Hi all,

I inherited this Oz-spec 1994 BA 323 Astina 1.8i 5-sp from my father recently. I'm tidying it up to pass on, whilst I may change my mind yet about that, the wife may not!

It only has 107500klms on it, with only approx 50000km in the past 18 years.

It's been well serviced, everything works (now) and everything that isn't perishable or consumable is original. No rust, a benefit of the relatively warm and dry conditions in Australia (even Sydney).

The interior's pristine with the rear seat the same as the day it came out of the factory. The plastics, as you would expect, are becoming brittle with a couple of small broken off bits. Although garaged all the time, my father had not been totally kind to the exterior, more on that later.

A lot of the original stuff is there and has to be seen to be believed. Here's some photos...
Original spare wheel and tyre in a spotless wheel well:


Original stickers-
Warranty (Left rear quarter window):


and factory Air-Con (right rear quarter window):


I've been cleaning the exterior and fixing a couple of broken bits, namely the electric aerial (now works, but not fully retracted) and the pax side mirror which has copped a couple of thumps over the years. In fact, my father had held on the mirror with sticky tape for the past 18 years, with the help of a thread here I clipped the mirror back in in about 30-45 seconds. It only took that long whilst I was showing my father...poked a bit of fun over the 18yrs sticky tape vs 30 second fix!

More mechanical work has been done on it than I'd expect however that can be put down to the very short range driving it has experienced over the past 18 years or so.

But again, the engine bay is spotless and a lot of the platics look unbelieveably factory fresh. I don't believe it's had a front-end bingle, will double check with my father though as the plastics and stickers just look so good.


I have all the service records, purchase receipts and books too.

More photos and info to come.


Cheers,
Pitrack_1

Wow that engine bay looks immaculate very nice

Welcome to the club and what a ßtunning car too, and also the first example of s sound deadening cover for the engine too, looking forward to seeing her develop, you know you will keep her perfect family car

Damn that thing is clean!

I do love seeing some original factory spec cars this clean!

Not a big fan of white cars but this is so clean. Very nice

Thanks for the comments all. Hope to have some more pics up this weekend. In particular, more 'original spec' photos, e.g. the interior, manuals, etc. just so the somewhat more 'mature' of us can reminisce!

Smurf182, didn't realise there wasn't sound deadening elsewhere... I believe it was brought in due to emission controls- noise restrictions in this case. Pretty well everything had to have it. And I'd love to keep her and in particular maintain her as original as possible, but unfortunately the situation probably won't allow it- no farm with a shed for a fleet (already have a 'project' vehicle plus two daily drivers) and more importantly no permission from the better half!

Pitrack_1

Hi all, lovely day in Sydney so had the thing out for more tidy up and a showing to a friend possibly interested.

No photos due to the work (both car and looking after my parents) so really have to try to get some tomorrow.

Anyway, today comprised more external work to take advantage of the good weather. As the vehicle looked better, but still with some defects after the last effort I decided to have a go again. THis time the car had a wash, polish (Meguiar's polishing compound) and cleaner wax (Meguiar's again). SO in total since I received it the vehicle has had 2 washes, a clay barring, cleaner waxing (last time) followed by a (this time) wash, polish and cleaner-waxing. Any paint deficiences left are beyond the scope of basic cleaning/polishing and eiher require repair or heavy cutting.

Still, it looks nice! (Photos to come)

The other thing I 'fixed' was the aerial: unfortunately my last effort resulted in the aerial sticking, upone some push/pulling it came off again but from that I learnt my mistake with the shim-fix. I've pulled it out (again- now a ~5-min job), I now know the innards thanks to info on this site.so I'll try one final fix again tomorrow. Hopefully the aerial can keep working.

Note a replacement aerial is available in Oz from Ford/mazda but it's ~$120. An aftermarket one of similar size (correct diameters and base lengths) *may* fit and is available considerably cheaper, I may get that.

Thanks,

Pitrack_1

Promised some more pics, so here they are!

Interior
This is the Oz-spec interior for the 1.8i, effectively the mid-range model (I think), as it was delivered- apart from the 'Nana seat covers' for which I apologise in advance! I'd be interested to hear of trim differences to other countries, e.g. levels or buttons for HVAC controls, different stereos?

Driver's area w/ clean(ish) footwell




Centre stack- note the DIN storage slot where the CD player went


HVAC Controls and stereo close up (should've turned 'em on)


Standard Dashboard- pretty well the most aged looking part of the car, looks quite 80's to me frankly. Only ~108k km.


Rear seat area- pretty spotless (OK, a few spots of fluff/lint)


Cargo area- pretty clean again


Some more original stickers- from the engine bay
All pretty neat still. Apologies for photo quality- for some reason camera shake became a problem, may take some better ones and repost later if the fit takes me. If I make it out correctly, the date on the red+silver sticker should read 9/9/94.

Air conditioning and emission control info (bonnet/hood)


Air conditioning refrigerant- R134a (air cleaner box)


Fan warning sticker


Cheers,
Pitrack_1

Several cleans and polishes have made it shine up quite nicely. The white is quite good at hiding some of the touched-up spots.

Might be the last two photos of it, chance of selling it tomorrow.



and



Cheers,

Pitrack_1

Next little repairs are:
1) Wobbly mirrors (both sides). I have seen some posts elsewhere (e.g. O-Rings, tape). I think I may have a more elegant solution, I'll let you know.
2) Headlamp adjustment (found a link to a page- id 931- which won't load). Anyone know how? There appear to be a couple of screws that may relate to this. No levelling system is fitted to our vehicle (not required in Oz).

On the subject of headlamps, I have noticed the BA pattern is quite poor. The headlamp is a projector style. The dipped beam is shaped a bit like the Batman logo and covers relatively little. Brand is Kotto. Is this normal or has the bulb possibly been incorrectly fitted? It's nothing like the projector headlamps on our Mazda 3, they have a good beam spread.

Hi-beams are also close to useless (Mazda 3 marginally better)

Thanks,

Pitrack_1

Two successes!

- I found enough info to identify the appropriate screws (the link to a photo is gone from the guide), so adjusted low-beams which are now much better.

- The wobbly/rattly mirrors are now rock solid. And I think I have a solution that's simple, quick, effective and perhaps better (more 'proper') than some others. It maybe worth a guide-type post- as soon as I can type it up and download/edit all the photos.

Pitrack_1

Nice work mate! Always good when a little project like that pays off, even if its the smallest of fixes

Whats the plans going forward with this car? Any plans for modifications or keeping it box standard and factory fresh?

Thanks Lerch,

the aim is probably keep it standard at the moment.

Next project might be eliminating the funny noise coming from the exhaust which seems to also sap low end torque especially when cold- can't get up a hill in second.

That's once my back fixes after last weekend- don't know what happened or when, but the mirror fix was responsible. Ouch!

Pitrack_1

A pic below of the original manuals, service and warranty booklets. Data of the "mechanical protection plan" is the date my father bought the car, not the original date of the car, which is a 1994 build.

I've also updated the photos of the engine bay decals a few posts above (A/C, fan, emission controls) with better ones.



Pitrack_1

New muffler installed, has stopped the loud noise. Cost less for the local mechanic (who's looked after the car for ~18 years) to source and fit it than for me to buy one! Car should now shortly pass rego.


Pitrack_1

About the only thing left that doesn't work correctly is the electric aerial. As it is nigh impossible to source a correct replacement (at least at a decent price) I was lucky enough to be able to implement a repair, of sorts.

I may have talked about the aerial before. I was lucky enough to be able to jury-rig/emergency repair the plastic feed cable so now it currently goes up and down, albeit not fully in either direction. There's about 5-10 cm sticking out when retracted.

I'll write-up a thread about my madcap aerial fix saga if I get a chance.

The main problem is now it shrieks as it goes up or down. I'm not sure if it's my repair as my first attempt at this didn't have the issue. I'm disinclined to deconstruct the boot and aerial again if I can (although I'm getting good at it now).

Any ideas anyone?

Thanks,

Pitrack_1

Had the car serviced and inspected last week, registration renewed this past weekend so now has 12.5months to go!

And a few on-offs cycling the aerial during some driving seems to have cleared it- it's quiet now, goes up and down fine currently but just doesn't quite retract fully.

I drove it down from Sydney to the A. C. T. now in preparation for selling it. Drove beautifully, everything works. But I'm getting lazy, spoilt and unskilled nowadays- I missed having a cruise control! However they do seem necessary in this age of speed cameras and what-have-you.

I might pop up a bit of a sale page today or tomorrow- you Brits should look up carsales.com.au and drive.com.au and see what they ask for BAs in Oz still... it'll make your nose bleed! In the meantime I'd better go read the rules...

Cheers,

Pitrack_1

Wow, i like this a lot and envy your weather conditions
However, i was wondering, was the BA in AU/OZ not equipped with EGR? The car seems to be running a different header from the one we got in the EU...

Hi HMT, sorry I've only just seen this...
Yes I thought it looked different to your pics. I'm not sure about EGR, I had a look but could find no pipe from the exhaust manifold, but I can't see all over and under everything... I'd need to have a repair manual or pull bits apart to really tell. Furthermore, in general the early 90's cars in Aust with fuel injection didn't seem to require EGR for emission control- at least another car I had didn't have it.

What we do (or should?!) have is positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) and an oil breather, so we get a pipe from the top of the cam cover to the intake manifold instead of your little filter I see sitting on top.

Pitrack_1

...is it's so small it takes approx 5 mins to wash (if relatively clean) and another 5 mins to chamois dry. More time spent getting all the bits- car wash, etc.- out and and put away again!
Pitrack_1

Can't manage it myself. Things won't budge. Booked in for the 4th Jan, $1250 or so all up.

Pic of the LHS rear shock... some strange crud there, the remains of the oil I think. No doubt that's contributory to the clunking and harshness.


By the end of this it'll have cost me more than the car is worth...but it's in such good condition overall it'd be a shame to see it trashed.

A fool and his money are soon parted, and I think I've become a bigger one than most- $3000 to fix the A/C on our utter rubbish Forester diesel on the 24th, how's that for a Christmas present?

_________
Patrick

On another subject I have obtained a replacement mast that may fit. If not, I've also got a 'rubber duckie'! If it all works I'll let you know where and which one. Note this will be a replacement mast only, it assumes the mechanism still works and is for a 1994 (pre-Ford) model.

Having all the interior boot trim off for the suspension helps.

Mind you, ths mast remains half extended and the reception is acceptable.

Unfortunately I've seen a couple of surface corrosion spots- one next to the boot lid seal at the base of the hatch and the others surprisingly, on the hinge stays for the rear seat folding. The rust on the stays seems to be at the bends, perhaps it's related to some stress delamination of the coating or something. I'll rust-convert the spots and see how it goes.

Hinge Rust


__________
Patrick

Aerial Mast
Success! An aftermarket replacement aerial mast has been fitted. Not quite perfect but pretty good. I'll put up a separate thread about it with details and photos but briefly if you wish to look online the item is an

Aerpro AP270

which is designed for a Toyota Avalon 2000- (Oz remake of a superseded US sedan). Aerpro may be an Oz/NZ specific company but you may be able to get it via shipping. More details and pics in a later thread/post.

Rust spots
Oh and the rust spots have been rust converted.

Pitrack_1

Suspension fixed, much smoother now. No harshness from the rear. The best compliment was my daughter quickly falling fast asleep on the drive home.

Shocks are Sachs. Some roll bar bushings also replaced, alignment done. One bump stop was being reduced to a reddish powder by a leaking damper- I had to laugh at the remains when shown.

Patrick

Now that it works, my 4 y.o. daughter watches the aerial retracting/extending like a hawk!

Patrick

Glad to hear you've got some of the gremlins fixed dude!

nice...i like white BA =)

Pics of shock crud and rear seat hinge rust
I've updated a couple of the posts above with pics of the LHS rear shock crud and the rear seat hinge rust I spotted. Click the links or scroll up a few posts if you wish to view.

Furniture removal
In the meantime I've been channelling Serena and dabbled in furniture removal. I scavenged (for my garage) a 6 ft shelf/book case someone had put out on the footpath. The shelving now organises and holds my collections of spray paints, lubricants, gap fillers, solvents and cleaners. That big hatch comes in handy, and the car almost swallowed the item whole!


__________
Patrick

Been out for a couple of small drives since the suspension was done. Rear shocks are really good- better than the fronts, bushes done have eliminated the rattles and clatters. And my daughter doesn't complain about the harsh ride any more!

Actually all the shocks had been replaced between only 3-5 (maybe 7) years ago, and the rear that failed was less than 3000 km and 3 yrs old.

The good rear shows up the rather ordinary fronts, which is now a bit floaty in my opinion...

All it needs now is a good set of socks & shoes (and maybe good front shocks...immobiliser/alarm...better colour...fully retracting aerial...etc)!

It's being babied... only put 1000km or so on it since I got it last July/Aug.

Patrick

The other week the car had what I call 'the Mazda tick' ('cos it's happened to other Mazdas I've had) which I believe to be a noisy lifter. It too 30secs or so to quieten, longer than I expected given the good maintenance, oil and summer temps in Canberra at the moment.

Is this a common issue with the 1.8?

Thanks,

Patrick