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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 Great River Road

4 July, 2025

A few years ago my family, knowing my fondness for driving, gave me the book Unforgettable Road Trips: Thirty-Six Drives of a Lifetime by Martin Derrick. Most of the road trips listed take less than a day in places like Scotland, Monaco, and Australia, plus one in New Zealand. Most of these places were too far to go just for a short drive but four of them would take several days. My interest was piqued, and those four drives were added to the bucket list. To date, I have done three of them: ‘Route 66’ (USA 21 days), ‘State Highway 6’ (NZ 10 days) and ‘The Great River Road’ (USA 22 days). You can drive all of them in less time, but you could also fly over them. We wanted a decent immersion in their charms.
The great river referred to is the Mississippi. While the name conjures the deep south, the river actually starts at the bottom of the great lakes, before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico about 3800km later. The great road is more of a concept than a specific strip of tarmac, as you can drive down either side of the river on various routes. Regardless of which side you drive, time should be kept aside for detours to places such as Nashville, which is famous for something or other.

A diamond in the rough

24 June, 2025

Two years ago, Lew finished a thorough restoration and the impressive ute has taken on a new life and colour. Lew plays down the amount of effort required but, despite his protestations, I suspect he put a lot of time into the project. A few unwanted tenants were evicted along the way.
“It didn’t take me long. There had been mice living in the firewall, which had caused a bit of damage. It apparently broke down and was pushed into a shed. It was 20 years to the day when I pulled it out and it sat in my other shed for 3 years before I started on it. That’s why it’s in such good order — it’s been kept in a shed for so long and still is.”