DIY : Tail Lamp Restoration.

*I actually had done this DIY process few years ago. You guys can check it out here for more further step explanation:

Part 1.
Part 2.
Part 3.

Stuffs for this DIY process are:

*Spray can. Bought two silver and one black color.
*Autosol.
*Sand paper (400 and 1000)
*Paint stripper and brush.

Carefully remove the lenses as it will crack if you push it. Don't try your luck especially if its a pretty rare stuffs.

Clean all the stuffs and let it dry. Only after that you can judge if its restore able or not worth trying. In this case, everything are in good shape and I am pretty confident and with my previous experience, I can refurbish all of these hopefully. What make this project special is that the car sport a facelift of RX3, and to be exact the 10A facelift. Take note that the facelift itself cost thousands of Ringgit if you wanna buy it.

We manage to score a new set of front bumper signal. Thanks to the Ipoh trip and Wan DV for helping us sourcing stuffs.

Autosol is a great stuff. It can shine almost everything. This is due to its abrasive feature. What I don't like about it is that this thing eventually will 'polisht' up your skin too during the polishing process. Now I am in pain.

The cleaned lamp cover was sprayed to silver color to reflect the light bulb better.

And one of the worst thing I had experience was the paint removal of the bumper. Its my first time working with the paint removal and only after it touch my skin I know how corrosive this thing is! God I hate this thing. Time consuming and I only manage to do 1/3 of the bumper.

For the lenses restoration, what I did first was using the Autosol to rub off the top layer. I did my best for like two or three times before polishing it with Headlamp Polish. What differ these two polishing liquid are its abrasive grade. Autosol is pretty much coarse while the headlamp polish is fine. Shine effect can only be achieved after the fine grade of polish process.

Emblem done. For the second time, I manage to restore it again. Pretty happy with it.

My first attempt was two years ago. Heck, it was coincidence that both photo look similar!

The tail lamp cover. The right one had been restored to its glorious state while the left one havent. Cant do it today coz my hand hurt from too much exposure from Autosol.

One side done! :)

Two years ago, I restored these:

While it was on my Bee. I love this square tail lamp. Really muscular looking for Mazda 808.

Time to Move On! Selling my Bee.

Engine:
Mazda UC engine swap. 1.4cc. JPJ endorsed.
Just overhauled. Still in a running in process. Another 600km to go currently.
Oversize piston. Should be around 1.6cc now.
Port and polish.
Head already skimmed. Should be a high compression engine.
Electric fan.
New battery.
Weber DGAV 32/32 still not fitted.
External fuel pump still not fitted.

Handling:
Front : S13 adjustable suspension consist TEIN coil with Kayaba 4x4 Climbing absorber.
Rear : 3 tonne lorry absorber with lowering block.

Transmission:
4 speed gearbox.
Lightened flywheel.
Welded diff.

Interior:
Replica Mazda RX7 semi bucket for driver side.
4-point harness for driver.
Momo dish steering wheel.
White leather re wrap for the whole car. Roof lining, door, and all four seats.
Vacuum meter.
Voltmeter.
Jasma RPM meter.

Exterior:
Front : 13' x 7j -1 Wedsports (Advan A3A shape.)
Rear : 13' x 7j -30 maybe. Dunno what brand.
Duck tail from Honda EG. Still not fitted.
Fender flare.
Rear chrome bumper from RX3 (Rare).
Metal bodywork done to seal holes on the floor.
1.7' exhaust piping with Rotary style exhaust tip.
Refurbished square tail lamp from 818.
All chrome trim and bumper still intact and in good condition.

Reason selling: Upgrading to a better platform.

Price 1: RM 7000 nego.
Extra parts :
Open diff axle with spare leaf spring.
A pair of 13' x 6.5j 'Mangkuk' rim.
Dashboard in the meter area.
Retro wooden steering wheel.
Original steering wheel.
Refurbished original tail lamp.
Spare exhaust tips.
Mazda front emblem.
Rear pillar air vent.

Price 2: RM5000. I will take a few stuffs and replace it with its stock item:
Weber DGAV 32/32 worth RM350.
External fuel pump worth RM120.
Fender flare worth RM300.
13' x 7j -1 Wedsports (Advan A3A shape.) worth RM600.
Refurbished square tail lamp from 818 worth RM200.
Rear chrome bumper from RX3 (Rare). Unknown price tag.
Vacuum meter. Unknown price tag.
Voltmeter worth RM120.
Jasma RPM meter worth RM150.
Replica Mazda RX7 semi bucket for driver side worth RM550.
4-point harness for driver worth RM150.
Momo dish steering wheel worth RM200.

Location : Cheras, KL.

Contact no : 012 72 3345 4, Amar.

Extra notes :
Car's full diary at codenamebumblebee.blogspot.com
Engine still in running in process. Another 600km to go.
Car is rebuild to be a a drift machine but still haven't got a chance to drift it.
All original parts still intact. Only badges missing.
Need a new paint job to make it looks nicer.

Thanks for viewing. Can't stand my parents nagging anymore, so gotta let it go.

Something That's Not So Funny..

What is happening to Bee right now? This is what's happening. Noticed anything different?

Anything now? Yes, the rubber mounting was sliced into half.

Hmmmm. Time to move on perhaps? S13? A31? 910? AE70? TE71? KE70? RX7? I know what's the best solution! Stay away from em'! Hahahahaha. Oh, Im starting to lose my patience. Slowly, and one at a time. Hmmm.

Time To Get Dirty.

Yeah, most probably coz I bought myself a set of tools. Consist a sockets set, Philips and flat head screw driver, a spanar set or whatever you call it, a cutter, and a tool box. Yeay, my semester will be filled with DIY session.

Leaking. Hmmm.

Seriously I cant stand the heat that enter the inside of the car anymore. So back to basic, I'm fitting back the carpet.

After a few minutes, done! Less heat on the floor, less noise and looks much better.

And sealing the wiper area with silicone. I asked Im808 to seal off the vent. I'm doing for a good reason, so that there's no more rain water entering and damaging the firewall.

And its time to fit in back the offset rim. With bald tires!

Jack em up!

How's da fitment? I think OK OK only. Need a trimming when I'm painting the car I guess.

Low enough? Oh, anyone noticed that I remove the flare? Wanna sell it. Huahua.

Not Powerful Enough.

Yep. Not the engine, but the starter. I cant really just crank to start Bee's engine. Im808 told me that the starter is not powerful enough to crank the flywheel (Did I said it right?) due to high compression, so he suggested to change to a high speed starter. Well, this few days, my method to start the engine is by push start. Not the push buton, but to manually push the car!

So, there goes a hundred plus of mine to buy this high speed starter. From Proton Wira. Suppose to fit my engine.

Since I am too lazy to do it myself, I send the car to the workshop and let they do it. So, fitting time.

And what the hell, it didn't fit! Argh, I need to sell the starter since I cant use it. It is for Wira, a reckon brand (I forgot the name), and 3months warranty from the shop. RM120 nett. I didnt take a singe cent of untung. Do tell me if you want it.

And guess what, the main problem was the battery. LOL. After changing to a brand new battery, wallah! Done. No more crank problem. No more ehek-ehek, everything is working normally. Even the old starter. One thing that I can said that time was, FUCK. There goes my money on the starter. Hahaha.

Anyway, the other things that is in my concern now, is a leaking from the bottom of the engine. Hmm. Possible location when I checked yesterday was from the gearbox oil seal, the oil sump gasket, or maybe from the half moon (What is that?). So, will send the car back to Im808 once he's free from activity. Under warranty yo~

Bee's back!

What happened to me on Monday..

2pm - Went to JPJ to renew my road tax.
3pm - Done with JPJ thingy and Im on my way to Pudu to take a bus to Ipoh.
4pm - Reached and by 4.30pm Im on the bus.
8pm - Arrived in Ipoh. Wan Dreamers Vault pick me up and we went to his house.
10pm - Im808 arrived and he picked me up to Sungai Siput which is around 40km away from Ipoh.
11pm - Arrived at his house, get a few things fixed up and the car is ready! Yay. Im808 brief me up bout the car.

12am - Its Tuesday, and Im ready to go back to KL. Will took me 200km to reach KL.
3am - I am 70km away to reach KL and suddenly the car break down. No lights, no rev, nothing. Fuel pump and electric fan is out. I panicked and park the car on the roadside. Its dark, there's no car nearby and Im alone. Muahaha.
3.30am - Called the PLUS Peronda and they arrived. Towed me to the nearest R&R and I slept in the car till morning.
7am - A highway foreman came and try to fix and he blame the wiring for the failure of fuel pump and electric fan. He fixed it and there's no spark in the distributor. He gave up and towed me to the nearest workshop.
9am - Arrived, went for my breakfast and wait for the foreman to come.
10am - They started to find the problem source and found out that the contact point already out and one fuse already blow. Hahaha. The first foreman didn't check out the fuse.
12pm - I'm on my way back to KL with a hope the car will not break down again.
2.30pm - Arrived! Safe and sound!

Total traveling time : 13 hours for 200km trip! One hell of experience.

Early in the morning. I noticed that Bee's rear end sits much lower than front now.


At the workshop..


No more holes.


And no more rain entering the car.


The harness that I bought the other day.


The DGAV Weber and the external fuel pump will be fitted in once I finished the first 1000km.


The wide fender. Touch up? Will do once the car is ready to be painted.


From the front. Wide..


How's the duck tail? OK or not?




And finally, the new engine.


So far so good. Super loud, high compression, and to me its powerful. A few minor problem and the car is good. It needs a new battery, a high speed starter and a proper wiring job. Will update from time to time. And its time for me to active in the blog again since I finished the semester already.

Updates?

The engine is colorful. Im808 said more color surprise soon once the car is done.


Engine work, done. Already inside my Bee. Wiring job almost done. Anyway, how's the fitment?


2 more weeks perhaps. Urgh, so excited. Anyway, I'm looking for a paint shop that have good price and good workmanship. Can recommend one? It's time to give Bee a new skin.

Travellin' In Style..

Hahaha. Conclusion that I can made from this pic is.. Flatbed must be cheaper than towing at Ipoh. Maybe? Or is it becoz of the expired road tax? I'd noticed that the rear suspension is lower than front. Oh well, I miss the car so much. Apart from the sad case of breaking up, this is the one that cheer me up for now.

Body Work..

First of all, thanks to Wan DV of Retro Syndicate for the pictures. I'm guessing the car will be ready by another weekend. From this photos, the results is 'less ideal' than what I expected, or maybe I should wait till I pick up the car. Then maybe I can give some comments. Overall, the body job does make my car more 'beaten' looks. I guess its time for me to keep more money for paint job.

The fender had been aligned back and fitted again. Unfortunately the front fender didn't get the flaring job. Tsk tsk. I'll be using the wide flare back I guess.


And the rear fender got the 'wide' concept. Rims & tyres from Din. Thanks to him the car arrived in one piece.


Another rear shots.


The main problem of retro Mazda is water seeping inside the wiper area. Well, I hope this will last for a while.


Hey Ma, no more rusty holes on the far side!


For now.. I keep my comments first.