'78 Mazda 323 wagon - Sold

[timmy201]

I had some time today to fit the new shocks and springs

Got out the struts and clamped up the springs

All apart

Old and new. I was a bit worried about them not being captive and having to line them up each time I jack up the car

Removed the gland nut with a genuine set of Stillsons

The old shocks were the same brand and part number, just 20 years older. The gold colour is a bit ugly, but you don't see them once it's back together. The old shock out of the right side was a bit leaky, so it was definitely due for replacement..

Cleaning up the dust covers

All back together. The new springs ended up just being captive on the struts. I also sprayed up the struts to make them look a bit nicer

Chucked them back in and went for a drive. This is how they settled out after. They are -30mm springs and so far are a 20mm drop over the saggy 30+ year old ones

Hellarake

Front is low enough for now, but to even it out I need 40mm out of the rear. I'll take it back to the suspension guy for a quote on getting the leaves done.


Most importantly though it's now excellent to drive. It was a huge improvement doing the rear shocks, and it's been an even bigger improvement with the new fronts. Some of my usual test drive has some nice high speed corners and now it feels comfortable at the limit, not rolling around like before, and stable during direction changes. There hasn't seemed to be any loss of ride comfort due to the stiffer springs either.

[timmy201]

So the old control arms looked like this where the sway bar attached. The ball joints were super loose, and clunked when braking/changing direction.

I got the new arms and took them over to get the new ball joints put in. Picked them up and bolted the arms on and put in the bushes.

The front end is now very solid, the play in the balljoints is gone and so has the worrying creak from the front end

I now had the car ready for going camping


Packed full!

Had a really nice campsite

My car is a bit small..

Looks shiny

Nice view and lots of sun!


The car ran really well, had an awesome chilled weekend. I need to get a wheel alignment soon, it seems to have a bit of camber wear on the front after the lowered springs (I was waiting to finish replacing the bits on the front end)

[timmy201]

The head and rocker cover looked like this due to some problem with the exhaust gasket

I ordered in a new one and got it on yesterday. I pulled off the old one which looked like this

And the manifold looked like this. It was due to a previous owner taking a hacksaw to the air injection system. It wasn't a problem before, I think because the original gasket was a bit thicker

I had a spare in the shed which didn't look as nice, but was in better condition where it counts. I cleaned off the old gasket which left me with:

And round the other side of the engine the intake manifold would occasionally have some green coolant seeping out the top. It looked a bit crusty too

Old and new gaskets

I got it all back together and went for a drive and it seems to have fixed both problems. The fuel economy has improved too, down to 7.7L/100km

Next important thing to do is stop the water leaking onto the front carpet on both sides. I've been driving around with no carpet for a few weeks now, and I'd like a bit less road noise..

[.Dave]

looks good dude, love the changes, hopefully it gets real comfy soon!

[timmy201]

looks good dude, love the changes, hopefully it gets real comfy soon!

Thanks

Since the manifold gaskets and the oil change I did the other day it seems to be a bit stronger and smoother. My mate comes for a drive every week or so when we get pizza, he seems to notice the changes more than I do, driving up the steep hills and tearing along the streets he mentioned this afternoon it felt better than last week. I've never driven one in factory tuned condition, so I'm learning from my tweaks, trying to get it running better as I go.

The wheel alignment today was done to try and sort out the irregular tyre wear. When I first replaced the tie rod ends it had a bit of toe out, which wore the inside of the tyres. I had a go aligning it and it was pretty good, and was steering pretty good. When I replaced the front control arms and springs and shocks the wear came back again. I thought it must have been some extra camber due to the lowered springs.

The result from the shop? A total of a whopping 9.8mm toe out which has been corrected to factory 0.7mm toe in, and the camber was essentially zero (00*27' and 00*14'). It steers better now, doesn't pull slightly to the left anymore, and doesn't squeal the tyres on white lines when cornering. I'm going to swap the front tyres side by side, which might help the castor apparently. The comprehensive suspension check showed no problems or advisories, which I'm quite chuffed with!

[BR14AN]

So economical 7.7 is better than my 2010 plated lancer does around town haha
Can't wait to get my wagon on the road. What are the next plans??

[timmy201]

So economical 7.7 is better than my 2010 plated lancer does around town haha
Can't wait to get my wagon on the road. What are the next plans??

Yeah it goes pretty good hey. Thats probably 50/50 town/highway split, no "spirited" driving on that tank, just driving to work (still fun anyway). My 2010 Mazda3 in the same conditions does 6.6, but driving like a granny.

Plans? For the next few months I'd like:
Lower the back - either reset leaves or lowering blocks - hopefully before my birthday in April
Electronic ignition conversion kit - from ebay - next few weeks
Refurb the Rial rims and get some tyres - hopefully before my birthday
Fit the fender mirrors - drill a hole in the guard when I get some time
Fit the chin spoiler - get some metal and make some brackets
I need some new guards and a chin bumper panel cause mine are all bent up and the doors need some rust fixed. Ill wait till I get my own shed and DIY it up. (Unless I get another car)

[RE.]

I'm new on this forum thanks to this 323 blog - love the work you have put into it.

Can I pick your brain?

Is it true these are first gen RX-7 underneath? What mods are needed for a RE transplant? Reason is, I came across a 1978 323 hatch manual in a light bronze with 38k (138k more likely) in not bad condition, meaning it's all there. It has some oil leaks around the head but it is 99% original. They want $1,800 for I which I reckon is heaps. It has no books either. What is something like this worth paying for? I was thinking of putting B45 Simmons on and even doing a RE swap.

[timmy201]

I'm new on this forum thanks to this 323 blog - love the work you have put into it.

Can I pick your brain?

Is it true these are first gen RX-7 underneath? What mods are needed for a RE transplant? Reason is, I came across a 1978 323 hatch manual in a light bronze with 38k (138k more likely) in not bad condition, meaning it's all there. It has some oil leaks around the head but it is 99% original. They want $1,800 for I which I reckon is heaps. It has no books either. What is something like this worth paying for? I was thinking of putting B45 Simmons on and even doing a RE swap.

They are on the same chassis as the 808/RX3, so they share cross members and engines. Some RX7 gear bolts over, some doesn't. They tend to rust along the firewall seam and the bottom of the doors, so check that

The 3 doors are more valuable and better looking than the 5 doors. The auto has a bigger trans tunnel which is better for fitting a rotary. A good original 323 with a piston engine with rego in good condition might be worth up to $3500, with a restored one up to double that. Rotary ones are worth more, depending on condition and engineering. If its a really clean shell with no rust and nothing is missing, and a 3dr I'd buy it.. Simmons have been done a thousand times, unless you love them I'd suggest something else like:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Enkie-AME...e#ht_500wt_922

If you want to do it properly, follow this thread:
http://japanesenostalgiccar.com/foru....php?f=5&t=924
Lots of info is on ausrotary too if you can sort through the drivel. There is a 323 owners thread with more specific stuff.
http://www.ausrotary.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=34481

[RE.]

Thanks for the info. I took it for a drive and it drives like an old car It needs the timing retarded or PULP (pings like a bastard) the rocker gasket looks like it's leaking as the block is wet. It's had lots of paint repairs but the paint is ok. I'd say it's had rust repaired around the base of the doors when it was painted. Rego is out but the tyres are good and it is just about complete. I like the fact it has coils on the back so easy for lowering. Most of the steering joint boots are cracked and the radiator fins are deteriorating. I could spend hundreds or even more to freshen it up. Sorry to hijack your thread. Thanks for the links.

[timmy201]

70's stylin'

I had a quote for lowering the rear, one extra leaf and a drop of 1.5 inches, which is pretty similar in height to filling the boot up with some crap^. The reset springs are $350 if the springs are taken off the car first, but I'm worried I'll loose some load carrying capacity.. If it can't carry a load it's not much use as a wagon! (and I hit my head on the boot when it's too low)

Other than that I've been racking up the km. Up to 6000km on the engine and it feels better than ever. I fixed up some water leaks and I've got the front carpet back in, and I'm enjoying the relative peace and quiet!

[timmy201]

Hmmm so my indecision about lowering the back has led to me getting my other rims fixed first.. I gave over two rims to get fixed today, the other two will go in a few weeks if I'm happy with the results! I took what I thought was the best rim and the worst rim - which looked like this...

The best rim still had a bit of a bend, someone must have had a bit of an adventure as all 4 rims are bent in some way. It's a good thing they are somewhat unusual and cool looking or they might have ended up as scrap. The car might end up on club rego next year, and I'm allowed to have period rims, so another reason to keep them.

I did this to my other rim in the boot after slamming on the brakes to avoid a driver who pulled out without looking. Must remember a blanket to cover them when I pick up the refurbed ones! It was approximately double the cost to have them resprayed like new, so I'm going to do that myself and save some pennies.


The front tyres are also pretty bad on the black rims, so rather than replace them I may as well upgrade. Picture these wider rims


At the below height At the moment the black rims tend to look lost under the arches, the gold ones should stand out a bit more. It's interesting there is only 8mm offset different between the two sets, but the difference in colour and wider tyres seems to make a big difference

[BR14AN]

woo, looks awesome! how low are you planning to go?

[timmy201]

The front isnt going to go any lower, its currently got -40mm springs.

Im still not sure about the back. The cheapest way to lower it would be lowering blocks - it would be easy to remove if I need the height again or it got defected.

The other option of reset leaves is more expensive ($350 vs $90) and more permanent.
Either way I would not be able to carry much weight in the back, which kinda defeats the purpose of a wagon for me...

[BR14AN]

The front isnt going to go any lower, its currently got -40mm springs.

Im still not sure about the back. The cheapest way to lower it would be lowering blocks - it would be easy to remove if I need the height again or it got defected.

The other option of reset leaves is more expensive ($350 vs $90) and more permanent.
Either way I would not be able to carry much weight in the back, which kinda defeats the purpose of a wagon for me...

yea im sort of on the same thought process as you.. ive got some huge lowering blocks so that i can run super low and then just take them out + its much cheaper than resets. still a bit anxious about running blocks though