, and the remote locking does not work, so I\'ll need to sort that, and the windows no longer work, well, the drivers one goes down an inch or so, but needs a hand back up again...

I\'ve just spied the flash to pass mod, I shall be doing that at some point in the future...need to get her welded up first though