Beginning 1967 110S Restoration Project
 

Everyone,

Approximately a week ago I was contacted by a husband and wife who currently live in the Phoenix area but lived in Japan during the late 1980s. When they returned in 1990, they brought back an ULTRA-rare 1967 Mazda 110S Cosmo Sport with them from Japan. They feel that the car has all of the required pieces, but it hasn’t run since the mid 1980s. They've sent some pics of the car, but I have yet to get over to their house to check it out more closely. I presume since the engine hasn't run in nearly 25 years that an engine rebuild and carb overhaul will be first on our agenda. I've heard that 10A housings are rare if not impossible to find. Any idea (stateside) where we might find parts if needed. Also, they've never registered the car stateside, so please advise as to the kind of obstacles we'll be facing in this arena as well.

Thanks!

It is older than 25 years, and is considered a classic car. For this reason, you will not have much of a problem registering it.

u lucky bastard....much congrats though :D hope the restoro goes great man, lookin foreward for pics both before an after

I'm sure you can drop a 12a or 13b in there with out much trouble, so you can ditch the 10a..

Post up some pics.. I'd really like to see how it looks. :)

keep it original man!!!
10a parts aint that hard to find
(in australia)

Thanks everyone. I'll check with the party today to see if they would mind me posting the pics that I've received so far. Jesuscookies... thanks for the info on registration. I'll check AZ state law, but I think you're correct. As far as the motor goes, we'd really like to keep it original, so our biggest challenge will probably be finding engine parts stateside (fresh 10A housings, etc.). I'll post pics later today if I get the green light!

13b-rew

Stock would be really cool. Definetly keep it that way if you can.

I just last week registered my 1967 Mazda 110s with the Cali. DMV. The inspector guy didn't even bat an eye when he saw it. No problems with the registration process since it is older than 30 years. All DOT, EPA etc.. requirements are exempt..

Don't limit yourself to finding parts in the states. By all means get the parts from Japan! A friend of mine restored a super rare 1964 Mazda R360 and all of the required parts came from Japan. Try to get a contact through the Cosmo Club in Japan. Someone is bound to speak english and point you in the right direction. Yes, keep it stock!

Right. Keep it original and don't get disappointed too soon !
If not overheated, the rotor housings may still be ok. The carbon seals are pretty easy on the housings.
I don't know for the cosmo but the R100 had different rotor housings on different continents (with thermal reactor and without).
If parts for your local specification are no longer available, there might be parts for another specification still available.
If emissions are not an issue, you could use 10a housings from a Euro/Australian spec Rx-3, which are still available new from Mazda.
The Cosmo came in two versions as well (export: 110S and jdm: cosmo). I have copies of a parts catalog of the 110S L10B, if you need any part numbers...

Thanks everyone for the advice and assistance so far. Here's the first pic. More to come next week once I can get over there with my own camera.

Restoration? looks good to me just the way it is.
matt

Weren't 10A's P-Ports from the factory?

This really kicks ass!

I hope you find all the parts needed!

I agree with now,condition looks quite allright to me!

One of the engine Builders Just did a 10A rebuild, They had a full set of pics on their website.

Hades12... what website was that again???

Yes, it does look pretty clean in the pic, but other shots show some paint problems. I'll know more once I get over there next week, but it DOES appear that most of the body panels are very straight. The only molding that I can visually see from the pics that is missing is the "M" that spells out MAZDA on the rear trunk lid. Most other pieces appear to be there, but again, I'll know more next week.

wow, i wish i still went to UofA so i could see that car. Get it back together and on the road, rotary's wern't made to be looked at.

Very Nice. Good luck with it, and it should be considered "vintage" or even "antique" by now so you can register it as that. Many FBs including my two are hitting the "classic" status now, joining the rx-2 thru rx-5 series. And oh yeah, going with the other guys...its a museum piece and youre restoring it. Dont think about "dropping in" anything other than the original, otherwise its not a true restoration.

Wish I could remember, May have been Bonanza(sp?), they had a full 3 pages of pics of the tear down and rebuild of the engine. It was one of the big name builders, the link was from this forum.

I will add more if I can remember it.

Yup. And if it's not original it's value will plummet. BTW, did these cars come in any other color besides white? That's the only color I've seen them in so far.

Wow, and I just saw a 110S IN PERSON last weekend! A 68. Pretty cool. Engine bay on that sucker was empty!

Congratulations and good luck restoring it.

You might be thinking of Banzai Racing. They did an NSU engine rebuild recently that I know of. I'm not sure about a 10A though.

http://banzairacing.net/roof_rebuild_05.htm

AFAIK, the Cosmo's only came in white from the factory.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...973045703&rd=1

price is a little high but they are new parts.
matt