Cliff\'s 1st Gen Purchase - Goldie

[CHC (RIP)]

Yeah - bushes pretty shot at all round (all of a similar condition) so wasn\'t even prepared to try and get these through a road test, I would have thought that the deterioration is mainly due to where the body had been left to rot or should I say \'parked up\'.

 
Having seen the condition of these bushes - just think what the stabilizer spacer is like? Pretty bad :Hammer - hence why I looking for newuns.[/quote]
 
New parts sourced via Mazda dealership and ordered
Part Nos:
071028776 (Retainers)   -    Â£1.97 each
887128157 (Spacers)     -    Â£4.12 each
9980308145 (Bolts)        -    Â£2.62 each

[David Nock (RIP)]

Hi Guys,
When I loosened the top tie rod bolts of Gus, (for his plate welding - I saved the cost of an expensive welding specialist bugxering about), I found that 21mm is exactly 7/8" BSW or some such big Whitworth.

So with a big 1/2" bar plus 21mm socket on it, and my trusty (very old) german ring spanner that I bought for working on my Austin 10, I got both loosened quite easily.
Access was Ok with the axle in place.
Mind you only about 52,000 miles on clock then.

Steve, Cliff, you have both turned into that expensive welding specialist now if you want to give up the day jobbies.

[syebba]

Having seen the condition of these bushes - just think what the stabilizer spacer is like? Pretty bad :Hammer - hence why I looking for newuns.

New parts sourced via Mazda dealership and ordered
Part Nos:
071028776 (Retainers) - £1.97 each
887128157 (Spacers) - £4.12 each
9980308145 (Bolts) - £2.62 each[/quote]
 
It\'s amazing they,ve still got these parts for 25 yr old cars.

[CHC (RIP)]

Hi Guys,
When I loosened the top tie rod bolts of Gus, (for his plate welding - I saved the cost of an expensive welding specialist bugxering about), I found that 21mm is exactly 7/8" BSW or some such big Whitworth.
 
So with a big 1/2" bar plus 21mm socket on it, and my trusty (very old) german ring spanner that I bought for working on my Austin 10, I got both loosened quite easily.
Access was Ok with the axle in place.
Mind you only about 52,000 miles on clock then.
 
Steve, Cliff, you have both turned into that expensive welding specialist now if you want to give up the day jobbies.

Sounds as if you are just the man for the job David.  What you doin\' this weekend mate?
No seriously, I didn\'t get around to trying this out tonight as I was too busy freeing off the bolts on the Watts link - surprisingly the upper watts link bolts were a lot easy to undo than the others.  Pleased they were easier, otherwise they would have been difficult to get proper purchase on (especially the upper bolt beneath the floor pan - phew.

A few photos follow:-

[CHC (RIP)]

Having taken the Watts Link out I had a look at the bushes their too not surprised with the findings really :cool

[CHC (RIP)]

New parts sourced via Mazda dealership and ordered
Part Nos:
071028776 (Retainers) - £1.97 each
887128157 (Spacers) - £4.12 each
9980308145 (Bolts) - £2.62 each

It\'s amazing they,ve still got these parts for 25 yr old cars.[/quote]
 
Very true Stu but I\'m glad they have.  Could it be that they are used for the later models too?  I\'ll have to ask when I collect them on Friday - good service from this Mazda Dealership.

[CHC (RIP)]

Hi Guys,
 
Steve, Cliff, you have both turned into that expensive welding specialist now if you want to give up the day jobbies.

Very nice of you to say this David, I think perhaps Steve might agree with me on this - it is something which I find extremely satisfying and therapeutic with the added bonus of making good and preserving a piece of motoring history for a while longer.  Might not be perfect but at least it is solid.
I took \'Goldie\' on as I enjoyed working on JAZ so much and as Ian said in my early days with the forum - these motors are easy to work on.  Would I give up my day job - no, not yet.  Will I continue with this project work - I think for as long as I am enjoying it a big YES.  I would like to think that Goldie will be a better vehicle when completed than JAZ and if so - who knows what next.

Howz about you Steve - would you do another FB too ?

[Steve-A]

On the whole I think I agree with you Cliff.

It is hugely satisfying to make things good as new again, or even better to make them better than new. And likewise I find it therapeutic to get on there and make something physical especially as I spend my working life sat at a keyboard. But I\'d say the whole preserving automotive history element isn\'t something that really comes into my mind. Yes it\'s saving a rare car from the breakers, and a car that I think is very cool, but it\'s about starting with that cool car and making it MY cool car, built how I want it to be built, made so when I see it across a car park I know its my car, and there\'s not another in the world quite like it.

Similarly to you Cliff, when I\'d kinda finished one arc of the work on my mx7, I was ready for the next project. Rexanne was in need of love and care and I wanted to take the next step up into an even more involved project. Again hopefully Rexanne will be better than the mx7 in every way: faster, more focused, neater and a more complete package. But thats what drives projects the wish to take when you\'ve done before and go one stage further!

Part of me think\'s I\'d love to spend all day tinkering with cars, especially proper restoration and modifications (like race prepping or after market part developing) but I\'m not sure it will ever happen. I\'d have to be sure that it was right to do so. I learnt the hard way with film/video making a hobby your job doesn\'t actually always work out that well, it can kinda kill the hobby.

Would I do another FB? I\'m not sure. I think I\'d probably keep taking Rexanne up a level at a time, unless there was a specific reason to start over, such as if Rexanne got built up to be a great street/track car and I really wanted to build a rally car/drift car etc. One day I\'ll have to do that 105 GTA replica project.......

[CHC (RIP)]

Totally agree Steve.

Restoration work is different for everybody but ultimately it is all about doing things \'your way\', making something \'your own\'  and regardless of my personal preferences I admire people who have made their mark by being unique.

I have always liked something different but never had the opportunity until last year to try out an ambition to restore a car (and what a car to choose), I enjoyed it so much that I want to continue doing more RX7\'s it as long as I can as a hobby (I\'m a bit long in the tooth for thinking of a career change) but we can dream.

[David Nock (RIP)]

And I get massive satisfaction from servicing and making things last....clock up some miles (well a few), take some old bits off, put some new service parts on.

When I reuse an old servicable part .....like my old 1961 Ford Consul stop/tail bulb (they haven\'t changed a jot guys)........wow.....that bulb really gave me a buzz. It\'s been in the RX7 tail lamp cluster for a few years now, working away as God intended....that\'s after 15 years or so in my Consul. Magnifico!

We\'re all different aren\'t we?

[CHC (RIP)]

And I get massive satisfaction from servicing and making things last....clock up some miles (well a few), take some old bits off, put some new service parts on.
 
When I reuse an old servicable part .....like my old 1961 Ford Consul stop/tail bulb (they haven\'t changed a jot guys)........wow.....that bulb really gave me a buzz. It\'s been in the RX7 tail lamp cluster for a few years now, working away as God intended....that\'s after 15 years or so in my Consul. Magnifico!
 
We\'re all different aren\'t we?

Spot on mate - very true and that\'s what makes us all unique, don\'t knock it till you try it.
Oo ..... do you still have the Consul or is the \'my old ....\' as in the past tense?  They sure were a good car - I always preferred the Zephyr myself.

[CHC (RIP)]

I\'ve never stripped the rear suspension down on any car before this and having now removed the Watts Links I was shocked as to how much the rear axle actually floats around without any load being applied.  So here I am, nearly 56 years young and still learning something new every date - it\'s great!

[David Nock (RIP)]

Spot on mate - very true and that\'s what makes us all unique, don\'t knock it till you try it.
Oo ..... do you still have the Consul or is the \'my old ....\' as in the past tense?  They sure were a good car - I always preferred the Zephyr myself.

Ah my old Car. 3374 WY. New out of Dagenham in 1961. A Mark 2 Lowline, produced just before the 375 came out. My Dad & I bought it in 1965 and I scrapped it in 1973/74. I did 100,000 miles myself in that machine and I loved it. It was the Ford 204E Engine, 1703cc of pure......well, nothing.....0 to 60 in a lifetime. (It qualified for Clarkson\'s old comment...If you set off from the sea to return inland, Coastal Errosion would get you before you\'d gone a mile).

But I loved old faithful and wish I\'d never pulled it apart.  The 206 E\'s, Zephyr and Zodiac were better I certainly agree but I was young then and Cost/Insurance matters weighed heavily.

No matter, I sold every part except some last bits which I gave away in the 1980\'s, but I kept the bulbs!

[David Nock (RIP)]

I\'ve never stripped the rear suspension down on any car before this and having now removed the Watts Links I was shocked as to how much the rear axle actually floats around without any load being applied.  So here I am, nearly 56 years young and still learning something new every date - it\'s great!

I think that\'s why the reinforcing plates for the top links fail? The plates weaken with corrosion caused by slight water ingress from the back, then cracking starts, then they disintegrate.

You can understand the process better if you think of the heavy axle loads twisting away at the plates.

[CHC (RIP)]

Ah my old Car. 3374 WY. New out of Dagenham in 1961. A Mark 2 Lowline, produced just before the 375 came out. My Dad & I bought it in 1965 and I scrapped it in 1973/74. I did 100,000 miles myself in that machine and I loved it. It was the Ford 204E Engine, 1703cc of pure......well, nothing.....0 to 60 in a lifetime. (It qualified for Clarkson\'s old comment...If you set off from the sea to return inland, Coastal Errosion would get you before you\'d gone a mile).
 
But I loved old faithful and wish I\'d never pulled it apart. The 206 E\'s, Zephyr and Zodiac were better I certainly agree but I was young then and Cost/Insurance matters weighed heavily.
 
No matter, I sold every part except some last bits which I gave away in the 1980\'s, but I kept the bulbs!

Have to admit, there was definitely something about the cars produced at the turn of the 60\'s.  The designers had run their course with the post war models and were opening up their canvases and looking to produce some cheaper cars whilst trying to improve the build quality of earlier models and best of all was the competition between the motor giants Ford, Vauxhall, Rootes, Triumph, Morgan, Austin & Morris to name just a few.  To me the biggest loss to the motor industry was when they did away with the \'chrome bits\', yes they needed constant polishing and were heavy but comfortable, gleaming machines (very slow too) - but who cared and probably the reason I always wanted to drive.
Don\'t know whether "3374 WY" would be worth a fortune had you have kept it but the nostalgia value would have been priceless.  So does that class the \'bulbs\' as antiques @ 50+ years of age?
My very 1st car was a 1960 Hillman Minx - cream & pale green with a huge front bench seat "WUN 620" - ahh the nostalgia years.