1992 3 Rotor Eunos Cosmo Rescue
#1
1992 3 Rotor Eunos Cosmo Rescue
Back story: My son is now 13, he as been getting interested in cars, and is a GranTurismo addict. So I decided to teach him the real thing. Last year I picked up a few project FD's from irresponsible twenty-something American military members that were neglected to nearly the point of no return with the mission of putting them back on the road. Rotaries are getting very few and far between here in JDM land in comparison to what it once was, and I am happy to say we put 3 back on the road last year finding them responsible adult owners. I would have made money shredding them for parts but was happy to take a small loss and do it this way. Over here in Japan buying RX-7's is cheap, but the overall cost of ownership is much higher, so this results in a high percentage of young FD owners that have no idea what they are getting into, and needless part outs. Try to mentor when ever possible, but when it gets out of hand I buy them and try piece them together. Wanted to start sharing the build experiences.
This car:
The Bad:
The previous owner let it sit for a 8 months. The alternator had went bad and took most of the dash with it. The AC controls, stereo, clock panel, and gauge cluster were dead. Black smoke from running rich. Squishy squeaky tall stock suspension. Needed new brakes. Factory 16x7J wheels and bad tires.
The good:
C Series motor. Good compression. Legit 32.XXX documented kilometers (19k miles) on the odo. Cold AC.
Work done:
*New Alternator
*All new belts
*New fluids
*New Air Filter
*New Spark Plugs
*New Performance Ceramic Brake Pads
*Replaced the AC controls
*Replaced the clock panel
*Replaced the CD player
*Replaced the speakers (has factory amps so that was ridiculous : /)
*Replaced burnt up capacitors and diodes in the gauge cluster to keep the mileage legit, this took several months of trial and error
*Installed Auto-exe adjustable suspension (Sold serialized new in 2007)
*Set of 4 9J 18" Enkei wheels with 245 tires
Bottom Line:
Everything working, and running great now. Was a real leap of financial faith to start fixing this one... the over/under on parting it out was significant, out of pure luck everything else on the car was great, I should break even when I find it a home. Was great to actually fix one instead of killing it for its unicorn horn. In the late 90's personally sent over 100 of these to their grave poaching their goodies, even more indirectly. There were only approximately 3550 of these ever made. Curious to know how many there still are on the road, would bet it is under 1000 at this point. When we changed the spark plugs and air filter, it ran like a brand new car immediately. This thing pulls way harder than any of the other Cosmos I have had. The dash was a real challenge but my son, and I both learned quite a bit. The Auto-exe suspension totally transformed the car, without it the car is a squishy mess, with it would say it handles on par with a stock FD. The wheels turned out to be a great fit for the car and the color IMO, was worried they might be too big. Overall was a great experience.
This car:
The Bad:
The previous owner let it sit for a 8 months. The alternator had went bad and took most of the dash with it. The AC controls, stereo, clock panel, and gauge cluster were dead. Black smoke from running rich. Squishy squeaky tall stock suspension. Needed new brakes. Factory 16x7J wheels and bad tires.
The good:
C Series motor. Good compression. Legit 32.XXX documented kilometers (19k miles) on the odo. Cold AC.
Work done:
*New Alternator
*All new belts
*New fluids
*New Air Filter
*New Spark Plugs
*New Performance Ceramic Brake Pads
*Replaced the AC controls
*Replaced the clock panel
*Replaced the CD player
*Replaced the speakers (has factory amps so that was ridiculous : /)
*Replaced burnt up capacitors and diodes in the gauge cluster to keep the mileage legit, this took several months of trial and error
*Installed Auto-exe adjustable suspension (Sold serialized new in 2007)
*Set of 4 9J 18" Enkei wheels with 245 tires
Bottom Line:
Everything working, and running great now. Was a real leap of financial faith to start fixing this one... the over/under on parting it out was significant, out of pure luck everything else on the car was great, I should break even when I find it a home. Was great to actually fix one instead of killing it for its unicorn horn. In the late 90's personally sent over 100 of these to their grave poaching their goodies, even more indirectly. There were only approximately 3550 of these ever made. Curious to know how many there still are on the road, would bet it is under 1000 at this point. When we changed the spark plugs and air filter, it ran like a brand new car immediately. This thing pulls way harder than any of the other Cosmos I have had. The dash was a real challenge but my son, and I both learned quite a bit. The Auto-exe suspension totally transformed the car, without it the car is a squishy mess, with it would say it handles on par with a stock FD. The wheels turned out to be a great fit for the car and the color IMO, was worried they might be too big. Overall was a great experience.
#4
My favorite rotary for sure, there's a guy selling one near me that I would grab if I had the cash. How much are you looking to get for yours out of curiosity? Pretty easy to import Japanese cars into the west coast of Canada now.
#5
Banned
iTrader: (40)
Nice Car!!! i really like the yellow rx3 nose on the wall of the shop!!! im old school you know
Trending Topics
#11
Eats, Sleeps, Dreams Rotary
iTrader: (19)
One of my dream cars. Congrats on the find (wow 19k miles!), and nice job saving one from rotting away.
It all a matter of taste, but I'd probably lose the wheels for something a little smaller/old school and less blingy....Like maybe those series8 FD wheels I spy.
Whatever happens, NICE CAR!
It all a matter of taste, but I'd probably lose the wheels for something a little smaller/old school and less blingy....Like maybe those series8 FD wheels I spy.
Whatever happens, NICE CAR!
#12
One of my dream cars. Congrats on the find (wow 19k miles!), and nice job saving one from rotting away.
It all a matter of taste, but I'd probably lose the wheels for something a little smaller/old school and less blingy....Like maybe those series8 FD wheels I spy.
Whatever happens, NICE CAR!
It all a matter of taste, but I'd probably lose the wheels for something a little smaller/old school and less blingy....Like maybe those series8 FD wheels I spy.
Whatever happens, NICE CAR!
Stock series 8 FD wheels do not look better than the Cosmo OEM wheels.
Here is a photo I took at the Mazda museum in Hiroshima showing the stock configuration. I was pretty amused with the fact that it was the same year, color and option packages as mine.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post