1988 GTX Restoration - Going To Be Fun!

[mazkam]

Awesome work.... This takes me back to your gt ultimate suspension upgrade.

You're welcome!!

So I spent this cold wet afternoon, removing old bushings. Respect to Mazda, those old rubber bushings were tough to remove and obviously well made and fitted, even though from the exterior they were a little rough, the rest of the bushing was in good shape and probably had a fair bit of life left in them.

To remove them I started using a socket and an impact, then was taking too long, so cracked out the MAP Gas torch..easy after that.







Ready for powder coating!

[slownrusty]

Everything is looking great, its good to see some work get done on our BFs.

I see your strut bolts are incorrect, the lock washer does not go under the flanged nut, in fact, I don't think its used for the bolts for the struts, only possibly for the lateral and trailing links.




I've had at least one GTX without A/C, and it never came with it. The option lists of the GTXs I've had are pretty weird:
#1 had sunroof, A/C, electric windows, and both wings.
#2 has sunroof, no A/C, manual windows, both wings
#3 had sunroof, A/C, electric windows, and no wings
#4 has sunroof, A/C, manual windows, both wings.

Note that BF GTX sunroofs are terrible rusty things even in dry parts of California!

Thanks for the heads up on the struts bolts..I missed that and also appreciate the support.

Awesome work.... This takes me back to your gt ultimate suspension upgrade.

Thank-you bro, I so appreciate it.

This weekend, I was able to get all my parts back from my powdercoater and everything looks great. I have most of the polyurethane bushings pressed in and will take some pics before re-installation which should be next weekend.

[slownrusty]

I've confirmed that you can still order Genuine CUSCO front and rear strut braces for our cars. They take about 10-12 weeks and come straight from Japan, as there is no stock in the US. I ordered my set in September after speaking with the CUSCO guys at JCCS and they arrived today, the actual order was placed through Vivid Racing (who are one of the larger CUSCO retailers in the US). Part numbers are shown below





Bonus picture pressing in one of the poly urethane bushings in the powder coated rear trailing arms.

[azgtx]

That is a lateral link

[slownrusty]

you're a lateral link

[FE3-323]

^ epic response is epic. LOL

[azgtx]

I do feel that way at times...only missing. I told you that press would be handy. You will get your money back 10 fold with that thing.

[BFMRGTX]

Terry - Do you have the ram horn manifold installed in your car, if so can you please throw-up a pic or two? The problem is the manifold is so wide so everything is pushed towards the radiator and rad. support. Also which turbo are you running?

No, the manifold you have used to be mine which I got from Neukin. When I had it, I was able to keep the A/C and all that but the heat-soak and a few very tight bends at the intake made me sad.

[BFMRGTX]

Also, do you have the bushing p/n's for the rear suspension?

I have a box full of parts, and I've already done the front. I need to remember if I bought BFMR-specific bushes or did I go off the rez and get some from another car, with some wild idea of taking them to work and modifying them.

[slownrusty]

I do feel that way at times...only missing. I told you that press would be handy. You will get your money back 10 fold with that thing.

Thanks for being a good sport..you know I was only funning with you friend.

No, the manifold you have used to be mine which I got from Neukin (Alex Neuman). When I had it, I was able to keep the A/C and all that but the heat-soak and a few very tight bends at the intake made me sad.

Terry - The ram horn manifold in the pictures I bought directly from Neukin back in 2007 when I lived in Colorado Springs, I paid a hefty amount for it and included a downpipe as well. I went back and forth for 4 months with Alex during the build of it.

Also, do you have the bushing p/n's for the rear suspension?

I have a box full of parts, and I've already done the front. I need to remember if I bought BFMR-specific bushes or did I go off the rez and get some from another car, with some wild idea of taking them to work and modifying them.

Part numbers for all the bushings are given on the previous page.

[BFMRGTX]

Terry - The ram horn manifold in the pictures I bought directly from Neukin back in 2007 when I lived in Colorado Springs, I paid a hefty amount for it and included a downpipe as well. I went back and forth for 4 months with Alex during the build of it.

Part numbers for all the bushings are given on the previous page.

Derp! Sorry about that. I mistakenly thought that Craig sold you the manifold; was someone else apparently. Thanks for the info, keep up the good work.

[slownrusty]

Huh...so that damn Craig hoarded the parts? I wish he gave me first crack and the opportunity to buy them. Oh well no hard feelings, I wish him the best of luck, as he's a stand-up guy.

[BFMRGTX]

Huh...so that damn Craig hoarded the parts? I wish he gave me first crack and the opportunity to buy them. Oh well no hard feelings, I wish him the best of luck, as he's a stand-up guy.

I think he went through "selling phases". He sold a lot of things until it became too inconvenient (lazy). I think he still has some unpainted side skirts that he was going to "make fiberglass copies" of, but he decided to turn his focus to other things (lazy).

One of the last times I was hanging out with him, he gave me a box of tune-up parts. I don't think he has anything other than those side skirts and those nice wheels. I'd like to have those wheels, but I am very limited on storage space.

[BFMRGTX]

Oh, thanks for the link. Ordered those and trailing arm bushings. If any of them need to be trimmed to fit, then I'll take them to the machine shop at work.

[slownrusty]

Terry - OK thanks for the clarification on what parts he may still have, I'll reach out to Craig again and see if there is anything else he may have left...you should scoop up those wheels. I can tell he lost interest on the car and was enjoying his 135i

The bushings are easy to trim, so you should be able to do this quite easily at home or at a machine shop.