Hi Everybody!
#1
Registered
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: NW Pennsylvania
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi Everybody!
Hello,
Just thought I would take the time to introduce myself. My name is Ken, I have been in to cars since I was a kid. I was a car electronics specialist at one time and I still dabble in it. I run a small machine shop out of my garage, and I'm always making parts for some project or another.
I bought my RX8 wrecked in May 2015 for a whopping $2500 cash with the intent of flipping it for around $1500 profit. It ran and drove like new - the engine and transmission were replaced by Mazda at 74k, and I bought it with just under 90k on it. I replaced the front bumper, wheel wells, and plastics underneath the motor. Threw on a new set of tires and shocks/struts. Ended up falling in love with it and decided to keep it. Best $3400 I have spent in a while.
After months of driving it as-is, I have finally started to modify it a bit. Nothing extreme. Just a GROM bluetooth unit, and this custom made phone holder that I will post pictures of in a while. I plan on putting a Nexus tablet in the dash, as the stock navigation unit's backlight went out.
Nice to meet you all!
Just thought I would take the time to introduce myself. My name is Ken, I have been in to cars since I was a kid. I was a car electronics specialist at one time and I still dabble in it. I run a small machine shop out of my garage, and I'm always making parts for some project or another.
I bought my RX8 wrecked in May 2015 for a whopping $2500 cash with the intent of flipping it for around $1500 profit. It ran and drove like new - the engine and transmission were replaced by Mazda at 74k, and I bought it with just under 90k on it. I replaced the front bumper, wheel wells, and plastics underneath the motor. Threw on a new set of tires and shocks/struts. Ended up falling in love with it and decided to keep it. Best $3400 I have spent in a while.
After months of driving it as-is, I have finally started to modify it a bit. Nothing extreme. Just a GROM bluetooth unit, and this custom made phone holder that I will post pictures of in a while. I plan on putting a Nexus tablet in the dash, as the stock navigation unit's backlight went out.
Nice to meet you all!
#4
Registered
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: NW Pennsylvania
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks for the warm welcome guys. I'm new here but not new to forums, so I know the drill. I am a moderator over on a Mitsubishi Eclipse and Subaru forums, and an active member on a couple car audio forums.
Here is the car the day I brought it home:
Fitting the new bumper:
All Finished:
Here is the phone mount I mentioned earlier:
I also forgot to mention I did a little tweaking on the headlights. I swapped in some drop in clear lenses from The Retrofit Source, blocked the squirrel finders, and spaced the lens 1/8" further away from the bowl. This gives them a clean cutoff with a wonderful blue color band in it. No real pics of this in progress (it only took about an hour to do both of them, and 90% of that was just baking them open/shut), but I will try to post some output shots.
I am considering getting the SOHN adapter, figuring I can reuse it as a coolant overflow reservoir when I chevy swap it. That is a project for next winter though. Before anyone warns me, I am a competent machinist and welder with my own lift and machine shop so fabrication is no issue. I'm just going to take my sweet time on it - doing stuff like getting another front subframe and notching it this summer, collecting parts, straightening out the wiring I will need, etc.. I'm an accountant by trade, so aside from tax season, I only work about 15 hours a week, so I'm hoping for a sub-2 month built starting around November.
Until then, I have this to play with:
Nothing special, just an 05 GT. Bone stock. R-title that I rebuilt myself in 2013. The RX and my truck are my daily drivers right now, and I can honestly say I'm surprised how well the RX handles in the snow.
Here is the car the day I brought it home:
Fitting the new bumper:
All Finished:
Here is the phone mount I mentioned earlier:
I also forgot to mention I did a little tweaking on the headlights. I swapped in some drop in clear lenses from The Retrofit Source, blocked the squirrel finders, and spaced the lens 1/8" further away from the bowl. This gives them a clean cutoff with a wonderful blue color band in it. No real pics of this in progress (it only took about an hour to do both of them, and 90% of that was just baking them open/shut), but I will try to post some output shots.
I am considering getting the SOHN adapter, figuring I can reuse it as a coolant overflow reservoir when I chevy swap it. That is a project for next winter though. Before anyone warns me, I am a competent machinist and welder with my own lift and machine shop so fabrication is no issue. I'm just going to take my sweet time on it - doing stuff like getting another front subframe and notching it this summer, collecting parts, straightening out the wiring I will need, etc.. I'm an accountant by trade, so aside from tax season, I only work about 15 hours a week, so I'm hoping for a sub-2 month built starting around November.
Until then, I have this to play with:
Nothing special, just an 05 GT. Bone stock. R-title that I rebuilt myself in 2013. The RX and my truck are my daily drivers right now, and I can honestly say I'm surprised how well the RX handles in the snow.
#8
Registered
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: NW Pennsylvania
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Haha yeah, days later it triple posted. I'm assuming after I pass my probation period I will no longer need moderator approval to post replies?
Thanks for the comment on my Mustang. Aside from the red interior and being an automatic, I like it.
Thanks for the comment on my Mustang. Aside from the red interior and being an automatic, I like it.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post