Some cars are so rarely seen these days that they just naturally fall into the unicorn category – this 1988 Mazda 323 GTX is one of them. This rarely-seen AWD turbo hot-hatch can be found here on craigslist in the Gresham, Oregon area, just east of Portland. The seller is asking $6,200.
I have been looking for a nice example of a Mazda 323 GTX for years and this one looks like it would be a nice start to having a restored gem. The thing is, parts are ridiculously hard to find for these cars, and sometimes they are just not available at all. I ran into that with my 1986 Nissan Stanza 4WD 5-speed wagon. Parts are non-existent for a lot of the things that it needed. Unfortunately, I’m not Jay Leno with a fulltime staff and big 3D printers to make any parts that it needs.
The fifth-generation Mazda Familia was made for model years 1985 to 1994 and they were known as the 323 in some markets. The 323 GTX came with full-time AWD with a locking center differential, a 5-speed manual transmission, and a turbocharged engine. It’s an incredible box-checker for those of us who like small cars that are jam-packed with features. Unfortunately, many of those features can and do fail on these cars and parts are tough if not impossible to find. Just over 1,200 of these cars were sold in the US in 1988 and 1989 and then it went away.
This particular GTX doesn’t look bad and it doesn’t appear to be overly-modified, which are both rare things for a GTX. These cars tend to get boy-racer’d-up a lot and I can see why, the 1.6L inline-four only had 132 hp even with the turbocharger. There are no engine photos here, unfortunately, but they say that it drives, stops, and runs. I guess that sounds promising if not overly-inspiring. There is an extra transmission which is good. The driver’s seat needs work and you probably won’t find that fabric anywhere on the globe, but the back seat looks like new. Have any of you seen a Mazda 323 GTX or, better yet, owned one?
Owned two of them, great cars. Places to watch for. Second gear is often gone, rust in the rear wheel arch, and soaked front carpets from the drain in the sun roof channel being plugged up leading to mold.
Remember how terrible these things were going over speed bumps. No matter how slow I went would get tossed around. One day decided to go at speed. Just sailed over it. Realized with the rally setup the suspension was set up for travel and never slowed down for another speed bump in the car.
A friend of mine found and purchased two GTX’s in different areas of Michigan. They were both red with sunroofs. He parked them behind his shop and never did anything with them. Inspite of the fact one of them ran well. They got sold as a pair for 15 hundred bucks in his estate sale after his death.
Why are we always worried about replacing the fabric with identical? Just put in whatever you like!
I liked these cars back in the day. I thought they were very advanced for the time with the turbo and awd.
Owned a black 88, analog dash, back in the day. Rallied one briefly, one event, which sold me on moving from 2WD to 4WD. Don’t dump the clutch on tarmac under heavy power as the gear box won’t last long. True of the later GTX (1800cc version and GTR as well although they were a touch more resilient. Mine was in the Southwest and everything rattled after 50,000 miles. Own a non-rusty original one now and 90 GTX and a GTR. More power is always nice but all variants of the car are easily tossed around (think a Datsun 510 with 4WD), will embarrass the more recent 4 WD cars in snow especially if it is twisty and tight. There are a few nice one’s out there but rust was an issue, some key parts of the underside can separate over time and need rewelding especially if someone is careless with a lift (happened to me and others I know), and as was noted above, many were modified and driven hard.
I’ve owned two. The first was bone stock, light blue over black. The second was a lightly modified, white over dark gray (same as one pictured above) Canadian import. As many have pointed out above, three main issues: Rust (wheel arches, bottom of doors, and around sunroof, under the seal); weak transmission (which is practically impossible to find); and it’s a Mazda 1.6 with the potential crank key/snout problem.
Great little cars; nearly unstoppable in snow; very tunable: my second one came with dyno sheet showing 212 hp.
I was going to tell the story of several years back getting awoken at 2 AM to the sound of full throttle, screeching tires and crunching sound, only to run outside and see one of these ran into my neighbors front retaining wall. Weird thing the driver bailed so fast I didn’t see him and the car was left running.
Then I realized, this May be that car. How many of these are actually in East County, let alone PORTLAND in this exact same color combo, wheels, interior..
If anyone’s interested, I still have the photos of it sitting in the sidewalk and being towed away.
Could be this car. They only came in red, black and white. All had the same interior. The differences were sunroof and digital gauges. Lots made it to the Pacific Northwest.
I briefly considered one of these when they were new, but decided simple is better, so went with a Honda Civic instead.
BTW, any 323 of this period is a unicorn today, or so it would seem. Even more of a unicorn? A similar Mercury Tracer, even more rare would be the 5 door sedan or wagon Tracer.
Was this the same engine in the Mercury Capri XR2?
BOP GUY. Yes.
I owned a 1988 white one identical to this one. Bought it new in 1990. It had been sitting in the back of the dealership unsold, so I got it for a hefty discount. These were expensive compared to the regular 323, so they didn’t sell well.
Not long after I bought it, the first and third gear synchros and hubs went out and the car sat at the dealer for a month waiting on parts from Japan. And this was when parts were available! I took it as a bad sign and only kept the car for about a year, maybe a year and half. Traded it on a ’91 Civic Si. Loved the car and hated to get rid of it, but it had a tiny gas tank and the fuel mileage wasn’t that good. I could barely get 200 miles to a tank of gas.
I’d buy another one as a track car, but not a daily. Spare transmission offered with this one is a bonus.
There used to be one sitting in a driveway about a mile from where I live. I knew what it was and would stare at it from the moment it’d come into my view until it would go out of view in my rear-view mirror. Sat there in the same spot for at least 6-7 yrs and then one day I drove by and it was gone. Was never a for sale sign on it and kick myself every time I drive by the house for not stopping and at least asking if jt was for sale or not.
I’d watch out on that one. My friend that sold me MY white ’88 GTX, was looking at this one. The owner was a real PIA to deal with and considered a Pre-Purchase Inspection, to be “jumping through hoops.” He said he had a local sale and didn’t have to deal with that BS. Looks like the local sale was just more BS. If you can’t get a car’s owner to do a PPI that YOU’RE paying for, there’s almost definitely something they don’t want you to find. Why has this ultra-rare, beautiful looking car, been for sale for so long, otherwise?
I am the original owner of a 1988 323GTX. It has 137000 miles and has been a great car. Replaced the crank around 92000 miles due to the pulley wobble. Currently I’m looking for suspension parts, shocks, bushings… If anyone can recommend a source it would be appreciated.
Well I found my suspension parts listed for cars in Australia, Whiteline Suspension parts. Best part is that Whiteline has distributors in the US. New front struts and new front and rear sway bar bushings.
Try corksport. Wealth of aftermarket parts for 90s era mazdas such as 323 and Mx3
I Had a black GTX back in the day. The power seemed adequate then. Dirt road cruiser and perfect for N.H. roads. Good little car. The dimming dome light and lighted key hole one the drivers side was cool then. Digital dash had a unique turbo boost guage. Well balanced for small jumps and drifting.
I have a fully sorted 87 GTX that will be for sale soon. All new suspension sourced from japan, full engine rebuild due to a head gasket, transmission shifts great and the interior is in excellent condition. Custom 2.5″ stainless mandrel exhaust is the only mod. The rest is 100% factory. Working on some exterior cosmetic things then it will be for sale.