323 and group shots!

[MazKid]

Been working on the exterior of the 323 the past week, removing the side moulding and adhesive, trying to clean the stained front wheels, and wax. Nice day outside after some storms, so I decided to take some pics.












Clouds rolling in...but it's sunny again now.

[323drift]

nice looking mazda family you've got there, red is the best colour for 323s :D

PS: whats the story with the fc?

[EricM]

clay bar did some nice work.

awesome pick up, i know you've been wanting that thing for years! time for a 5 spd....

[MazKid]

clay bar did some nice work.

awesome pick up, i know you've been wanting that thing for years! time for a 5 spd....

Well for the mean time I need to find a '88 or '89 auto at the junkyard and get the valve body - my dad says that's why it won't go into 4th gear. That's the main reason I don't drive the thing much yet...well that and because the car is horribly slow. A 5 speed and DOHC swap should make a huge improvement.

nice looking mazda family you've got there, red is the best colour for 323s :D

PS: whats the story with the fc?

The FC is a '86 base...my dad picked it up for $275 back in '96. The previous owner auto-x'ed it and blew the engine. So my dad ordered a rebuilt 13B from Mazda, and somehow he contacted them in the 2 weeks when they ran out of rebuilds, so he got 1 of 20 brand new 13Bs in the country. After that, he got factory suspension to replace the Tokicos which were too hard for him, and a TII LSD rear end and transmission after his was grinding from gear to gear. Now a days, the car sits for weeks...still starts right up when the battery isn't dead, and runs like a dream. The car got dented on the right rear quarter panel during a sorm, right on the body edges over the rear wheel...and the paint is all faded and rust is starting. My dad doesn't even bother to take care of the exterior of his cars besides running them through the carwash at the dealership every now and then...no waxing, no detailing...it's amazing the car even looks that good. He's recently gone on this "We need to get rid of some of these cars" campiegn and the RX-7 might be next, he's going to make the decision in the spring...he did say that if he does get rid of it he might sell it to me, but I would have to go somewhere with it or one of my cars.
I keep telling him that I see drivetrain-less RX-7s for sale all the time in good condition, and that he could upgrade to a GXL or GTU and have a perfect car, but he's "meh" on doing that. I'll keep trying though.

[323drift]

do not let him get rid of that fc

you seem to have quite the knack for detailing cars, perhaps you yourself should show that fc some love haha

[tehstocker99]

sweet! looking good! you're driveway is like a gold mine mazdaftw

[MazKid]

do not let him get rid of that fc

you seem to have quite the knack for detailing cars, perhaps you yourself should show that fc some love haha

Hah, well I'm a Mazda - Subaru new car detailer so it's what I do. I've offered to detail both of my dad's cars and he just says no and that he'll take care of them. But he doesn't. The body of the FC is terminal - I can't fix rust and I can't fix the paint itself. I think the next step is finding an RX-7 roller that's rust free and just talking him into it.

[96ProDX]

Very nice pics. love all the cars. Out of all ur mazdas, which is your favorate? may be a hard question, i think the protege is my favorate, thing is clean as ****. But neways very nice.

[MazKid]

I don't have a favorite. I don't really care for the MPV, and the Mazda 5 isn't my type of vehicle either. I like the Probe because it is smooth as silk and has a killer stereo, and I like the RX-7 because it feels like a true sports car. But my 3...Miata and Protege trade off, sometimes I like one over the other but I try not to.

Odd thing is, I really want to drive the 323 everywhere now, but it's an auto and I don't like that, and it's a 3 speed right now so it's high RPM everywhere. I've driven it to work for the past week solid though, but I don't have to go above 45mph there so not having 4th isn't a big deal.

[MazKid]

Got red Protege LX door handles for the 323 today:
Before:


After:

[Jho]

Looks nice and clean Ryan.

[MazKid]

I installed the brand new headlights I got from this guy on mazda323performance.com for $48 shipped(cost $149 EACH my price at the dealership) last night, and this morning I painted my GT-X grill and put on a chrome emblem instead of the white/chrome that peels all the time. Once I get rid of the black/chrome bumpers I'll be thrilled. And install the GT-X upper wing, of course, but I'm still confused how I should do that.

[EricM]

looks great. i miss when cars used to have real bumpers.

[MazKid]

looks great. i miss when cars used to have real bumpers.

These aren't real bumpers...real bumpers were those rubber things found on '80s Corollas. There's a difference between a bumper and a bench, and in the BF's case, there's 2 benches. Seats 6 comfortably.

[EricM]

yeah but theres a big difference between the BF's "bench" and the BG's "bumpers".

you can take a 5 mph crash in the bf and be alright, the bg might need surgery.