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My buddy bought this car some time ago from someone up in Bellevue, WA and brought it back to beautiful southeast Idaho. Around 2011 it began overheating on him so he parked it and pulled the radiator to have it flushed. There it sat until yesterday when I became the new owner. Upon bringing it home I went on the attack against all the hornets that had made it their home. Note, it’s easier to fight them in cooler temps, like early morning or late in the day. However, I went after them when they were all warmed up and spoiling for a fight. I won. That’s about all I got accomplished yesterday.
Today (8/13/2025) I took said suspect radiator to a radiator shop. The nice old man flushed it and pressure tested it. He said the flow was “ok” but the coolant level sensor was leaking. He actually pushed me in the direction of sourcing an aluminum radiator to replace the stock one. So, I now need to start looking for who sells a good replacement model. I want to put new radiator hoses and thermostat in there while I’m at it.
After I checked to see if it had oil, which it did, I tried turning the engine by hand. It turned without too much straining and farting. I found a temporary battery and installed it. The engine does turn over. That’s cool. I’m pretty sure it’s out of fuel. I’m wondering how much varnish is built up in the fuel system. Any suggestions on how to properly clean that? I tried the power windows and they moved but it was obvious they were struggling. I didn’t dare trying to roll the windows all the way to their stops.
The interior looked worse than it turned out to be. After a bunch of vacuuming it cleaned up pretty well. There was a surprising amount of water in the spare tire well. I’m glad to see that it hadn’t caused anything more than some slight surface rust.
I need to find some
replacement tires for it. I think whilst I have the wheels off I’d like to redo the brakes.
The ugly hood has got to go. Gotta try to source a replacement. Sun damage More sun damage Kinda trippy how the wasp nest looks like the headlight This is the worst of the two seats Bad fading of the plastic Carpet cleaned up pretty well Spare tire surface rust
Awesome start! Glad you started a build thread, here are some thoughts:
1. Radiator - I wanted to keep my stock radiator after it sprung a leak and have it re cored, however the guy at the radiator shop said the cost would be 5x of buying an aftermarket unit. I went with a run-of-the-mill aluminum radiator from Ebay. I want to say the champion brand, but honestly they're probably all the same, just rebranded. The fitment was surprisingly good, and it was less than $150.
2. Fuel - I would start at the back and work your way forward. It might be a pain, but you should probably have a look inside the gas tank either by dropping it, or scoping it. If there is rust, don't try to "get by" and run as is. This will only cause headaches down the road. Drain the tank of any old gas and inspect for varnishing. You can pressure wash out an old tank to clean it, let it dry and fill with fresh gas. Get yourself a new fuel filter. Inspect all the fuel hose lines leading to the engine bay. All this is in effort to prevent sending bad gas through the injectors and clogging them up.
4. Racing Beat sells a seat upholstery kit. I don't have any experience with it, but maybe search around for anyone who has.
You have a nearly-complete gsl-se which is the most important part, even if it's rough around the edges. Not having to scrounge for all kinds of missing bits will go a long ways. Keep us posted!
I have some time today to do some more work on the project. Over the last two days I’ve removed the brake calipers, and ordered new parts to rebuild the brakes. I’m wondering if I should replace the rubber brake lines while I’m this far into redoing the brakes? I drained the oil yesterday and need to go get some new oil and oil filter for it. I also drained the fuel tank. The fuel was obviously old and smelled old. It was honey colored but not rusty. I’d still like to drop the tank and see about cleaning it out. Does anyone have any specifics on how to do that? It was suggested by @Uncle Rico to change the fuel filter. Where is that? Any suggestions on a good replacement fuel filter would be welcomed as well.
I’m happy with how clean and rust free the underside of the car is. I’ll try to post some pics later today.
If you don't know the age of the brake lines, replace them. I like stainless steel.
I'd also replace the soft fuel lines. Replacing them all requires dropping the tank. Just make sure to take pictures and label them. I link to label the soft line and the hard line they attach to.
Haha, I appreciate the effort to tag me, but it's @GtiKyle
Agreed with above. If you're going through the effort of refreshing the brakes, there is no reason to keep the 40 year old soft lines. Great time to upgrade too.
Haha, I appreciate the effort to tag me, but it's @GtiKyle
Agreed with above. If you're going through the effort of refreshing the brakes, there is no reason to keep the 40 year old soft lines. Great time to upgrade too.
Haha, oops, sorry about that @GtiKyle ! I see that Mazdatrix sells some braided “DOT” soft lines. Does anyone know if they’re a good replacement? Seems the OEM ones are dang pricey comparatively. I’m thinking of also cleaning and rebuilding the master brake cylinder. The brake fluid reservoir has some nasty orange film in it. I’m hoping that’s not too difficult to do.
I got the fuel tank and fuel filter removed. The tank is definitely rusty. The fuel sending unit is badly corroded. I took the pressure washer to the tank and got a lot of the rust out. I’m researching how to get it as clean as I can. I’m gonna need to replace the sending unit so I’m also looking for a good replacement for it. Calipers removed. The underside of the car looks pretty good. Tank out, rusty parts. Inside of the tank before getting after it with the pressure washer.
Sending units are usually pretty difficult to source.
I would recommend submerging it in Evaporust for a day and see if the corrosion clears up, then test it with a multimeter to see if the ohms are specing out correctly.
I soaked the fuel tank and associated items in a stout vinegar solution then pressure washed the tank for what seemed like hours. I got the tank nice and clean inside. The sending unit and the pickup lines also got pretty clean. It looks like a resistor or something is supposed to go at the end of the wire on the sending unit. Does anyone know anything about those?
Theres a plastic cage looking thing that came out of the tank. I’m pretty sure it goes on the pick up line inside the tank. Is it supposed to have a screen or anything on it?
Lastly, does anyone know where to get some replacement rubber hoses to go between the metal fuel lines and the metal pickup and return lines? I’m not sure if just regular rubber fuel tubing works or not. Cleaned up the sending unit and the metal lines that go inside the tank. This piece perplexes me. Still need to clean this piece, not sure what it is or what it does.
i used Super Clean, POR 15 metal prep and POR 15 tank sealer. i also did the exterior of my tank, but that would be up to you.
that said, i think the car is lovely. yes, it is rough around the edges, but it seems to be fairly original and "un-messed-with", so i think you're way ahead of the game in terms of not having to track things down. also, it's Havana Brown, so there's that ....
That was a funny video on tank restoration. I ordered the POR 15 tank kit. I hope it works out well. I did stumble across a video where another person tried it in his SE fuel tank and the POR 15 didn’t adhere to the tank and he had to cut up his tank to remove it all. That got me a little worried about that happening to me.
Does anyone know how I can test the fuel pump to see if it’s working? I’ve seen in a couple videos that it won’t pump until the car is cranking. Is that true for the fuel injected models or only carbureted?
The rod with that part not connected is the low fuel sensor. The basket goes on the end of the long fuel pickup. The mesh on your is completely gone. The fuel line size is 6mm and 8mm.
Last edited by KansasCityREPU; Aug 18, 2025 at 10:40 AM.
That was a funny video on tank restoration. I ordered the POR 15 tank kit. I hope it works out well. I did stumble across a video where another person tried it in his SE fuel tank and the POR 15 didn’t adhere to the tank and he had to cut up his tank to remove it all. That got me a little worried about that happening to me.
Does anyone know how I can test the fuel pump to see if it’s working? I’ve seen in a couple videos that it won’t pump until the car is cranking. Is that true for the fuel injected models or only carbureted?
Quick and dirty is to take two wire leads to a battery and see if the pump will run hardwired.
The rod with that part not connected is the low fuel sensor. The basket goes on the end of the long fuel pickup. The mesh on your is completely gone. The fuel line size is 6mm and 8mm.
Thank you for the reply! Do I need to do anything with the part at the end of the rod?
Incidentally, I’ll be in KC next week for a little vacation.
Looks like a good project and you're making great progress. I purchased an aluminum radiator on ebay for my '85 S model and it worked out great and was inexpensive.
In regards to your hood, from the top picture it looks like you have the "Mariah" duct molded onto the oem hood. If the hood is not rusted I'd use it or keep it as it may grow on you at some point.
Post a WTB ad for a fuel sender unit. I'm sure someone has a spare they'd sell.
If the fuel level sender, the one with the float, ohms out correctly, do not get rid of it. The low fuel sender on that one can be fixed with one that is used. I have one with a bad float level swiper, but the low fuel sensor is good. The basket can also be fixed with a used one or alternative new one from some other make car. It just slips on.
I finally got some time to work on the Mazda. I cleaned the fuel tank about thirty times then used the POR-15 fuel tank sealer. I like the way it turned out. I took the soft fuel line off and cleaned them really well. I cleaned the little cone filter that goes on the fuel pump inlet. I replaced the fuel filter with a new one. I disconnected the fuel line near the engine and put a catch jug at the end of it and then powered the fuel pump directly with the battery so it’s pump fresh fuel all through the line and the new filter. I got good clean fuel flow up to that point. Upon cranking the engine however, it won’t start. If I put a small bit of fuel in the air intake it will fire and run for just a second or two off that fuel. So, it seems to me that it’s not injecting fuel. I know this may sound naive but does the GSL-SE have throttle body injection? Also, how do I clean the injection system so it can get fuel?
That was a funny video on tank restoration. I ordered the POR 15 tank kit. I hope it works out well. I did stumble across a video where another person tried it in his SE fuel tank and the POR 15 didn’t adhere to the tank and he had to cut up his tank to remove it all. That got me a little worried about that happening to me.
Does anyone know how I can test the fuel pump to see if it’s working? I’ve seen in a couple videos that it won’t pump until the car is cranking. Is that true for the fuel injected models or only carbureted?
I'd try electrolysis before POR15 or Kreme. In the short term tank coats are fine, but over 20 or 30 years they will peel off. I don't know how long you plan on keeping this car, but I've had coated tanks come out and its not fun. And tank liners are an age thing not a mileage thing, so they will deteriorate regardless of how often you use it.
Nice car though. So cool how cars out there don't get rust.
It’s been a minute before I posted an update on the SE. I finally got it running! Long story short, I had to send the injectors off to have them cleaned and rebuilt. RC did a great job with them and had a quick turnaround. I made a separate post specifically asking about them and I got lots of great help from forum members. After it was all back together with the fresh injectors then the pulsation dampener on the fuel rail started leaking, like a lot of leaking. Good thing I had a fire extinguisher readily available but the car hadn’t been running long enough to even get the engine warm and I carefully avoided any sparks as I cleaned up all that lovely gasoline, haha. So, the new dampener went in yesterday. In my haste to see it run again with the new dampener I forgot one of the 7 vacuum lines that connects to the dynamic chamber. Crazy how one simple thing like that will keep the engine from running. Anyways, found the vacuum line and put it back in its place and now it runs like a champ. Next I need to get the new brakes back on it so I can actually drive it, yay!
However… I’m concerned about a couple things. One, the oil pressure gauge doesn’t move at all. So, I’m concerned about proper engine lubrication. I know they’re kinda separate but also kind of the same but I also noticed that the oil injector lines coming from the OMP look like they don’t have any oil in them. I read just last night how to test the oil injectors. To remove those I would have to pull the upper intake manifold off yet again, ugh. It’s not a hard chore to do I just hate that coolant line that snakes through it and gets in the way and means I have to drain the radiator again. If anyone has any suggestions on how else to test the OMP I’m all ears! Next, speaking of coolant, the water temp gauge also doesn’t work. I let the car warm up enough to the point that I could feel the coolant start to circulate through the upper radiator hose and the gauge still sits pegged to the left. A fellow forum member who lives near me suggested pulling the instrument cluster and cleaning the connections to the gauges. I can see where those might be corroded.
Is there a way to test the oil and water temp sending units while they’re still in place in the car?
Congrats on getting it running! That's really inspiring.
It's not super uncommon for gauge failures. On my FC, the terminals on the back of the cluster were all corroded, and after cleaning them, everything but the boost gauge came back to life. I suspect i still have some issues with contacts.
You can put an Ohm-meter on your temp or water sensor with the car cold / not running and record the values. After you start the car, your oil pressure sensor should report a different value, and as the car heats up, so too should the water temp sensor. I don't know what the actual values are (they might be in the service manual), but that's a quick check that doesn't require you to pull the gauge cluster.
As far as oiling, If the car hasn't been run in a LONG time, there's a chance that the oil injector lines were empty, meaning they need to be filled from running the engine. If after warming up, they're still showing no signs of oil, you may have an issue with the pump. I hope you're running some pre-mix in your gas?
Hey @GtiKyle ! I appreciate your reply. In hindsight I should have pre mixed the fuel before seeing it would run. I definitely will do that until I can get the OMP sorted out. Any suggestions on what would work for a pre mix? There’s a TON
of stuff written about it. It can be a little much to tease through with some strong opinions either way in regards to pre mix or not. Also, do you think that if I were to run it for a while with some pre mixed fuel that the OMP would start working? I don’t think I’ve run it very long at all so maybe it just needs some time to get things flowing again?
