A car like this 1973 Mazda RX-2 is for a staunch enthusiast, preferably one that cashed out on a portion of their stock portfolio. This will not be an easy restoration project but they are valuable cars in nice condition so it may be worth a total restoration for the right owner. The seller has this one listed here in eBay in Winter Park, Florida and they have a $5,500 buy-it-now price listed or you can make an offer. Thanks to Patina for sending in this tip!
I was going to lead off with this photo but had second thoughts. I didn’t want it to turn into a “junk then, junk now” type of thing, but it sure doesn’t look promising in this photo, does it? I mean, parts of the car look straight and rock-solid, but other parts are totally gone. Anything can be fixed for the right amount of money and RX-2s can easily sell for $25,000 to $30,000 or more in nice condition.
See, it looks pretty good here, relatively. The RX-2 was known as the Mazda Capella in Japan and this is a first-generation Capella, or RX-2. This is the one that everyone wants, or those who want one. They were made from 1970 to 1978, starting off in the who-cares-about-gas-prices muscle car era and ending up in the post-gas-crunch import-heavy-mpg-or-bust era. Speaking of that, rotary engines aren’t known for getting good mileage and the RX-2 maybe gets the same mpg as my Cayenne Turbo gets, which isn’t a lot.
As with the exterior, the interior looks equally good and bad. I always wonder what would happen if a seller would spend just a few hours cleaning the H out of a vehicle that they’re offering for sale, would that make a difference in the selling price? I would have to think that it would. It must not because not many sellers seem to do that. The front seats look like they’re in great condition as does the rear seat.
The big deal with the RX-2, of course, is its rotary engine. This should be a twin-rotor 12A and the seller doesn’t mention whether it runs or even turns over. By looking at the general condition of the car I’m assuming that it doesn’t run. They say that this is an all-original barn find and they are very desirable, but can this one be saved?
Does it get any worse than this? I give the author a lot of credit, to keep some sort of composure, when I know darn well, he’s chuckling under his breath, but maintains the professionalism we’ve come to expect from BF’s.
1st, the RX2( and 3) were probably the best renditions of these cars. I liked the RX4 styling, but returned poor fuel economy. Consumers expected these new fangled Asian cars to give outstanding gas mileage. It’s the ONLY reason they sold any at all. These smaller ones delivered so-so mileage, but the rotary quirks were too much for disgruntled US motorheads that HAD to give up driving their wheel standing Novas, and these fell flat. I think the rotary is a neat machine, but if it didn’t have 6 spark plugs in a row, Americans had no use for it.
Covid has apparently affected a whole lot of things
@Robert. Especially the sellers brain.
I love the RX-2. Owned a used one from 1978-1981. But this example has no value. Junk it!
I got one of these for my daughter ( it was a 1973 ) ,great fun to drive, quick and very smooth. Going down the freeway I always had to remember it still had one more gear. Other daughter went to Mexico where it was stolen
Spock would say “There is no logic”.
McCoy would say “dammit Jim I’m only a doctor!”
“All there” the seller writes without irony.
He’s dead Jim.
Spock would say “There is no logic”.
I doubt if Scotty is laughing at all. He has a pretty good eye. I have to agree in the respect this is a rare find and notable. Despite it’s condition. 1970’s Japanese cars are really hard to find in ANY condition. There are elements that are very nice like with any car and some not. It is all what someone wants.
For one thing my 22 year old son who is into cars wants me to check into it for him. Seems the 20-35 year old guys have an appreciation for these. Thus nice examples are in the $25-$30,000 range. So what’s that say to the old farts? I’ll say it. I bet it will get closer to the sellers asking price then the 73 Barn Find Corvette for $9800.
Japanese cars from this era aren’t particularly hard to find in California and much of the west coast. They didn’t rust away and weren’t subject to California’s biannual smog checks, which caused the early demise of countless late-70’s and 80’s cars which would otherwise would have survived in great numbers.
Steve R
With all respect, your kid wants to go this route, what better way to be taught, throwing tens of thousands into a so called “classic”, may or may not return like results. While I’ll agree, the interest may be there for some, merely because they never heard of it, but if someone is willing to pay 5 figures for a tin can like this, that just does not compute, Cap’n.( Mr. Nimoy, wherever you are, the worlds gone to heck, beam me up!!) Maybe if by slim chance, there is a nice one with the plastic on the seats, different story, but tell your kid, there’s better ways to spend their money on an up and coming classic. Someone actually has NOS interior parts for this? I’d be impressed. Restore the ’65 Mustang, but only a hand full may want one of these, especially to restore today.
Sometimes restoring a car doesn’t end in someone else wanting it. Obviously this kid knows what he wants and I’m proud of him for that. Too many people young…and older…rely on what others tell them is right, or classic, etc. The car culture is changing. Like Lee Iacocca said, “Lead. Follow. Or get out of the way”. Go on, kid. Get that car and make it shine.
My son has been through projects like this before. See, I have never been one to say NO to him. Thats junk…..you are crazy. That is something my father would say.
He isn’t into flipping and not money motivated since he rarely sells anything. He has rescued several cars from the junkyard and I have been right there with him. He does his own wrenching and parts swapping. He is pretty damn good. One thing for sure he would never be the one to spend tens of thousands on a restoration. He is much smarter than that.
One thing that separates the old men from the boys is he can use his phone for everything instead of making calls. He has connections all over the world and has made many friends due to his interest in vintage Japanese cars. He has an uncanny knack for getting parts on the cheap. If it’s something he wants he will make it happen.
He would certainly pass on the 65 Mustang. Excuses would be Old mans car. Everyone has one of those!
Also not into Star Trek but he is very well versed in PS2 Gran Turismo , Need for Speed respectively.
Good for him!! These were cool cars back in the day and what a neat project to take on. I remember having the chance to buy an A-H 3000 for $1,500.00. It was running and needed some cosmetic work. I was talked out if it in part because “who would want one of these things?”
Years later, “one of these things” is going for a gajillion $$$. More e than that, it would have been a blast to own…
Ugggghhhh! What an Unholy mess.
There was a completety redone RX2 with a widebody kit on the “other auction site” that did not meet reserve. It was stunning.
These cars weigh 2200 lbs. and can have a 13b/20b turbo with 500-600 hp. swap.
So he might get the price. How else does someone explain how a 2000 Honda Civic Si with low mileage get $50k?!!
This site is called “Barn Finds” is it not? Not sure why ,but when a barn find is posted it’s picked apart. This one needs work for sure ,but at least it was found. This is a rare car and big money done , too much for me but someone will take it. I honestly can’t remember seeing an all original one found like this, they can’t all be Camaros and Chevelles folks ..
25-30k seems like decent money sure, but idk about “big” money. And what would it cost to get this car there? This seems like a parts car now.
Yeah, we have more than enough Camaros, Chevelles, Mustangs etc. to last a lifetime. I really look forward to the times that something different turns up.
This is not a “Barn Find”. It WAS until a flipper got hold of it and did absolutely nothing to it before throwing it on eBay in attempt to get 4x-5x what he has in it. And it is being “picked apart” because of the price which even the seller realized was overly “optimistic” thus has been reduced to $4400.
Although there is a veiled threat that if he is able to get it running, he will end the auction–and likely relist for $2k-$3k more!
Wait… Is it April Fool’s Day again? Is time moving BACKWARD? What in the ever-lovin name of 2020 is going on????
April Fools YEAR, and it ain’t over yet!!!
Its obviously a parts car ; the body is too far gone , and one can imagine how bad the areas you cant see are. If someone had a solid platform Mazda to start with, this could provide some hard to find parts, but this ones future after that is the crusher
that’s what I’m seeing as well…. it’s got all the tell-tale signs that the entire body is in a delicate lacy paper thin state throughout… look where the trunk/interior divider panel attachments are rusting through the quarters etc. I had a ’78 Civic that I loved, but the rust actually came out of the metal itself, as well as starting around the edges and trapped moisture areas etc… the metal itself just started rusting on it’s own; I always assumed that it was inferior-quality metal or something like that.
Those look like late 1970s Mazda 626 or RX7 wheels
I was going to ask what those wheels are from. They look familiar.
Buy the best one you can. If this is the best one you can afford keep saving your money!
Makes my all in tacked 1976 NSU RO 80 with a running engine and a spare never opened engine in a crate look pretty good.
Yes it is Barn Finds, not Barrett Jackson.
The wheels are RX7, yes they are desirable but this looks like it sat under a tree in the dirt. Bottoms of the doors are rotten and I’ll bet the bottom of the car is rotten also. Even if it was running it would not be worth the price. Parts car at best.
That $4400 price isn’t outrageous, it WILL sell, Latinos love these cars, and there are some of them out there with plenty of money to restore this. Trust me.
If the seller is trying for a home run on the price, then at least clean out the trunk. Position the door as a separate picture and not make it look like it just fell off. It still wouldn’t be enough to make it $4k worthy.
McCoy would say “dammit Jim I’m only a doctor!”
“…Americans had no use for it….” they do now. Just pulled a motor for the racers. Gotta nice price from it. These things hada huge carb for a reason:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn7kQgh_c7k
lotsa 8 sec quarters !
My brother bought a ’73 RX-2 from the back lot at a dealer that was a trade in in the 1980s.
Needed paint but was that one quick car. It was from California.
He and a buddy raced it at 1/4:mile circuits until they beat it to death.
This thing looks like it was mauled or picked up with a pitchfork. Staging is everything and this seller missed the mark by showing it in this state. Betcha with some fix a flat those tires would hold air for the photo shoot.
The listing is already down. The asking price of $99,995.00 must have blown the car up.