Another (small) project for the 7

[MikeLMR]

Anyone seen the nice sleek mirrors fitted to US cars because they don't have to fold back ... well guess what I've just bought off EBAY :D

[MikeLMR]

What it looks like now

[clive]

Hi Mike, they will look much sleeker and nicer.

[Mazstar]

Good find Mike - They look a lot better than the stock european mirrors. Should fit nicely with the rest of your car.:cool

Have you worked out how they fit to the door. Is there a mounting piece not shown in the picture ?:confused:

[Phranque]

They're just the job for spotting double-decker buses ! Not that you're likely to be overtaken by one, but it's just a thought.

[MikeLMR]

yeh they are missing the mounting piece in those photos ... they are staggered for a LHD car but its only 1/2" or so. I don't think it will cause too many problems.

Hi Phranque ! ... hows it going ? Shouldn't be too long till the its time to take these cars out of hibernation for the better weather !

[Phranque]

Hi Mike,
Yes - mine's all tucked up in the garage. I take it out about once a month to get the engine good and hot, then tuck it up again. I've got myself a 2002 Micra for daily use now, 42 - 55 mpg instead of about 10 mpg, it makes a difference! Hope you're OK
Frank

[Rota_Motor]

Originally posted by MikeLMR
yeh they are missing the mounting piece in those photos ... they are staggered for a LHD car but its only 1/2" or so. I don't think it will cause too many problems.


hi, I'm from australia, and just followed a link over here from the ausrotary.com forums :)

anyway, the mirrors in the first pic are the same as what aussie 82-on gen 1s have standard. so if you want/need the mounting bases to suit RHD, maybe you could source them from downunder.

[MikeLMR]

Thanks ... if I have a problem I'll remember that

[Rota_Motor]

Originally posted by MikeLMR
Thanks ... if I have a problem I'll remember that

not a problem, althought it is wirth mentioning, as my bases have RHD-L and RHD-R marked on them, so there are obviously different mounts, not sure how they differ though.

[MikeLMR]

on these ones one stalk is fractionally longer than the other ... the way I'm thinking is that small difference can't be too significant otherwise you'd need new mirrors to cater for the normal range of driver heights :)

I'm probably going to have a trial fit this sunday so I'll find out then ... then I have to decide whether to have them painted (black) or try and use a specific bumper dye to recolour them back to original condition.

Mike

[stu aull]

Hi Mike-
suspect you have already figured out that your newly acquired "space-boy" mirrors should just "plug and play". I'm almost positive the mount holes match, and I know the wire harness connection is the same. I can't help smiling at the fact you guys are so excited about these damn things and I have been trying to get the european mirrors for years!! In fact, I was so taken by a set I first saw on a trip thru Austria, I bought them on the spot, without even owning an RX7!! That came later...
For others similarly infected as Mike is, there are DOZENS of these mirrors sold yearly on ebay, usually for less than $25US each. Please - get as many out of here as you can!! ;)
cheers
Stu Aull
Alaska
1980 RX7 GS

[MikeLMR]

hehehe might sell my old ones on ebay then :) ( I have two pairs now ... one in Tender blue and one in original black)

They are being resprayed at the moment. the only problem I can forsee at the moment is that I'm going to have to have the laquer on the door buffed out where the old mirror has marked it over the years ... apart from that no problems so far !

Mike

[stu aull]

Ebay for your old mirrors might be a thought. I have never seen them offered there. Frankly, I don't know just how much of a "deal" different mirrors are to most folks. Its huge to me, but some of my, er, "indulgences" with my cars have been met with blank stares from the Herd, so...??
As an aside, you might want to take a peak up inside the mirror stem assembly, since the coiled spring that keeps the tension on the pivoting "mirror head" assembly rusts terribly, as does most of the other metal hardware inside. For whatever reason, Mazda chose metals that are completely unprotected from any kind of corrosion. I had to disassemble my euro-mirrors, sand blast and finally powdercoat this spring to prevent it from rusting away completely. It seems the spring assembly in all the mirror versions do this, and what with your "liquid sunshine" Limey weather, it could be even worse...? Don't know if this is an issue with your new mirror acquisitions, too, but well worth the inspection because once the spring is "gone" there is no replacement part. The mirrors are only sold as complete assemblies. (The exception being the gasket that fits between the door skin and the mirror stem.) The only problem may be that, on some mirror models, the glass has to be removed (read: broken out?) to access all the hardware to dissassemble to mirror...
Stu Aull
Alaska
80 GS

[MikeLMR]

springs are fine, on these ones you take out 4 screws in the base (through the access holes in the base) and it all comes to pieces. :)

will have to gauge the interest in the mirrors on RX7 club before I bother putting the spare pair on EBAY

[rotorhead666]

Did anyone see the RE Amemiya mirrors on ebay recently,for the 1st gen?I thought they just looked incredibly weird!Just had a thought as i write this-maybe they were meant for original sa22c cars,with the wing mirrors on the bonnet?Wish i'd grabbed a pic of them now!

[MikeLMR]

I don't check the US site very often anymore ... shipping stuff is risky from the states and the stuff is too tempting ;) lost $100 the other year due to a package getting lost and the seller not having a tracking number for it ... sweet FA EBAY can do about it !

[MikeLMR]

Mirrors are now resprayed in satin black.

I've also fitted a set of Tokico Illumina front struts and am just about to swap the front anti roll bar for somthing a little thicker.

Having looked over all the bushes at the front of the car I'm not going to bother changing any that I do not disturb changing the bar as they all look in top condition ... which is great :D

The best bit of news :rolleyes: (kinda) was that the old oil filled shockabsorbers didn't look too clever when we pulled them appart so they new adjustable gas shocks should be a real upgrade !

I don't think I'm going to bother with lowering springs as the car is already too low to fit a "proper" trolley jack under it ! I'll have to see what its like with a stiffer front bar and decide what next afterwards.

Mike (AKA Lazy bugger who hardly ever works on his car!!)

[MikeLMR]

oops photo

[rotorhead666]

Hmm,fitted your Tokicos at last,Mike!I'm still waiting for my konis,mot has now expired,and i'm still worried about those wheels bearings...Did you ever find out about the RE Amemiya mirrors?Yours are looking shiny,not like my tatty old things!

[MikeLMR]

yes ... its right pain getting both the strut top nut off and the large nut that holds the strut insert in the strut body
one required mucho brute force and bodging and the other required a chisel !!! (not a problem as new ones came with the kit)

When you come to take your struts out please ignore the Haynes manual and do it this way.

1. Jack up car, secure using axle stands and remove wheels ... the usual stuff :)

2. undo the caliper bolt and slide it off the carrier. Unclip the brake line from the strut and rest the caliper main body on the bottom arm to prevent straining the brake line.

3. wind on full lock in one direction and remove one of the bolts under bottom of the strut. repeat for the opposite lock

4. undo the 4 nuts in the engine bay and remove the strut.

much much easier than the haynes manual makes out ! ... I did use some slimline sockets (Koken Perfectlok) to undo the bolts though as they are a pain to get to !
you may also require an impact wrench to re tighten the strut top nuts as you don't want to damage the chrome on the new shocks. ( I've just got a new electric one so shall test out my new toy tightening them up :D )

Mike

[MikeLMR]

finished ... just need to get the paint polished/ touched up where the old mirrors have marked the paint. Its not too noticable so it can wait a while.