Is this a good basis for a resto? (RX-3 content)

Hey guys,

I found this car semi local to me,and went to look at it yesterday. The car is complete,but most of the ornamentation,and trim is removed to do body work. There is very little surface rust on ths car,and the there is no rot that I found anywhere which is rare for a New England car from the 70's. The seller has owned it for about 24 years,and it only has 50k miles on it. He swapped in a 6 port 13B that was brand new from Mazda,and it is running a D'ellorto carb. I didn't hear it run mainly because it has been sitting for so long the seller didn't want to damage anything,but teh engine if free spinning by hand. The interior as you may be able to see in the pics is pretty much complete,and for the most part in great shape. I really like the car,and I think it has potential,but tell me what do you guys think? The filler all over it is just for body dings,and such,no major collisions,and no rot like I said. I have never done body work before,but it doesn't scare me. Also I am not sure about the price. He is asking $5000 for the whole car,and all the spares which is a lot of stuff. It is probably worth that kind of money especially in New England,but I am not sure.Any input would be appreciated.

Link to pics of said car.

http://web.mac.com/cdirado/iWeb/Diradosite/1973%20RX-3.html

Chris 79 RX-7 GS 74 REPU

The website doesn't work.

Your right,but I don't know why. Lets try this again.

http://web.mac.com/cdirado/iWeb/Diradosite/1973%20RX-3.html

if I copy,and paste it though it works fine.

Link still doesn't work but I will comment based on your description. If the car is as good as you say it is then the price is probably good to slightly high. If the motor was purchased new from Mazda then that alone is likely several thousand dollars. I believe there is a lot of love for these cars in some circles and they will surely appreciate as more interest grows over time. I happen to be a big fan of rotaries and the RX line of Mazdas so I may be biased. The car could be made to be a killer.

Short answer: With a little bargaining on the price I'd say go for it.

Here's the working link:

"http://web.mac.com/cdirado/iWeb/Diradosite/1973 RX-3.html"

Next time, don't put spaces in your directory names. Many browsers and operating systems deal with them differently.

Ok, having seen the pics now I would have to say the price is high. Needs a lot of work. Still could be a good project and ultimately a great car but you will have to work on that price.

It looks like a solid base for a cool project. Although as mentioned above, does seem a tad pricey.

For comparisons sake, for an extra couple of grand, you could drive away in this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks___Mazda-rx3-1973_W0QQitemZ280267554510QQddnZCarsQ20Q26Q20TrucksQQddiZ2282QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item280267554510&_trkparms=72:727|39:1|65:12|240:1318&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245

Funny thing with the link I posted was that I just copy,and pasted it to here from another tab. I never put any spaces in it. I agree on the price being high,but I am not sure the guy is going to come down. He needs the car gone by the end of the month though because he sold the house that it is stored at,and the closing is coming up. That may help my cause some. The body really looks worse in pics than I think it really is. I was hoping to spmeday restore my REPU which needs way less work,but at the end of the day I will still only have a two seater with that,and I have two kids,so going out to enjoy the old classic is not easy to do unless I want to leave one of the boys home,and that isn't fair. The RX-3 would solve that problem,and the retoration has already started. I am confused,but I agree the price is atleast $1000 too high in my opinion,but I could be off on that. Thanks for the replies,and sorry the link didn't/doesn't work I have no idea why becasue it was a simple cut&paste.

Chris

79 RX-7 GS 74 REPU

The car looks like a great candidate for restoration.

However, If you are going to do a proper restoration, and not just a quick clean-up, you can expect to put at least ten grand over the purchase price into the job. Maybe more depending on how anal you are. If the project is what you are after, then a few grand on the purchase price is not really going to matter.

If you want to drive one of these, then find a finished one for less money and enjoy it for a few years. You can always restore it if you become attached.

Pete.

Mazdax605 wrote: Funny thing with the link I posted was that I just copy,and pasted it to here from another tab. I never put any spaces in it.

The spaces were created when you made the folder on your mac.com photo site. It's bad netiquette to use spaces in file names or folder names for internet content.

You should use a hyphen or underscore to separate words in file or folder names.

Cheers, WW

I didn't create anything. I use a simple apple program that I upload pics to my site,and it does all the rest. If there are spaces in it then they sure weren't put in by me. Apple stes that web address up for me.I am not very computer savvy,but iWeb lets me put pics on my website,and I just go from there. I am sorry if that is bad ettiquette,but that's my story,and I'm stickin to it.

I didnt look at the pics, but if its a 2 door yea people pay that much. IMO its too expensive for a project that needs alot of work, but if you have the money and you like it theres no reason not to get it.

What he's saying is, when you're at the save as dropdown for the new file you created in iWeb, DON'T save it as "1973 RX-3" or "1973 RX-3.html". You need to save it as "1973-rx3" or something like that... no spaces. It's not a netiquette thing, it's a "the stuff you posted will fail for a lot of people" thing. Not all computers are as smart as your Mac.

Tim Baxter wrote: Not all computers are as smart as your Mac.

come on Baxter! Don't get the zealots started! Next thing you know they'll be handling snakes and drinking strichnine in honor of the great Apple.

Ah, it's true. Without getting into the relative smartness of an Apple desktop vs. Linux or Windows, they all tend to be a lot smarter than most web servers.

I emailed the seller,and told him I wanted the car,but I couldn't swing the $5k he was asking. He emailed me back tonight,and said he got an offer for $6k,but wanted to give me first shot at it because I was the first to contact him,and also the first to see it. I really want it,but my REPU is a daily driver,and in way better shape,so I can't see getting rid of it to get this RX-3 that needs a bunch of work before i can enjoy it. I am not against do the work,but for that sort of money I think I can get a good running,driving car,and work on a rolling restoration. I found a guy in VA that is selling a 78 RX-5 Cosmo for $5k that runs,drives,and even has cold AC. SO I may look into that instead. The reason I am looking for an old school Mazda car is that I want to be able to take my kids out with me,and the REPU doesn't allow for that.

Chris

http://web.mac.com/cdirado/iWeb/Diradosite/1973-RX-3.html

see if this one works better. I removed the spaces that somehow got put in there,so it should work. I guess it doesn't matter anyway because it doesn't look like I am getting the car,but I sure do want it.

http://portland.craigslist.org/clc/cto/845100835.html

MUCH cheaper, looks like the same amount of work...

Yea, he's asking $5k and a guy offered him $6K, but he wanted to give you first shot at it? He's certainly not lying to you.
It takes some serious balls to deliver such a bad lie.

Wait until it gets closer to his move date and offer him $2k. No, even better, tell him someone with a better car offered it to you for $1,000, but you wanted to give him a chance to beat that offer.

http://web.mac.com/cdirado/iWeb/Diradosite/1973-RX-3.html

Off topic but I'm jealous of your REPU. Seriously, I want one so much.

The REPU may be for sale very soon. Stay tuned.