even with a 10a nosecone.
F...K, i had one, but trade that for rx-3 taillights.

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1994 mazda 626 1.8L 16V hatchback
1977 mazda 818 1.3L 8V coupe
1992 mazda MX-6 2,5L 24V

Thanks 818, that's the exact point I was trying to make. Those cars all look so good with straight panels and no rust. Those big bumper bars are a bit of an eye sore. Not sure why they needed big bars to comply to US law as they would make no difference in a crash. There's not much holding these cars together !

Those square tail lights look quite good on the coupe, looks like they have reverse lenses as well which I havent seen locally.

Ive spent the last 2 weekends sanding the body for paint. Its a refreshing change from metal work.

How good does that 10A nose cone look on that last pic, the lines are perfect dont see that on too many "restored" rx3s.

Man i wish i was alive in the 70s, too be able too witness these cars new would have been great.

<a href="http://s1099.photobucket.com/albums/g388/808mazCoupe/?action=view&amp;current=PhotoShootClassicCarMagazine056.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g388/808mazCoupe/PhotoShootClassicCarMagazine056.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Photo of My Coupe's rear lights. These are the nicest lights for a 808 Coupe.

Gypsy, a brillant resto read. Congrats...

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Mazda 808 1975 Super Deluxe Coupe
Mazda 808 1977 Station Wagon
Mazda 929 HC 4 Door Hardtop
Mazda 6 2008 Sedan

Thanks and the 808 looks very nice, for whatever reason I've never noticed the reverse lenses on that style of tail light. You now have more thinking that my genuine Rx3 may be the first 808 replica, just for something different. For one thing the front and rear parts are no where near as expensive.

808coupe, you easily have one of the best Mazdas in Australia and I'm sure John's RX-3 coupe will be as well.

I've always wanted to build up a late 808 coupe, round headlights with the SP style tail lights and a MX-5 driveline. It's just one project in my head.

I actually have one of those round hole grilles that is shown in one of the brochure pictures, I thought it came out of a Japanese market 808 sedan.

<a href="http://s1099.photobucket.com/albums/g388/808mazCoupe/?action=view&amp;current=PhotoShootClassicCarMagazine046.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g388/808mazCoupe/PhotoShootClassicCarMagazine046.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

From all My brochures the Grille is Jap Spec for Coupes only...

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Mazda 808 1975 Super Deluxe Coupe
Mazda 808 1977 Station Wagon
Mazda 929 HC 4 Door Hardtop
Mazda 6 2008 Sedan

I know your car for cardomain, it's a real beauty.

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1994 mazda 626 1.8L 16V hatchback
1977 mazda 818 1.3L 8V coupe
1992 mazda MX-6 2,5L 24V

The Mx5 driveline into an 808 coupe has already been done, there is a guy in QLD that I used to buy coupe parts from that did this conversion and had all mods blue plated. I havent traded with him for a few years now... nice guy was one of those people you wont find on forums. I had photos of the conversion but cant find them, may be on an old hard disk.

I really like your car Maz 808.... isn't it really dumb the prices people put on parts these days just because one is an 808 and the other an Rx3. I feel reasonably lucky that I have contacts outside the typical people who over charge for parts and rarely buy anything from them unless the price is reasonable. It's even better that I pretty much have everything I need now.............. still sanding away, cant see it being finished anytime soon.

I had to buy more paint consumables this week, people would find this hard to believe but you wont get much change out of $2000 for a DIY job just on products to paint a car. By the time you buy undercoat abrasives, sealer, Hi Fill, Paint, flap disks, scotch brite, tack cloths, poly filler, spray putty, stone guard, sikaflex, brushable seam sealer, mould studs, paint cups, cutting compound, buffing compound, swirl remover, wool mop, 2 - 3 types of polishing foam pads, soft interface pad for polisher, 2000 - 3000 grit polishing disks, cavity wax / fish oil, paint filters, paint reducer, product catalysts, etc etc..... it all adds up and I'm getting stuff at trade. Lots of hidden costs that people don't see. I'm not complaining, as long as there are no more major expenses the car will be finished for well under $15K, I'm predicting the final cost will be in the 12 - 13K mark including the price of the car. I'm hoping it will turn out to be one tidy usable streeter for some long road trips.

rx3 parts have gone stupid I paid $1200 for a complete series 3 front years ago nose cone, grill, headlight surrounds and front bar now they want near twice that for just the nose cone

It's quit last weeks....
Nothing new?

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1994 mazda 626 1.8L 16V hatchback
1977 mazda 818 1.3L 8V coupe
1992 mazda MX-6 2,5L 24V

It may be quite here but not in my garage

Here's a quick run down which means nothing without photos....

LHS guard/ fender almost finished
Shell mounted to rotisserie
Underside scrubbed clean... 70% there, revealed factory sealer in very good condition, car not rusty under there
Completed LHS quarter repairs, all repairs now trimmed.
Passenger floor straightened from running over something
Engine block should be going together shortly,decided to use spares off second engine. (will replace missing parts at later date as engine is going into another project)
Sorting out new gearbox mounts to transmission tunnel
Removed leaf springs
Finished cleaning up beaver panel repairs
Playing around with twin distributor electronic options (have some dizzys apart to evaluate high energy spark options/ conversion)
Contacted a couple of people for blasting, zinc plating and anodising places

Main priority is to sort out the gearbox mounts and decide whether to tint the fresh primer for the underside to the factory colour or just paint body colour. From there the car can permanently sit on its 4 wheels once the other bits are cleaned up and painted.

I noticed that while cleaning the underside that the only place that stone guard was used from the factory was from just behind the front seats (where the hump is) to the transmission tunnel join/ firewall). I was going to stone guard the complete underside but given that it there is no rust under the primed areas after almost 40years tells me its not necessary. There isnt much worth showing off at this stage, will go through photos and try to put something together in the coming weeks.

Updates for the new year.

I freaked out working on the car a few weeks ago...... redbacks and other spiders.... hate the suckers. People fumigate dwellings, I fumigated all cavities of the car. Last thing I need is a nasty surprise, me freak out and knock my head under the car ! And fixing my other stocky guard ... thanks for your honesty J/B and the call back from your OS trip..... too bloody late now



Stripping it... not rusty at least...


Spoke to Dennis on the phone, the Oracle of all things Mazda, welded up non factory holes. Pic 2 Boot seam sealed and epoxied... Akzo - Lesonal EP440. Despite efforts to clean out blast grit, the stuff keeps reappearing even after spending a good 4 hours getting everything spotless. I suspect it'll be dropping out of the seams for years. That is one down side to blasting and one + to dipping.


Sanded and resprayed affected areas... much better. Scuffing boot floor for colour in Pic 2. New rear bar brackets, thanks Tricky Rick.


And a few more...


Cowl area 100% rust free even at the seams where firewall joins. Even the factory seam sealer still perfect 37 years later. Area has been cleaned and epoxied for extra protection with a modern product. Pic 2 this is the area directly behind the chassis number.... 100% untouched and genuine Rx3 right down to the factory sealer.


Removing the rear end so I can lift it up onto the rotisserie. The front pivot was jammed, spent 4 hours before I chopped through the pivot. The nolathane bushes were'nt going to give in. A days frustration.


U bolts off... easy ! Pic 2 I asked some time ago regarding 808 and 10a Rx3 housings.... I noticed the complete 808 rear end I bought has different hydraulic points. Probably an early late model difference.... no idea really unless I want to try and find the missing bits in dozens of boxes I have.


Another general shot showing differences. Pic 2 housing is out.


Finishing off some welding on the rotator rotisserie arm. Total cost of rotisserie was approx 320 in steel + some cutting disks.


Some mechanical strength to the pivot point rather than just but weld the pivot. The 2 steels are different compositions, so was probably a good idea.


I ran a flap disk over the weld and then weld another box section over the top for the rotator arm to slide and adjust. Pic 2 car on rotisserie, lifted it up on my own. Rx3's are pretty light with nothing in them.


Finishing off some plug welding on the left quarter underside... Pic 2 opposite leaf was stuck as well....



Removing heat shield... Pic 2, ended up chopping pivot bolt, gave up trying to get it off.


The sucker is off......finally. Those springs weigh as much as the shell !


Cleaning the underside, much easier with the car on the stand. Pic 2 removing the welded non factory muffler stop... nothing is suppose to be there.


No rust at all which is a first, almost disappointed Factory sealer in pretty good condition.


Fixing the guard flare... much faster this time around.


Getting there....


Fixing the front edge where they get cut for big wheels. I cut up Phils el crappo repro panel.... sort of close in shape is all I'll say, the panel is good for NOTHING and I wasnt going to cut up another OEM one rusted or not. Turned out OK.....


Polyester sprayed the quarter, photo taken immediately after spraying. First run was disastrous, had the poly started to harden in the gun despite mixing the prescribed 100:5 with hardener. 20min pot must have been shortened to about 5 minutes with yesterdays heat in the garage. Quickly cleaned out gun before it went rock hard and added 85% the prescribed hardener 2nd time round. Much better ! Can be blocked same day but will leave it a week then will block the quarter, sill and jam and epoxy all in one go. For Amateurs out there, I wear a complete fresh air fed space suit when doing this stuff. Carbon masks are crap and will probably be ineffective in 10/15min unless your spraying in a booth which continuously changes the air.


Ive got more which I'll put up another time..... Im yet to decide how Im going to finish the underside, whether to paint it body colour of give it a fresh coat of factory tinted primer.... I think I'll leave the stone guard areas (floor) black and do the rest body colour given the amount of paint I have. Also working on fitting the new gearbox mounts, finishing off the front guard and completing the underside sometime soon. Shell is almost complete ready for painting stages.

Great work Gypsy. At the rate I am going, yours will be painted before mine!!
In regards to the deadener underneath, I found a similiar thing with the RX2, where it is only used in certain places. I plan to do the whole underneath of mine, just for consistency. I figure if you are looking at the underneath mine, I have probably run you over

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

I think Im already ahead of you in some regards, not that it's a race I've already painted the engine bay and boot. Im aiming to have the shell, boot lid, both front doors, and both guards done before the weather cools down so I can start re assembly over Winter or just forget about the whole thing till the end of the year. Still need to finish off the nosecone and try to locate a better bonnet. If I cant get a better bonnet I'll tweak the one I have. The nosecone and bonnet arent priorities.

The only work remaining on the shell is to finish off the beaver which can only happen when it comes off the rotisserie, strip the jambs, prep the sills and install new gearbox mounts + some other minor stuff. I really noticed over the weekend that Im running out of stuff to do on the body.

I'll put up paint photos with what I did once its all done.... thats probably a few months away though.



I was going to do the same but I dont see the need after seeing that the underside primer is in good shape where there is no stone guard + its extra work to stone guard. If it hasnt rusted in 37 years I dont think its going to !

The plan for the underside.... Epoxy from beaver to hump behind front seats, then either paint the area body colour or the factory primer colour. The actual floors to firewall I'll cleanup then touchup the stone guard on the 2 or 3 areas where I did some minor repairs.

Good post Gypsy. Always educational for me. Just some questions about the primer.
Did/can you spray the Poly primer straight over the metal or dose it need an etch?

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viewtopic.php?t=5211

It depends what the tech sheet says. Each manufacturer may be slightly different. The polyester spray Im using should be sprayed directly into steel after sanding with a DA sander using 120 grit. It can also be sprayed over a single light coat of epoxy primer or it can go over existing good condition paint if its sanded with 220 grit.

It makes special mention that it should not be sprayed over wash primers (etch primer). When working with stuff like this it pays to stick to the manufacturers paint system to avoid paint problems.... I'll bring it up again, following the safety info on the tech sheet is a must. Doesnt matter if your using acrylic, 2 pak or house paint... they all contain harmful chemicals when inhaled or come in contact with your skin.

You should put an etch down before polyestor....

Either way, great resto John....i wish i still had your level of enthusiasm...

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http://www.ausrotary.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=152986

My Videos
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Another update...................

Guide coat and some of the various blocks I use, all different shapes and sizes.... whatever works. If you recall last update the polyester started to harden in the gun, when I cleaned it out I missed one of the air passages that feeds into the nozzle which is why the spray is a little uneven. Doesnt really matter though. If you dont like sanding dont even think about painting, you'll probably end up sanding the entire car by hand maybe 10 times before your finally done. I always wear a good mask while sanding, the dust goes everywhere and is very fine.


As you sand off the guide coat you spray more on so that you know you're sanding evenly. You keep sanding until there is just enough covering imperfections, you dont want to leave too much on in my opinion. The low spots are easily identified because the guide coat is left behind. Pic 2 trial fitting some bright work prior to spraying epoxy. This is a trim that Rick from Mazbitz straightened and polished for me. Sorry for the dirty finger marks Ricky ! I wanted to make sure the bright work fit prior to spraying the epoxy.... Guess what it didnt fit right, repairs to the car and probably because the piece has been fitted to 5 different cars over the years hasnt helped. Last thing you want is to discover that this stuff dont fit after you get the car back from the painter. You'll have a difficult time trying to sort it out without scratching the car.


I used some elongated vice grips to spread the section that fits into the window channel evenly. If you use pliers you will make it all wonky. I bent it a little so it fit right and made some room between the trim and quarter panel so the trim doesnt rub on the paint and then through the Hi Fill. The paint will reduce the gap in the photo.


Pic 1 wet epoxy, Pic 2 epoxy dries to a semi gloss which makes it easy to pickup anything you have missed... and yes I did miss some minor stuff that will be corrected. The wheel arch which I was concerned about because there are 2 welds going through it turned out perfect


A couple more photos...... hours and hours of sanding that quarter to get it decent.. 90% there, Im hoping it shouldn't take much to now finish it off. Im pretty sure when I block it again that I'll be 98% there. Pic 2, trim fits now and wont scratch the paint when it goes on.


This is one of the areas that needs a tiny bit more... a question for the Rx3 coupe experts out there.... should there be a mounting lug hole for the sill trim on the quarter panel ? Question 2, what size hole should I drill for the stainless dog leg trim mount ? Pic 2, the guard is ready for blocking....


Another general photo... love it, didnt love the sanding though, thought my arm was going to drop off. Pic 2 Rick from Mazbitz cam to the rescue with some bits and pieces, fuel tank cover, and leaf spring mounts. Original colour dizzy caps were sourced from abroad.... love the Century Japan box, very period. Its all the little bits and pieces that will hopefully make the car half decent........ I hate using wrong nuts and bolts and having the car missing bits and pieces.


Thats it for now, I cant see this car being finished anytime soon, there is so much more work to do that you cant see and I wouldnt even consider the work Ive done to be the ultimate restoration, it will be one presentable car though ! ..... Dave some days Im enthusiastic others days I wonder what the hell Im doing or what else I could be doing. When something turns out it keeps me going. I'd really love to finish it while Im still able to drive. I've got to say its a hard and time consuming job, more than what most realise. you have turned out many nice cars over the years, hope those owners appreciate your efforts

Awesome work john, every time i read your thread i want to tackle my body work myself. But i want it finished within the next 2 years and i wouldnt get close to that time frame. Again great work there arent enough builds like this one!