Monday, November 8, 2010

FIRST CAR - MAZDA R360 Coupe


My first car was a tiny Mazda which I spotted in a car yard on Canterbury Road, Lakemba in 1966. It was love at first sight! Dark red in colour, a 2-door with bucket seats, it seemed to wag its rear bumper like some lonely dog looking for a home. The bloke at Ideal Cars, later one of Sydney's biggest Mazda dealers of the 1970s, didn't have to do any fast talking. In fact he may have tried to talk me out of it but I had stars in my eyes. Dad I should mention only obtained his licence after I obtained mine, and he cheerfully built a mini garage down the side of the house. This just fitted the cheeky little beast which eventually cost me a lot of money when I blew a cylinder.

Someone asked, possibly the dealer, if I'd read the handbook. "Handbook?", I queried. Yes, there was a handbook in the glove compartment which revealed that my Mazda had a recommended cruising speed of 19 mph and a maximum speed of 25 mph! I'd been driving it at close to 60mph (just under 100kph) on trips outside the city. The dealer told me the car had been designed for use on Pacific islands where speeds were low. The car in fact was over-engineered in other respects with superb construction and a brilliant suspension system which I'd certainly tested to its limits. The 360cc 2-cylinder aluminium motor was another matter entirely. I ended up selling the R360 back to the dealer when I blew the other cylinder. Unfortunately I didn't photograph my car but I've found an online image.

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