Mazda 323 1.8

...polish....... What a transformation, the Mazda looked a (million), well, a few hundred dollars !! . Next job .. MOT to find the horrors. The only problems were - blowing rear tail box and nacked front tyre, rest .... perfect !!. The only other problem I could find was a cracked metal power steering pipe, alowing slow loss of the fluid, more of a niggle than a major prob', but wipped it off anyway and soldered up the weak spot. I recon to buy a new ...
...the road ***
The Mazda fires up instantly. When cold the idle control valve will hold the revs' at around 1500 RPM untill it warms up , once under way, you will find gear selection positive and firm, the clutch is light, and the engine revs freely, I find it is also quite flexible, allowing higher gears to be pulled at low revs, and you always feel it wants to go faster, and is a bit of a pain to hold at legal speed limits ! , I feel like ... more

This car is my latest little project. Being a regular visiter to my local scrapyard ( I love the place ! ), full of tasty and sometimes very tidy examples of peoples " spent " vehicles, due to either crash damage, or just plain simple uneconomic repair costs, the latter are where the real bargains ( for me, and my line of work ) lay.

I'd spotted the Mazda, tucked in a corner of the yard, while getting some trim bits for a job, some 2 weeks before I bought it. The shape of the car stuck in my mind, so I enquired about the story of why it was there, answer , " the bloke drove it here one day, payed his sub, and that was that "
How much do you want for it ? , I asked, £150 mate, he said, ( bearing in mind the scrap man had already stiched £40 odd from the previous owner ) and he wouldn't haggle, the tight git ! . Log book and cash exchanged , I got it home.

The car was a pig sty, covered in mud, and stunk of wet dogs inside, first job was to power wash the outside + engine, then shampoo...... every seat, carpet and the roof lining, T-cut & polish....... What a transformation, the Mazda looked a (million), well, a few hundred dollars !! . Next job .. MOT to find the horrors. The only problems were - blowing rear tail box and nacked front tyre, rest .... perfect !!. The only other problem I could find was a cracked metal power steering pipe, alowing slow loss of the fluid, more of a niggle than a major prob', but wipped it off anyway and soldered up the weak spot. I recon to buy a new length of the looped run of pipe would cost in excess of £50.

Problems sorted and we're off ( finaly ! ) . This little car is great ! , recently found out it is a series 1, G.T, no CAT, ( nice free flowing power ! ) 140 BHP, and it goes like stink ! I was going to sell it on, but after owning it for a short while now, I'm keeping it for myself !!, I just cant get enough of the fun factor it provides.
Some cars are just transport, and others, like this one, you find reasons to go and drive it somewhere. After a long period of non use, the 323 is getting better and better, the more I drive it.

*** Inside the car***
Sliding into the driver's seat is no problem, there is plenty of leg room, all round, you have 4 doors in a sporty hatchback shape, which I think is good. All 4 electric windows can be controlled from the drivers right hand switch panel, also the ability to cut out the rear window power, ( to stop your kiddies ejecting out of rear at high motorway speeds ) All the electrical switches and controls are well sited and easy in their operation. The seats are bucket type, and hug you well, giving a very supportive feel when pushing the car hard. The clocks glow green, and the brightness is adjustable. There is no Cruise control on the car I have, and I find my right foot starts to ache a bit after about 30 miles. As with most Jap cars, there is a helpfull rest for the left foot.

The centre console I think, is a bit sparse, ( I like to see lots of toys and glowing light stuff at night you know, gives me a bit of a glow inside, If you know what I mean !! ) The main centre panel can be removed to reveal a hidden set of fixings & screw holes to add the extras you may find from other uprated models of this car. For example ..... a large E sized Sony head unit ( found on some Toyota Supra's will slot straight in ) in fact I had one of these kicking about , but never found a car I could fit it to ...... until now !!!!, It just keeps getting better ! . there is an electric sun roof which operates well with the press of a roof mounted button, next to this are 2 individual spot type lights for you to play with, along with the usuall central interior light.

*** On the road ***
The Mazda fires up instantly. When cold the idle control valve will hold the revs' at around 1500 RPM untill it warms up , once under way, you will find gear selection positive and firm, the clutch is light, and the engine revs freely, I find it is also quite flexible, allowing higher gears to be pulled at low revs, and you always feel it wants to go faster, and is a bit of a pain to hold at legal speed limits ! , I feel like I'm laying a bit low in the car while sat in, as the seat doesn't adjust for height, but , again , you get used to it, and after a while it feels normal.

Out on the open road this car is very, very quick, power kicks in from 3000 rpm upwards with rapid acceleration. I recently did a 200 mile round trip, dual carrageways, country roads, and this car had my heart racing a few times !, overtook 3 cars in a blast with no problems.
When other cars were braking into corners, I found myself easing off a bit ... then powering round , I find the suspension set up is firm and very well balenced ( you'd have to do something pretty stupid to upset it !! ) a fast pace can be kept with ease.
I can compair this car to a previously owned Toyota Supra, and would say that the Mazda is much more fun, and definatly makes better use of available power . I cant fault this superb engine, it never misses a beat, never overheats ( Been stuck in long jams) doesnt burn oil or rattle.
If this engine had a big pair of lips ..... I'd bloody kiss it !!.
( I personally do not want a new car, with all its ' eco friendly ' , 60 mpg, totally computorised power robbing crap on it ) this engine breathes as its supposed to.

*** outside ***
I find the shape of this car growing on me, all the time, and is easy on the eye, the paint work is thick and well finnished, outer fixings are of good quality, the under side is heavily coated in a thick mastic type underseal, and the fuel tank is coated also , which is unusual. I recon steel brake pipes will be weak area for mot worries, as mine were just in , corrosion wise, on the mot test.

*** Final thoughts ***
What a superb car this is ( especially the perfect engine ! ), that I came across by accident, would have no hesitation in recomending this car to any one, not widely known about, and just a bit different, and being Japo ( with service history ) you shouldn't find many problems with this one ! .

Thanks for reading.........

 

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