1988 Mazda 323 GTX

I bought this about a month ago. The story from the seller was that it had been backed into by a truck before he bought it. He said it had been sitting for 8 or so years but he drove it when he first bought it. He bought all the parts to repair the damage but never got around to it. I checked the title and he bought it in 2006 so it has been sitting for around 12 years. 

He said it would fire on starting fluid but the fuel pump wasn't running. I pulled the pump and it was easy to see why it didn't run. I should have taken pictures but the pump was all rusty and the gas was reddish brown. I drained off all the gas and put a new pump in it. 

Today I put a new fuel filter on it and cranked it for a bit to flush some of the old gas through the system. I hooked up the fuel line and it fired up right away. After a minute or two the lifters quieted down and I took it for a drive around the block. The clutch is slipping terribly. I was almost afraid I wouldn't make it all the way around the block. I guess I should have taken the new centerforce clutch kit that was included as a sign but the seller said he thought the clutch was fine and couldn't remember why he had the new clutch...

The interior needs to be cleaned up but is in pretty good shape. There is rust in the rockers and the front part of the drivers floor. It came with another hatch to replace the current one that has a few rust holes. 

The next step is to get it in the garage and replace the clutch then start pulling out the damage to bolt on the new body work. 

Nice but looking in the background it looks like the Volvo truck has become a parts shelf?

This is gonna be fun

Stampie said:

 it looks like the Volvo truck has become a parts shelf?

Some of us call that "in progress"

Awesome buy and congrats on getting it to fire right away!!

Robbie said:

Stampie said:

 it looks like the Volvo truck has become a parts shelf?

Some of us call that "in progress"

Yes, it is definitely in progress, much like it was when you stopped by. Some might say there has been very little progress since then. 

I've had a couple of these, they're fun little cars.  Hard to get fun parts for tho.

Choppy choppy. I freed you up some money so you could have fun. 

So this happened today. 

It was not fun. I stopped there, I'll have to take the clutch off tomorrow and see what else I need to order. I think a rear main seal is needed. 

I also found the source of the main oil leak...the oil filter is rusted out. 

oooh, B6T goodness.

I have been fighting the clutch release shaft for the past couple weeks. It was nearly seized when I took the transmission out, likely why the clutch was fried. I have been spraying it with penetrating oil every few days and working it back and forth. Today I finally got it out, well mostly. The part that the release bearing rides on doesn't want to come off the shaft so I can't pull it all the way out. 

The problem was actually the lower bushing, not the upper like I thought. Once I got it free of the lower bushing it turned easily. Everying is getting cleaned up, the shaft polished up with some emery cloth and penetrating oil. Next I will lube both bushings and start the reassembling. 

I will be watching this thread with serious interest. I'll be undertaking the task of getting a friend's 323 GT sedan (one year only fwd turbo sedan iirc) back on the road and am basically going in blind, so any tips or tricks are welcome.

Really, it was the lower?  Wow.  I would have assumed that the bushing exposed to the elements would be the seized one.

I won't make the joke about asking if it will be ready for the rallycross on the 2nd.  I'm mentioning the joke, but I'm not going to make it.

Clutch shaft is all cleaned up and lubed. It is nice and floppy now, pivots in the slightest breeze. Perfect. 

I took tomorrow off work since it is supposed to be nice then get cold and rainy the rest of the week so I hope to have it all back together then. I also put up a harbor freight portable shed up in the back yard to house the mower and some lawn equipment over the winter to get garage space back. While I was at it I moved one of the 67 Opel Kadett wagons to the front for a winter project. 

orthoxstice said:

basically going in blind, so any tips or tricks are welcome.

You and me both. The service manual PDFs are available online so that helps. This thread is going to die again soon. I am just getting it movable for the winter so it can live outside while I tackle another project. It may move back in the garage occasionally to fix some of the other issues (bodywork and most likely all the brake hardlines) but don't expect too much progress. 

EvanB said:I also put up a harbor freight portable shed up in the back yard to house the mower and some lawn equipment over the winter to get garage space back. While I was at it I moved one of the 67 Opel Kadett wagons to the front for a winter project. 

That's an awfully good euphemism for those karts you bought.

I wish I hadn't sold the 323GTX I bought in 2004....

Clutch is on and oil is changed. Now to stick the trans back up in there. 

Almost 3 hours later, still fighting the transmission. It's so close but won't slide all the way on.

Ugh. For me on the MR2 I was fighting to alignment pegs. Removing them allowed me to make sure that was the case - I took them off and the trans slid right on, so I knew to work on those specifically. Might be worth a shot.

After taking a break to walk away and blow some leaves to the curb i tackled it again. Between reduced frustration and finding the right alignment it finally slid on. It is mostly bolted back in now and that is where i stopped to get some other stuff done around the house.

I don't think I've seen one of these cars in the last 10 years. I always thought they looked neat, a friend of mine had one as a first car in 2003 and decided to jump it. Between rust and that it bent badly. Last one I remember seeing in person 

EvanB said:Between reduced frustration and finding the right alignment it finally slid on.

I had the afternoon off work today so I got the rest of the transmission install knocked out. Then drove it out of the garage and parked it. It does drive much better with a clutch that works. 

I left it in the front so I can move it into the garage during the winter if I feel like working on more things. It needs a lot more, mainly getting the bodywork on and lined up, I think all the brake lines need replaced, then working on dealing with the rust. At least now I can move it around under it's own power. 

Next up is cleaning up this mess. 

So this can go in for work over the winter...

I also swapped some wheels with snow tires on the Miata (the rally tires go flat after a couple of weeks and I store them in the basement) and put that in the back yard for the winter. And with snow tires on it I can mess around in the backyard after it freezes and snows since it is already back there.