I'am speechless.

_________________
1994 mazda 626 1.8L 16V hatchback
1977 mazda 818 1.3L 8V coupe
1992 mazda MX-6 2,5L 24V

kinoath John, champion effort. I wish I had a more meaningful way to contribute to your thread, but I don't. So you have to put up with my generic compliment! hah.

No problem with the generic comments

Not much going on with the car other than Im sort of sick of it.

Plating people have come back with a quote to zinc those parts so thats going ahead. Cutting back the roof with a rotary and compounding waffle pad got me about 80% there, came out pretty good. I got a little paranoid regarding some remaining buffer marks so just stopped before I caused any serious damage which would mean a roof repaint. Rubbed out those areas with 2000 then 3000 wet then I'll use a DA polisher which is far less aggressive using a finer polish and a softer range of pads. It should be right, cant see any major problem at this point.

White paint while good at masking flaws, is also hard trying to find imperfections to polish them out. Out of all the lighting I have used, natural light is the worst where fluorescent lights make the work far easier. I'd go as far as saying its impossible (for me) to buff a white car with natural light, you see nothing except except for a severe defect.

I temporarily fitted in the rear seat and the set of door trims to see what additional stuff I need to find for these parts to be permanent fixtures. Door trims are very nice and Im happy I stuck with the original Mazda ones. On the front door trims it looks like there should be something between the door glass and the front doortrim to mask the door shell edge and fill the gap. If possible I'd like someone to post a photo of that area so I know what Im looking for. I bought the car as dozens of boxes so I have no idea.

The bonnet and doors should be painted shortly, also need to clean up the interior so it can start going together.

Awsome work John, you must be over the moon seeing some colour on the car.

_________________
http://www.ausrotary.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=152986

My Videos
http://www.youtube.com/restoremaz

It sure is good to see some colour. Im pretty happy with it.

My problem is I see people like you do stuff which you make look so easy. My biggest regret is colour sanding the car. I should have just denibbed it. I thought buffing would be easy, its the hardest thing I have had to do !! I actually put down the rotary buffer becasue I feared I was going to have to repaint the roof after trying to remove a few stubborn marks. I dont know what happened as I used the rotary on most of the car without a problem, I wasnt sure what variable I changed to finish things off which was heading for disaster.

After a bit of experimentation I worked out I had increased the speed of the rotary which was warming then marking the paint. Slowed it down, cleaned the compounding pad and the problem went away. I've changed my approach, give it a pass with the rotary and a coumpound pad then switch to a DA polisher/ sander set to forced rotation mode with a less aggressive pad. Its a bit slower but alot safer for someone like me.

Ive now ended up with several different pads and 2 different compounds during my testing, alot more comfortable now but still takes alot of time and effort. In many ways I prefer the rotary, I think its easier to handle when things are going right, get results alot faster, down side is it has the potential to lead to disaster just as quick.......... Still plenty of time to stuff things up.

_________________
Ebay reproduction parts for sale here

Gypsy, I use a random orbital but this advice may apply to use as well. I use a "rotation" of three pads, I'll use a pad on two panels, wash it out, and lay it in the sun to dry, switch to pad two, repeat the process, and switch to pad three. By the time I wash pad three, pad one is dry enough to use. This way the pads remain soft and don't have a chance to load up with compound, and at the same time I'm not using a pad that's still wet, slinging compound everywhere.

_________________
-Cam
1980 Toyota Celica
1984 Porsche 911
1988 Mazda RX7

Take #2, hopefully the update wont go missing this time. As you can see below the build is humming along nicely in my spare time. Currently doing final prep to paint the beaver panel, boot lid, right door and guard. All these parts are in HiFill, they are waiting on the final guide coat and a rub back with some 600 wet. It's basically a day of rubbing the panels back and touching up if required and another day masking and painting.

I've now decided on a second set of wheels thanks to some photos that Savannarx3 posted. They'll be a nice look for something different to give the a car a bit of boy racer look when Im in the mood to relive my long gone teen years ! So what sort of wheels have I decided on you ask ? Well they'll be a set of Japanese Watanabe wheels. I've always had a love / hate thing with these wheels. They can look very ordinary or they can look really nice. Well thanks to a few PMs back and forth to Savannarx3 and a bit of research I think I have it all worked out. I've already located 2 used wheels in the offset and width Im after, just waiting on a few more photos then if all is OK I'll organise to have them shipped over while I keep a look out for the other two.

To complete the look I've been looking around Australia for a set of tyres in a rare (for Australia) dimension. Just as I thought, they are impossible to find over here. There is one shop in Sydney that may have them or be able to get them, failing that I'll have to import those as well from either the USA or Japan. Nothing is ever easy for me !

It doesnt stop there either, I've been after some certain parts so the assembly can soon start. My good friends at Mazda havent been able to help me and numerous phone calls to the repro places around the country have failed to show me acceptable replacement parts. I think I've now found an overseas supplier than can give me what im after. More to follow on this one.

Here's the latest.... nothing too exciting.

Pic 1, with the car coming together in the not too distant future I decided to start looking through the many boxes of parts. These are some window/ door / quarter and other general bits I found. The've been given to a friend to clean up in his blast cabinet. They'll be primed and painted when I get them back. Pic2, window mechanisms that have been dropped off to be cleaned, zinced and gold chromate dipped. Best part is I dont need to touch them, pay the money and they come back like new.


Pic 1, more stuff sent away... lock mechanisms, 10a heat shields and heater pipe. Some of you will notice I'll removed the internal pull handles before sending them away. Pic 2, battling with the rear springs, removing the nolathane bushes was impossible. Im going back to Mazda rubber ones... dont need these crappy parts that dont fit right. Seriously what sort of performance increase in handling do you expect by using these items in a street going 70's road car with bus like steering ! The springs have been modified by one of the previous owners, eyes reversed and lowered.


Destroyed both the pivots and bushes removing the springs from the car. The things would not budge, thats how tight they were on the pivots.


For people that dont know there are 3 different size pivot diameters for the 808/ rx3 range. A quick trip down to see Rick (Mazbitz) sorted my little problem out.... we had 3 different sets in front of me which was a surprise to see such variation ! Right one is the original I destroyed, left one I returned because it wouldnt fit, ended up with I think late model sedan ones... The end nut is the same diameter but the pivot is larger on the replacement units I used. Wagon ones wont fit without doing some drilling on the car. Pic, nice photo of something that is starting to look like a car again.


A couple of engine bay shots, a pain in ass the paint. Turned out pretty good, need to clean up a couple of minor things before the 10a goes in. I know the car will never be as good as an untouched original one but its more than made up with the fun Ive had along the way. This is a real project car that will see road time without thinking about. Its sole purpose is to be enjoyed not locked away ....a trip down memory lane, what dumb ass paid money for this car !

Before


After


This is the first time Ive painted and buffed so go easy on me ! Paint turned out pretty flat so I wet rubbed with 2000 then DA'd with 3000, both done wet. The 3000 makes things a little easier but not enough to worry about in the future. Im using quality Swiss made SIA abrasives not your Autobarn stuff. The difference in a quality abrasive is that you will get a constant cut sheet after sheet.


Sanding slurry from the 2000/3000 and my compounding waffle pad using a rotary. Buffing is harder than it looks. My inital attempts werent going so good and I thought I was going to have to repaint the roof. I used a bit of commonsense put it down and experimented on something else until I worked out what the hell I was doing wrong. I resanded the area with the 2000 that I marked and all was good from there. I was worried about the roof so I finished it off so I knew before I spray the beaver whether the roof had to be redone...... all works out good with no rework. Australian brand Contour waffle pad with Australian made Juice Q cut compound, trying to do my bit to help out local industry.


I use a 3inch mini buffer and a Farcela compound pad around the tight bits, mask up the edges so no burn through.


Masking more edges, Pic 2... couldnt help myself, test fitted my repaired door trim. It doesnt take much to look like a car again. Genuine stuff !


If someone could tell me what fits between the door trim and the glass, that would be great. Pic 2, another trip down memory lane. This roof was once bashed in pretty bad all over, sorry I couldnt find the pics during the repair of the many dents, this was after weeks of persistance, it needed very little filler after all that work.


This is after buffing with Q cut using 2 different pads a rotary (Contour waffle pad) then a DA on forced rotation with a USA made CCS Lake Orange pad.


I use different lights to check progress, also wash the area down every now and then with water and thinner to make sure the compound isnt filling in swirls and marks giving a false impression. Turned out very nice for a first timer. Im so happy that Im not going to go over it with less aggressive polishes/ pads. Its about 98% there, I'll give it the once over when the rest of the car is done. Im literally blown away by the result and its my very first attempt at this sort of thing. Pic 2 is the products I used on the roof and will do the same to the rest of the car once the beaver is painted. I suppose when all the painting is done I'll have to wax the paint to protect it and keep it looking nice.


Pic 1, depending which of my engines I finally select I could be fitting the original 10a cleaner setup, thanks to cobra for locating this some time back. Pic 2, more goodies that have been accumulated over time. Genuine Mazda weather strips that were found years ago (if only I could find a complete genuine set), genuine new brake master cylinder and fluid reservoir, last but not least a 10a beaver badge that I picked up a few years back. Not sure if I'll be using it, still undecided on finishing touches.

Excellent work.

_________________
http://www.ausrotary.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=152986

My Videos
http://www.youtube.com/restoremaz

Very impressive project.

_________________
1984 Mazda RX-7 GSL-SE, 1964 Ford Galaxie 500XL 390 Auto A/C, 1970 Ford F250 Explorer 390 Auto Long Bed
My Car Blog: http://chrischillino.com/

Thanks.... should have more hanging panels in colour in the next few days. Slowly chipping away at it seems to get the job done.

Some new steering stuff turned up even though the steering components have been replaced with quality stuff some time before it became unregistered. It'll give me the option whether I want to spend the time cleaning up the existing parts or just fit the brand new stuff. Either way no big deal as I want to do another car after this one.

I've also been looking at Watanabe wheels (still keeping the stock wheels). I was keen on a set of 14" wheels but tyre sizes are proving difficult to source in the dimensions Im after to get "the look" Im chasing. Getting 55 profile tyres is basically limited to one manufacturer (Toyo) in a 14". I"ve thought about having 15" on the back and 14" on the front but may look a little strange. This is as far as Im willing to go with modifications aside from the 5 speed gearbox which I wanted for the many highway trips I have planned.

Despite the limited number of modifications (/improvements) the preference will always be to have a standard looking car in and out with a little bit of spice under the bonnet


20th August.............

Minor update, getting ready for more painting. Beaver and right panels in HiFill with guide coat ready for sanding. Pic 2 started rubbing back beaver panel with 600 wet.


You could go coarser than 600 wet but you wouldnt want to step down any further than 400 otherwise you'll start getting sand scratches appear through the paint. For a metallic colour I think you wouldnt step below 600. When wet sanding you want to make sure that whatever grit you are using that you have removed the previous coarser grit scratches. For me thats not a problem, the HiFill went on smooth so was easy work with the 600, no other grit was necessary. Pic 1 Wet sanding the door down to each body line. Pic 2, sanding back the beaver panel, always use a block, keep the block flat at all times, and finally sand in an X motion moving around. If you find a low tipping the block on an angle is only going to make things worst when painted. Lows need to be tapped out or filled if minor.


Door and guard now done and ready to be wiped down with wax and grease remover ready for painting. The doors and guards still have the factory convex wave going through them. I've noticed alot of people fill in the area so its flat. I've elected to keep the wave below the swage line, unfortunately you cant see it because the primer is dull. Well I got through all that without picking up any flaws which means no rework = it can now be painted anytime Im ready.


With everything going well I thought I'd get back to the nosecone. Here I've fitted the bezels and grill to make sure that they fit right. One side of the nosecone needs a little massaging as its about 1.5mm out, apart from that I'll finish stripping the rest of it back and get it ready for primer and painting. Those are all genuine Mazda parts, the grill badge hasnt been on a car since the 80's and is new like. I bought a repro one as well, quality was impressive. Its good to see people making decent stuff for these cars.


..........and a couple more

Painting didnt go as smooth as I liked, I actually stuffed up within the first 2 minutes, doesnt take much to ruin a paint job. Lucky for me I used common sense before starting and only mixed half the paint required. While the door and other bits and pieces turned out nice the colour magnified a couple of things on the guard which I wasnt happy with. Funnily enough I did a quick pass to just make sure there wasnt anything else. The one little bit that I was concerned about turned out to be nothing however I found I missed something else on the flare end. I'll give the front guards the once over and paint them in a couple of weeks with a few other things. Photos were taken late at nice using my phone, will put better ones up next time.


One of my goals was to complete at the bodywork before summer which looks as though it will be achieved. Im really happy about that. There isnt really much more to do to finish off painting, just need some quality continuous time. There are a few things that I need to touch up but thats only half a days work. The 2 big things that remain is to align the left door prior to painting. The rear side is OK, but need to raise the front a tad. I was hoping that the platers would have finished fixing my stuff by now as I wanted to mount the lock mechanism to hold the rear of the door in place (since its in the correct spot)while I raised the front edge slightly. Last excuse I heard was that they were still waiting for Rio Tinto to load the zinc onto the truck. Since they are taking so long I may drop off the fuel lines to be redone as well. The lines down the side of the car look all nice and straight and its good to see the car almost all one colour. Shouldnt be too long now before Im cutting and buffing the rest of the body.

.....



3rd Sept

A few more bits and pieces painted, drives me nuts. Pic 2 trail fitting some rear end trims I have. The round tail lights are by far my favourite, either grey or red backings, either look good to me. I think I must be the only Rx3 owner around who doesn't own a set of hexagonal tail lamps or wants tea cup tail lights ! They are fitted to USA spec backings which is why there are two red lenses. I have a better set of backings but cant find them. Im not sure if they are wired the same as the Teacup lights as the car does not have one single wire in it at present. In pic 2 I was trying to get a better fit with the passenger door before painting it, I had it as good as it was ever was going to be, near perfect actually and then decided I wanted to more it another mm or so, big mistake as I messed it all up and its doing my head in trying to get it back as it was.


Inside of boot lid painted, need to do the hinges as well. Pic 2, RE10 badge fitted just so I could see how it looks, boot lid fits nice with no overbite. I have a rear bar with Mazbitz getting all straightened up before chroming. The one fitted is a spare for the next roller I buy, its been hit on one side and was the worst of the two.


Final one for now, there was one minor mark in the door which only I could apparently see but bugged me enough to rub the door back, friends think Im nuts but I know its there (or was) ! The rear vent trims have been blasted back to the natural black plastic. Not sure if Ill paint them black or dark gray as I think there were several variations.


Watanabe's have gone on hold as I picked up a bunch of new old unobtainable parts that were too good to pass up for my 12a car. Im not bothered as I have the restored set of matching steelies which is all Im going to need for now. I was watching Restoring Dreams this week and am amazed at the lengths they go to to replica Falcon GT parts, everything from casting marks to stampings. Everything is identical, I only wish the same was being done for the Rx3 instead of "the close enough is good enough" mentality. Until such time when the quality and appearance is near identical I'll continue collecting junk old parts for my cars. There are however individuals making parts who have recognised the importance of near perfection and I think they do well because of it.

Starting to come together as you can see, should turn out to be a nice tidy car. Currently working around the shell tidying up bits and pieces and finishing off minor jobs so I can start putting it together in the next month or so as time allows. Front end sheet metal still needs finishing mainly because I can't be bothered.

5th Sept

A few more, probably the last for a while until cleanup and sort out the front end.

Left door aligned and painted. Right door painted as well.


Pic 1 Another angle, Pic 2 boot lid also done. Sanding whatever HiFill primer was sprayed on the boot lid was like sanding cast iron, it was literally rock hard !


All that really matters is that it looks good


Next step aside from compounding and buffing the paint, I'll be installing the engine and box to weld in the gearbox mounts so I can spray some primer on the inside. I gave it the once over today and its looking really good. It'll be a nice change to start assembly in the coming months. Front panels arent too far off either. I'll give painting a break for a few weeks just to do something different.

_________________
Ebay reproduction parts for sale here

Geez this place has gone awfully quiet !

I have picked up my engine from Ric Shaw Performance. I've dealt with him over many many years prior to taking a long break from the car scene. He went out of his way to help put the period 10a bridgey together. Porting is nothing radical, it is very similar to how Mazda used to do them. Big porting basically means no torque when you need it. This is a sediment reflected from several other highly experienced engine builders/ racers who have competed successfully for years. The impression I got was you loose more time coming in and out of corners than what you gain down the straights if you go too radical. Rick would have to be one of the best Australian rotary (and piston) circuit racers around... he's raced everything from Bathurst V8's, Targa Tasmania (Tarmac rally), GT class at the Nürburgring Gemany over several years (both his own team and a factory Aston drive) all with results of course, I could have chosen to advise him on what works but thought he may know better

I had suggested to have everything kryptonite coated (by Lex Luther himself), heat treated, use late model machined down parts, etc etc but was advised it was a waste of money unless you were building a high horsepower motor that was living on the edge. Who was I to argue, saved me a lot of money as well !

This is a similar spec 10a as they were run in the 70's and through the 80's in various improved production classes. Housings and manifolds have been blasted clean for that OEM appearance. ... anyhow lets not forget this is a street car first that may see the very occasional track day. Should be a fun Sunday cruiser

Here are the specs
Rx3 10a bridge port block
2 piece apex seals matching springs
Single side seal rotors
New stat gears ex Japan
Machined side housings
Weber IDA manifold
Aluminum Flywheel
Exedy clutch/ pressure plate
10a Water pump reduction pulley

I had intentions to inject the engine, but decided a period 48IDA Weber was a better way to go given I wanted to stick to a period theme. The lasting impression I have on these old Webers is the induction noise can be louder that the exhaust ! I'll see what I can do quieten it all down. Fits in the boot of small hatch back with lots of room to spare, 2 people can easily lift it in and out with their hands



Once the front end of the car is all cleaned up it'll be dropped in with my reco'd Selectmaz 5 Speed
Exhaust will be 2 x 1 7/8 OD pipes coming off the headers, into 2x 1 7/8 resonators into a 2.5" collector under the diff (depending on clearance) into a 2.5" muffler then out the back. Im hoping to get noise way under the 96db noise limit, the quieter the better in my opinion.

When its closer to startup I'll buy / replace the points system with the magnetic pickup sensors system from Retro Looms. Ultimately at a much later date I'll be modifying the twin dizzies with Rx7 high energy ignition system but retain the standard twin dizzy look.

There's quite a bit more happening in the background. I've managed to source a lot of parts for both this car and the 12a powered coupe. At the same time I've sold off some of my spares as I find new better stuff. The place was starting to look like a 70's Mazda parts department, stuff had to go as I had run out of room in the consolidated 6 storage depots I should have my parts back from the platers in a week or so which means the doors and glass can go together. Shouldn't be too long before it resembles a nice shiny car for the first time in close to 20 years

At the moment I'm cleaning up bits and pieces for paint and giving the paint a buff. Cross members arent too far away from being painted and then the block and gearbox will go in

I hate to say this, but you need help - there are support groups for OCD sufferers!

This has to be the most thorough, attention to detailed, oh-my-god-im-f*****g-picky/pedantic build i have EVER seen, good to see your almost at the end and the cars showing the rewards for all the hard work.



This caught my attention as ive had a similar problem. When you say as hard as cast iron, did it look a little bit like it aswell [ie grainy instead of peely?] Ive had it happen a few times, moreso with acrylic highfill then 2pack highfill. Ive tried bigger tips, gun settings, more thinners and its helped, but occaisonally i still get it! Cold weather perhaps?

Also painting the car in stages got my attention...i know this cant be done with metallic, but can you get away with it with other solids like orange, red etc? Ive heard so many horror stories about bleed throughs etc im terrified to do mine.

_________________
[F3ARED] 76 Isuzu Gemini Coupe - forged G180z, EFI, 525hp Turbo, 6years and still building...

Daily 78 Isuzu Gemini Sedan, stock G161z, Rodeo EFI, 500hp roller, 157rwkw. Fun

F3ared you wouldn't be the first to say that about me, actually it had crossed my mind to repaint the shell to fix some very very minor things but I was threatened not to touch it The biggest compliment I got was a few days ago from a friend who is currently shelling out some big dollars on a Falcon restoration telling me his wont turn out as good as this which I find hard to believe. Yes its very nice but 100% perfect in every respect its not. That's why I decided some time ago to have a go at a 12a Rx3 coupe. I'm very critical (of my stuff) and it frustrates me no end when I don't get perfection back from "the best" despite me willing to pay to get exactly what I want. Sooooooo the motto is why pay someone to f&^% a job up when I'm more than capable of doing that myself

Some of your questions are not simple answers ! I'll do my best here........

The work carried out on the boot lid was perfect, it was done by Restoremaz a couple of years ago as a convenience thing due to having it stored at my Sydney storage depot (900km from where I currently am). I'm not sure what products Dave uses but an educated guess is he has used an etch primer, 2K polyester, then 2K Hi Fill which I then painted over. My comments were related to the 2K HiFill being alot harder than what I've been using (also 2K). There was no problem , it just took me longer to sand with the 600 wet. It's a bad idea mixing 1K and 2K products as you will probably get undesirable effects. The 2K reducer can be quite strong and lift, soften or eat into 1K primers.

The car is painted in a 2K solid (no clear) for factory style gloss and depth. This is my opinion only. 2K solid is very similar to clear coat and is treated / sprayed in a similar manner. You are right, you have to paint a metallic in one go not in stages. With solids (like what I used) and clear coat (not the base colour) the car can be painted in stages. The colour in my case will match 100% always without question.

HOWEVER....

If you are painting the shell in stages which you dont really want to do, you need to learn how to blend the new into the existing. My guess is that is the reason why you've been told otherwise. Blends need to be done from edge to edge or to a body line, preferably a thinning body line. Take this as an example.

You have bought 4 litres of paint, more than enough to paint a roof. You spray the roof, but screw up a corner of it which requires a respray of a small portion. You dont want to paint the entire roof again just that small bit. You rub it back and spray just the bad section using the same paint mixed from the same tin you used earlier. It looks OK but you decide to buff it, as you buff it you notice a colour mismatch. How can it be ?? you used the same paint ! What you are seeing is not a different colour as the colour is 100% identical, you are seeing a line that separates the existing and new paint from the repair. The thing you call a colour mismatch is not so, it is actually a paint edge and is visible due to the paint thickness of the paint repair on top of the existing paint. You can't paint on top on existing paint and expect not to see it.

So what do panel shops do ?

Generally speaking they will spray reducer over the edge (between new and old) to thin out that paint thickness to make the transition invisible. OR they will most likely respray the entire roof to a bodyline which is much easier to do and a better repair and is less likely to cause problems in the future.

When spray painting a car have you ever thought about why you cant see the different layers of paint when you are colour sanding even if you sanded through one layer ? Well, its because the paint is still fluid at the end of the flash time and one layer "flows" into the next coat making it one. When the paint has dried there is no "flow" between existing and the new paint creating an edge a raised thickness on top of an existing finish. .... get it, but its not a colour mismatch you are seeing an edge of paint thickness !!

I could go on... there is so much I have learnt through my own errors and just from shear experimentation and curiosity. I hope the above sort of makes sense, its very hard for me to put into words to get you to understand what is going on. I'm told you'd experience the exact same problems from clear coat and the above explains why. Clear has no colour and you'd see the new and old if not blended or sprayed from edge to edge.

Great work as always...nearly there.

_________________
http://www.ausrotary.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=152986

My Videos
http://www.youtube.com/restoremaz

great project.

i have to warn you about your exhaust plans though. the rotary (13b at least) has a very hot exhaust and will burn through the glasspack resonators/mufflers within a few months. im not sure what you were planning with the resonators but in my experience, its always best to get something baffled since the rotary will burn out all the filler in the glasspack type.

_________________
8-11-2013 gathering salt lake peoples for j tin meet. 8-11-2013
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=22188

Hey Dave, it certainly is getting there ! I spent the day tidying bits and pieces. I thought I'd have the cross members done so I could drop in the motor and gearbox but gave up in the end. The sandblaster is broken and I gave up doing them with the electric sander after 10mintues. I'll drop them off and the front suspension early next week for blasting, should have them back by the weekend ready for me to paint them.

Engine bay has been cleaned up ready for the engine. Also started pulling apart the diff and housing so I could clean and paint them up. I noticed one of the brake cylinders has a small tear in the rubber so I'll just replace the pair of them. The axles wont come out, will have to read the service manual as to how to dislodge them. I've got a factory LSD to go in as well when the diff is overhauled. Should be mechanically new when Im finished with it. I will also replace the front brake caliper pistons as they have seen better days.

Engine should be installed in the coming weeks.

Derek, I'll be building the exhaust myself using custom made mufflers. There are a few people over here that make mufflers specifically for rotaries. The ones Im looking at are packed with high temp steel wool to be more durable... how much more durable is anyones guess. Resonators and muffler will all have flanges so I can easily replace them as required... hopefully not too often ! Yep ypu're right they dont seem too last behind a ported engine too well.

Also called the platers, the door guts and everything else I dropped off should be ready next week

Ben must be testing us with the latest round of missing posts, how many times can we make this guys updates disappear before he gives up and goes else where

....So where I left off last update.....
I had started to strip the front end for painting in a matt black however I couldnt wait for the blaster to be repaired so dropped everything off for someone else to carry out the work. They'll come back clean, blasted, primed, ready for epoxy then painting. Saves me lots of hassle as well The plan is to complete the front end and have it sitting on its own wheels then pull the entire rear diff housing and leafs out for the same treatment and overhaul. Photo of what has been been sent off. Poor taste in colours is all I'll say ! The engine mount was chromed as well.....so 80's .......all going back to a matt black finish.



Stub axles still have springs fitted so didn't get time to pull them apart to drop off meaning I'll do those myself. Need to source front calliper pistons to finish it all off when I get everything back. Should all look nice and new when its all together.

Pic 1 the blaster cleaned up my front end and handed them back primed, easy work for a change and saved me a lot of time. There were a few layers of paint on all the parts except for the crossmembers. Here they are all nice and clean. Got a few other bits to clean up before it all goes together but its mostly done. Pic 2, The parts will be coated with Lesonal paint mixed 2:1 with a tinting addiditve to give a satin appearance, left to right.... hardener, 2K solid black and tint.


Solid single stage black paint on its own would give a glossy finish. Maybe one day I'll paint a black car, must be air conditioned though ! Pic 2, as previously mentioned someone has spend a fair bit refreshing the steering and suspension with decent stuff. You can see the 555 brand markings on some of the tie rods. They are all in perfect shape except for one which has a damaged rubber boot which I believe can be replaced on its own. I'll clean up the grease nipples to the chrome finish before they are fitted up.


Hung the bits off the rotisserie for spraying, much better in the new colour. In the background you can see some white original door trims. Im thinking of having these repaired and using them on the next car. Im lucky that the speaker holes are entirely in the carpet area. Pic 2, some small touchups prior to spraying some body deadner to the wheel arches. I've opted to keep it body colour under the wheel arches and black on the floorpan. Seam sealer applied over the joins to keep the moisture out.


Undersealer which I'll be painting over. I opted for a grey undersealer so if the paint ever chips it wont be so noticeable. Pic 2, its attached to a special gun for spraying. The same gun is used for waxing and oiling the body with a snake hose attachment.


Masked up the thread holes then give it a single coat. You only need to coat areas that are in the firing line from the wheels and road. This will be primed and painted later then the engine and box can go in Pic 2, my 10a water pump pulley which prevents water cavitation at high rpm, this was a typical modification on NA engines. I thought I hit the jackpot when it was offered to me, hard enough finding new 10a bits let alone a collection of period 40yo ex race bits, some of them new like the pulley


A post by rotorman_12 reminded me about what I was trying to do some months earler regarding building a High Energy twin dizzy ignition system. He has exactly what I was trying to accomplish, good to know that my idea has already been done. Thanks for the details Chris. I'm studying up on ignition systems and have a couple of ways of doing it, researching some cost factors and then its a goer ! You cant go past some extra spark in these things to make them run better and cleaner through the rev range. Its something I need to sort out prior to startup. It's a bonus that I have a couple of near new original dizzy caps, just need a clean up.


The front end panels arent too far away which will sadly conclude the major part of the project, the nosecone has been blasted which means I'll give the front guards the once over to make sure they tie in with the nose and then that will finish off paint duties...


Why stop when you're having fun.... front arches painted. Most people like these areas blacked out but that's not how they left Japan. Mazda had the paint continue further down the floor than what I have done + overspray on the underside for you purist.You'll barely see any of it once the front end and wheels go on. A little bit more effort for a nice change.


Next installing crossmembers and dropping in the engine and box, then onto building some headers for a change. Never thought I'd see the day where I'd be permanently installing parts rather than cutting things off.

Looking awesome gypsy.

Looking good gypsy, quality build, quality posts......loving it!