HB + HD Owner from Brisbane

[Praetor287]

Ok, well since this is the place for introductions, my name is Shannon, I am 23 and currently unemployed (though I have an interview lined up next week to fix that), I was (very) rarely active on Mazdaworld, but I do like the idea of a specific forum for 929's, so I will endeavour to be more active on this forum...

Anyway, I currently have 4 929s, two HB's, two HD's as follows:

Current daily: 1982 HB two door fitted with a later model EFI FE, has had some pretty bad damage just behind the driver's door, so this one only needs to last a few more days before I get the other one on the road.

About to become daily: 1984 HB four door sedan (not hardtop) with an FE carby, only needs three more things for RWC and rego. I had some crazy plans to fit my spare JE48 to this, and I have figured out it'd be a pretty straightforward conversion (and one that is legal in QLD), but now I'm thinking I'll just go the EFI FE out of the two door, or maybe an FE3 (if I can find one at a decent price). This particular car was a two-owner one, that's in exceptional condition for its age, that I picked up for $500 with a snapped timing belt (thank god for free-spinning engines).

Project/Dream Car: 1994 HD, w/JE48. Haven't quite decided what to do with this one yet... I have dreams of a 20B (and if I get the job I've applied for that is a real possibility, provided I can find one), but if not, just some light work, and restoration to perfect condition.

Parts for the above: Written off 1992 HD with just over 150k on the clock.

As can be imagined, whether or not I get this job affects my plans for these cars quite a bit, so fingers crossed .

I did have some HC's a while ago, but needed to get rid of them to free up some space.

-Praetor287

[JAY-929]

Good luck with that job interview, Shannon

And welcome aboard

[yakuza]

welcome to the site man. i hope you get that job, a 20b HD would be pretty awesome!

[Matsuda9]

welcome,

gee nice collection of 9es

FE DOHC is a fun motor (at least in FWD), i would have a look at KIA sportage FE DOHC (already RWD). has some drawbacks in looks but generally good option.

[alpha]

pics or it didnt happen:)
just kidding welcome aboard.
i used to own HD long time ago, now im obsessed with HE's:)

[Praetor287]

Thanks everyone! If I get the job at least one of my ideas is 110% going to happen, since after training I'll be on 50k+, which will leave me with plenty of money.

Matsuda, yeah, the Kia Sportage FE-DOHC is definitely under consideration, but I think I need to do quite a bit more research on the topic before I actually start working on it. All I know is that I want something better than the FE Carby... And with three options to chose from, I have a lot of reading and phone calls ahead of me. That and my priority for the moment is getting it registered. Goddamn split steering rack boot. And rocker cover gasket. And "middle muffler" (the piece he refers to as a middle muffler is actually the resonator... and this is the guy who's telling me if it's roadworthy or not???? ). And...... so on. And more importantly, goddamn having to work on cars in the Australian summer.

Alpha, I actually went to look at a HE I was interested in just before Christmas, but it had too many problems for me... I would love one but I just don't know if it's worth it, since I already have the HD and a parts car, and for me, looks aside they're not that much different.

Fingers crossed the HB 4-door will be registered before this weekend... but only time will tell.

-Praetor287

[JAY-929]

I still think there's enough room for a HC :p

[alpha]

Thanks everyone! If I get the job at least one of my ideas is 110% going to happen, since after training I'll be on 50k+, which will leave me with plenty of money.

Matsuda, yeah, the Kia Sportage FE-DOHC is definitely under consideration, but I think I need to do quite a bit more research on the topic before I actually start working on it. All I know is that I want something better than the FE Carby... And with three options to chose from, I have a lot of reading and phone calls ahead of me. That and my priority for the moment is getting it registered. Goddamn split steering rack boot. And rocker cover gasket. And "middle muffler" (the piece he refers to as a middle muffler is actually the resonator... and this is the guy who's telling me if it's roadworthy or not???? ). And...... so on. And more importantly, goddamn having to work on cars in the Australian summer.

Alpha, I actually went to look at a HE I was interested in just before Christmas, but it had too many problems for me... I would love one but I just don't know if it's worth it, since I already have the HD and a parts car, and for me, looks aside they're not that much different.

Fingers crossed the HB 4-door will be registered before this weekend... but only time will tell.

-Praetor287

woooot, an HE in oz?
tell me about it and what problems, i find them very reliable (i had 2 so far)
HD parts fit HE (mechanical) couldve had another project car

[Matsuda9]

officially they are middle mufflers, go figure..... i think the hot-dogs are what they officially call resonator (however this is euro/jap maybe in Oz they are known differently, but in the manual they are called middle mufflers )

with HB you have a hell and a half options

FE-T
FE DOHC
F2
F2-T
JF
JF-T
JE
JE DOHC (maybe hard to fit wide)
12A
12A-T (factory option)
13B
13B-T (maybe even REW)
20B-T

how fast do you want to spend?

[Praetor287]

Currently in my yard & shed I have two HB's, two HD's, two MX83 Toyota Cressidas, plus my girlfriend's daily driver (a Kia Rio ), and I only just got rid of my 1978 Mercedes 280CE... so yeah... at the moment there's no room for a HC, though I wouldn't mind getting another one some time in the future... I liked mine, it just got too bad to be able to fix it for a reasonable cost.

Alpha, the HE I looked at was in Manly West, Brisbane. The owner assured us it was in good condition and so on, when we went to look at it half the electrics (including the A/C) didn't work, and there was a bad knock in the front of the engine. I probably could've put my spare JE48 into it, but I didn't want to spend that sort of money on a HE, only to have to screw around with repairs, which included replacing the engine. Also, it seemed to have had a hard life, scratches, worn seats, etc, etc. After it didn't sell the first time they didn't re-list it, and I got the impression that she intended to keep it if it didn't sell.

Matsuda, Yeah, there's plenty of options for the good old HB. The three options I've singled out are:

FE EFI - easiest and cheapest option, but perhaps the least satisfying, since I already have an EFI HB to supply the engine and associated componentry, and since it was also a factory option, I wouldn't even need to worry about it being illegal or anything like that. The one in my HB two door is a good running engine, that I suspect has had some work done to it, since it seems a lot more powerful on the road than it has any right to be. I can't say for sure until I pull it apart... but yeah.

FE-DOHC - Out of the three, this is probably the most expensive, simply because I don't have any of the things I need to do it yet. But it would also be a pretty good option from what I've read about the FE-DOHC. Still need to do quite a bit more research on this one though.

JE48 from my HD - I have two decent JE48 motors sitting in my shed, and I know by physical dimensions the engine will fit (may require some modification to the bonnet), and it should be legal in QLD (something about the ratio between the weight of the car and the capacity of the engine). This would probably be the hardest option, but it's also the most interesting to me, because no one would see it coming...

I've had to rule out most of the rotor options, simply because I'm planning on holding onto this car as a daily for quite some time, and as awesome as a rotor would be, I don't know if it'd be suitable for affordable daily commuting.

Guess I need to think about it more

-Praetor287