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Trying to keep it “stock”: Mr OEM

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Trying to bring the GSX back to life with as much detail as I can. When I got the headlights out to clean and restore them I noticed some surface rust that needed to be taken care of before it gets worse! Soooooo.. using the ol’ baking soda/water technique and letting it sit up for a couple days. More pics to come when it’s complete. Also ordered some A52 touch up primer, paint and clear coat in case I need to take it down to some metal. We will see when I wash everything off.

Also it seems my strut towers have survived with almost zero rust! I am so excited about that since the car had been sitting for so long! Just needs a scrub with a toothbrush and should be fine.
 

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So brushed and washed off the baking soda/water slurry mix and it came out amazing. No surface rust left at all and now ready for touch up primer and paint. Waiting for the paint to come in then I will post an update.
 

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Wanting to upgrade to a front mount soon so ordered the custom mounts from boostedfabrication. Got the new bumper supports in and mocked them up. Took them back off to primer and paint. Used self etching primer and generic matte black paint. Waiting to dry then will post pics.
 

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You should embed the picture files instead of attachments so they come up full screen!

That soda trick worked great!

The decals are going to look great too!

-Brady

Thank you for the heads up! I didn’t think about doing that.

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Decided to take everything out the trunk and give it a good wipe down. Discovered that the previous owner has installed sound dampening material to all the surfaces! There was no rust any where back here as well (that I can see or tell without pulling all the material up). Probably going to leave the spare tire out since it’s not a daily and I have AAA LOL.

Also installed a rear strut tower brace I had leftover from my old GS-T.
 
So finally got around to getting primer and paint on the front end. Had some slight surface rust I wanted to get rid of and just give it a refresh. Came out looking pretty good and the color match is almost spot on to the factory.

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This is awesome! These are such favored tuner cars so it's pretty rare to see someone doing a stock resto. Good luck on your journey sir! Keep us updated.

Thank you dude! I love these cars so much and can’t wait to get it back on the road soon. Speaking of which.. since it sat for so long the tires were is terrible shape to say the least. Soooo.. got new Toyos put on. Can’t wait to put these through the paces in the California hills. Got a quote to refinish the rims and it was $230 per rim so going to be patient on having them restored.

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So finally got around to swapping out the awful plastic door handles for the aluminum ones I picked up on the site. I ended up opening a can of worms on the passenger side repairing a “rigged” setup where the previous owner has clearly broken a handle and attempted a shady repair. Repair came complete with glue to top it off! And the outside screw was completely rusted out inside. After half a day of messing with the locks/handles and repairing the rig job I got them in. They are sooooooo smooth and sturdy. Feel way better than the plastic ones.

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So finally got around to swapping out the awful plastic door handles for the aluminum ones I picked up on the site. I ended up opening a can of worms on the passenger side repairing a “rigged” setup where the previous owner has clearly broken a handle and attempted a shady repair. Repair came complete with glue to top it off! And the outside screw was completely rusted out inside. After half a day of messing with the locks/handles and repairing the rig job I got them in. They are sooooooo smooth and sturdy. Feel way better than the plastic ones.

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It's funny how they tried to glue it back together when you can pick up a new handle for less than $20 pretty much anywhere. :toobad:
 
It's funny how they tried to glue it back together when you can pick up a new handle for less than $20 pretty much anywhere. :toobad:

Man that’s so true. It’s such a shame when people do things like this to these cars.. well really to any car. Just glad it’s one less thing I have to worry about with the aluminum handles. If you don’t have then installed yet I HIGHLY recommend them!
 
Man that’s so true. It’s such a shame when people do things like this to these cars.. well really to any car. Just glad it’s one less thing I have to worry about with the aluminum handles. If you don’t have then installed yet I HIGHLY recommend them!
Well I considered them but with 200 bucks I could do other things... LOL
 
So I know this is going to sound crazy, but since I got the car I have avoided looking in the dash because it was locked and the keys would not work on it. So since I have done everything else to the car I FINALLY decided to get it open and see what’s inside... and I was NOT disappointed!! I sprayed WD-40 in the lock and waited a couple hours and to my surprise the key turned like a charm, and revealed to me all the original paperwork with logged vehicle maintenance records. I can’t believe I got so lucky with this car. It’s like a modern day barn find!

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Sooooooo A LOT has changed with my restoration. I have been super busy with work and to be honest... extremely lazy about updating the profile.. so here are some pics of some of the things I have done.

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Added the greddy BOV recirculating setup and leak tested the spring to 13psi. Simple install after getting the flange from @extremepsi

Oh and FINALLY got a replacement overflow cap. Damn thing was really hard to find in good condition.

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Finally got around to swapping out the mechanical oil pressure gauge I had installed for the electrical one. I didn’t like the idea of how oil coming through the firewall. Read on the pros vs cons and the % of accuracy was minimal for a weekend curvy road car. Read the do and do nots too and used Teflon compound not tape and no leaks.
 
Also finally took the steps for DSM link and bought the auto meter cobalt wideband pro+. Got it installed in the rear O2 sensor location and did the rear O2 simulator posted on. If you do this yourself I HIGHLY recommend putting at least TWO of the resistors on the heater side because they get really really hot. Actually went back and created the box because I was worried about how hot the one alone gets.

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Also took out the old gauge pod mount since it was glow shift and the fit was a tiny bit off. Used the auto meter one and fit like OEM with some screws.
 
Another HUGE thing I have started was getting the suspension and body 100%. I decided to go with the prothane polyurethane entire kit and that has now turned into a full restoration of the entire rear end and eventually the front. Like most DSM projects it started with one small thing I want to do and now has turned into an entire restoration.

So here is the start of just getting the rear suspension apart..

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I got lucky on the drivers side removing the hub from the axle but not so much on the passengers side. I did get it separated with the tool but it ballooned the axle end and now have to replace it. Sucks but at least it came out. Next part was worse...

After getting the suspension out I decided to inspect for rust on the rockers and found I am a part of the group that has them rusted..

Started digging at some rust and after I was done this is where I am at.

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Soooo doing what is recommended and cut it out and now figuring out if I want to try my hand at welding or have someone come do it.
 
Had these come in too. Thanks to @machV for the sway bars and can’t wait to get them in. Only took a pic of the rear one but picked up the front too. Got the links from them too since my old ones were seized and had to cut them to get the old front lower control arm out.

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Well ripped all the suspension out PLUS decided to go all the way and drop the subframe and gas tank to have access to all the body and hardware. It gives me a chance to clean everything and treat anything I find. Using por15 on some things but also using the 3M rubber spray for the fuel stuff. More to come as it starts going together.

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Well ripped all the suspension out PLUS decided to go all the way and drop the subframe and gas tank to have access to all the body and hardware. It gives me a chance to clean everything and treat anything I find. Using por15 on some things but also using the 3M rubber spray for the fuel stuff. More to come as it starts going together.

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Just be careful what you use that por15 on. Don't use it on anything that you think you'll have to remove it from in the future. I used it on my trunk and it took a few hours with some 120 grit to remove LOL
 
Just be careful what you use that por15 on. Don't use it on anything that you think you'll have to remove it from in the future. I used it on my trunk and it took a few hours with some 120 grit to remove LOL

Yeah good call! I ended up using a wire brush going back and forth on forward and reverse direction and took it off in about 5mins. But definitely going to use it sparingly and in choice locations now!
 
Well I have been back at it trying to get the GSX back restored. Tried my hand at zinc electroplating some hardware I was having an issue finding and... well.. I don’t really think I will be doing more of it haha. Will probably just pay someone to do it professionally next time. BUT, I did well enough on a couple pieces that I could not find OEM for and going to use them.

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