Installing a subwoofer is easy! Well, that is assuming you have a lineout on your head unit. Which I don't. So, as usual I'm over loading my task list right before the show on Sunday. Now I have to decide if I'm going to buy a new one or if I should use a Kenwood that a friend gave me. 4x40 watts isn't bad. It is much better the Blaupunkt 4x20 that I have right now and it has a external aux out (labeled "rear").

Hey, I also called Pep Boys and they said the starter will probably be in today. I'm crossing my fingers!

After work I started prepping my car for Rotorfest on Sunday. I was hoping to wash it and polish the chrome exhaust tips on my MindTrain Big Throats muffler...heheh. Well it was easier said than done. I tried two of the best chrome polishes that I know of Simonize and Mothers. Now I'm not afraid of some elbow grease, but, the corrosion and discoloring was not going away. I spent an hour and barely made a dent.

Off to rx7club.com to see if anybody had any advice. There wasn't too much so I tried Google. After about 15 minutes I found a link that mentioned steel wool or brillo pads. I thought this was a bit drastic. I decided to try it anyway. So I started on one of the less visible parts under tip. I put some Simonize on the 0000 steel wool and bingo! It worked! After doing most of the tips I noticed that the finished parts were a little hazy. After finishing the rest I hit it all again with Mothers and that seemed to bring out the shine a bit. I'll have to look at it in better light.

So there you go, if you have some nasty corrosion on chrome reach for the 0000 steel wool and some polish :-) I couldn't go to Rotofest with my mindtrain exhaust looking like crap now could I?

So the 4th of July has come and gone. Good to see my relatives again.

I'm going to Rotorfest this weekend if the weather holds out. Looks good so far. :-) Last year I had a party to go to before so I didn't get there until late and it was practically over. Two hour ride for nothing and I took a non rotorhead with me. This time I'm getting there early.

I ordered a starter from Pep Boys. It was about $70 plus the core charge. So, if I take back the old one they will give me $35. I'm a little worried that it won't be here in time. I guess that isn't too big of a deal. I can always push start it if I have to :-(

On a side note I would like to clean the car up. I'm planning on using the clay bar system on it. I'm hoping that won't take too long. Wash with dish soap detergent & water, clay bar it, then wash again, and finally wax it. I'm thinking this is goiing to take a while. The problem is that I don't have much time to do it. Oh well, life is fun when you have a family and too many hobbies.

Visual map of the internet from the 90's.

rx7club.com is one of the better places to go on the Net if you want to be in the company of rotorheads. Some other good forums are located at mazspeed.com and nopistons.com.

I just posted a question about the starter that many people wouldn't ask, because it is probably straight out of mechanics 101. Guess what?! I didn't get flamed! I wasn't told to shut up and read the FAQ. I got a simple answer from one of the users, screen named Bass. This is what I'm talkin' about. The Web put to good use :-)

Starter problems have been plaguing me lately. I carry a large wrench with me just in case I need to tap the starter a few times to get it to work. Of course this involves laying on the ground on the driver side and reaching under the car. If that doesn't work I have resorted to push starting it. I actually look for parking spots on a slight incline so I can roll start it without a problem.

It happened again today. Walked out the door to go to work, got in, shut the door and turned the key. Nothing...just a quick click and then the starter wouldn't turn anymore. Fortunately I have another car I can take instead. :-(

With Rotorfest coming up on July 10th I really need to get a starter for this thing. I know I can get one from Mazdatrix for about $260+ shipping. I might try to search the local junk yards too.

Thanks for visiting. I have been driving my '83 GSL for about 11 years. It has been a real learning experience owning this car. The funny thing is I really didn't seek it out.

My father-in-law was selling it, because he was moving and didn't want to take it with him. For the first 5 years I drove it and then it sat for over a year without being started. My wife had it towed to the dealer to get it back on its feet for my birthday. Wow, was I surprised when I found out she was doing this. After an intake manifold gasket replacement and some other misc maintenance it was back on the road.

Eventually I started working on it. Replaced the power antenna with a floppy one from Mazdatrix. Replaced the hatch struts. Had the transmission rebuilt. Replaced the stock wheels with ROH Snypers from JD Wheels and added Toyo Proxies for rubber. That made one of the biggest differences in appearance. It was a whole new car. It also handled better. Then came a new exhaust from MindTrain thru KickyRide. Wow, that was awesome. I still love to rev the engine going under bridges...heheh. I replaced the stock air filter with a K&N, which increased throttle response a bit and seemed to give more room in the power band. I replaced the idler arm bushing. The last major modification was the suspension. Racing Beat springs and Tokico Blue shocks. I thought I was driving a different car! The most recent minor modification was the airbox top. I ordered a milled aluminum top from RESpeed.

To this day I love driving this car around. The sound, the handling, the NA performance and its over 20 years old! Did I mention that I still drive it to work in the summer? So this blog will be about the car and my experiences with it. Now you should understand something, I am not a mechanic. I used to help my Father, Grandfather and Uncle work on cars and tractors when I was younger, but, I'm still pretty hesitant when working on my cars. So hopefully those of you in the same boat as me will enjoy this site.