Jerry's RX-7 Turbo II restoration

[JerryLH3]

Last July, my RX-7 went out of commission with a blown oil cooler line. It had been the daily driver for over four years at that point and RX-7s had been my only daily driver for nearly ten years. After thinking about it, I decided it needed to be my fun car, so I bought a new car for a daily.

Over the years, I hadn't abused the RX-7, but it had been seriously neglected. After not working on the car for many months, I finally replaced the oil cooler lines. After a couple more months, I decided to just dive right in, tear the whole thing apart and replace all the junk interior bits and repaint the exterior.

Here was my starting point:

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/April%202010/IMG_0205.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/April%202010/IMG_0206.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/April%202010/IMG_0208.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/April%202010/IMG_0209.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/April%202010/IMG_0220.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/April%202010/IMG_0221.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/April%202010/IMG_0222.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/April%202010/IMG_0228.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/April%202010/IMG_0232.jpg

[JerryLH3]

The work finally started a couple of months ago in April. My friend said that before we started, I needed to deface the car as kind of a breaking the ice. Even though I knew the car needed massive amounts of body work to make it better, I'll admit it was hard to take the grinder to the car.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/April%202010/IMG_0249.jpg

The passenger side fender was in pretty rough shape due to a parking lot accident a few years ago. We pretty much knew the fender was junk, but to practice a little bit of body work skills (which we had no idea if we possessed or not), we took it off and had the mindset that we were going to save this fender (even though I'm really not - it's beyond repair).

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/April%202010/IMG_0253.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/April%202010/IMG_0257.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/April%202010/IMG_0259.jpg

After a day or two's work, things were starting to disappear off the car.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/April%202010/IMG_0264.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/April%202010/IMG_0268.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/April%202010/IMG_0271.jpg

[JerryLH3]

I spent quite a few hours with the sandpaper and Meguiar's PlastX to revive the foglights and FTP lenses. I'm still on the fence about just replacing the FTPs with new ones, but they do look better than they did.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/April%202010/IMG_0290.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/April%202010/IMG_0292-1.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/April%202010/IMG_0293.jpg


http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/April%202010/IMG_0295.jpg

[JerryLH3]

The collection of new parts is quite large at this point. I started stockpiling these a couple years ago in anticipation of one day needing to tear this car apart.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/May%202010/IMG_0325.jpg

The interior was finally completely stripped as of a week or so ago.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/May%202010/IMG_0354.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/May%202010/IMG_0355.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/May%202010/IMG_0356.jpg

A pretty big problem area that I had known about. I believe it was caused by a clogged hatch drain that would spill water into the emergency jack area. I've done a fair amount of stabbing at it with a screwdriver and it appears to be just really bad surface rust.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/May%202010/IMG_0357.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/May%202010/IMG_0358.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/May%202010/IMG_0359.jpg

[JerryLH3]

I did a quick little clean and polish on the instrument cluster and put on a new tripmeter knob. I'm not sure why, the bare metal rod bugs the hell out of me.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/May%202010/IMG_0361.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/May%202010/IMG_0369.jpg

The stuff that needed to go to the trash heap was really beginning to pile up after two months, so this all went to the curb a few days ago.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/June%202010/IMG_0373.jpg

That's where it stands right now. Impending fatherhood means I can't spend quite as much money now as I had been, but I still want to get it painted, back together and running in stock condition by the end of the year. Then next year, I can start on the mods.

[project86]

fantastic project car. and yes its a money pit. :) it always will be. ill keep an eye on this one. i like the step by step too.

[MaczPayne]

Wow, I am definitely going to come back to this often! I love restorations!

[NoDOHC]

That dash looks pretty good to throw away!

The project is looking great so far!

[JerryLH3]

The dash looks good in that last picture, but the bubbling was pretty severe and it was fairly faded as well. There were multiple broken mounting tabs as well. It looks like I threw away a pretty good piece, but I assure you I did not.

[Max777]

how are you going to source a replacement? surely you're not going to buy a brand new dash are you? Cause that's crazy....

and baller.

[JerryLH3]

I'm not sure new dashes are even available. A member in Raleigh, NC on the other forum had one for sale. I talked to my friend in Myrtle Beach and he was willing to pick it up for me as he and his wife planned on going to Raleigh one weekend anyway. He picked the dash up a few weeks ago and will be delivering it to me when he comes to stay down here for his grandfather's 80th birthday party in just a little over two weeks.

I wish I was baller enough to think about buying a brand new dash if they were available.

[Max777]

Still baller.. how much did you drop on all those new interior pieces?

[JerryLH3]

Over the past two years, on all the OEM stuff, I've spent close to $2000. That's obviously an exorbitant amount of money to pay, but when I'm completely done with the car, I still will probably have less invested (wasted?) than other people spend on their car. I'm just spending mine in a different place as my power goals are very moderate.

The pictures I posted really don't do the car justice as to just how bad the interior was. Every vent on the car was broken, one A pillar was broken and they were both so faded they looked gray. The carpet was in poor shape behind the driver's seat. The center console had been drilled into to mount a crappy cup holder. The center radio/vent surround had lots of burn marks on it and the list goes on an on.

A lot of parts I have sourced secondhand, I just waited until I found something that was in great shape. The carpet I bought looked practically brand new. He said it was in a car that only had 70K miles on it. The cargo cover is nearly mint too to replace my crappy one. The interior will definitely look good once I am done with it.

[prrex4ever]

Awesome project, can't wait to see the finished product.

[need RX7]

Nice. I really like this build. As cool as mega power super fabrication builds are, seeing a car restored to the way it looked decades ago is special in it's own way. :icon_tup:

[JerryLH3]

There will be a little mega power building going on, just not a whole lot. I'm looking into upgrading the stock top mount, and I'll do exhaust and some suspension mods, but for the most part, everything will be pretty mild mod wise.

[My5ABaby]

Very nice. I certainly appreciate when people spend the time to make the whole car nice, not just the engine bay.

Be careful with the S5 dashes, the plastic breaks ridiculously easy. I did an S5 black interior into an S4 recently and had to fiberglass the dash plastic several times. The dash plastic was very disappointing because my old S4 I probably could have dropped off a building and it would be fine. If I had to do it over again I'd stick with my S4 dash (looks identical) and just dye it.

[JerryLH3]

It's pretty hot outside today, so after my girlfriend and I did yard work this morning, then cleaned up and went to breakfast, I wasn't about to do anything that required me to stay in the garage today. So, I worked on finishing up the instrument surround and reinstalling the switches into the cluster.

One of the locating tabs was broken, so I went to work on that first:

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/June%202010/IMG_0376.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/June%202010/IMG_0377.jpg

A little epoxy and it will work. There's another broken off piece that I must have lost, so this will have to do.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/June%202010/IMG_0381.jpg

After we went to the Mazda dealer to order some parts and then lunch, the epoxy was set up enough I could work on it without fear. The bag is 100 Neo Wedge 14V lamps for the headlight, turn signal, wiper and cruise control switches and the warning light cluster. I got them from allelectronics.com and after I saw it was a $7.00 S&H fee regardless of how many bulbs I ordered, I went ahead and ordered 100 of them to get the bulk discount. To replace all lights of this type in an FC requires 19, so I've got plenty if anyone needs them. The green silicone cover is easily removed to expose a regular tiny incandescent bulb.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/June%202010/IMG_0386.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/June%202010/IMG_0387.jpg

Removal of the old bulbs is straightforward enough, just a simple twist lock that requires a small flathead screwdriver. The lower bulb on the headlight and wiper switches has an amber cover that should be transferred to the new bulbs.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/June%202010/IMG_0391.jpg

When reinstalling the switches, extreme care should be taken. The mounting posts on my surround already had tiny cracks and I definitely made them bigger and even broke a couple of the posts. Luckily, everything is still secure and none of the switches flop around at all.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/June%202010/IMG_0401.jpg

I installed some new knobs and it's now ready to be reinstalled in the car (whenever that day may arrive).

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/June%202010/IMG_0402.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/June%202010/IMG_0403.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/June%202010/IMG_0404.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/June%202010/IMG_0405.jpg

Here's a comparison of a twenty year old knob and a brand new one. The old one may have had "patina", but I'll take the new one. I'm not out to win the all original concours d'elegance.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/June%202010/IMG_0406.jpg

[project86]

must be nice having a mazda dealer near by.. im slightly jealous

[project86]

also if youre looking for an exceptional epoxy type repair material for more plastic repairs LORD FUSOR is awesome. you can probably pick it up at a local automotive paint store :)

[firzen]

Finally- another 2nd gen owner that is willing to spend good time and cash for a proper restoration. Kudos to you sir, I wish you the best of luck.

[JerryLH3]

I got a little more work done the past couple days. I took two overhead consoles, one from my car and a donor, and disassembled, cleaned and put together one that will go back in the car.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/June%202010/IMG_0422.jpg

This plug was being a major pain. I eventually cut the plug off and reattached the plug from the other mirror that I was able to disconnect.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/June%202010/IMG_0424.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/June%202010/IMG_0429.jpg

The initial problem with my mirror was the prongs that hold on the bulb for the dome light had fallen off. I figured it was easier and worth my time to just spend a few dollars on a new (used) one.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/June%202010/IMG_0425.jpg

I gave the lenses the usual plastic treatment of sanding and polishing to remove some of the yellowing. Once reinstalled the assembly will be finished off with a new dome light lens.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/June%202010/IMG_0430.jpg

I also took some time to remove all the switches in the center console, give the trim piece a good cleaning and then reinstalled all of the switches.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/June%202010/IMG_0433.jpg

[need RX7]

Your post inspired me to pull off my overhead console and clean it up as well. There were dead bugs in mine :o11:.

[Tweak]

*subscribed*

[JerryLH3]

Your post inspired me to pull off my overhead console and clean it up as well. There were dead bugs in mine :o11:.

Pulling apart this car I have found a few odd things. The tag laying on the floor in this picture was underneath the passenger seat. I owned this car for over 5 years before I found this! I know I had looked under the seats before, but somehow this escaped me. It's a tag letting you know the dangers of scaffolding. I found change in the storage bins, except it was between the carpet and body. A broken lip stick tube, almost $4 worth of change, a few dead insects, etc.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/April%202010/IMG_0270.jpg

[JerryLH3]

Well, I suppose it's time for an update, eh? Yeah, it's been awhile as there has been much preparation around here for the upcoming arrival of our first child towards the end of December. The RX-7 has taken a backseat to painting my son's room, putting together cribs and nursing chairs, hanging decorations and shelves and what seems like hundreds of other little tasks.

I got a few minor things done today. First up was the "RX-7" emblem on the rear of the car. I'd never liked the fact that there was a plain "Mazda" in front of it in much smaller type and not in the traditional Mazda font. So, I chopped it off with the Dremel and filled in the gap with some putty. I am happy with the results. Once I get farther along in body work, I will fill the hole that will be exposed by the removal of the "Mazda" part of this emblem.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/2010_11/IMG_0533.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/2010_11/IMG_0537.jpg


Then, I sorted through all of the B pillar and quarter trim I have accumulated over the past couple of years. I think I've finally picked out a good set. They aren't too dry for 20 year old plastic, and shine up nicely with application of dash and trim cleaner. I think eventually once they get a little moisture in them, they will look nice continually. I just needed to repair one of the mounting posts and they are now reading for bagging and tagging.


http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/2010_11/IMG_0536.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/2010_11/IMG_0538.jpg

That was it for today. Depending on how things go, maybe some more tomorrow.

[NoDOHC]

Looking good, congrats on the upcoming birth!

I can't imagine the patience that it must take to reassemble that interior. I ran out of patience removing an interior from a parts car.

[MaczPayne]

Regarding the plastic posts in the gauge cluster surround:

I fixed/reinforced mine by sliding a notched piece of rigid copper tubing over the posts, then shaving off the raised surfaces on the switches so that they mount correctly. I've tried abusing them since, and so far they've held up great :). I did mine pretty quick, but I'm sure you'll be more meticulous than I have and do a better job. Finally fixed that damn loose turn signal switch!

[JerryLH3]

I forgot to update the thread, there has been some things to report on. First, the B pillar and quarter trim has been cleaned, bagged and put away, They came out pretty clean.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/2010_11/IMG_0539.jpg

And comparing them to a brand new A pillar:

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/2010_11/IMG_0540.jpg

The car as of just over a month ago:

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/2010_12/IMG_0542.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/2010_12/IMG_0544.jpg

I wired up the aftermarket head unit's harness to the adapter harness and trimmed up a lot of slack in the process:

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/2011_01/IMG_0711.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/2011_01/IMG_0715.jpg

A relay is included to ensure proper power antenna function.

Then I turned my attention to the dash. These frames rust horribly and even though it can't be seen, I don't like rust. I considered using POR-15 or something like it, but will probably just sand, etch primer, primer and then top coat.

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/2011_01/IMG_0716.jpg

http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z320/jerrylh3/Mazda%20RX-7/2011_01/IMG_0738.jpg

That's it for now, progress is much slower than I would like, but I do have a one month old in the house (who is currently in my arm as I type this one handed).