Ok so today I went outside and installed the MMR bushings in the diff, painted the diff (black) and attempted to get the bushings out of the rear subframe..

PICS!!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8..._IMAGE_394.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8..._IMAGE_393.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8..._IMAGE_396.jpg

OK.. its been a few days.. so now I have some updates..

First of I finally got the bushings out of the rear subframe.. (this was HELL)


Whats left of the bushings
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8..._IMAGE_416.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8..._IMAGE_415.jpg

The tool I had to buy
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8..._IMAGE_418.jpg

and then end result
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8..._IMAGE_417.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8..._IMAGE_414.jpg

If I have my way.. tomorrow I will clean up the subframe, paint the subframe, slam in the new bushings and then start putting the control arms, diff and other stuff back on it.


I also begun to pull the interior out.. I got the seats out, the rear carpet, all the rear plastic, the front pillars and door sills, the headliner is loose and I still need to remove the front carpet and dash.

I will get pics of the interior once it is all out..

Ok I got the MMR mounts in, painted the rear subframe black and then attached the control arms, trailing arms, and camber links

here is the pics.

Mounts in:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8..._IMAGE_422.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8..._IMAGE_423.jpg

Subframe painted:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8..._IMAGE_424.jpg

All together:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8..._IMAGE_426.jpg

bad ass bout time now i wanna see it bolted in haha. part all the parts next to each other so we can see what it looks like together haha

well I till need my adjustable camber bar and my comp diff mount then I can get it up on the car and get the rear suspension on.

then I will buy my sway bars and adjustable end links

WOOT WOOT

Woot Woot

I hope to have the rear back in the car by the end of the month.. we shall see.

coming along dave. i hope that i can find the time to start mine soon. things are crazy at work again, so it may hold it up.

OK so today I went out and begun painting my trim from red to black using TRIM paint..

no crazy colors nothing special just going to black..

picture of a before and after of an item once I load them up..

ok here u go..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8..._IMAGE_427.jpg

From what i hear as long as you use good materials it's ok, and i've seen it turn out very well, however, don't do the seats, it will wear off very fast.

yeah I wont do the seats.. I am buying racing seats to replace my ITR seats..

I just hope I don't spend a small fortune trying to turn red carpet black lol..

OK took these pics tonight of the interior this is after it had sat for 2 days..

the carpet piece is much darker then the pic shows.

chunk of carpet I tested on:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8..._IMAGE_001.jpg

interior:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8..._IMAGE_002.jpg

you might want to just look into replacment carpeting there are plently of companys that make replacment premoplded carpets for almost every car.

id take it to a shop and have them make a one off, the premade ones usually fit like crap

well the carpet turned out nice.. I like the color of it.. I think I am going to continue and see if I cant get it to color in nice so I can lay it back in.

What do I have to loose, not like anyone wants faded red carpet. If it don't turn out good then I spend like 20.00 for nothing.. if it looks good then I did not waste the 20.00

Ok so yesterday I painted the dash.. (what a pain) I did it while it was still in the car.. Today I plan to finish where it may need some touching up and then start on the carpet..

I hope to have pics by the weekend..

why not just take it out of the car? Mine was a nasty faded blue, so i took it out, and sprayed it black with vynil and plastic paint. worked great, just gotta remember to only do quick strokes an thin coats, because otherwise, it dries blotchy...

I was under there looking at how to pull it out and it looked like a real pain in the ass to remove..

I got great coverage on it. I will inspect it tonight to see how it turned out and move on from there.. if I HAVE TO I will pull it out.

tonight I will try and finish up the rest of the carpet in the car that way I can start putting the trim back in the car and replace the parts that need to be.

Ok so I got out and painted the carpet and touched up the dash.. here is where I am at.

Carpet before:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8..._IMAGE_006.jpg

Carpet after:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8..._IMAGE_007.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8..._IMAGE_008.jpg


Dash before:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8...linstalled.jpg


Dash after:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8..._IMAGE_009.jpg




next will be to put another coat on the carpet (to seal in any red that may come through)

then paint the rear carpet and the carpet around the strut towers
paint the center console (arm rest)
start putting everything back together.

cool, how is the texture and feel of the painted surfaces? I'd hate for it to feel sticky.

once dried the plastic feels just fine not sticky at all

the carpet is a bit tough (for obvious reasons)

yeah, that's a PITA. Looks good keep it up.

no I mean the carpet is tough to the feel kinda like a dry scrubber on a sponge

oh, well that'll go away once you use the carpet more often or you can wait till it dries and run a wide comb through it or something?

yeah not only that but its not like anyone is laying on my carpet or getting in my car barefooted.

true.

did you clean all the protectants off the dash before painting and what did you use to paint this? duplicolor vinil,and fabric paint?

Yes I wiped down all the plastic before I painted with water and then dried it..

I am using the Duplicolor Vinyl and fabric paint

Ok not much to update at the moment.. I have all of the main carpet painted, the dash is back together, the arm rest console was painted and back on, the rear carpet is in the process of being painted (both stores ran out of paint), all of the plastic trip that I have is painted (I will need a couple pieces).

I plan ot pickup some more paint tonight, get the headliner done, the rear carpet done, and hopefully I will get the battery cable I need tonight so I can run that under the carpet before I install everything (battery relocation)

I also got out the sander and touched the drivers rear fender well up.. I havd a 1" bubble spot that I hit with the sander and it cam nice and clean so I got that covered for now untill I get down to doing the actual body work :)

More pics as things come together..

So I guess you got rid of that infamous scent of fuel our cars are known for LOL. Do you think that smell of spray is gonna stick? Other than that good job on your interior painting! I've seen horrible jobs before but your looks like its come together nicely.

I would perfer the gas smell lol.. This does not smell to bad, however once I am done with the complete interior paint job I will get a tub of baking soda and put it in the car with it all sealed up and hopefully that will take care of that..

I still need a few plastic pieces in order to get it all finished but I would like to have all the interior I have instaled by the weekend

OK well not much to update with... I sold my seats out fo my RX7 yesterday and in turn turned around and bought my competition diff mount (front) and the adjustable camber bar..

I should have those by Friday so I can install the rear end over the weekend..

BOUT TIME..

then I can finish up the interior and move on the the engine bay and body.

OK so parts arrived today...

Mazda competition front diff mount
and
Mazda competition adjustable camber bar


tomorrow the entire subframe, diff, axles, struts will be put in.

As the parts arrived:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8..._IMAGE_037.jpg

adj camber bar
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8..._IMAGE_039.jpg

Comp diff mount
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8..._IMAGE_038.jpg

ill trade ya! lol

Should throw in a pinion snubber while you're at it. It's a cheap, but worthwhile upgrade.

How do I install the pinion snubber. where does it connect to and how many do I need?

ok so nobody local had the pinion snubber I will buy one but I don't know how it will mount and if it can be installed with everything back in the car.


Todays progress:

old OEM camber bar out
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8..._IMAGE_044.jpg

New mazda comp adjustable camber bar in:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8..._IMAGE_045.jpg

I got the diff mounted to the subframe, the subframe back in the car, the rear sturs put in, the axles mounted.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8..._IMAGE_047.jpg

I just need to get the bearings put in the rear hubs and on forward I can move.

Rear carpet is done

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v8..._IMAGE_048.jpg



And I have noticed that the paint does wear off the carpet... this kinda bums me out after having probably 150.00 in paint I think I should have just taken the carpet out and swapped it for black carpet.

oh well u live and learn.

I also painted the headliner and pulled the engine harness out of the car.

It seems to be coming along nicely :icon_tup: