yoeddynz

i'd rather not have to lie as it most likely will end up getting messy. The guy in blenheim who used to check our sample welds for tickets is also a cert bloke for vtnz. I could try him. I'm completely happy with the structural strength and took good photos- removed all the rot and replaced with new steel. It has filler but only to tidy things up- i certainly aint a pro so had to give places a skim. Theres a really good cert bloke in nelson- cant remember his name but he wasn't anal- just realistic and fair. Did my old 2.3 chevette. I wonder if i can do a midnight run from lyttlton harbor to blenheim. !

fuck me this is getting shit- back in the day ya could do any thing to a car. Good ol kiwi ingenuity eh. Now its back handed money to engineers just to get a cert for a new fucking gear knob! How long has this welding thing been about? I'm a fitter turner by trade- might have to get my welding ticket again if that would help. Or just sell car here:-(.

the sticker thing he was talking about was in relation to me talking about how fucking anal vtnz is about regulations- which in turn was in relation to me questioning vtnz's rules about copper pipes. Tenuous i know but.. Anyway- maybe i'll just argue, quote facts- when mr vtnz complains about my copper pipes. This world is getting so complicated!

whats that - people were chrome plating their brake lines and the pen pushers have said its not allowed! Fucking hell- ya wont be allowed to fit stickers soon! Not sure on copper mix. Yeah- rx3 possibly worth a bit more in nz but i have to get it there first. In many ways i'd like to bring back some thing different. Lots of 3's etc in nz where as here its rare hence creates more interest. I fancy a lancia fulvia- that would be cool in nz. Bit slow though..

i'm gonna fill my suitcase with as many rx's as possible.

sweet- love vivas ! I have an hb i'm currently fitting a 1600x flo into. Plus we have a 4 door chevette i need to weld up. All Piazzas here in blighty are turbo so have linked axles- not as simple to drop in.. But most have lsds

bugger! Whats bundy tube? Its not a hard job to change- just a pain. And steel aint as easy to do lots of tight bends without decent tools. What about fuel lines? Mine are copper too. I take the point about cracking but must add.. The copper pipes sold here in blighty must be certified and is better able to cope with vibration. And steel lines crack too- seen it. Not to mention rust- from inside out when brake fluid is old and has absorbed water. I think if any pipes are done properly with secure mounts where appropriate all should be fine. Not having a go but given how long copper has been used with it all fine and dandy here in blighty to me its just another fucking case of nz's vtnz office geeks creating more work. So if i import it then i guess they'll ask me to change it all when it comes to the first new re vin test eh? Will i be able to drive it away from test to go do required work? I'm not sure if i'm bringing rx3 back yet- will see what interest/offers i get here first. Plus i'm still not sure on the idea of an rx3 as a daily without the constant fear of the light fingered brigade! Maybe south island is ok eh.. No car thieves there eh?

if i bring my rx3 back to nz with me (if..) will i have to redo my brake pipes? I have used copper- high pressure stuff- fully legal here in land of long grey cloud! Has anyone on here used copper and got away with it?

just read ya thread- nice!!!! Why is it that there aint so many rotarys on Oldschoolnz? is there some sorta bitching going on between rotary fellas and everyone else? And rotahavik vs kiwi rotary...seems to be a split between them? cant we just all get along! I love your 2- looking fuckin mean- nice wheels- with the streatched euro look on the tyres. Just dont go fully euro and stick a fucking roof rack on it!!! alex

wicked!!! Poppy inny lights are the best looking!! cool car - very tidy. I built a HS replica when i was younger-with a 2.3. It never ran right even after spending alot of time on the engine and with a good cam plus my own homemade inlet to suit two hs6 carbs off a triumph 2500 The problem I think was that I started with a cf engine and they are low comp! bugger! What axle are you running? I plonked the piazza one in and also the front vented discs- straight on- easy!! Whats the centre console out of? Have you posted this car up on chevettes.com? they would love its clean look...that said that forum has been a little quiet recently.. Cant wait to get back to NZ and select a car that wont have rust...hmmm Viva...Chevette... And now I have my elford turbo engine to plonk into whatever i choose.

yeah- i'll pop some pictures up sometime of viva - as for chevette its got a whole build thread on chevettes.com and retro rides. Us within exile rotorsport in the uk have been sending letters to dvla who are in charge of taxing cars etc. We been pointing out that rotarys are only 1.2 or 1.3. Some have had success -and got cheaper road tax- some still trying. I'm lucky that i've been able to prove my car was built in 72 so i pay no road tax.

WOW ;D.... a god!!! thats a lot to hang on my shoulders! bought this recently- from deepest darkest wales... oldschool Elford Turbo Rx7... 2 kiwi friends popped by to help me strip it bare. very very very rusty!!! makes what the Rx3 started out as appear solid! We had this out in no time...then drank beer. later on my bench. Its a 'too cool oldschool, suck through SU' turbo setup. 165 bhp and more importantly more torque! clean as Turbo... was rebuilt- only done a few miles and then left with no anti freeze so a core plug popped out. Tips are brand new and clean- makes 6 loverly pishht sounds and has brand new clutch too. All good then but... But it wont fit the rx3 > the exhaust manifold collides with the steering box!!! so now I need another car to fit it into...... ;D I also scored a full set of Konis adjustables and lowered up rated springs from the Rx7 !!! retired to shed then later nice big fire and food and beer and inhalation of nature. Bliss.

yeah i cant believe how cheap rx's are here- even fd's are cheap. But hardly any oldschool ones left- my 3 is one of less than 15 we know of in the uk left! And 6000 plus were sold. Rust! I dont think any other 3 is doing as much mileage as mine- only about 2 others i know that are driven- jimbo's and jon's. The others are projects, race cars or just sat looking pretty- which is a fucking crime if ya ask me. All classics should out on the road being used! So in a land of 60million people it makes it quite a rare sight to see a 3 on the road. Only one rx4 i know of driven much. About 2 rx2's- one a 12a turbo. Quite different to back home eh!

I have just copied/pasted some more from exile rotorsport- keep it up to date.. anyways- i'm fucking loving this car. it wouldnt be the same in NZ though- know one knows what it is here and it gets lots of attention so heres some more stuff.... On saturday I woke up early and got the mtbs ready and all our ridiong gear- then thought id move rx3 out and warm it up etc. but the engine turned over really slowly ! The battery was dead i thought..not a worry- i'll jump start it with the bmw. but still it turned over really slowly! Fuck it! and i flooded it in the process. So sunday i dried it all out and tried again with charged battery. still no good So hannah tow started me- and it started so easy first go. cool.Once warmed up I took it for a right good trashing!!! (as ya do) but even when warm and charged up it turned over slowly- and starter was hot too. Ran local friendly factors and they found a new starter for me - really fucking cheap too as it had been on shelf a long time- apparantly not much call for rx7 starters.... so last night i plonked it in place and jumped in seat thinking I wonder if its a lot better... Whirp whirp brrrmmmmmmm!!! Fucking amazing difference- in fact i have never had a rotary turmn over so quickly ever! Even my chevettes starter must have been ill! Sooo happy! And top it off - whilst under car it was still nice and clean - nice to work on! So chuffed- i'm gonna ditch the pushbike tommorrow and while roads are free from mums and their fucking big chelsea tractors (4wds) taking little jonny to school (half term) - i'm gonna drive the 3 into work. steering has been a bit odd recently. Last weekend i took a mate out for a spin on very bumpy road and on way back to his workshop noticed a clunking sound. Looked under bonnet and Idler arm bushes were all broken up- and arm was able to wobble all over the place Alan Bryer was able to post me some replacements- thanks very much Alan!!! and I fit them last night. Once arm was dropped out this is what I found... The black stuff is honestly all that was left of original bushes!!! New ones to be fitted shown. The bushes were mush! When restoring the car I thought them to be OK but compared to the new ones they were really hard. should have replaced them then- i replaced every other bush and ball joint in the car. Anyway- seems they must just age...so Check yours. they are exactly the same Items as in FB's btw..and still available took car to north Wales in easter- 430 miles with out a single blip of a problem! Was cruising faster than most and had some great passing moments where I think I shocked a fair few people behind with its acceleration Had a fantastic 3 days solid of mountain biking and camping-and the sun shone hard and hot the whole time!!! sweet. Only saw one other classic over whole weekend- a moris minor traveller. Where are all the cool cars gone- its just a fucking sea of grey out there. Its just not right! anyway- some photos... On way up via the A44- wicked driving road in places! At Coed y Brenin..early morning fryup.. On Monday once back home the 3 got a good clean and wax for behaving well. And touched up flaking paint on engine...

we have 2 big kitty cats - will that do?

is the weather in dublin reallythat much worse than in england?

i aint posted up in ages on here. whoops. Best stay in touch as will be back in nz end of year hopefully. My rx3 has been going so well. I have been using and abusing it shit loads. Got to see 130 plus in a race against a ford rs turbo. Acceleration was the same but he had more top end. I was pulling 7500 in 5th. naughty. We just did 430miles over easter with bikes on back to wales. Averaged 29 mpg which is bloody good for a rota! Such a good wee usable car. Nice to be able to park it up here and still find it intact hour later too. I recently bought a rare as '83 series 2 elford turbo rx7. It is rusty as but engine should be good. Its a suck through an su carb setup on a 12a. Me and 2 kiwi friends are gonna rip it all out today then have a bbq to celebrate my acquisition of 'coolest oldschool suck through carb 160 bhp turbo rota goodness' and drink beer. Summers on the way here. Happiness. i need a car to test it in. That'll be the rx3 then. I'll put some pictures up soon as i'm back on computer rather than my phone. Alex

must return comments leigh. Your car is fucking ace! Hannah and i went to look at one for sale in london. Fuck it was rusty. Alot of people think they are fibre glass so nice are the curves. Nup- and fuck they can rust! We walked away. As for wheels fellas- i'm bringing a container back to nz at end of the year. With a a car and lots of parts....... Alex

Not a biggie but I have finally got around to revisiting my rx3's underbelly. This time it was for a bit of preventative tlc. I had filled all the inside of all box sections with shit loads of Bilt Hamber wax end of summer when it flows nicely. But i still wasnt sleeping- as I use the car in any weather i wanted more protection. So out with a big can of waxoyl and into a bucket of piping hot water. It slowly melted and when satisfied it would spray I attached the supplied pump but it was shit! Thats the reason i never used the stuff years back. But it was liquid enough to use in a garden hand sprayer so that's what I climbed under the car with. I covered every where that salt might sit- I always give the car a good complete hose down if its spent the weekend on salty roads but if the hose is frozen I wanted the salt to sit on wax- not painted steel. Messy messy job and bloody cold too. I was forever thawing out wax covered hands in bucket- no gloves because I am a real (stupid) garage man with perma-grime (and probably dermatitis affected) hands. Wax in my hair (because real men dont wear silly hats) and I stunk of white spirits or whatever the carrying agent is. But the car is now protected underneth so I'm happy and can sleep again

Id like to but i dont reckon it would be an every day classic like it is here- i'd never be able to sleep at night thinking of all the little fuckers out there nicking bits off it! Even at my olds place i dont reckon it would be safe. Or am i just paranoid? Do little shits there respect old cars like this now..or do they still just see them as a rolling stock of Trade me goodies to sell? In britain no one knows what it is and its not worth as much- just some old car. Nup- i want something like your old cortina- or another chevette, or a viva. BTW- keep your wagon in its original colours i think.. looks proper time warp I love the way old cars like yours-not full of Rot- can still be found back home- can not fucking wait to get home! alex

yeah- rotors are bloody cheap here; Our 1st rx7..mint series 3 in original black £600! our 2nd rx7 - series 3 £150 our 3rd rx7 - series 2 £110- i used that one for chevette build then we bought a mint series 3 from scrap yard 8 miles away. £200 they said it wouldnt start...i changed the 10 year old petrol and the fuel pump and winner! Rx3 - I paid £750 ! You can always get a really nice first gen for under £1000 And a really good FD - all original but with rebuilt engine/new turbos - owned by a bloke in our club sat for ages before got £2600 ! Rotarys just dont have the same following here. alex

Heres the interior when i first went to view it.. and rust... I just had to buy it!!! After getting it all together and back on the road I added up all costs inc purchase price and it turned out to be a very very cheap original Rx3- I'm so happy i bought it and went through with the resto! alex

Cheers RR forum has some bloody wicked cars on it! I hope the supercharged Kaddett gets finished but it looks like he has lost his mojo I'm happy just driving mine for now. I'll wait a bit till its warmer then do some suspension mods. alex

Hello all- I aint posted up on here for ages. But its christmas and tellys crap so I thought I'd post up some pictures of my rx3... I bought this last christmas- the fella i got it off has had it stored away over 20 years in a concrete farm shed. I'm the second owner. It was last driven 1985. It still had original plastc covers on sunvisors and over rear cards Every thing was in place and original. I still have the original 10 A but I wanted it more usable for long trips so I plonked a 12A and 5 speed out of a series 3. It took me 5 good months of most nights after work and most weekends to cut out all the rust and weld in new steel, rebuild all the suspension and brakes and paint it. It is by no means a perfect show car but its solid and I love it! I use it a lot- rain, mud or shine and its one of only two in the uk I know of that are used frequently. Next things on the 'to do list' are fit new adjustable front inserts and rear dampers. And put a bigger muffler on the back so i can remove centre one. keeps catching bloody speed humps. Rather than rewrite up all the posts heres a link ya can go to ... http://www.exile-rotorsport.com/viewtopic.php?t=1090 alex

Whoops- I forgot the rules about posting on ya link. I removed it all and left a dot. ignore it!! Anyway.. WOW!! cool car and i'm glad to see it aint gonna be butchered, then covered in glue and driven through Repco's car accessory area. There is a cosmo sitting in a blokes lockup down in Newbury- about 40 miles south of where i live. I wish i could get it off him but he knows what its worth. bugger. here it is... alex