mazdaverx7

This car has been with me since 2013 and its the best riding and handling 944 that I've eve owned. I used to drive it often and back in 2015 I lost my job and was forced to sell a fair amount of my cars. I sold three of my 944's and I held off on selling this car because it had so much potential and so many nice options. It has the Fuchs wheels, full script cloth seats, and M456 suspension as the notable options. I ended up parking the car because the water pump began to leak and its sat since under a cover, wrapped up for the last four years. This is something I'm ashamed of. I never should have let the car sit so long. The paint needs buffed again and the tires are shot and my cluster is getting no power etc.. This is on top of the car still needing a water pump and new belts, rollers, seals, and tensioners. But I'm spearheading this car and I will have it back on the road as soon as possible. I Wanted to document what I'm doing to the car as I progress through bringing it back. Took a couple pictures yesterday and wanted to share.

968to986

Looks like a solid project. I like your 2nd gen RX7 too.

wildcat077

I see you have a fleet of RX7's as well ?

I owned a 1980 model with the 11A engine for 10 years before my Porsche days ... what a little screamer , i had a Rotary Engineering two into one
header, lowered suspension and i put in a vaccuum secondary for that tiny little Holley carb.If i remember right , mine was the only year with the licence plate above the bumper, or did they have it in 1979 ?
Never should have sold that car ...
Your red 944 looks like my little RX7's big brother !!!

mazdaverx7

Thank you. The car you can see in the garage is a 10th Anniversary RX-7 turbo. I bought it from the original owner in non running condition. It came with all paperwork, window sticker, dealer letters, purchase documentation etc and had only 82k miles. It runs absolutely amazing and is just a beautiful car. Its one of two 10th Anniversary RX-7's that I own and am restoring and while its not perfect, its a great car overall.

mazdaverx7

The early cars are great cars and are pure sports cars. Just a ball to own and drive and even more so with a few small modifications. The 79 and 80 model years did have the license plate above the rear bumper. I currently have a 1980 Leather Sport which was gifted to me by the original owner. I had been servicing the car for the last 10 years prior to him giving me the car. He knew how much I had loved the car and I was honored when he presented it to me as a gift. The car came with every original part, and ever document and receipt since 1980.

wildcat077

Nice !!!

I still have the original 1980 sunroof pouch/case somewhere in my garage , if you need one and i find it again , you can have it for the cost of shipping !

mazdaverx7

Thank you very much for the offer!

mazdaverx7

Got the car in the garage last night and got the right side tail light out. The plan is to replace the tail light, the rear bumper pads, and the left side bumper edge plastic cap. Bought some butyl tape yesterday for the new taillight. It was cheap so here's hoping it does a good job. If not I have some black stuff at work I can always use. More posts and pictures to follow!

mrgreenjeans

Dave, your 944 appears to have so much good potential. It is definitely worth your time and effort to put all things right again. It hasn't strayed too far off the path and it has a great owner who has passion for his sportscars; all will be well again I am sure.

Thanks for taking the time to share your passion and your cars with us. Best wishes on its 'new life' to come ...

mazdaverx7

Thank you for the kind words Don!! I try to put time into the car as much as possible but its difficult at times due to having 6 kids and working two jobs. But I will persevere and this car will see the road again and once again bring smiles to the faces of others as it does to me. It really doesn't a ton of work. Just the basic things that wear out or should be replaced on these cars. I have been through many or all of these things on my other 944's throughout the years and I feel more than comfortable undertaking this car. The car runs surprisingly strong and has a lot of life left in the drivetrain. Being an M456 car, I feel as though its somewhat of a more desirable car, at least to me, and its well worth saving and enjoying for many years to come!

mazdaverx7

Spent some time working on the 944 yesterday due to having a day off mid week. I got a few things done that were on my list.

I started by replacing the right side tail light which had a large hole in in. Thank you Mr. lawnmower for that. I used new black butyl tape and it sealed very well:



While I was there, I also replaced both rear bumper pads and the left side rear bumper end cap. Really turned out nice:





Next, I replaced both sun visor clips. The ride side had fallen apart and the sun visor was just hanging there.:





I also replaced the center console lid and installed new fabric on the underside of the lid that I had purchased used:





Got the interior cleaned up while I was there:





And I was able to get power back to my instrument cluster by playing with the position G2 relay. Must have had some corrosion on the female portion in the fuse block:

mazdaverx7

Managed to get some more time today to work on the car. Started by removing the cluster and installing led bulbs and fixing the reflectors which had nearly completely worn out.







The led bulbs that I used:



Cluster looks better than ever:





Finished the day by removing the blower motor and blower motor box so that I could remove the wiper transmission for replacement and clean the area underneath it. It turned out ok and the next step will be the replacement wiper transmission and new wiper blades:

mazdaverx7

All of my engine components were delivered yesterday so it will be time to start the timing belt and water pump job. I also ordered a set of engine mounts as well as mine have given up the ghost ages ago. More pictures to follow!

mazdaverx7

Had to order a new flywheel lock yesterday as mine seemed to grow legs and take off somewhere. Also debating on switching over to full synthetic 5W40 engine oil when I change the oil after the belt replacement. I'm a stickler for the 20W50 but I've been reading some good things about the 5W40. Will try and post some more pics this afternoon!

Karl_W944

Glad to see ya still around these parts! I switched to full synthetic 15w50 for my 931 and might've done the same with my 944 if it was still around. VR1 is just so good though!