$2012 RX3

I thought since the car has actually started to undergo some work, it would be appropriate to share the build out with the GRM community! This will be my first GRM Challenge entry and I'm looking forward to seeing everybody out there. I'm tired of being an armchair challenge builder and it's time to break out the tools and do a good cheap build!

The car, a 1976 Mazda RX3. I'm sure there will be a ton of haters on here who can't believe a 1976 RX3 could be had for under $2k, but give me a bit of time and you'll see why/how. The full detailed build out is being posted on our blog at www.twitchyracing.com.

The short and sweet of it is that this car used to campaign in the GA/FL area in SCCA ITA but has since been neglected and is in need of a new life. That life comes in the form of being a $2k12 Challenge Car :)

Our plan is to sort out the body work as best possible, build a CHEAP (yes, its feasible) rotary engine to power this little guy and keep our fingers crossed.

Here's a glimpse of how she looked when we picked her up in NC for just $1,000.

I hope to have some good updates as milestones are met, but probably will keep the details to the blog site as its bit more typing otherwise :)

I hate you. That is all. Good day.

I love the 10A nosecone, mine had one of those, btw they are very rare here in the US.

Has a 13B been installed yet, mine was a 13B bridge, it was a freaking hoot

I am now subscribed to your blog. Love me some Rx-3.

A 13B has not been installed yet. From what I understand, the last engine in it was a 12A Bridgeport which is what I intend to put together for it, but it depends on what deal we find. If we find a good rebuildable 12A, done... good rebuildable 13B, done.. it all depends. The engine budget right now is only about $250 or so with the hopes that we can find one with a dead coolant seal and reuse all the hard parts (or minimally replace any hard parts out of spec).

As for the car itself, I'm stoked. I have an '88 RX7 and an '04 RX8 but have owned numerous other 7s and 8s, but this is the first 3. My teammate in this adventure is a bigger old school guy than myself so I'm going to lean on him for some expertise when needed, lol.

10A nosecone huh... I honestly didn't know it was different. Everything we have on the car (still researching) leads me to believe it's an original '76 SP but so many parts/panels have been changed out due to its racing heritage, its hard to tell...

The car has paperwork tieing it to guys like Jim Downing and Charlie at MazCare, but we're having trouble pinpointing its racing pedigree...

I have a good, rebuildable 13B you can have for way less than $250 if you can figure out a way to get it from me to you without breaking the bank.

Love this project.

damn you for taking a 1000 dollar rx3 out from under my nose

corytate wrote: damn you for taking a 1000 dollar rx3 out from under my nose

QFT!

Subscribed for pure awesomeness!!!

Wowowow. Sweet car to start with. Good luck with the build!

Osterkraut wrote: I have a good, rebuildable 13B you can have for way less than $250 if you can figure out a way to get it from me to you without breaking the bank. Love this project.

Where are you located?? We have a few cars to go look at this weekend, one is a 13B powered car thats got frame damage and the other is just a tired 12A car... hopefully we'll be able to pick up one of them for well under $250...

Thanks for the comments thus far guys. I'm excited to drive this thing when its done. I'm building it at the same time as trying to finish a NASA-X autocross season on top, and finish my '88 RX7s 20B conversion.. so a lot of things to do in a short few months...

one320b wrote: finish my '88 RX7s 20B conversion.

Also awesome RX3

one320b wrote:

Osterkraut wrote: I have a good, rebuildable 13B you can have for way less than $250 if you can figure out a way to get it from me to you without breaking the bank. Love this project.

Where are you located?? We have a few cars to go look at this weekend, one is a 13B powered car thats got frame damage and the other is just a tired 12A car... hopefully we'll be able to pick up one of them for well under $250... Thanks for the comments thus far guys. I'm excited to drive this thing when its done. I'm building it at the same time as trying to finish a NASA-X autocross season on top, and finish my '88 RX7s 20B conversion.. so a lot of things to do in a short few months...

Omaha, NE.

one320b wrote: 10A nosecone huh... I honestly didn't know it was different. Everything we have on the car (still researching) leads me to believe it's an original '76 SP but so many parts/panels have been changed out due to its racing heritage, its hard to tell...

it's not a 10A nosecone. But it IS the '72-73 nosecone for the early 12A cars, like my '73:

The '74-77 nosecone, and all SPs, was like this one, flat across the top and the trim went across the headlights:

93EXCivic wrote:

one320b wrote: finish my '88 RX7s 20B conversion.

Ha - The RX7 is an entire story in and of itself. I've owned it for about 12 years now, and after doing a 13BT swap on it (and two engines later) I got hooked on the big block. A friend of mine has a 20B FD and I've had the pleasure of letting it suck me into that world... the 20B is simply amazing...

Thanks for those RX3 pics as well. The entire front on this car is not original so somebody definitely swapped it out and as you've shown, apparently to an earlier nose. It has the big axles and a '74 REPU transmission currently. The only thing we have to go on is the VIN.

Future plans for the RX3 after the challenge will most likely include a 13B turbo setup. We've got this fantasy of competing in the $2k challenge one year and then redo the car to be a ultimate street car challenge car the next.. but money and time will tell on that. Either way, I'm just happy to bring this one back to racing glory in some form or another...

Nice. I'm jealous.

$1000 RX-3...? 20B-swapped FC...?

You have a couple of my dream garage cars and I hate you right now. Soooooo much.

If I had the time, I would yank out the overheating S5 13BT from my swapped '86 FC and offer it up for cheap along with a good S5 TII manual. It runs hard but the temp gauge goes nuclear within 5 minutes of running. PO never upgraded the radiator. I can't tell if it's burning coolant, but since I got two fresh JDM 13BTs for cheap last year, I don't feel like tracking it down, to be honest.

I know a guy near Raleigh, NC that has a metric ton (or more) of RX-7 parts, including a bunch of engines. He also knows a few guys that have more parts; at the last rallycross I heard of 50 1st gen RX-7s in varying states out at a farm somewhere that another guy has from racing in IT. The second guy is also currently trying to develop a RENSIS derived engine for the 1st gen RX-7.

Shoot me a message and I can get you in touch with them about an engine, despite how much I regret not finding the RX-3 first.

Aaaah, you lucky dog! Great find!

one320b wrote: The car, a 1976 Mazda RX3. Here's a glimpse of how she looked when we picked her up in NC for just $1,000.

Well, shut the front door!!

I'm extremely jealous . . . Great find.

RexSeven wrote: $1000 RX-3...? 20B-swapped FC...? You have a couple of my dream garage cars and I hate you right now. Soooooo much. If I had the time, I would yank out the overheating S5 13BT from my swapped '86 FC and offer it up for cheap along with a good S5 TII manual. It runs hard but the temp gauge goes nuclear within 5 minutes of running. PO never upgraded the radiator. I can't tell if it's burning coolant, but since I got two fresh JDM 13BTs for cheap last year, I don't feel like tracking it down, to be honest.

wanna trade that 13bt for an l24 with the good carbs? =] I wanna go 20b eventually anyway so might as well lay the groundwork

Put on your headphones kids, it's bee-bop time!

Chris_V wrote: it's not a 10A nosecone. But it IS the '72-73 nosecone for the early 12A cars, like my '73:

That could be an Aussie only version, downunder the 10a version had that nosecone only. All 12a versions had the other nose.

Chris_V wrote:

This was probably one of the best car ads I have ever seen. And there were two of them!

I'd steal ice cream cones from a busload of little children if it meant I could find an RX3 in decent shape. Jealous doesn't describe it.