virant

So, it's been awhile. Decided to start a new build thread in hopes of holding myself accountable for continued updates. Since the last time I was posting on my previous build thread...

Sent car to Curly and AR. Found out engine was blown in the first couple hundred miles by crap work/tune by the previous shop. Curly did wonders on fixing lots of problems in the car. Moved to the Netherlands, got the car shipped over. Tried to register, but ran into various problems. Decided there was only one possible answer: Get an already imported North American NA that is largely exempt from the requirements for an imported car, swap in all NB interior/electronics/drivetrain with the NA exterior.

Stripped out everything of the NB that I wanted, got a shop to cart off the carcass. Started to strip the NA, but then discovered more things I didn't like. Chatted with Curly, decided to replace everything with a modernized ignition/wire in Link ECU/more that I'll address in time.

Begun to strip the NA chassis, found rust:



But then, as I started to dig into it, I started finding rust everywhere, and even worse, I gave a slight tug to a brakeline and it immediately broke. Red alert!


So, that leads us to current day, where I decided there is only one possible solution. Strip everything, unintentionally shave the engine bay, and restart from scratch. After a massive round of completely stripping the interior and steam cleaning all the nasties, I've ground out the rust and replaced most of the questionable areas with POR15 (Pardon the mess, but the mess isn't important, POR15ing all of the rusty areas is). I've got one spot still to get:


Spent a couple days removing everything in the engine bay and angle grinding. I'm going to be hitting it harder throughout this week, in the end, I'm going to be doing a complete engine bay shave with a full custom from-scratch wiring situation because I can't stand how crap the harness and wiring is. Eagle eyed viewers will see still more rust in the picture.


So, what am I doing right now? From the previous picture, by the end of the week, I hope to have the entire engine bay shaved and POR15'd + enamel painted. I am currently considering the idea of stripping the entire undercarriage, as I ended up removing a large chunk of the undercarriage protection from steam cleaning when I tried to remove the gunk. Powerwashing is ineffective against the gunk. If I do, I'll POR15 the whole undercarriage and then use por's rubberized undercoating. I know, undercoating is supposed to be bad on Miata's...but not when it's going on top of properly applied POR15. That stuff is damn near invincible on the undercarriage from previous experience with Miata's.

Fireindc

iTrader: (13)

As a man currently fighting a rust battle on a feral FD rx7, I've got some insight and ideas.

In the last few months I've spent way too much time reading about rust eaters, converters, and inhibitors. I think the only downside I read about por15 is that it has a tendency to peel off if applied to anything other than rust/raw metal - but the way you are applying it looks right. Just over the rusted and raw metal areas.

I went with a combo of wire wheel (on a angle grinder mostly, some drill in harder to reach areas) Ospho converter (just an acid that turns the rust black / converts it), and raptor liner corrosion inhibiting primer / raptor liner for the undercoat.

The raptor liner is super hard and durable stuff, I'd personally stay away from any rubberized undercoating that's often what causes the corrosion. Raptorliner scored VERY high in a lot of the corrosion resistance comparison / test videos I watched
Personally after using it it's tough stuff, you can't scratch it even if you tried with a screwdriver, and adheres VERY well (no peelage). And when used with their primer lasted longer than almost anything else in their corrosion bath test.

Also equally important is that you use some kind of corrosion inhibitors in the cavities. I went with a lanolin based water wicking solution with fluid film and their fogging 360* nozzle to fill all the frame rails, cavities, and other areas I couldn't get to to wire wheel and properly seal with primer and raptorliner. These penetrating oils wick all water away, and keep moisture and air from reaching the metal which basically stops any rust happening inside the rails/cavities in its tracks. Inside a cavity the stuff should last basically forever, but on my FD I'll probably re apply every 5 years or something (even though I live in the desert).

Keep us posted! The car doesn't look that bad so you can definitely save it. Just cut out all the bad rust spots and treat the rest.

virant

Read through your thread, @Fireindc , and for what it's worth, I'd buy that FD in a heartbeat.

Regarding Por15, it's key to understanding how it works. Think of it like a glue, and it requires sufficient "grip" to properly cure. Most people aren't willing to really scratch up a painted surface to get to a point where Por15 can properly cure. Regarding what my plan of attack is, I'll be doing something similar to you. I decided earlier today to go with POR15 + Engine Enamel'ing the entire engine bay. The entire undercoated area, including the arms, will be getting Por15 + Por15 BedLiner. In the wheel wells where it matters, I'll be spraying some Por undercoating on top of the bed liner for extra protection. There will be no impact with the rubberized undercoating at that point.

Could you throw me a link to that lanolin product? I'd be interested in getting some just for ease of mind. One thing I dislike about these cars is how hard it is to deal with the cavities. I'm debating buying a welder and going wild with this car, but it's been many years since I welded last. However, I am extremely confident that if I get to that point where I buy a welder and start opening up cavities, properly applied Por15+Bed Liner will last the lifetime of the car.

Fireindc

iTrader: (13)

I'm using fluid film with the applicator wand:
You can drill a small hole, feed the wand in, spray the area, and pull it out and plug the hole if access is a problem. I did a lot of research and settled on this method, as even using a paint or converter in the cavities might not stop the rust. The penetrating oil "creeps" and spreads into the cracks, even will creep upwards (against gravity), so once you flood your frame rails with this stuff you should be good.

I agree about the por15, and it looks like you are using it correctly. I haven't looked at their bedline product but it sounds pretty similar to the rapor liner primer + bedliner I'm using, and that **** is bulletproof.

virant

Thanks for the tip! Picked some up for myself, it certainly seems like it will do what I want with the cavities without having to go crazy.