Mazda MX-3 V6

[Bailes1992]

So while having a mad half hour on eBay I put a £100 bid on a Mazda MX-3 1.8i V6. At half past eight last night I had an email to say I'd won the car for £91

It's in Taunton so I've arranged for the car to be collected and trailered to me at the end of the week.

Speaking to the owner it belonged to a relative who was using it every day and was running with no issues but unfortunately they passed and the car has spent 6 years sorn'ed.

This can only end well. Pictures towards the end of the week.

[jonsowman]

Excellent. Looking forward to pics

[highlander]

An interesting little car, for a teeny tiny price!

A tiddly little 1845cc V6 engine - each pot only 307.5 cc in capacity - but producing 130 HP and 156 Nm torque, in a car that weighs just around a tonne, and you have a fun little car.

If it's not moved in 6 years, it'll need a fair bit of stuff doing to it. Battery, tyres, brake pads/discs, brake fluid, coolant. I'd also be hesitant about using whatever petrol is left in the tank - drain and replace with a full tank of fresh stuff.

Good luck with the car!

[Bailes1992]

Until I get it here I have no idea what to do with it.
Either get an MOT on it and turn it over quickly for a small profit? Use it for track days? Keep it standard, tidy it up and use it for a weekend toy? Or break it for parts?
I'm tempted to clean it up and keep it but Becca isn't too happy with that.

If the body is solid and I can get it started with minimal fuss then it'll be straight down for an MOT.

With any luck I can get away with have the brake discs skimmed and just replacing the brake fluid.

Wheels look a but sorry for themselves in pictures so I may refurbish them myself and get 4/5 part worn tyres for the car.

[Welly]

I actually owned an MX-6 back in 2006-ish it was a minter but sooooo boring. The 2.5V6 was very smooth and quiet but my god the OMGMPG's 17mpg was the norm and what with the wafty handling and general MEH I shifted it on after 6 months.

The MX-3 suffered similar unnecessary MPG I believe; running 6 cylinders where 4 would suffice. It would probably turn around a tidy profit for not much effort though and would get snapped up by some enthusiast.

I think that era of Mazda avoided the horrific tin-worm that the 2000+ cars had.

And get the Astra finished

[steve_earwig]

Cor blimey yes, the disappearing chassis rail thing looks a right giggle*

Small multi.cylinder engines shouldn't be a great deal more inefficient, although I suspect these cars are from an era when the power & torque curves look like Everest, so they have to be thrashed to get any performance at all...

I guess condition will really depend on where it's been sitting for 6 years - heated garage? Lovely jubbly. Outside in the elements? Bring dustpan and brush...

[Doggy]

Weren't they all slushmatic too?

[Bailes1992]

Weren't they all slushmatic too?

The 1.6s were all Autos. The 1.8 V6 was a manual!

They don't seem to have any rust issues looking online. Time will tell I guess.

[Bailes1992]

So the car is on the drive. Hooked it upto some jump leads and all the electrics seemed to fire up fine, even managed to get the aftermarket immobiliser to disarm. Unfortunately the starter would click but wouldn't turn over. I suspect my jump leads aren't man enough as they were very hot when I removed them. New set of jump leads in the morning and attempt number two!

While trying to push the car on the drive I caught the drivers door on a lamp post and properly f*cked it up. Only one more of these are being broken on eBay and the guy wants £90. It ain't happening, going to have to straighten this one back out.







Rust on the rear arch is a bit worse than I was hoping for but seems pretty solid everywhere else.

[Doggy]

Looks pretty tidy considering. should be fun to restore and use.
Bad luck with the lamp post - I thought that kind of thing only happened to me.

[Bailes1992]

Got the engine started today, ran sweet with no funny noises.
Unfortunately something which has put a massive downer on it for me is the fact it needs some welding. Both sills need patching, rear arch needs patching and a 2" x 4" patch required on the rear chassis rail.
Not sure if to break it, buy a welder and give it a go or put it in somewhere to be welded up.

[grasmere59]

Ever though of taking up banger racing with it

[GingerMagic]

If there is only one other being broken on eBay, does this show how rare the cars are and how much moneh you may reap* back if you break it? - I mean strip it, not beat the door in....

[trufflehunt]

Got the engine started today, ran sweet with no funny noises.
Unfortunately something which has put a massive downer on it for me is the fact it needs some welding. Both sills need patching, rear arch needs patching and a 2" x 4" patch required on the rear chassis rail.
Not sure if to break it, buy a welder and give it a go or put it in somewhere to be welded up.

Massive downer ?
For £91 you expected perfection ?

AS I recall, the eBay listing, and the photos, were really poor.
Which probably explained why it only reached £91.

There's not too many of these cars around. If you're moaning about having to do some bodgy welding,
you could do a lot worse than cleaning the car up, putting s/h battery from a breakers into it (if that's what it
also needs) , taking some good photos, an honest description of more than 2 lines or whatever it was....

then relist back on ebay. Or find the place where MX3 enthusiasts hang out.

[grasmere59]

another one for the fleet http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/mazda-mx3-/27 ... Sw5cNYH3K2