1973 Mazda RX3 from North America - Comments

I bought this car from a junkyard. 2 cars actually and combined them into one that worked... The question should really be, what wasn't already wrong with it. However, maybe this will help.

Carburetor damaged.

Starter inoperable.

Uneven tire wear.

That's all I can think of right now, but honestly, considering where it came from it was a decent first car for a highschool kid who enjoyed tinkering.

Total cost for vehicle at purchase (including missing parts bought at auto shop) $250.

Time required to completely refit two vehicles body and engine into one... 100 man hours (amateur).

Final result... A very powerful car that burned oil, backfired even more than a normal rotary, had to be started by pushing or rolling, and could beat a V8 muscle car in a drag race every time.

Rotaries are incredibly powerful and fun, but probably not very safe.

Probably not very safe?

Well, I've been in several old RX's and they have a lot of power, but are weak in the safety category. Mine had lap belts only front and back, and with rear wheel drive they don't handle well in adverse weather. That's only the beginning. I could go on, but is that really necessary? My point in the review was that if somebody was considering purchasing one of these, they should consider what kind of driving they'll be doing. I wouldn't recommend this as a family car with small children. Try Volvo. :)

As evereybody knows this is not the safest car, but probably one of the funest.

Wow, what memories! I owned a '73 RX3 wagon back in the '70s. (It was actually my 3rd car, probably paid $500 for it.) It belonged to the guy I worked for and had been used for deliveries in the business he owned. I loved that car! It ranks near the top of the many cars I've owned over the years. It was also the car I learned to drive a stick in. I had big plans for it - until the engine developed a seal leak and died. Safety was questionable (for all the import cars of the time, not just Mazda) but I distinctly remember it having shoulder belts because after it died I pulled them out and used them in a '69 Chevelle.

As for power, I remember the rotary being able to spin up very quickly, but having little low end torque. I couldn't pull many cars off the line, but if the race was long enough, I could run the rpms high enough to at least not make a fool of myself.

It was a fun car, too! Unfortunately the bodies were poorly made and tended to serious rusting, even when properly cared for. So the fun didn't last as long as it could have.

I had two 1973 RX3's in the late '70's. I changed engines from one to the other by literally lifting it out of pick up bed to car. Tuning was a pain! Dual distributors and dual points...Arr! The carb was handful too, but when it was right... LOOK OUT! That was the fastest car I'd ever owned until I bought a '95 Impala SS. I beat small block Chevies, small block Mustangs, from either standing start 1/4 miles or high speed interstate runs. The speedometer went to 140 (?) and I had seen go all the around to zero mph on several occasions. Red line was 8500rpm or so. I remember I could do 95mph in 3rd gear. It handled great with new radials, (in 1979). My biggest complaint was gas mileage. Never got better than 18mpg and I had it tuned by Mazda dealership several times. It was a cheap car, but man... was it fast!

My first car was a 1976 Mazda RX3. It was Lemon Yellow (and I think the color was perfect). After I got all of the bugs worked out and got the manifold fixed so it would stop from catching on fire... The car gave me the most fun I had in my teens. My brother started calling me Trixie because I would peel out in 2nd gear. That car I think of as my first step to freedom and loved that car.

My first car in high school was a 73 RX-3 my dad rebuilt. This car was a piece, but it was fun. It would backfire when I turned it off (my friends always ran to the back to watch the ball of flame), if you turned it off to get gas, you'd have to wait 10 minutes for it to cool down before it would start again. I miss that car - I think most of my hair fell out in that thing.

I remember growing up with my parents driving the new metallic grey RX3. I remember how it parted with our family.

My Dad drove it over a railroad track at a high rate of speed and it did not land very gracefully on the other side of the tracks. Never to be seen in the family drive way again. I wish it was still alive.

Sorry to disagree with everybody, but rx3 as maza built it would not beat camaros or mustangs.I've raced mazda rotories for years in cal club scca and won 6 regional championships with them so I know them inside out. Yes they are fun cars and feel quick, but if they could keep up with muscle cars why aren't they in the same catagory at the race track. and yes I've dragraced them also current car is an rx3 with a street port 13b with a 52 mm mikuni carb. ET in the quater is about 14.8 and that's with a modified car, camaros and mustangs run low 14 high 13 time stock. My 1970 elcamino tow car runs low 12s with very little mods and a small cam.Don't get me wrong I love rotories and will keep playing with them till I can't find any more in the junk yard.

a poster wrote: "Tuning was a pain! Dual distributors and dual points...Arr!"

Not really. When I was a Mazda mechanic I used to change and set the points with the car running, doing one distributor at a time. It took a bit of finesse to get the rotor off and then back on again. And be sure to put the cap down straight. But this can save 30 minutes or more on each tune-up, and it makes it very easy to get the dwell exactly right on the new points. RX-2's and 3's were the funnest cars you could own in the late 70's and early 80's. They are pretty sturdy too and shouldn't be considered unsafe. They are just not a modern car with all the new safety features. An RX-2 saved my life in a big crash by holding together. It took a V8 or turbo to outrun my ported 12A.

I'm a 39 Year old Male with Cancer and I still remember my first 1979 Rx7. This was the best car I have ever Had. I drove it twice to New York, and all around IL. I loved that car, my dream was to own a RX3 Wagon. Crazy right? But someday I will see one again in person. Unfortunately I live in Kentucky and you don't see, but Ford products.

I currently own a '73 Rx3 sedan with 20,000 original miles. It is a very cool little car that was way ahead of it's time when designed. The car was sold to me reasonably because I acted to save a neighbor's life. Women think it is cute, but little do they know the awesome power to weight ratio this car displays. It took some time to learn how to drive it, but I love the car and know that Mazda was/is one of the greatest car companies in the world.

I have owned RX3and 4 wagons. my current one is a 73 Wagon. It came to Michigan from Fairbanks Alaska, It has 73k actual and a60 below starting system with the electric cord coiled up on the front. It sat for 18 years in a dirt floor garage, Michigan road salt was not kind to it. After digging it from the dirt,and oiling the brake shoes so it might roll, we winched it on to a trailer and away we go. I am having a ball restoring it and if winter will go away...maybe!New tires, new brakes new oil sender, windows don't work yet and I need a new air pipe. then lookout Corvettes.