93 Touring edition, Montego Blue...

Here's a brief, but pic heavy run down of how it's progressed since I got it:

Picked it up on the day after Halloween last year...even trade for a slammed Lexus SC300 I had....here's the sorry state she was in when I got her home (does run and drive though made it 80 miles home)





from the CL ad:






The chrome was in sad shape on the wheels and was peeling badly...had them sand blasted then powder coated black:




Made the decision to get her looking her best before starting on the swap (I got the car with the intentions of swapping it) Prob wasnt the best idea, as I'll be paranoid about scratching it as I do the swap.....lol I'm a mechanic by trade so I'm used to taking precautions against paint/body damage.

Here she is going down to the metal:

 

continued:




Here she is in a fresh coat of Self-Etching primer:






Primed with sealer primer....first of 4 coats...(was re-primed between each blocking)






Here she is after 6+ coats of base (yup 6+....painter said it came out the gun smurf blue...wasn't till the paint was layered and layered that the true color finally came through. 2 coats of clear sealed the deal..Sikkens paint products were used throughout the job.


Such an awesome factory color.....flips from green to blue to damn near black...I tried to catch it with pics....check it out:

 

continued:

















and here's some carbon fiber headlight covers that are going on it...just picked them up tp replace one that decided to part company with the car on the interstate...heard it a common FD problem...may the carbon covers will hold together better...or at least not shatter on impact if they do come off...haha)
Just set on there....not bolted down:

 

And finally I picked up an 84,000 mile LS1 out of a 98 Camaro.....intake is damaged, so I'm picking up a ls6 intake to replace it...(I know this isn't the best way to make rx7 friends..lol)


Also picked up a 5-spd clutch pedal and brake pedal set from a member here for the LS1/T56 swap:


I just got it back from the body shop a couple weeks ago, but havn't taken any new pics because the carbon headlight covers didn't fit correctly.....looks pretty sad all painted up and missing its covers..lol

Thanks for checking it out!

 

looks greats wish my mb looked that good

 

So is that the stock Mazda "Montego Blue Mica"? It looks much better than the stock color..

Fantastic, man!

Looks clean so far!

Looking forward to more progress pics.

:]

 

Montego Blue is a very underrated color. There are so many haters. Looks like this is going to turn out pretty good... for an abomination, anyway.

 

Now that's how a car get painted

 

^^ What he said. Great job!

 

To be honest, as I was scrolling down and seeing such a great paint job, I did not expect to see the car get painted a factory colour and especially montego blue. I don't hate the colour but to me it's more of a sedan colour. It looks great in the pics and it's a matter of personal preference so I hope I'm not offending anyone.

 

It's all good guys....I do enjoy the color, and love the way it flips....One of my biggest automotive pet-peaves is color changing a car...I seriously cant stand it.

 

and this is why I love montego blue. Looking forward to seeing this finished. You gonna keep it when you're done or sell it?

 

Only sedan I can think of that is even close to that color are some 90s Camrys and GM sedans. Mazda only had the actual Montego Blue color on the FD Rx-7 and NA Miata.

 

I had a '94 Rx7 repainted by the dealer. The paint had the same deep gloss like your Rx7. Because the paint was so nice, when I sold it the buyer didn't even want to test drive it.

 

LS1 swap did you say? It's like keeping the same outfit but changing the soul J/K At times I feel like doing the same

What I meant was it's a colour that'd suit a sedan car better, cause it looks more elegant and mature rather than sporty. Eitherway it's a nice colour.

 

I don't care who you are, that is a good looking FD.

I NEVER thought I'd like the color either, but the way it goes from a deep green to a cool blue tone is totally awesome, and with a nice pearl in it, it will make you change your mind.

I'd post pics of my 1st FD that was MBM, but then I'd be thread-jacking.

:P

 

I think a lot of the haters just haven't seen many nice FD's with that color. It does look especially bad when it fades.

 

I'm not sure why people don't like MB....it has grown on me quite well. A unique color indeed

 

Most people see 93 MBM that are faded and not well preserved. A 94 or 95 that been garaged/covered looks awesome. Back in 97 when I bought my first FD I was looking for just about any color then I found a beautiful MBM.

Jack

 

MB is such a mysterious color....opinions of it varies greatly and changes constantly, exactly like its chameleon characteristics. I haven't seen my MB FD in four months and it'll come back with a more blue face-lift after much inner turmoil. Seeing yours did make me second guess (again) just now though....looking great! But the green really bugged me and got to me after looking at it for 10 years and the opportunity was there for a change after a non-vehicle accident. Had to take the green out of the equation....so I did it and it's spent all winter in the shop.

But yes, it's a unique color for sure and your ride looks most excellent. I liked the pictures of the transformation and how you captured all 3 colors with the pics. In a way I will miss the color change. Montego Blue is definitely striking - especially with a fresh coat I was told...and can now see with your pictures. Thanks! Mine was one of those dull ones. I was strongly urged to keep it MB and it was so hard to decide....but in the end, I changed the color. So we'll see......

So you're keeping it the stock color, but throwing in an LS....and I'm changing a beloved yet maligned factory color, but with its "soul" intact. (Nice one Alpsta.) Purists would frown upon either scenario....but it's mine...and yours is yours right? Enjoy it the way you want it is the bottom line. Nice ride.

 

To those of you who are impressed and/or surprised by how the OP's new paint job looks, I can assure you that good Montego Blue paint usually looks very much like that depending on the lighting. There's really nothing on the road that looks like a Montego Blue FD.

 

Thanks man...There's some detailers out there that can preform "miracles" on older paint jobs...I've had a few brought back before to almost new condition without having to spend this kind of $$.

Yup, it's 100% the stock paint code.....mixed to the "T"

I didn't realize MB was a hated on color till I posted this thread! And thanks.....(the "abomination" part made me lol btw!)

Do it once, do it right, right? Thanks man!

Appriciate it man!

Like I said before, it's all good....the "green" is a little reminesant of the older Camry color...but I like the overall effect.

I plan to hold onto it as long as I can....I've always loved these cars, never really thought I'd end up with one with my bills the way they are.....by chance I ran across a seller who was interested in a 2jz car like my Lexus, and 2 days later she was mine.

Agreed on the Camry as far as the green goes...and I never knew it was a Miata color as well!

I bet not! I'm still in new paint mode myself...dreading that first scratch.....I havent clicked your link yet becuase this forum keeps logging me off when I try to navigate, and I can barely get back on...

nah....jst doing the same thing that rotory guys always do....reliablility mods....

Go for it man...I've got a ton of MB FD pics saved on my compouter already...I'd love to see it. And thanks!

Looks even worse when a faded paint job has been "prepped" (That's code for sanded-on,,,,like this one was when I got it.....lol) Thankfully this paint has a lifetime warrenty....and a long time friend is the painter.

Agreed....unique sums it up fairly well.....it's not the most eye catching color out there, but it's subtelty is a charm in itself.

Same here.....My mind was screaming FD.....color never came to mind.

Great post...as long as yours turns out the way you like it, no worrys right? I'd love to have the drive and time to be a "purist" but in all honesty, after working on cars al day(I'm a mechanic), the last thing I want to do is come home and wrench on my own rides....(hense the LS1......drop it in and forget it till time to change the oil...lol)

I've seen some beatiful examples as I was scouring the internet during my cars 6.5 weeks stay at the bodyshop....I cant wait to get some new shots of it all together....I have a rather uniquely skilled fella coming over tmw to see if he can make something happen with the headlight covers....if he succeeds, I'll shine her up and post some new "completed" pics.




Appriciate the comments guys....I'd love to be more active here if I can figure out this logging out/constant log in error thing I've got going on.

 

When I was 13 & juust graduating from that, "my favorite car is a red Corvette" stage, I'd only really seen FD's or Miata's from a distance, but already knew I liked them. Judging by the front ends, (again, from a distance), I was also sure they were the same car, just one was the convertible version of the other. By a year later I'd become hooked on the original Need For Speed, (on the 3DO/before Sony), looked them up, and have been obsessed with FD's ever since! First time I noticed Montego Blue was on a Miata and I still think it's an awesome color, (especially on a tinted FD ). To the OP - great paint job! I think I'm finally getting ready to snag my own RX & am sure I'll have times where I wish it had n LSx under the hood. Keep us posted!

 

yea... that paint is just damn nice. could use a good buff though.. ...SIKE!!!

 

Wow looks great. MB is my favorite fd color after white.