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Part Collecting (Still) + Interior Progress


benzintinte

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I realize that it has been quiet lately. Progress has been pretty slow on the car, mainly because I've been swamped with school. I have also been waiting for my fabricator to clear some space in his garage to tackle the projects I have coming up. However parts have been steadily trickling in, and I'm hoping to get cracking in the next few weeks. As always, maybe the next post will be more eventful, but here's what I have for you now. 

 

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I purchased a right rear shock tower from Restoration Design. After some probing, it looks like this is the only full piece that needs to be replaced in the rear. The rest can be safely patched. At least that's the hope, as with any rust there is always more than you think. So I may be ordering even more sheet metal here shortly if things go wrong. But regardless, this is in and will be grafted into the car soon.

 

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I also noted that I have been having cooling issues. Well, this should solve that. I purchased a Scirocco style radiator from JEGS that has a considerably thicker core. It has about the same dimensions as the current radiator otherwise, but there will be some minor duct work, a considerably larger/more powerful fan, and obviously the added... girth. I also picked up a Mishimoto oil cooler, as well as the stock E30 325is oil filter housing/cooler lines. This is more of an insurance policy, but I figure this car needs all the help it can get. After speaking to @tonytony002, he gave me some valuable advice on how to properly cool the M20 down. I'll be running a 13 inch pusher fan, a lower temperature thermostat, and the fan will be triggered at the thermostat housing. That should do the trick. 

This will all be tied into a new tube front end. 2002s require bracing up front when they are cut for M20 swaps. This was never done, so the car lacks some structural rigidity. The new tube front end will add the rigidity back in, as well as give cleaner mounting points for the radiator and oil cooler. 

 

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Finally, some damage report. I had an RS hex cap fly off on the freeway the other day. Somehow, beyond all human understanding, the waffle stuck on the wheel for 30 miles. I also had the passenger side knee trim fall off. I still have the trim, but it looks like the clips are just old and failed. So I have to order some new clips to get that on now. Neither of these are huge deals, but it's a bummer to have the car suddenly look so shabby. The above is the last known photo of that hex cap, before it peaced out. 

 

There has been some interior progress as well. Keep in mind, things get worse before they get better... I think. So far mostly everyone has not liked this choice at all. I'm certainly not expecting anyone here to like this decision either, but bare with me. I do have my reasons. I dyed my rear seats over the weekend. You may remember that they were this very odd green/brown combination. Let me start by stressing, this was not factory. Someone redid these seats at some point during the car's lifetime. They also never intended to rock the green vinyl, I'm not 100% sure what the story was but there are obvious signs that they used the green vinyl to reupholster the seat and then dyed it a matching saddle brown. Areas that did not get direct sunlight still had some of the brown dye showing. 

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Highlighted there you can see traces of brown dye, faded out over the years.

 

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A lot of people moaned that this was "very 70s" and I should have kept it. It is also "very ugly".

 

In order to dye the rear bench, I did some research and discovered SEM marine vinyl dye would do the trick. I have found other 2002 owners who have done this with great results, and I figured if it's good enough to restore seats on a boat, it's good enough for a non-functional rear seat in a 2002. This is not spray paint, but specific product for this purpose. I do have to stress that the back seat in my 2002 will never have passengers. It's purely for aesthetics at this point, I have the seat belts tucked under the seat and any weight over the rear like that would likely cause the car to rub. There is also a chance the back seat will be removed entirely in the future, but more on that later. 

 

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Bad picture, but the vinyl prep was key in all this as well. Cleaned and softened the vinyl for dye.

 

I love the results. It actually needs another coat, but I ran out of dye before I could finish. It should be in today, so I'll be giving the whole rear bench another coat and that will finish off any light spots. The black doesn't rub off when you touch it, and shows very nicely. 

 

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You can see some light spots that need touch up here.

 

I hate preemptively defending my decision on this, but I have gotten a lot of shit for doing this. For some reason, a lot of people loved the green and brown. I really felt like I was sitting in a circus tent, and it was by far my least favorite part of the interior. Sahara Beige has grown on me quite a bit, but no amount of time would help me come to terms with the baby poop green rear seat. The next big step will be to replace the red carpet (which is actually much grosser then it looks) with a black carpet. I like black interiors, and that will drastically help my level of happiness when driving the car. Sounds stupid, but it is what it is. The black and red coco mats can stay though. 

This leads me into part two of where I will likely catch more shit. Bare with me, I promise I'm not going crazy, there is a method to my madness. I purchased another driver's seat. I love the period correct look and feel of the Recaros I have, and I intend to have them reupholstered. Both of them. However I also need to refoam, and repair the drivers seat. In the meantime, I wanted to try a more canyon carving friendly approach. 

I purchased a Car Make Corn's bucket seat, something normally intended for a Miata, and I intend to put it in the driver's position. I chose this particular seat for a few reasons. I love the Car Make Corn's shop in Japan, it's such a cool place in general, and they put out some quality products. I contacted Kadin from CMC USA and he helped me source this seat. I actually picked it up at this year's JCCS, pulling it from a car he sponsors. I also find the seat to be incredibly comfortable. I have a really bad lower back, and for whatever reason the CMC seat just fits me right. 

This is just something I am experimenting with, the Recaros will make another appearance in the future when they are all reupholstered and ready to go in. 

 

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The seat in the Miata I removed it from at JCCS. Nothing like driving from Phoenix to Long Beach and back to Phoenix in the same day, just to buy a seat!

 

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This gives you a very vague idea of how it might look in my 2002. Obviously pre-bench dye.

 

So there it is. A bucket seat so I don't flop around in the car, and a black rear bench. I'm looking at carpeting options right now, but I'll be pulling and trashing the red carpet soon. I'll be talking to another shop about the trunk rust repair this week, and hopefully getting the ball rolling on that soon. After that, suspension refresh, cooling system refresh and so on. Bare with me, because I know not all of these are popular decisions, buuuuut I promise I haven't lost sight of the end goal. Dying the rear seat and the CMC bucket are stop gaps, things to make me more comfortable and happy in the short term, while the long term plans flesh out. This is a bit of a low point after that video, but it'll all come together.

 

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