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Thread: for those looking for a REPU
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wankel_dreams
Redlining
Posts: 293
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posted April 14, 2003 05:58 PM |
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Klaus43
Rotorhead
Posts: 1259
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posted April 15, 2003 03:09 PM |
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2 grand for a motorless automatic?!?
It'd better be sweet!
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rotormunky
Redlining
Orlando, Florida
Posts: 424
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posted April 16, 2003 06:13 AM |
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quote:
It'd better be sweet!
No kidding, but prices will only go up. We'll be paying that much just for beds in 10 years :(
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-Martin
Orlando, Florida
http://www.themonkeyhouse.org/REPU
'77 REPU (Some assembly required :)
'91 Cabrio (Battered and bruised, but she's still my baby.)
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Klaus43
Rotorhead
Posts: 1259
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posted April 16, 2003 07:24 AM |
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How much you offering
for a bed this year?
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rotormunky
Redlining
Orlando, Florida
Posts: 424
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posted April 16, 2003 08:28 AM |
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quote:
for a bed this year?
LOL. If its close to FL and for a '77 you might be surprised :)
Beats fixing one up.
Take a look at what I'm doing right now:
http://themonkeyhouse.org/rotaria/pix/Bed_Off/index.htm
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-Martin
Orlando, Florida
http://www.themonkeyhouse.org/REPU
'77 REPU (Some assembly required :)
'91 Cabrio (Battered and bruised, but she's still my baby.)
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brad
Rotorhead
Posts: 1672
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posted April 16, 2003 10:34 AM |
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I thought my truck had a lot of rust!
my truck spent most of it's life in santa cruz and san francisco, notoriously foggy salt air windy cities....
boy martin, got your work cut out for you!
Best of luck with the project. Lots of accomplishment to be had there.
I found POR-15's Metal Ready to be a great rust neutralizer to spray on after grinding rust off. It's a spray. Then wipe with lacquor thinner then primer.
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-brad-
74 REPU Lawn Green
81 Rx-7 racecar. 12a J-
Bridge
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Klaus43
Rotorhead
Posts: 1259
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posted April 17, 2003 08:46 AM |
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After looking at your pics, Martin,
I'd say you didn't get such a bad deal! Sure, the cost of shipping sucks, but for how relatively straight and complete your truck is, $200 was a bargain. Not having seen your lack of floorboards, I'd even go so far as to say the bed's not in bad shape, either...for what I've seen. Sure it's a lot of work--but so would be any other bed you could get your hands on. Oh yeah--you can still order the filler neck gasket from Japan...just go armed with your VIN #! Ask your friendly Mazda parts god Craig, if not one local to you... Your project's lookin' good, Martin. Way ahead of me on the restoration!
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rotormunky
Redlining
Orlando, Florida
Posts: 424
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posted April 17, 2003 01:52 PM |
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THanks for the tip brad, POR-15 definitely in my arsensal. The bottom is mostly surface rust. The enclosed channel reenforcment crossbrace is what I'm worried about. I'm probably going to have to drill ~1" holes every 8-10" to flush osphoric acid and/or POR-15 rust neutraliser through.
Last thing I want to do is go through all this trouble only to have some undiscovered bit of rust reinfect the whole truck.
The other things are those holes you see in the body. I'll be grinding around those and preparing the metal for glassing. The biggest problem is getting the time since the truck's about a four hour drive away :)
You're right tho Klaus, I'm absolutely ecstatic with the condition of the truck. I like to joke a little but I have every piece of trim, all the orginal AC components, and my radiator is even in awesome shape. And that dash is pristine. I'm thrilled really. I almost giggle everytime I get to work on it.
Its going to be an awesome experience. I'll have more pics to post after memorial day.
Also I just bought a '77 mazda wiring diagram and a '76 mazda workshop manual. I'm going to be scanning them into pdf format likt the exchange book on my page when I get a little time. Its 200-300 pages though so its going to be a little while.
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-Martin
Orlando, Florida
http://www.themonkeyhouse.org/REPU
'77 REPU (Some assembly required :)
'91 Cabrio (Battered and bruised, but she's still my baby.)
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rotormunky
Redlining
Orlando, Florida
Posts: 424
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posted April 17, 2003 01:56 PM |
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Actually Craig just sold me a filler neck gasket AND a new ignition switch with keys.
Wh00p!
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-Martin
Orlando, Florida
http://www.themonkeyhouse.org/REPU
'77 REPU (Some assembly required :)
'91 Cabrio (Battered and bruised, but she's still my baby.)
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brad
Rotorhead
Posts: 1672
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posted April 17, 2003 05:49 PM |
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quote:
The enclosed channel reenforcment crossbrace is what I'm worried about. I'm probably going to have to drill ~1" holes every 8-10" to flush osphoric acid and/or POR-15 rust neutraliser through.
Plug one end of the crossbrace with duct tape. Tilt bed so duct tape end is down, other end up. Just pour Metal Ready down there and let it simmer 30 minutes. Pour used MR out into an oil drain pan. Filter it thru an old t-shirt. Flush channel with H20. Reuse MR again and again until no more rust@!
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-brad-
74 REPU Lawn Green
81 Rx-7 racecar. 12a J-
Bridge
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rotormunky
Redlining
Orlando, Florida
Posts: 424
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posted April 17, 2003 10:31 PM |
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quote:
Plug one end of the crossbrace with duct tape. Tilt bed so duct tape end is down, other end up. Just pour Metal Ready down there and let it simmer 30 minutes. Pour used MR out into an oil drain pan. Filter it thru an old t-shirt. Flush channel with H20. Reuse MR again and again until no more rust@!
Holy crap Brad, that's a great idea. I feel awful stupid for not thinking about it before, but I'll look like a fool in exchange for ideas that work any day :)
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-Martin
Orlando, Florida
http://www.themonkeyhouse.org/REPU
'77 REPU (Some assembly required :)
'91 Cabrio (Battered and bruised, but she's still my baby.)
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Klaus43
Rotorhead
Posts: 1259
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posted April 18, 2003 10:30 AM |
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The salt-air FLA re-rust factor notwithstanding...
Whaddaya guys think about the commercially-available acid-tank or soda-blast stripping services? Sure, these would require a very careful after-cleaning, especially in certain crevices, but seems to me would be a big time-saver... Zinc plating, or some other anti-rust treatment beyond what you're already doing also comes to mind... Any of these more practical than just being ideas? Also, for 'ultimate' durability, what about 'alternative' finishes, like that red 'aircraft'-painted REPU that was for sale on thecollectorcartrader...? I mean, I 'd love to go with the stock Mazda green, for example, but the original paint's durability could stand improvement...
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nwaco
Redlining
Posts: 407
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posted April 18, 2003 06:43 PM |
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They are a great if....
Time and money was or is not an issue for one. Being in the "Aircraft corrosion prevention" business and having a bit of experience on this subject, I would never subject my truck to such a "brutal and indiscriminate method of treatment. I would prefer a gentle bead blasting at worst. Many people misunderstand that the initial factory protection that is in good condition is better left intact and covered with a subsequent layer of protection than removed and chances taken with a poorly applied or improperly selected method.
I believe a "zinc" dip would be just plain impracticle for all but the most elaborate reconstruction. As for "aircraft painted" vehicles, most all aircraft finishes are polyurethanes or high quality two-part epoxy enamels. They are readily available to all with fairly deep pockets, but that is also true with many automotive finishes as well. Due to environmental (read in VOC compliance issues) and disposal regulations the cost of any high quality paint is painful to the wallet. I suggest just treat the bad areas and get some decent quality paint system on it to protect it. I don't like thick or "rubberized" coatings as the mask developing problem areas from inspection until it is way too late. I want to see the texture of the underlying metal to spot problems.
With that said, the best method of protecting these trucks is disassembly and or restoration, treatment, protection, and maintenance. They should be kept clean throughout inside and out and allowed to drain dry when wet, kept indoors when not in use, and treated with a very good corrosion protection such as Dinitrol Dinol or Corban. Heavy dirt should never be allowed to build up, and the underside should be frequently and thourally flushed with clean warm water.
But even with that, they will not last forever....
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rotormunky
Redlining
Orlando, Florida
Posts: 424
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posted April 20, 2003 10:08 PM |
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quote:
But even with that, they will not last forever....
::Plugging Ears:: I caaaan't heeeaarrrr yoouuuu.... LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA . . .
:)
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-Martin
Orlando, Florida
http://www.themonkeyhouse.org/REPU
'77 REPU (Some assembly required :)
'91 Cabrio (Battered and bruised, but she's still my baby.)
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Klaus43
Rotorhead
Posts: 1259
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posted April 21, 2003 09:34 AM |
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How many gallons/ pounds...
...of liquid acrylic (or similar) resin would it take to make a giant 'REPU Paperweight' type of encasement? You could park such a sealed shrine on top of your grave someday...it might not last forever, but hey, it'd sure stand out in a crowd for a good long while!
Just remember, even the oil companies agree we'll be running out in about 30 years or so... Recommended reading: 'The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight' by Thom Hartmann... How much you think a gallon'll go for, before it's all gone? Where's my hydrogen-fueled REPU???
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brad
Rotorhead
Posts: 1672
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posted April 21, 2003 06:31 PM |
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quote:
Where's my hydrogen-fueled REPU???
Parked in the driveway awaiting a hydrogen fuel system!
A couple of hydrogen tanks under the bed, new high pressure fuel lines, lots of carb tweaking...........
Been done! Rotary Engineering used to offer a hydrogen turbo convertion kit. One was for sale in a 1st gen up in NorCal a year or two ago. Including a crispy engine bay. Guy who did the work did a chop job, rolling death trap with the two hydrogen takns IN THE TRUNK!
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-brad-
74 REPU Lawn Green
81 Rx-7 racecar. 12a J-
Bridge
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Klaus43
Rotorhead
Posts: 1259
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posted April 22, 2003 08:59 AM |
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I know it's been done...
...but I want it done right! Including not relying on massive amounts of otherwise-made electricity to make the hydrogen... Check out powerballtechnologies.com They've got a relatively safe concept... Carb. tweaking? I'd hazard a guess an injection system would be far preferable for a pressurised gas...
I want to see the post-petroleum age REPU: renesis rotary power, running sustainably-produced hyrogen, lubricated by castor bean oil--(like some 2-stroke dirt bikes used to be)!
I want exhaust we can breathe...and performance we can be proud of.
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admin
Administrator
Posts: 446
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posted April 22, 2003 09:16 AM |
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Oil from BLOOD!
Actually, there may not be a need to go to hydrogen... we just have to find a way to stop digging and burning fossil fuels. The whole reason for global warming is the Carbon stores below ground are being moved above ground, and into the air via burning the oil, coal, etc... If there was a way to have a near closed loop system, IE, no carbon being re-introduced into the atmosphere (after it has been stored below ground), the issue of global warming should go away.
http://www.discover.com/may_03/gthere.html?article=featoil.html
Blood for OIL! Litterally... looks like this company has discovered a process that takes waste, like turkey blood and guts, sends it through a system of pressure chambers, expansion, heat, etc... and out comes gas, oil, and solid wastes that can be used in industrial apps.
If this system isn't a hoax, and is actually the real deal, we can keep our REPU's, gas/oil powered, and have gas at 80cents a gallon again... while not introducing any CO2 or CO into the ecosystem that isn't already there.
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I'm The Admin, thats why!
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brad
Rotorhead
Posts: 1672
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posted April 22, 2003 04:53 PM |
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quote:
...
I want to see the post-petroleum age REPU: renesis rotary power, running sustainably-produced hyrogen, lubricated by castor bean oil--(like some 2-stroke dirt bikes used to be)!
I want exhaust we can breathe...and performance we can be proud of.
The enviornmentalists would love this. Unfortunately making a combustion engine tree and ozone friendly and have balls costs a lot of $ that mass customers don't want to spend up front. We're in a recession today. And if customer base is low, what's the use of spending thousands on R&D? Just looking at it from a business point of view; I work for a fortune 500 company and all we hear lately is 'cost containment' and 'productivity'....
Remember when people were converting their cars to battery power? Supposed to be the New Age Rage. How many of those cars are still humming, and where are the companies that converted them? We just got reasonably priced hybrids - Honda and Toyota, but boy, I wouldn't want to work on that frankenstein mess and repair bills for electric motor parts are not cheap.... Sure, they get a $2000 tax credit and 50mpg, but repairs.... and limited selection.... resale value????
Hydrogen powered rotary reality? I'd really like to see one. 10 years?
Propane rotaries has already been done! Why didn't that take off?
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-brad-
74 REPU Lawn Green
81 Rx-7 racecar. 12a J-
Bridge
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rotormunky
Redlining
Orlando, Florida
Posts: 424
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posted April 22, 2003 10:27 PM |
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Aren't there Hondas and Toyota's getting 40+ MPG out of regular piston engines? Going to hybrid seems like a huge pain in the ass for the extra 8MPG.
Your right about those electrical motor parts. There was an FD electric-conversion on Ebay that listed all that was done to it and it was mighty pricey. Plus the batteries do just wear out after a while and it was insane how much the rack of them cost. Plus I couldn't imagine the accelerated lifespan in hotter climates like FL where I can't keep a car battery for more than 3 years.
Did you see that REPU electric-conversion from a while ago? If you search the archives you should find it. What a total waste. Couldn't have used a Courier, nooooo.... :)
Also, does anyone know why alchohol isn't used more as an everyday fuel? Its used in race applications right? Or is that a mix of some sort? My understanding is that alchohol can be synthetically produced, but that's about the extent of what I've heard about it.
Anyone here know more about alchohol?
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-Martin
Orlando, Florida
http://www.themonkeyhouse.org/REPU
'77 REPU (Some assembly required :)
'91 Cabrio (Battered and bruised, but she's still my baby.)
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