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1972 Mazda Rx3 Coupe

dom10a Part of things Posts: 184	1972 Mazda Rx3 Coupe dom10a @dom10a
	May 22, 2020 19:32:38 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	The car at DC Customs to be put right. At first I wasn't sure what to do about the door situation as getting the original shape back into them was a nigh on impossible task but luckily I managed to get a couple of good coupe doors from Tim at RX Motors and sourced 2 NOS door skins (crazy rare) from Carl at Hayward Rotary. I also found a rust free rear windscreen gutter panel. From this stage on, things got a lot better. The good news from going back to bare metal was realising how good the body was. Only a couple of patch repairs from the past. Lower corners of the A pillars, and a patch in the rear NS wheel well. Considering most UK Rx3's rusted into the ground this was pretty amazing and a credit to the previous owners who had kept the car well waxoiled.
	Last Edit: May 22, 2020 19:40:59 GMT by dom10a

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Hoodrat Superstar Part of things Posts: 89	1972 Mazda Rx3 Coupe Hoodrat Superstar @hoodratsuperstar
	May 23, 2020 6:17:29 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	I love this man, the RX3 is one of my all time classic J motors. Keep the updates rolling in i'm lapping them up dude
	Current retro: 1984 Peugeot 505 GTI Previous retros: 1989 Ford Fiesta 1.1 Ghia 1994 Mazda MX5 1.8S 1993 VW Polo GT 1994 VW Polo Saloon GT 1989 Volvo 340 DL 1988 Honda Civic 1998 BMW 318Ti 1996 BMW 316i

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dom10a Part of things Posts: 184	1972 Mazda Rx3 Coupe dom10a @dom10a
	May 23, 2020 10:33:08 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	May 23, 2020 6:17:29 GMT Hoodrat Superstar said: I love this man, the RX3 is one of my all time classic J motors. Keep the updates rolling in i'm lapping them up dude Thanks mate. It's been a nice process going through all the build photos. Still got a way to go before the updates are "up to date" but glad to have finally got around to doing the thread.


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neilsdavies Posted a lot Posts: 1,007	1972 Mazda Rx3 Coupe neilsdavies @neilsdavies
	May 23, 2020 19:08:10 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Daz at DC is very good at body and paint. Top bloke too.
	1968 Cal Look Beetle - 2007cc motor - 14.45@93mph in full street trim 1970-ish Karmann Beetle cabriolet - project soon to be re-started. 1986 Scirocco - big plans, one day!

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dom10a Part of things Posts: 184	1972 Mazda Rx3 Coupe dom10a @dom10a
	May 23, 2020 20:11:01 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	May 23, 2020 19:08:10 GMT neilsdavies said: Daz at DC is very good at body and paint. Top bloke too. He is a top man. I knew from the start it was in good hands. Really enjoyed the whole process especially seeing the amazing prep work Daz and Simon did on the car.


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Woofwoof Posted a lot Posts: 1,207	1972 Mazda Rx3 Coupe Woofwoof @woofwoof
	May 23, 2020 20:22:57 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	What a great build, great car and great thread. Bookmarked. P.s. the shape reminds me of an 818.
	Still learning...still spending...still breaking things!

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goldnrust West Midlands Minimalist Posts: 1,887	1972 Mazda Rx3 Coupe goldnrust @goldnrust
	May 23, 2020 20:23:54 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Ah man, I remember seeing the shots of the roof swap and thinking how great it was gonna look when done, I didn't realise you'd been through this much trauma to get it looking as good as it does!
	1968 Daimler V8-250 Restoration 1965 Fiat 500F Restoration 1972 Suzuki T500 Cafe Racer / Custom Build

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Deleted Posts: 0	1972 Mazda Rx3 CoupeDeleted @Deleted
	May 24, 2020 8:02:10 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	It never ceases to amaze me that some so called professional outfits in the vehicle refinishing business turn out such appalling quality work - covering bodge after bodge in shiny paint in a hope that no one spots the obvious errors before they get paid - the thing is they think & profess to be the best at what they do - when in reality what they are turning out is curse word with a complete disregard for detail whilst treating their clients with utter contempt - On the other hand you will find some extraordinarily talented & skilled guys out there turning out stunning highly detailed work - they don't have to advertise - the fruits of their hard work does all of the talking - Sadly I have lost count of the number of owners that I have heard from / seen burnt over the years by bodyshops but happy that you eventually achieved the results that both you & the car deserves
	Last Edit: May 24, 2020 8:03:08 GMT by Deleted

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vitesseefi South West Posts: 2,300	1972 Mazda Rx3 Coupe vitesseefi @vitesseefi
	May 24, 2020 8:48:41 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	May 24, 2020 8:02:10 GMT @grumpynorthener said: It never ceases to amaze me that some so called professional outfits in the vehicle refinishing business turn out such appalling quality work - covering bodge after bodge in shiny paint in a hope that no one spots the obvious errors before they get paid - the thing is they think & profess to be the best at what they do - when in reality what they are turning out is curse word with a complete disregard for detail whilst treating their clients with utter contempt - On the other hand you will find some extraordinarily talented & skilled guys out there turning out stunning highly detailed work - they don't have to advertise - the fruits of their hard work does all of the talking - Sadly I have lost count of the number of owners that I have heard from / seen burnt over the years by bodyshops but happy that you eventually achieved the results that both you & the car deserves Got a bit of a taste of this in the other direction when restoring my GT6. Got a local paint guy involved quite early on to discuss options. He prefers only to do final prep and paint and I preferred the smallest bill possible so we got along ok. He first saw the car when it was fairly ugly and left muttering things like “good luck with that” and “glad you are not asking me to sort that bit”. When we did finally deliver it to him I was very gratified by his comment that it was better that 90% of the pro stuff he gets and the lowest step on his pricing scale would cover it. He was also muttering darkly about “the awful dogs he gets presented with to attempt to recover”. I was surprised. I was assuming we would be behind the pros, though I guess I was prepared to spend more time on it. Nick
	1967 Triumph Vitesse convertible (old friend) 1996 Audi A6 2.5 TDI Avant (still durability testing) 1972 GT6 Mk3 (Restored after loong rest & getting the hang of being a car again)

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dom10a Part of things Posts: 184	1972 Mazda Rx3 Coupe dom10a @dom10a
	Jun 1, 2020 20:50:00 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	May 23, 2020 20:22:57 GMT Woofwoof said: What a great build, great car and great thread. Bookmarked. P.s. the shape reminds me of an 818. Thanks The 818/808 was the piston engined version, but otherwise shared the same bodyshell, but with a different nosecone and slightly different dash. A very small number of them shared the same nosecones but had a different grille emblem.


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dom10a Part of things Posts: 184	1972 Mazda Rx3 Coupe dom10a @dom10a
	Jun 1, 2020 20:52:45 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	May 23, 2020 20:23:54 GMT goldnrust said: Ah man, I remember seeing the shots of the roof swap and thinking how great it was gonna look when done, I didn't realise you'd been through this much trauma to get it looking as good as it does! The roof swap to get rid of the sunroof was about the only good thing that came of the first bodyshop. That little episode set me back about a year! I had some sleepless nights contemplating whether it's worth stripping all the paint off a freshly painted car!


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dom10a Part of things Posts: 184	1972 Mazda Rx3 Coupe dom10a @dom10a
	Jun 1, 2020 20:58:17 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	May 24, 2020 8:02:10 GMT @grumpynorthener said: It never ceases to amaze me that some so called professional outfits in the vehicle refinishing business turn out such appalling quality work - covering bodge after bodge in shiny paint in a hope that no one spots the obvious errors before they get paid - the thing is they think & profess to be the best at what they do - when in reality what they are turning out is curse word with a complete disregard for detail whilst treating their clients with utter contempt - On the other hand you will find some extraordinarily talented & skilled guys out there turning out stunning highly detailed work - they don't have to advertise - the fruits of their hard work does all of the talking - Sadly I have lost count of the number of owners that I have heard from / seen burnt over the years by bodyshops but happy that you eventually achieved the results that both you & the car deserves It seems to be a common thing. I've spoken to a number of people who have had similar experiences. As you say the good ones are the ones that don't need to advertise and you have to work on to actually get them to take on your job. The ones to avoid are the ones that can start next week! I'm certainly glad I decided to take the car back to bare metal. It would've bugged me having to live with all their bodgery.


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dom10a Part of things Posts: 184	1972 Mazda Rx3 Coupe dom10a @dom10a
	Jun 1, 2020 21:00:56 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	The NOS door skins were also bare metalled as a bit of tin worm could be seen under the paint. Someone once told me Japanese cars of this era were made with very poor quality steel for the bodywork due to steel shortages, which could explain the bad rep they had in the day for dissolving at just the sight of a salty road. On seeing the prepwork that went into the car even before primer went on I was reassured the car was now in the right place. Bonnet and nosecone were also stripped right back to metal.
	Last Edit: Jun 1, 2020 21:09:12 GMT by dom10a

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dom10a Part of things Posts: 184	1972 Mazda Rx3 Coupe dom10a @dom10a
	Jun 1, 2020 21:11:19 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Epoxy Primer
	Last Edit: Jun 1, 2020 21:13:25 GMT by dom10a

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dom10a Part of things Posts: 184	1972 Mazda Rx3 Coupe dom10a @dom10a
	Jun 1, 2020 21:14:46 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Doors re-skinned.
	Last Edit: Jun 1, 2020 21:36:05 GMT by dom10a

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dom10a Part of things Posts: 184	1972 Mazda Rx3 Coupe dom10a @dom10a
	Jun 1, 2020 21:19:58 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Engine bay prep and prime. The opportunity was taken to straighten out the metal tabs for securing the wiring loom at this stage as these were mostly bent and out of shape. Much easier to do this before paint goes on!
	Last Edit: Jun 1, 2020 21:37:45 GMT by dom10a

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dom10a Part of things Posts: 184	1972 Mazda Rx3 Coupe dom10a @dom10a
	Jun 1, 2020 21:25:55 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Darryn and Simon then spent weeks sanding and flatting the car to get all the imperfections out. The final paint took very little time, it was all in the prep. The final invoice for the car showed 485.5 hours!
	Last Edit: Jun 1, 2020 21:30:01 GMT by dom10a

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dom10a Part of things Posts: 184	1972 Mazda Rx3 Coupe dom10a @dom10a
	Jun 2, 2020 8:51:42 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	I asked Darryn to tidy up the fuel tank as it had some overspray from the previous job. It got the same attention to detail as the bodywork.
	Last Edit: Jun 2, 2020 8:52:00 GMT by dom10a

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dom10a Part of things Posts: 184	1972 Mazda Rx3 Coupe dom10a @dom10a
	Jun 2, 2020 8:59:58 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	Finally the paint could go on. The results speak for themselves. After all the stress of the first paintjob, this was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders and confirmed it was well worthwhile getting the bodywork and paint redone properly. The underside was painted in raptor coat, colour matched to the body. With all the cavities waxoiled, the bodywork is now preserved for the foreseeable future.


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adam73bgt Club Retro Rides Member Posts: 4,998 Club RR Member Number: 58	1972 Mazda Rx3 Coupe adam73bgt @adam73bgt Club Retro Rides Member 58
	Jun 2, 2020 9:41:30 GMT Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Back to Top
	That paint looks like a beautiful job Love the RX3 as well, I used to have an FC RX7 a couple of years back so I'm a fan of pretty much anything with a rotary in it, it's a shame more of the old school rotary cars didn't survive
	1973 MG BGT - First car, Long Term Project 2003 Chrysler Crossfire - "Daily Driver" 1979 Kawasaki KZ400 - Bike Resto Project 2000 Alfa Romeo 166 - Also Daily Driver

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