5k DT Flash: 1975 Mazda RX3 Station Wagon
The Mazda RX-3 (known domestically in Japan as the Savanna) was available from 1971-1978 as a coupe, sedan and station wagon. It was light, rear-wheel-drive and powered by a free-revving Wankel rotary engine – and today they are inexpensive and would make a great Daily Turismo. This 1975 Mazda RX-3 station wagon project is for sale in Salinas, CA via ebay currently bidding at $6,000 with 2 days to go.
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| This 1975 RX3 is the later facelifted version and has the awesome shark nose look. The wheels are larger than stock – but not so much that they look ridiculous. Paint is new a “$4000” Sherwin Williams paint job – check those receipts and be very critical of overspray and potential problems as a new paint job takes time to fully settle. |
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| Inside this RX3 looks mostly original but needs some attention to the steering column and shifter boot. Additional pictures of the interior show all kinds of loose wires and in need of some sorting. |
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| This RX is powered by a 12A Wankel from an 81 RX7 and should be good for approximately 100 horsepower. Wankels are not known for longevity and this auction comes with 3 spare engines for your weekly swaps. |
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| Overall not a bad car for the price when you factor in all the extra parts that are included – but our biggest concern is still the fresh paint. It could easily be a cause of quite a few headaches in the years to come. |
We are going to refrain from posting our DT flash gauges while we do a full revamp of the gauge system. Expensive consultants have been hired to do the revamp…actually we just picked up 3 dudes from in front of the local Home Depot and are trying to communicate with a combination of sign language and our limited understanding of Spanish, but they are picking up graphic design quite quickly.
See another wotary poward wunda for sawl? email us here: tips@dailyturismo.com
I don't rally understand why a guy would put so much money into a car that does not have much collector value but…what the heck. A motor head buddy of mine bought one of these when he got married and had a kid. He says it was pretty quick, smooth a silk but only got about 15 MPG. The engine started to burn oil after only a year or so. Seems Mazda had not perfected the seals that are on the end of the triangle shaped rotors. These seals rubbed against the inside wall of the engine to maintain compression and didn't seem to last long. The later RX7 engine is far better but again short life to be expected.