1973 Mazda Rx3

gypsy · **Posted:** Thu Feb 10, 2011 2:19 pm

Hi Matt, everyone says that until they actually have to do it :lol:

Some days Im keen other days I wish I never started, at the moment Im sick of having car parts everywhere I look. Ive had a big a clean up in the last few weeks, I've either given stuff away or thrown it out.... cant be bothered advertising stuff unless its something rare AND desirable or I know someone needs it. It does my head in putting up stuff at postage only prices... car people just fluff around even when Im giving stuff away, I'd even pay for the postage if they didnt procrastinate so much !

You can probably tell this is one of the low points :lol:

I just want it painted which will put an end to all the dust and throw a cover over it and forget about it for a while. I've got the other quarter to do which should be much easier and then the A pillars and cowl. The underside can be done at anytime once I decide what to do. Im now thinking to just touch it up and leave it as is given its pretty decent. I might take a sample of the primer colour down to the paint shop so I can colour match the epoxy for touch up. On the other side I may just paint the entire underside.... will need to take another look and decide.

Its all good just give me till the weekend

ewokracing · **Posted:** Fri Feb 11, 2011 2:59 am

you have just made me feel guilty that I haven't rung Phil from Ballarat about his two 626 gearboxes.

stick with it John, us less skilled chaps need someone else to learn from.

gypsy · **Posted:** Sun Feb 20, 2011 4:30 pm

Opposite side blocked and sprayed in a semi-gloss epoxy. As I dont work on the car full time its much easier for me to do sections like this at a time so Im not chasing my work. It was pretty straightforward getting things looking right (although very time consuming). Again I use a long flat flexible block (40+ cm) and a few others with various shapes, like mentioned before anything that works that doesnt distort its shape.

My 4 big amateur tips for DIY painters:
1. Sand in an X pattern and never stay in the one spot otherwise you will create waves.
2. Always use a guide coat, as its sanded off you'll need to apply more if the area still needs sanding. Either blocking dust or rattle can paint that wont clog the paper will be fine. I found cheap cans from a $2 shop that work great and dont clog your paper. Blocking powder is generally better though.
3. Let the sandpaper do the cutting of the surface that you're blocking, dont apply too much pressure to the block. If you are applying too much pressure you either have the wrong grade of paper for the job or its time to change the paper.

and finally

Dont use El Cheapo crap sand paper, its useless and you'll end up with a poor finish that will show through your paint. I mainly use SIA, Norton, 3M (when I find it at a reasonable price). Cheap paper never lasts because they skimp on the cutting compound and the paper may not provide a consistant grit cut. If you havent guessed, thats why its cheap !

I now have 2 straight quarters and a roof

Next I need to strip and clean up the jambs, finish off the sill panels and the A and C pillars . Once its done which shouldnt be too far away, it'll be blocked again for Hi Fill then left for a few weeks or maybe a month maybe two depending on my enthusiasm. While I wait during the Hi Fill stage I'll use that time to finish the underside...... then its paint time, for the shell at least

john · **Posted:** Sun Feb 20, 2011 5:01 pm

A constant source of inspiration. :tu:

ScottsRx · **Posted:** Sat Mar 05, 2011 5:17 am

Looking good gypsy.

Would love to see your plans for the rotisserie

gypsy · **Posted:** Sun Mar 06, 2011 6:15 pm

Send me a PM with your email address address and I'll go looking for them. I modified the design a little out of paranoia. I've strengthened the arms and added more support for the uprights and also changed the design where the T arms that go between the car and rottisserie body attach. If I were to build another one I'd change it further and use a bearing/ axle for the pivots points. The design itself is fine and would easily rotate Detroits heaviest 50's cars onto their roofs without folding onto itself !

The critical part of any rotisserie design in my opinion is to have a fixed equal hieght pivot point on each side of the car so the car always spins on an level axis 100% of the time. This fundamental design is missing from alot of the rotisseries being sold by companies which makes them crap in my opinion. No need to have the pivot adjustable with hydraulics, all hieght adjust should be in the arms with a fixed height pivot. It was the main reason I built this oneone myself rather than buying a professional made one. There are 2 other cars lined up to go up on the rotisserie after Im done with it.

On the car front still sanding away, very time consuming. Most of the remaining bits of the shell should be in epoxy real soon before being blocked again for HiFill primer. Not much to show really, the only bonus at this stage is the body shell looks to be very straight and the final stages of blocking when the Hi Fill goes on should be fast and easy. The bonnet, doors and guards are almost done as well........ always forget the nosecone !

Aside from that, Im having some engine bolts cleaned and zinced so the block can go together. I've had a heap of goodies arrive recently and also managed to get a brand new original pressure button radiator cap ex Japan for that finishing touch. While working on the engine, Im waiting on a mate to clean up the twin distributor timing cover, and distributor housings so they can go together.

2011 should be the year when my car makes its return to the road after nearly 20 Years and Im really looking forward to having something worth while to drive come Spring time

gypsy · **Posted:** Tue Mar 15, 2011 2:38 am

Pic 1. While stripping the jams I noticed some rust worm under the factory primer. I came across an area that just appeared to have the typical surface rust. After applying a little pressure I ended up with a hole, I was a little surprised. Pic 2, never mind.... minor problem in the scheme of things, welded the hole up.

Pic 1, ran a flap disk over the weld, all gone. While I was at it I checked inside the jamb as well. All looks very clean, why it rusted in that one spot who knows. Pic 2 stripping the rest of the jamb before spraying epoxy over the jamb, all good with no more surprises.

The rear quarters have both been epoxied, I like to leave them for a couple of weeks so the epoxy shrinks right up before going to the next step. Over the couple of weeks I go over the quarters and highlight any defects with a marker, all minor at this stage and should block out. The thing Ive learnt is that you can sit there and stare at a quarter and still miss stuff, I find I pick up more if I look over it on different days. The quarters will get a dust coat and blocked again before being HiFilled. Pic 2, test fitting the clips and stainless trims.

Pic 1, these are the rivets and clips I'll use to replace the missing studs for the stainless trims. Pic2, bottom of the sill needs stripping and a little straightening.

Pic 1, cleaning up and straightening the bottom edge of the sill. Pic 2 flipping the car onto its side to work on the underside.

Pic 1, tweaked the bonnet... pretty much ready for colour. You need a guide coat while blocking to check all the creases and lines. Pic 2, A, B and C Pillars as well as sill in epoxy. What a relief.... opposite side still to finish off. Pic 2, started blocking the quarter to get rid of any highlighted defects.

Pic 1, need to fit the missing studs. Pic 2 C pillar all done.

Pic 1, sill panel nice and straight and clean. Rx3 aficionados will notice I've drilled out the sill trim mount holes so that I can use late model 808 plastic clips instead of the metal clip and screw. Its my belief that Australian Rx3's never had the plastic clips as we never got the late model cars. As to the exact change over date, i dont know.... maybe 76/77 ?? If you look at a early Rx3 and it has large clip mount holes with no evidence of a sill panel change and other things dont look right then you're probably looking at a late model 808 that has been numbered. Pic 2, studs ready to be fitted.

Some dud rivets were in the packet, notice the right most stud. Pic 2, they are fitted using a normal rivet gun.

Pic 1, rivet holes and rivet are dipped in primer before fitting..... Pic 2, You can see some more rust worm even though the primer was intact and appeared to be in good condition, I got carried away a little....

Pic 1, I always intended to strip the wheel tub given the repairs I had done to the tub. One thing led to another and before I knew it I had pretty much sanded the spare wheel tub and boot floor underside :lol:

I told you I hate rust, rust belongs on a Ford or Holden, not a classic Mazda. :lol:

Next time I think one of my mates will beat me over the head with a body hammer if they catch me doing this again :lol:

Probably a good idea to put me out of my "rust hell" missery :lol:

Hindsight is a funny thing, next time it'll go to the blasters. Only bonus doing it this way is that I wont have sand falling out of the car over the next 10 years. You'd have to have a pretty convincing story if you ever try and convince me that there is no "rust worm" in your old car. Maybe you have one of the special rare platinum sacrificial metal dipped ones that dont rust. After all that the underside was pretty good :lol:

Pic 2, I tried stripping the SuperCheap bitumen that the previous owners splashed everywhere ... litres of the Sh!t everywhere !.... gave up in the end and decided to strip the rear wheel arches. Im going to paint the arches like Mazda did and last thing I want is to have the paint peeling off after 6 months.

Finshing off the doors......... you guested it, Im using a guide dust and long blocks to make sure they are straight. I do sections at a time to make sure the character lines are right.

The guide dust also highlights surface imperfects by going a darker colour. Makes picking up defects a little easier that using a spray can as a guide coat. Both doors are pretty much done, next I'll fit them up to the car to make sure they line up right and do the same with the guards before pulling the doors back off to colour the jams and door shell.

Well there you have it, if I wasnt so fussy and skipped the extra work I would have painted it 3 weeks ago and would be preparing to screw it back together.... I get my patience from watching Mr Miyagi catch flies with chop sticks, its my other favourite past time :lol:

ewokracing · **Posted:** Sat Mar 26, 2011 4:10 am

I liked your ad on ausrotary John.

gypsy · **Posted:** Sat Mar 26, 2011 5:49 pm

They locked it, no idea why...........the mod that locked it needs to think outside the square. If I thought like most I would have sold the car 5 years ago. Not everything has monitory value. It was a genuine ad with a bit tongue in cheek, and yes I would have seriously swapped potatoes and beans for the parts. I think someone wants the area where they rust out at the bottom so will post that out later this week for free :wink:

On yeah poor QLD importer and his dealers pedaling expensive useless, good for nothing parts. I have a friend who's currently going all out on a falcon who was close to buying a couple of panels. I quickly put an end to that by demonstrating in person what their idea of perfect fit is Also showed him photos of the nosecones. Changed his mind quick smart !

Lets keep this thread clean and on topic, now that I no longer have to look at the repro guard I can lay it to rest even if it did cost $400.

Nothing much to report on that is worth showing. Had a huge cleanup in the garage, Threw alot of stuff out. Photo of some recent parts purchased over the last few months. Found a brand new Mazda pressure button cap, also got the a good set of cups that sit under the engine mounts and a set of rear leaf spring pivots.

Door skins are all done and now in epoxy, engine timing case and housing Im told are blasted clean, engine should finally be together maybe as soon as this week. I need to clean up the sump and drop that off but thats not going to stop it going together.

All going well although Im getting a little sick of it at the moment so will most likely take a break for a while.

RestoreMaz · **Posted:** Mon Mar 28, 2011 4:35 am

What was this ad?

I dont go on that site anymore...i missed it. cant stand the moderators...they are all into plastic rx7s...they dont care about the early stuff.

One of them even put up a wanted ad for Rx7 shocks...seriously...shocks....now thats a rare item you cant get at any auto parts store :roll:

gypsy · **Posted:** Mon Mar 28, 2011 4:29 pm

Here you go Dave... for the record I never got a sack of potatoes or bag of fresh beans, I exchanged the guard for 4 genuine stainless screws that attach the stainless shark fin trim to the rear wheel area.... I think I got the better deal at $50 a screw, at least they'll fit as designed :lol:

http://www.ausrotary.com/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=203546

I cant say much for chasing Rx7 rear shockers, a call to a wrecking yard or to any of the people currently parting a car from the parts forum would easily have got you numerous cheap sets within a day. The word lazy comes to mind :lol:

The AR forum is ok it just really caters for a much younger demographic with different focus, I suppose its taken over where Fast Fours & Rotaries and Hot 4's magazines left off in the late 90's. Thats obvious by the high percentage of highly modified street and drag cars all using modern components with little thought towards period modifications. Extra large FR simmons wheels, bridge port turbos and leather late model seats rank amongst the top 5 must have mods, which is fine by me however I have very little interest in any of that stuff these days. I think age and has alot to do with it !

mazda 818 · **Posted:** Tue Mar 29, 2011 12:19 am

He gypsy, nice work.

I saw this picture, and it reminded me of a guy in france, who is also restoring a 818 coupe.
He had "some" rust on that same place and that ended up like this....

Just in case.........

gypsy · **Posted:** Tue Mar 29, 2011 1:11 am

Dont worry I checked it all out. The little rust hole was located well under the inner latch support bracket so no need to worry. The rust started from under the paint not from inside the quarter panel

I spoke to a Mazda enthusiast (ex Mazda employee) during the week who used to work on these cars when new as a painter. It wasnt uncommon for cars to be repainted under warranty because of rust veins forming under the paint, apparently it was poor preparation and paint process from the factory.

That quarter panel was free from even surface rust with the exception of the area behind the rear wheel.

gypsy · **Posted:** Sun Apr 17, 2011 5:26 am

This will be one of the final body updates for the time being. I've pretty much missed the window of opportunity for painting unless I hire a booth. Some days are good others aren't, you need the warmth for the paint to flash off in between coats. Without flash off you increase the likely hood of bad runs, solvent pop and most likely mopping the paint off the floor ! The other reason Im sick of working on it at the moment. I'll finish off the shell and then store it away till next spring. In the mean time I'll get to work on refreshing all the mechanical components.

Straightening the bottom of the left guard. Pic 2, these guards were 100% free from rust, this is where they typically rust.

I wasnt 100% happy with how this section of the flare turned out. Instead of simply bogging it I remark the desired shape.

Reworked the shape, unfortunately the area cracked so I tacked it up using the MIG. Almost invisible.

The reverse side in Pic 1. Pic 2, I oxy welded the front edge, they are normally cut for large diameter wheels which always seem to catch the front edge of the guards. Turned out pretty good.

Brushed some primer on the reverse side of the guard to prevent rust. Pic 2, an over all view of the guard.

Another overall shot of the repaired guard which consisted of reshaping the flare and welding a new piece to the front edge for a factory look. Pic 2, car was blocked again and ready for HiFill primer.

After shell was blocked again it was sprayed in HiFill, photos of both sides.

I changed my tact with painting after trying to align the doors ! The door is in epoxy and is yet to be HiFilled. The plan is to now align all gaps and bodylines from the rear quarter to the guard. Then remove the door to paint the door shell and jamb, then finally refit the door to paint the skin. Doing it this way means I know what it will look like prior to painting the shell with any screw ups clearly visible prior to painting ! Also there is less chance of scratching the fresh paint. Aligning panels is a headache.

I use a dry guide coat to rub the panels as seen with the guard. Door now comes off to prep the shell and jambs for colour. Holes measured and drilled for sill trim and dog leg trim.

Need to shoot a little more HiFill after correcting the line. You can see metal showing through where I did extensive repairs. Stainless trim fitted and the extra clip hole has been drilled as well. I have the plastic sill clips on their way from the USA. Final guide coat sprayed so I can paint the damn thing. This time it will be blocked with p600 wet. The car is already straight so shouldnt take very long. I'll be happy when I can finally clean the dust out of the place for the final time.

Fitting trims again to make sure everything fits. The badge holes need to be enlarged a little or cleaned out as the fit was a little tight. I was going to fit Savanna badges but this is an Aus Spec car so I much prefer the Rx3 badge. I like the red 3 as well. They are probably a less common fitment to cars in Australia with people preferring the Savanna name. Pic 2, the reflector didnt fit right, I suspect its a Rx4 unit. I should have Rx3 ones somewhere, the question is where !

Got sick of sanding and started dreaming of the day it would get assembled. Pic 2, test fitted my new radiator cap. The new one cant be repaired, the old one can be disassembled by removing a cir clip so will be keeping it as a spare.

I pulled out all the spongy vinyl covered items. Im having the dash top repaired, the arm rests recovered and the padded areas around the cluster and glovebox recovered. These will not be fibre glassed but responged and vacuum formed like original I believe. I have a few dash pads, will select the best one. I'll also send the backing with the dashpad to make sure they get everything to fit 100%. My theme is brand new looking. I also have some almost new looking Mazda factory door trims, they are 12a ones though without carpet at the bottoms. Im not fussed, not much original left about the car.

Fitting the top stainless trim... all good. Also test fit the scuff panel over the ex-sedan sill panel. I need to drill a couple of holes to suit the coupe shape but all is good. These are the best scuff panels you will find, a friend got them for me a few years back from Japan. Im trying hard not to leave anything to chance.

All looking good !

MartyRX2 · **Posted:** Thu Apr 21, 2011 6:16 pm

Great work John, been watching your progress on this for years now. Won't be a happier motorist anywhere when you rev this thing out for the first time. Just joined up on here myself so stay tuned, my RX2 will be back on the street over the next couple of months.

gypsy · **Posted:** Thu Apr 21, 2011 9:11 pm

Welcome to the otherside, not a bad place, best part is you get to read about other classic Japanese cars from around the world in one spot. There are some impressive interesting non Mazda builds going on here as well that keep me coming back

My project wasnt suppose to take years Marty :lol:

AND... I think you are right I will be the happiest Mazda owner around when its driven for the first time, Im hoping that end of the year I'll be cruising about. in my old newish Mazda... how good would that be

RestoreMaz · **Posted:** Sat Apr 23, 2011 10:58 pm

Coming along very well.

It wont be long before your putting it back together.

Ontrack · **Posted:** Sun Apr 24, 2011 6:20 pm

Really nice work there.

LSD was a definate opition, listed in the JAF paperwork.

gypsy · **Posted:** Sun Apr 24, 2011 6:26 pm

Thanks Dave, it'll be a relief after its painted. Im working on other bits and pieces at the moment, having the dash pad and arm rests reskinned, engine sump / water pump cleaned up and powder coated, finally picking up my door trims off a friend, organising the diff rebuild and sorting out/ repairing the rest of the interior.

I got the rest of the engine accessories going to the mechanic so I dont have to stuff around with any of it. Ther'll be a new clutch, flywheel, pressure plate, twin dizzy electronic ignition, Weber all getting sorted for the engine at the moment. There's a few gaskets that are no longer available to finish the engine off so I have to make those bits myself. Basically although Im more than capable I dont want to stuff around with the mechanics aside from installing everything. Hopefully before too long I'll be having the headers to exhaust tip all fabricated and engine started and tuned for the first time

Nice job on the 323, just in time for the All Japan Day. What i dont uderstand about car displays is why the owner has to pay to display their car. Anyway I rarely go to any car events, I spend more than enough time working in the garage which gives me more enjoyment than anything else car related. A cruise to drive the things is more enjoyable in my opinion rather than looking through a yard full of old cars. After looking at the 10th one they all look the same to me !

RestoreMaz · **Posted:** Sun Apr 24, 2011 6:55 pm

I wont be going to the all japan day...if it was all mazda day, yeah id go, but we have a mazda club cruise and bbq on that day.

1973 Mazda Rx3

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