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Rightyo, I'm pretty damn excited about my recent purchase so thought I'd share it now, although the car isn't in my possession yet ... Longish sharn below; After selling my 323 wagon in January for (IMO) silly money, I was immediately on the look out for another car, this time preferably a rotary. An option of taking out a 5-10k loan was on the cards, giving me a max budget of around 20-25k. I'd looked at a few cars locally, rx7, rx323, rx626 etc. Either they weren't ticking the right boxes, or would have required more money to get them legal than my budget could stretch to. And from previous experiences around paying off a loan whilst owning an old car, it does get hard trying to either keep the car running whilst paying off the loan, let alone saving money for modifications etc. So I made the decision to not get a loan and keep within my actual budget. Nothing rotary in NZ was going to happen with sub 15k, well nothing that appealed to me anyways. So after reading through the importing from Japan thread and picking a few people's brains that have 'been there, done that'. I began searching Japanese sites for a car that I'd be happy with and contacted Stacked to act on my behalf, and to help with questions I had on particular cars and more information that I wanted from the sellers. https://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/55223-importing-from-japan/ I eventually narrowed the search down to 3 cars that were within my budget: 1979 mazda familia (323) wagon - still piston - still for sale actually if anyone was wanting to buy it, considering I sold my yellow rough one for almost 12k, this does seem like it could be worth while buying https://www.carsensor.net/usedcar/detail/CU5545473225/index.html?TRCD=200002&RESTID=CS210610 1981 Mazda Luce - not for sale anymore, but was 13B, automatic - luxury barge spec mazda 3rd option is the one I've pulled the trigger on and purchased - and just received confirmation today from Autohub that it's ready and waiting for shipping to NZ! 1985 Mazda Cosmo, 13B model, with, unfortunately an automatic gearbag. I only have the crap quality images below, but the car appears tidy, a little bit of rust in the doors, and thanks to one of @S124AB's contact in Japan, I was able to obtain some better quality pics which showed the underside of the car looking relatively clean and tidy. I priced up shipping, GST and a conservative compliance budget and this was affordable with no loan required. Anything rotary and manual seems to equal more dollars in Japan, so I'll live with the automatic for now. Plans will be; Get legal Lower Wheels Cruise and enjoy Save up for a manual swap, coilovers, cert, maybe engine porting of some sorts. Will update once the car arrives at my place. I'll either be really happy with the condition, or I'll be selling as parts lol

I eventually unpacked the whole lot because I didn't want to risk the masking tape becoming permanently stuck to the wood. A quick test-fit of one of the rear pieces but for now the wood is all back in the crates to protect it from the sun and damage while I work (or not) on the body issues. It's seriously nice stuff from Rick though.

I put this all back together now, I just fired it up and ran it at a 1500 rpm for 20 mins, a few head studs are leaking, when I re torque them I will pull each one out and put some sealer on it, it has around 40 PSI oil pressure witch is good for 30w oil and the kind of pump I am using, after I seal the head studs I will run it again and then change the oil to something elce.

Over the past few years I've been increasingly interested in automotive batteries and how they actually function. Its not something that most people give a second thought to coz its a fuckin boring topic- but relevant to me because there's 6 vehicles/machines in the garage which all need batteries to function, and EVERY single bloody time i bring something home with a battery, the battery is ALWAYS fucked or near fucked. The Busa was the same. Id checked current draw from the electrical system while sitting and there was definitely nothing noteworthy but it'd go flat after sitting for a week off charge- and it only juuuust started the morning after brass monkey. Not fucking ideal because its a big motor to get push started- 100% certain it wouldn't work on event he steepest of grassy hills. Then a couple of days after returning from the trip I got all geared up in my leathers, rolled the bike outside and planned on hooning to work- Pretty much just got a "click" before it was completely dead again. So researched things way way too much and ended up buying a Motobatt Hybrid battery. I'll be clear- I have no idea how they function internally except that they are a hybrid of normal AGM lead acid and lithium batteries (This may be lithium ion, or may be some other type of lithium battery, no idea). Each half of the battery supports the other half when it is outside of its happy operating parameters. The Lithium side helps with its huge CCA output, capacity and weight reduction and the lead acid side assists its cold weather performance (lithium batteries hate the cold) and means the battery can be charged on standard chargers (fast and maintenance). All cell balancing is taken care of internally and there is also over charge and over discharge protection built in- basically, if voltage drops below a certain level then the batteries output is disconnected- and not reconnected until the battery is woken back up with a charger. I was also happy that the battery lists an actual honest amp hour capacity- this is kinda irrelevant on lead acid cells and is essentially a lie on Lithium Iron batteries from manufacturers like Shorai. Basically, lead acid cells list a capacity but only half of this capacity is available before the battery starts being irreversibly damaged inside. Most manufacturers state that only 50% of the batteries capacity can be safely used- so a 12Ah battery becomes 6Ah. Its 2021. Batteries shouldn't be that bloody easy to ruin Numbers are also muddled by lithium iron battery manufacturers like Shorai listing their capacities as "Ah Pb Eq", which means it is equivalent to a lead acid of X capacity. So, as above, a big dollar "12Ah Pb Eq" shorai is actually only of 6Ah capacity by design. I forgot where I was going, but basically, the new battery is the same size, but 1.8kg lighter, 350 CCA vs 120CCA of old, is rated to output that at 0 degrees C, and has a usable capacity of 8.5Ah vs approximately 6 of the old lead acid. Plus the protections listed earlier. I reckon this is a win, and hopefully means that I can use this thing to charge all my devices (phone, torch, helmet coms etc) while out and about without having to worry. So yeah nobody has probably read that and it lacks any actual value whatsoever so here's some images so your click wasn't entirely wasted. Can see the configurable terminals which can be moved to either side of the cell. Also, check out front sprocket size!

The crates left LA on 7 September 2020, but didn't arrive in Auckland until 30 September, then down to Wellington by mid-October where I had to pay the shipping and taxes (ouch) Just managed to squeeze them into the Poojero for the trip home. They were very well packed. The smallest crate was assorted parts the middle one had the door pieces, even signed

Did almost 20,000km in this in the year I've had it, so much fun to drive and change gear more than is necessary. Currently driving a very boring 2000 Ford Laser hatch (Mazda BJ chassis) with the 1.6 ZM-de, which is the same engine family as the mx5 b6ze from what I understand. Apparently the head will fit onto the B6 block with the only difference being 2 extra oil drains on the later engine. But the port design is different etc, no fancy VVt or anything. But the 1.5 zl-ve does have vvt, so its an interesting concept to maybe fit the 1.5 vvt head to a B6ze? While it is rated to a similar power it feels very lethargic compared to the Mx5, it's probably mostly gearing but maybe the later head's port angles are more economy designed like FE Toyota heads? Current plan is to use the Laser for daily duties and then install the Speeduino in the mx5 so I don't have to rely on it for commuting. So basically a daily for my daily. I swapped on some R888's and later 15's mx5 wheels (enkei's and really light) and drove it rain or shine for a few months. Can seriously throw it around with those on it. Had the roof down on single digit morning, good way to wake up for work. Hard top back on now with all the rain. Took it for a hoon out to the coast for lunch a while ago, was a super clear day too:

So a couple of days before that trip I chucked in a set of newer style rockers that I had aquired to see if that made a difference to the 2k rpm clatter. It did seem to quieten it down a little. Enough that with the interior sound deadening rework intended it should be doable. I'll probably sort that other engine out anyway... Pft

Big day today for the old girl. WoF time, first time in 10 years! List of work completed to her in the last two weeks while I've had time off in between changing jobs: New battery New water pump New valve stem seals, head gasket, tappet cover gasket, carburetor gaskets New ball joints New shocks Indicator wiring gremlin fixed Battery discharging issue fixed (washer motor short) Alternator replaced for one that actually charges and doesn't whine! Full oil service New rear slave cylinders Front struts swapped for B310 big struts with bigger brakes (bolt in), lowering springs installed. Front brakes rebuilt (seals and pistons). New master cylinder New tyres (Nangkang 175/60/14) Spare bonnet for my Green 120y put on (already paneled and primed black) Spare arched guards sprayed with a rough blue match and put on. Tune up 2" Lowering blocks installed Rust cut out and repaired: Engine bay - left and right strut tower Under left and right front guards - support rails Radiator support Front valance Rear right door shut to roof seam So all in all, pretty happy with the WoF items! Spring eye bushes and tie rod on order, will hopefully see them next week. Could have picked these would be pulled up, should have done them in hindsight but have run out of energy! I will get some more photos up of the work completed. She drives really nice and smoothly, no more smoke thanks to the valve stem seals! A full buff and replacement of the pinstripe is certainty required!

Slow progress recently, but I have made a start on the sills. Now the outer is in place, i can make an inner & then button the outer up to the A pillar/rear arch

Sweet! The best thing about an import is it is far less likely to have had any dickfingers touching it

Can't be any worse than trying to buy a rotary from a Kiwi "rota" guy who is vague with details and reluctant to let anyone view...

Loving my lithium battery on GN. 4kg lighter and I have left it for over a month and still has full power

I have taken it to 6k a few times and it does it well enough but throws the waterpump belt any higher than that. If i ever get to drive it regular again i will add a deflector pulley or change the brackets around. The best way to get them to rev is put the 200ci rods in them with special pistons, but acl stopped making the pistons a decade or so ago. There is one guy in oz who takes his to 7500 on the strip but he has many years and mega cash in his motor. Sounds horny as with triple webbers on it though.

You can use a too big carb and it might go ok at high rpm but it will be costing efficiency for normal driving IMO it is better to size the carb for how you do 95% of your driving. Ie if you spend 95% of the time tootling around town /at the speed limit then theres no point putting a race spec carb on that doesnt work well at low air speed situations The 318 in my vg has a 500cfm carb on it and runs exactly the same 1/4 times as one I had 20+ years ago that had a bigger cam , single plane manifold and a 650dp And it runs much more efficiently

It was a long process, we confirmed the order in September 2019. The framing is maple and the insert plywood is mahogany veneer. Also included a full set of the interior panels also in mahogany ply. These pics are from April 2020 which was of course Covid Time. I'd also bought a few necessary parts from Rick, and others from Tom Fritz (https://www.ccrod.com/home.htm). Got some new repro sill plates from https://cgfordparts.com/. These parts were all shipped to Rick in Tacoma who crated them up for me along with the wood parts. I arranged the shipping with Mainfreight / Kiwi Shipping including the Tacoma WA to Garden CA leg. They left Tacoma on 22 July 2020.

This has all ways sounded like an XR8 with the super Coby’s I am thinking of going to a 10” straight through Coby to get A more mean farting sound

It's factory. I've robbed a few of them for the cables

They'll have the cable and lugs, but won't crimp them for you. Whatever you do, don't be tempted to solder them. You could try bribe an auto sparky to crimp them?

25mm double insulated flex is most commonly used. https://www.trademe.co.nz/3132796229

I voted equal length however... High rise headers dont really have any point apart from cars where theres very limited space. IE. Left hand drive cars and getting spaghetti past a steering column. So make it look good and evenly spaced if its a piece of shed art. Equal length if its an engineering exercise to test your skills. Both if you have an exceptional level of patience... Interesting thought - you can have equal length but not equal volume. As a straight pipe with the same centreline length as a 90 deg bend has a different internal volume. Fussing over +- mm or 5 of length might be a moot point if you have different volumes in each. Subscribed to post, looking forward to updates

slow progress this week finally started painting the bathroom ceiling i rejibbed after replacing the old 3 in 1 fan a few months ago. Some more treasure from Italy showed up, its the missing sliding door handle. Popped that on and now the van (furgone) is pretty much complete now. Just doesnt go or stop... So shuffled the 'car' engine off the stand and under the bench and got the original one from the van ready, removed clutch and flywheel, and got it on the stand to start the tear down to see what we have to work with. Got a new parts washer - its a revelation - good for cleaning things before (remove the greasy smeg) and after a soak in the vinegar bath (to neutralize it) and after the sand blasting cabinet to get the sand off things before putting them away - flywheel and clutch plate are both in great condition and came up well I know this engine is hard seized and the engine number is about 50,000 lower than the car engine. Both are 115C 000 blocks, but the van one is #35xxxx, car one is #409707. Centrifugal oil filter shows signs of a lot of deferred maintenance! Popped the valve cover, the inside and the head very blackened (from dirty old oil getting hot) and the valve gear has some surface rust from condensation A couple of valves were sticky but they freed up once the head was off and i could tap them back up. Ill strip the head down after work this week some time, hopefully its better than the other one. The valve gear off the other engine is nicer than this This is Cylinder 1 after popping the head off and a quick vacuum. That will buff out? After a good water blast and air dry i stripped the rest of the accessories out. Cam looks ok - cam gears, chain and cover are also in good nick - no witness marks from loose chains either so ill use that cover at least. Oil pump shaft is stuck in its hole- and BLACK Left some ATF and Acetone sitting in the cylinders overnight - only #2 drained out - i know for sure #1 is rusty and stuck, but maybe #3 and #4 just have really good rings? HA haaaa haaaahaaaahahahaha hhmmmm. Hmmm. Shame because it looks like this engine has standard pistons still (77mm vs 77.2 on the car block) and apart from the rust the cylinder walls look less worn as well. Will see if it frees up, but i think ill stick with the car block, hopefully the head off this one turns out to be ok, or at least better than the car one, and with a few other bits swapped around and some new rings ill get 'a runner'

Hello oldschool. The bug got a new wof a couple months back. Just needed new front tyres and the front bearings adjusted to pass. Was looking pretty hard for a wider tyre as technically the 145s are too small for the 5.5in wheels. No 155s or 165s in the profile in wanted, to chicken it try a 175, so bought another set of 145/65/15r. Balanced and aligned together with the sorted front bearings and the high speed shakes have greatly reduced. Drives really nice now. Except for the slow death of my clutch.

Great to see this out on dirty/muddy roads today. I laughed when some fuck in a big new shiny Navara 'BRUTE' came racing up behind us in the Micra when we were following you. He sat up our arse, wanting to get by asap ... "yo little shitty hatchback, let me pass- I am in a big shiny 4wd with huge wheels that I've spent a whole lotta monies on" Then he past us, caught up to your truck and I could just see his dick shrink. Ha mr Navara - aint so boss now muthafucka r ya! I took some pics...

Got some photos of it in the garage before I took it out to my mates place , just to look at I’m still trying to get rear side windows but they are like hens teeth

WOF passed, just a mention of a chip in the windscreen out of the drivers vision area, and the cracked fog light lens (which still passes because its not letting moisture in). Great success. Also got sick of the guard rub from the RH Rear, so jacked the rear of the car up and had a look. Found a clean spot on the inner lip where it had been rubbing, so took a small sledgehammer to the lip and hammered it in a bit. No more rubbing, so now I can drive the car harder, like it was built for. Next on the list is to replace the clock spring so I can fit my 3 spoke steering wheel, and replace and rekey the ignition barrel since the previous owner made a mess of it somehow.

I saw these NOS or new old stock XE Fairmont Ghia centre caps on FB Marketplce for $60 and couldn’t believe my eyes. I checked and they are NOS therefore I snapped them up, as repro are like $72aud each! one day I will reco the snowflake 15” rims and these can take pride of place. I do love NOS goodies

Popup headlight conversion pls.

Nope, still got it. Know anybody crazy enough? https://www.trademe.co.nz/3085641159

Cheers mate! Feels like it's taken forever to get to this point, yet it's only been a few months since January. First time doing this, so will see how much of headache compliance is, but yeh, fingers crossed it's only a few things.

Yuck. Why would i want smooothness and easy starting? I am strictly in the no cert way of thinking.

Fixed..

Ordered some of these Projecta 1000A clamps. Kind of spendy but seem grunty enough. Now to get some cables.

Simonini expansion chamber...yeah buddy!!

He must be pulling some super high revs even then. ... More then a horrid datsun pushrod can apparently do ....

Then after sitting in my garage about a week, and debating the merits of fixing the rust in the bonnet (whilst it was leaning up against the car) Mrs and I heard what sounded like a bomb going off. Took ages to figure out wtf it was - exploded tyre o'clock. It made the bonnet decision pretty easy. now I have some panel steel for the rust patches I need to make!! but seriously - anyone got a spare bonnet around ?- this early shape is fuckin hard to find; so will likely need to import from 'straya

once I got it home, and into its new pozzy in the garage - I did a quick stocktake 1 boat mooring - check: a whole shitload of mostly stuffed shit (some is good and atleast it's 95% there) some terrible seats (feat a kitty cat):

I was sent this by a mate a few weeks back, something about the shame of being passed off the grid by an imp.. Sounds good though

Some inspiration for you. Interesting choice of rally car!

Yes Does this mean we can organize something, go and play trucks in the bushes?

I was pleased it didn't shit itself getting up spooner's, the big fan came on near the top which is the first time that has happened since the radiator mod. It was all very calm and capable as I'm sure @Willdat? can attest. This means it is closer to a proper trip, probably down Chch way to collect on the many sexual favours owed to me by @sidewaysickness

Another thing I've never gotten around to is polishing the paint. After I smashed the front fender I had intended on doing it after painting. After sitting out in the sun all day at work for the last couple years the paint was pretty rinsed. Spent a couple evenings worth of elbow grease, paint is actually cracking in places. Wish I'd done it years ago, but whatever, looked so nice after a shower of rain, water all beading off.

And big thanks to young @Geophy for his help. That engine crane won't hold itself up mate

So took this down to Brass Monkey. Was an epic 6 days of riding with good people on some great roads. Was excellent not having to worry about anything bike related (except fuel) during the trip. These things are so tractable, comfortable and easy to live with. Bloody magic. Gear selection continues to amuse me. At 100 you can choose any gear from 2nd to 6th depending on how rapidly you think you need to be accelerating. 6th gear at 100 is still going to pull away harder than most cars so usually no point in changing down. Cruising through town at 50 I tend to choose a gear based on how much noise pollution I feel they need. The rack worked flawlessly and it was handy being able to access the storage so easily. My stropping down on gear was not as flawless and I lost a spendy camp matress somewhere between Blenheim and kaikoura...but was a small price to pay for an otherwise great trip I really need a new chain now, shits fucked.

Had a combo of not raining and the Mrs in a mood to help, so got the van turned around. Not quite Austin powers 100 point turn style but nearly - i had a roller jack under the diff which made it a bit easier to pirouette. Jacked it right up, stuck the engine crane though the drivers door and after disconnecting everything (-1) eventually pooped this greasy lump out. Thats a single barrel Solex with about a 25mm venturi and the exhaust manifold is van specific to poke though the engine bay into the front wheel well. Smelly greasy hole Two cans of degreaser later and its much much better - the opening behind that loose pipe is for the exhaust pipe. What looks like a chassis rail the pipe resents on is actually the cold air feed, from in front of the radiator, dumping behind the firewall, with a smaller round hole for the carb - i wonder if that has a ram effects? Tidied up the starter motor, came up really nice, solenoid even has yellow plating still on it, and even bench tested successfully, and happily a bit smoother and quieter than it was before the tidy up Mid tidying up Fresh alternator brushes, I got 4 boxes of these these cheap as (like $10 euro for all four boxes?) ages ago for my 2300, quality West German made. I also swapped the starter bushes for the old 2300 ones i swapped were actually quite a bit longer than the ones in the one that came off the van engine (never throw anything away!) And compared the spare that actually looked slightly better on the outside (but felt a bit crunchy spinning).

Been poking away at things. Ol' mate runs a Tech room at the local high school, so i did a C+ effort on turning up some oak gear knobs one weekend The black one is the knob off the 2300 wagon, which would be close to if not the exact factory size on the van - ie pretty small, about 25 diameter x 40 long. I havnt been able to find these for sale anywhere, and they are an usuay (for a gear knob) thread The other ones might get used on some other cars. M8 x 1.25 threaded tap into a 7mm drilled hole, and some danish oil. Also tidied up the dizzy. One off each engine, one slightly better nick then the other. Very similar design to the 2300 one (box of bits in the background) but I didnt need to steal any bits. As i managed to make one good one from the two, one set of points was pretty much new, one vacuum advance worked, etc. Reassembled and adjusted up. Got a couple of cheap NOS dizzy caps in a recent order so unboxed that and all looking good.

I love the cock almost as much as you do, yes.

I dicked around with the starter for a bit - it's called a rat-trap style with a mechanical linkage to push the pinion into engagement with the ring gear. It's pretty new actually, to go with the C4 I guess. \ Started up OK after that Since they are both in the same part of the garage I ran both Mercury V8's together. Both pretty dirty looking though.

how often do you get barreied? anyone claim to have previously owned it yet?

The only stretch will be my arsehole as you ease your enormous member into it.

Lower hinge area is a double skinned piece Inner reinforcing section first Then the outer part