Upper Middle Petrol Head:

Where do I begin?  Of all the rotary Mazdas, the RX2 is - in my humble opinion, at least - the very pinnacle.  The coupe version, as shown here, is the creme de la creme! That's a biggish call, I know, so please indulge me.  The RX2's predecessor in the Aussie domestic market*, the R100 coupe of 1968 to 1973 - what Mazda might've called the RX1 but strangely didn't - was a real screamer that isn't without charm.  However, its looks might kindly be described as "cute" rather than beautiful. The model that followed and for a time ran in parallel with the RX2, the RX3, probably enjoys the greatest following of any of the 1970s' Mazdas.  Like the RX2 and RX4 that debuted in 1972, the RX3 was offered in Australia in two- and four-door form. The RX3 is a more "muscular" design than the RX2, with pronounced rear haunches, smaller rear side windows and more aggressive front-end styling.  It's also slightly smaller, apparently being only a bee...

ooo OOO ooo The Galant, ready to board the SPoT (visible in the background).   I’m a huge fan of the self-driven road trip.  Buses, trains and planes are all well and good if you’re happy to surrender your freedom to set schedules and and inflexible routes, but there’s only one way to be the captain of your own ship - by which I mean car - and that’s to take your own.   If it’s a 47 year old Japanese classic, even better! 41,905k, ex Hobart.   It has been a while - a mere 31 years - since the Galant last saw mainland Australia.  However, the old girl has proven to be a great little tourer over the past three decades, having regularly been road-tripped up, down, through, across and around the island state of Tasmania, clocking up many thousands of kilometres of reliable service.   The Great Ocean Road, Victoria, has always been an attractive  route and a destination in its own right.  South Australia’s Kangaroo Island, accessible via the Southern O...

A couple of months ago, I was fortunate to pick up a brand new set of Vick Auto Sport Prima front   brakes for my X1/9 at a very reasonable price, without copping the outrageous cost of freight from the USA.  And when I say outrageous, how does $US1,000 (AU$1,500 at the time of publication) sound?   Just to be clear:  we're talking the cost of transporting them from the US to Tasmania.  It does not include the actual purchase of the brakes themselves, which, at today's rates, come in at $US500 ($AU750) per pair.  The freight component is as per Vick's quote, although they did note that it was less expensive to ship to mainland Oz.  Not their fault but still a firm no thanks from me! Powder coating is a Vick option, although mine came raw and have been painted with Duplicolor caliper paint.  US$ 30 buys slotted and cross drilled rotors, too.    According to Vick's website:     O riginal vintage Fiat brakes utilize archaic ...

Today's Datsun 120Y - aka B210 or Sunny , depending where it was sold - comes to us courtesy of the Canberra Chief Correspondent.  It's the third in a recent unplanned series of 120Y-related posts that includes a JDM-spec liftback and another sedan that's not dissimilar to the one featured here.  With no driver / owner to quizz, we can only comment on what we can see.  It looks ostensibly stock, save the LED light bar, chrome steelies and sports steering wheel that are shown in the CCC's pics.  Other than that, we can add that its paint, panels and chrome look pretty good, as is what's visible of the interior. It's classic ADM (Aussie domestic market) through and through, featuring what looks like a second series grille, a single rear vision mirror on the driver's door - as opposed to fender-mounted units - and 120Y badges.  What's not clear, however, is if it's running stock mechanicals or has been modded, as has the other sedan showcased in this se...