S122A project commencing

[re japi]

Here you go Jarno, Pilkington Finland.

I used to buy these until the UK Claassic car arm was closed here in the UK.

https://www.pilkington.com/en-gb/uk/automotive/original-equipment/specialised-transport/marine/contacts

Damn

Thanks Clive

Lähetetty minun G8141 laitteesta Tapatalkilla

[Eccentric shaft]

More approximate stuff: PAC's firewall seam seal turned out to be just a short length of door push-on strip. Bears no resemblance to the original, so sticking with the old part. Fortunately the window channel strips seem to fit quite well. Lots of work and little visible progress, so trial fitted antenna for visual effect.

[Casey]

Taking shape, bit by bit 

[Eccentric shaft]

Added some detailing I forgot earlier. Ran out of satin black so got a different type. Wish I chose that one from the outset, but too late now. Then the "firewall" behind the back seat: it consists of bottom-of-the-range plywood. A former owner had broken it in half and thrown away the smaller part along with the clips. Got a plate for free at the building supplies shop big enough to make a few if needs be. It's one mm thicker, so will keep the fire at bay for that microsecond longer 

Next to the challenge of the day – fitting windows. Well, they are in, sort of, filthy with Waxoyl and Fluid Film from the doors, they just don't move as they should, so something is wrong. Something more than fastening adjustment, by the looks of it. They derail before fully up, then stop. Any tips appreciated. The Haynes manual is very secretive about this and says mainly: "lift window out" and "to install follow reverse order" or something. Not sure exactly what, but something is missing. Any tips and/or advice highly appreciated.

Finally, have fun spotting differences from a couple of posts back.

[Eccentric shaft]

Haha. Window problem sorted. Turned out to be a no-brainer. Three out of four now in and working, the right hand side rear window will have to wait until the door catch problem is sorted. The better workshop manual to consult is not Haynes, obviously.
Noted 1: One deviation from manual is possible – you can get the windows in the doors with the outer weatherstrips on. Helps protect the paintwork.
Noted 2: But don't try the same trick on the rear side windows. You'll need the extra space!
Noted 3: You'll need a helper to hold the window for you when you install it in the door (unless you have the rare ability to grow a third, fully functional arm from the top of your head). The rear side windows can be handled on your own.

Nearly got to fire up the engine as well, but the MSD box wiring got moved on some point for some reason or other, so interference all along the line. Needs a quick sorting out.

[Eccentric shaft]

Bonnet and boot lid arrived today. Alignment tricky as always and bonnet still doesn't want to shut properly. But it doesn't look too bad! 

[Jamie R]

1970s build tolerances. Unless you're spending 0000s of hours going for a concours finish, nail it on and enjoy


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Eccentric shaft]

1970s build tolerances. Unless you're spending 0000s of hours going for a concours finish, nail it on and enjoy

Don't worry, Jamie. Add to the above some 1980s and 1990s accident repair tolerances and it's clear this isn't going to be a Pebble Beach candidate if I put in a million hours.  (see pic 1 for ref)
Reason bonnet wouldn't shut was that some previous owner had put the catch plate on upside down. So whoever it was moved the bonnet half an inch forwards to make it close properly. It looked dreadful. (pic 2 - bonnet catch plate in correct position)

Messing with the bonnet catch is high risk. If it gets jammed, Haynes recommend to saw a hole(!) in the bonnet  to get to the catch!

Bottom pics: before and after. A tad "factory fresher" now?

[Jamie R]

Yup that's a sterling effort.

Amazing colour too


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jamie R]

I did a similar thing to my boot lid the other day on the rotus. Trying to go from cable to solenoid operated.

It wouldn't open and got jammed because of the funny angles. I've completed re-engineered it to a different lock now.

But when it got stuck thankfully the hinges weren't bolted on so I could gain access and unbolt it. Much swearing involved


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[clive]

When I put the RX-4 back together I found the front wings and the trims on the arches etc just didn't fit ! I decided not to make them fit as it obviously came out of the factory like it and as I have said to many, back then the cars components were not computer generated. With a car that had no rust  to me this way it was a strip, paint and reassemble rather than a restoration. 

p.s while searching for this picture, I found one of my favourite pictures.

[Eccentric shaft]

Great pics, Clive! Yes, I'm very happy with the shade of orange. Thanks to Mike at the paint shop! I suppose if I'd done like Clive and taken the wings and front panel off, that could have improved panel gaps a tad, but even like this it is a major improvement. 

Mazda were a bit stingy with the paint back in the 70s. There's no paint under the bonnet or boot mounts, nor under the bonnet lock. Must have caused a lot of unnecessary rust back in the day. Those places were only covered in a thin layer of original primer on my car, despite at least two resprays. No rust there, though, so this car has definitely been properly garaged for most of its life.

Looking forward to the next Rotus update, Jamie. Keep up the good work!

[Eccentric shaft]

Right hand side door now sorted and shutting almost perfectly. To get to the back plate, I had to cut one of the fastenings and prise the frame back slightly. This turned out to be far faster and easier than I feared. Once I had the back plate out, I could cut off 1,5 mm of metal along its bottom edge. Some steel brushing and paint, and then back into the frame. This nearly eliminated the problem. I suspect there is another side to it as well, though. The distance between the door lock and catch seems a little too small compared to the left-hand side door and there's a tell-tale gap above it. It's likely this side of the door lock got bashed as well when the damage was done. I'll change the door lock at a later stage. For now: shut line massively improved and the door works fine.

[Eccentric shaft]

Rear side window finally going in. First the rail, then the mechanism, then the glass, and then the rear rail. Next the brightwork strip needs calibrating - tight enough to sit firm, not so tight it damages the paintwork. Weather strip is a weird bit. Hard to tell when it decides to stick in place, but it does eventually with some patience. Then the door card with the inner weather strip (a bit of cutting and fitting needed) and whoops – in went the backseat - almost before I knew it.

[Eccentric shaft]

Just love the Rx2 interior. Yes it's all plastic and vinyl, but so neat and stylish. Was dreading putting the brightwork on and wondered if I should wait until the paint have set in a few months. But then again - heck, just went for it. No paintwork was harmed during the fitting of these gutters.