Modified Mazda RX3 Savanna 1975 Pictures 
RAGING ROTTER
Rescued from rot in an Australian paddock was this vintage Mazda RX-3 which not only realises 680rwhp but is also street legal!
gallery (42 photos)
The Japanese car import scene was at its peak in Australia during the 1970’s. Down Under they didn’t have a mass manufacturing agenda and what little there were (mainly Ford’s and Holden’s) did not prove financially viable or in many cases very reliable either. Rear wheel drive Jap models were much more efficient than the V8 offerings and it was soon realised that they could be tuned to perform at outstanding levels. Many of the old school classics are still around today although you might have to root through scrap heaps, neglected workshops and race paddocks to find one. This is exactly what Daniel Eisel did, desperate to source an RX-3 chassis.
Why you may ask? Well, in its hey day the Mazda Savanna RX-3 was quite the challenger. It won the 1971 Fuji 500 race, smashed the Touring car category in the 1972 Japanese Grand Prix and was first in its class for the concecutive year in1975 as it stormed past the chequered flag in the Bathurst 1000. Sold as a coupe, sedan and station-wagon, the coupe was of course the sportiest of the pack. Daniel Eisel’s 1975 example left the factory with a 1146cc 12A rotary engine that produced 110bhp – enough at the time to unnerve a few Nissan Skylines!
When RX-7’s replaced this racing breed in the late 70’s, plenty of RX-3’s were tossed aside, forgotten, neglected. That was until of course someone like Daniel came along who could see not only the novelty of owning a vintage racing classic but who also had the insight to merge the two generations. Transplanting a 13B Mazda RX-7 block from a Series VI model in to the RX-3 has given it a new lease of life; at the hands of talented tuners it now has super car performance, quite a feat for a car that looked ready for the scrap yard!
Having been sat in the same spot for over a decade, the RX-3 was in a pretty sorry state, in fact you may have even thought Daniel was a few sandwiches short of a picnic had you not known his transformation plans. The owner himself had seemed to have given up hope on the ageing Jap race car and Daniel’s finacial incentive was sounding like a much better option than letting it rot.
Soon Daniel’s 3 year project was under way with new doors and chrome parts arriving in regular intervals at his workshop. For the most part he used the web to track down exactly what he was after. Once every trace of rust had been illiminated and the steel frame looked good enough to respray, Daniel carried out the last few touches to smooth it down and then applied a DeBeers clear colour with a yellow base and gold pearl. Rid of any unnecessary distractions like rear reflectors, an aerial, fuel filler cap and door locks, this Aussie adaptation definitely earns its nick name of Mello Yellow.
Kind of entrancing, aptly bohemian, this 1970’s example is flawlessly clean but then for a man who runs a paint and panel shop would you expect anything less? Daniel has also managed to retain the RX-3’s classic appeal all be it in a tougher guise, given stretched rear arches and insanely large rubber extremities. These wheels are essential on the drag strip where grip is of paramount importance especially when you’re gunning for sub 10 second quarter mile times as Daniel has since achieved. The original brick-like mirrors have also been replaced with more streamline teardrop shaped examples.
With the external cosmetics all in order, Daniel handed over his project car to Sydney’s rotary turbocharging guru, otherwise known as Joe amongst his familiars. Slaving away at his Rotor Master workshop, Joe faced the challenge of fitting a Garrett GT45 roller bearing turbocharger twinned with a 42mm Garrett external wastegate which was placed on a custom manifold. The gateway for the air is a gigantic GTR 90mm throttle body while the fuel is delivered through 1000cc injectors which sit on a custom rail. Igniting the mixture takes the help of RX-7 Series IV coils and Magnecor ignition leads. Now whereas the engine keeps its original housings, rotors and shaft, dowelling the block has made it more durable. Performance Tested Seals (PTS) have also provided Apex denominations while a Port modification by Rotor Master has enhanced the RX-3’s airways.
Generally speaking this Jap strip weapon can take a real thrashing although gearboxes have been a bit of an issue. After a seemingly burly Tremec cog swapper just gave up and died, Daniel has been relying on a Jerico four-speed sequential box which uses a Direct pressure plate and a twin friction plate attached to a Direct flywheel. This rather convoluted combo proves to be extremely noisy though and while it causes terror on the race track, it can be rather grating when heard on the street. Presently a G-Force five-speed H-pattern gearbox is on order and this will make down-shifting much less of a drama. There is always the option of automatic but for our Aussie racer this would be like having an English climate (predictably dull).
Nothing about this Mello Yello racer could be described as dull, least of all its driveability; customise a car like this and you’ll want to get involved in its workings. Spend so much money and you’ll also want the cabin to be the sort of place you could spend a lot of time in. Far from being a rough and ready drag car, Daniel’s RX-3 is finished in full light bone leather and suede. The front seats are offerings from the Recaro SR range then there’s Momo’s contribution - an easy to grip steering wheel. The 10-point Chromoly roll cage reminds you that this car is a working model but the deep carpets keep that retro show car balance. Sound deadening then makes the RX-3 more of a joy to live with day to day too and while luggage space is pretty limited (due to a stunning chromed fuel tank in the boot), day trips out around Sydney’s sun drenched boulevards provide enough bikini blessed bodies to re-charge the mind.
Of course Daniel’s RX-3 gets just as much eyeballing and his brimming trophy cabinet is clear proof of this. Check out the 3” mandrel bent stainless steel exhaust system with twin Lukey mufflers and those gleaming 18” Simmons wheels. Sourcing the tyres wasn’t the easiest of tasks but the 215/35 Falken examples up front and the 295/35 Michelins to the rear look like they were made to measure. The series 5 RX-7 brake conversion is another striking addition, matched by the red tyre walls and the painted red callipers. Advancing the suspension are then fully adjustable Noltec coilover struts with camber/castor adjustable strut tops, the rear however is given custom coilovers and Koni adjustable stocks. With a four-link fully adjustable set-up the RX-3 has plenty of potential for track tuning. The Ford nine inch differential with 31-spline Mosler axels and a 4:8:1 final drive ratio is obviously a highly honed piece of kit but then when you expect a car to splurge almost 700bhp every addition needs to be pretty special. When you think about it the RX-3’s quarter mile time is even more impressive for a car that weighs 1750kg.
The Australian tuning scene has obviously been kept on their toes with vintage examples like Daniel’s to contend with. As a result the old school bug is bound to send up plenty more high quality motors from Down Under so if your own ideas are starting to feel stale and unadventurous take some cues from Dan and branch out a bit.
CAR MAKE & MODEL
Modified Mazda RX3 Savanna 1975 Pictures
CAR REF NUMBER
21719
CAR COLOUR
Yellow
ENGINE MODIFICATIONS
performance: 680rwhp at 8000rpm with 29psi boost! 9.8 seconds at 138mph with a 1.3 second 60ft on street tyres. series vi mazda rx-7 13b rotary with pwr aluminium radiator and intercooler. internals: series 6 rx-7 13b housings, rotors, eccentric shaft and stationary gears, dowelling, mild porting, pts apex seals. induction: garrett gt45 roller bearing turbocharger, 42mm garrett external wastegate; turbosmart blow-off valve, gtr 90mm throttle body, four 1000cc fuel injectors, custom fuel rail, series 4 rx-7 coils, magnecor ignition leads, extrude honed manifolds, microtech mtx-8 engine management. exhaust: 3-inch mandrel bent stainless steel system from the turbo back with twin lukey mufflers. gearbox: jerico four-speed sequential. clutch combo: direct pressure plate with direct twin-plate friction plates and a direct flywheel. differential: ford 9-inch with 31-spline moser axles, 4.8:1 final drive ratio, 3-inch hi-torque tailshaft
SUSPENSION MODIFICATIONS
front suspension: noltec fully adjustable coilover front struts, camber/castor adjustable strut tops, nolathane bushes. rear suspension: custom rear coilover set-up with koni adjustable shock absorbers, nolathane bushes, fully adjustable 4-link, wheelie bars.
ALLOY WHEELS
18 x 7-inch and 18 x 10.5-inch fr18 polished simmons wheels
TYRES
215/35/18 red-walled falken front tyres and 295/35/18 red-walled michelin tyres
BRAKES
series 5 rx-7 calipers and cross-drilled rotors (front); series 5 rx-7 calipers and slotted rotors (rear), bendix pads, mazda rx-4 brake booster.
EXTERIOR MODIFICATIONS
deleted rear reflectors, aerial, fuel filler flap and door locks, rear arches stretched 2-inches, full respray in debeers clear with a yellow base and gold pearl, rear parachute, teardrop mirrors
INTERIOR MODIFICATIONS
momo steering wheel, recaro sr front seats, full light bone leather and suede re-trim with flame patterns, auto meter pro comp, boost pressure, oil pressure, fuel pressure, fuel level, tacho, speedo and shift gauges, 10-point chromoly roll cage, custom fibreglass dash
VIEWS: 154
TOTAL VIEWS: 10,649
View this page on our mobile site
Links:
