A-A-Joe’s cheap assed CX-7 daily driver build.

(My hard drive full of pictures has crashed so I’m trying to find pictures of the build on phones and other devices and will add them as they are recovered.)

I’ve bought and sold cars even before I had a driver’s license. My first car was a VW Beetle dune buggy with a seized motor. I bought it when 14 and sold it at a profit. I was always and still am on the lookout for a vehicle I could fix or strip for extra cash.

The story of the CX-7 started with a 2005 Mazda 3 I purchased from the neighbor for $500.00. It had a an CEL for engine coolant flow and when you turned the steering wheel it sounded like a creaking door. I blew out the radiator and replaced the rusted sway bar links. The oil had been changed recently so I cleaned the car and sold it for $1,800.00.




My father and I stopped to see one of his friends Bill, who is a used car dealer. My father mentioned to Bill that I sold the 3. Bill told me to come back tomorrow, he had something I needed to see. I came back the next day and don’t know what the attraction was, it had the usual dents and dings for a ten year old car. It rattled when you started it up and smoked like a bonfire, but when I took it on a test drive, it flew. It had warning lights but no CEL, the front bumper was smashed, and it had a roadrashed rim and new tires. The interior was clean but had that stick-on fake carbon fiber everywhere. After a quick smartphone internet search, I bought it. My reasoning was it would be worth more in parts or I could buy an engine and install it and resell the car at a profit.

Carbon fiber fun.



I started checking the engine out and found I needed a VVT / timing chain, turbo and possibly a cat converter so I started disassembly. More on this fun later.


I found a partially stripped 2007 CX-7 with a blown motor in Ohio for $600.00. I trailered it back here and dumped it off at my Dad’s where it could sit without being reported. It had most of the parts I would need for my CX-7. I did get the front fenders too.


The diagnosis and engine tear down.
I also ran a compression check and found the following

Dry test/Wet test

#1 180 psi/skipped

#2 180 psi/skipped

#3 125psi/140 psi

#4 180psi/skipped

I decarbonized other engines by running Seafoam though a hose to the intake to clean out the cylinders. Not only did this not work, I made a mess due to the turbo bypassing oil.

I went to the local Chevy dealer and picked up a bottle of GM Top Engine Cleaner and soaked the cylinder. I bought a turkey baster and stuck a hose on the end. I sucked the cleaner and carbon sludge out of cyl 3. I then cranked the engine over and let it sit until 4:45pm. I did a compression test on a cold dry cylinder and pulled 164 psi. The cylinder is 18 psi less than the rest but it’s within the Mazda recommended variance of 28.5 psi. The cylinders and compression are good in my book, time to move on to the next issue.

My spark plugs were black and charred with a slight coating of oil…


With the intercooler off the car, I stuck my fingers inside. Yeah, I’d say the turbo is bypassing. I grabbed the shaft end of the turbo and it was obvious the bearings were worn out.




I internetted some more on a replacement turbo and a BNR S1 was recommended. This baby is going to be a daily driver or sold after it’s finished an I can’t justify an $899.00 turbo. I went to Ebay and found this jewel and picked it up. Item number 111867142184. 2007-2010 Mazda CX7 CX-7 Genuine Turbo charger K0422-582 L33L13700C By New CHRA. Only $219.00 with free shipping and a year warranty when I bought it. I know I was taking a chance but at least it came with a warranty. (I’ll be reviewing this thing later, I want to get a few more miles on it.) I ordered new banjo bolts, crush washers studs and nuts from Edgeautosports.

How bad were those turbo bearings?


With the turbo ordered it was time to move on to the to the funny nack nack nack sound at start up.
After a quick internet search and some forum inquires, it was obvious that my chain had slack and my tensioner and VVT needed to be changed. You can see where the chain was grinding into the valve cover.


I had never worked on or with a VVT setup. I generally wouldn’t buy a flip vehicle that needed any engine work, it takes too long and cuts into your profit. I have experience with other vehicles but most engines I worked on have been in older or classic vehicles. I worked on diesels that were totally mechanical. The only electronics on them were the alternator and starter. I’m also Jeep guy, so most engines have been either a 4.0 inline six or an AMC 360. I had to educate myself on VVT so once again I turned to the internet, this guy helped me out.



After educating myself about the VVT and VVT solenoid work and how oil of the wrong weight or dirty oil can cause problems, I removed the solenoid, cleaned it and changed the oil and oil filter. The old oil was dirty and thick, and the filter was heavy for its size. I put in Mobil Super Synthetic 5w30 and started the car, I still had the "nack, nack, nack" sound for 5 seconds at startup so, I let the car run for 15 minutes and let it sit for two hours. The sound was reduced to about two seconds at the 2 hour start up. I went back after 4 hours of sitting then 6 hours and then overnight. The sound has been reduced to one second long which is still too long in my book but the oil coming out of the turbo and the exhaust smoking at idle has been reduced. I read that the Miata and even other makes of cars have a screen where the solenoid mounts and it should be cleaned also.
I found the screen next to VVT solenoid, but I couldn’t remove the cap. I didn’t want to use any heat on the cap, so I removed the solenoid and cam bracket.


You can see the screen inside the cam bracket. I had to pull it out with a small screwdriver.

The screen.

I washed the bracket, screen and solenoid the with brake cleaner. I cranked the engine over to blow and debris that may have been sitting in the oil galley.

I assembled the whole the whole thing and started it up. The idle smoothed down quickly but the nack sound is still there. I decided if it made the same noise in the morning, I would just order the VVT kit and the timing tools.

Well it made the noise, tools and VVT kit plus cam bolt and washer ordered from EdgeAutosport. I also ordered a new OEM oil pump guide and tensioner from Avondale Auto Imports, a Ebay store for Avondale Mazda in Avondale AZ.

While waiting on parts, I washed out my intercooler with Dawn dish soap and water. In the trucking and heavy equipment industry its not uncommon to flush out oil contaminated cooling systems with water and Tide. It works and any residue can be flushed out with water. I prefer Dawn because that’s what my wife had in the kitchen.

I checked the intercooler for leaks by capping off the ends and putting a couple of pounds of air pressure on it and dunking it in a kiddie pool. (No, kids don’t use it, I put them under a car or truck I’m working on to catch bolts, nuts and tools I drop.)

On inspection of my catalytic convertor, it was full of carbon so first I blew it out with a modified blow gun, and I wore a dust mask. After blowing the carbon out from both ends, I inspected it with a bright flashlight the dry stuff had been blown out but there was still oily debris inside. I flushed the catalyst with non-chlorinated brake cleaner while wearing a mask and the wind blowing from behind. It took two cans to flush it clean. I let it sit outside in the sun all day and by sundown the brake clean smell had evaporated. The next day I flushed the convertor with a small nozzle on may garden hose and the let it sit in a five gallon bucket of water for a couple of hours as a final flush. Once again, I let it sit in the sun for days to dry it out.
Modified Harbor Freight blow gun with a section of brakeline for reach and concentration of stream.

I cleaned all the bolts and nuts with brake cleaner and then soaked the rusty bolts in white or cider vinegar. I mark the containers they’re in, so I know what is where. The vinegar will eat the rust and clean up the threads. I checked the bolts and nuts to see if the heads still seat in a wrench or socket as they should. If they didn’t, I went to my parts car or bought new ones. I did this through every stage of the rebuild including the bodywork. Nobody has time for a stripped bolt head or a nut that’s out of shape. After that I lubricate them, so they don’t rust.

(Maybe the last four paragraphs should be put in a helpful hints or best practice sticky.)

The turbo showed up and naturally the folks at UPS managed to damage it. UPS damaging my parts will be a common problem throughout this build. They have the right color, Brown because in my book they are shit. They managed to throw or drop the turbo and damaged the wastegate actuator and bent the exhaust mating face so bad I had to file the face down and rethread the stud hole. I filed a complaint, but it was denied. Assholes… I sent pictures to the vendor and a wastage actuator is on the way. I had a friend who was the head of an IT department and he would tell me “You can’t spell shit without I-T.” Well you can’t spell Fuck ups without U-P-S. Excuse my rant, these idiots will deny every claim I have throughout the build even though the damages were clearly their fault... Not that I'm bitter or anything... Assholes...

I didn't save the picture of the damaged stud hole but, I did save the actuator pic.


Parts and tools have arrived. I have been searching for a tool that will hold the harmonic balancer in place while I remove the bolt. What I can find won’t work and the proper tool is out of stock or a fortune, so I make my own.




I’ve marked the crank sensor and timing tooth accordingly and make sure we’re at TDC. My mechanically talented son Alex will assist on the disassembly. Someone needs to hold that balancer in place with that heavy tool I made. We are unable to put the 10MM bolt in the cover because someone has obliterated the bolt hole. We get it done, we just remove it the hard way, by hand. My impact won’t even move the bolt so breaker bars, extensions and long pipes it is. We hold the extension up with a jack stand while I stand on the pipe slid over the breaker bar. My son holds the balancer tool in place while jammed against the subframe supports under the car. The crank bolt removal takes over an hour.

The timing chain and VVT didn’t take too long with Alex’s help. We also replaced the oil pump tensioner and guide.



I decide to order a new water pump, thermostat from Advance Auto and we replace them. We decide to swap out the power steering pump for one the mounting bracket isn’t cracked. Since we’re in here we may as well replace anything that may fail later.






The car will not start because I have the air induction piping off, but I don’t want the turbo spewing oil into the engine. The test drive will have to wait until the new turbo is on.

Most of the turbo heatshield bolts have rusted, they are now 9.8mm not 10mm. Even after soaking them for a day in Deep Creep, some bolts won’t let go even when I use vise grips. I pound old sockets on the bolts and finally all of them come out. Once again Alex helps me remove the turbo as we try to wiggle it out through the driver’s side of the engine. We both lose our grip and drop it; it falls behind the motor and out of the car right on the driveway. I guess you can take a turbo out from the bottom. After we get the turbo bolted up, I noticed that one of the small hoses on the turbo is mushy. I go online and order a new one. We’re done until the hose comes in.

A couple of days later and the hose is delivered so I install it and top off the coolant. After a minute of the engine running, I have a coolant leak under the car. I recheck the hose installation, but it isn’t
leaking. I lay under the car and it seems to be coming from the bottom of the turbo. I recheck all the connections again. Alex just happens to stop in and see how the Mazda is progressing. I explain the leak is driving me nuts, so he checks everything and finds that the top coolant banjo bolt is loose. For some reason I never checked it and even thought that I tightened it already. I wasted time by not double checking everything. I idle the car in the driveway for a few minutes and we triple check to make sure we are finally leak free.

I decide to take the car for a short road test through the neighborhood and once the exhaust system gets warm it smokes very bad. It looks like I’m driving a dumpster on fire. I let the engine cool off and then install all the heat shields. After looking at other CX-7’s online I realize the fabric heat shield on the firewall of the car is missing. I decide to fabricate my own firewall heat shield. I find some stainless at the local hardware store and fab up a pattern out of cardboard. After two unsuccessful cardboard patterns I fit the sheet of stainless in and free hand it. It looks good and works just fine.

I went to my fathers, picked up the front bumper then washed and disassembled it. The grille is damaged and the wheel well liners on the car are cut up, so I order a new grille and wheel well liners from a place called Partsgeek.com. I found all the push pin fasteners on Ebay and ordered way too many because I’m concerned, I would run out. Now I have enough push pins to install bumpers for the whole neighborhood. I took the black donor car bumper and a chunk of the old damaged bumper to a guy named Terry who can paint the bumper to match my car.




While the bumper is at Terry’s, the grille comes in. I notice it’s blacker that the old worn trim pieces. I ordered some spray cans of Rust-oleum trim paint from Walmart. I wash the trim pieces and pick out the best ones. I lay them out and paint them while all the trim screws sit in a bath of vinegar. I let the spray cans sit in hot water for 3 minutes to loosen up the solvent and paint then, I shake the heck out of it and keep spraying until its empty for consistency.

I installed the fender liners on the car and wait for the bumper. I start the car and check my gauge cluster and realize that my CEL never comes on when you put the key in or start the car. I do have an airbag light, so I borrow a buddies Snap on Diagnostic computer and check all the codes. P0300, P0301 and airbag PAD light code and an airbag code. I clear out the codes, but the airbag related codes won’t clear. I install a used climate control/clock display, but the PAD light never comes on. I pull the dash cluster but can’t find someone in Michigan who can repair it. I look online and call Southern Electronics in Richmond VA. (www.instrumentclusters.com). After speaking to them I send the cluster out. I send the climate control/clock display to myairbags.com to repair the PAD light.

Terry calls me, the bumper paint hasn’t matched twice. The car must have been repainted before I bought it. The factory code color isn’t the same as the color of the car and the second batch of custom mixed paint is a no go. I take the old bumper piece to the paint store and they have to custom mix it again at their cost. The paint is close, but it still doesn’t match as well as I would like. Three times and we’re only close? I check the rear bumper on the car and guess what, it really doesn’t match either. I must admit, all the work including my bumper that was in Terry’s shop was beautiful. I will gladly do business with him. He never upped the price or complained.

Mismatched paint.

The dash cluster comes back and as I’m unboxing it; I see that the box is crushed, it looks like someone sat on it all the way from Virginia. I pull the cluster out and all the tabs that mount the cluster are broken. I document everything and file another complaint with the idiots at UPS. I call Southern Electronics, the guy on the other end of the phone sighs and says just send it back, we’ll fix it. UPS won’t do anything. I sent it back and true to their word Southern fixed it. UPS denied the damage claim weeks later. I install the cluster after the tabs are repaired and it works fine, I have a CEL light that operates as it should and an airbag light that is still lit. I will finally install the front bumper as I wait for the control/clock display to show up.
I assemble the bumper and use the bumper support bar and Styrofoam off of the donor car. After seeing the grille and bumper trim painted, the rest of the car's black trim looks gray. I paint the underside of the bumpers and the trim on the side of the car. It now looks much better.

Assembled bumper with trim painted.



The underside of the rear bumper.


Next, the Evil M is born.
The chrome is bubbling on the front badge, so I look online to replace it. Remember I’m not thrifty, I’m cheap and I’m not paying 35.00 for a chrome badge on Ebay I don’t care who makes it. I run across the Evil M badge. Ohhh yeah, that’s what I want. I debate buying one and end up back in the garage. I spray bomb my chrome M flat black. Not bad but it’s still too… bubbly. I dig though the paint cabinet for silver. The plain silver doesn’t cut it. It’s the same silver as the interior trim, not what I want but I will need this paint later. I find Rust-oleum Hammered silver so, I spray a scrap of the old bumper. That’s what I’m looking for! I run inside with my flat black M and the painters’ tape. I jump back on the computer an after two or three attempts, I get the tape as close as I’m going to get to an Evil M. I go back outside and spray the first coat of Hammered silver. Great, now I have a M with measles. I warm the spray can a second time and throw on another coat. After it dries it looks good enough to install.


With the hood open I really don’t like the way the engine cover looks. Should it be flat black? Hammered silver? Maybe trim black? I use a scrub brush and some Formula 409 on it. After rinsing, I just Armor All it. Looks like brand new, Formula 409 is my new friend.

The climate control/clock display surprisingly shows up undamaged. The pad light works, but the airbag light is still on, WTH? I run to Advance Auto again for some electrical contact cleaner and dielectric grease. I clean and lube the front seat plug contacts. I cross my fingers and the airbag light goes out and I clear the code with the borrowed Snap On rig.

I look at the interior and the silver trim strip on the passenger side of the console is broken and the dash has a gouge in it. The console trim strip from the donor car is gray and dirty so I wash it off. I get the silver paint I was going to use on the Evil M. I give the strip two coats and it matches the driver’s side, so I install it.



You Roll Coal? Bitch please!

My friend Mark has a transport plate because he always buying and selling cars. He has been bugging me take the car on a long road test to clear out the exhaust. After the last test drive, I’m worried that the EPA will bust me not the police. I finally relent and we set up an expressway run of 70 miles round trip. The car has a smokeless start as we head out of the subdivision and out to the main road. As we drive though the city, the smoke volume and intensity increase significantly. I move to the slow lane and try to take it easy but at every red light, the car is looking like one of those Mosquito spraying trucks from my youth.

A few miles from the expressway the smoke really picks up. I’m fogging four lanes of road like a forest fire. I’m serious, people are afraid to pass and I’m holding up traffic like a bunch of senior citizens on the way to Golden Corral. I’m thinking about going back home but Mark eggs me on while manically laughing like a 5 year old. He thinks it’s funny and I’m worried because the entrance ramp is right by a local police station. We catch the red light at the bottom of the overpass we need to cross over to get to the on ramp. I’m in the fast lane now and it’s a bright sunny day but I can’t see the cars behind me. I remind Mark that I’m too old and pretty for jail. He roars with laughter because he’s 6 foot something and around 375 pounds. He still thinks this is hilarious and I’m wondering if I’ll I have enough money for bail. The light changes so I slowly feed the gas but it’s no use, it looks like a crop duster is driving down the road. I back out of the gas on the down slope of the overpass and move into the left turn lane. There is a line of cars behind me wanting to turn left, I pity them, but I turn when traffic is clear.

I pull over on the entrance ramp to let all the cars pass me. I pull out and slowly drive up the ramp trying to not smoke out the police department while pacing with traffic so I can merge. The car is quick and seems to run fine so I step on it and merge. Not my proudest moment, I think of all the baby seals and wildlife that the CX-7 Valdez will impact. LOL, not really, as I merge on to the expressway I look back and see the thundercloud of smoke following me. I start laughing uncontrollably like Mark. I move into the center lane and take it to 75 MPH. I stop laughing as we approach the next exit about 6 miles from the entrance ramp. There is a police car sitting on the grass watching the traffic. I get off the gas and try to glide by. Fortunately, there are quite a few cars merging into the slow lane as we pass. I get back on the gas but watch my rearview mirror. Mark punches me in the shoulder and says, “See bro, nothing to worry about just keep going.” He starts laughing again. I need to shovel out my shorts.

Around 11 miles the smoke drops considerably, and we move back into the middle lane and keep it at the speed limit. Mark finally stops laughing and comments on the lack of smoke. Around 20 miles, we can’t see any smoke, so we keep moving. We get off the expressway in Toledo and pull into a gas station. We both use the restroom, get something to drink and I check the oil level. It’s still full so we get back in and drive towards home. As we get on the expressway, I lay into it, I can’t believe the acceleration from the little 4 banger with a turbo. When we pull Mark’s plate off, I contemplate keeping the car and selling my Cherokee.

The recalls.

Mazda sends me a recall notice in the mail about the Takata airbag recall, it states that the passenger airbag is faulty. I get on the Mazda website and run my VIN and find a second recall for the control arms. I call the closest Mazda dealer and set up an appointment. I ask the service rep if they will swap my dash cover out with an ungouged one from the donor car. He says no problem just remind them that the second pad is in the car when we drop it off. I call Mark to use his transport plate again. When checking in, I remind the service manager of the other dash cover complete with another air bag in it. I tell him the airbag in the donor car dash has been recalled so I don’t want it back. Mark and I pick the car up a few days later with a new airbag, dash cover and new control arms. (Thank you, Mazda!) The service rep gives me an inspection sheet the shows my rear brake pads are worn and should be replaced and the passenger rear hub bearing that is bad. I knew the pads needed to be replaced but not the bearing. I sign the paperwork and we leave. I end up at Advance Auto buying rear brake pads and checking hub prices. I decide to find the hub elsewhere.

I decide to keep the car. We have a Toyota 4runner as a backup, so I regretfully sell my 98 XJ. The Jeep is fine for me to run around in but it’s becoming a typical Michigan rust bucket. I don’t want to sell, but the family situation requires it. Due to my Daughter in laws new job, I will be watching my 3 year old grandson four days a week.

The XJ in better days doing some urban wheeling. Out of all the vehicles I've ever owned this was by far my favorite. The perfect urban assault vehicle. I probably have just as many stories about the Jeep as I do my kids.


The car sits for a few weeks due a busy schedule. Mark stops in to harass me for not finishing the car. A couple days later he calls from a place called Dearborn Axle. I give him the info on the CX-7 and he shows up the next day with a hub for $75.00.
As I remove the hub, I noticed the disc is warped so I pick one up at Advance Auto to replace it. I use Advance because I have a friend with a business who gets a decent discount.

Sylfex Aux mod, Raider's Aux Mod and JB Weld.

I insured and then plated the car after a 2.5 hour wait at the Secretary of State (Michigan’s name for the DMV.)

My CD player is toast but who uses CD’s anymore? I purchase a Sylfex Auxmod. I plug it in, and I have one of the few head units it’s not compatible with. I get back on the web and I ran across the MSO site and Raiders thread about an MP3 jack in the CX-7 forum. I join the site and message Raider and he answers my questions. Despite my youngest son’s IT job and pile of computer parts, I don’t have most of the stuff to build the aux jack by Raider method. I peruse Ebay and buy a jack with a plug and a cable with a ground loop isolator. I drill the hole in the dash and secure the plug with a wad of JB Weld. I plug in my phone and it works fine. Now I need to sell the Sylfex adapter.





I start critiquing the car and I notice the CX-7’s taillights are smoked up, so I check the taillight assemblies from the donor car. They are in better shape, so I swap them out. After checking all the lights, I realize I have a dead headlight ballast on the driver’s side. I physically check every junkyard nearby. Every HID head light assembly for any model Mazda is already gone. I’m told they disappear as soon as they show up. After checking a vendor’s compatibility chart, I order the correct ballast from Ebay. When it shows up, it’s the wrong part. I contact the vendor who replies keep it, I’ll refund your money. I find another vendor and contact him first. This is the correct part, so I buy it. Now I need to resell a ballast and the Sylfex Aux Mod. I replace all the wiper blades and get the roadrashed rim swapped with one from the donor car.

I was raised not to brag, talk politics or money. Yet, here I am breaking two of those rules. The only reason I’m posting what things cost is to show if money is tight you can still pick up a decent used Mazda, make it reliable for a lot less money than you think.

The cost;

I paid $900.00 dollars for the CX-7 and a quick look at the receipts tells me I have about an additional $2,100.00 in other costs including parts, the donor car, gas and trailer rental. The money from the parts I sold off the donor car was reinvested as part of the $2,100.00. I haven’t added up the parts I sold but off the top of my head I can remember selling $500.00 worth of parts. I still have a pile of parts left to sell, but I wanted to wait until the car was finished. So, I have $2,500.00 wrapped up in the car.

So how did I make out? A 2008 Mazda CX-7 with similar miles and condition here is priced from $4,800.00 to $5,500.00. I figure I could double my money.

As I stated earlier in the thread, I haven’t done any serious engine work on anything newer than a 1998. I wouldn’t have never considered buying a car I was going to flip with an engine problem. The build took far longer than it should due to my own lack of knowledge. In the beginning the car was a flip car so money was the object of the build. After driving it 998.3 miles, I think I’m headed down another path. It has become my daily driver and after help of folks like Alex, Mark and Raider the car is finally completed. I’m currently doing some small repairs on the 4runner so it can be sold. I have been scouring Craigslist, Facebook marketplace for a newer cheap AWD CX-7 or CX-9 that needs engine repair or replacement.

I planned on checking the turbo, pulling the spark plugs and changing the oil at a 1000 miles. Between the weather and my schedule, I changed the oil earlier today at 982 miles. I'll post my findings on the turbo and plugs as soon as I can.

Joe

 

Love the story so far!

 

Thread updated 4/12/2019

 

Build updated 4/14/2019

 

Thread updated again 4/14/2019 3:17 PM.

 

Build Completed 4/16/2019

 

Man, this is a pretty epic story. Good work!

 

Wow, not sure how I didn't see this before but nice work.

 

Nice work! Some will power and elbow grease really goes a long way

 

I had problem with the car starting back in August 2019 https://mazdaspeeds.org/index.php?threads/fuel-pump.8849/ due to the new job, my elderly father becoming ill which exposed my mother's dementia the car sat, until May of this year.

I became so frustrated with the situation and lost access to the Snap On computer that I used to get the car running, that I called a local shop that has worked on family vehicles. They replaced the crank sensor. The car ran great, I picked it up washed, waxed, and cleaned it. I drove it the neighborhood a few times and then decided to list it. My wife has a 2013 Santa Fe with 65K miles, and we had a 2000 4runner, my fathers' 2002 Ford F150 and an 88 Grand Wagoneer. I had to sell two and since I would probably sell my wife before the GW, the Mazda and the 4runner had to go. I asked $5,000.00 for the CX-7 and sold it for $4,600.00. I had $2,500.00 into the car and had to pay $300.00 for the tow and crank sensor. I guess I did okay, I made $1,800.00, got to meet all of you online and I have one heck of a car story. I’ll be looking for another project car (preferably a Mazda) after I finish rebuilding the Wagoneer’s motor and trans.

Thanks to all you for your help, this who adventure would have been possible without the internet, a great website and the kind folks that hang around it.

A special thanks to Raider for answering all my questions and everyone who read the AA Joe’s cheap assed CX-7 daily driver build thread.

 

Glad it worked out for you on making money on the car. Hope your mother and father are doing well, considering.

 

Thank you Awafrican, Unfortunately my father passed away in January 2020 at 88 years old due to a blood clot. At 75, He had a heart attack that he ignored until he couldn’t take the pain. Let that be a lesson to all of us tough guys, go to the hospital. That left him with a pacemaker/defibrillator and 20 percent of his heart function. Then at 77 he had a stroke that he managed to come back from. My mother knows who her kids and grandkids are but, she couldn't tell you her birthday or middle name.

 

Sorry for your loss, loosing a loved one let alone a parent is never easy. Pretty sure my grandfather died toughing it out as well, dropped dead in the floor after saying goodbye to some guests. Definitely don't ignore your body.

Glad to hear your mom atleast still recognizes her family, cherish what moments you can. Although I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that.

 

Sorry again for your loss, and mom's health. Glad you got some $$ on the CX-7, and the next build we are ready to see!