Rexanne - Gold s2 restoration project

[Ian65]

it\'s really taking shape now Steve, great work.
If you go for another supplier for the POR 15, be carefull and check which type of finish it is....
there aren\'t that many suppliers out there. I usually use Frost but a while back, they were out of stock and I used Holden but didn\'t realise that their POR15 was satin black ( or semi-gloss as they call it), not gloss black. I actually prefer the satin black finish as it\'s a bit more \'factory\' looking but it\'s no good if you\'ve already done half your suspension in gloss.
Worth checking when you order it.

[Steve-A]

Thanks for the heads-up Ian

I\'ve done the bulk of the the important parts, all the chassis, front sub frame. I\'ve only got the under side of the front wishbones, the front radius arms, the ARB and the radiator cowling left to do in that rust proof style paint, so I\'m half tempted to switch over to Hammerite or similar thats much more available, so I can push on and get the job done. Not sure if it would just come back to bite me long term though.

[TiddlesRX7]

So this POR15 stuff. Is this the daddy for under the car too? Just thinking I might do the FC underside over the summer. It\'s waxoiled atm but it tends to flake off after a bit.

[Steve-A]

Seems to be pretty good. Recommended by quite a few of the serious auto restoration places.

Prep is everything though, you\'d need to remove all trace of the waxoyl. To make it work best it really needs to be back to basically bare metal, then acid etched, then painted in POR15. Anywhere that can see sunlight then needs to be over painted as POR15 can be degraded by UV.

So it takes a while and is fairly costly really, I\'ve just finished my 2nd pack of paint at ~£40 + the acid etch at ~£25.

But it is meant to be the ultimate protection when done right.

[Steve-A]

I\'ve put a good number of hours time into her today, with some nice visual results.

Firstly I Finished fitting the interior. It was worth it just for the extra bedroom and garage space its rendered!



Centre consol and associated bits still need to go in, but I can\'t do that till I\'ve got the gearbox in really.

Next up I fitted the subframe back in.



In my last post I mentioned about the POR15 and that I was considering just using Hammerite to get the job done. Well my hand was forced, some of the parts I had shot blasted were starting to surface rust from the damp atmosphere, so before I had to re-blast them all I got busy.

Here\'s the bottom of the wishbones. As the parts that will be Hammerited are the front ARB components and the radiator surrounds it should be easy enough to pull them out at a later date if its not upto the job and repaint, not like its the chassis.



Then thinking of the gearbox from earlier I split it from the engine and started to clean it up.

Before:



A fairly long space of time later after lots of frantic rubbing with a brilo pad.



That picture is rather flattering and what it doesn\'t show is that I haven\'t even started the other side! Part of me says I\'m wasting my time as it\'ll only get dirty again and its well hidden under the car, but another part of my will always know its clean and shiny and I did it properly :cool

Quick question for you guys... Is this a stock s2 flywheel?



I only ask because I\'ve been reading about light weight flywheels and it seems they say its the same light flywheel whether its going on a n/a 13b or a 12a, and that flywheel is noticeably thinner than a standard 13b flywheel.

This flywheel is 285mm diameter, 17mm thick at the edge with a cut out section thats 9mm thick.

The 13b egi 6 port flywheel is 285mm diameter, 20mm thick at the edge with a thicker section thats 30mm deep.  

I\'d be shocked if it was anything other than standard, just always asking those who know what they are talking about!

[myatt1972]

Was at Ians house last weekend and we were looking at the flywheels on the spare engines he has in the garage, seems to be different types but I dont think we got to the bottom of it, these were all 12a\'s but one seemed thinner than the other.
 
Keith...

[Steve-A]

Ooh thats interesting Keith.

Judging by the rest of the car I\'d be confident this is a stock flywheel, I was just intrigued to see that it was very different from the 13b one. Because they both use the same lightweight one I had presumed they\'d use the same original one.

Either way for now its staying on the engine and going back in the car!

[CHC (RIP)]

OMG is this car coming on or wat?  Bedroom SPACE - heaven ay mate?
Looking really good Steve and yes, I agree, clean all of the g/box - at least you\'ll know its\' been done properly, just like the rest of the car.  70 - 75% complete now I think?
To answer your earlier statement too - YES it will definitely have been worth it, bad language and all :rollin:rollin

[Steve-A]

Having a bit of a quiet time for work right now Does mean lots of time to work on Rexanne though. Got quite a lot done over the last few days, lots of fiddly bits that are time consuming.

I\'ve cleaned and painted lots of small brackets, things like coil mounts etc.



Cleaned and greased the head light motor assemblies. Heres a before and after shot.



The engine bay is starting to look a lot more full now.



I\'ve also refitted what I can of the front suspension with the polly bushes.



I\'m waiting for steering idler arm bushed before I can re-assemble the rest of the steering links. I\'ve found a good Mazda dealer in Leominster who was quite happy to search some out for me, unlike the less than enthusiastic Worcester dealer. The guys in Leominster will be getting my general Mazda custom from now on!

So with the engine bay coming together it was time to prep bits to go in it. First I finished off the gearbox.



Then with help from Ian today we started on the engine. Here\'s what it looked like after 27 years on the car.



A number of hours later, after much effort with degreaser and souring pads, this is what we got.



It\'s all prepped and ready for some paint now. I do have some work on now though, so that will have to wait till the weekend.

So its all coming along quite nicely I\'m hoping to have the engine in by the end of next week.

My biggest current hurdle is sorting out an oil cooler. My s2 one has basically corroded through where the oil lines join it. I\'ve never seen alu oxidisation so bad! I phoned Rx Motors but they didn\'t have any. I shall have to look into some that are being broken I guess, but I do wonder if they\'ll be any better than what I\'ve got.

[Ian65]

Wow.... you\'ve spent some serious time on that Steve, it\'s looking great.... I\'ll have another look at those flywheels at the weekend and try to bottom them out ( even if you\'re running yours \'as is\', it\'ll be nice to know.
If you don\'t manage to get an air cooler oil cooler, I\'ve got a spare \'beehive\' off my S3 that I took off when I put the turbo on it. You can have it for free if it\'ll help get you on the road... it\'s easy to swap it back afterwards.
Well done mate..... it\'s coming on a treat.

[Steve-A]

Thankyou very much for the offer Ian. I may have to take you up on it, I\'ll have a good search around for and air to oil cooler first though

[TiddlesRX7]

Wow you wouldn\'t think that was the same engine mate. Nice work.

[myatt1972]

Just spotted this on e-bay Steve.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mazda-RX7-1982-Radiator-Fan-Alternator-Airpump-Oil-Cool-/260781488489?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3cb7c9b969
Seems to be an oil cooler there but no pic, might be worth a punt !
Keith...
 
If someone spots this and could PM Steve that would be great. (must become a full member)

[Steve-A]

Cheers Keith for posting that up

I think I\'m set for now though, gonna try this beehive cooler route out with a bigger rad.

[myatt1972]

Glad your sorted Steve, now get to bed youve got work to do tomorrow