Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Restoration of the French blue Probe

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Restoration of the French blue Probe

    I am starting this thread to show you the restoration of my European Probe.
    I have acquired this beauty in 2008. It had severeral unknown owners and was in poor body shape. Engine ran fine with 120 000 km. Car was already repainted but this was a poor job.
    This year, someone hit my car while parked and damaged the driver door and rear quarter.
    I decided to bring the car to a body shop to have it fully painted.
    I will add some US goodies like rear spoiler, front and rear US lights, cruise control and keyless entry system.
    Here is some pictures of the car damaged and during the process of removing lot of parts to get it ready for painting.



    Removed the side skirt from the inside of the door:




    Removed all the plastic inside parts:




    To be continued...

  • #2
    Out of odd curiosity - were the European Probes built in Michigan alongside the US ones? Where was your car manufactured?
    Greg Martin
    2009 BMW 328i
    2017 BMW X3
    1990 Probe LX

    Comment


    • #3
      Black leathers
      Nice looking car, definitely will keep an eye on this to see progress.
      1996 Probe GT - Bought April 2010, Boosted August 2014
      Fast FC04 18x9, Black Leather, King6, ADDCO, AWR, Yonaka, Quad J30s, AVC Pipes, Tial WG, Greddy BOV, Aeromotive AFPR, MS1v3
      1993 Probe GT - 110k, auto, parts car
      2011 Impreza Limited Hatchback - Daily, Lowered, WRX Wheels & Wing

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Bufalo View Post
        Out of odd curiosity - were the European Probes built in Michigan alongside the US ones? Where was your car manufactured?
        I am pretty sure (correct me if i'm wrong) that all of the Probes came out of the same factory located in Flat Rock, Michigan.

        Comment


        • #5
          My VIN number starts with 1FALT22B3R5xxxx.

          The VIN decoder says:
          1FA: USA, Ford Motor Company, passenger car
          L: Driver and Passenger (First Generation) Airbags and Active Belts
          T22: Ford Probe, GT
          B: 2,5L 6 cylinders
          3: Check digit
          R: Model year 1994
          5: Assembly location, Flat Rock Michigan

          So my European Probe is American!

          I will update more pictures of the body work soon.

          Comment


          • #6
            Updade. Car is at the body shop and has been sanded.
            Discovered that the car was previously dented on the rear left quarter, little bit in the rear right, and some marks on the front fenders.









            Comment


            • #7
              keep it up. looking good so far
              95' pgt stock, black with sunrooof.

              Comment


              • #8
                I started the restauration of some small metal rusted parts.
                Most are from the front bumper brackets and also done the wipers.
                Before:





                Sandblasted:




                Then primed and coated with satin black:

                Comment


                • #9
                  Car is painted





                  I am so happy to see it with its original electric blue colour. The paint is very well done and shiny.

                  I also made a discover about the glass door seal.
                  They are made by a brand called NRC ? Here is the reference I noted on one of the seal: NRC-930823-45EC4-11:17-EKH




                  I purchased a fiber sunroof from probestore.co.uk to replace my rusty sunroof.


                  It was not the best idea. The sunroof quality is poor, it arrived broken at 2 places:



                  Have to repair it before painting.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Good work looks awesome
                    94 PGT -T, Used to be quick

                    94 Black PGT, KLZE, spun bearing, Likely parts car for life

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Update today!

                      Installed the USA factory rear wing.
                      I believe it is from a 95 Probe. I ordered it directly from a junkyard in the USA.
                      It was black, I made it paint in factory electric blue like the rest of the car.
                      The foam seal were missing so I made new ones.
                      I put paper tape to plot the form of the seal:


                      Put down the paper tape on some cardboard:


                      Cut the cardboard form:


                      Trace them on the EPDM foam and cut with a cutter knife:




                      Foam gasket in place:




                      Before:


                      After:


                      Bonus, my two babys:

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        90 Mazda 323 - KLZE, fender-flared, right hand drive, 2350 lb fully loaded sex machine. || Pic Thread ||- SOLD
                        93 PGT FRANKENPROBE - 10.24 @ 139.9 mph ||545 whp @ 20 psi || Timeslip || Dyno slip|| Build Thread - GONE
                        97 GTS - Rear Wheel Drive KLZE, 6-speed, 3.90 Torsen LSD, 2650 lb, daily driver! - Build Thread - GONE
                        90 Ghettocet KLiata - forever WIP

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          been contemplating a wing, yours looks great
                          Better to be thought a fool than to post and remove all doubt. How long have you been a member?

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Nice clean rebuild. Good work.
                            93 mazda mx3
                            08 Jetta wolfy

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Today I started refitting the ground effect kit.
                              I changed all the clips with genuine Mazda parts, cleaned and fixed the rubber seal with new 3M automotive double sided tape and re-glued the 2 small foam insert.















                              Before:


                              After:


                              I've done the passenger way but didn't took any photo.
                              I now have to do the other part of the kit.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X