Quickride: 1985 Mazda Cosmo

"Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW." (aya-yu) 09/11/2013 at 08:53 • Filed to: Quickride

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So, because i'm now thinking of getting a small, classic cars for me to work on at weekends, i'm now starting to look for one. And then, my neighbor ask me, "Aya, are you interested to own a 1985 Mazda Cosmo?"

Because i don't know what the fuck a mazda cosmo is, my neighbor is taking me to his friend's home and show me the car.

It's a Blue 1985 Mazda Cosmo, with Wankel-Rotary Engine producing 160hp out from 1.1L engine. That's put the power to displacement ratio to 145hp/liter. That's Insane!

Back in 1982, this car was the fastest car in Japan Until replaced by the R30 Skyline. But still, i prefer this one.

But, my favourite part of this car is the speedo. Just look at that!

And the Gizmos next to the speedo is also awesome. On The Right you have speed control, clock setting, and switch for adjusting brightness of the speedo and Pop-up headlights..

And On The Left you got Wipers and AC Settings. And yes, the controls are weird but cool.

The car also have a Frameless door and single wipers, which is really cool.

And The Seats looks like a very nice place to spend a lot time there.

And oh ya, the owner is said to me "if you give me 2.5 grand, the car is yours"
Should i get it?

Quickride is something written by me, after trying to get in some weird yet wacky cool cars that i never seen in my life. You can also make your own Quickride.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 09/11/2013 at 09:00

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That car is 80's as fuck. Also JDM in a rarely-seen manner in the states. If it were in the lower 48 of the US, I imagine the owner would have no problem at all getting that for it.

As to having something to work on on weekends, very possibly the Wankel would make for exactly that - may be a good or bad thing.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 09/11/2013 at 09:06

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Ya. Can't be more 80's than that.

I think it's going to fun, since the car was running very well. And i always have nothing to do in weekends anyway.

cbell04 > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 09/11/2013 at 09:07

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That thing is bad ass! Do it!!!!

hike > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 09/11/2013 at 09:09

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That thing is freaking awesome. I've never heard of an 80s Cosmo! I'm curious how hard it is to get parts for though. If it's in solid shape though and has minimal rust, I say why not! Seems to fit the bill as small old car with a ton of character.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > cbell04 09/11/2013 at 09:10

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Hmm.

I'm still thinking about it. Especially take some research on Mazda's 12A engine.
Yes. it's still using that 12A.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > hike 09/11/2013 at 09:13

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Yep. That part still make me thinking of getting that.

Especially it's still using the old Mazda 12A engine, not the 13B.

But the car is in a nearly perfect condition in my opinion. All the electronics works (even sunroof), the car still runs like a normal rotary, no rust and perfect service history.

cbell04 > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 09/11/2013 at 09:35

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They made that motor for like 15 years so parts cant be that bad. My buddy had a 13b in his rx-7 and didn't have to much problems besides oil burn but think that's normal for those things. I would snatch that up maybe say all you can scrape up is 2k but its going to a jalop and they can follow it on the internet as I'm sure you would be posting all about it! ? But I'm in the U.S. so things are a bit different here as far as owning what you want..

speedbump883 > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 09/11/2013 at 09:35

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I now refuse to read another post that starts with the word "So".

Takuro Spirit > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 09/11/2013 at 09:39

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I'd go for it in a heartbeat. 80's funk, JDM goodness, and the 12A is a MUCH more reliable motor than the 13B.

I would do a compression test, make sure the apex seals are in good shape (with that high of mileage/kilometerage(?) I would think the engine's been gone through already.... but just to be sure I'd have a rotary expert look at it.

That being said, parts should be plentiful, and used spares should be easy to come by, and cheap to put in.

Will with a W8 races an E30 > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 09/11/2013 at 09:41

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Those things are awesome. Just don't forget to premix - 1oz TCW-3 2-stroke oil/gallon of gas. Clogged OMPs and blown apex seals are no fun.

whatclutch? > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 09/11/2013 at 09:43

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Are those holes I see for fender mirrors?? Wankel's aren't any harder to work on then a piston engine, they're just "different." It's a damn interesting car that looks to be in really nice shape for the age. Give it a test drive, have it looked at by a mechanic, and there's no major problems I would jump on it!

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > cbell04 09/11/2013 at 09:44

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Nah, oil burn is normal.

Yeah, when I get that i'll definetly put in here. Because Rotary Saloon.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Takuro Spirit 09/11/2013 at 09:48

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Wow.
I surprised with that!

It's kilometer, because JDM.

But now I need a rotary expert..

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > Will with a W8 races an E30 09/11/2013 at 09:49

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Okay. Thanks for the heads up!

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > whatclutch? 09/11/2013 at 09:53

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Ya.
The mirrors is stolen last week, the owner said.

I've drive it for arround 15 minutes, and it's awesome!
Especially when the turbo kicks in.

I haven't do full inspections yet, but I think I'll do that on Saturday.

roflcopter > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 09/11/2013 at 10:30

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If I'd been offered that, he wouldn't have finished the sentence.

roflcopter can haz cosmo?

SpeedSix > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 09/11/2013 at 16:21

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Well, if gas in Indonesia is as cheap as you say in your articles, go for it!

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 09/11/2013 at 20:11

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that is super rare, and super cheap.

I've only seen the one HB Cosmo for sale before and it sold for around $8k.

I say go for it.. but expect it to require a lot of upkeep.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > roflcopter 09/11/2013 at 20:25

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Yes you can, just come over here.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard 09/11/2013 at 20:29

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Well, that's what I expect.

Honestly the owner also have another HB Cosmo, the rarer 2-door one. And I think the 2-door diserve a cool 8k, to be honest.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 09/11/2013 at 20:37

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at least you have this other guy to help out with problems. If he's nice.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard 09/11/2013 at 20:52

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Ya. He's a nice, middle aged man that only drives a rotary.

He owns 2 Cosmo, 1 RX-7 savanna, and a very last model of RX-8 Spirit R.

That's common in here.

Kurisu95 > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 09/11/2013 at 22:04

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Awesome! I had no idea there were 4-door Cosmos. I'd say you should buy it.

roflcopter > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 09/11/2013 at 23:37

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:D

roflcopter > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 09/11/2013 at 23:38

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The problem with the 12A motors is that there are no new parts anymore, everything comes out of junk cars, not new production. Which isn't a big issue except for rotor housings, because they get marred when certain things break and aren't really re-machinable.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > roflcopter 09/12/2013 at 00:18

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Hmmm..

What if i swap the engine to the newer 13B?

roflcopter > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 09/12/2013 at 00:32

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While that would make parts more readily available(depending on where you are), they still aren't necessarily cheap. Also... Depending on what generation 13B(there's a lot), it probably won't bolt up to the transmission without some sort of aftermarket/custom bellhousing.

I know that the generation after this Cosmo came with both the 13B-REW and the 20B-REW, and if they I'll fit/bolt up, that'd be a decent power bump. Iirc the sedan generation came with either a 6-port 12A or a turbo 12A, both of which are decently reliable.

The 12A is a good motor, lower compression and stouter internals make for decent reliability but not so great economy. There are a few failures that are written off as 'just a matter of time' with the 12A, such as oil galley o-rings that require a rebuild to replace, but on the whole they don't eat rotor seals like some later turbo models do. Check out rx7club.com for info on the 12A, look in the vintage rotary section and the first gen rx7 section.

Feel free to ask me any questions on here too.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > roflcopter 09/12/2013 at 00:35

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Cosmo with 20B is an ultimate sleeper. I remember overtaken by one of that in the highway, that's fantastic!

I wonder if i put that 20B in much lighter body like this.

But honestly i really want to keep this 12A Turbo.

roflcopter > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 09/12/2013 at 00:41

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It has the turbo one in it now? I'd leave it alone until something breaks.

Even though my opinion may be a bit biased(I will never not own a rotary), it looks in good shape and I'm sure you can get that back out of it if you decide you don't like it, so GO FOR IT!!

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > roflcopter 09/12/2013 at 00:51

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Yes. The turbo helps the car get 160hp out from 1.1L.

Well, today i had an appointment with another friend of my neighbor that own RX-2, so i'll see which one that i like.

roflcopter > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 09/12/2013 at 01:00

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I couldn't decide between those two...

RX-2: rotary muscle car
Cosmo: rotary super sedan

That's like telling someone to pick between a 2002 Turbo and an E39 M5, it should be an internationally recognized form of torture.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > roflcopter 09/12/2013 at 01:09

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me too.

But i think i'll get a Cosmo since the owner said the RX-2 need a whole new motor, because the car has been dead for 15 years.

But he's selling that car for 250 bucks, so i have to check them first..

roflcopter > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 09/12/2013 at 07:39

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I seriously need to move... An RX-2 roller over here is at least $5k if it isn't a pile of rust...

SatriaFanboy > Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. 09/12/2013 at 11:37

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Just buy it dude.. If I were you, I just buy that rare JDM Mazda.