Would you guys take on a project like this?

Hey guys,

I have had a deposit on a 73 RX-3 wagon with 24k original miles since August waiting on the seller to get a title. I only have been patient because the car seems nice, is local, and I love wagons. I am getting a little pissed though with all the waiting, and what seems like games being played with the seller. It shouldn't take this long for a title, and I think I will demand my money back tomorrow when I visit the island that the car is on for work if the seller doesn't have the title.

My question though regards a project 73 RX-2 coupe I found on JNC. It is in what looks like amazingly straight condition, but is truly a rolling project. It seems to have all the trim work, glass,wiring, etc, but is lacking a drivetrain. I have that stuff kicking around, but between the price of the car, shipping (expensive on a non-runner), paint, and god knows what else you run into on a full on project like this I am afraid it will get really expensive real quick. It is however exactly the sort of car I would love to have when it is done, but I am not sure I have the money, or more importantly the time/talent to get it to where I would want it to be. For the record the RX-3 wagon is in amazingly original condition, but the seller painted it with a rattle can it seems, so it will need body/paint work as well, but the rest of the car aside from a carb rebuild is really solid.

So would you wait out the title on the RX-3 wagon, or buy the RX-2 coupe that needs every part of the car touched? Or option three which is something else entirely?

Chris

Mazdax605 wrote: Hey guys, ...words... Chris

Option 3. Waiting months for a title to car no one else wants is fatiguing, the RX-2 is going to have to be a labor of love because it's not going to be worth the original price plus shipping when you are done... and option 3 is so broad of scope and full of potential!

that RX2 rocks!

In response to your first question "would you guys take on a project like this?" I would have to remark:

Does a Bear E36 M3 in the woods?

Maybe you could light a fire under the RX-3 guy if you told him about the 2?

I agree with FGC, play with RX3 guys head!
Also, I'm totally jealous of how much more rotary goodness you have around you, seems like up here we've got a handful of RX7's and nothing else.

I would also rock option 3. Good luck getting the deposit back.

Oh I will get the deposit back if I decide to go that route!!!

Ooooo, which island, MV? I feel like theres gotta be a way of getting the title moving along faster than it is. Can YOU do any of whatever need to be done to get it?

Yes it is on the Vineyard.

SnowMongoose wrote: I agree with FGC, play with RX3 guys head! Also, I'm totally jealous of how much more rotary goodness you have around you, seems like up here we've got a handful of RX7's and nothing else.

You are in rotaryland compared to where I live. The RX-2 is in CA, but the RX-3 wagon is local, but that is rare in these parts. My REPU came from GA, but my RX-7 is a local car.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote:

Mazdax605 wrote: Hey guys, ...words... Chris

Option 3. Waiting months for a title to car no one else wants is fatiguing, the RX-2 is going to have to be a labor of love because it's not going to be worth the original price plus shipping when you are done... and option 3 is so broad of scope and full of potential!

Just for the record you don't know old school rotaries if you think the RX-2 won't be worth $3000-$3500 when it is all said and done. That is all it will cost to buy it,and get it to me roughly. Beyond that it will get expensive, but I know it is worth at least that much if not more in its current state. Sorry for the long-windedness in the original post. Oh yeah I have a relationship of sorts with the seller of the RX-2 project, as I have bought a car from him before, and he is a straight shooter.

Mazdax605 wrote:

SnowMongoose wrote: I agree with FGC, play with RX3 guys head! Also, I'm totally jealous of how much more rotary goodness you have around you, seems like up here we've got a handful of RX7's and nothing else.

You are in rotaryland compared to where I live. The RX-2 is in CA, but the RX-3 wagon is local, but that is rare in these parts. My REPU came from GA, but my RX-7 is a local car.

I'm pretty sure that every surviving vintage rotary-powered vehicle in MA is in your driveway.

I dunno... I love wagons, and wagons are really cool, but if you have waited since August for the title and it's a no-go, get your money back and move on. If you have time for a big project and want to ship it here, go for the RX2.

The lesson I'm learning with my projects is to get something you have time to deal with. I've had my CSX since July 2010 and it's been extremely slow going. Then again, I am in uncharted territory with the car and having to fabricate body parts that aren't available anywhere, so that takes time. At least you have other wacky and cool vehicles that you can putt around in while you are in Project Car Hell.

friedgreencorrado wrote: Maybe you could light a fire under the RX-3 guy if you told him about the 2?

This is it.

Do they have a DMV office on the vineyard. Just wondering if half the ordeal might be the dude is too lazy to get off the island to go to the DMV.

Buy the Familia that was listed on BaT today! That thing is sweet.

Get a bill of sale from the RX-3 wagon's owner and file the paperwork to get the title yourself. That is, if you want the car bad enough.

Doesn't work that way in MA. I may be able to "sell" it to my cousin in NH, and register it there where they don't title cars that old, and then "buy" it, and apply for title in MA using the NH registration as proof of ownership. MA is really tough to get a title when you don't have one.

Mazdax605 wrote: Doesn't work that way in MA. I may be able to "sell" it to my cousin in NH, and register it there where they don't title cars that old, and then "buy" it, and apply for title in MA using the NH registration as proof of ownership. MA is really tough to get a title when you don't have one.

I forgot you lived in MA. Maybe that kind of stuff is why the RX-3 guy hasn't delivered in the first place. My apologies, bro..I've lived in the South (FL/LA/NC/MS/GA) my entire life. Seems like in most states down here, once a car is old enough we throw titles around like confetti.

Still, consider my previous comment. You don't have to tell the guy that the 2 is across the country. I wish the guy with the 3 had been a little more up-front about why the 3 doesn't have a clear title. I wonder if he just lost it, or if it has something like a "bad" title (salvage/etc.).

The story the RX-3 seller gave me is that he was given the car (he is the large moving business on Martha's Vineyard island), by the original owners because they owed him money. They either lost the title, or never had one. I say maybe never had one because in the stack of paperwork I noticed receipts from a Mazda dealer in Maine which may or may not have issued titles for cars back then. The seller told me that it would be no problem to either get a new copy of the title either by him applying for one as a registered MA auto dealer, or having the owners apply for a lost title. I thought he was being up front,and it seemed logical, but a title take 4-8 weeks here in MA, so even if he dragged his feet for a few weeks the title should still be here by now. I was there today, and went to talk with him again, but he wasn't around. He assured me last week that he was close, and that by today he would have the title. Well my guess is he doesn't as he has my phone number, and it never rang.

I am getting pissed about this because I want the car, but don't feel he is being reasonable with the time it is taking to legally sell the car. If it were cheap I would take a chance on getting the title myself, but at this price it needs to be legal or I am not interested. The $500 deposit could help with the Christmas gifts this time of year, but it doesn't look like that is going to happen.

Still no luck on the title front for the RX-3 wagon. I think I am going to get my deposit back. I want the car, but man why would it take so long to get a simple piece of paper? I am still thinking about the RX-2 in CA, but man I will be a busy boy if I get that, and it won't be cheap. Anymore input?

Which one do you really want, remember there are always more of both.

Mazdax605 wrote: Still no luck on the title front for the RX-3 wagon. I think I am going to get my deposit back. I want the car, but man why would it take so long to get a simple piece of paper? I am still thinking about the RX-2 in CA, but man I will be a busy boy if I get that, and it won't be cheap. Anymore input?

Okay..think about shipping the 2 from CA. More expensive than having family or friend living in a 'Bill of Sale' state "buying" the 3, towing it home, registering it, and then "selling" it to you? Towing the 3 back and forth to a Southern state might be cheaper than a cross-country trip for the 2. I've never done that kind of thing myself, but I've never had to, either.

I think I like the 2 more, but I love wagons so I am torn. Both require loads of work, but the body work for which I don't have the talent is taken care of on the 2. Now with that said the body on the 3 isn't terrible on the surface, but I have no idea what lurks beyond. It seems really solid, but the seller putting an Earl Schieb paint job on it has me worried there may be more to it.

In reply to Mazdax605:

The 2 is beginning to sound better and better..