Chris' Mazda 323F V6
Discussion
(this may be a long read)
So it seems there's abit of a pattern when it comes to my cars at the moment....
Buy car > spend money on fixing/modifying > get bored or finds something else > sells within 12 months > loose money
I'd like to think the reason for the change is justifiable (well, in my head anyway), but is it financially practical? Usually not.
Lets take the current daily, my 2006 Honda Accord 2.2 i-cdti for example. I've spent a tonne of money repairing it and it's almost at the point of being 100% sorted. Do I have an urge to modify it? Not really. Is this the bordom starting to kick in? That's when I scrolled through Instagram and came across a photo which made me think "Holy crap! That thing looks AWESOME!"
Instagram tag @ikaspeed
Enter the downward spiral of google/FB/IG searches trying to see what I could find, parts available and just general research. I'm hyperfixated on this new idea that I can't shake it out of my head. Perhaps I have undiagnosed ADHD...anyway...
Fast forward a couple more weeks and I started to actively look for a car to purchase. The first one I found was a green 1.5L with only 22k miles and a clean MOT history. The dealership was 2.5hrs away in West London, I called and was bluntly told to send a text message with the info I wanted to know and which photos. Two weeks had passed with no response, I sent a follow up text but never received any reply.
Originally I was happy with the 1.5 model but the V6 started to sound tempting. I found a dark green V6 model but this was 5hrs away in Blackpool. I contacted the seller requesting some photos of the underside, he would get some for me the following week.
In the mean time I had found another V6 but this time about 1.5hrs away. We exchanged quite a number of messages but I had this feeling he was dragging his heels abit. This particular car had its MOT expire back in October 2023. He said the welding was done by a previous owner but he had a local company do a full underbody protection using Waxoyl. The car had a vacuum leak and exhaust blow stopping it from getting an MOT.
A week or so had passed, still no arrangement to go view it. He did come across abit reluctant to fix the vacuum leak, but that's probably me being incredibly impatient and forgetting people do have other stuff going on. The seller had offered to price the car 'pre-MOT' but needed to check and price up the spare parts.
I sent him an offer for the car as it stands with the leaks etc and he accepted. The car was transported to a new location and we agreed a viewing.
The car was as described in the advert, the underneath was solid. I poked a screwdriver to the sills and it bounced off, thats a good sign! All of the wheel arches are solid and so were the chassis rails. The body work was average, the main damage was on the passenger side with a key mark along the whole side. Various panels/areas have had paint work at some point, but I wasn't expecting a 27 year old car to be mint condition.
The test drive was good despite being very short due to no fuel. I did noticed the clutch pedal was quite high which was a concern. The brakes had alot of surface corrosion from being stood up for a few months which was to be expected. The engine ran smooth on start up until the vacuum leak occured, same with the exhaust blow, I'm hoping its a backbox gasket.
I offered a second price and after abit of back and forth bidding, we shook hands at a deal. The Advan SA3R wheels weren't included so I had to bring my own. A friend kindly lent me a set of S14A 16" wheels, turns out the front tyres don't like to hold air.
With the car loaded up, it was time to head home
So it seems there's abit of a pattern when it comes to my cars at the moment....
Buy car > spend money on fixing/modifying > get bored or finds something else > sells within 12 months > loose money
I'd like to think the reason for the change is justifiable (well, in my head anyway), but is it financially practical? Usually not.
Lets take the current daily, my 2006 Honda Accord 2.2 i-cdti for example. I've spent a tonne of money repairing it and it's almost at the point of being 100% sorted. Do I have an urge to modify it? Not really. Is this the bordom starting to kick in? That's when I scrolled through Instagram and came across a photo which made me think "Holy crap! That thing looks AWESOME!"
Instagram tag @ikaspeed
Enter the downward spiral of google/FB/IG searches trying to see what I could find, parts available and just general research. I'm hyperfixated on this new idea that I can't shake it out of my head. Perhaps I have undiagnosed ADHD...anyway...
Fast forward a couple more weeks and I started to actively look for a car to purchase. The first one I found was a green 1.5L with only 22k miles and a clean MOT history. The dealership was 2.5hrs away in West London, I called and was bluntly told to send a text message with the info I wanted to know and which photos. Two weeks had passed with no response, I sent a follow up text but never received any reply.
Originally I was happy with the 1.5 model but the V6 started to sound tempting. I found a dark green V6 model but this was 5hrs away in Blackpool. I contacted the seller requesting some photos of the underside, he would get some for me the following week.
In the mean time I had found another V6 but this time about 1.5hrs away. We exchanged quite a number of messages but I had this feeling he was dragging his heels abit. This particular car had its MOT expire back in October 2023. He said the welding was done by a previous owner but he had a local company do a full underbody protection using Waxoyl. The car had a vacuum leak and exhaust blow stopping it from getting an MOT.
A week or so had passed, still no arrangement to go view it. He did come across abit reluctant to fix the vacuum leak, but that's probably me being incredibly impatient and forgetting people do have other stuff going on. The seller had offered to price the car 'pre-MOT' but needed to check and price up the spare parts.
I sent him an offer for the car as it stands with the leaks etc and he accepted. The car was transported to a new location and we agreed a viewing.
The car was as described in the advert, the underneath was solid. I poked a screwdriver to the sills and it bounced off, thats a good sign! All of the wheel arches are solid and so were the chassis rails. The body work was average, the main damage was on the passenger side with a key mark along the whole side. Various panels/areas have had paint work at some point, but I wasn't expecting a 27 year old car to be mint condition.
The test drive was good despite being very short due to no fuel. I did noticed the clutch pedal was quite high which was a concern. The brakes had alot of surface corrosion from being stood up for a few months which was to be expected. The engine ran smooth on start up until the vacuum leak occured, same with the exhaust blow, I'm hoping its a backbox gasket.
I offered a second price and after abit of back and forth bidding, we shook hands at a deal. The Advan SA3R wheels weren't included so I had to bring my own. A friend kindly lent me a set of S14A 16" wheels, turns out the front tyres don't like to hold air.
With the car loaded up, it was time to head home
The car came with a boot full of parts including a door card or two, another rear seat, centre tail light garnish and radiator hoses.
One modification the car had which was a great bonus was the 1000 mile old BC Racing coilovers.
Eventually this will replace the Accord for daily driver duties unless the price of E5 fuel suddenly bankrupts me haha
I can't wait to get stuck in with it, there's plenty to do!
I always thought this generation of 323f looked good, so in May 2014 I bought one for elderly parent taxi duties. Because a BMW Z4 wasn't going to work for that!
Got a 1.5i for the cheap Road Tax, it was local and had a non-interference engine so no cam-belt worries. Decent car but it really was a slug!
A V6 might have been fun but I got a BW E46 325ti Sport in December - I've always preferred RWD anyway.
Got a 1.5i for the cheap Road Tax, it was local and had a non-interference engine so no cam-belt worries. Decent car but it really was a slug!
A V6 might have been fun but I got a BW E46 325ti Sport in December - I've always preferred RWD anyway.
I love the "let's put a V6 in a small family hatch" aspect of these. Rather like some of Renault's models, presumably nobody at Mazda paid much attention to questions like "Is there a market for it?", "Will it sell?" or "Won't we just lose a load of money on that?". And it is all the more interesting for that.
These are great cars, although I am biased, as I've had 5 of them! Current one is the V6 and I love it. I also daily an Accord, although it's a 2002 Type-V, it was too much of a bargain to pass up. Lovely Skyline you've got there. I almost went down that road but went Supra instead.
It is getting harder to find parts for these. I've got a couple of boxes full of spare bits in the garage, so give me a shout if you need anything and I'll check to see if I've got it.
It is getting harder to find parts for these. I've got a couple of boxes full of spare bits in the garage, so give me a shout if you need anything and I'll check to see if I've got it.
I had a 1998 1.8 323F Executive in Green in 2010 as a stop-gap car between a Clio 172 and MX5.
I loved it. The gear gator squeaked like a classic 80/90s mini cab, it did 75mph in second gear, there was no evidence of a service for 50,000 miles but it ran like a sewing machine and caused me no issues at all.
I lie actually, the fake wood melted off the dash board in the heatwave we had in July that year...
The V6 is no doubt the pinnacle and I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with it, good luck OP!
I loved it. The gear gator squeaked like a classic 80/90s mini cab, it did 75mph in second gear, there was no evidence of a service for 50,000 miles but it ran like a sewing machine and caused me no issues at all.
I lie actually, the fake wood melted off the dash board in the heatwave we had in July that year...
The V6 is no doubt the pinnacle and I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with it, good luck OP!
Mr Tidy said:
I always thought this generation of 323f looked good, so in May 2014 I bought one for elderly parent taxi duties. Because a BMW Z4 wasn't going to work for that!
Got a 1.5i for the cheap Road Tax, it was local and had a non-interference engine so no cam-belt worries. Decent car but it really was a slug!
A V6 might have been fun but I got a BW E46 325ti Sport in December - I've always preferred RWD anyway.
That looks just like my mums R-reg 1.5, right down to the alloys. She bought it nearly new and sold it in 2014 too around the KT area. I really enjoyed driving it and that it looked different to every other 5 door of that time. So much so I bought a ZXi which I enjoyed for being different too.Got a 1.5i for the cheap Road Tax, it was local and had a non-interference engine so no cam-belt worries. Decent car but it really was a slug!
A V6 might have been fun but I got a BW E46 325ti Sport in December - I've always preferred RWD anyway.
Its been a busy Sunday having spent majority of the available daylight working on the 323F.
I begun by removing the strut brace, airbox, battery/battery tray and radiator slam panel.
I also unbolted the battery earth bracket, fuse box, coolant expansion tank, power steering reservoir to gain more access to the painted areas.
I then brushed on some Gunk Ultra Degreaser and wiped clean with a damp microfibre. This stuff is great for engine bays, unlike regular Gunk, it doesn't require you to hose it off only a damp cloth.
I did the best I could, it's not 100% clean but its a vast improvement from before considering I only removed the minimum.
I got the car up on axle stands so I could drain the coolant. The old stuff was an awful yellow/green colour. The system at work had 2 suppliers list both red and blue coolant. I played it safe and kept with the green variant.
The collapsed radiator hose was replaced along the other upper hose, all of the coolant hoses received new jubilee clips. I also installed a replacement intake hose and vacuum solenoid.
I also gave the air box, battery tray, battery cover, coolant and PAS reservoirs a degrease. The brackets and radiator panel were wire brushed to bare metal and sprayed in Satin Tough Black paint (I've been using this for quite a few years and love it)
With everything back together it was finally time to see if the vacuum leak was fixed. Thats when I discovered the battery clamp bolts wouldn't tighten any further and were loose on the battery terminals. I tried jump starting it using a spare battery but I think both are in need of a charge.
Until next time...
I begun by removing the strut brace, airbox, battery/battery tray and radiator slam panel.
I also unbolted the battery earth bracket, fuse box, coolant expansion tank, power steering reservoir to gain more access to the painted areas.
I then brushed on some Gunk Ultra Degreaser and wiped clean with a damp microfibre. This stuff is great for engine bays, unlike regular Gunk, it doesn't require you to hose it off only a damp cloth.
I did the best I could, it's not 100% clean but its a vast improvement from before considering I only removed the minimum.
I got the car up on axle stands so I could drain the coolant. The old stuff was an awful yellow/green colour. The system at work had 2 suppliers list both red and blue coolant. I played it safe and kept with the green variant.
The collapsed radiator hose was replaced along the other upper hose, all of the coolant hoses received new jubilee clips. I also installed a replacement intake hose and vacuum solenoid.
I also gave the air box, battery tray, battery cover, coolant and PAS reservoirs a degrease. The brackets and radiator panel were wire brushed to bare metal and sprayed in Satin Tough Black paint (I've been using this for quite a few years and love it)
With everything back together it was finally time to see if the vacuum leak was fixed. Thats when I discovered the battery clamp bolts wouldn't tighten any further and were loose on the battery terminals. I tried jump starting it using a spare battery but I think both are in need of a charge.
Until next time...
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