I've got a small collection of factory AM radios if you need one gypsy

There is a factory 12a Bridgeport Rx2 coupe on this site that is located in WA, cant remember his userid. It is a standard looking silver coupe with factory wheels.

Thanks for the offer on the radio, although I already have a good one. Who needs FM radio... its just filled with stupid DJ's and annoying Ads. I'll take mono crackly AM radio any day !

i think its a JDM spec bridgeport rx2 coupe .

does anyone know if bridgeporting was a factory option on rx3s or rx4s?

i highly doubt that mazda ever offered a bridge motor as a "factory option"

it was a option on the r100 and rx2

the kit was called B1 or B2 which was brideporting ,a bigger master cylender with power booster ,a quick steering ratio and heavier clutch
close ratio gear box,and LSD .
the kit cost $2500 at he time in 1970 many of these kits or options were sold in japan but i am not aware of any in Australia, the magazine article this info is from also has pictures of the optional 10a R100 Bridgeported housings.
they also had other kits called A1.A2.A3 which were more mild mods
eg carby,intake manifold,tighter suspension,and better brake pad compound. this kit cost $290 in 1970

similar optional kits were avaiable for the rx2 ,have a magazine somewhere with details

Derek you are probably right, they probably were not an option for factory cars but they were listed in Mazda's performance catalogue for the various models. Whether Mazda would fit them for you or not I have no idea.

Zotti post up magazine scans when you find them, but lets not get too carried away with the topic and about who's opinion is right or wrong. Pretty much all manufacturers have performance parts and will fit anything out of the factory for a fee if you ask though a special order... this is more about resurrecting a car from its death bed that hasnt seen the road for close to 20 years

according to the article they were a option that could be ordered with a new car in japan ,just like all USA muscle cars Ford, Gm and Chrysler you could order performance bits with the car new from the factory not just dealer added bits .

anyhow back to the resto ,gypsy besides the standard wheels on the car are you going to use any old school style mags as well ?
and if so what type and size ?

I thought about a set of Watanabe 14" wheels that were for sale recently but decided against them. I've seen Rx3's where they look good and others that don't look so good. Unless I buy them now its pointless as knowing my luck they'll catch and destroy my new bodywork somewhere or other. Im more than happy using the standard set of wheels, I think they look great. Mazda did a great job on these cars and all it needs is to be lowered a tad in my opinion and that's it ! I had the 5 matching wheels blasted and then had RestoreMaz paint them the factory colour a couple of years ago. There are photos within my build. I've just had a big clean up and don't want anymore rubbish sitting around the place. My motto, if its not going to go on this car I don't want it ! I'm not interested in hoarding anything these days. I have a few rare parts to fix my next Rx3 coupe wreck and that's about it.

Since we went an entire page without any fresh pics I'll show you a sneak peak of current work underway. When finished I'll post up a proper update...

Repairing the original number plate holder, I've had to flatten it out to have any chance of straightening out all the damage. I pick it up from the blasters tonight. It'll be tapped straight, Epoxy Primed and then welded back into place.


Straightening out the beaver panel and I've finished shaping the ends. It's unbelievable how many dents this part has, it would be a lost cause if the rear bar didnt cover 30% of the panel. Its now reasonably good... still needs a little more work. The bottom edge needs to be folded back into place to give the panel some strength but as you can see a lot better that what I started with. The worst of the damage is along the bottom as shown previously. Its awkward to work with due to its size, its really a 2 person job if you want an easy time.


The car hasnt looked so good for the last 20 years and the second pic fixing up the common rust along the bottom of the front guard. Take my advise and stay away from the reproduction panels. Im an idiot for buying one and believing the sellers lies, dont be an idiot as well... learn from my mistake These are both early model small lip guards, the new ones I have are late model guards with a bigger lip around the wheel arch. Im attempting, "attempting" is the key work here to have a filled flush repair. Its going well, but geez it's a really slow process !

14inch Simmons would suit the old school look ,they are called t4s i think?
slightly different pattern to V4s 15 inch ,which also suit.

Sorry, not interested in after market wheels. They'll sit there for years and become a new breeding ground for redback spiders + I'll just be tripping over them. I want this car to look factory with a bit of spice. To make my point a friend offered me a set of 15" B45s a few months ago for $400 that came with a car he bought for parts. I turned them down even at that price. All they needed was a colour change to the centres. I told him to stick them on Ebay if he didnt want them... and yes they are gone. I've got the factory wheels with a new set of dress rims to go on this one

It's strange that Mazda's arch nemesis Datsun is providing the inspiration for my car. Im trying to achieve a similar look for my Rx3 coupe. A factory looking racer except without the 4WD stance.



Beaver panel work...

The rear panel needed alot of work, not sure if it is economical to repair had I given it to someone. Lots and lots of dents. There are photos of what I started with in a previous update. Pic 2, fine tuning where it meets the quarter panel. Oh yeah, pic 1 is after having spent a couple of hours on it !


Pic 1, the boot and beaver line up 100%, the beaver popped back to shape (from its rear ender) as soon as the spot welds were removed. Lines up perfect which will make installation a breeze. Pic 2, dummy fitting the boot lid.


Another problem that is now corrected was the boot lid had an over bite from the rear end tap.... as seen in Pic 1 now gone. Pic 2, my plate holder back from the blasters.


Pic 1, reverse side blasted. Pic 2, all folded up ready for primer prior to welding on beaver. It looks a lot better now.


Panel beating the weld line + removing all the dents. You can see the tools used. The bag of rags acts like a second person holding the panel while I beat it back to shape.


Doing the same to the opposite side..... Pic 2 almost there, will hardly require body filler. A big ask given what I started with.


Tapping the edge back into place....


8 hours later, I have a very straight beaver panel


The remaining minor imperfections will be addressed after the panel is installed. The flat sections are impossible to get decent unless the panel is held rigid. There is a little section to the left behind the bar, and the swage line that is directly below the tail lights. Wont take much to tweak these once installed. People with a good memory will notice I also bashed the beaver swage to left quarter straight... All I did was place some hardwood on the backside and tap over it, worked well.

Gypsy this is going to be without a doubt the straighest RX3 in the Country. It will be better then any RX3 that ever rolled out of Mazda in the seventies.

Mate, I admire your determination and thoroughness, It's a credit to you.

Thanks for the update.

_________________
Rockin' the 7 in a street near you.....

I still get blown away everytime I open this thread

_________________

Thanks

Door shells and beaver panel (so plate holder can be welded) should be in primer this week... time pending of coarse. I should have the bumper brackets back on the weekend as well. On a different front looks like work will begin to put the little ported 10a together before the end of the year. I should have photos on that front pretty soon. I decided to have someone put it together for us instead of doing it myself. There are a few specialist tools that I dont have + being a performance engine I want it too run right. Twin dizzies engines can be a little cranky if tolerances arent right. Best to leave this one to an expert who knows all the little tricks.

does that mean your going for the wheel arch flares as well ?
just like the datsun

4th Nov 2010

A few more pics, maybe the final ones for the year :-k

Trying to finish off LHS quarter.. Pic 1, trial fitting dog leg trim. Pic 2 you can see it doesnt fit 100%, needs more shape, actually needs to kick in sharply towards the end of the arch to be exact.


Pic 1, this is how the opposite side fits. Pic 2, the main problem is the flange needs to be narrower. There is constant tweaking before its right but I don't think I'm too far off. Pic 2, narrowing the flange with pliers.


Got the width of the flange right, although the flange line needs a little tapping with a cold chisel and hammer to finish off the shape. The area in the pics coloured in needs tapping down a little to look consistent.


Fine tuning is done with a tack hammer, dolly and body file. Lots of little minor lows are high lighted by the file....


Pic 1, most of the little forming dents are gone using hammer dolly mostly. I also use a stud gun to try and get things perfect. The stud gun makes things a little easier by marking the metal so I can tap the opposite side in the exact spot. Most of these little marks would be hidden by hi fill to be honest... its just me being me really ! Pic 2 matching up the body line from the arch between the 2 pieces of metal.


Panel welded up between the 2 parts and dressed, looks real good.


Fixing the arch, the metal is pitted bad so needs to be replaced.


Forming a curve by stretching an L shape piece of metal that I folded. Pic 2, my reference point so I get an accurate curve as it is gradually formed.


Pic 1, forming almost there. Pic 2, cutting out the remaining rust in the shell......... there is no more rust in the body shell, this was the remaining bit, a milestone


Checking the shape with the piece that was cutoff and preparing to weld.


Tacked and welded........


Pic 1, quick clean up of the weld, needs more but ran out of time. I need to tap the inside area to get a flusher fit then I'll run a flap disk over the area. Pic 2, dummy fitted again for look...


Pretty much done, need to dinish off bottom of wheel arch, tap out some dents, and redefine a a couple of small areas with chisel. Im very happy, looks very good. Pic 2, rear bar brackets blasted and sill end cap blasted ready for minor repair. Fits real nice with the panel work that was just done.


Next will be to finish off the bottom edge of the wheel arch, cut panel to size, strip, clean, prime and fit. Im thinking it would have been easier and faster forming the entire section from a single sheet, never mind still had fun.

The rear panel is now back on the car, just finishing it off before I post anything else up. It's turned out good. Now to finish off left quarter and Im done with major repairs

The lastest....

Cut the quarter panel for the patch. It was a little awkward welding here as the MIG nozzle is large and the welds need to go right on top of the inner sill. This will all be cleaned up and primed when Im ready to finish off the skin.


Pic 1, doing minor repairs to the Sill end cap. Pic 2, treated the number plate area so I can prime the area so the part can be welded.


Pic 1, parts primed for fitment. Pic 2, plate holder attached and now looks alot better than before. Its flimpsy metal and has taken a beating over the years. Tech screws are used to hold the parts firmly together. They are then removed and the holes are welded up.


Test fitted beaver to car... pic 2, primed between tire well and beaver.... it will all need to be redone as the primer burns when welding but was a good opportunity to clean the area up and rust treat some repairs.


Pic 1, Bumper bar brackets plug welded into place. Pic 2, plug welding away.... lots of hard work before the fun starts...... primer burns around the weld but will be cleaned and primed again.


Pic 1, my nice white primer is no longer white ! Welds are nice and tidy and practically no cleanup required inside the boot. Pic 2, test fitting some bling, ran out of puff, there are still approx 12 or so more plug welds to finish the job. Doing this sort of work is very tiring, however lots of fun welding when you get to that point. The beaver needs a little more beating which can be done now thats its rigid. Ahh yes I also go my quarter to beaver lines back which typically disappear on many cars over the years due to rust and crash damage.


..........................4 Years on and almost done the shell

More updates

Lets start with something a little different. A little engine work. I have 2 engines. One standard and one modified. This is the modified one that is currently being revived. Pic 1, an old set of improved production rotor housings that were used in the Australian racing scene in the 70's and 80's. They havent seen use for a very long time. Pic 2, I had the iron housings machined prior to the engine going together. Both engines are 10a's, the modded engine is bridge ported similar to how Mazda used to do them. Nothing radical and should be a nice "hot" period engine with a bit more kick than standard. I also had a brand new 48IDA Weber arrive from the USA last week. Im taking advantage of the strong dollar, and picked it up cheaper than what used ones sell for locally, a nice little score ! Another nice surprise is that Cobra managed to find me a complete standard 10a air cleaner setup, with bracket and snorkel at a very reasonable price. That now means I have everything for a factory setup (all the hard to get bits at least). I should mention that the purpose of my build is not to have a 100% standard car, but a subtle modified one that looks like Mazda put it together using factory style sport options. You'll need to stay tuned to see what I do !


Finishing off the last of the major shell work. The skin is treated for surface rust then sanded and cleaned.


Skin is then primed. Pic 2, the inner sill is seam sealed around all the welds to prevent rust during my lifetime at least.


Sealing the welded join and tacking back onto the car.


Quarter almost done, what a relief. Turned out pretty good considering I decided not to replace the entire panel. Pic 2, another set of guards that I decided to use, these are 100% rust free and would of been really good had someone not "pumped" them. They were not as promised when I picked them up from my brothers place (he just took delivery for me). My misfortune means you get to see more metal work. Dont they look awlful


Another Pic... awlful, would never have bought them had the seller been honest. They were suppose to be rust free, wear the original Mazda paint and be 100% standard. He was right one out of the three, he should have known better as he owns a shop in Sydney's West about 10min from Parramatta I thought about selling them but cant be stuffed dealing with the type of people that normally contact me, I'd rather stuff them up myself and then chuck them in the bin than deal with anyone... really cant be bothered dealing with most humans for Mazda parts ! Pic 2, I rub back the flare before I start my repair.


To reshape the flare back to standard I first make a template using a brand new Mazda guard and trace it onto some paper. The guard still wears the factory black paint and has the part number label on the inside.


Next I glue the paper onto a piece of cardboard and trace the shape onto the guard. I'll address the lip and the front section which has been cut to accommodate large wheels later.


The pattern is traced onto both sides of the guard so I can accurately work the flare back to a standard shape. The technique came to me in a dream one night probably just thinking about it in my subconscious ! Pic 2, I use a blunt cold chisel over a piece of wood to gradually get the factory line. Took about 20minutes.


The "dream" technique turned to reality and turned out to be one of the easiest things Ive done on this car. Pic 1, the flare line is cleanly marked from the chisel and still is shaped in an outward direction. Pic 2, I lightly tap the flange area down using a body hammer with a crown to get that factory curve.


Just so you get an idea on what Im doing, Im using a hammer off dolly technique to form the flare edge. In other words the dolly isnt being hit by the hammer... hence hammer off dolly. The dolly is placed firmly against the line to keep the flare line from deforming and to support the metal while Im tapping the edge over. Hard to explain, metal work is a practical thing not something you can just read about. Pic 2, looking good !!


Paint stripped and sanding to reveal some minor dents. Ive already fixed about 4, a few more to do. I prefer doing this than fixing more rust, Im a bit over removing rust.


And another shot... very very happy, a little bit of fine tuning but essentially done. Follow your dreams You can see a few minor lows (dents) but Im just happy that there is no rust for me to fix. To fix the dents I bump them up then tap around them using the flipper (bent file, pictured in a previous update). Very simple to remove when you have good access to the inside of the panel. Pic 2.. Still got to do the opposite side.... I'll leave that for next time.



......... and that is how you get a rust free Mazda Rx3 coupe, simple huh ?

......... and that is how you get a rust free Mazda Rx3 coupe, simple huh ?


Bahahah simple for some.. Well done keep up the great work!

_________________
round and round and now up and down!

And a few more of the guard repair.......

The purpose of buying these guards was so I didnt have to do anything to them other than fix a few dents. Instead I spent approx 3 - 4 hours roughing out the flare shape, another 6 or so hours another day stripping it and beating most of the dents and waves/ ripples out of the guard and then another 3 - 4 hours repairing the front edge where it had been cut for big "sick mate" Simmons wheels. They were probably going for the Pro Roller Skate look. It still needs another couple of hours to finish off the newly shaped edge, its almost there just a little more to do........... it all takes time !! Pic 2, I chopped out the area and ..........


... . then tack welded a replacement section in place using an Oxy torch to try and get a better repair. Pic 2, close up of the Oxy tacks. A hammer and dolly is a necessity as you do your tacks.


A good 60% of the weld was fuse welded (no filler rod). Pic 2 the reverse side is also nice and clean with no weld bead that is common on a MIG. The cold chisel and brick bolster is used to redefine the flare lines around the weld. Again forget the Oxy if you cant use a hammer and dolly.


Pic 1, the repair almost done.... I'll do a bit more then leave it. Oxy weld is nice and soft and files up real easy. Pic 2, this is the area that always rusts out on these guards. This one is 100% clean.


.........and this is pretty much the finished product, barely requires any filler. I need another hour or so to finish off the flare edge which is 70% done and then Im there.


still got to do the other side.... or I can drop the lot off to sims metal.... for the record Rx3s are JUNK, but what would I do with my time !!