Weekly Motor Fix: Mazda RX-3 coupe

5 May, 2015

Are Japanese cars from the early ’70s destined to become the next big thing when it comes to classic car collectability?

A few years ago the down-under classic-car market went crazy for Ford Falcon GT-HOs. Prices skyrocketed from a few hundred thousand to around a million dollars in just a few crazy months, as cash-rich baby boomers climbed into the market with a view to realizing the automotive dreams of their youth.

Are we now seeing a similar trend with Japanese cars of the early ’70s?

A few months ago (New Zealand Classic Car Issue No. 290) Greg Price put together a feature on his son’s all-original 1974 Mazda 808 coupe and, in passing, Greg also made mention of the 808’s rotary-powered cousin, the RX-3.

Once upon a time these rather stylish Japanese coupes could be picked up for tuppence-ha’penny — quite simply, with petrol prices going stratospheric, nobody wanted a gas-guzzling rotor-motor.

However, as the years passed, younger enthusiasts picked up on these cars and began tuning and customizing them — we’d arrived at the dawn of the Japanese-import performance-car boom, and Mazda’s RX-series cars were at the head of the line-up.

More recently, monitoring the older car market both here and in Australia, it seems that ’70s Japanese cars are experiencing something of a renaissance, and prices for original, unmolested cars are on the move upwards.

With that in mind, we recently spotted this beautifully restored 1973 RX-3 coupe in Hamilton, and, unlike many of the rotor-motor rebuilds we’ve seen or heard about over the last decade, this example has been restored back to original condition. So, no bridge-porting, no outrageous bodykit, no ‘harlequin’ metallic paint, no drainpipe-sized exhaust pipe, no massive alloy wheels, and absolutely no Day-Glo vinyl interior. In fact, this example has been meticulously restored to original condition and is owned by an enthusiast with a real passion for these cars. Indeed, the RX-3 is still fitted with its original 10A twin-distributor rotary engine rather than having been swapped out for a later 12A or 13B unit.

A numbers-matching car, painted in its original Flare Yellow colour, this is probably the most original and complete Mazda RX-3 coupe in New Zealand.

The present owner of this RX-3 is also keeping a keen eye on the market for these cars and tells us that prices are going crazy at the moment with original, early-Mazda rotary-powered cars really starting to take off. He’s seen a few RX-3s for sale in Australia for $55,000 plus, while another has been listed for as much as $88,000. More amazingly, the cars appear to be genuinely selling for those prices! He also told us of an unrestored RX-3 coupe that was recently purchased by Mazda Australia from a local online auction site for $42,500 — this car being destined for a complete restoration and eventual inclusion in the company’s local car collection.

What do you think? Are all-original Japanese cars from the ’70s worthy of all this collectors’ car interest? We think they are — and we’re planning to feature this RX-3 coupe in a future edition of the magazine.

The originals – the Ledgerwood Collection

Thanks to Central Otago’s dry climate, it’s no surprise to find that Wanaka couple Jim and Daphne Ledgerwood are steadily developing an incredible collection of amazing coupes. ‘The Originals’ they have are as per factory new condition, and their aim is to keep them for everyone to see how it was done back in the day—pure nostalgia.
An occasional email from Jim usually reveals another gleaming addition. The collectors also have an impressive display of American pickups. It’s our gain and US enthusiasts’ loss, as car agent’s adverts proclaim, “Sorry you missed out. Gone to New Zealand!” Some of Jim and Daphne’s cars are almost part of the family, hence their nicknames.

To finish first, first, you must build a winner

Can-Am royalty
Only three M20s were built, including the car that was destroyed at Road Atlanta. This car was later rebuilt. All three cars were sold at the end of the 1972 season. One of the cars would score another Can-Am victory in 1974, driven by a privateer, but the M20’s day was done. Can-Am racing faded away at the end of that season and was replaced by Formula 5000.
These days the cars are valued in the millions. It was unlikely that I would ever have seen one in the flesh if it hadn’t been that one day my editor asked me if I would mind popping over to Taranaki and having a look at a pretty McLaren M20 that somebody had built in their shed.
That is how I came to be standing by the car owned and built by truck driver Leon Macdonald.