1973 Mazda Rx3

Eeyore · **Posted:** Wed Oct 24, 2012 3:52 pm

I thought you might be interested in a couple of photos showing the insulators on a MFR PP inlet manifold.

RestoreMaz · **Posted:** Thu Oct 25, 2012 5:36 am

if only all mazda enthusiasts could put in this much effort.. :tu:

rxfury · **Posted:** Thu Oct 25, 2012 2:28 pm

Not all Mazda enthusiasts are as "SPECIAL" as John.

gypsy · **Posted:** Fri Oct 26, 2012 11:43 pm

Thanks for the photos of the insulators, decided to go the bakelite ones and you'll see why. There's nothing that can go wrong with those ones, simplier and better and far cheaper if you ask me. Mazda want some ridiculous amount of money for the OEM ones and that's if you can find them as they are a very rare part.

AND special just means there's something wrong with me :lol:

Fixing up small stuff while I'm waiting on the next parts shipment to complete the rear suspension and various other things.

.... twin horn restoration, the horns came apart in 2008, before photos so I could put them back together. Lots of people don't bother because more often than not they don't work after being disassembled. A few pointers so you are not one of those.

First 4 photos are to reference which washers go where. You need to drill out some rivets that hold part of the electrical coil together to get them apart.

Front and back side.

Inside housing and rear of housing, you can see this particular horn assembly either needed to be painted or cleaned up and plated to make it look new again.

My initial assembly attempt failed to have working horns so I had to sit down and work out how the horns are designed to work. I love 70's technology because everything is designed to be repairable. Gaskets are made for the outer ring and the diaphrams where cleaned from rust and painted. The metal diaphrams oscillate to create the horn noise, very simple but crude design by todays standards.

Electricals going together....

Basically the horn is an electro magnet with contact points that break the circuit each cycle. When current flows through the centre coil it induces a strong magnetic field and pulls the iron plunger in the second photo within the copper coil. You'll notice the key to having a functioning horn is in the second photo. When the plunger is pulled within the copper coil it pulles down on an isulated arm that sits above the contact point arm. When this happens the contact points open and the electro magnet circuit is broken allowing the metal diaphram to spring the iron plunger to its natural position. Once it returns the contact points naturally close and the cycle starts again. Hard to explain unless you have an electrical mind ! Like I said basic and crude.

The most common mistake during assembly would be to not place the iron plunger over the insulated contact arm. The only other trick is to then adjust the screw on the rear of the horn housing so that the contacts can flow current to begin the cycle. There is a small amount of adjustment to increase or decrease the horn volume.

Pic 1, this screw adjusts the contact points to start the cycle. If incorrectly adjusted no oscillation will occur and may result in constant contact current flow through the horns which is very very bad !! It will probably blow a fuse or burn your wiring, which ever goes first :lol:

So if it doesn't beep, don't leave it connected :wink:

Pic 2, big difference to the before photos. The other situation is the opposite where you have screwed the adjusting screw in too far and the points are constantly open not allowing current to ever flow through the copper coil to begin the cycle.

Everything was replated and cleaned from rust including the original terminals.

Assembled and 100% tested working horns installed into car.

I could have gone a little further and cleared the horns, rubbed them back then flow coated them for some ultra shine maybe next time.

Last update I mentioned problems with the Mazda OEM Weber insulators, although it's caused me a small headache because I have to retap the manifold, I'm happy that the problem was discovered in the garage and not in the middle of nowhere. Basically the metal section has slightly rusted and caused delamination from the rubber mould. If both were like this you could pull the weber off the manifold without a spanner ! It could have also caused difficult to detect intake vaccum problems. They can be repaired but I've decided to replace with bakelite insulators. These will be repaired and used on a future project. This will also save me the trouble of milling a couple of notches in the manifold to clear the retaining nuts.

Last for now, custom brake lines have come back thanks to Northern Brake and Clutch. They have a rough thead on one side and fine on the other to suit the new calipers. There are 5 lines there, 4 lines for the front brakes with the middle strut attachment point. The other shorter one bolts onto the rear differential brake assembly for the rear brakes. Pic 2, I also have the front stainless braided lines off the race car but decided not to use them. I was told that for the street I'd have better brake pedal feel with the rubber lines (not as firm).

Not sure what to work on next....

beans161 · **Posted:** Sat Oct 27, 2012 6:12 am

Oh the brake lines look good just like factory. Its funny I called about getting some for my car then you update the day after! sweet timing, definitely going to get the same thing done to suit the new calipers to old style hard lines. :tu:

Eeyore · **Posted:** Sat Oct 27, 2012 5:41 pm

Coming along nicely. The fine detail work is what's making this car. I agree the brake lines look great. The insulators in the pictures are mine bought new through Mazda and the price... about $500 for the pair! :lol:

gypsy · **Posted:** Sun Oct 28, 2012 1:44 am

I didn't realise that they were still available however I did know they were very expensive. The bakelite ones are $35 and do the same job. I will save the OEM ones, sand blast them and put them back together. My main issue at present I don't want to delay my build researching what sort of adhesive to use to bond the metal to the rubber, also takes time to blast them, not worth the hassle at this point in time.

Ben the hard lines, 5meters of tube, flare nuts, 5 brake lines, copper washers and new support clips cost me 250, you couln't buy a decent flaring tool for that amount of money so Im pretty happy. I should get the brakes back from the platers in the next couple of weeks. I'll chase up the distributors as well, they should be ready.

I went to the Ausrotary pre cruise meet up today, was a bit sad that my car wasn't ready. It isn't far away but sorting out all the small stuff has really slowed me down + waiting on more parts to arrive. There's a few more things I want to sort out prior to the holiday season. Making a list of things to do is probably the way to go at present to keep me focused. There's also more parts to order to finish things off.

gypsy · **Posted:** Sun Nov 04, 2012 6:33 pm

I'm still waiting on parts to come in so I'm working on whatever I can. The main thing is to complete the front end. I'll also be buying a few more missing parts in the next couple of weeks.

A couple of updates ago I unjustifiably had a go at nolathane bushes. On my particular car (only rear end) the suspension was all bound up and wouldn't function. To remove the rear suspension I had to use an angle grinder with a cut off wheel. In doing so I destroyed some hard to get bits but there was no other way.

Pic 1, the worst of it were the bushes that were installed (or should that be jammed in) into the leaf eyes. A die grinder was the only way to remove them. The grinder allowed me to remove enough material for the bushes to become a little flexable and then be able to remove them. Pic 2, you can clearly see why they were never functioning, someone has obviously used the wrong parts, cut down the outside rim with a knife and then somehow jammed them in !

In the first photo you can see how the OD was too big for the leaf eyes. The outer end of the bush is the original diameter, the inner side has been cut. When they wedged them into place the area that wasnt cut created a huge tight spot around the suspension pivot which was jammed solid. I have some original replacements on the way which I know will fit, it's the only thing stopping the rear end going back in. I didn't want to install the brakes and axles before installing the diff housing in the car due to the diff housing being easier to lift into place (much lighter). Pic 2, Accelerator pedal cleaned and powder coated which went in after this photo.

Control box which sits above the drivers feet went in as well. I think the box contains indicator relays and a couple of other things.

I started work rebuilding and checking over the Rx4 TD start motor, more on this in a future uppdate.

Next on the list was to cleanup and install the wiper motor. The insulation had broken, the vinyl protective cover had split and the electical connectors were covered in grime and blue paint. Pic 2, While out shopping I went looking for a suitable vinyl replacement bag. There wouldn't be many people that would buy a product for the bag and throw away the contents :lol:

To install the new vinyl bag the wiper motor needs to come off its assembly. There are 2 ways, at first I was going to use a puller and remove the wiper arm from the wiper motor gearbox. The only problem here is that the wiper assembly is a timed unit. If you don't install the arm back onto the original splines then the wiper arm will never stop in the correct position. I ended up drilling out the rivets on the wiper arm, thought it was the better way to go. Pic 2, electrial connector will be thrown in some paint reducer to clean it right up an the insulation will be replaced.

New connectors, wires stripped and tinned and also made a diagram so it all goes back together correctly. Pic 2, new connectors are crimped and soldered.

Pic 1, Finished with new insulation. Pic 2, making the new vinyl bag, the original is the darker (painted ?) one.

New vinyl bag ready to go on, Pic 2 wiper motor installed onto assembly and arm riveted back into place. I used loom tape (non adhesive) to seal the open end of the connector. I'll probably run the tape over both connectors once the electricals are all tested out.

Wiper is ready to go in, waxed the inside of the cowl panel first. Amazingly there was zero rust in this area like alot of cars. I suppose the car had to have something going for it.

After waxing I had to spent 30 min cleaning things up, the wax goes everywhere ! I ended up having to use wax and greae remover on all the front panels, then gave them a coat of paint wax. Installing the washer motor hose through the cowl AFTER the wax had set would have saved a lot of cleanup, the hose kept getting in the way of things. The wiper assembly (RHS) was a bit difficult getting into place without scratching the paint work, got there in the end. I ended up masking everything up just to play it safe but not before I made a greasy mess of the paint work. Pic 2, Fuel lines going in, they don't sit like I thought, I expected them to be a little tidier. I'll look at reference photos to see if the lines should go through the holes in the little bonnet pin catch panel. The lines are loosely sitting there at present until I'm happy. The second line will be going in shortly.

gypsy · **Posted:** Sun Nov 11, 2012 2:01 am

Slowly chugging away, a bit of a dissapointing weekend in terms of progress. I had hoped to have the rear suspension and brakes sorted but it wasn't too be. It seems as though I'm waiting more on others these days which is a little frustrating because I could finish the car within a week, week and a half if I had all the bits !

Some update is better than no update....

First thing to sort out to start the car is the cross member engine bracket. The one that was on the car was from a Rx4, it fits but the angles are wrong between this and the chassis cross member. I ended up buying a replacement from Pete who used to own SimplyMaz. Pic 1 you can see the problem, Pic 2 you can see the angle differences.

Off with the old, in with the new one. The motor and box ended moving about 1cm further forward with the new engine bracket. Didn't take long to sort it all out. As you can see I have major issues with dust as well ! I just cleaned up the left and right skirts, have the chassis rails and crossmembers to do then its done.

Pic 1, shows the difference between early car rear suspension pins and late model ones. I spent a good part of the morning at Tricky's (Mazbitz) lying on my back with the spiders and cochroaches trying to locate some early model pins as I destroyed my ones as mention in a previous update. As luck had it, I only found one at Tricky's and found another at home (must of only chopped up one side when pulling the rear suspension apart). I thought I got lucky because I got a set of NLA bushes from Japan that matched the early pins (both thick and thin leaf pin styles are NLA). By the way wagon ones are different diameter again so don't mix them up. Pic 2, my parts hord, I've collected extra stuff for the next car, yes the strut tops were remade as I said they would be :wink:

In this photo you can see new leaf pads, and a complete rear end bush kit. Mazda finally got rid of the Ford logo on their parts !!

When I tried to fit the factory bushes they wouldnt fit, it now looks like when the eyes were reversed on the leaf springs in the past that they rerolled them in a different diameter #-o I've had enough, I'll be dropping off the springs to a suspension place to sort out. I'm guessing I may need a custom set of bushes turned up in a lathe.

Some time ago I had some boot rubber manufactured to look and fit like the original 70's rubber. To my dismay the fit was still too tight for my liking. It took a little while to work out what was going on, unfortunately there isnt any solution for any aftermarket boot seal that I can see other than using softening agents. The issue is they no longer make the metal spine how they used too.

Here is what I did, it may help you out....

First I cut the rubber to length then remove the first clip from the rubber from either side using long nose pliers.

Pic 1, you an see what the spine looks like, lots of little clips. Pic 2, the reason this was done is so that I can cut both ends of the rubber square so they can be bonded together.

Fit the rubber, you can see the bonded ends...

Make sure you push the seal down completely on the lip. There is little clearance so every bit helps. Pic 2, even though the seal is softer that pretty much every other I tried, it's still needs help to mould to the correct shape. I rubbed approx 100mls of thinner into the seal to help it soften and mould. Wear gloves as well. Be careful as some boot seals are very very tight and you won't get anywhere near closing the boot without doing some serious damage. The stuff I had made gets tight towards the end so is better in that regard but nothing matches the original 70's stuff :wink:

I'll leave the boot closed for a couple of weeks to now "bed in".

OK so the reason why no modern rubber doesn't fit nice like the original 70's Mazda design is beause given the limited clearances, the original seal had a loose inner spine. Modern reproductions have the rubber moulded onto the spine making it far stiffer in general. This original seal when fitted gives the boot lid that normal click sound as you hear with any modern car. The spine is free to move within the seal and is not attached to anything giving it extra clearance. I've tried everywhere to have it made in the same way without any luck.... its jut not manufactured like that anymore.

A few other seals I had made to finish the car, these will be listed on Ebay in about a month. They are currently getting a final minor tweak before production. It's dissappointing that given the cars rising value that there isn't more original style parts for these cars. The guys building early Skylines don't appear to have these problems. Also Spectrum Rubber no longer make door seals for Rx3 coupes at least, I'll look into that as well, still need a left side

I have a first gen Rx7 one on the drivers side which I cut down and fits perfect, may have to do the same for the left door.

These fit above the rear quarter window and are a copy of the original design except using a more modern material, arguably better than original. They seal and fit perfect

Pic 2, you will need to reuse the original brackets, not going to make those... gotta draw the line somewhere as its not cheap getting this stuff done.

First screw in and adjust the original rubber retaining frame....

Push the rubber into its bracket, fits just like original

The brackets are yet to be painted in case you are wondering.

When you wind the window up the outer seal lip pushes against the glass so you get no wind noise, even has the moulded end.

Other stuff... Rear C pillar seals. Pic 1, there are 2 types of outer seals.... early type shown. Pic 2, These should arrive before end of year. I had the metal brackets with tabs remade as well as the correct profile rubber. I had the later "outer" seal made as they seal better as you'll see. The metal brackets normally rust and the tabs snap off.

The inner is fitted to the C pillar trim, bend tabs over....

Outer seal with bracket.... this is the later style seal.

You can see it curves outwards instead of inwards like the earlier ones. Pic 2... All sealed up :laugh: Nothing like finshing off a new paint with new seals.

I should have wheel cap bands before the end of the year as well, fit perfect and look no different to originals.

Been buying a bits and pieces for the second motor. Looks like the next car will be 10a powered as well, this engine is really good inside... no bridge port for this one. Pic 2, luck was on my side and probably bought the only NOS R100 carburetor in the world. This will be converted to Rx3 spec, all it needs is a couple of bolt on bits to make it Rx3.

Another shot of the carb... Pic 2, work has started on the IDA Weber filter. Those who know me would know that Im not a big fan of polished and chrome engine bays. I like to try and make things look standard even if they aren't. This is a 10a filter lid that I'm having the artwork reproduced to fit either a K&N IDA filter or prefereably a square type filter with either the lid retaining springs or clips. I think this is more 70's style as opposed to the K&N setup. Whatever I go with will be dechromed and painted the factory 10a airfilter colour.

That's sort of it, I'm waiting on a IDA throttle linkage setup to arrive from New Zealand. It looks far nicer than anything sold locally. I could have made one but not worth the time after Dazz did some detective work for us. More on that next update.

timmy201 · **Posted:** Sun Nov 11, 2012 4:08 am

Fantastic work as always Mr Gypsy

Mo's · **Posted:** Sun Nov 11, 2012 5:16 am

Jaw dropped on bench and bruised chin... Amazing work and dedication John

ozzyincali · **Posted:** Mon Nov 12, 2012 1:36 am

Gypsy,
Really nice work mate, your attention to detail is unreal. Cant wait to see the finished product. Are you planning on offering your own version of an Rx3 rubber kit? I know you have some bits here and there but some sort of package would be nice for us overseas. Even without door seals I'd be a buyer(was planning on using 1st gen Rx7 anyway). Keep up the good work. :tu:

gypsy · **Posted:** Mon Nov 12, 2012 3:56 am

Thanks for all the comments, the final stretch sorting out bits and pieces is always going to be frustrating. I planned to finish assembling the passenger door only to find that the exterior door handle where the rod attaches requires a larger style clip/ bush. I've never seen the chrome door handles like this before. Things like this always set you back, I'll look through the Mazda catalogue to see if they have anything otherwise I'll waste a few hours looking through other Mazdas and other makes for a suitable plastic bush at a local wrecking yard.

I've never thought about putting a kit together, I only had the parts manufactured so I could finish off my car. I'm only selling parts to recover the costs so I can remake other parts that I want but aren't available. The main problem with kits is that not everyone wants the same things and people don't want to pay for things they don't need. I'll put something together once everything arrives, shipping international isnt a problem. It's all based on weight catergories. I have a few more things in mind but they won't be here until next year. All the parts you see in my thread take many months to get right for production.

Rear springs were dropped off to be rebushed, should have them back in the next day or two.

Last photos for now, sail trims cleaned up. They are anodised originally. Primed then sprayed in a silver metalic base coat. The actual colour is a very close match to the original finish.

Colour matched then sprayed them in a matt clear to dull off any gloss. Pic 1, is an accurate representation of the actual colour. Pic 2 (taken at night), sail trims installed.

I'm still in the process of plastic chroming bits and pieces, alot more work than I thought ! I got to this stage several months ago, Pic 1, C Pillar badge backing has been stripped, copper plated then buffed to a mirror shine. This needs another quick buff as its been sitting for a while before being nickel/cobal plated. Pic 2, the parts come out of the copper bath in a salmon pink colour, this one has been sitting for a while so has discoloured a little. I'll give it a buff then another 20min in the copper tank then buffed and it'll be nickel/cobal plated. There's a hell of a lot of prep work, more than you could imagine !

gypsy · **Posted:** Sun Nov 18, 2012 5:02 pm

Here's the latest, I have the passenger front glass installed as well as the winder mechanism. I need to make a bracket for the left door mirror before the door trim is clipped on. I've installed the bright work on the left side of the car. Now that Spectrum no longer do coupe door rubbers, I'm in too minds whether to organise some through a manufacturer I use or just modify a Rx7 one. If there's demand for them I may have them done otherwise people will need to get a little creative and make their own.

My rear suspension has come back, all fits perfect now. Photos of that to come. I'm waiting on the platers to complete zincing a few things so I can install the rear differential and suspension assembly.

The Weber linkage kit is on its way from New Zealand, the Weber is apart so I can see what jets etc are installed by default. I've made a list of jet sizes and venturis to get things started. I'll be welding in an oxygen sensor bung into the exhaust so I know how the motor is running when that time comes. I've got someone working on the custom artwork that will either be screen printed on the K&N filter or produced as a decal. I'm investigating both options. That's the fiddliest thing I have left.

Not many photos this time...

I disassembled the front calipers, blasted them then sent them away to be plated in black zinc. These are not painted, they are electroplated. They turned out great and look like they are factory fitted which is the name of the game for me at least, some people polish them (not for me), also looked into powder coating (too much stuffing around). As mentioned last update I'm anti bling, if you gave me an engine bay with $2000 worth of alloy polishing I'd only blast it back to the original finish :)

I painted the rear vent covers, they didn't turn out how I expected. They are saturn instead of matt, colour is a little off as well. For now I'll keep them as they are, at a later date I may wet rub them with 1500 wet to dull them off further, if I'm still not happy plan C is to repaint them. I'll make my final judgement once the rear glass and bright work is installed which I hope is really soon. I have someone looking at bringing in front screens without the blue band across the top. The sooner the front and rear glass goes in the better. 1. clears the place out of a few more parts 2. the interior gets really dusty with me working on the car.

jdmrx2 · **Posted:** Sun Nov 18, 2012 11:43 pm

Put me down for a set of wheel cap bands.....

Car is looking sensational!! Great work.

keithrx3c · **Posted:** Sun Nov 18, 2012 11:49 pm

John, have you heard about Scotts Old Auto Rubber?

http://www.scottsoldautorubber.com.au/M ... pe-RX3.htm

Keith :wink:

RestoreMaz · **Posted:** Mon Nov 19, 2012 2:50 am

keithrx3c wrote:

John, have you heard about Scotts Old Auto Rubber?

http://www.scottsoldautorubber.com.au/M ... pe-RX3.htm

Keith :wink:

I tried them once...they never answered the phone , i tried email and they never replied. The best rubber place ive dealt with is "The rubber shop" in QLD.

gypsy · **Posted:** Mon Nov 19, 2012 3:15 am

No problem Benn, should have these and a couple of other things which may interest you before end of year.... fingers crossed because I need the parts as well !

Keith, Scott's was the very first place I tried thinking he'd have them within a week or so. 6 months later I gave up and I got my money back. You probably don't know this but Scott's Rubber, Clarke Rubber and RareSpares get their Rx3 door rubber from Spectrum which means you aren't going to get Rx3/808 coupe door seals at least. Spectrum have said they are now NLA and will no longer be making them. This was confirmed by another friend who I asked to check as well. There's only one shop that probably has their own version and I'd rather torch my car and never look at a vintage Mazda again rather than go down that path. I've managed quite nicely without one single piece of his junk on my car :wink:

No need to mention names please !

I've seen the odd set on Yahoo but they go for top dollar. I've also seen a complete set on Ebay that went for big dollars but I wasn't willing to bid stupid money on part numbers I couldn't confirm. Genuine parts are nice, however they aren't worth some of the ridiculous prices people ask at times.

On a positive your car looks nice, look forward to the decals and other bits going on

keithrx3c · **Posted:** Mon Nov 19, 2012 7:11 pm

I emailed Scotts and they got back to me this morning. I just replied and asked about the coupe door rubbers so I'll see what they say.

Keith :wink:

gypsy · **Posted:** Sun Nov 25, 2012 3:03 am

Well not much happened on the car this weekend due to other priorities such as attending the Japanese Classic show, what can I say other than it was brilliant. I started taking a few photos but there were just too many cars. In the end put away the camera and wondered about looking at various marques some of which I haven't seen on Australian roads in many years. Some were obscure (to me at least), like a Daihatsu Roadster from the late 60's or early 70's I'm guessing. I think a Toyota 800 ? caught my eye as well, the ones that are similar to Honda's s600/800 series but have the funny headlights.

Also put a few more faces to usernames as well, added bonus. There were quite a few Mazda R100's in attendance, I've never seen so many R100's in one spot ever in my life which was good too see. All I can say about R100 owners is you need to have a few screws loose in your head because there were quite a few stuffed with late model (REW FD?) 13B turbos into such a tiny car. I really don't understand how they were made to fit

I have a few parts coming back now, it's almost worth taking a couple of days off to knock a few things over. It's getting closer to roadworthy condition with each update now

Rear springs are now sorted thanks to Pedders at Brunswick, they did a great job. As I suspected the leaf eyes where not a standard diameter, Raj from Pedders arranged to have new ones custom made, they now fit perfect with no binding. He only took 2 days to get them back too me, works fast as well.

He sorted out the shackles as well..... The fasteners came back from the electroplaters, no reason why the diff cannot be installed now.

The remaining brake hardware also turned up, brakes need assembly and can be bled. Wow my car will have brakes shortly ! First time I've seen a Mazda logo'd banjo bolt. This bolts into the master cylinder.

I got sick of running out of spring washers so I bought a heap from Bunnings and had them gold passivated. Front calipers have been electroplated in black zinc, they turned out really good. New seal kits have been purchased for assembly.

My linkage kit turned up from "Weber Specialties" in New Zealand, I went for this particular kit as it looks standard compared to others I've seen. They also supplied oil injection points and vacuum bracket for the brakes. These will be tapped into the manifold. They were very easy to deal with if you are after one. Thanks to Dazz for locating the supplier after I emailed him some photos he posted. Weber will be jetted shortly as well.

I got a left mirror bracket from Tricky, chopped it out of a 323 wreck. I'll clean up the edges and give it a prime. I was going to make one but hit the jackpot when the measurements were the same.

These wheels were purchased from Japan a few years back now. Watanabes are dirt cheap, shipping to Australia isn't ! They still turned out very reasonable and I found the sizes I was after more importantly. They required a good clean, took a couple of hours, one in particular was pretty grimey. Pic 1, one down 3 to go. Pic 2, primed, was tempted to use them like this.

I tried matching the Rx3 standard steel wheel colour, haven't had them side by side yet but I think they are close. I sprayed them in a metalic base coat and sealed with a 2K matting clear. I love painting in sticking hot whether, so much better than trying to paint in the middle of winter with heaters going full blast. I'm really happy with the result, they look brand new. Tyres also turned up, hopefully these (195's) won't clip the front guards, if they do they'll be fitted on the rear rims, can't wait the fit them. After doing all the tyre and wheel calculations they look a lower profile than expected. Rolling diameter is about 0.8% smaller than the standard steel wheels and tyres I have.

Assembly time.....

1973 Mazda Rx3

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