Eastman51

Back in September I picked up a pretty good shape 1983 GS from the original owner with just under 70k miles on the odometer. I've been busy with school, and fixing up the car, that I haven't had an opportunity to get on here and post (there are some questions I have). I've been on a small discord server specifically for SA/FB owners, but they have not been able to answer/help me with all of my questions/concerns/issues.

Some basic history of the car:
Previous owner bought it brand new in 1983, it has A/C, dead pedal, and a couple other miscellaneous options. He had it parked up in a garage for the first 15 so years, and driving it fairly often judging by mileage. After he had kids, for whatever reason, decided to move the car out of the garage and under a tree. From then on it wasn't driven as often and sat for long periods of time. Sometime earlier this year, he decided that he wanted to get back to the car and restore it; but he noticed that rust was being poured into the carb along with gas. He took it to the dealership he had bought it from to get it serviced and looked at. The mechanic replaced the fuel filter, fuel pump, rebuilt the carburetor, and cleaned/sealed the tank. Mechanic also checked compression. However, the mechanic said that rust was still visible in the tank, and recommended that the tank get replaced. The previous owner decided that wasn't worth the effort and put the car up for sale.

After I bought it, the fuel pump died when I took it for it's first drive (after being towed home from the dealership lot an hour away). I replaced the pump and got it driving. After that I got new front brake rotors and pads (also changed wheel bearings, because why not); also got new outer tie rods since they were basically falling apart. Got new tires. Installed a functional radio, resurrected the A/C, fixed the digital quartz clock, replaced burnt out exterior lights, cleaned the car inside and out, and converted from smog pump + alternator to dual alternator pulley/belts (smog pump pulley was misaligned, and I am planning an emissions delete anyways). Fuel pump died, again, and the one I put on as warranty replaced to get the car running again; but I am planning on a full fuel system overhaul in the spring (carter pump, a pressure regulator, dual filters, and new lines) because I think this brand/model of pump is just kind of defective. However I did install it more thoroughly/correctly than last time, so maybe it will last longer; only time will tell.

Here's some pictures!

WJM ROTARIES

Welcome to forum

Eastman51

Thanks!

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

Welcome!!! That's a beautiful GS you have!! Absolutely gorgeous!! What part of Ohion are you from? If you are close I would be willing to lend a hand at no charge!!

Have you removed the tank for cleaning yet? Sediment can be getting sucked up into the pump and causing failure.

Nu-breed

That's a clean GS looks nice

Eastman51

Sorry for the extremely late reply, got busy after joining the forums lol.

I live down near the Dayton area.

When I bought the car it was parked at a Mazda dealership in Cincinnati. The previous owner had taken it to the dealer to get it checked out because it wasn't running right when he decided to restore the car. The mechanic at the dealer discovered rust in the tank, so he took it out, cleaned it, and put a sealant in it. He also replaced the fuel filler neck, fuel filler cap, the fuel filter, the fuel pump, and rebuilt the carburetor. When he drained the sealant out of the tank he noticed some particles still in it and recommended the owner to replace the tank or have it open and cleaned that way. Previous owner thought that was too much of a hassle and listed it online for sale, leaving it parked at the dealer. When I went to look at the car I got to talk to the guy who had worked on it, and he told me what he did and that he also did a compression test with very good results; he still recommended to me that I replace the tank or get it opened. I bought the car anticipating having to do this, but I talked to some friends of mine (car oriented friends who have years of experience) and they said that the tank is probably fine since it had been cleaned and sealed; they told me to keep an eye on the fuel filter and to not let the tank run low on gas as a preventative measure. The fuel pump that died the first time I drove the car died, presumably, from an electrical surge caused by the battery terminal disconnecting when I stalled the car (rusty brakes and very little manual trans experience). We replaced that fuel pump, but were rushed for time in the installation; which presumably lead to the failure of the replacement about a month later. We replaced it again (warranty replacement on the one I bought back in September), and this time we took our time to do things better; we used an actual wire crimper and used a lighter to actually heatshrink the connectors (suspecting that the lack of heatshrinking allowed condensation/water to get into the connectors and cause issues). We're coming up on a month after that install and the pump is still going great, we also replaced the fuel filter at the time; the old filter had some particles in it, but no more than I noticed the first week or so after we got it running again and fuel drained out of it clean and clear. The new filter has no particles in it nearly 3 weeks later, so the tank should be good; I've been filling the tank at about half on the fuel gauge as well.

TLDR; I, personally, I have not looked at the inside of the tank, but the fuel filter is clean and pump failure is suspected to be user error/electrical short/surges.

dfish

Congrats on the pick up and getting it running. Looks like a great base to start with. Chaste White is such an awesome color on these cars.

Did the owner give you any info on the milage? Curious because the car has been sitting for a while.