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Seats & steering column removed
Suspension setups removed from the 3 installed corners.
Just need to pull the pedal assembly, 'dash' electronics & the drivetrain, then I can start on rust remediation.
Bit more progress over the last few days.
Spent a bit of time continuing disassembly on Friday & Saturday.
Friday was a late start & got the diff removed. Proved to be a bit more challenging as there's longitudinal crossmembers that prevented it from dropping straight out, ended up having to rotate & tilt it to get 1 side dropped, then maneuver to get the other side out.
Saturday, got everything removed from the cowl/firewall except the accelerator pedal. Removed the brake/clutch assembly & it's associated M/Cs, and all of the wiring from the dash; removed front brake lines.
All that's left is pulling the engine/trans. Gave some attempt at that on Saturday, but can't separate them far enough to remove them individually. Reattached the trans to the engine & am going to try to lift it as a unit & slide it forward, then re-detach the trans.
As it sits now, the engine is sitting on a crossmember & is flanked on 3 sides by frame rails, so I need to raise it about 2-3 inches to clear those & get it moved forward enough. The trans can only slide about 2" rearward before the bellhousing hits the trans tunnel rails.
Once those are out, I can start rustoration, then it's finishing any remaining welding, followed by frame paint. Then reassembly can commence.
You can just see the cans of light gray primer in the background of the last photo.
Originally thought about black, but have read a lot advise against it, as if you end up with a crack in any welds, you aren't visible. Will probably paint the visible parts of the rollbar black at the end.
I made sure to get a color/brand that's very available, so I don't run the risk of not being able to match.
Plan is to Ospho the frame, then finish all the welding, then paint. So, I've got some time to get a few more cans.
Small victories.
Got the engine/trans shifted forward last night & was able to get the trans pulled. Just need to pull the engine & I can start work on the frame.
Trans was lighter than I expected. I think the diff might be a bit heavier.
Engine should be coming out this afternoon. Last piece of moving backwards
Next up is knocking back the surface rust & coating with Ospho.
Then I need to find a good dye penetrant kit to check all of the welds before painting the frame.
She's down to the bones. For being so small, that 13B is a heavy lump for sure. glad I had a helping hand, otherwise there's no way I'd be getting it out of there.
Will be getting an engine hoist when it's time to reinstall, as the trans will be attached.
Finally done moving backwards.
Gave her a quick hit on the dash cowl with the wire brush this morning. Looking like a lot of the rust is just light on the surface (at least in this area). Lots of work to come.
Got curious & gave the clutch a spin yesterday, engine seems to spin freely. Wondering if there's some hope in possibly being able to rebuild, rather than replace.
Need to acquire an engine stand so I can get it up off the floor & start tearing it down & see how the rotors/housings look. If that all looks decent, I'll see about a rebuild kit & maybe street port :brap:
Will need to make some room on my 'workbench' for all the engine components. Just need to relocate my sliding miter saw to another part of the garage, temporarily.
If you weren't basically in Oklahoma, I'd offer to loan you the engine hoist I've got stashed away in my garage. But the cost in gas to make the hand off is more than you'd be able to get one at Harbor Freight.
But now, since I've posted this on the internets, I get the internet points for making the offer; plus I get some credit for "the thought that counts".
Aaaaand that's enough positivity for the day. Time to go do hoodrat shit with my hoodrat friends.
My coworker lives in Fulshear, so I say he practically lives in San Antonio. Hell of a drive to pretty much IAH for him.
My dad has a hoist, I intend to borrow, but he's up near B/CS, so I'll have to get him to bring it down when I'm ready to start welding (he's got a welder, too) & get it all down here in 1 trip.
If you weren't basically in Oklahoma, I'd offer to loan you the engine hoist I've got stashed away in my garage. But the cost in gas to make the hand off is more than you'd be able to get one at Harbor Freight.
But now, since I've posted this on the internets, I get the internet points for making the offer; plus I get some credit for "the thought that counts".
Aaaaand that's enough positivity for the day. Time to go do hoodrat shit with my hoodrat friends.
Yeah, you can basically fit the state of Connecticut within the bounds of the Houston metro area.
Getting across Houston can take an hour or it can take 3.
At any rate, I won't be in need of a hoist for a while.
A bit of progress this past weekend.
Relocated almost all of the parts to shelving around the garage, added some air to the Hoosiers & stacked them in the corner. Prev owner said the flat tire had broken the bead, but it took air no problem.
Got a Dexter-esque tent set up around the car & started on the surface rust with a wire brush. Got from the front to almost the firewall (except for the bottom of the chassis) in a few hours. Hopefully, a few hours here & there, and I can get through that pretty quickly.
have you considered a media blaster from harbor freight?
Not sure how much aggregate you'd burn through but if you have a Dexter tent setup
and a way to recollect what you shoot, it would be a CHEAP endeavor.
Dexter on the cheap
Tarp/tent only goes to the garage door rails, so uncovered for the top 1-2ft & only wraps about 75% around. Mostly to keep the rest of the garage mostly isolated & cover the water softener on the shared/wall side of the workspace.
Wire brush is getting it done pretty well & I imagine stirring up a bit less mess than a grinder & wire wheel Just trying to clean it up a bit so I can hit it with the Ospho. Not expecting Concours-winning finish, but going for as nice as an amateur can do with what's on hand.
Spawned a Dexter kill room rust tent in the garage, as I start working on hitting the surface rust, to keep at least some of the dust secluded.
Got a lot of the parts stashed away in spare tubs I had lying around as well, easier to get around the car now, without all of that in the way.
Haven't been on AZine in a while. This is amazing man! I can't wait to see the frame coated and things start going back together. That frame is legit too. I wouldn't have expected so much bracing. Such a cool project!
Minor progress this weekend.
Kept at it with the wire brush & shot the front half of the frame with Ospho. Magic acid, that stuff is. Nice matte gray steel, with just a bit of black scale that brushes off fairly easily. Need to get a stiff nylon brush to hit the stubborn bits.
Will be turning it around this afternoon, easier to work from the front of the garage. Hope to get it to the point I can shoot the rear with Ospho this weekend.
Then it's checking the finished welds with a dye penetrant kit to verify they're good, then the frame gets shot with primer.
Minor progress over the weekend.
Got the frame out & a couple dropcloths down. Got the rest of the frame Ospho-ed.
Used the motorcycle lift as a frame dolly, then put it back on jack stands to work on it.
Need to get it flipped over & give the underside a once-over, then a coat of primer & welding can start.
Looking forward to making forward progress.
With the Houston humidity, I figure it'll curtail future rust & we can just grand back the primer on the areas we need to weld & reprimer after the welds cool.
A lot of the frame won't need anything once this round of Ospho is done, so better to get it done now than have to deal with any future surface rust later.
Picked up a HF engine stand over the weekend & got it assembled yesterday.
Need to shim/washer the bolts to get it tight to the stand bracket & get it mounted up so I can start tearing it down. Hoping the insides look better than the outside & it's salvageable.
Also need to coordinate with my dad to his Mig down here & get the welding going on the frame.
Weird/interesting thing about the 13B, you mount it on the side to the front-most rotor plate, instead of where the bell housing mates, so you can 'unstack' the sandwich.
A few companies make adapter plates, but the holes in the stand line up fine, just the weight is a bit off-center, so caution while rotating it.
Debating on either mounting it direct to the stand plate, which would put it a bit high once on the stand, or getting some longer bolts & using the adjustable 'legs' to lower it & get the weight more centered.
Tiny bit of work last night, got the engine up on the motorcycle jack (pictured above with the chassis strapped to it) that I still have lingering in the garage & got it as high as it'll go, until I can get a hand in lifting it up only the engine stand.
Pulled the clutch & now need to source a 54mm socket for the flywheel nut.
Made an attempt at breaking the 54mm nut on the flywheel over the weekend.
Got some assistance & placed the engine on the ground on the driveway & strapped it to the brick post between the garage doors.
Proceeded to put all my weight into the breaker bar & sheared the bit off the swivel.
Husky tool warranty FTW, no questions replacement at HD.
The 54mm socks I have is a 3/4" drive, and I'm using a 3/4 to 1/2 drive adapter. Going to source a 3/4" drive breaker bar & hope the extra will take the torque to break it loose. Mazda svc manual calls for 300-350 ft/lb torque on the nut...
Once I get that loose, the rest of the teardown should go a lot more smoothly.
04-15-2021, 11:33 AM
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Just trying to clean it up a bit so I can hit it with the Ospho. Not expecting Concours-winning finish, but going for as nice as an amateur can do with what's on hand.
You're obviously doing the right thing with teardown and cleaning up the frame first, but I'm most excited to see parts start to go back on the thing.
