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casino

uk
Posts: 40

Location: United Kingdom
Occupation: Mechanic
Age:
V$: 225
#130433   2017-10-04 22:16          
So. It's been a while.
Long story short, slrr broke for me on Friday. I've spent hours trying to fix it, but I gave up, and started gain. Now, back to the rp.

So, the nova arrived. I attempted to fix up the rust and save some if the original panels but it was unsuccessful and the panels went to the scrap. Sad, really, but I tried to save what I can. The seats could be refurbished, though, so at least a little more of the original car survives the restomod.

Once it was stripped and cleaned, some junk suspension was thrown on by the shop and a heavily modified 3uz-fe was placed in the shell to R&D some new custom parts the shop I work at. I got the chance to drive the Nova for the first time, albeit not for too long as the 3uz-fe modifications caused massive overheating issues.



After the test, the Nova was transported back to the shop and the engine was taken out. Once it eventually cooled down, of course.

The following day, I began work putting the 4.6 in the Nova. I had already had the missing parts ordered (intake, alternator, head covers, etc), but I spent a while cleaning and polishing all the 4.6 parts. It was surprising easy to swap in, apart from having to cut into the chassis to fit the larger transmission than this car came with stock. It turned over, could shift smoothly and felt as good as new.






I then began ordering all the parts I needed for this nova. I can't find my receipt, but the bucket of parts I ordered cost around V$4,900. New suspension, brakes, bodywork, glass, wheel, rims, tires and lights.

I also picked up a RX7 Savanna for V$1900. It looked pretty clean when I purchased it, apart from the engine. The owner said that he was having a bunch of trouble with it, but he didn't have the knowledge of rotary engines to do any work on it. I also have no knowledge of rotary engines, but I had other plans for this car... *LINK*

Once my Nova parts arrived, I spent a whole day working on the car. It was surprisingly easy to work on, and the metalwork on the replacement body panels were amazing. Also, the AR Torq thrust wheels I had ordered looked STUNNING.





As I turned up to the dock to pick up my RX7, I noticed another black savanna that had been shipped on the same boat. It was nice seeing another, but it wasn't looking anywhere near as good a condition as the one I ordered. I spoke to one of the people at the dock who would be the one to hand me over the keys and documentation, and he gave me some terrible news...
That wrecked black savanna I saw in the way in? That was my black savanna. It was badly managed in transport.





Fortunately, the company's insurance payed me for the damages, more than I was expecting. I also sent an angry email to customer service, and now I also have my next shipping through them for free. Time for some overnight parts from Japan, maybe?

I stripped the Savanna, and scrapped all the damaged parts, they couldn't be saved. I used the insurance money to repair the car, and managed to do it cheaply, giving me a tiny bit more spending money.

Obviously, I still intended to swap the engine in the RX7, but I was struggling. Although I could afford 2JZs and RB26s and obscure American V8s, nothing I found really matched what I wanted this savanna to be. I could have picked some great engines to get ridiculous power with, but it didn't feel right. But then, I stumbled across a 4A-GE. Just seeing this sent my imagination running, picturing the Savanna tear down a country road accompanied by a choir of 4 deeply burbling cylinders. I had to get it.

Actually installing it was a pain. Firstly, taking out the damaged rotary resulted in a large gash on my left hand and a quick Pit stop in the A&E. I had some help from a couple of mates that work along side me in the shop with the install, they ended up doing most of the work because of my hand.

Also, the Rays Nismo LM GT1s I purchased from art of wheels (thanks skip! ) arrived. Although they were intended for the Fairlady, they looked so good on the RX7.



And so, onto the work I competed today.

The cowl tag on the nova actually reveals that the car was painted 'le man's blue' from the factory, so I fully intend to repaint it it's original colour. I payed for the respray for the nova, and also for the Savanna to be sprayed crimson red. I payed for the paints only, as the local college allows the student to spray cars as part of their training, so I avoided some pretty hefty labour fees. Obviously it was a bit of a risk taking these too some inexperienced painters, but now that both are done, I can honestly say that they both look great, and I can't wait to continue this RP.







How did I afford all of this? The fairlady is gone. Sold for V$6500, so I lost a fair bit of money on it but I had to sell it fast to get all this new stuff on quickly. Maybe I wouldn't have sold it so quickly if I knew how much love it was getting on here, but I promise that another fairlady will be mine one day...


OK, now for the math.
Bank: 225
+6,500 Fairlady sold
-≈4900 Nova parts
-1900 savanna
-1800 4A-GE
+900 insurance payout
+1000 scrap parts
+415 income
-850 savanna repairs
+600 Sold the 340 block on eBay for a lower price.
-750 paint

Remaining Cash - V$1190

Jesus that's a long post. Thanks everyone whos commented on this , I've been having a blast.
New to all this

RP Cars:
RX7 Savanna (4A-GE, Daily)
1970 Chevy Nova (RestoMod, WIP)