Welcome to my RX4 Sedan build thread.
It's a 1973 Mazda RX4 Series 1 - red like a fire engine!
I heard one was up for grabs near Edinburgh so I jumped on the opportunity and now I have this bad boy in my garage.
It had its original 12a twin dizzy removed previously (came with the car) and replaced with a 2.0L Mazda 626 piston engine as well as having the rear door handles plated over!!!!
It's a factory auto and before those of you out there think I have a 929, check out the LA22S on the firewall coupled with the badges.
Here are some pics of it before I picked it up...I bought it sight unseen...
I arranged a car transporter to pick it up for a fee and the old owner was good enough to put/throw the main bits back in/on it for the journey.
Top fella!
Here is it with before the pick up...slapped together :lol:
This was my first view of the rear door handles...or lack of…
On the transporter
The eagle has landed
In its new home...
It was like (better than) Xmas looking over all the bits that came with it to see what was missing
The 12a twin dizzy... an awkward heavy bstrd to get out of the boot!
The internals were mint which was a bonus! This has been traded for Mazda bits and pieces.
The body was pretty good and it's obvious that it has spent most of its life being garaged. The worst area is the right rear wheel arch and back guard on the same side.
The front guards have minor rust in the bottoms of them - nothing major.
Inside the boot...sweet
Rear lights, lock and garnish goes back in
On with the boot rubber and rear bumper
Right...getting that horrible piston donk out! I had no access to a hoist therefore Tool and started to take it apart piece-by-piece in situ...
Off with her head...
Out with the dirty old auto
Empty engine bay....finally! Note those massive piston engine mounts!!! I have the original breast plate however we discovered it may be easier to grind them off and retrofit the RX4 one at a later date. It's the same minus the mounts.
On with the front lights
Grille on and yes, I have the centre badge
Brank spanking 929/RX4 clutch master
It slotted in perfectly.
Here is some inspiration for me....THIS IS NOT MY CAR
Front bumper is on
From this angle you can see I painted the brake master and booster black to tidy it up a tad
Closer pic
I painted the cross member and breast plate black to tidy things up too..
Before
After...not the best picture as these are from my phone...yes I could have sanded it to make it perfect...another job when I can afford a full panel and paint.
I started to paint the suspension...
I wire brushed up the 12a mounting plate as well as the Series 1 gearbox cross member...before
After
Just to bring everyone up-to-speed I got a Series 1 RX7 gearbox and RX3 pedal box of Mullins...cheers fella
Unfortunately the RX3 pedal box (Christine...RIP) didn't suit the RX4 BUT luckily enough it came with a 626 one that fitted PERFECTLY.
The pedal box is now in the car and I just have to fit the gas pedal and goodbye auto, hello manual.
I now have this 12a tall port from his FB/Series 3 with 67k miles on it...sweet runner.
Thar she blows...
The 12a is still on the floor of the garage awaiting the piston mounts to be ground off. I have been turning it over regularly by hand with 2 stroke to keep it fresh.
It came with a 626 steering wheel....thankfully it had the original RX4 one too so I swapped them over.
Ahhh that's better
I put the rear door garnish on and since this photo I have sanded down the sanded areas again and primered them. The previous owner ripped everything out of it and sanded bits here and there and I guess lost interest.
Those rear doors!!! I bought a full set of second hand RX4 sedan exterior handles from Aussie which was a good score!
I need 2 of these as well as the internal opening handles for the rear doors if anyone has these out there??
I'm also looking for a good manual console piece like this one but not busted.
Looking for the 4 pieces of chrome that goes over the doors from the bonnet to the rear garnish?? Top bent pieces in the pic from Ausrotary.
I'm keen on maybe steel banding the original rims like this Japanese RX4 as there is a LACK of cool wheels in the UK. Maybe i will just go the 13" x 7" minilights or superlights with some low profile tyres 50 profile like back home in NZ.
I WILL be getting some 14" x 7" Cragar Quicktricks for the RX4 like what is on the 626 below....MEAN!
I do have a set of 13" x 7" hotwires at home in NZ.... just like these...
I will need to alter the tail shaft as the auto is a different length than the manual one...not too many manual RX4 sedan tail shafts here hahaha...sigh.
I have a 626 one that came with the car that looks like it may fit? I will let you all know.
I just need to get the engine and box in then I can look at the wiring.
I do need a front windscreen too however this can be ordered for around the ÂŁ180 mark.
I went to the shed and tidied up the under dash loom by putting it in its correct place. I am an absolute wiring novice however it does seem to be common sense thing for the majority of it.
Not the best photo..here it is anyway
Here is the space for the main heater unit
You can see the up the back the dash the tucked away loom (riveting pics I know)
I had to remover this blower motor to slot in the main heater (school boy error) :oops:
Main heater unit ready to go in...rubber hoses poke through the firewall
Midway through tightening the pedal box/brake booster - I love the rota shaped shroud around the steering column base
Accelerator pedal in
Pic of the primered patches that covered the previous owners sanding attempts...pretty rough job...just want to keep the rust out
Wiring connection to the rear with the rear seat removed
Random front shot
I think the dash fascia needs to be removed unfortunately. The metal piece between the dash and the windscreen could do with a sand and gloss black paint at some stage shortly.
Metal dash fascia has started to rust on the surface so I removed it to refurbish.
Partially stripped
I sanded the rust off and removed the paint until smooth
Primered with 2 coats then wet sanded with wet and dry
It's a 1973 Mazda RX4 Series 1 - red like a fire engine!
I heard one was up for grabs near Edinburgh so I jumped on the opportunity and now I have this bad boy in my garage.
It had its original 12a twin dizzy removed previously (came with the car) and replaced with a 2.0L Mazda 626 piston engine as well as having the rear door handles plated over!!!!
It's a factory auto and before those of you out there think I have a 929, check out the LA22S on the firewall coupled with the badges.
Here are some pics of it before I picked it up...I bought it sight unseen...
I arranged a car transporter to pick it up for a fee and the old owner was good enough to put/throw the main bits back in/on it for the journey.
Top fella!
Here is it with before the pick up...slapped together :lol:
This was my first view of the rear door handles...or lack of…
On the transporter
The eagle has landed
In its new home...
It was like (better than) Xmas looking over all the bits that came with it to see what was missing
The 12a twin dizzy... an awkward heavy bstrd to get out of the boot!
The internals were mint which was a bonus! This has been traded for Mazda bits and pieces.
The body was pretty good and it's obvious that it has spent most of its life being garaged. The worst area is the right rear wheel arch and back guard on the same side.
The front guards have minor rust in the bottoms of them - nothing major.
Inside the boot...sweet
Rear lights, lock and garnish goes back in
On with the boot rubber and rear bumper
Right...getting that horrible piston donk out! I had no access to a hoist therefore Tool and started to take it apart piece-by-piece in situ...
Off with her head...
Out with the dirty old auto
Empty engine bay....finally! Note those massive piston engine mounts!!! I have the original breast plate however we discovered it may be easier to grind them off and retrofit the RX4 one at a later date. It's the same minus the mounts.
On with the front lights
Grille on and yes, I have the centre badge
Brank spanking 929/RX4 clutch master
It slotted in perfectly.
Here is some inspiration for me....THIS IS NOT MY CAR
Front bumper is on
From this angle you can see I painted the brake master and booster black to tidy it up a tad
Closer pic
I painted the cross member and breast plate black to tidy things up too..
Before
After...not the best picture as these are from my phone...yes I could have sanded it to make it perfect...another job when I can afford a full panel and paint.
I started to paint the suspension...
I wire brushed up the 12a mounting plate as well as the Series 1 gearbox cross member...before
After
Just to bring everyone up-to-speed I got a Series 1 RX7 gearbox and RX3 pedal box of Mullins...cheers fella
Unfortunately the RX3 pedal box (Christine...RIP) didn't suit the RX4 BUT luckily enough it came with a 626 one that fitted PERFECTLY.
The pedal box is now in the car and I just have to fit the gas pedal and goodbye auto, hello manual.
I now have this 12a tall port from his FB/Series 3 with 67k miles on it...sweet runner.
Thar she blows...
The 12a is still on the floor of the garage awaiting the piston mounts to be ground off. I have been turning it over regularly by hand with 2 stroke to keep it fresh.
It came with a 626 steering wheel....thankfully it had the original RX4 one too so I swapped them over.
Ahhh that's better
I put the rear door garnish on and since this photo I have sanded down the sanded areas again and primered them. The previous owner ripped everything out of it and sanded bits here and there and I guess lost interest.
Those rear doors!!! I bought a full set of second hand RX4 sedan exterior handles from Aussie which was a good score!
I need 2 of these as well as the internal opening handles for the rear doors if anyone has these out there??
I'm also looking for a good manual console piece like this one but not busted.
Looking for the 4 pieces of chrome that goes over the doors from the bonnet to the rear garnish?? Top bent pieces in the pic from Ausrotary.
I'm keen on maybe steel banding the original rims like this Japanese RX4 as there is a LACK of cool wheels in the UK. Maybe i will just go the 13" x 7" minilights or superlights with some low profile tyres 50 profile like back home in NZ.
I WILL be getting some 14" x 7" Cragar Quicktricks for the RX4 like what is on the 626 below....MEAN!
I do have a set of 13" x 7" hotwires at home in NZ.... just like these...
I will need to alter the tail shaft as the auto is a different length than the manual one...not too many manual RX4 sedan tail shafts here hahaha...sigh.
I have a 626 one that came with the car that looks like it may fit? I will let you all know.
I just need to get the engine and box in then I can look at the wiring.
I do need a front windscreen too however this can be ordered for around the ÂŁ180 mark.
I went to the shed and tidied up the under dash loom by putting it in its correct place. I am an absolute wiring novice however it does seem to be common sense thing for the majority of it.
Not the best photo..here it is anyway
Here is the space for the main heater unit
You can see the up the back the dash the tucked away loom (riveting pics I know)
I had to remover this blower motor to slot in the main heater (school boy error) :oops:
Main heater unit ready to go in...rubber hoses poke through the firewall
Midway through tightening the pedal box/brake booster - I love the rota shaped shroud around the steering column base
Accelerator pedal in
Pic of the primered patches that covered the previous owners sanding attempts...pretty rough job...just want to keep the rust out
Wiring connection to the rear with the rear seat removed
Random front shot
I think the dash fascia needs to be removed unfortunately. The metal piece between the dash and the windscreen could do with a sand and gloss black paint at some stage shortly.
Metal dash fascia has started to rust on the surface so I removed it to refurbish.
Partially stripped
I sanded the rust off and removed the paint until smooth
Primered with 2 coats then wet sanded with wet and dry
