Yeah!! 12A turbo should get this cranking nicely!! Great work so far, car is progressing well!!

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

You did realise that there is a section on the pitman arm and steering box head that have no splines ? You need to match the 2 areas together and should go on with little trouble, similar to a lock and key setup.

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Mazda Rx3 / 808 inner weather strips for sale here.
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also a lot easier if the steering column is out of the car

Cheers for the tips. I didn't think I needed to state the obvious like the flat section etc. yes I lined them up but it seems that the spline on the new arm is chunkier than the one on the box. Will investigate by comparing it to the old one this week.

Yeah the 12at should help the little estate get up and boogie. Not out to break land-speed or kw/hp records or necks launching at the drags for that matter. Im just building it to enjoy my time driving it in the hills, when ever that day comes...

You just never know, so I was being polite

I removed mine with a puller, to install I just wiggled it back on by hand and then used the nut to press it right in, no force or special tools required.

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Mazda Rx3 / 808 inner weather strips for sale here.
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12at! this gets better and better easch update, the actuator hitting sucks! i had the same shitty issue. to fix if you have enough room. you can either slot the holes more so you can tilt the motor left raising the drivers side or redrilling the front holes moving the engine further left.. alternativly you can try a few different xmembers, if you think " i cant move engine further left aout it will make everything out of line, look at rx7 crossmembers there up 80-100mm off center stock! so will be fine

are you going to run a dizzy? and if so what computer you thinking of going? the orange plenum will be an ace contrast against the blue!

There is two ways to get the 12AT in your RX3. Change the exhaust manifold so the turbo sits further forward and up. ASK used to make a really nice manifold that i used on most of the 12AT conversions I did. But good luck finding one of them these days. This does mean you have to modify the top hat tube but it works good.

This will clear the chassis rail and allow room for the exhaust to clear the steering box.

And if your going to change the manifold you may as well change the tubo to a Series 4 or 5 as the 12A turbo runs out of puff around 5500rpm. The S4 or 5 lets them go a fair bit further.

But this is where it can all start to get out of hand.......(If i'm going to change to a series 4 turbo why not a roller etc etc...and it begins.)

Or.
This may sound a bit dodgey.

You re-drill the timing cover x-member 20mm to the passenger side and move the entire engine over.
Most of the 12A turbo conversions done by workshops in the 90's where done this way and it works fine but the manifold change is obviously better.

Unfortunately this is the problem with putting a 12AT into the early cars. Lucky you dont have an RX2 they are even worse.

Cheers guys, As previously mentioned I dont want to change any manifolds or plenums.

I'm still tinkering with the engine mounting location. Its looking like I will go for a custom engine mount setup, this may require a change to the crossmember mount locations also, my current one the engine mounts are to close together to give the movement I want. With slight mods I can get it to sit in nicely and clear the steering box, its just a case of forget the old stuff and trying to get it to fit and just create new parts that do exactly what I want. Happy taking my time as its a one off fitment so I'm going to keep trying to get it spot on. Will start with a new crossmember and go from there.

The radiator and oil cooler and fan setup arrived, looks so good. money well spent, if it goes in first try which I hope it should. Pics next update.

Update: When I last updated the motor was in. Since then I have sent my hubs to sydney to have my front brake set sorted more on them when they return. I stripped my struts ready for paint.. Its either new inserts and lowered springs or a coil over setup of some description, still undecided and its just one trouble after another at times. however adjustable strut tops and ride height etc etc are just too good to refuse entertaining the idea and checking for fitment!.
Scored a third 15inch van rim and the wreckers now i'm one short of a set! yeeew, took all three to the powder coaters for a metallic charcoal layer of paint. Looking forward to getting 2 fitted out with tyres on.
Next the engine mount/crossmember sent locally to have a new one made with the holes moved toward the passenger side 10mm from where they are now and also up 10mm to give the actuator rooom. Added with this a new 40mm engine mount bush should keep it off the chassis rail. Finally the holes for the engine mounts space back 25mm to bring the whole block forward to give steering box clearance. Its always good to stumble onto a good small workshop who take on work knowing exactly what your talking about and actually come back with better ideas, in this case its all going well.
Here is a standard 12a rx7 engine mount for those that mentioned they offset of the motor. at the rear stocky, at the front the 12at engine mount that came with the motor, which is pretty much the same just beefy.



My rx3 type one (that I had wickedly chromed when I was younger) is different to these again but fits with minor tweaks so I stuck with it and decided to get a new one to suit my needs. I'll obviously update when the new one comes back and it will be powder coated black!.
In these shots I used nuts to space it up for the new rubbers it worked fine. The front engine mounting bolt holes will be offset by 10mm up and side to the ones seen here also.





Radiator, oil cooler and fan setup arrived from PWR. Plenty happy with the look, hopefully the fit and performance match too. I will need to make slight adjustments obviously as I used a polystyrene template to measure so i'm sure I have things to do. One of these is the mounting of the oil cooler to the radiator, it has the tabs all ready just no matching holes, no biggy. Whip out the masking tape, measure drill new holes make rubber spacer annnnd done. The side tags need holes too for the mounts that hold the whole unit into the car. I'm going to use new larger insta-threads rather than factory bolt holes for these to get it where I want. I havent drilled these yet as I havent got the insta-thread tool home yet.





The yard is looking good for its first spring, plums flowers, maples have fresh leaves I re oiled my decking and I must say its starting to look like its all settled. I had to put up a little fence to let everything take hold as my dogs love the pond! sorry I should have waited for the shaddow but hey you get the idea.

Update time:

Recently I have had a couple weeks holiday. So I tried to get a few things done in my extra time, but unfortunately most of the major works I wanted to acheive I was waiting on parts.

This didnt stop me knocking a few things off the to-do list.
Last update I mentioned the engine mount. I have the new one and the new bushes. It was easier to tweak the standard stuff to be exactly as I needed rather than buy different bits from different models etc.

I started with having the old crossmember remade. The mounting holes for the motor were moved 10mm toward the passenger side. Secondly the tabs that sit down onto the rubber bushes have been enlarged allowing the mounting position of the motor to be moved forward by around 25mm. Here is the old with the new for comparison.



In this shot its clear the differences in mounting positions. Notice the set back to move the motor forward. On the original (chrome) the side holes line up almost parallel with where the bolts for the front of the block are



The standard type engine bush mount vs my new one. Notice the difference in thickness. This helped correct my location issues. Very happy with the fabrication work so far.





NOW as many of you know - Nothing is ever a straight forward process. The new crossmember had to be trimmed on the inner edges as the enlarged tags now touched the front timing cover.



Look closely to see how close the tags to timing cover fit is.







Overall the clearance issues were nearly solved first go! This photo is where the motor landed after the very first time I lowered the crane, no wiggling or anything. Not bad I think. The final position and clean bolts will be sorted when I get my Gearbox crossmember back as it is being tweaked to suit also.

Next is a quick dummy fit of the radiator. Love when a plan comes together.




Looks pretty factory from the front on angle.

















Plenty of room for the fan.
Below the radiator hose connectors line up sweet. Just need a new thermostat and cover!



Very happy with the progress and once I get a couple more deliveries in the next week or so I will be able to get really cracking. Next time Brakes.. I hope..

great work with the cross member it came up a treat.

Great progress! Coming together nicely, question with the rad in this spot and oil cooler on. Will you clash with the lower lip at all or oil cooler hang real low?

Hey buzz3n,

Where are you these days, still traveling?

The rad and oil cooler is only about 10 - 15mm lower than where it would likely be due to being recessed. It should hang down just past the lower lip like most other rx3 and 808's with a alloy radiator and front mounted oil cooler. They are made to almost the same outer dimensions as the standard unit so the fit is quite good. I will post pics once its fitted.

Cheers!!!, a couple more pics of the mounts and clearance etc. My gearbox mount is currently being re made and will be a new beefier version with the mount offset according to the engine offset to allow the gearbox rear to line up with the diff face. more pics when it returns.




Van rims have been re-powder coated metallic charcoal. These will be my rear stockies and spare, will have a twin white wall tyre like the wags used to have. Looking at this pic makes me think I need to paint underneath the car and rear wheel arches in fresh black underbody sealer. The front inner wheel arches will stay blue. Well thats a new job on the to-do list!



Onto the brakes, There are plenty of different options when it comes to brakes. The words "brake upgrade" are thrown around in the car scene quite freely but not many fully explain what this entails. I knew I wanted an upgrade but had no idea what it was, what I would be paying for, or how they go together. Let alone what is good value for money!!

After hours of research and reading plenty of build stories on blogs and forums followed by a few phone calls I settled on a setup I felt suited my requirements. I then promptly sent my hubs to sydney to have the discs fitted up and they returned a week later (minus postage time) in two boxes. One marked left and the other right.... I know right, awesome, so easy! all parts fittings and even a bottle of fluid.. thats quality service!
As previously mentioned I am running a 16x7 rim so I went for a large slotted disc rotor and caliper. Also wanted to retain 4x110 stud pattern and standard track width.

The new disc rotor has a custom alloy centre hat that has the actual disc rotor itself attached to it, this then bolts onto the back of the standard hub like the original disc which also retains the 4x110 stud pattern and this does not change track width as the standard hub is used.




old vs new, going large!!






The key to the fitment is this little bracket.





On they go.... after a run down to grab some fresh bearing grease.





Love the tech look. Easy to fit and should do a good job to stop the little blue wags, this is important now its got efi turbo propulsion. The diff (when done) will have disc brakes with the brake booster also added beefing up the stopping system.
I finished my day unpacking the rims and having a day dream session with some mock up pics.. perfect way to end a weekend!







Very happy with progress so far. Doing large jobs like this then leaves small things like brake lines etc to fit, these are the small fun things I will tinker away with. I have a new shopping list consisting of a few bits and pieces and new tools to accumulate before I get them fitted up. Cheers for reading

Hey ben, top work on the wags! If u need new brake lines done hit up "all clutch and brake" at st marys. A mate of mine also called Ben works there. He did benn's (jdmrx2) brake lines for his rx2. Keep up the good work.

Where did you get the brakes done?

Nice work with the brakes, interestingly they positioned the calipers in the same spot as my conversion. Any idea why they are placed in that particular spot (trailing instead of leading position) ?

Also what is the van rim off and do you know if it will fit in the spare wheel tub ?

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Mazda Rx3 / 808 inner weather strips for sale here.
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+1 for Ben at all clutch and brake. He did an awesome job of flaring all of mine up....some of them would have been a bitch to do....

Ps I want your rims they looks amazing and would set my RX2 off.....would look good on my 7 seven too, but doubt they would fit. The charcoal looks mental against the blue! I have added your wheels to my "dream" list for the coupe....

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

Cheers guys, will keep that in mind...

Thanks! I am happy with my wheel choice, I know they arent authentic Wats be hey, they fit in the guards and thats more important to me. If you run these rims on the rx2 our cars would look like they come from the same southern JDM speed shop... matching rims and mirrors etc and yes the 16x7 should fit easy on the seven too..



PM sent.



I have no idea why the caliper is located this way? maybe just because its the same side as the standard one was?

The "van rim" is taken from early E series mazda vans that had the twin rear wheels. Its a 15x5.5, 4 stud 4x110 rim.. with a nice low profile tyre it should fit in the tub because the outer diameter of the rim and tyre should be almost the same I thought. I dont have either a tyre fitted yet or a spare wheel tub in my car.. Sorry

Update: Gearbox crossmember.

The new gearbox crossmember arrived. The third pic shows the old one with the small plates I bolted to it to give the fabricator a template.The pltes are twisted as it is assisting correct the offest of the motor at the front crossmember.
The original gearbox crossmember only used one bolt hole and were quite thin. The underside actually has two threads for gear box mounts so I got the new one made using both for added strength, problem solved bolted in first try..
Ignore the patchy blue underside of my car I havent painted it in black sealer yet. looks a bit ratty in pics, will tidy that up in the near future the can of underbody sealer is on the work bench ready and waiting..






lever in centre of original hole. console fits a treat. Dash swap can begin


That pretty much rounds out my mounting of the motor and box. Pretty happy with the final fit.

New dash pad going in. (7 years storage, original uncracked. not refurbished)



Next was switching the gauge cluster from 808 style to rx3 with tacho. Now how to get the back lights, indicators, high beam indicator, handbrake and dimmer working. I pondered for a moment after removing the 808 dash. Then it hit me. My trick to getting the Rx3 gauge cluster to work with the 808 loom and plug is to switch the 808 wires to suit the plug for the rx3 type cluster. Flash back to my sparky days... The gauge cluster from the 808 has a short loom from the round plug at rear to a long flat plug on the dash frame, perfect for making quick mods.
1: Plug in and trace the 808 loom from the 808 cluster and mark cables.
The 808 cluster pictured first



2:Rx3 next

Plug the 808 loom into the Rx3 cluster and mark the cables to suit Rx3 config.



Next job is to cut and re solder the 808 loom cable to the appropriate rx3 plug cable. pics next update.
Will be happy when the dash is in all tight and done.