Rexanne - Gold s2 restoration project

[CHC (RIP)]

Been a little quiet for a while, I\'ve been busy with work and sorting out the mx5 ready to sell (updated that thread too)
 
But progress in preparation for Rexannes arrival has been going on.
 
This is the space where she will live before and after.
 


 
Today I\'m hoping to level off the earth and start work on the fence, and I\'m pricing up some slabs.
 
With some luck I might be able to bring her home next weekend and get stuck in
 
I\'ve got all the interior in the house now, all dried out and given a quick clean, there was also the hints of mould starting under the rear seat foam from where water had got in, was only minor so treated it and the seat will be fine.

 
Any joy with the \'new home\' yet Steve?  Waiting for an update mate :Snoring:Snoring

[Steve-A]

Sorry guys, I\'m useless at the moment.

Dad\'s work van has broken down which stopped us picking up the slabs and new fence posts this weekend. This is one time where my mx5 isn\'t really practical enough I\'ve also been still working on prepping my mx5 for sale and doing some general day to day maintenance on it.

Theres lots of little bits to get sorted yet before I can get stuck into this project in terms of little bits to finish in the mx5, organising all the spares and stuff in the garage, sorting out my scrap pile in the garden.

Ian and I spent a whole day digging on friday, we\'ve levelled the veg patch down now so its ready for a little sand then slabs and started to break up the concrete around the base of the middle fence post.



Not much to see really, haha

Theres a slim chance Rexanne will get on the move this coming weekend and but much more likely to be next. Once she gets here I\'ll get my head down.

I\'m keen to get the mx5 gone so I\'ll have some budget for this project but I\'m waiting on the DVLA to send my v5 with new engine number back.

[Ian65]

never mind Seve, from old veg patches do wonderful 1st gens grow! It\'ll be worth the wait! Only problem now with the clocks going back is the invisible sun!

[Steve-A]

It will be worth the wait. That is more than certain. I really cant wait to get her on the road.

To counter the lack of sunlight I shall make use of electric lighting as much as possible. I mean my cheapo marque on shoddily laid slabs wont compare to Tims shed for his 13bt swap, but it\'ll do me fine

While theres been little real progress I\'ve been thinking about the car lots, and what route to follow with it.

First up is the welding, and general rust protection of most components. I\'ll get whatever I can sand blasted, if not I\'ll get it wire brushed back and then I\'ll paint as much as i can of the underside of the car with a good rust prevention hard finish paint, need to looking to which brand/exact paint yet.

I think due to the rust on the inner arch, its going to be more effort than its worth resurrecting the rear wheel arch shape, so I think I\'ll be looking to get bolt on over fenders so I could just cut out most of the rot and replace with fresh metal without having to worry about the cosmetics. I shall wait and see what to do about arches till I\'ve got my wheels sorted. Buy the wheels and build the arches to suit is definitely the way to go.

I think once I free up some cash I\'ll make a pretty big re-speed order. I\'d like the tokico iluminata dampers, with their \'coilover\' kit front and rear. I\'ll need a complete set of bushes for the car so I\'m probably going to go full polly bush.

Not sure what to do about brakes yet, do any later model bigger brakes fit easily? or is it worth just getting some nice pads and fresh rotors for the stock brakes? I\'ll be running ned hard and soft lines throughout and probably look at doing calliper rebuild is possible.

Engine wise its fine for the short term, the stock fan will be off and I\'ll get MR2 electric fan instead. It will eventually be controlled as part of megasquirt but I may just have a manual switch to begin with.

The stock interior will be cleaned and installed. Theres some wear on the edge of the drivers seat, but its not bad and other than that the interior is very clean and complete.

Hopefully she\'ll be ready for MOT then, so can get her on the road and have a better shake down.

Then the next stage of the build can follow. I\'d like to keep the original colour, seeing as there are only two remaining. Most of the areas that need welding work aren\'t too conspicuous so I maybe just get the local body shop, who did an awesome colour match on my 20 year old red mx5 paint, to make me up some paint and I\'ll paint the repaired sections up myself, the other option would be to get said body shop to give the whole car a blow over in the same colour then it should be really fresh and shiny.

I\'m still torn on what to do with interior, part of me whats to keep it original, the other part of me is keen for stripping it right back, fitting a full cage and just two fixed back bucket seats. I think I\'ll have to see how it feels on the road in stock seats. Or I may end up with a hybrid option such as just replacing the drivers seat with something more bucketed, so I get the race car feel driving but have carpet and radio and stuff.

Engine wise, realistically my heart has decided there\'s one route to follow, it involved drilling sodding great 2" holes in the side of the rotor housing :Giggle:Giggle on megasquirt fuel injection and electronic ingnition.

One thing is set that I\'d quite like to create whats a more true interpretation of the japanese classic look and scene, rather than the american approach. This is the first \'cool\' car I\'ve ever had, the first one that I\'d like to look as fast as it goes. But fear not it will still be very much form derived of function.

[Ian65]

I used POR15 on my suspension parts and underbody... powdercoat in a tin!
It bonds well to rust, sets hard as rock and uses moisture in the air to dry / cure rather than evaporating solvents, which means it\'s great to use in this damp weather.
I\'m very impressed with the finish.

http://www.tech-leisure.com/index_files/Page934.htm

.

[Steve-A]

Sounds good, might have to go buy a gallon or two!

[captainbizzaro]

You can get kits to run FC brakes Steve which would be more than adequate in a car the weight of an FB-I think respeed do these too. You will find them a pleasure to work with I have nothing but praise for the service that Billy offers. Don\'t be under any illusions about my shed though mate-it\'s proper ghetto style!

[Steve-A]

Ah good news about the FC brake kit, looks like I\'ll have an even bigger re-speed order to make then!

Ghetto cosy is what your shed looks to be

[captainbizzaro]

Forgot to add-if you need any brown interior bits then I have a-plenty.

[Steve-A]

ah cheers, I think I\'ve got a complete set but I\'ll bear that in mind

[captainbizzaro]

Forgot to add-if you need any brown interior bits then I have a-plenty.

Ghetto cosy is probably accurate. Especially with the robin reliant front seat/easy chairs I\'ve got.

[syebba]

I\'ve never been on this re-speed site,think i\'ll have a nose.
ta stu..

[Ian65]

I\'ve never been on this re-speed site,think i\'ll have a nose.
ta stu..

if you go onto their forum as well you can ask Billy about their products before you buy and see what others have done with them....

http://re-speed.com/forums/index.php?showforum=10

[captainbizzaro]

Yeah he\'ll also reply to you on rx7club or direct email. Proper good.

[CHC (RIP)]

Steve, can you please verify something for me mate.
I\'ve just acquired Goldie (another 1st Gen S2), haven\'t seen any interior as it was all ripped out and was wondering what colour is in Rexanne.  Is it the brown with a red stripe down the middle of the seats?

Cliff