1985 Series 3 restomod with s5 13BT on LPG, R&P steering

[DKWW2000]

Good work, I am always amazed at how much rust your cars have considering your climate being so dry! Here where s is very wet & cold from Sep - Apr & mostly wet & warm May - Sep I can understand?

[ian65]

wow, big progress there, you're certainly going to town on this car.... stripping the dash is a horrible job in itself.... that seal is in the post by the way mate.

[KYPREO]

wow, big progress there, you're certainly going to town on this car.... stripping the dash is a horrible job in itself.... that seal is in the post by the way mate.

Fantastic, thanks!

The plan had always been to do all the mechanical stuff first then eventually respray the car, but it's been off the road so long and things needed to come out anyway. It started with the idea of just spraying the engine bay, but then that introduces other issues like colour matching, getting dust and overspray everywhere etc. Plus I really need to get this rust sorted.

My wife's exact words were "this is your one chance". I've basically been given a hall pass So I'm taking advantage of that. Wait til you see what it's store...

[KYPREO]

Good work, I am always amazed at how much rust your cars have considering your climate being so dry! Here where s is very wet & cold from Sep - Apr & mostly wet & warm May - Sep I can understand?

I'm in Melbourne which has a relatively cooler climate than other parts of Australia but (contrary to jokes about Melbourne's weather) it is actually quite dry here, particularly in winter. I think that definitely helps with the rust. Melbourne is situated around a bay, but most populous parts of the city are inland. A lot of Australia's population lives along the coast and so you can definitely have major rust issues where you're close to the beach. So you can get some rusty cars depending on which part of Australia you're free. The older Mazdas fare much worse. I am convinced series 2 and 3 RX-7s introduced better rust protection because they are typically in much better condition than series 1 models, despite being not much newer.

[KYPREO]

Well, I'm now on the look out for a new rear panel/beaver panel (see attached image). The hatch rust is fixable but in a difficult location so the panel needs to be unstitched and removed for repair on a bench to ensure all the rust is gone. It will be more economical to just put in a replacement panel, assuming one can be found. NLA from Mazda Australia, Japan and the US but there appear to be lots floating around the place. They seem to come up on ebay etc from time to time.

As a last resort, Phils Rotaries in Queensland, Australia, is having reproduction panels reproduced in China. They should have one available for purchase by the end of May, but no idea how this will compare to an original OEM panel.

I'd be grateful if you guys can keep a look out for me.

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[TOOL]

Have you asked multirotor? That’s the sort of thing he would have.

[KYPREO]

Have you asked multirotor? That’s the sort of thing he would have.

No I haven't. I haven't been suggested to contact him before and didn't receive a response last time. Do you know the best way to contact him by any chance?

[KYPREO]

Bye bye fuel tank

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Oops. I better not puncture a tyre now.

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[Hobbawobba]

Nice progress lately aye! What's happening with the spare wheel well? Going to a fuel cell? I've debated this for my EFI conversion as it's be easy to make an aluminium tank without the spare wheel there . Can't decide if I'd want to risk not having a spare wheel though?!

[KYPREO]

Nice progress lately aye! What's happening with the spare wheel well? Going to a fuel cell? I've debated this for my EFI conversion as it's be easy to make an aluminium tank without the spare wheel there . Can't decide if I'd want to risk not having a spare wheel though?!

Close! Spare wheel is being replaced with flat floor to provide extra clearance for the LPG tank. My LPG tank is a cylinder and is much taller than the factory tank when installed. The upshot is that it's also shallower so there is more room for an adjustable panhard rod.

I could have tried to fit the tank without body modifications. But, for safety reasons, there are stricter minimum ground clearance limits for LPG tanks. Plus it will look nicer with the tank tucked into the car more.

Australian series 3s got a space saver spare wheel, not a full size one, and it's a very different rolling diameter to my wheels and therefore basically useless anyway. I will keep one of those emergency foam inflators in the car.