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The color is what drew me to this car. This is the color that I tried to find when the RX-8 first came out. It was very difficult to find. I don't think they made a ton in Nordic Green.
Thank you. If the car were any other color I would probably not look into restoring it as it is fairly rusty. Which is a shame honestly because it doesn't feel like its that old, lol. But looking back on it its 14 years old now....and when I was first starting out in the rotary game, I was buying RX-7's that were the same age. You figure the 84 I had in 1999 was 15 years old and the condition of the car was similar to the Nordic Green 8 that I have, sans needing an engine of course. Odd how we forget that a car so beautiful can be so dated based on time. The car still feels like a newer car to me personally.
It's very true. Other than the evidence of PO neglect/abuse I find in areas, my 14 year old 8 does not drive like it is 14, nor does it look it from a design standpoint.
Took a few pics of the car yesterday after my boys and I were finished washing a few of the cars. This car was one that got washed as it hasn't been washed all summer yet. Figured I'd share a few updated pics.
Since I really don't know any history on the car, I called Mazda yesterday to find out what I could about the car. I did find out that the original engine lasted 75k miles and that a reman engine was installed at that mileage in 2010. The car now has 134k miles, so less than 60k miles on a reman engine. I blame the early remans being in their infancy for the premature engine failure. I knew the car had a reman engine in it as I saw the reman tag on the front cover but had no idea how many miles could have been put on it. It also has both airbag recalls, the lower ball joint recall, and the fuel sender/o-ring recalls still open. So, once I install a good engine into the car or rebuild the current engine then I can take it to the dealer for those recalls.
Those Recalls work out in the owners favor so well... Definitely put that high on the priority list
I took my 04 in a few months ago for the Lower Ball Joint recall..
They replaced aton of extra parts, knuckle and hub on one side, both abs sensors, both sway bar endlinks, tie rods, as well as all the alignment bolts for the rear, which ended up including two rear control arms as well, and then 4 wheel alignment... They even towed the car for free, and gave me a nice CX-5 as a loaner. The only expense I had was topping off the gas tank in the loaner car.
Figured I'd throw up another picture or two from the other night when I was powering everything in the car on. I do this every so often. I'm weird like that.
Yesterday, I decided it was time to deflood the 8, get it started and move it around a little in the driveway. So, I pulled jacked the car up, pulled the left front wheel, pulled the plugs, cleaned them, put it all back together and the engine fired right up. Even though it did run, it was smoking a lot and was down on power quite a bit. Once it was at normal operating temperature, it would stall and not restart so I had my oldest son hold the throttle and run the engine for about 10 mins. We both really enjoyed hearing it run and enjoyed moving it back and forth in its spot. Its days like yesterday that keep me motivated to restore this car. Told my son that we have to sell some cars to fund its restoration and the first thing we need to do is replace the engine. Took a couple pics to share:
Decided to start the car and drive it around the driveway yesterday. Keeping myself motivated on the car. Its easy to put it on the back burner and concentrate on other stuff so I'm doing little things every day. Even though its dirty, I took a couple pictures and wanted to share with you guys. It was nice to see the car in a different spot!
Last edited by mazdaverx7; 08-28-2018 at 07:29 AM.
I remember how hard Nordic Green was to get when these cars were new in 04. I remember going to the dealer to buy a new RX-8 in Nordic Green and the salesman did some checking and said that there were only a couple in the state and that both were automatic. I was told I could be put on a waiting list and that I could have a shot at the next one that came in but there was no telling what trim level it was going to be and with what options or features. I was given only a few color choices.... Velocity Red, Brilliant Black, Sunlight Silver or Titanium Grey. Winning Blue, Lightning Yellow, and Nordic Green were harder to come by. Winning blue was the easiest of the three with Lightning Yellow and Nordic Green being the most uncommon colors in 04. I settled on a Brilliant Black 04.
When I saw the ad for this car come up I knew that I had to try and get it. The guy listed it as a parts car and honestly, he was not terribly wrong in that regard. Rusty rockers, weak engine, non original seats, mismatched tires... Heck the interior was in a pile in side of the car. But I knew that I had to save the car. I struck a deal with the owner and had the car delivered on a very cold and rainy day in 2016. Now its on the top of my restoration list next to my 88 10th Anniversary RX-7 that I'm currently restoring. Something about the color just evokes emotion for me. Its just beautiful and its not a color that you see all the time.
Started the car yesterday with my boys and we drove it down the driveway and turned it around on the road and back up the driveway. Was the first time my sons got a ride in the car. Doing little things like this is enjoyable in my opinion. I just wish the engine were in fact good and did not stall when at normal operating temperature. I'm always on teh look out for a good deal on an engine. But until then, little trips down the driveway will suffice, lol.
Yesterday was a good day. My son and I went and picked up another Nordic Greet GT.... However, this one was way too far gone to save. The previous owner had cut the left quarter panel off of the car and removed the drivetrain. The car was rustier than the Titanic otherwise and would have been tough to save. The interior was moldy but mostly complete. The idea was to install the leather seats and door panels in the Nordic Green GT that I'm restoring and use the rest of the parts for whatever I may need on my 8 and my son'ts 8 when he gets one. I'll also probably sell off a few parts as well. Thought I'd share some pictures of the poor car:
After a couple hours of tear down we made a lot of progress.
The passenger side airbag cover us not cracked. That alone was worth what I paid for the car. I plan on installing it in my black 04.
The parts car had 187k on it according to the previous owner. Said it was owned by a guy that would commute 75 miles per day rain, snow or sun. It completely ruined the car.
Newby here, saw this thread and knew this was the place to brag up my nordic green '05 Grand Touring. What a thrill it is to drive and a real attention getter! 😉 57k miles - Nordic Green Metallic RX-8 This interior is in great condition! This interior is in great condition!
That is the exact interior that I have been looking for to install in my Nordic Green 8. Once I find a complete black/chaparral interior it will go in my car. Looks great by the way!!
Originally Posted by altonwoods
Newby here, saw this thread and knew this was the place to brag up my nordic green '05 Grand Touring. What a thrill it is to drive and a real attention getter! 😉 57k miles - Nordic Green Metallic RX-8 This interior is in great condition! This interior is in great condition!
On a side note, I knew that mice were in m car at one time and I had decided that it was time to pull the interior apart and bleach the metal and replace all of the contaminated parts. Well, the only thing I did not end up replacing was the carpet. The parts car I bought served to supply me with a full black leather interior, which this car had originally before someone swapped out the black cloth S2 interior. I had a spare headliner luckily and I used parts from my parts car to replace the passenger side curtain air bag and ever plastic part that was contaminated with mouse presence. The interior is now back up to par and looking decent.
Headliner was ruined and heavily contaminated:
Under the headliner, the side curtain air bag and sunroof drain tube had been chewed and a large nest was located:
The final result. More pics of the interior to follow:
Decided to take a few pics to share yesterday while I was in the garage working on my 10th Anniversary RX-7. Figured it would be good to post some pics of the new (to me) interior. While its not perfect, its still leaps and bounds better than it was before:
Found this oem trunk mat in the parts car that I bought. I wanted to buy a new one for this car anyways, so it was nice to get one with the car. Its in pretty bad shape and I cleaned it the best I could. It was folded, smashed, and full of rust water and rusty/greasy parts. Came out ok and it will suffice for now:
06-23-2018, 05:28 AM
