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Pocket knife scratches it pretty good. Banging the bumper cover into the garage door track didbt hurt it.
Told you id check on durability....
That looks terrific! I certainly wouldn't have a problem doing that.
I painted a bike for a guy using that valspar implement paint but didn't use a hardener and it stayed super soft. Good call on the hardener.
(scraaaaaaatch) Ah E36 M3!... (bang!) Mother berker! (Duster) Damn garage always getting in my way..... Well hey at least no one can say they can't see you anymore hahahaha.
Bill Mesker wrote: (scraaaaaaatch) Ah E36 M3!... (bang!) Mother berker! (Duster) Damn garage always getting in my way..... Well hey at least no one can say they can't see you anymore hahahaha.
Pretty much spot on. One of those kinds of nights, rushing to get it all back together and finished before the family came back from girls week.
Still didn't get the spoiler on....
I have decided that the spoiler isn't going on.
It may still get westsand and buffed.
Ive got a full update when i get time, but it may wait until its all back together. Almost rhe whole interior is out right now for some subtle upgrades. Like wiring harness repair.
Budget:
previous total: 3036.50
Purchase price: 2250
Timing belt kit and lower radiator hoses: leftover from last car
Black paint: 15.37 from bowers implement
Pcv, hub nuts, oil filter: 27.50 oreillys
Belts, thermostat gasket, plugs: 45.19 advance
Front hubs, amazon: 44.80
Radio harness 4.50 amazon
Air filter 12.14 amazon
Thermostat 7.80 amazon
Upper radiator hose 11.60 amazon
NGK plug wires 29.98 amazon
Valve cover gasket 8.82 ebay
8 inch speakers, baffles, and headrest speakers from parts express: 37
Tweeters: 10.50 amazon
Sound deadening: free!!!
Tires, simpletire.com: 112
Left rear suspension and air guide and subframe brace: 205
Battery: 111
Gauge rings: 40.19
Brake pads, rockauto: 23.11
Tire mount and balance: 40
Stock 15x6 wheels: 80
Body kit, cruise, and misc: 240 shipped
Sandpaper: 12
3 cans sail blue rustoleum spray paint: 15 1 quart sail blue rustoleum: 18
1 quart enamel hardener: 12
Plastic, tape, mineral spirits, etc I already had. Same with the gun.
Front lip: 110, ebay
Front bumper, spare side skirts, factory fog light setup, ricer taillights, drag DR21 with tires, inner fenders, and some other stuff im forgetting: 200 and my 15x6 stockers.
VHT nightshades: leftover
Keyless entry: 25 fropm amazon
Mattress topper: 10 bucks, family dollar
Project total: 3759.50
Alright, where to start.....
I got the car reassembled after paint,
20170716_192052 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
My inner fenders were junk, my taillights were filling with water from cracks, and the interior was in need of help. So, I did what any reasonable man would do.
Scheduled to voluntarily turn in my company car and go back to using my personal car and getting mileage.
I'm a genius, right?
I also bought some parts from untouchable from GRM. For 200 and stock wheels, I got:
20170716_192151 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20170716_192136 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20170716_192127 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20170716_192104 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
I also got the factory repop bumper lip from ebay. Took 4 tries to get paint to stick, but finally turned out good.
20170716_192121 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
Used the factory hardware from my new bumper, and got it all mounted up.
20170718_082753 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
While I had the bumper off, I mounted the fog lights and installed the inner fenders.
20170718_082119 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20170718_185613 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
I also polished the headlights, installed the factory foglight subharness, and slammed the drag wheels on.
20170718_190559 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
Drove it for a minute for shakedown (200 miles that day). Loved it. Needed cruise. And seat fixed. And insulation on trans tunnel.
So, I tinted the ricerriffic taillights first. Turned out awsome. Love them.
20170720_080716 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20170720_081122 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
I also rebuilt the top latches with the screw method.
20170720_173804 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
I then moved on to the seat. First was FINALLY installing my headrest speakers.
20170722_100244 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
Then rebuilding and reshaping the backrest. 2 layers of memoryfoam on the bolsters, one on upper backrest and headrest.
20170722_101439 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20170722_101428 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20170722_115858 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20170722_121057 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
Put it all back together. Very comfortable, sounds fantastic. Looks stock.
20170722_175235 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
Figured while I had the seats out, I would finish up the cruise install. Right up until I found that I had the foglight only harness. I THINK I have it sorted, as the combo switch matched all the foglight wires but 3. Power, ground, and signal. Black and yellow to switched positive, black to chassis ground, red/yellow tapped with a vampire tap to the red/yellow wire going into the cruise computer,
20170722_205109 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
I also wanted remote keyless entry. Picked up an install bay 4 door 3 channel unit from amazon. Reason being is that I can use one of the spare solenoids for trunk pop, which the kit supports. While under the dash, I found remnants of a halfway uninstalled security system that all done with twisted together connections covered in electrical tape. Fixed all that hackery in the process of adding the keyless entry.
20170722_205102 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20170722_205115 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20170722_210810 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20170722_210808 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
Every time I got out of the floor of the car I felt sticky. I also found many ants. So things have escalated...
20170723_171711 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20170723_170310 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20170723_171442 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
Carpets have been cleaned with castrol superclean and a pressure washer. The ants nest under the drivers seat is dead. The plastics are being repeatedly scrubbed. I will then sound deaden and insulate before reassembly, as well as install an autodim rear-view, usb outlet, investigate the fuel smell when the car sits in the sun, etc. All before Friday when my company car gets picked up.
hmm, I wonder if the rustoleum has a green similar to the factory thunderturd green...
In reply to Mad_Ratel:
Im pretty sure they do, actually.
Looks like you've been staying busy working on it, looks great. Must say I actually like the ricer lights a lot with the red tint on them. And I know all to well about the ant problem although mine were under the passenger seat.
The ricer lights turned out perfect. Thanks again for the deal.
I've gotta say, I truely winced when I saw those tail lights. Ewww!
But boy, with some paint they look worlds better. Actually look great and interesting.
In reply to John Welsh :
In chrome, they made me want to gouge my eyes out with a bojangles spork. But in red, they fit the looks of the car. They are also MUCH brighter than the factory stuff.
Dude, the paint looks like it turned out awesome!
Also holy E36 M3 those lights were ugly- I'm so glad to see you tinted them red.
Gunchsta wrote: Dude, the paint looks like it turned out awesome! Also holy E36 M3 those lights were ugly- I'm so glad to see you tinted them red.
Thanks man!
And in a side note, just to add a little more stress, im tinting the car while its apart....
Except for the windshield. I just creased the E36 M3 outta the tint for it. berkeley.....
Awesome progress. Looking forward to further updates.
Budget:
previous total: 3036.50
Purchase price: 2250
Timing belt kit and lower radiator hoses: leftover from last car
Black paint: 15.37 from bowers implement
Pcv, hub nuts, oil filter: 27.50 oreillys
Belts, thermostat gasket, plugs: 45.19 advance
Front hubs, amazon: 44.80
Radio harness 4.50 amazon
Air filter 12.14 amazon
Thermostat 7.80 amazon
Upper radiator hose 11.60 amazon
NGK plug wires 29.98 amazon
Valve cover gasket 8.82 ebay
8 inch speakers, baffles, and headrest speakers from parts express: 37
Tweeters: 10.50 amazon
Sound deadening: free!!!
Tires, simpletire.com: 112
Left rear suspension and air guide and subframe brace: 205
Battery: 111
Gauge rings: 40.19
Brake pads, rockauto: 23.11
Tire mount and balance: 40
Stock 15x6 wheels: 80
Body kit, cruise, and misc: 240 shipped
Sandpaper: 12
3 cans sail blue rustoleum spray paint: 15 1 quart sail blue rustoleum: 18
1 quart enamel hardener: 12
Plastic, tape, mineral spirits, etc I already had. Same with the gun.
Front lip: 110, ebay
Front bumper, spare side skirts, factory fog light setup, ricer taillights, drag DR21 with tires, inner fenders, and some other stuff im forgetting: 200 and my 15x6 stockers.
VHT nightshades: leftover
Keyless entry: 25 fropm amazon
Mattress topper: 10 bucks, family dollar
Imulation and glue: 43 from lowes
5.50 for fasteners
Bluetooth microphone 6
Jute: had
Autodim mirror: had
Kenwood head unit: ripped from my truck
Speaker wire: had
Window tint: had
Project total: 3814
So its been a mad thrash to get this thing back together before the company car went back. Spoiler alert: made it.
When last we left off, it looked like this:
20170723_171711 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
After I scrubbed the steel, I laid down a layer of foil backed jute. This does 3 things. Reduces rattles, reduces road noise, and reduces heat transference through the floors. The foil side goes down, and it gets glued. Except for places where it may need to be removed for service. Like the package tray, where at some point, knowing me, a hakuna install will be added. Or il need to service the fuel tank. But eventually ill have to get under the jute. This jute was bought a year or two ago in a bulk roll from home depot. This is the 4th car from this roll. Im finally almost out. May be time to order another roll....
20170725_180033 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20170725_175935 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
After the jute, I use a product from lowes. Its foil covered bubble wrap. This stuff is very good at noise attenuation and even better at heat barrier. Cut, glue, and install. I left it off the package tray as I didn't think it would be necessary.
20170726_080940 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
While oi had everything out, I finally fixed the top. Whoever had put the replacement top in this car had not re-installed the metal j-channel reinforcement pieces, or even tightened the nuts that hold the rain rail and top to the body. So I put those in, readjusted the top latches, etc. Seems to have fixed all the leaks except for a drip form the top of the drivers side window where the two pieces of weatherstrip butt together.
20170726_181555 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20170726_181559 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
For the firt time, the top isnt saggy or loose looking. Its tight as a drum, actually.
20170726_224127 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
You'll notice in a couple of pictures that I used jute and bubble over the shifter boot. I thought it would be more effective than the factory insulation Mazda used, and in the last 400 miles it confirms my suspicion.
So, I also tried to tint while I was at it. I've done a few cars before, with good results. For whatever reason, I cant tint this one. I have creased and torn my way through 3 rolls of window tint now, nad have finally decided that I just need to pay the man.
20170724_154719 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
I then got the interior slammed back together. Added a USB outlet in place of the cigarette lighter (had it from the protege that died), an autodim mirror from a durango, left the windblocker out, ran all my speaker wire and such, cleaned, tightened, and worked my way through it all. I also added a different head unit to the stereo. I had installed, some time ago, a kenwood unit in the 64 el camino. It has HD radio and Bluetooth. I bought it purely for the HD, and up until this week had never used Bluetooth. Im slightly luddite leaning after all. But with me driving everywhere, and being on the phone a lot, it seemed that hands free would be a safety upgrade. I located the microphone on the top of the steering column, and put it all together.
20170726_195649 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20170726_221429 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20170726_221433 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20170726_224112 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
After this, I proceeded to pound 400 miles since Thursday afternoon. After all, need to see how the changes work.
20170728_104844 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
1.The 15x7 softened the ride. They follow road crown pretty bad, but I blame that on the nearly dead kumho tires up front.
2.The autodim mirror is fantastic. Quite possibly the best mod ive ever done to a car.
3.The cruise doesnt work. Im thinking there may be wiring missing wetween the control stalk and cruise computer, but ill need to check.
4.The headrest speakers make the sound system. I can hear my music with the top down without blaring it, lower volume overall at speeds, gives you the “feel” pf the music by transmitting vibrations through the seat. Overall big old WIN.
5.The rebuilt seat is fantastic, but not quite there yet. I need to re-angle the base of the seat for a little better leg angle, and add some adjustable lumbar.
6.Bluetooth rocks. I wish I had listened to everyone and started using it years ago. So much easier.
7.Car is very quiet, squeak and rattle free. Yesterday was upper 90s, I was stuck is stop and go, car was running for an hour and a half straight, and my right leg never got warm. Amazing.
8.Needs new front skins.
9.Needs tinted
10.MPG is worriesome. Last tank was 21. Ive been hovering around 25-26 since purchase. This seems very low to me for the mixture of 55mph country back roads, 70mph interstate, and stop and go that I do every day. My 02 got 32 on this same mixture of driving. Any ideas?
Budget:
previous total: 3036.50
Purchase price: 2250
Timing belt kit and lower radiator hoses: leftover from last car
Black paint: 15.37 from bowers implement
Pcv, hub nuts, oil filter: 27.50 oreillys
Belts, thermostat gasket, plugs: 45.19 advance
Front hubs, amazon: 44.80
Radio harness 4.50 amazon
Air filter 12.14 amazon
Thermostat 7.80 amazon
Upper radiator hose 11.60 amazon
NGK plug wires 29.98 amazon
Valve cover gasket 8.82 ebay
8 inch speakers, baffles, and headrest speakers from parts express: 37
Tweeters: 10.50 amazon
Sound deadening: free!!!
Tires, simpletire.com: 112
Left rear suspension and air guide and subframe brace: 205
Battery: 111
Gauge rings: 40.19
Brake pads, rockauto: 23.11
Tire mount and balance: 40
Stock 15x6 wheels: 80
Body kit, cruise, and misc: 240 shipped
Sandpaper: 12
3 cans sail blue rustoleum spray paint: 15 1 quart sail blue rustoleum: 18
1 quart enamel hardener: 12
Plastic, tape, mineral spirits, etc I already had. Same with the gun.
Front lip: 110, ebay
Front bumper, spare side skirts, factory fog light setup, ricer taillights, drag DR21 with tires, inner fenders, and some other stuff im forgetting: 200 and my 15x6 stockers.
VHT nightshades: leftover
Keyless entry: 25 fropm amazon
Mattress topper: 10 bucks, family dollar
Imulation and glue: 43 from lowes
5.50 for fasteners
Bluetooth microphone 6
Jute: had
Autodim mirror: had
Kenwood head unit: ripped from my truck
Speaker wire: had
Window tint: had
Pay the man for window tint: 225
Project total: 4039
Well, its my daily. Its a good daily too. Very comfortable, quiet, handles good, stops good, runs out good, etc. Pleasure to put long days in the saddle in. Already done a bit over 1000 miles since last update.
Got it tinted after I failed miserably. And I cleaned it up for a good picture. I unfortunately do not take good pictures, so a crappy one in the chicken king parking lot will have to suffice for now.
20170802_121855 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
Not much of an ANSWER fan ,but I like your style so following along. Hey, you mentioned adding adjustable lumbar, what's your plan? Your mileage suffering is do to all that insulation 
. Have you or do you run a fuel system cleaner on occasion?
Run a cleaner at every oil change. So every 5k it gets seafoam in the tank. Im beginning to wonder if maybe i missed a tooth when i did the timing belt job, or damaged a cat with the misfires. But no codes are being thrown, and nothing obvious is wrong that i can find, though i am admittedly weak on late model diagnostics.
Adjustable lumbar is going to be a manual blood pressure cuff at the right spot in the seat. Just haven't gotten one yet.
Duster wrote:
Adjustable lumbar is going to be a manual blood pressure cuff at the right spot in the seat. Just haven't gotten one yet.
Dude, that is brilliant. Did you come up with that yourself?
Im not sure, to be honest. Im sure i heard something similar somewhere at some point, but it popped into my head while trying to figure out the problem.
Dusterbd13 wrote: Budget: previous total: 3036.50 Purchase price: 2250 Timing belt kit and lower radiator hoses: leftover from last car Black paint: 15.37 from bowers implement Pcv, hub nuts, oil filter: 27.50 oreillys Belts, thermostat gasket, plugs: 45.19 advance Front hubs, amazon: 44.80 Radio harness 4.50 amazon Air filter 12.14 amazon Thermostat 7.80 amazon Upper radiator hose 11.60 amazon NGK plug wires 29.98 amazon Valve cover gasket 8.82 ebay 8 inch speakers, baffles, and headrest speakers from parts express: 37 Tweeters: 10.50 amazon Sound deadening: free!!! Tires, simpletire.com: 112 Left rear suspension and air guide and subframe brace: 205 Battery: 111 Gauge rings: 40.19 Brake pads, rockauto: 23.11 Tire mount and balance: 40 Stock 15x6 wheels: 80 Body kit, cruise, and misc: 240 shipped Sandpaper: 12 3 cans sail blue rustoleum spray paint: 15 1 quart sail blue rustoleum: 18 1 quart enamel hardener: 12 Plastic, tape, mineral spirits, etc I already had. Same with the gun. Front lip: 110, ebay Front bumper, spare side skirts, factory fog light setup, ricer taillights, drag DR21 with tires, inner fenders, and some other stuff im forgetting: 200 and my 15x6 stockers. VHT nightshades: leftover Keyless entry: 25 fropm amazon Mattress topper: 10 bucks, family dollar Imulation and glue: 43 from lowes 5.50 for fasteners Bluetooth microphone 6 Jute: had Autodim mirror: had Kenwood head unit: ripped from my truck Speaker wire: had Window tint: had Pay the man for window tint: 225 Project total: 4039 Well, its my daily. Its a good daily too. Very comfortable, quiet, handles good, stops good, runs out good, etc. Pleasure to put long days in the saddle in. Already done a bit over 1000 miles since last update. Got it tinted after I failed miserably. And I cleaned it up for a good picture. I unfortunately do not take good pictures, so a crappy one in the chicken king parking lot will have to suffice for now.
Good job on saving this answer!
Why does the rear wheel look like it is very forward in the wheel well? Also, the car looks like the rear end is sitting about 2 inches too high.
Just a funny angle, or is something going on back there?
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