well i was thinking because the door panel isn't flat and i can't mount it straight on an angle i could make a flat mounting surface for where the top of the speaker is currently with some fibreglass, sand it down and wrap the door like i was planning to do anyways. I wuold then start making my retensioner bracket for behind the door, a metal ring for the screws to go in mounted on a painted piece of MDF and put that behind the door panel and keep the speaker infront of the panel and just stuff a long bolt through and use some 8 or 10mm bolts to keep it in place nicely. I think it would look clean and would sound pretty decent and being mounted on the door card would allow me to make a decent acoustic cucoon in the hole where the speaker would normally be mounted so the sound isn't actually going into the body of the door. I was also maybe thinking i would use some dynamat on the door cards and the door skin to give me a better sound aswell.

So i finally decided to get stuck into the drivers door window regulator.... I got it done however it was a huge PITA.

F**k you window!

http://i.imgur.com/qOxIsokl.jpg

^ The old regulator

http://i.imgur.com/KmGXcGGl.jpg

^ The new regulator installed

Window still needs a little ajustment as it catches on the seal when you close the door with the window all the way up but i will leave that job for tomorrow, i really can't be assed adjusting it today.

So it seems as if my clutch has started slipping quite badly, so much so that it probably needs doing in the next week or two. Was wondering what people would recommend as a replacement clutch considering i have $200-$300 to play with at best. I was looking on ebay and saw this; not sure if it's what i want though...

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/EXEDY-CLU...ht_1519wt_1271

Go heavy duty for the same price:-

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/RPM-Clutc...item27cfb7e87f

Thats what i was thinking (couldn't find a exedy heavy duty one on there for a 1.8 BP). It's gonna be a mega pain to replace but im extremely lucky i've made a good friend on AGT to help me with it.

I have to do mine soon also. Got a rear crank seal leak.

Yay more work. Need the practise. My trade souvenir is free left over bolts for keepsakes

Mini update: a little news, my car is currently undrivable as my clutch is virtually completely gone, it will likely struggle to get up the ramps of a trailer on its own steam :( fortunately i may have found a work-space and a few friends have offered to help me fit a new clutch and a few other items over a weekend.

Whilst out with friends today i was also in a car crash... some idiot run a red and hit us (lucky for him he was insured) so unfortunately my friends rav is no more :(

in other news i was bored most of the day and finally got to tinting my tail lights. I only did 2 coats as i don't want trouble from the police and i put a clear coat on to protect it. I think it came out rather well and goes with the black on red theme i'm going for. heres a few pics.

http://i.imgur.com/epc7Q7Ol.jpg

first coat


http://i.imgur.com/4ytf1Kdl.jpg

first light done, cleared and drying!



http://i.imgur.com/xIP5fOvl.jpg

rear garnish finished and drying after nightshade, clear was still waiting to go on.


http://i.imgur.com/aVzFffzl.jpg

finished the rear garnish, waiting for the clear to dry

http://i.imgur.com/TLPvGcXl.jpg

Re-fitted the mazda badge as i wanted to go for an OEM look, decided against re-fitting the other badges however im still tossing up whether or not to cut the "323 Astina" badge so it says "Astina" and fit that in its place.


http://i.imgur.com/Wsh6y0bl.jpg

another angle


http://i.imgur.com/jzVlYeDl.jpg

re-fitted to the car

http://i.imgur.com/CkysDJLl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/dhuhkFHl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/nf2zsXPl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/07vFZIvl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/t36xHUYl.jpg

Overall i think it came out rather well, alot of light still gets through it so i doubt i'll have any problems from police, and i definitely got the look i'm after. On all 3 panels i used 800 grit and then 1500 grit wet n dry sand paper after washing it with warm soapy water, then dried it off and wet sanded, wiped it down and washed it again, masked off what needed to be masked, sprayed 2 coats of nightshade (5-10 minutes apart for flash dry), waited an hour and sanded back any runs or imperfections (only had to do this on one light) and respray wherever i needed to allowing the proper ammount of time for it to dry. I then did a light wet sand with 1500 grit sand paper and sprayed 3 coats of clear leaving 5 minutes for flash dry, when i was happy and it looked even and shiny enough i let it sit for 2 hours to dry before re-fitting to the car.

looks good

Did you mask up the reflectors? They should be left untinted for safety and legality. Needs to reflect from 200m away IIRC. Other than that it looks good!

I didn't mask them however i sanded them back quite a bit, they reflect from quite a distance.

So i ended up looking at this astina i saw for sale today, it has 64,000 kms on it and after a test drive i ended up putting down a deposit, should be paid off within the next pay cycle or two.

http://imgc.classistatic.com/cps/bln...437550_20.jpeg

http://imgc.classistatic.com/cps/bln...5668k0_20.jpeg

My project will continue as planned on a different shell!

Besides, i always wanted a v6 and never saw a good one at the right price... and the best part SUNROOF!

Immediate plans are:

Put my nightshaded tail lights on this one
Black out the bottom of the front and rear bumpers
De-wing & Remove mudflaps & Replace old mazda badges with new ones
Get S3 front and rear seats
Paint the door handles and mirrors body color (get some paint matched paint)
Paint stock rims gloss black till i replace them
Tinted windows
Coils
BJ II Nardi Wheel (Mazda Centre)

Nice pick up, how much you end up getting it for ?

Also im sure the actually sunroof is a aftermarket one not the original that come from Mazda.

$2200 with a roadworthy. The sunroof is aparently the one that came on it new, the current owner was given the car from his parents who bought it new.

Nice buy!!!

Yeah cause the original sunroof normally when you slide it back it will go under the roof and not up like on the white one.

But for that price and if the kms are all genuine - great pick up ! Looks clean

if you interested to see what i mean by the sunroof
heres and example on Rupe's car

http://rupewrecht.com/astina/interio...nroof_open.jpg

The one i bought is a 1994 model, they may have changed it in subsequent years but i also know rupes was an aftermarket unit that he cut into the car.

We never got the factorysunroofs in Aus - all here are dealer installed.

The factory ones don't have a black seal around the outside of them, just a rolled metal edge, and the factory ones don't pop like yours either.

Very low KMs for a 94 V6, though - nice buy!

Well there you go... could be from a BG though as i know thiers pop from the top.

He shoots......he SCORES!!!

Good price too.