with old school, there is no "pride of ownership" if you dont get cut and bruises and many hours of own work.

if you cant do above, you may as well buy a RX-7/8 or similar cars where parts can be purchases via a catalog.

 

I really am willing to do the work myself. Even if I don't get it right the first time. I've just never done it before and want to learn.

 

I have one somewhere. I know there was someone who was making the old Mazda Books into PDFs, if you can't find those though I don't mind taking pictures of all the pages and uploading them to photobucket.

 

siraniko , I couldn't have said it better . vintage mazdas are a journey . Side note : then you buy your bump steer spacers from techno toy tuners you have to remove some material from the back of the caliper bracket . And yes you need them .

 

don't bother swapping the struts.

i say try and keep that car as stock as possible. mods will only de-value it. there's heaps of molested rx's around the world, very few factory original or resto'd.

koni make great dampers to fit (f & r), springs are easy to have made up, including re-set higher rate leaf springs to avoid lowering blocks and if you want bigger brakes there are so many hubs you can machine up to fit bigger discs and adapter plates to fit bigger calipers.

why do you even need bigger brakes?

unless you're whacking in a big ported 13B or a turb and going circuit racing you don't need 'em.

all new front end suspension parts (tie-rods etc), nolathane bushes and it'll feel like a go-kart. a 70's go kart with leaf spring rear suspension.. but still, awesome.

the 12A in your car is a single dizzy (according to the pics). the best upgrade is the electronic ignition from the first gen rx7 12A's. i think it slots straight in. a minor mod. reverse-able, too.

also, did i mention to keep it stock.....

 

Like I said earlier, I would like to keep it simple (stock). But I do want it a little lower. If I could just get lowering springs on the stock suspension then I'd do that. But at this point I'm trying to get as much input as possible on different setups and then, hopefully, make a well informed decision.

 

I'll let you know if I can find it. Thanks for the help

 

A strut swap is pretty basic and easily reversable without hurting the car , ground control makes camber plates that bolt in with no cutting . There are ways to mod your car without hacking it up . And better brakes are a great upgrade , I don't need the upgrade if I live in AU , there are no hills . In california all there are is hills and brake fade is a concern . Here are some mods you should stay away from 1: cutting a hole in your hood for a air cleaner 2: mount your gauges on the cowl in front of your windshield 3: make your interior 5 different colors with tons of speakers .

 

as matt said, lots of hills in the states and we have too many aggressive drivers even on a SOCAL stop and go traffic .

Here is your initial list:

1. 81-85 front brake assembly/suspension/stock springs.
2. FB strut tube needs to be extended as it is way shorter than a RX-3/SA.
3. RE Speed strut tube insert and there is a variety of aftermarket strut insert such as KYB and Tokico but Tokico blues or ilumina. (
(Im currently using a 1" insert but I also purchased a 3" insert (IIRC) so I can experiment with a longer strut tube.
4. Camber plate
5. Rear FB disc brake caliper/rotor/e-brake cable.
6. FB brake master cylinder, proportioning valve and clutch master (you have to fabricate your hard lines due to change in brake line thread pitch beginning in 1981).
7. Soft brake lines.
8. OPTIONAL: FB brake booster and 81-83 brake/clutch pedal assembly. IMHO, this is your optimal brake upgrade so your car will stop on a dime ALA Winston Tire Commercial.

You can search under my username for further details.

 

Thanks for all the input! Definitely taking all this into consideration.



I wonder how this "style" would look on my wagon. I have a thing for bagged rides

 

That Toyota belongs to a friend of mine. Stupid fast with the TT6. Bags make it interesting and fun. Depending on what you are starting with, this style is an option. If you have to hunt for years to find the unobtainable to remain stock, go sick. If you are close now, stay 'stock'. I agree with Sirianko, though- Better brakes are never a bad thing, and he's laid it out for you.

 

" I want to keep the original 12a, what are some key improvements I can make internally to increase reliability. (apex seals, springs etc.)"

Hmmmm, You may want to rethink that... I am building a ported twin dizzy engine for the fact that I want the car period correct however 6mm Carbon seals are getting to be ridiculously expensive. (Quoted recently at close to $950 for the seals alone, I imported mine from Holland with springs for much less) If you transplant later model rotors to allow you to run steel seals it will be at the cost of the rotor housing lifespan.

If you are not doing a period restoration, transplant a later model single dizzy engine. For a newbie working with twin dizzies may not be the best place to start. The bad reputation they have is not 100% true but you do need to treat them real nice. Having said that the majority of my cars have been twin distributor versions and I have never blown an engine. I used to drive them hard but always treated them right.

 

That makes sense. But isn't this a single dizzy car?



Maybe I'm mistaken. I am considering a period restoration and that's why I wanted to keep the original motor. Btw this thing is a champ. Just did a 300 mile haul moving the car to my new house and it drive like a dream. Could use a ac recharge though

 

Why yes it is a single dizzy. I see you never originally specified if it was running or not, or the year. Seeing as how yours is after 73 you don't have to worry about 6mm seals. I think yours should have 3mm seals but I'm not sure. If its running don't worry about apex seals and what not until the motor goes in who knows how long, you did say it runs like a champ.

 

Sorry about that. It is a 75'. It runs great but burns oil when you turn it on. That's what I was worried about

 

to lower the front stock RX-3 springs, cut the springs one coil then 1/4-1/2 coil after until you find your ideal drop. then to prevent noise/friction noise, wrap the top and lower section of the spring with a fuel line. this is very time consuming since you have to install it after the first cut, drive around the neighborhood for the springs to settle and back on jack stands again.

For the leaf springs, you will need a custom u-bolts and I recommend making your own lowering blocks. The kit they sell at partshouse is useless IMHO as they are not designed for imports. You can source the custom u-bolts from a 4x4 shop or at least, they can refer you to another shop; in my case, their is a local shop that works on all types of vehicles including big rigs. For lowering blocks, make you own. Purchase several sizes of aluminum plates such as 1/4, 1/2, 1", 1.5" and 2" and cut it to the correct size. It not hard to do as I have done it many times.

Be sure to get a full tank of gas, start with the front springs then work on the leaf springs.

 

Thanks! Right now I've hit a stand still on the car due to lack of time but soon I'll be starting up on it again. For now I did bust out a little finish restorer and got a pretty decent shine out of it!

 

Alright, rotary gurus. I'm new to this so I need your opinions. Watch the video at the link and tell me if that seems like a normal idle for my car

 

sounds pretty normal to me , what rpm is it at at idle ? That muffler is blown out

 

Lol well the mufflers only 38 years old! It sits at about 900-1000 rpm after I release the choke

 

why is it smoking? Did you pour some oil or ATF through the carb prior to start-up?

 

Not exactly sure why. It does it every so often or on the initial start up in the morning. I never poured anything in the carb

 

don't think that is the factory muffler, is it?

should be the rectangular shaped 'REAPS' tip.. unless US models were different from JDM's.

 

I wouldn't know. :-/ this is my first rotary car. I just assumed it was.

 

smoke goes away once its fully warmed up?