RWD drift retro not AE86 etc.

[wuvvum]

This was for sale in this week's Freeads.

 

 

So I bought it. Seemed rude not to really. It's an old-biddy-mobile that's been stood in a garage for several years due to her giving up driving, and it's amazingly solid for one of these - the only rot I've found is in the front valance and a couple of small bits in the rear inner arches. All the electrics work too, apart from the push-button electric boot release, which I wasn't really expecting to work. It's a 1300 auto, so to be fair it's unlikely to drift very much unless I'm on an ice rink, but it runs and drives reasonably enough. Unfortunately the head gasket has gone - I think due to standing rather than anything else as it doesn't look to have been driven much with the blown gasket - the rocker cover is full of mayonnaise but the oil in the sump is still a nice healthy brown. And it looks like a pretty easy engine to do a head gasket swap on, so as soon as the weather gets a bit warmer I'll get it sorted. Then a bit of P40 in the front valance and a couple of tyres and I should be trundling around in a slice of Seventies Japanese orangeness.

[pandamonium]

Is it just me that thinks that it looks like a Volvo 340???

[pandamonium]

Voila

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Thats wonderful wuvs. PM me first if/when you get sick of it please.

[Guest]

HNNNNG!! What a beast! An absolute delight.Heidel_Kakao will be pleased, wherever he is lately!Glad you've got it, I'd be a bit upset if it went to a "drift cock". These seem to be pretty unknown over here, but in Australia and the likes they love to put big turbo lumps in them, though I haven't really seen a drift one to be honest.

[pogweasel]

HI M8 WOT IS U R BEST PRICE I WANT IT 4 DRIFTNLooks delicious. Great work!PS: Is it "national kippered headgasket week" or something?

[pandamonium]

Don't say that, my car's down on power.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Just done the HG on Fatha_Bo11ox's Beta saloon, no more mayo but the tappets are rattly as hell now, what a load of sweaty old pizza c0ck.

[seth]

I love seeing stuff like this 'cos it just makes me wonder how much more rarely seen one owner cars are hidding in old peoples garages.

[Spottedlaurel]

Excellent work Wuvvum! Popular as a stock car shell back in the day, this one has done well to survive that. Looks pleasingly original down to the old-style plates.Get it fixed in time for whatever Spring J-Tin meet gets organised! With it being 5dr and an auto you'll be our hero.

[pogweasel]

Certainly has all the right attributes for a hardcore OAP+ spec ride.

[Dukestar25]

I didn't know there were any of these left well done my friend I am curious though (not being Mr Current Affairs), how many cars do actually own now and where have you managed to put them all?

[bigstraight6]

Nice one Wuv's, the old freeads can still throw up the odd jem

[Spottedlaurel]

Certainly has all the right attributes for a hardcore OAP+ spec ride.

If you can't be as cool as Stuyizz and Racer86 with their J-rides, may as well go as far as possible the other way :wink:Edit: Wuvvum, your comment about the ice rink made me think - why not break into that open air one outside The Forum and go for a spin there? Bound to be quiet over Xmas, and it'd make for good headlines in the Eastern Daily Press.

[Guest]

Certainly has all the right attributes for a hardcore OAP+ spec ride.

If you can't be as cool as Stuyizz and Racer86 with their J-rides, may as well go as far as possible the other way

Or some baffling application of the former mods to the latter cars, like me.I tread a thin line between pointlessly daft and faintly cool, don't want to fall too far into the cool side now, do I?"80s street racer Pioneer TS-X speakers, eh? Best offset that with a nice tartan rug."

[michiel]

Nice!

[Heidel_Kakao]

Heidel_Kakao will be pleased, wherever he is lately!

Correct I am very pleased Another 323 joins the autoshite fold I have mostly been lurking of late, I go through periods when I cannot muster the energy to bother posting Roll on the new year though, at this rate its looking to be a good year for retro J-tin

[Mash]

Well saved that man I know these aren't the most desirable cars ever made but it would be a shame if all the RWD stuff went the way of the Starlet and we had none left to remind us of the old days! Sometimes I think I'm too sentimental, but I'm a preservationist at heart and I don't like to think of cars being modded beyond redemption or destroyed for a few cheap thrills.Sorry, didn't mean to start off down THAT road again.....

[Mat.T]

wow that its nice, i've been half keeping a look out of one of these. I do agree with Mash but a 12a rotary+manual box would go loverly in that

[Guest]

I like to modify my stuff in a way that can be returned back to stock, I keep all the original bits. I do plan on one day engine swapping the Charmant to a (period) 13B rotary, but the stock 4K engine isn't particularly well-suited to it anyway. Obviously I'd keep the original engine and box stashed away!Luckily the vast majority of people in the UK "obscure J-tin modifying kroo" are the same and do things in a way that emphasize the existing good points of a car, rather than change it into something completely different. I'm all for it, can give a new lease of life to a motor and generally means they'll be cherished and kept on the road.I suppose the best thing about cars like this 323 is that to become drift fodder they'd need to engine swap and such, luckily I imagine the vast majority don't have the time/skills/research effort required to do so.It's stuff like S13 200SX I worry about, as well as attracting a particular type of road driver (the sort who bosh a load of stickers on, wind up the boost, blow the headgasket to bits and then put it for sale on eBay with MINT 4 DRIFTIN!! in the title), I imagine an increasingly vast amount of them are getting wanged sideways into tyre walls. Still see a few about, but in 5 years I expect them to be a fairly rare sight. Which would be a shame as I really like them.

[Ratdat]

I've done a head gasket on on of these Maxa engines and they are pretty easy. I would recommend doing it sooner rather than later though. If the water gets into a cylinder while it's standing you won't have an engine worth fixing. I nearly shagged the engine on mt Mazda 1300 by doing that. When I did finally take the head off one of the bores was not a pretty sight!

[retrogeezer]

Nice find wuvvum...great colour too.Looks like the front wings (certainly the nearside from the photo) have been replaced.....looks slightly more orange and no black on the sill?

[KruJoe]

Nice Christmas box you've found yourself, Wuvz. Hope you enjoy it!

 

I want to get myself one of them eventually, I love the clean profile they have.

There are still a few about here. Most are really tatty, but not all. I spotted this at my local Tesco's: