Ariel's 92 MX-3RS aka "CHLOE" post by Alex aka daddy

[kudkudniyog]

Good day everybody. I will be restoring my son's newly bought 92MX-3RS nicknamed CHLOE. I bought this for his birthday since he will be 15 and be driving soon. I also have a black 92 MX-3 RS that is in the process of painting. The black MX was suppose to be his but after fixing it up, I decided not to give it away so I bought another one for him.

I will be posting more pics as new development comes up. PEACE!!!

Pics of CHLOE:



Rust





Fender bender repair. Not too good.

[kudkudniyog]

I found a salvage yard in 1.5hrs north of where I live that has 3 MX-3's in their yard. I am hopefull that they will be open this weekend so I can cut out the unibody sections to fix CHLOE.

[pox]

You know this weekend is Christmas, right? Im thinking they may not be open.

[kudkudniyog]

Oh yeah..Christmas.....I'll try next week.

[pox]

haha, those pesky holidays getting in the way.

Hope you know how2 body work. Cant wait to see the progress.

[kudkudniyog]

WOOHOO!!! I called them and they are open this Sunday at 8am. Looks like I got my hands full this weekend.

[kudkudniyog]

Good day!!!

Just went to the salvage yard yesterday and picked up the following:

1. unibody panel to replace the crumpled one.
2. (2)center vents
3. exhaust manifold (for turbo project for my other mx3)
4. (2) driver side seatbelt tracks with motor & receiver
5. emblems from different cars (mazda, toyota, subaru, etc.)
6. a bucket of bolts & nuts.

Will post pics soon of progress.

[kudkudniyog]

More pics:

Damaged area





Damaged area trimmed off



The RED replacement body part seen on the left.


More to come.

[AaronTietje]

Nice project. Your doing a great job with updates. Have fun

[kudkudniyog]

Working on CHLOE last night welding the body panel. Bad picture from camera phone.

[kudkudniyog]

I give up!!!

I will get a torch oxy-acetylene welder today or tomorrow. I give up on welding body parts with FCAW welder. Too many holes to fill up even with the lowest setting. Some parts of the panel are just too thin.

[Inodoro Pereyra]

Don't. I have welded with it on the roof, which is the thinnest panel in the whole car.

Just cut small pieces of sheet metal, and tack weld them in the inside of the panel (like a backing plate) protruding from the edge, and then weld the part normally. That extra piece will give you the heat dissipation you need.

[kudkudniyog]

PEACE!!!

I worked on the car over the weekend and I am now ok with the results.

I actually bought a portable oxy-acetylene kit from lowe's last week ($279.00). I figured that I can use it not only for this car but for other things as well

Just cut small pieces of sheet metal, and tack weld them in the inside of the panel (like a backing plate)

I took your advice and used the MIG to weld "patches" on the joint. It looks better now but there are still a few holes, craters, gaps, and pits here and there. To finish it up, I will braze using the oxy-ace torch to cover up or fill the imperfections. Then I will grind the excess afterward to follow the body contour. Seal the joints then paint.

Pics to follow.

[Inodoro Pereyra]

Ok. Just make sure you don't overheat the metal, or it'll warp on you.

We'll be waiting on the pics...

[kudkudniyog]

CHLOE update:

Here are more pics of CHLOE:





As of yesterday, this is how CHLOE looks like:



Taking her out for a spin around the block:




MORE TO COME!