RE: Shed of the Week: Mazda MX-3

RE: Shed of the Week: Mazda MX-3

Author
Discussion

MorganP104

2,605 posts

130 months

Friday 20th October 2017
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Is it me, or does the MX-3 for sale in this week's SOTW advert look a little on the pink side?



Having had a pink MkI Mondeo (which I restored to red over two weekends), I can tell you that large doses of elbow grease and a 240v rotary polisher will be required.

J4CKO

41,499 posts

200 months

Friday 20th October 2017
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anonymous said:
[redacted]
Loads of V6 conversions dont but the general idea seems to be not to mess with the small capacity one and go the whole hog,

http://www.rocketeerltd.com/

Evilex

512 posts

104 months

Friday 20th October 2017
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I very nearly bought one of these about 5 years back, but ultimately bought a Puma instead (which was great, BTW)
In surprised about the thirst and less-than-great handling. Surely a V6 must have some decent bottom-end torque, even if it's a 1.8?
The 2.5l unit from the Xedos 9/ MX-6 must make it shift some with 200bhp.
Is the 2.5 the same block with bigger bores and/or a longer stroke ? Anyone know?

kellyt

158 posts

119 months

Friday 20th October 2017
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No, no, no, no, no.

I have driven one and my partner owned one from new. We both agree, they are dreadful. Nil torque and almost no power. A truly horrid little car, which to add insult to injury, has Mazda rustiness built in.

An interesting choice, but only useful to demonstrate that even with the revised budget, really crap sheds are still out there.

benharris

118 posts

159 months

Friday 20th October 2017
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Steamer said:
Had a girlfriend really keen on these back in the day - but I wasnt so convinced.

Was it these or the Mitsi FTO that was a bit of a bugger to change the plugs on the far side of the engine?
That'll be the FTO. The rear bank sparks are buried away under the inlet manifold which has to be removed in order to get at them. The rear bank was always supposed to have 'platinum' spark plugs fitted, so they'd last twice as long as the front bank and not need replacing as often.

From the engine pic in the advert, they don't look too tricky to get at on the MX-3.

cannelldocam

45 posts

139 months

Friday 20th October 2017
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Looks ok from the side, those bug eyed headlights are horrid though. Regarding the pinkness, it's not quite as bad as the MKIV astras doing the rounds that have a bright red bumper and sickly pink panels.

Wait Here Until Green Light Shows

15,220 posts

200 months

Friday 20th October 2017
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I've owned a couple of Mazda Xedos's with the slightly bigger version of this engine. So smooth you think it's stalled at the lights.
Great shed.

TheTyreAbuser

170 posts

98 months

Friday 20th October 2017
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mrtwisty said:
I went to test drive one of these for my second car. Alas, at 6'1" I did not fit!

Always liked the idea of a little revvy v6 in an unusual package. There seems to be some divided opinion on their handling prowess here...?
I've also always had a little bit of a soft spot for these too. Intriguing uncommon little thing with a small V6, what's not to like?
Though, every time I looked to buy there were never any to try/look at. At 6'5" I'd probably be an even worse fit, so at least I'll know for future reference.

Shame it seems there's lots of people bemoaning them, not as good as I'd hoped/wished. Bugger.

On a different note, this thing desperately needs something doing about the ride height, it looks insane on those wheels.

s m

23,219 posts

203 months

Friday 20th October 2017
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The convenience of the 1.6 auto compared to the horizon-shrinking ability of the mighty V6





Steamer

13,856 posts

213 months

Friday 20th October 2017
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benharris said:
Steamer said:
Had a girlfriend really keen on these back in the day - but I wasnt so convinced.

Was it these or the Mitsi FTO that was a bit of a bugger to change the plugs on the far side of the engine?
That'll be the FTO. The rear bank sparks are buried away under the inlet manifold which has to be removed in order to get at them. The rear bank was always supposed to have 'platinum' spark plugs fitted, so they'd last twice as long as the front bank and not need replacing as often.

From the engine pic in the advert, they don't look too tricky to get at on the MX-3.
Arrr yes thats the badger! thumbup

Mr Tidy

22,262 posts

127 months

Friday 20th October 2017
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I kind of like these - mainly because they are just a bit different!

A few years ago I was looking for a half-shed money daily - I did browse these, but ended up buying a 1996 323F (mainly because being a 1500 it was in the cheaper RFL band)!

The 323 had no issues, but was just so slow that I only kept it 6 months. Upped the budget and bought a BMW 325ti - much better! laugh

Valgar

850 posts

135 months

Friday 20th October 2017
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I've owned one of these and always keep my eye out for one again.

I love the engineering, the V6 could do with sounding a bit more V6 like but it was a great drive, the gearing was very low, I think 70mph was somewhere around 3800rpm if I recall.

tgx

147 posts

150 months

Friday 20th October 2017
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He is right. Sweet ride.

MarJay

2,173 posts

175 months

Friday 20th October 2017
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I used to own one. They seem to eat distributors, and when the distributor fails you lose engine power, steering, servo assisted brakes, the lot. It's actually a dangerous fault.

The distributors are expensive, and I had three of them, so once I fitted the third I sold the car.

But, it was a good introduction to V6 and coupe ownership. Lots of people commented on how good the car looked. It had quite a large boot and was a lot of fun (if a bit heavy).

only1ian

688 posts

194 months

Friday 20th October 2017
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Remember a military friend tooling around in one of these for a decade. Intelligence officer take from that what you will

Edited by only1ian on Friday 20th October 22:27

anonymous-user

54 months

Friday 20th October 2017
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i had one blew the engine racing my mates mgf, great cars, thirsty though.

Porsche helped developed t,he engine from my understanding.

helix402

7,858 posts

182 months

Saturday 21st October 2017
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It looks pink and has horrible wheels.

gordyshreds

50 posts

97 months

Saturday 21st October 2017
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Make a great cheap track toy if bought cheap enough. Strip it right out and have some fun

s m

23,219 posts

203 months

Saturday 21st October 2017
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Valgar said:
I've owned one of these and always keep my eye out for one again.

I love the engineering, the V6 could do with sounding a bit more V6 like but it was a great drive, the gearing was very low, I think 70mph was somewhere around 3800rpm if I recall.
According to the road test above it says 18.8mph per 1k rpm in 5th ..... So yeah you're pretty much bang on......3720

fph

63 posts

117 months

Saturday 21st October 2017
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I had the 323f zxi with the 2 litre version of this V6. Not that fast or economic but great fun to run round to the limiter gear after gear. The engine was such a tight fit with the low bonnet line that the sound deadening was cut away to clear the front cam cover.