This car belongs to a family member of mine and is a continuous project. The write-up you see here is the collection of work done over the past 2 years. Since the day it arrived, it has received much love and attention to become what it is today. The story begins the day he got the car, which was also the day the previous project came to a sad halt.
One morning, we began working on my brother's previous project, a 1996 Mazda MX-6. It was the day we were going to adjust the suspension. While jacking the car by its frame, something horrible happened. The frame gave way and collapsed, rendering the car into a hazard. We immediately dropped the car back on it's wheels and headed inside to search for a new platform to work with. Within 30 minutes, we had already purchased what was going to be the new project: the Ford Probe. Being based on the same platform as the MX-6, many parts were compatible and were swapped over.
One morning, we began working on my brother's previous project, a 1996 Mazda MX-6. It was the day we were going to adjust the suspension. While jacking the car by its frame, something horrible happened. The frame gave way and collapsed, rendering the car into a hazard. We immediately dropped the car back on it's wheels and headed inside to search for a new platform to work with. Within 30 minutes, we had already purchased what was going to be the new project: the Ford Probe. Being based on the same platform as the MX-6, many parts were compatible and were swapped over.
Here is what the car looked like when it first arrived. We literally began working on it the second it drove in the neighborhood. We started by removing the stock wheels and installing the coilovers and wheels from the MX-6.
Once we took care of the basics, the car was dropped off at the shop to get its first of 2 make-overs. Here is what the paint looked like. Clearly oxidized and faded, it needed much love.
Because I knew that this was going to be an ongoing project and that it was not going to be showing up in any meets for a while, I simply started with a heavy compound to remove all the oxidation. I followed up with a finer polish to give a bit of clarity to the paint. Once that was done, I applied a quality, long-lasting wax and called it a day.
On the left, you can see what the door panels looked like at first. In the middle, you get a glimpse of what the compound did. On the far right, you can see a 50/50 of what the roof looked like with the compounding done to it.
On the left, you can see what the door panels looked like at first. In the middle, you get a glimpse of what the compound did. On the far right, you can see a 50/50 of what the roof looked like with the compounding done to it.
That was it for 2011. Maintenance work and small details were taken care of, but for the most part, the car stayed as is. Here is what it had transformed into, in just a few long days of work.
2012 then came around and it was decided that the car was to receive more extensive work all over. The first things to be taken care of were brakes, wheels and some weight reduction. The brakes were changed for Gold Zinc plated cross-drilled and slotted rotors with Stainless Steel Brake Lines and Ceramic pads. The wheels were changed for wider, more aggressive 17" x 9" +24 Mustang Cobra wheels, sporting sticky Toyo R888 rubber. Finally, the interior was completely gutted and a diamond plate foot board was put in place.
Once that work was completed, it was time to get the paint to top shape since it was now going to head out to a few meets and events. I started out by washing the car with a degreasing foam. Then, I cleaned the wheels and followed up by decontaminating the paint with a clay bar.
Once cleaned and decontaminated, the car was brought inside for polishing. I taped off a section on the trunk for a test panel and to show a 50/50. I then proceeded to doing the whole car.
Once the car was completely polished, it was washed again to remove any polishing oils and dust, and then brought back inside to receive it protection. For this car, I used a layer of BlackFire Wet Diamond All Finish Paint Sealant, a layer of Dodo Juice Banana Armour and a layer of Zymol Glasur.
Once it was all said and done, I pulled the car out and snapped a few final shots. Enjoy.
