Fairly new around here but thought I'd better post some piccies of my new wheels:
Bought this cheap and have had it for a week now, did 200 miles or so to bring it home and have done about another 50 since and despite it sounding quite rattly and having some very obvious 'issues' I already love it. My previous daily was a mk1 eunos/mx5 so it feels quite high and heavy but it's all nicely mechanical like the Mazda and unlike more modern cars.
I don't think there's a straight panel on it, but poked and prodded around the arches, sills, footwells and boot there appears to be nothing that is properly rotten! A little surface rust on the both sills, a small patch on the bottom front edge of the nearside rear wing and the edges of the drivers door are rather bubbly.
The previous owner had some odd ideas about tyre sizing too, I've seen bigger tyres on the rear before, but never this way round
Go faster stripes!! Gonna have to bodge some temporary fix with these to stop rust and look to replace the bolt on panels when they (and funds) become available.
Mold, fungi, cat hair, oh and duck tape
After taking these I went off to the jet wash to give it it's first clean and to see if it was at all waterproof... the drive home while sat in a small swimming pool was uncomfortable and unfamiliar as the mazda was totally leak free. Once it got it home I set to work trying to work out where the main leak was coming from (not the big tear repaired by duck tape surprisingly) turns out it was an errant bolt that had somehow ended up blocking the drain hole right above the driver's head. After that I used silicone lube on all the rubber seals and set to work with my trusty needle, thread and seam sealant and having attacked it with a hose I'm fairly certain it's not going to let in any more water so I just need to grab a bilge pump to get rid of what's currently there
Next things on my list are sorting the wheels/tyres, fixing the tilt mech on the drivers seat (and taking the carpet out to dry), taking the silly 320 badge off the boot and some lowering springs!!
Bought this cheap and have had it for a week now, did 200 miles or so to bring it home and have done about another 50 since and despite it sounding quite rattly and having some very obvious 'issues' I already love it. My previous daily was a mk1 eunos/mx5 so it feels quite high and heavy but it's all nicely mechanical like the Mazda and unlike more modern cars.
I don't think there's a straight panel on it, but poked and prodded around the arches, sills, footwells and boot there appears to be nothing that is properly rotten! A little surface rust on the both sills, a small patch on the bottom front edge of the nearside rear wing and the edges of the drivers door are rather bubbly.
The previous owner had some odd ideas about tyre sizing too, I've seen bigger tyres on the rear before, but never this way round
Go faster stripes!! Gonna have to bodge some temporary fix with these to stop rust and look to replace the bolt on panels when they (and funds) become available.
Mold, fungi, cat hair, oh and duck tape
After taking these I went off to the jet wash to give it it's first clean and to see if it was at all waterproof... the drive home while sat in a small swimming pool was uncomfortable and unfamiliar as the mazda was totally leak free. Once it got it home I set to work trying to work out where the main leak was coming from (not the big tear repaired by duck tape surprisingly) turns out it was an errant bolt that had somehow ended up blocking the drain hole right above the driver's head. After that I used silicone lube on all the rubber seals and set to work with my trusty needle, thread and seam sealant and having attacked it with a hose I'm fairly certain it's not going to let in any more water so I just need to grab a bilge pump to get rid of what's currently there
Next things on my list are sorting the wheels/tyres, fixing the tilt mech on the drivers seat (and taking the carpet out to dry), taking the silly 320 badge off the boot and some lowering springs!!
