I didnt need to support the nosecone to straighten it out. The repair was mostly done on the orange panel stand you see in some of the pictures. The nose cone is solid enough structurally to not flop around as you work the metal. Remember you generally use lots of light taps when straightening out metal panels. You want to move the metal in very small steps so there is no metal bashing so to speak. To stamp out the center of the cowl/ valance panel I had the panel on the concrete in the backyard with a brick on either side to support the ends. I then placed a piece of soft pine under the center part that I restamped with a brick bolster. You can see the brick and pine wood in some of the photos.... Yes extremely high tech I know

If it was the front guard I would have had to support it somehow, even though I've straightened out most of my left guard that had huge amounts of filler by having sit on top of a bench. To do the finer smaller dents I'll need to secure it to the car.

This will be the final update for year, believe or not I need a rest from looking at what is suppose to be a Mazda Rx3.... It looks like I wont reach my goal of having the front end painted this year Not all is lost... I was hoping to complete front end repairs on the right side at over the weekend, it was too much work for a 3 day period. Funny how before I start I think, yeah thats achievable in that time frame. There is always alot more more work than what you see before your eyes. Prep for welding was the big time killer as well as fixing the replacement kick panel. The time spent was worthwhile and made welding a breeze, there was lots of it as well !

About a month ago I went down to see Rick from Mazbitz for a replacement right kick panel and to grab the correct nuts and bolts for the engine compartment. Unfortunately he didnt have a complete kick panel and I didnt want him to destroy a hand full of good parts so I was happy with what he had even if it needed a little work. Its good to know that Im not the only Mazda nut case around, someone had bought the front cowl to fix there own car which is a big job as well.

I decided to redo the right kick panel as I wasnt entirely happy with the upper end fit. The left side was perfect, the right side always bugged me. Since I had to fix the front of the right sill it was the perfect opportunity to redo the repair except this time Im pleased with the result. Pulling off the kick panel also made the sill repair easier... a win win in my opinion ! What you see here is a solid 3 days work, had a good breakfast then worked solid through till around 5ish..... thats a lot of hours that photos dont show...

I had some spare sill off cuts lying around for the right side, no need to fabricate like the left one. unfortunately unpicking panels panels for use takes a loooooooooooong time. Take note of the second shot of pointy end of the sill panel. This ones clean, wait till you see the one of the car.


Kick panel removed and separating the front of the sill panel from the door frame. Note how clean it looks aside from a couple of pin holes. This is better than most cars !


Rust scale seeping out from where the 2 parts are separated. Front corner cut away.... lots of pitting, if your A pillars are rusted dont kid yourself, this is what you'll find in this lower corner section. I could have brazed it like most but dont want hassles once its painted... this car is for keeps.


Front of sill cut away, lots of crap in there that I'll blow out, mostly mud. The front of the sill, compare with the replacement.... There is basically no factory protection on these parts.


Another angle of the front sill and corner section... shocking I know, but most wouldnt bother. Made a nice home for some wasps nest !


Straightening out the pillar flange on my hundred thousand $ machine... Seriously though, tapping the flange straight which became not so straight during the kick panel removal process. Pic 2 dummy fitting the repaired kick panel... fits good, still needs a little tweaking.


The top section of the kick panel needs adjusting... the top is not straight from factory, it changes direction 3 times. As Im using new and old parts it was easier and cleaner to fabricate a new top section. Pic 2 cutting off the top with some tin snips.


Some replacement corners I have that will be used, dummy fitting the replacement sill section.


More trial fitting,measuring and marking of front sill.


Checking MIG nozzle access prior to cutting, no point in cutting in such a way then discovering you cant weld in position. Will weld a tiny section from inside the sill.... Pic 2 getting ready to blast the inside clean.


Stripped back the rest of sill, no nasty surprises. Only one little hole towards the back corner. Will weld this up and remove the little panel in the bottom rear corner of door jamb to ensure its all clean. Only coupes have this little panel. Rust repair I did on front right guard... not sure where the pic of the guard went showing it mostly repaired without all the bog ! Needs a little more work, almost there with the guard.


Right guard almost done, rusted in the same spot as the right side. Guards will be fitted to car to get gaps I want before fitting inner guard panels. 3 shrinks you see on the inside was part of the straightening process, mainly to remove excess metal that caused some "oil canning".


Finished plug welding the right rail to the floor, there are more plug welds than factory spot welds. They are approx 3/4 -> 1 inch apart. I like to run the MIG hot when plug welding to get good weld penetration and flat welds which means there isnt much grinding during the clean up stage. Area will get cleaned up so will look nicer. Pic 2, Inner sill blasted clean, no holes


Sill section blasted clean and treated.


Treated the inner and sealed sill...


Cleaned and sealed the inner panel, also blew out all the crap will compressed air. Pic 2 fabricating the top of the kick panel.


The fabrication process... youve seen it before here..


The end result, the little step.... Trail fitting for cutting..


The top has a shallow V so cut a slot, ready for trimming with tin snips. Pic 2 all clamped in place, looking really good with outer box cover


Cleaned up and treated the inside of the kick panel. Will get a good scrub with thinner and scuff pad prior to sealing. Pic 2 undid the tacks and started plug welding, The little flat face self tapper is used to keep the 2 panels together during welding. Once done will be removed and hole welded up.


You can see the top plug weld is just coming off cherry red. Pic 2 is of the reverse side, they are nice looking welds with penetration... this isnt going anywhere !


Priming the inside wheel arch flange before welding, marked out and cleaned up with spot weld drill bit where the plug welds will go. This was all marked out when previously dummy fitting panel.


There you go the bare metal lines up with the holes for plug welding... see what a little prep does, makes the job 10x easier. Pic 2 everything clamped into place, hydraulic ram used for hand pressure in center of kick panel to stop panel distorting.


The first of about 50 plug welds... so far so good. Pic 2 marking out for welding the top triangle pieces. The screw driver is used to punch down any small gaps before welding.


All done, you didnt expect a photo of each weld did you ! Pic 2 photos from inside the cabin... all very niiiiiiice


Small triangle piece is welded on, some idiot forgot to turn the gas on for the first one after a small break. Pic 2 showing off the welds on front door flange that holds kick panel.


More photos of completed work...


Next part begins........ front of sill is all prepared, a little more trimming and we're right to go..


Once welding is complete will clean up and blast welded areas, then shoot some fresh primer where needed. Then will brush welded seams with Sikaflex and we're done....... will look nice when finished. Oh yeah, plenty of fish oil or wax will be sprayed in these cavities to help repel any future moisture from attacking the metal.

Well thats all Im putting up for now, may need to cut down on the detail a little, takes too long to post up. Next post will be after car is painted and put together

Looking good Gypsy!!

The effort gone into this car is amazing! Thanks for the detailed posts - they provide us with a lot of info and how-to's.

Looking forward to seeing it painted!! Have a great Xmas!

Regards,
Benn.

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Rockin' the 7 in a street near you.....

John ,i can tell your loving this...

I will put money down, that in a couple of months after you finish this car, you will start on something else...

The bug has bitten

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Unbelievable!!

Really, the amount of work you put into this car is really amazing!
But if you want to do it right this is the only way.

Happy new year to you too jdmrx2, hopefully 2010 is the year you fix up that shell of yours...

Im 1000kms away from my Mazda and all I can think about is finishing off the front end.... Im a bored man with nothing constructive to do

Dave I think you're right... There have been a couple of good r100 projects for sale recently around my area but have so far resisted temptation ! Most people will find my taste weird but I much prefer 13B Rx4 coupes over r100's. They are a nice car both size and interior wise and if built right will have that irresistible Japanese muscle car look that will keep those pesky 240K GTRs wishing they had the power to overtake me .... Im also a big fan of the Rx4 cockpit dash and overhead console

I know just the car ! It's been sitting in storage for the past 15 years in a friends garage in a million pieces. Its impossible to transport in its current state so this may become my Sydney car. He just wants it gone, Im planning to take the complete car and parts off his hands once my Rx3 is finished. The Chinese have a one child policy, I have a one project policy. This ensures I finish what I start and dont get side tracked when I get to the hard bits of a project.

I also wouldnt mind a Phoenix Blue 12a Rx3 just like the one Dom used to own that ended up smashed in Adelaide. Where does it end !

It never does. And if it does, that's when you should worry...

I'm with you on the RX-4. I love the '74s but abhor the '75+ ones. By the way, I just noticed the "final update" in the title. I sure hope it ain't... there's still so much to see!

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Hey Ben... dont worry what I meant was final update for '09. That last update killed me 55 photos, after I cut it down !

The first '10 update hopefully will start with an update of a completed front end repair ready for paint.

Other future updates will include pics of new genuine parts that have been sourced lately ex Japan... ouch ! A TQX semi auto 5 speed gearbox has been sourced and will be sent away for repair early in the new year (will be a normal 5 speed when fitted to car). I've also been trying to nail down my mechanic for long enough to finish some engine modifications before shipping the engine components to Melbourne for assembly. Cleaning up engine parts for re zincing (the goldy colour factory finish). Dummy fitting engine with 5 speed to car to fabricate and mount new gearbox mounts....

I could go on, who needs Top Gear when you have the Mazda section of the JNC website

Good to hear. Can't wait to see what's in store next year!

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Well hope everyone had a happy new year, it would be nice to see some completed projects in 2010.....

I would have hoped to have been spraying primer and rubbing back the engine bay for some paint but as usual things take longer than anticipated. Who would have thought that replacing part of a sill panel would take so long, it probably would have been faster to replace the entire lot now that I've done most of the hard work. I allowed 3 days to finish off the left and right side, it now looks at though Im going to need 3 days to finish off the right side repairs and another 2 - 3 for the left.

First 2 pics... $1000 worth of new parts, there is another bag not pictured. 2 10a water seal kits, exhaust gaskets, reflectors for rear bar, wheel trims, misc gaskets, corner seals for rotors... and more...


Trial fitting for welding using panel clamps


Welding....


All done, may need a little more cleanup but pretty much complete. Pic 2 is the inside of the repaired sill. Yes, very clean inside, and yes the picture origination is wrong for you Mazda experts ! Cavity will sprayed with wax.


Refitted door to recheck lines prior to welding pillar to sill.


More welding....


Replacement sill corners that will be blasted and primed prior to fitting.


Welds all dressed, will look nicer when blasted and re-primed.


My last words of advise if your following this thread is dont skimp on safety gear.... off to the eye specialist to have metal fragment removed from the side of my eye which doesnt affect vision. Second trip there in a week.... and yes I do wear goggles, my good goggles needed new lenses so bought a cheap pair to get me by until I replaced the lense.... big mistake, never again ! Im now looking at getting a full face mask to hook up to my fresh air pump for when ever Im grinding. Im still confused as to how and when it got in there, maybe when I was sweeping up and brushed my eyes or possibly through the side of the cheap googles..... I don't know, but 2 trips is enough..

..... need to work out what Ive done wrong before continuing.

Would also like to add that once I finish off the sills that work to the shell will be 70% complete. Once thats done all that remains is the rear quarters and then I have a repaired shell, then we'll start on finishing off the remaining bolt on panels which is also well under way with some of it already complete ready for primer.

Ouch!!! Wishing you a quick recovery. I've grinded w/o goggles, but maybe I should rethink that. We were under the car?

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Ive been there john...when i was an aprentice, i did some grinding ..

I had goggles on but a small fragment made its way into my eye..

It didnt bother me at first, but then it started rusting in my eye, it got all messy and i couldnt see properly..

Had to get the eye numbed, and watch the doctor scrape the metal out of my eye...i could see the whole thing...it was terrible...watching him press down on my eye with a metal scraper thing...

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Ah Ben what can I say other than you'll regret it if it ever happens to you ! If the metal hits the pupil area of your cornea it will affect your vision because it may scar. It's really not worth the risk.... doesnt matter how awkward it is, all rotary tools require proper protection, you should be picking up the googles before the grinder. Sorry for the lecture



I've worked on cars for years and never had this happen to me before. I had the a piece removed last week while in Sydney. The piece must have been in there for a good 3 weeks. I just had my eye checked out of chance to find a rusty bit of metal in there ! Just like you he anesthetized it and then scraped it out. No big deal, I was lucky that it didnt even go red or become sore after the procedure.

Woke up this morning with the other eye feeling very very mildly grainy... thought nothing of it so pulled all the front suspension from the car so I could hang the front off the garage beam to clean the front underside for priming... the other optomistrist scared me a little so went straight in this morning to have it checked. I thought bloody bannanas not again after they took a look. What are the chances !!

Just like before they anesthetized then removed the piece, excpet this time when the anesthetic wore off I have a very sore cherry red eye, not pretty... I think I look like the devils child The metal hadnt had time to rust like the previous time so was a quick procedure.

My other half insisted that we drive past the welding shop and pickup a few lenses for the qood googles so did that then chopped up the other ones and put them in the bin. Just so you know if your unlucky and the rust doesnt come out within a week or so they drill the bits out, managed to avoid that otherwise I think I would have probably passed out and died ! Unfortunately they dont knock you out for these proceedures....

So really dont know if its over kill but am looking at getting a full face mask for grinding...what do you do....

Aside from that the car build has slowed for obvious reasons but I'll pickup the pace again soon enough. The new goal is to finish the front and have some colour in the engine bay before summer ends.

STOP NOWWWWWWWWWWWWW!

Gypsy your in Melb?!!?!?!

Wanna teach me how to weld?

I really really want to build a HQ or HZ GTS replica for a daily....*sigh*

In the meantime i think ill watch you plug away at the RX3. Cmon, not long to go now....once its in paint, its all downhill

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[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

Sorry F3ARED, you'll need to enrol at a local TAFE if your interested in learning to weld. Several TAFEs local colleges run after hours hobby courses. A friend from work just enrolled in one to get on with restoring his early 60's falcon.

They'll teach you how to TIG, MIG, and gas weld. Best of all you get to use quality equipment which gives you a good idea on what to lookout for when your ready to buy your own welder. You'll learn the differences between all the above which is important as well. For whatever reason people talk about TIG like its the bee's knee's of welding. I've seen people achieve extactly the same thing making aluminium bodies using a run of the mill $300 Comet gas welder. All welded to perfection without needing the mega setup. I compare it to the rotary scene where people think they need stud kits and supposed exotic apex seal kits when you build a rotary engine. Unfortunately the internet is the perfect place to spread this propaganda with little truth to most of it..... sorry gone off track. But seriously enrol yourself and learn how to do it properly, its a skill you'll use throughout your life if your a handyman.

If your going to build an old Holden (Barge ), I'd go for a HT or HG 2 door... they look so much better if you ask me ! Those old Holdens put Japanese cars to shame when it comes to rust so be prepared for lots of it. I had a look at an old XA Ford Falcon coupe (Mad Max car for you American's) that someone was building at the TAFE. Those things rust practically everywhere. The HT Monaro that was there sometime before wasnt much better... same problems.



Yes and no to that statement, at that point is where you start to sink serious cash into a build. There's no point in having a perfectly painted shell with crappy parts all over it. In my case bumpers need panel beating and rechroming, stainless trims need to be sent away repaired and polished, complete drivetrain rebuild using replated nuts and bolts, brakes honed and resealed, interior retrimmed, all the correct nuts and bolts need to be sorted, cleaned and zinc coated, suspension rebuild, struts sandblasted and repainted..... the list gets longer and longer.

You are right that a major part of the build will be over.

Personally i think [from my limited experience and what ive seen] the good old MIG is the most versatile. Id most likely be putting my money down on one of them when i can justify spending the money and actually have a need for it. Need a new job first...

Yeah i know their abit of a barge but i want a V8 next. Ive done 4 cylinders to death [BMW 318i 5spd, S15 200SX, 7 Geminis with varying engine combos from carb fed 2L's to EFI DOHC's to Turbo-EFI conversions on the standard motor]. I cant drive new cars daily [im being serious, they shit me ] hence Id like a HQ-Z 4door to build as a daily. Nice LS1 should give it poke/decent economy with the oldschool look. That and i like taking something crap and giving it a new lease of life.

Unfortunately, HG/K/T 2doors and likewise HQ-Z 2doors are w-a-y out of my budget. For the cost of getting a rolling shell i can buy a 4door equivilent, do the panel prep, paint it and have some coin left over to do the suspension.

*sigh* slowly slowly....



Trust me i know what that feels like too. My Gemini Coupe has been sitting covered in dust for 6yrs because once i painted it i couldnt bring myself to put anything back on without re-doing it. On the bright side though, once its in colour youll feel alot better as the progress is obvious - no longer will you hear it from your wife [or in my case, ex girlfriends mates and family], and putting the little things on that you CAN put on just feel so much more satisfying.

Back on topic, got any more progress pics?

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[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

What apex seals do you recommend?

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F3ARED, if you dont want to touch a 4 cylinder I'd be looking at doing a Datsun 240k into a GTR replica, they are 6 cylinder. There was one for sale not so long ago for around the 5K mark. Much better than a Kingswood ! Your right I look forward to the days its painted. There are more photos and updates but waiting on a panel to arrive to finish the right side off before posting further updates. Hopefully it'll arrive before the end of next week.



Hey Ben, for twin dizzy 10a's I'd go for factory mazda 2 piece carbon seals over Mazda single piece carbon seals. It makes for easier starting. For all other Mazda rotary engines (12a, 13b + turbo variants) the factory apex seals I feel are more than adequate for street applications.

If your running high boost or continuous high RPM then Im told ceramic seals from both of the reputable workshops that I've used in the past. I dont know what brands of ceramic apex seals they use as Ive never had a need to buy them. There have been several local companies make seals for Mazda's recently but I have great doubts as to them being better than Mazda seals when you look at the millions of dollars Mazda have spent in development. Basically I believe the factory stuff is fine unless your running you car in top level motorsport. Like any high performance engine it needs to be an entire package to survive the abuse.

No can do gypsy - a mate of mine has one, helped him build it. As much as i love the car [its f*cking fast for an atmo 6 as an Evo 8 recently found out] its just not for me...

Plus their pretty thin on ground which doesnt help.

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[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