Well, I just got through a fun week of finding out exactly what you get from a $300 car. I knew it was going to be bad but...

I have a transmission leak, but I'm pretty sure I have that pin pointed. I'm pretty sure that my master cylinder is leaking, but if it is its VERY slow so I'm not even going to worry about that. And my oil pan is leaking, so I know how to fix that.

Here's where I need some help... My front rotors are worn quite unevenly to the point where a lip has formed from the vents to the metal, so I was wondering if there were any sites where I could find some cheap parts.

Secondly, while I was revving my engine (the rear wheels were on jack stands) my car over heated. Since the radiator fluid was still cool but the top hose was hot, I assumed that the thermostat was to blame. Upon cracking it open, I found that the radiator was cut off by the previous owner. So... if there was just a free flow of coolant, how would that cause an over heating problem? I've been driving it a bit more and the temp seems ok since I changed the therm. up, but any suggestions as to what might have caused it?

Third, as I mentioned in a previous post, my engine has 200K miles on it, but it still runs fine, and starts right up. But the main question that I have is how reliable is the configuration with all of the vaccum hoses and diaphrams and such? Would I just be better off jumping ship on the 12A and saving up for a 13B (prob. a second gen)?

Sorry, its a pretty gnarly sized post but any info would be great appreciated. Thanks a mil.

 

I hear over and over on the boards that 12a are better than the 13b's it's just a matter of taste i guess, if you want fuel injection go with the 13b if you want a carboreator stick with the 12a... i've got a 13b and love it but i've never owned a 12a, personally i love having fuel injection.

 

There are two places to get 1st Gen parts that you should know about, http://www.victoriabritish.com and http://www.mazdatrix.com Both of these places aren't necessarily cheap but if you can't find a part these guys usually have it. For cheap parts I've had good luck with http://www.thepartsbin.com

 

Brembo or Brady rotors go for a decent price. they're good quality too

 

I am going to save up for a 2nd gen 13b, and i dont know what from there (maybe a carb or soemthig), and a turbo for sure.

Starters maybe 250 hp. more after that.

~Geoff