gsl-se whats the diffference in the models

my 81 has a huge space infrunt of the radiator should there be somthing in there or is that desined for upgrade room for intercooler

the starter may be bad in this car were is it located and how much can i expect to pay

is there any differance in motor from a 81 to an 84 12a and where on the motor is this stamped i wasn't able to find the numbers
think thats it for now

 

gsl-se has a fuel injected 13b with 4 wheel disc brakes and a different (more common) bolt pattern for the wheels.

huge space in front of the radiator is an excellent place to channel air through.

the starter is attached to the transmission's bell-housing. i believe it's on the driver's side.

'81 and '84 12a motors are essentially the same.

 

for your first question, most models only had front wheel disk brakes and an open differential. A GSL has four wheel disk brakes, and a rear lsd. A GSL-SE has the same features as a GSL, but has a bigger 13B engine. I hope that answers one of your questions. Good luck.


edit: I guess cpt finished first. He's got all of them answered !

 

mine has rear drum breaks and frunt disks
where can i look to see if it has a limited slip
rear

 

but didn't first gen only use 12a's
mine has rear drum breaks and frunt disks
where can i look to see if it has a limited slip
rear

 

sorry double posted

 

Ok, to make it easy, if you have rear discs, you have limited slip.

In addition, the GSL-SE has vented rear disc brakes, and the GSL only has solid ones. The GSL-SE has bigger front brakes too. It also has a 4.1:1 rear end whereas everything else has a 3.9:1. It also has a tallter 5th gear than the oher models. The GSL-SE also has an air/oil cooler, where as the 83 and up 12a's got the piece of **** beehive water/oil cooler.

 

Capri:

If you have discs in front and drums in the rear, then you have a GS model or base model, like my car

This means you have an "open differential" gearbox in the rear, and a 12a engine in the front. You also have a carburetor (YAY, go carburetion!).

The GSL model was like ours, except it had discs and Limited Slip differential in the rear, and may have come with power windows, cruise control and/or air conditioning.

The GSL-SE was only offered in 84-85. It had the bigger 13b engine, and was fuel injection (boo, hiss... fuel injection).. It also had 4 wheel discs, and limited slip in the rear, but the bolt pattern of the wheels was an american bolt pattern instead of a metric one. This made it easier to find Aftermarket rims for the GSL-SE.

For the engine identificaiton, you'll find it on top of the housing where the spark plugs are, at the very edge on that side. Brush off the years of dirt and grit and you should see "Mazda 12a"

The GS and base S models were lighter than the GSL's and GSL-SEs because they didn't have as many extra features like A/C, power windows, cruise control etc.. etc...

All cars from 1979-1985 EXCEPT the GSL-SE had 12a engines, which are pretty much interchangable all across the board... For a specific swap there might be a flywheel/counterweight issue, but I don't remember... someone else will have to pick up the slack on that question.

Hope this helped.

Jon

 

The 12a's can be swapped all across as long as emissions arent a concern. Keep in mind the SA's have thermal reactors.