So I pulled the trigger on the wrecked rx4 that has been brought up a few times on here. I am hoping it can be fixed but time will tell i guess. Needs everything replaced on the front end pretty much but another member has most of the parts needed. Anyone on here have frame straightening experience? I haven't taken it to a shop yet but I was wondering if anyone knows if this can be pulled out.





The drivers side strut tower is in about an inch an that is my biggest worry. Frame rails are still straight but with a small fold/kink at the base of the strut tower. In a worst case scenario I will have to find a front clip I guess, but that may take some time to find a parts car.

Other than the front end catastrophe its a solid car. It has 57k on it and hasn't been touched since 1978. The car received a new engine and clutch the year of the accident and supposedly has 1000 miles on it. It still has the original mazda automobile air filter in it as well as original battery. The interior is in exceptional condition as well as the rest of the body. I couldn't let it go to the wreckers so I will try to save it over the next few years. Ill get more pictures of the rest of the car the next time I go to work on it.

What year is this one?

Anything can be fixed- just tough to get today's shops up to speed in doing the old stuff, and sourcing the parts that are beyond repair. Thats a pretty good crunch, and its tough to say how much damage is spread throughout the rest of the car. Better to drop the whole front at the firewall, like the Rx3 thread on here.

If you decide its too much work, please let me know. I'd probably be interested, at least in parts of it. Best of luck to you- thats a big job.

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71 510
71 240Z
73 Rx2
74 Rx4 GTR
83 Rx7 prepping for street/auto cross

This one is a '74 with a 13b and a 4 spd, black on black. Was originally green exterior but painted black shortly before the accident. I could be nice to get a whole front clip but I will se what the body shops say first i guess, Im in no rush with this one.

So I started to pull more of the car apart today. Since it hasn't run in 30 years I'm pulling the tank to be cleaned and I couldn't believe how clean this car really is.













I was quite pleased with the condition of it all. Everything looks brand new under there minus the dust. Not sure if this is really rare or not but i thought it was pretty cool.



Ill have to get some more pics of the exterior of the car after I install new light in the garage, its pretty spartan in there now.

Just wondering if anyone knows about pulling the frame straight, should i leave the engine and trans in there until it gets pulled? Is it integral to pulling it straight?

The motor can stay in. The car is a unibody/no frame, so pulling the motor and trans is just extra work.

That car looks ultra clean !

J

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73 rx2
74 rx4

Man you picked the right day to post this... I have a rx4 coupe parts car that we just decided to cut up and get rid of i will be using a lot of pieces myself but I do have some that will work for you.

Send me an email with detailed pics of exactly where you want the frame/firewall cuts I can ship to canada we will just palletize and truck ship, no i don't have spare front sheet metal i do have like an extra grill and I will have suspension pieces if you don't trust yours

rotarydave@aol.com
kiddynrse@aol.com

send to both addresses

DAVE

I would like to pull the engine and trans for a rebuild but if its able to be pulled will it affect the pull? I will clean up the broken glass from the interior and post more pics tomorrow. Also, can anyone recommend a product for removing 30 year old duct tape from the paint? The windshield was smashed in the accident and they taped polly over the windshield to keep it covered. Some of the tape peels off and turns to dust but the remainder is ridiculously stuck on. Any help would be appreciated.

It won't affect the straightening process- In fact, it will make it easier on the people doing the work to have the room around the damaged areas. Car looks great otherwise. Photo document how things look now, and get as much out of the way for the repair as possible. The time you spend doing that will lower the amount the shop will spend, and in turn, charge you for. If the engine is new (supposedly), why would you spend the time/money rebuilding it? I'd bet some fresh gas and new filters, and that thing lights. If the mileage is correct, don't even bother cracking the trans open. Drive it first. Mazda's are sturdy, and this time capsule needs a chance to see if she runs.

Interested in seeing the estimate for time on the Blackhawk (or whatever machine will be used).

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71 510
71 240Z
73 Rx2
74 Rx4 GTR
83 Rx7 prepping for street/auto cross

Spray WD 40 on the duct tape,let it sit and soak ,use a plastic soft scraper and a rag. It may take a few rounds but it will come off.

I agree with CamanoRx2 if the car has been sitting in dry storage since 78 try to fire it up and see what happens you may get luckey !

J

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73 rx2
74 rx4

I can try to fire it up but the clutch slave is empty (possibly leaked over the years?) and I still need to clean all the old fuel out of it. You don't think the seals would be too dried up? I assumed they would leak as soon as it was running again

One way to find out .... If it were my car i would buy a carb rebuild kit ,take the carb apart, clean and blow out the jets and innards ,replace the aceleratror pump, throw a new set of plugs in . Upon rolling the engine for the first time ,pull the coil wires off,dump some engine oil down the carb both front and rear primarys then roll it over (helps comperssion).Pull the plugs out, roll the engine again and blow out excessive oil,clean plugs then reinstall plugs as well as coil wires. Fresh gas, get ready for lots of smoke cause that oil also went down into the exhaust system as well (it will burn off eventually) Neigbors will hate you ! Big Fire extinguisher in hand ,Fire it up and watch carefully to see if she is a runner or leaker and like i said you may get luckey. If it does leak or has compression issues then at the very least everything is not a waist of cash. Your carb would be rebuilt and plugs you can still use in a rebuilt engine you have just made a step in the right direction for runability.

Good luck

J

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73 rx2
74 rx4

That is a better description of what I was saying. All valid suggestions. When I got my collection of old engines and parts, I'd put an engine on the stand, put the plug side up, pour in some oil, come back the next day and rotate the eng 120 deg on the stand, put oil in the ports, repeated it on the 3rd day, and then gently tried to rotate the engine. Turned fine, and gave me confidence that if anything was 'stuck', I'd given it a chance to free itself without doing any damage. He's right though- You'll freak people out when it starts and smokes like crazy. It will stop, but it will take awhile.

Watching with interest- That car looks really clean, other than the whack.

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71 510
71 240Z
73 Rx2
74 Rx4 GTR
83 Rx7 prepping for street/auto cross

I am not overly concerned with the run ability of the engine as of right now seeing as the car isn't and won't be drivable for awhile. Also, when I removed the rad the coolant hoses were full of crystallized antifreeze so I would like to ensure the housings are not solid as well. I am most concerned about the work required to get the frame straight, or install a new front end so thats why I am pulling the engine/trans. Cleaning up the engine wouldn't hurt either. Started cleaning up the interior but there is still quite a bit of glass hiding in there. Here are some interior pics. Sorry for the crappy cell phone pics.

Buddy I'd be extatic if I found a specimen like this old girl. Like the boys said try the motor first but if it makes you feel better flush the system first. But other wise awesome project. Keep it up.

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round and round and now up and down!

Yeah I'm very excited about this car. I have been wanting one for awhile but they are pretty rare here I was content with waiting for a clean one to show up. When I looked at this car and saw how clean the rest of it I was sold, and ended up getting it for a reasonable price. Now I'm just getting everything sorted before she gets stripped down and gets the front end fixed as well as new paint. The front end is scary news, Ive never dealt with anything like this before so it should be a learning experience for me as well.

Does anyone know what kind of mufflers this car would have come with from the factory? It currently has a big rectangle tip with a smaller pipe running parallel with the muffler. It also came with what i think is a carbon fibre lip but i have no front end to check it with haha. Ill post more pics later today.

That big square exhaust tip with the air pump/parallel pipe is the factory exhaust, they are usually rusted to crap and hard to find in decent condition.

Are you looking to restore the car to its original condition or are you going to customize?
This car looks like a good candidate for leaving in original condition, if it were mine i would repair respray the original color and roll it. It will command a better resale value original.

Keep us posted

J

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73 rx2
74 rx4

Great interior pics.

I bet the crack in the lower dash near the choke knob is from the knee of who ever
was driving the car when it crashed.

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I think this is the one I was scoping out.
Congrats, this explains why I never got any pictures from the guy.
Sounded good but he only had one picture from the rear, so I didn't jump on it.
Does it need a whole front end?

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Classic Mazda parts for sale
http://www.mts.net/~ryanbu/mazdacellar.html