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Gettin' my 89 GTX goin'

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    Gettin' my 89 GTX goin'

    I Figured I might as well start a work log now that I'm doing some work to my GTX.

    I bought my 89 GTX about 2 years ago, drove it daily for a year, then found out my wife was preggers and then it sat for a year. Now that things are settling down I'm getting back into the GTX.

    History:
    The car was first bought in Milwaukee (I have a copy of the window sticker as proof) then it was sold to a woman in cali who kept very good records of it. She put on millen motorsport wheels that were powdercoated grey to match the lower half of the car. Then the car was sold to a younger kid who hacked in a stereo and destroyed most of the interior body panels. Then the car was sold to a guy in Vermont who did some extensive mods:
    Gallant fron rotors w/ BG pro calipers
    Front GTX rotors out back w/ SVT contour calipers
    SS lines
    fidanza flywheel + ACT clutch
    Mazdaspeed rear LSD
    HKS EBC and corksport tune
    2.5" DP + 3" DP back w/ high flow cat
    Bosch recirculaing valve
    and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting

    Then I bought it and did pretty much just maintence and an E-bay front mount.

    Now I'm tearing it down to fix some rust and bring it back to top condition. Got most of the interior out last night and the floor seems to be in good shape. I think there was a little coolant under the carpet so next out comes the dash to replace the heater core.


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    The passenger fender was rotted off the car but underneath looks like just surface rust.

    Let the sanding and Painting begin!
    Thanks
    Adam

    #2
    Just a quick update. Did the short shifter mod yesterday. It felt like it shortened the throw quite a bit, but I just did a test fit. Also picked up a VJ-11 at my local junk yard with the MX-6 injectors. I plan on doing a hybrid setup and if anybody has some info or a write-up on that and wanted to share it would be appreciated.
    Thanks
    Adam

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      #3
      Got my new carpet in today from Auto Custom Carpets. It looks really nice!
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      I figure its going to take a little finessing to fit since they don't have an option for 4WD but i still have to pull the dash and do the heater core before I can start playing with that. I'm aslo thinking about upholstering the upper part of the dash while it's out. Mine has some pretty good splits in it :/ Anyone ever tried this or know a better way to re finish the dash?

      Also the more I think about it the more I want to just run the VJ-11 as it is. I think I can make a new flange for the DP at work easier than having the hybrid built. Any pros/cons for either set-up?

      Thanks
      Adam

      Comment


        #4
        So I've been reading a lot about the "poor mans paint job" and I figured since I have to do quite a bit of body work anyway... I might as well give it a shot! SO I bought a small can of rustoleum gloss white and some mineral spirits and got rolling (pun intended) I painted the driver front fender white and got some smoke gray for the bottom and after a couple hours of painting and sanding spread out over the last week here are the results.

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        I think it came out good enough to treat the rest of the car. There area couple areas that I probably should have sanded better but live and learn. Also I don't know how I feel about the gray...
        In other news I got a heater core in and have started pulling the dash out. I'm not looking forward to that job but it has to be done.
        More updates as they arrive.
        Thanks
        Adam

        Comment


          #5
          I think the grey looks bad. Might just be the color combo or not seeing it fully done on the whole car yet. Now if it was white with black bottom that would look good imo
          1993 Protege LX-Midnight's shadow SOLD
          1996 Honda CBR600-Wrecked. Damn Honda crippled me
          2002 mazda MPV-family truckster SOLD
          2010 VW routon

          Originally posted by jay
          .....they totally underestimated the number of gearheads such as myself that have families but refuse to grow the hell up and stop playing with cars, or that otherwise see the utility of having 4 doors. Obviously I ain't alone, as there are a helluva lotta sti and evo here. Bueler? Beuler? Mazda? Mazda?

          Comment


            #6
            Yeah, I'm Thinking the gray needs to be much darker. What's on there is just an off the shelf color and I was hoping not to have to mix something myself because I don't want to run out and not be able to recreate it... but I think I'm gunna have to try

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              #7
              Went ahead and mixed a little can of black in with the gray and layed it on the fender.

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              I think its a major improvement, actually almost matches the wheels now

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                #8
                FINALLY got around to pulling the dash, not the funnest project I've done to the car so far. Now all I have to do is find and replace the heater core! Also while the dash is out I want to try to make a custom gauge pod and do a little painting and maybe attempt to upholster it in leather (or something similar) Also also the stereo wiring will need to be redone as well... nothing to it...

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                  #9
                  try not to paint the dash or parts thereof... it always turns out horrid imho

                  the only painted dash ive seen that i liked was a euro dude here on the forums and he color matched parts of the dash to the car color and did a serious job of making it look like a piece of painted metal bodywork rather than painted plastic

                  but upholstered in leather sounds nice!


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                    #10
                    Long time, no update.
                    I have made a couple of minor victories in the past couple months. I installed my new heater core and my dash is nearly done. I plan on starting to install the new carpet this weekend so I can start putting the interior back together. I still need to find an elusive passenger front fender though...
                    I will put up some pics of the dash once its finished up.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Started re-installing the dash over the weekend!

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                      Ignore the fact that the dash is still a little messy, I will tidy that up shortly.
                      I still need to tighten up a couple things, wire up the new stereo and gauges, and install a couple of the vent tubes. Then its on to the new carpet!

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                        #12
                        Got a couple things tidied up today. Rewired the stereo and installed the new head unit. Then I figured I might as well start fitting the new carpet.

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                        The carpet fit... sort of. It will take some working but I think it will sit flat eventually. The car is coming back together slow and steady. I am going to need it back to daily duties in a month so my priority is getting in in one piece while installing the upgrades I already have in the garage. Once its running and driving I will worry about niceing it up a little more.

                        Stay tuned

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