At the start of the year, I set the goal of having a Mazda RX-2, RX-3 or RX-4 coupe in my shed, with the RX-4 being the most desirable to me. The RX-4 is actually my ultimate dream car, "the one".
In May of this year, a cousin of mine sent me a link to a 1974 RX-4 for sale on carandclassic, which just happened to be Terri's "wheeler dealers" one - retrorides.proboards.com/thread/155331/1974-mazda-rx4-wheeler-dealers
I immediately got in touch with Terri through a mutual friend, Brad at Triple B Engineering, but unfortunately Terri had already given her word to another person that she would hold the car for them. I pretty much gave up on my goal at that point, as prices in Oz, NZ and Japan continue to rise.
A little over a month ago, I got a random Facebook message from a guy in Somerset. He said he had heard I was interested in an RX-4, and am I still in the market. The guy turned out to be the person that got to Terri's RX-4 before me a few months previous, and was looking to move it on. I immediately said yes, and started organising plans to get the money together and collect it.
We left home at 6am yesterday morning, got the ferry to Fishguard and began the 4 and a half hour drive to find my dream car. We found the location very easily, and set our sights on this tragic but beautiful RX-4...
The car was as described and came with a van and car load of spares. We loaded up and began the return leg of our 30 hour round trip. Driving and sailing back to Ireland through the night, we got my new RX-4 home safe and sound.
There's a few issues with the car - drivetrain and cosmetic body work are the main concerns. But most importantly, the car is complete plus very valuable and rare spares, and is extremely solid. With retro j-tin like this, that's really 80% of the battle.
I'm aiming to have the RX-4 ready for next summer. A respray and some other cosmetic body work is in order, including rechroming the bumpers. Still undecided what to do with the interior, as it's race-prepped but the full original interior is also there. Either way, I can not wait to get to drive my dream car in anger next Summer!
In May of this year, a cousin of mine sent me a link to a 1974 RX-4 for sale on carandclassic, which just happened to be Terri's "wheeler dealers" one - retrorides.proboards.com/thread/155331/1974-mazda-rx4-wheeler-dealers
I immediately got in touch with Terri through a mutual friend, Brad at Triple B Engineering, but unfortunately Terri had already given her word to another person that she would hold the car for them. I pretty much gave up on my goal at that point, as prices in Oz, NZ and Japan continue to rise.
A little over a month ago, I got a random Facebook message from a guy in Somerset. He said he had heard I was interested in an RX-4, and am I still in the market. The guy turned out to be the person that got to Terri's RX-4 before me a few months previous, and was looking to move it on. I immediately said yes, and started organising plans to get the money together and collect it.
We left home at 6am yesterday morning, got the ferry to Fishguard and began the 4 and a half hour drive to find my dream car. We found the location very easily, and set our sights on this tragic but beautiful RX-4...
The car was as described and came with a van and car load of spares. We loaded up and began the return leg of our 30 hour round trip. Driving and sailing back to Ireland through the night, we got my new RX-4 home safe and sound.
There's a few issues with the car - drivetrain and cosmetic body work are the main concerns. But most importantly, the car is complete plus very valuable and rare spares, and is extremely solid. With retro j-tin like this, that's really 80% of the battle.
I'm aiming to have the RX-4 ready for next summer. A respray and some other cosmetic body work is in order, including rechroming the bumpers. Still undecided what to do with the interior, as it's race-prepped but the full original interior is also there. Either way, I can not wait to get to drive my dream car in anger next Summer!
I say it found me!
