Sprocket's Competition

[clocker]

So, today this finally happened:




She should be in my garage tomorrow.

[clocker]

And she is:




Already got a quick bath to remove the most egregious crap but it's too hot to seriously attack the paint.
Tomorrow I'll empty all the extra parts from the hatch area and begin stripping the front (all the bodywork ahead of the doors) to facilitate cleaning/stripping the engine bay.

[manker]

I read the build up and it looks a lot different to what I expected. My mam had one of those for a few years in 2008ish.
She got rid of it because she felt self-concious driving it or something. Definitely one of the best looking cars I've ever seen. It had really cool back doors and the acceleration was fantastic.

A family friend also had one at the same time and while there was never any problem with my mam's black one, the red one that this guy, Jim, owned kept breaking down all of the time. It was something to do with the oil circulation or something else. Anyway, after several attempts, Mazda couldn't fix so they gave him some money back.
I think if it wasn't for his tribulations, I would have pushed the boat out and gone for one of them instead of the MX5 I had for a bit.

Looking forward to charting the progress of yours on here :]

[clocker]

I read the build up and it looks a lot different to what I expected. My mam had one of those for a few years in 2008ish.
She got rid of it because she felt self-concious driving it or something. Definitely one of the best looking cars I've ever seen. It had really cool back doors and the acceleration was fantastic.

You're talking about a RX8 (with the "cool" back doors).
That's considered the "4th gen(eration)" of the series (now extinct), Sigfrid's swapped car was a 3rd gen, mine is a 2nd.

The RX8 was a fantastic chassis, saddled with the wrong engine.
Not only must you be fairly committed to deal with the vagaries of the rotary (and the 8's did have a real problem with oil consumption) but they are far more suited to racing than daily driving.
They have zero torque and demand RPMs to get out of their own way.
Once moving, they're fantastic.
The real killer though is the fuel consumption.
Not many people want a 16 mpg grocery getter that only seats amputees in the rear.

[manker]

Yeah it was an RX8. Despite your parenthesis, there literally isn't a more fitting adjective for the back-doors.
It is the natural thing to say when you see them open for the first time.

I didn't understand most of your post but what I took from it was that it was a good thing I didn't get one of these cars
Also, it it did more than 16mpg. I drove it a lot and I'm fairly sure it was in the mid to high twenties.

[clocker]

I wasn't making fun of your description- because the doors are really pretty cool, just highlighting the fact that were four doors to begin with.
The RX8 was the first in the series with four doors.

Gas mileage was naturally dependent on driving style.
Also, what measurement do you furriners use for gas?
Isn't an Imperial gallon larger than the official US version?

[manker]

Oh yeah it is bigger. I remember reading in a tabloid that this was why petrol is so comparatively cheap over there.
The mathematics of the situation didn't seem to bother the writer nor the editor but in this case it does go some way to explaining the disparity.

So it's discontinued now?
I wonder why Mazda didn't put a more reliable engine into it because it surely would have been a marketing hit with reliability added to the aesthetics and those awesome doors.

[clocker]

Yup, Mazda currently makes no rotary engines.
They claim this will change but I wouldn't bet on it.

So, today was the first full day of whatever this project is.
Started out early ( because it's cool and you're not supposed to work on paint over 80°), gave her another wash and then claybarred everything from the windshield back.
The another wash.

Decided to remove the massively heavy exhaust (factory original in amazing condition) while trying to save all the good factory hangers (a replacement set is $170!).
Complete PITA but done.
While I was buried up her ass, the GTU sneezed and her nose fell off:


Exposing a deviated septum:


Fortunately, that crash bar and the bolt on crush boxes behind it worked exactly as planned and there's no damage to the chassis at all.
I probably won't even bother installing the one from the other car...save a bunch of weight and have better ducting options for the radiator.

The all sorts of shit started falling off:


First bath of the mostly bare engine bay:




Tucked back in the garage for the night:


I have to repair two broken bolts, remove some more stuff and get serious cleaning again, but she looks like she'll shine up quite nicely.

[clocker]

Pictorially, a rather meh day, sorry.




Finished stripping the bay and cleaned it again.
Then moved to the wheelwells where the brakes were removed (none of which will be reused) and more cleaning.
Basically, the bay is done with Stage 1 (cleaning/inspecting) and ready for Stage2 which is making the physical modifications (there are a few grommet holes to be enlarged and a few holes to drill).
Also plan to run a tap through all the capture nuts, so the car can be assembled nicely.

I need to clean the rear wheel arches and the bulk of the heavy cleaning will be done and I'll be free to move back to the paint

[clocker]

My, my...two years pass in the blink of an eye.
Well, if one blinks very slowly.

So the RX-7 was completed and still does duty as my daily driver.




Haven't had a single issue with her, this fall she even made the trek to j2k4's near-Arctic lair.

But that's old news.

Sigfrid returned from exile in Houston and we soon began our car building game all over again.
In June of 2013 we acquired a 1977 Datsun 280Z:




A long, bumpy road later, we are here:



She was stripped to the bare chassis, cleaned and bedlinered, then reassembled with all new suspension, brakes, wheels and tires. After extensive bodywork (mostly hole filling and shaving lights, there was zero rust on the chassis), we Plastidipped the exterior.
I'm beginning the electrical this weekend and we might be running by end of June.
Assuming the engine is any good.
So, that's what I've been up to.