SA Restoration

[RX7SA]

Well, its started and about bloody time too!!

Basically I spent Saturday morning stripping (aye aye) working from the back to the front (steady) inside and out (too far?!)
The rear hatch window was first because the struts have gone and I knew it would wind me up a treat if I left it lol, besides the edge the seal sits on is shot so need cleaning and repairing. After that the rear bumper, lights, lock, fogs, interior, front wings, rubber spoiler from the rear and little rubber chin thing (what is it with rubber spoilers??) are off!
Its not as bad as I thought it would have been ....... but it aint good either guvnor The spare wheel well, and floor is solid and so is the rear valance, just the passenger side corner needs any real work (so far .... famous last words). However, that strangely just makes me more convinced its going to be a full dash, windscreen, side windows, nut, bolt, ground-up resto project. The front is in more of a state and plenty bolt heads broke without even moving front wheel wells, engine bay corners with the bulkhead are in need of wleding (and finding good metal ) and I can get my hand in the boot without removing the rear window
My girlfriend was helping me and taking plenty photos which I will get up ASAP. Unfortunately no internet yet in the flat (we just moved in) and me forgetting the card means having to wait a while for photos
Anyway, just wanted to start my resto thread going and will update as and when I get more done and some photos up.
Thanks for reading
Simon

[codge]

Really looking forward to the pics Simon. A rare car so going to be well worthwhile.

[RX7SA]

So as I promised I have some photos of work so far, not very interesting as its just taking parts off at the moment but then every project starts somewhere.

this is how it started. I plan to take her down to a bare shell.


the boot area is really bad and as I want to remove the spoiler this is where I started. Most of it came away surprisingly easily, unfortunately so did some of the metal fittings


the edge for the seal is in a really bad way as you can see and to be honest the bodywork is shot on the passenger side, its going to be a big fix I think. I can put my hand through it and I will try and remove the side windows but worried about them cracking.

The bumper, lights, fogs and spoiler are off, rear seats out and some of the rear trim including the carpet which unfortunately is shot through and rotted so will need to find a replacement . The last guy to have the car also cut the fake rear speaker pods and fitted some rank speakers over the holes, great. They too have gone but will prob have to find some new/old trim pieces or fit speakers??

Also with a great wiring job. Why is this so common, always bodge jobs for wiring which could be a potential for fire, really winds me up!

Anyway, there's a few photos for the thread so hope its interesting and any advice or questions along the way are greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading
Simon

[RX7SA]

Just a couple more bodge photos, the front headlights have white paint spray covering them which leads me to believe they were sprayed the same time as the car, without covering them. Awesome! I think the S2 bumpers may have been red originally.

Also, taking the wing off I found that the front valance (rotted and hardly attached itself) was holding up the inner wing plastic with cables ties, the same technique for holding the oil cooler from hitting the road

Hey ho, will be ok will be ok will be ok and repeat ......

[ian65]

Lots to do then Simon! Definitely worth saving though... they are very rare cars in the Uk these days.
The good news is that these cars are very easy to work on.... with good access plus the front end basically unbolts.
What's the underside of your bodyshell like?... these cars hide their rust very well and by the time the outer panels rust through, the chassis rails, floor plan and a,b, and c posts are usually shot.
The rear deck on your car looks pretty crusty.... my advice ( for what it's worth) is to cut a section out of a scrapper then scribe it into your rear deck after cutting out all the rot.... much easier to do than to try to make a panel up and get that profile right.
Ebay USA has series 1 party a plenty so trim etc shouldn't be a problem and rockauto is the place for brake rebuild kits, slave 7 master cylinders etc.
I've got a lot of affection for the series 1 RX7's...... out of all the cars I've owned...my s1 was my favourite. Looking forward to seeing your car come back to life.

[RX7SA]

Thanks Ian
Yep, loads to do Ian thats for sure! I appreciate the advice and I want to start stripping the paint to get a good look at her but agree that getting a decent back end and stripping the panels from that might be the right way to go. The front looks solid with some rotted sections but not as bad as the front (famous last words). The floor is pretty solid thanks to her being shut away for ages but again, famous last words. Everything to be honest has rust so is going to be a serious labour of love, bolts are just snapping and bodge jobs everywhere, for instance the bonnet has a self tapping screw and a washer as replacement for a bolt holding it which of cause is rounded out and painted so no idea what I'm going to find there lol. Wire brushes and wheels, drills, paint stripper, rust treatment by the galon and of course the inevitable blood sweat and tears by the galon will be needed for this I think
But as you said, these cars are rare but above that fantastic. I love how simple it is and can't wait for her to be back on the road.

[Steve-A]

Ouch that rust on the dear deck is pretty brutal, still looks like you're taking the right approach and everything is fixable Good luck with it, keep the pictures coming.

S1's are lovely. Are you looking to do a restoration back to standard or are you going to make any changes along the way? I do think the s1 bumpers / trim is the prettiest of them all.

[RX7SA]

Hi Steve,
thanks for the encouragement.
My plan is to do a full restoration piece as much as I can back to original S1 state with the body, just repair, respray a new colour and possibly a different style wing mirror, but the original 12A has long gone and a 13B is in its place. That will be coming out as part of the rebuild and a turbo 13B put in with an aim to ultimately run a streetport 13B turbo with 200 - 250 Bhp. Should be a nice retro sleeper . Mods other then that will be brake and suspension improvements with possible wing mounted mirrors but as for the body it will be back the simple beauty of the S1. Its perfect in my opinion even the baroque impression at the back also with how rare it is I would like to preserve it. The interior will stay as original as possible just cleaned up with maybe a retrim later but nothing too far from standard.
This is my first full resto project and by the look of it a real baptism of fire but i hope to get her back on the road ASAP, maybe by this time next year as I don't want to set too unrealistic a deadline lol.
Should be working on her again this weekend so hope to have some more photos pretty soon
Thanks
Simon

[Steve-A]

Now that sounds like a good plan

[MelloYello]

Good man for taking on such a project! And your first resto too.
Looking forward to the progress.