Hi - Here's my '92 13B Cosmo

[FISCO]

Doms '92 13B Cosmo

Hi everyone, I'm Dom and I recently bought the 13B jc cosmo that Frank (frank20bcosmo) on here had for sale. He told me about mazdas247 and all the cosmo info on here.

I'm over the moon with the car. Its in great shape, with only 60,000km, 16" BBS wheels, and cloth interior. It was originally the half leather sports interior spec, but frank swapped this into his 20B monster. I like the cloth trim though as its so comfortable. The more i drive it the more impressed i am at the quality of this car. Its by far the smoothest car i've ever driven, and so quiet. I think its the perfect car for a decent in car entertainment system so am on the lookout for a 2DIN DVD/Satnav/computer for the centre console.
The paintwork will need seeing to one day, it's definately been an outdoor car! Underside is great though, having lived in Tokyo in its earlier days.

Anyway, thought i'd introduce myself as this seems to be the best resource for info on these cars, and hopefully i can share some of my experiences with the car as well. I also have a '72 Mazda Rx3 Coupe with a bridgeported 10A engine that i'm building myself.

 

[frank20bcosmo]

Hi Dom, welcome to the forum, nice to see the car again and I am so pleased you are enjoying it, I knew you would, every time I went out in it I thought I would like to have kept it, but with the 20b sat in the garage feeling sorry for itself, but not as sorry as my bank account(deadhorse I had to get it sorted so she had to go, you will have to post some more pictures of the RX3 as well, I will be updating my thread soon as I have some pictures to upload and some news !!(boom06)

 

[FISCO]

Hi Frank, thanks for the welcome.
I've been driving it to and from work for the last couple of weeks. The issue with the intermittent start has gone away. It seems that as long as you wait for the 5 beeps it has no problems.
I've yet to properly figure out the fuel gauge. It said it was just above empty when driving it back from Wales so went to fill it up and it only took 48 litres, which gave me about 300km to the same point on the gauge, of which 1/3 was motorway driving and 2/3 was commuting. Is the tank 75litres? Strange to have 1/3 of the tank left when it reads empty... maybe a good idea in a rotary though!
I've got it insured with a company called 2gether insurance. Very knowledgable on imports and got a very good deal with them (one fifth of the price of the first quote!).

Looking forward to the update to your thread. Has Pip started working his magic?
I love the rims on your 20B. Do you know what offset they are? Have you had to roll the arches at all to get clearance?

 

[frank20bcosmo]

Dom,

wanted to update thread last weekend but just a bit hectic at the moment, all being well I will update at the weekend
Pip has it stripped and awaiting the housing so will be a while yet, hey but no rush, I will confirm those wheel sizes when I get the car back I did have them written down but I cant find the info at the moment

 

[FISCO]

Havent done an update for a while but mainly just been driving the car. Its been faultless, despite sitting for long periods between drives throughout the winter and a very old and knackered battery.
Anyway, picked up some parts:

Tein Coilovers
Series 5 FC Manual gearbox (being fitted this weekend)
RE-Amemiya front air dam (on its way from Florida)
Type SX suede/leather interior (thanks to Tim at RX Motors). This was the car's original interior spec, so soon it'll be back to how it was.

How its currently looking. Coilovers and manual gearbox will transform how it looks and drives.

 

[cosmojc]

Hi Dom, the car is looking really good!

I have a set of those wheels in my garage. Do you have the wheel centre trims? I think I might have a couple wheel centre trims spare in the shed if you need them?

Kramer, Newcastle Australia

 

[FISCO]

Thanks Kramer. I have the centres but i usually keep them off so they dont get nicked!
Once the suspension and gearbox are done, i've got my eyes on some new wheels anyway. There's a lot of space under the arches to be used up still!

 

[frank20bcosmo]

Hi Dom
so you bought the air dam,, I was looking at that but the shipping costs scared me off,, you have been spending some cash on the old girl

Pip is back in work after his Holiday on Monday so I am sure he will be busy on your car,, how long before it will be fitted and ready to pick up?

Frank

 

[FISCO]

Frank, i had second thoughts on the air dam so its still for sale.
The car is going in next weekend now for the gearbox swap. I guess he'll have it for a few weeks to allow for parts to be ordered etc.

 

[FISCO]

Some pics of the cosmo now in manual guise.

Should definitely have been an option! Tut tut Mazda :lol:

Currently thinking how best to fit a gaiter to the gearstick console while making it look stock.



Crossmember and mount




What.... 3 pedals Clutch pedal is split and welded to clear footrest. May do the same with brake pedal as its a bit tight, especially if you have canoe feet like me.


Bulkhead mounting. Tidy.


Clutch piston with braided hose and new copper line to master cylinder


Clutch fluid reservoir


Clutch master cylinder (just tucks in behind inlet manifold)


Coilovers in too. They're a bit tasty 8)

 

[frank20bcosmo]

Hi Dom

some great photo's there and shows the good work Pip did,, got any pictures of the 2 Cosmo's when we met up?

For all those reading this and have never been in a Manual converted Cosmo all I can say is WOW!! what a transformation,, if a 13B pulls like this what will a 20B go like,, and I can't wait to find out,, Yaahooooooooooooo..

I have to agree with Dom,, Mazda why did you not make a manual as an option??,, if they had I think the prices for these Cosmo's would be huge as it is a real performer as a manual and worth every penny (rockon)(rockon)

 

[Antoine]

Any updates, Dom?

On a side note...I wonder how much different the EC 20B would be if you had the stock tranny rebuilt with upgraded / high-performance parts...Perhaps I should start a thread about it at some point...

 

[FCJay]

Looks great. If I end up getting another Cosmo, I'm going to swap in a S7 rx7 gearbox that I have.

 

[FISCO]

Sorry for the slow reply guys. We've actually had a summer here in the UK so been getting on with various stuff.
Frank, here are the pics from when we met up.
The red 20B looks good from all angles and sounds great.





Got a few jobs done on the car.
Had the windows tinted (top class job) and fitted the coilovers.

 

[FISCO]

Out with the old and worn cloth interior.
Took the front seats to the recycling centre. Opened the boot of my car and the assistant says "Is that a TV mate?"......

Point of no return moment!



SX spec interior went in without any problems. Really nicely put together, nothing broke or snapped off. Good as new 22 years on. Need to finish off the gearstick console. Got some ideas for that to retain the stock look.





Swapped the old speakers for some BOSE replacements. Rears were from an Rx8 and the fronts from a Honda. Now have CD player and tunes 8)



Surely one of the coolest interiors! Its had its interior changed twice now (originally had this spec interior, now in Franks car). Now its back to how it was originally. Was pretty lucky to find the original spec interior in almost good as new condition.



Old parcel shelf was properly gone, so ordered some foam backed fabric for the shelf and some acoustic fabric for the speaker covers.



Used the old shelf as a template for the new one.



Reused the sound insulation



BOSE emblems as a finishing touch to match the new speakers.

 

[db2boy]

Nice work Dom. You can redo my parcel shelf when your chap does my tints ;-) What is the guy doing with what looks like the film for the rear screen?

Ant

 

[FISCO]

Cheers Ant. He's removing the backing sheet which is there to stop dust etc getting between the window and the film. Apparently because of the size, shape, and position of the cosmo rear screen its very difficult to tint. The film was applied to the outside of the window first, heated to form the right shape, trimmed, then removed and fitted to the inside.

Still got some of the parcel shelf material if you want it.

 

[db2boy]

Makes sense and I figured he was trying to shape or cut it. Now he has done yours he is the UK expert for doing re-doing mine.

 

[frank20bcosmo]

Dom,, WOW what a difference that speaker shelf looks fantastic,, and the interior wow, you have been a busy boy

 

[FISCO]

Found these wheels on yahoo japan. Same as those on Berty's 20B which ive always liked but never thought id find a set in the right size and offset. They are +38 all round so should fit well with some good tyres on them.
Just need to get them back from Japan now.
Also scored a mazdaspeed strut brace. Thanks to Ant for finding it.

18x10 at the back, 18x9 at the front.