Zenki rescue.

[twchdyn]

Hello folks. Since I broke my civic coupe and got myself a wee mx5 to piss about with ive longed for another turbocharged coupe of some sort. So decided I wanted to find out what all the fuss was about over the s bodied nissans.Plus its cheaper to insure an s14 than it is my mx5 Looked for one for a while, no specific spec as I don't mind getting my hands dirty. Missed out on a couple and then this one came along and I nabbed it. It was cheap so I was expecting nasty surprises and I wasnt dissapointed. It arrived from essex on a trailer. Running, which was a good start. Found a couple of nice parts on it which was a bonus. But oh my god the rot. Guy i bought it from planned to swap a 1jz into it i think, then missile it. He had 3 soarers up for sale too! Anyways i rescued it.



So Nice bits are

3" invidia catback

high flow cat

3" downpipe

Tubular manifold

Unknown turbo, havent got it out yet to see but the previous owner said it was non standard. I have a t28 ready to drop in if its an ebay piece of turd.

Front mount intercooler. which I put straight in the bin. god knows where it came from but it was shit. held in with cable ties and was shit. Did I mention it was shit?

Stock interior in reasonable condition for a 20 year old car

Bodykit, back bumper is ok sideskirts are straight out of max power. in the bin thankyou.



Bad bits



Rust in the boot. rust underneath rust where the sideskirts join on, both jacking points none existant, some rust on the rear chassis legs. other bits and shits

Gay wheels

ropey fuel line replacement.

Brake lines cack.



My plans are to build a comfortable monster. So full interior etc with all mod cons. Possibly a cage. Fix all the rot, stonechip and underseal. Rebuild and refurb all the suspension with uprated arms and bushes. Internal brake lines. Coilovers etc. Probably an r32 rear brake swap, fronts im not sure yet.



Power wise I want to be in the region of 400hp how I will get there I don't really know yet. Possibly an rb20 swap maybe a 1jz plenty of time to decide. I will run the sr for now up the boost and see how I like it.



Externally, There will be some changes. I want the car to be more grip focused. Im thinking low, splitter and diffuser and some underbody work to help smooth things out and gain a little downforce. A factory tuned look.



After taking the car out for a wee test I realised what the fuss was about. After the mx5 it was so easy to hang the arse out and just keep sliding then catch grip and fly out of a corner. im hooked.



But I will have to wait a while before driving again. Because shit got serious.



Rear subframe and fuel tank out and started chopping out the crap to see what I was left with. Holes lots of holes. Started patching up the easy ones and having a think about the chassis leg repair. Wire brushing out all the surface rust and cleaning. Working back to front. Giving everything a good coat of zinc primer as I go.

Whats a jacking point?





So with everything out of the way i began the excision of the car cancer. A few evenings later i had this.






Chassis leg was rebuilt with 2mm steel. Internal strentheners and all. Not just patched over to carry on rotting. Some of the pics above show the internal repairs befor everything was boxed in. Everything was cleaned with the knot wheel in my trusty old grinder then given a liberal coating of red oxide primer. Also coated the inside of the sill and arch. All the bits i fabricated were primered before welding, then after i finished i got the schutz gun and sprayed the inside of any closed areas with the probe.

Thats the drivers side all done, same idea on the passenger side then re seal all the seams, paint and stonechip. Probly add some waxoyl on the more exposed parts. Oh and clear waxoyl inside panels and box sections.

[Neelie]

jesus you took on some task there! fair play serious kudos there!
the only way to do this is defo bit by bit, section by section and just work on it. defo dont give up or panic!
the reward for the hard work will be priceless.

[nismo]

Great work, another s body saved from the scrap heap. Are you dynax'ing them chassis rails?

[mikx]

nice work. glad more people start rescuing those little zenkis!

[Chriscooke]

Good work sir!

[twchdyn]

jesus you took on some task there! fair play serious kudos there!
the only way to do this is defo bit by bit, section by section and just work on it. defo dont give up or panic!
the reward for the hard work will be priceless.

Indeed, break everything down and work component by component. Then its lots of little jobs and not a huge task.

Great work, another s body saved from the scrap heap. Are you dynax'ing them chassis rails?

Never heard of dynax, looked it up now. Might give it a try. I was planning on using clear waxoyl with a schutz gun and a probe, but ive seen bilt hamber stuff getting good reviews. Have you used it?

Its odd how the rust has only attacked the rails. sills i can understand they always get it. Maybe because thers so many things bolted to the rails and they dont look like they have a great deal of drainage.

[nessie]

nice to see a zenki saved but my god that rust :O

gonna keep an eye on that one, fair play to ya for putting all the work in

[twchdyn]

nice to see a zenki saved but my god that rust :O

gonna keep an eye on that one, fair play to ya for putting all the work in

The rest of it was in great nick so it seemed worth saving. Aside from where the sideskirts were stuck on with filler the bodywork is pretty good. Im lucky with working at an engineering firm, i can scrounge bits of sheet and stock no problem.

[nismo]

Indeed, break everything down and work component by component. Then its lots of little jobs and not a huge task.



Never heard of dynax, looked it up now. Might give it a try. I was planning on using clear waxoyl with a schutz gun and a probe, but ive seen bilt hamber stuff getting good reviews. Have you used it?

Its odd how the rust has only attacked the rails. sills i can understand they always get it. Maybe because thers so many things bolted to the rails and they dont look like they have a great deal of drainage.

Petrol on here did a test between dynax and waxoyl. Dynax is way better no comparison, I used it on my car.

[green_rs13]

is that a brick on the end of the bottle jack? and a length of box section as an axle stand..

[twchdyn]

Lump of wood to stop the bottle jack damaging anything. The box section was popped into place after id finished working and lowerd it back down. Stands were too short with the subframe out and no jacking point.

[twchdyn]

Been fitting my new kitchen for the last couple of weekends. Pants trying to fit stuff round work but its done now, so i can progress with this at last.

Tonight passenger side choppy choppy time.

[twchdyn]

No pics guys but shes solid again. Both chassis legs fixed. Passenger side was worse than the other, but its sorted now. The passenger sill is still open but was in much better shape than the drivers side. The internal strengtheners were pretty solid only needed to chop away the very bottom.

Moonwheel......... im trying to lay my hands on a gazeebo to keep the rain off, im sick of working outside.

Stock rear lights are on the way. Made a pair of stainless tank straps. Subframe bracing bits are shotblasted, braced and dipped. Need to get a move on with the rest of the subframe so it can go back in.

[GWtaylor]

Subscribed

[twchdyn]

Loads more done here, now that the weather has started to get a bit milder.

Quick list

New fuel lines
Internal brake lines
Subframe reconditioned
locking collars
adjustable rear toe arms
Kouki rear lights
Fixed the rust caused by the gay sideskirts and piles of filler.
Got rid of diff cooler
Interior is empty at the mo to tidy evrything up.
Seats cleaned and stored till its ready
Carpet jetwashed and sprayed black, looks a million times better.
Ariel gone
Floor pan holes in the rear corners fixed.
Full underseal with tetrosyl and schutz gun.
Tank and filler cleaned up and refurbed.

Made a start on the front end too. Stripped down to bare block and cleaned. sealed the front arches.

The restoration side of things is almost over. Then its fun stuff.

Il take some pics when its worth looking at.

[Trial_S15]

Subscribed

x2 inspirational work so far, will probably be on to you with questions at some point

[nessie]

now that is a lot of stuff being done!
any more pics of it as well?

[twchdyn]

Little more progress to log. Still no pics tho.

Motors out to replace crank seals, water pump and have a good ol tarting up.

Started working on the bay and front arches.
All front suspension is off, shot blasted and undercoated ready for some reinforcement and finishing.
Brakes are stripped down shot blasted and ready to rebuild.
Discs skimmed by one of our turners in work.
Bay is chopped up ready for fixing in the usual spots, battery tray and strut tower front.
Abs removed

off work for a whole week from the 1st so hopefully can get things back in one piece.

[nessie]

some work to do alright!

when do you think she will be all good to go again?

[twchdyn]

Lots happened here.

firstly i moved house. i now have a big fat garage. my lathe and mill out of storage, a pit and loads more space to work. just getting everything sorted out.


Also. Motor needs rebuilding, big ends are fooked. so its on the stand getting sorted. gonna fit forged rods too. Intercooler is on its way. Set of brand spanking hsds sat in the garage too. Bay is now welded up and white. New track rods and ends etc bla bla.

Hopefully going to be running in a couple of months, just need to keep on it.