View single post by Judson Manning
 Posted: 03-13-2009 03:23 pm
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Judson Manning



Joined: 03-14-2005
Location: Atlanta, Georgia USA
Posts: 406
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 As J-man points out, look for the obvious out of spec / worn items.  When I first got my JH it was about as easy as a first gen Fiero to steer, I just thought that was 'normal'.  Upon closer examination the car had been in a front-end wreck and slapped-together poorly with trashed bushings, etc. 

In addition to everything else I found out my steering column had actualy collapsed a bit and needed to be reworked (reference other threads for that info).  Once I got ALL of these items replaced and put on a set of stock 185/70-R13s I could steer the car with one finger (but not as ridiculous as a 1970s Cadillac!).

I think we can agree J-man has a great appreciation for Mazda components and a talent for fabrication; but as he points out, doing such a swap wouldn't exactly be plug-and-play.  Believe it or not, in stock form the car is actually designed pretty well....but who can resist the temptation to make it just a little bit 'better'...LOL

Judson