Mazda RX-4 Sedan 1973
Venturing just a wee bit south to the one-road town of Matamata (blinked, missed it and turned around), what looked like the sun on the horizon actually turned out to be one of the classiest RX-4s I’ve ever laid eyes on. Just two years in the build, and it’s all come together rather nicely.
Pop The Hood
Under the hood is a smooth, shiny and slick engine bay harbouring a 12A Tallport. Although the motor still uses stock internals, the monstrous attention to detail in this engine bay clearly makes up for the lack of go-fast goodies, but that’s not to say this 4 is slow. The 12A block is from an ex-turbo factory set-up, but now uses a modified four-barrel Nikki carburettor with mandatory K&N air filter atop.
The fuel is delivered to the carb via enlarged fuel lines and a Holley blue fuel pump. The 12A is then brought to life by a spark distributed through a single point dizzy teamed with a pair of Bosch GT40 coils and 8.0mm silicone leads. Water and oil temperatures are kept under control by the factory radiator and oil cooler.
A factory four-speed manual (yes, they still exist!) uses a standard Mazda RX-4 clutch mated to a factory flywheel to transmit power to the rear through the original driveshaft and 3.9 ratio differential. All unwanted gasses are disposed of via two-inch extractors, which pass into a full two-inch system with a break in the middle for one resonator, continuing out to a chrome dumpy muffler at the rear. Nice.
Oranges & Cream While engine has really only had a mild tune, the exterior looks are a little less subtle. For utmost visual enhancement all necessary gaps and holes were welded over and the body smoothed out to perfection, just in time for the juicy orange paint to be splashed on in liberal amounts. Yes sir, this tangy Mazda has had the privilege of a full bare metal re-spray, and all the badges have been deleted and the original locks shaved off.
Scott and his boss carried out the prep work before the car was sent to Alan Cossil Car Painters to receive the final bright orange coats. For further detailing, the petrol flap was chromed along with the cowling panel. The bumpers were also removed and sent for a super shiny re-chrome.
The aforementioned powerplant didn’t go without a lick of the spray gun either, getting the full treatment in white and orange, with detailing in all possible areas. This goes as far as including a white-coated oil filter, white dizzy cap and even white carburettor and gearbox!
Other items, including alternator, radiator, starter motor and engine mounts, have all received the same orange and white colour coded application. Scott didn’t stop there though, and the engine bay now also features braided oil lines, fuel lines, vacuum lines and radiator hoses, which are all complete with blue anodised fittings. A complete de-loom has also been carried out, and polishes off this tasty and oh-so-clean engine bay.
Under The Skin
More and more show stoppers these days are featuring full re-upholstery jobs. It’s big in the south, catching on up north, and even made it to Scott’s small hometown! Fully trimmed up in white (now that’s got to be a bitch to keep clean!) the not-so-factory-now interior features a pair of Recaro adjustable buckets up front, and the standard rear seat re-upholstered to match for back seat drivers.
The dash top has been recovered too, and all the plastic inserts were painted to suit before the hood lining was freshened up and reinstalled. All door trims bear that same bright white hue, and include custom blue inserts for a little contrast to the orange and white theme.
A leather-bound Momo wheel and gear knob replace the factory uglies, and an AutoMeter five-inch tachometer sits reasonably snugly in one of the factory meter housings within the dash. Take a look through the windscreen, and staring right back at you are a couple of AutoMeter gauges to measure oil pressure and water temperature, both engulfed within polished chrome cups.
Pop the boot and it’s the same clean deal. The boot area is fully boxed off, and again finished off with white trim. There’s a blue Mazda insert for eye-candy purposes only, and two battery boxes – one of which holds the battery, while the other is for storing : tools. See – it’s practical, too!
Sticky Establishment
The Mazda RX-4 runs a standard brake set-up on all four corners, so this means discs up front and drums in the rear for the now staunch sedan. Shortened shocks with super low King springs reside up front, and re-tensioned leaf springs hide up back to settle the RX a little closer to the pavement.
A full set of Nolathene bushes were also added, firming up the well-loosened ride you’d expect from a car some 30 years old. The 16-inch polished F-90 Simmons fill all four guards (which have been moderately lipped for added wheel clearance), leaving the traction to be kept under control by a set of 205/50/16 Champiro tyres.
While future improvements for the RX-4 are just mere possibilities at this time, Scott has done his fair share of envisaging and plans could include bigger wheels, some undercarriage detailing, and maybe even a supercharger for a big wallop of torque. In the meantime he’s a content lad – and who wouldn’t be with a ride like this!
Source: Performance Car