RX323 Project - Chassis Brackets

[MikeLMR]

well its back in one piece and is probably as good an example as you could hope to find in the UK. The bottom of the OSF wing is toast but its not a major pain to repair with the panels being bolt on.

I really need to sort the suspension now ... I can live with having no power but 20mph and white knuckles around roundabouts is no fun ... exciting but not fun !

trying to find out what bolts in from the Aussies, i\'m hoping i can use a full strut from a S2 rx7 on the front as that\'d upgrade the brakes, shocks and springs in one fell swoop. It\'s crying out for a nice set of dished old school wheels. Might give weller a call ... 13x7\'s should do  (might be a bit OTT actually!)

[Richard]

Good news there Mike. Now the enjoyable bit planning the upgrades, eh?

I\'ve been watching these on Ebay and thought they might suit you. 7 x 13\'s as well. The down side is they\'re 2/3 the price of the car.



What calipers do the S2 run - single or 2 pots? May have to change the master cylinder as well?

To finish off the front suspension upgrade you\'ll need the anti roll bar from an estate- half as much diameter again as the standard.
Where to get one ? - well it just so happens ...........:rollin

As for the rear, I ran Spax adjustables- I recon it\'d be worth giving them a ring, as I think they can remake any of their old patterns.

Best of luck, and I shall be following this with interest.

Rich;)

[flectron]

hey rich they look cool!

will they fit on either of mine? and any chance of a link?

cheers,
gord.

ps. congrats mike and welcome to the club :cool
although i think 1st gen owners should already be in it - otherwise we\'re gonna be tooo exclusive..

go the old-skool

[MikeLMR]

if they are 4x110 and the correct offset (not sure for old school cars ? around 20mm ET ? ... depends on the width) they should fit ... can\'t find those on ebay, they must be under an odd description. They look like early compomotive wheels ?

[Brett]

If you mean 2nd gen when you say S2, then they are 4 pot calipers.  If thats not what you meant I will shut up and withdraw from the area!

 Nica mota Mike :wave

[MikeLMR]

S2 = series 2 sorry for any confusion.



I have some series 5 4 pots that are not destined for this car as they won\'t fit under 13" rims (+single pots should be more than enough to stop this feather weight!)

[MikeLMR]

found them ... they are ford stud pattern i.e 2mm out for the mazda (don\'t like the idea of that)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=28648&item=7974736650&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

[Richard]

I\'ve been running the Ford PCD wheels on my cars for 20 years + and never had any worries:D ( even down those wonderful Irish lanes:cool )

The one difference tho\' is that I converted them all to studs instead of bolts;)

It would be quite easy to make up your own big brake conversion. The caliper mount bracket is only a flat steel plate which bolts to the strut, a la RX2. You could make up a  new one to accomodate any disc diameter and caliper mount.





Heres some brake options I\'ve looked at (1000/1300 strut is slightly different in the mount department.)

Ford Group 4 Alloy  Hub/ BMW vented disc/ Willwood Dynalite 4 pot





1000 Hub/ MX5 Vented Disc/ HiSpec Alloy Ford M16 Copy Caliper


Ive stuck with the 2 pot for the moment because of master cyl sizing probs.

When/ if I refit the disc braked English axle then I\'ll look at making a bias pedal box, and then the Princess 4 Pot copy would be an option. BTW studs have been shortened since this pic was taken:rolleyes:

Rich;)

[MikeLMR]

I might be tempted then (+ with the abundance of ford stud pattern and offset rims!)

What sort of width/offset were you running on your 323 ? even though this project isn\'t on till after the rx7 is 100% finished I might be tempted by some old school bling (and some decent suspension) as I will be using this car a fair bit over summer.

Were you using standard front stuts or does somthing better bolt in ?

[MikeLMR]

on the strut options. I am sat here looking at that 1100 front strut and I think the mounting at its base looks very similar to the rx7 one.

Do you think I could bolt up (or modify slightly) a s2 rx7 front strut complete but use the 323 top mount (or a hybrid) and then hopefully the ball joint tapers should match (IIRC the japanese have had a set of standard automotive tapers for a long while)

[mullins]

Only prob with the s2 strut is the resulting positive camber and you also end up with reduced spring travel.

I recommend trying to retro fit different discs and calipers to the 323 strut as above. The discs and calipers off the s2 could be adapted quite easily to the 323 strut

As for master cylinder RX-4 it a good upgrade for bigger discs.

[MikeLMR]

doh positive camber is bad ... i want a fair bit of negative camber on the front.

Whats the usual mod for the 323\'s then ? I\'ve had a good look round it today poking holes (only found one or two soft bits and they are around previous repairs I already knew about) and I must say it needs some serious effort on the suspension side of things (I can fit under the car without jacking it up for a start!)

[MikeLMR]

looks like the rear shocks should be fairly simple to upgrade, just a question of finding some the correct length and re bushing to suit.

Does the S2 front strut definetly result in more positive camber ?

ie.  \\----/ and not /----\\  surely as long as the stub axle is perpendicular to the strut and the mountings are the same top and bottom it should result in the same as standard camber/caster ?

What about rear springs ?

[MikeLMR]

Ok to answer my question.

S1-S3 struts sit at a steeper angle than the earlier rx\'s so retrofitting them results in less camber. apparently the S2&S3 struts aren\'t quite so bad as the S1 struts which result it +\'tve camber.

Now I\'m investigating if I can find some adjustable strut tops hehehe the search is never ending

*edit* might have founds some  ace s2 front struts it might be

[Richard]

So many questions Mike:D

First up - wheels. I ran my 323 on Alleycats and KN Starmags in a 6 inch width  with 185/60\'s( RAC road rally rules at the time  :rolleyes: )

The ET of the Starmag\'s is 16 and a backspace of 102mm. Any more backspace than this and it gets a little too close to the front strut for comfort.

As mentioned earlier I ran an English axle which is 52 inches wide, compared to the 323\'s 54 inches IIRC, so I used a pair of 1 inch spacers behind the Starmags. On a standard axle I think you can run the rears with a bit more backspace, allowing you to maybe get a 7" under there. Just means you have to carry 2 spares:(

I sent the standard strut casings to Leda to be revalved,  and used MK2 Escy springs at -1 inch and 180 lbs ( straight swap).

Leda can no longer carry out this service. Instead they cut off the tube and weld on their own tube/ rod assembley, and valve to your requirements. This also means that they are 2 1/4 coil overs, so theres a huge choic e of spring rates.

I ran standard springs on the rear and Spax adjustables.Give Spax a ring - I\'m sure they can help you out.

If I were to build another one I\'d fit Escy turrets in the back and use 2 1/4 coilovers. Bin those heavy bottom arms and springs,  and make up some rose - jointed tie rods to fit into the original Mazda mounts. Save some weight and super adjustable:D

Rich;)