Mazda Roadpacer - Rotary-Powered Holden Gone Wrong?

[@thedronedownunder3919]

I confess, at 57, to never hearing of this beast until now. Thank you!

[@JohnyN-qp3xg]

A mate of mine lived in Japan for seven years and told me about these Mazdas he worked in a huge car wreckers in Tokyo but living in Siatama north of Tokyo spending nearly 2 hours morning and night . He said the wreckers processed 300 cars a day with a forklift tynes straight through windows then dropping the car over a huge spike in an open top tank straight through fuel tank ripping it open dropping fuel even gas tanks were cut with oxi torches. My mate worked for an Australianwrecking company importing engines and parts from Japan and when a car came in he wanted he would grab it take it to a yard next door to pull it apart to go in a 40 ft container for Australia. He said there were five different countries working out of that yard doing the same thing . He said this was not the only Australian built car to go to Japan apparently Mitsubishi built wagons for Japan and he said you could tell by the pilkingtons glass logo on windscreen. He said he was extremely lonly first 12 months not being able to speak Japanese or knowing any one but once he got to know people the bar night life was awesome. He eventually met a nice Japanese lady moving back to Australia. He said some of the cars with as little as 4000 kilometres on them made him almost cry .

[@mikevale3620]

To me that would be like working in an abattoir. You've really have to have a mindset that allowed you to do it. Wrecking cars that are more modern and exclusive than your own would be problematic for me. But thanks for your comments, I bet there would be some real standouts your mate would have mentioned.

[@Ozzi-l9n]

I saw one of these in Japan, an odd quirk.

[@rjbiker66]

Chrysler sent some chargers over in the early 1970s. All 318 engines with the 4 headlight front end.

[@roadsofjapan6009]

Guess his now better off too move back to Japan verse everything that’s going on back home , and yes when your young and single japan is pretty awesome for night entertainment 😂 even if your in your 40’s cause age here doesn’t really matter and the culture is different so your not going to get in trouble from the Japanese wife if you pay for it 😂

[@keithrx3c]

Very rare and interesting car the Roadpacer. I first heard about them back in the early '90's when I got into Mazda Rotaries. It was a deal between Holden and Mazda. Holden and other manufacturers were looking into developing their own version of the rotary engine, so in a trade for technical info on the rotary engine, Holden sent 800 HJ Premiers (some being HX Premiers from what I've heard) body's minus engines and gearboxes to Mazda Japan and they built them as Roadpacers. You have to wonder though, what if they sent over Toranas instead of Kingswoods?

[@jgsheehan8810]

It was aimed at premium buyers, so a Torana wouldn’t be suitable.

[@jamesfrench7299]

A Statesmen would be excessively large for that market so this was probably their idea of an ideal extremely large executive transport they desired. The width would have been like nothing else over there.

[@jgsheehan8810]

@@jamesfrench7299 Isuzu sold the HQ Statesman in Japan for a couple of years. So that may also have been a consideration.

[@jamesfrench7299]

@@jgsheehan8810 well that’s an interesting tidbit I never knew!

[@jasonpeterfaivre4429]

I recall reading it was for the Japanese government for dignitaries etc ?

[@jamessmyth5949]

You mean this was a version of the Holden with a smaller engine fitted that drank more fuel than the 3•3 litre 6 that it originally came out with? The hilarious part of it was the 3•3 litre drank fuel like 5 litre V8.

[@davidhynd4435]

I read about these years ago (Wheels magazine?). My first thought is that it would simply have been too huge for Japanese roads. Let alone the unsuitability of a 13b rotary in such a beast. It would be interesting to know what led up to it even being developed. There must have been some significant investment involved.

[@sidblackman]

I've seen one outside a workshop in South Dunedin NZ, super rare car!

[@sv4851]

If it was white it will be one that I purchased in Japan & shipped to a dealer in NZ. I heard it ended up in the Dunedin area.

[@joshmeck9723]

whoa really? what shop? i live down those ways and would love to try catch a glimpse

[@sidblackman]

@@joshmeck9723 20 Otaki st, South Dunedin near Bunnings, if you look on Google street view the white Roadpacer can be seen parked out front.

[@sidblackman]

@@sv4851 It would be the same car, it's on Google street view- 20 Otaki st, South Dunedin.

[@sidblackman]

@@joshmeck9723 20 Otaki St, Dunedin. If you type in this address into google maps the Roadpacer can be seen on street view.

[@sv4851]

Also, another fact. The Holden Statesman was sold in Japan through Isuzu. But was still the 308 V8. As were a few Valiant Regals sold via Mitsubishi

[@philmcinerney6958]

It is a HJ . Wiper control was moved to the stalk in HX

[@mikeadams5141]

The poor old rotary and auto combo led to it being nicknamed the "Toad Racer"

[@MrRajsta]

Yeah . Made the originally fitted 202 slug seem like a powerhouse

[@danieltynan5301]

Needed a reduction gear between the engine and gearbox and a more powerful rotary...

[@MrRajsta]

@@danieltynan5301 you haven't that out very well.

[@camjohnson2004]

a Rotary in a Kingswood, now the Starfire 4cy has some competition for worst engine/car combos

[@shanemcminn3353]

Starfire AKA MisFire..

[@geoffobrien1300]

With an injected TT quad rotor this would be dreamy

[@datsun-510]

I got to drive one of these pacers at a Australian company that brings cars in from Japan , that was about 2012 , it was the original white and had all the fancy Japanese extras that were made for it , great looking car but it was definitely a slug , but for what it is I was seriously impressed to even see one in Australia

[@dave7856]

I have seen the Holdern/Mazda vehicle in Rangiora New Zealand and just amazing the amount of electrical wiring and pipes under the bonnet

[@heroesofthelandstrasse]

There is one in Germany in the Frey Mazda Museum. Beside the Mazda Bus, Rotary Pickup to truck and AZ-1 Mazda Speed.

[@jameshatton4211]

Holy crap a AZ-1 original or the Greddy 6 Re Amemyia with the 20B single turbo? The AZ-1 is very cool tiny little car but they were like 800cc 3 cylinder from memory? 1 of the most iconic Kei cars of that era all the same

[@heroesofthelandstrasse]

@jameshatton4211 The original AZ-1 with MazdaSpeed bodykit and the 660 cc turbo engine

[@jameshatton4211]

@heroesofthelandstrasse 660! Far out I knew they were small but that's motorbike small hahaha i liked that little blue one on Jay Leno's Garage

[@tonydrake462]

I remember seeing this odd thing in a magazine (wheels I think) when I was a kid in the 1970s.. Might still have it..

[@kromey111]

I’ve seen one at Jandakot Perth in a private collection

[@racingbrownsocks]

If you use google translate in your phone, it’s a quick and easy way to translate the Mazda brochure. From memory all Roadpacers have a speed warning buzzer when they go over 80 which was the freeway limit from memory. Waiting for some of the old hardcore Ausrotary crowd to chime in.

[@LesReeves]

What a unicorn. I had a White Kingswood HZ three on the tree & 253/4.2 V8 bench seat looking back that thing was a pig & fuel hog but petrol was cheap in the early eighties so I did not care

[@martinknope9805]

Can see clear front indicators and reflectors in rear bumper.....different from Holden

[@meirionwilliams-w1p]

It would be cool if you could do a side by side comparison to the holden version

[@Thiswasmeanttobeeasy]

I had a collector card in the 80s with a Mazda Road Pacer, I thought it was fake, as nobody else had heard of one and I saw no other info on them until much later. The one on the card was the same colour as yours.

[@jameshatton4211]

So not white? Blue? Hmmmm would love to see that card! Not cause I don't believe you but maybe because it might reveal something about any roadpacers that were donated back to Holden for display? I get a sneaking suspicion that perhaps they were this blue on the only ones that were not for Japanese market?

[@Thiswasmeanttobeeasy]

@@jameshatton4211 I'll look for it. I rarely throw things out.

[@Timberstuff]

Buddy the era of this was filled with innovation including the Valiant Chrysler had lights on the back of the mirror indicating the vacuum level ot the manifold

[@mattgbarr]

Do you have a link about the Valiant vacuum indicator? That sounds cool!

[@dougvannostrum9432]

I remember a story in a magazine years ago about a Holden Brougham that had been imported from Japan with a rotary engine and Mazda badges. It had been used as a diplomat's car if I remember rightly.

[@jasonking5539]

Looks like a HJ to me with the dash and the washer controller on the dash. HX HZ had it on the indicator stalk. I had a HJ Ute and sedan and the dashes are the old sweeper 1 piece cluster instead of the later dash’s.

[@scottburns2712]

I had the HJ Premier, very faded but similar colour. Had 308 with cam for torque and TH400, 2.78 single spinner diff, faux woodgrain GTS dash, no p/s but better ratio than kingas, no p/w but cloth stato interior with buckets, all original options. I had the collector card aswell. Been thinking about the Roadpacer for years with at least a 4 rotor boosted, would produce a wicked sound. Used to throw the Prem into reverse at 80kph, floor it n wait till it slows a bit but don't let it flick around till about 30kph, then slam into first and watch that smoke swallow the car as it now spins up both wheels. Was a tuff car but rust from coastal areas won 😢

[@jennyclackworthy8999]

Wow really a gorgeous car

[@grantfuller2016]

One of these is in the car museum in Nelson NZ ( last time I visited there ) .

[@tbone6561]

One in a Kaikouira museum to

[@Rx4Lyfe]

One also features a few times in the 'Uproar' movie set in Dunedin.

[@stuartferguson7947]

It’s still there next to another piece of 70s automotive history, a P76.

[@MarkNewphone]

Mazda should've put a 3 or 4 rotor in there

[@paulclements7537]

Hey all, I had the Aussie version with the 253 V8. I need to point out it is a HJ. HX was the next model in Australia with the pollution controls fitted. Then there was the last of the body type the HZ with the famous Radial Tuned Suspension (RTS).

[@paulclements7537]

The prior model was the HQ. The HQ was a vast improvement on the previous body shape. Subsequent models HJ, HX and HZ were facelifts of the HQ.

[@rjbiker66]

I think the roadpacer started during the HJ and then ended with HX. You can see the HX instruments in the brochure

[@brucejfalcke424]

That's a big car to pushed by a 13b rotary, these motors used lot of fuel just pushing the small RX3 & RX4 about, but fun to drive , very zippy , but haul 2ton of steal on the roads , you'd be fill up twice a day.

[@jarrodemery4631]

I saw two of these brought in about 30 years ago by a wreckers near Ipswich, Queensland; a blue one same as this and a metallic brown one. I can't remember if they said they brought them in from Japan, or maybe Singapore, or Malaysia? Long time ago. They both sold after a few weeks. They were a bit tired looking, but still appeared useable.

[@jgsheehan8810]

Thanks for the video. I had a HJ Premier for a while, which was a very nice comfortable car but no ball of fire with the 202. The RP would have been slower but the rotary was known for smoothness, which I guess is what they were after in the market they were aiming at. Mine had sound deadening under the bonnet, I was surprised to see that the RP didn’t.

[@RE1974]

In Japan at the time it was cheaper to register a 1.3L than larger displacement engines. The RP would have mainly been bought by business executives and higher-ups, not the general public, so the company would be paying the fuel bill. The driving experience of the rotary is largely down to the gear ratios and diff ratio.... Contemporary reviews at the time commented the RP has similar performance to the 202 with the fuel consumption of the 308. It would be interesting to see some performance comparisons in the future with a 202 Premier with tri-matric and the RP with the tired 13B rebuilt to stock specs with new seals, housings etc. The RP is probably still slower but I don't see the difference being that big. The 13B may be 1.3L capacity but it's definitely not "1.3L" in performance.

[@NathanNostaw]

Imagine if they had a factory option of an extra 1 or 2 more rotors. Now that would have made this combo an interesting and fun drive.

[@LeighPennington]

Many years ago i was in an old wrecking yard looking for pontiac parts and found a hz Holden with a factory 4 cyl Diesel engine

[@preston963]

It's a HJ Prem going by the das n grill.

[@troyprice143]

I saw one in southern japan in 1991. It was owned by a guy who owned a bar. It was black. It was definitely a HJ. I had a 78 HZ premier 202 red with a trimatic at the time. Velour bucket front seats. No ps or ac. One side mirror. But rts. It towed a boat as good as my Dads new diesel Landcruiser and cruised the highway almost beautifully. 30mpg. The engine and gearbox were smooth as. No rattles. I always wanted to put a supranational 5 speed box in it. Still miss it! It never missed a beat… $50k or more today for one…

[@tonyh4233]

Never knew, good onya mate, greatly appreciate you sharing, Happy New Year for 2025!

[@MrMoth0102]

That looks like an HJ speedo to me.

[@lesleypaterson1463]

I stopped and looked at a white one in Adelaide a few years back. It was in a car repairer's or car yard, I can't remember. It looked a little rough but intact.

[@Seiskid]

Thanks for showing us this. Grew up with kingswoods so I still have a soft spot for them. This is a wild combo. Like you say the straight six would have made a lot more sense.

[@mikevale3620]

A rotary has a way lower 1.3 L cubic centimetre (cc) capacity than the 6, hence way lower government charges. Kei cars are a thing in Japan in part for this reason.

[@garyzimmer4149]

Of course, a Red 6 is a better engine for a HJ, I agree, but there are other factors. 1. Japan introduced unleaded in 1975, and a Red 6 didn't have hard valve seats. 2. The Japanese like technology, and a pushrod 6 from 1964 that didn't even have EFi or a crossflow head wouldn't impress them. 3. Having poured a load of money into the rotary, Mazda would have wanted to build up its market presence. That is my best guess.

[@D800Lover]

I was working at the Pagewood plant in Sydney when they were making this model Holden Kingswood. Those were the days when the front seat was a bench seat. We won't ever see that again.

[@Philly-lq6zr]

And colum shift 😊

[@nickmoore6727]

An old workmate ran cab depot Sydney from 60s including the days of XD Falcons. He ran a diesel engine test model that was built up .As a trial idea.

[@gjmob]

I remember at the time the biggest problem that Mazda struggled with was the diff noise from the banjo diff. Less of a problem with the HJ Holden Premier, as it had an unrefined engine, so that you couldn't hear the diff so much over the engine noise. I became an apprentice at a Holden dealer in 1979 for the HZ's and VB's.

[@jamesfrench7299]

The rotary isn’t what I’d call that refined though could rev to the sky without putting a leg out of bed.

[@crownroyal2155]

This is a truly mythical car, thank you

[@cadifan]

It wasn't based on HX-HZ, it was based on HJ-HX. The one you have is an HJ identified by the HJ dashboard.

[@adrianleeds3468]

I remember seeing a small book in a bookshop titled ‘Greatest Automotive Lemons’ or some such. This car featured.

[@nowhere529]

Blew my mind when I 1st heard about them. Fascinating piece of Holden history.

[@paulcamilleri182]

Friend of mine who works at the Melbourne docks, showed me this car two days ago, unreal

[@philnorbury9032]

I think they went to Thailand also? I think the horizontal speedo is out of an HJ. Great video thanks.

[@DanielCPhillips]

I actually love the styling of this and wonder what might have happened if the Japanese had fitted a higher horsepower motor such as the R26B, which in race trim produced 700 bhp at 9000 rpm. Toyota Century V12's are collectors items that literally give modern vehicles a run for their money in terms of reliability, comfort and class, so these cars were up against some very stiff competition. The extra bits like the guard mounted rear vision mirrors and side indicators actually make sense, and probably should have been standard accessories here.

[@Noneya76]

There is one in Kaikora New Zealand at Route 66 Cafe I believe it was called. Stopped there on way to Burt Munro Challenge, was amazed at museum they have.

[@Josh.c.144_knight_Errant]

Yep it's real I seen it in a magazine in the late 90's...a collaboration with Mazda, Holden back in the day.😊

[@mockbattles]

The car museum in Nelson NZ has one.

[@graemechristall5724]

Is it the same one that is in Kaikora or another one. I never had seen one until I stopped at the Cafe museum in Kaikora in June last year

[@Noneya76]

I saw the one in Kaikora also but didn't notice one in Nelson.​@@graemechristall5724

[@JonathanTamm]

I have an 8 litre 62 seater bus motor home conversion at 16,000kg and that gets 20 liters per 100 km 20% better I did my apprentice at GMH Woodville SA as the Kingswood finished up and worked on the tooling for the commodore and Camira.

[@FlyingKiwi1968]

I did come across a rarer Holden VZ 2004 dude. Body sent to Hawaii, made as a LHD Chevrolet sedan. Was imported into NZ and had to be converted to a RHD The engine bay was a nightmare

[@luv2dou2]

AM/FM radio is something Holden's didn't get until the HZ and it only came in the Statesman's, every other HQ-WB(except WB statesman) model had AM only if it had a radio. Some other unique things not mentioned are they have a speed chime at 90 kph and it has white reverse lights mounted in the bumper, regular HJ X & Z just had the rear indicators all come on for there reverse lights.

[@peterhawkins4612]

Yes my parents bought a brand new kingswood wagon in 1976 no radio at all which begs the question how basic was the Belmont.

[@jamesfrench7299]

Why I always admired the XC Falcon range for being first of the big three to have proper reverse lights -on the sedans anyway! Belmont was very lowly equipped.

[@MichaelBraid-xf3dw]

We had a very rare Belmont an Elmont the letter B broke off yes very basic without an AM radio no arm rests and shorter bench seat than the Kingswood

[@garyzimmer4149]

Thank you for this, I had heard about the Roadpacer , never seen one in detail. I would have loved to see Brock race one at Bathurst.

[@jimmybe64]

Slow underpowered heavy car. What would you race it against?

[@garyzimmer4149]

Falcon GTs, of course. Half the crowd would like that. Remember in 77 when the Ford pit hung out the sign "Form finish 1-2", the Mazda / Holden Bitzer Team could have signaled "Form finish last - second last". :-)

[@jimmybe64]

@garyzimmer4149 wake up boy your dreaming. Brocky would have hung crystals off the mirrors and hovered over mountains and ended up in Sydney. The crystals helped Brocky rid himself of General Motors Australia restrictions. He wanted to live his life without them and drive a Cobra.

[@garyzimmer4149]

Well we know the Roadpacer has nothing to do with Brock or his chiropractor. There's no polarizer.

[@jimmybe64]

@garyzimmer4149 it might have helped him and the car. Poor silly bugger. Ruined his reputation. Mad as a hatter, he was. General Motors Australia had to get away from crazy 🤪 Pete.

[@fruitopia6798]

26 litres per 100km, yikes thats expensive, a tank of fuel would cost about $150 at current prices and would take you only 280km. 99kw sounds crazy, thats barely half what the V8s had, dont they have engineers to design these cars, what were they thinking, maybe the emissions requirements were very different in Japan. Apparently most of them were purchased by government departments as limos to drive politicians and visiting dignitaries around so they probably didnt care about the lack of performance and they werent paying for the fuel. When they tried to sell them after a few years they were worth virtually nothing in the private market so most of them got junked.

[@jessb4535]

Considering the 308 was 5.0 and had around 175kw and the 13B is a 1.3 with 99kw i think it did quite well to have more then half the power being less than a quarter of the size. It wasn't build to be fast. was build to be smooth and slow. Rotary is known for its smooth power.

[@fruitopia6798]

Its also the torque figure that makes the difference, the Premier was a heavy car and all those extra features added extra weight, the rotary engines were designed for light cars with a manual gearbox, the V8s had amazing torque at any revs, the Roadpacer with a 3 speed automatic you would need to change down to a lower gear and turn the aircond off to get up a hill, the car would be worth $$$money even in 2025 but you would need to change the engine to something that doesn't cost a weeks wages worth of fuel to get to the shops and back. in other words basically any 21st century fuel injected engine.

[@jamesaustralian9829]

What a bizzare combination, certainly unique thats for sure.

[@stuartferguson7947]

I’ve photographed one in a automotive museum in Nelson NZ

[@Philly-lq6zr]

That book cool to look at what mean as interiors ,

About 30 years ago a work mate went to Osaka Japan for a machinery show and bought back a car market mag knowing I was a car guy and it had one of those in it that had us talking about it for months at work trying to work out what the FK was going on with it having a rotary , well you finally solved it mate ! I have 3 questions still after seeing and hearing it tho . 1. How did they get a rotary to sound like a 202 .lol 2. How did they get the starter motor to sound like a red 6 one and 3. who the fk thought a heavy duty 10 bolt salisbury diff was needed behind a rotary ? lol

[@kitemett]

never knew this. Epic vids. Thanks :)

[@proautojapan6152]

I live in japan for over 30 years… never ever seen one.. i have seen and driven most. Thats saying something! Wow

[@geoffcourt7241]

Very interesting car! I've only really heard about them a few years ago but have done a little bit of research since, apparently there was a story that Mazda was looking to dip it's toes in the waters of the large car market and used this as a starting point, weather its true or not i dont know. Whilst back in the 90s i had a 308 HX Kingswood which I still drive today my partner then had a series 1 RX7 which I became pretty conversant with, doing the majority of the service and maintenance work on it myself. From memory all that cowling or casing around the exhaust system did serve a certain purpose, but I cant recall what purpose it was right now.

[@marvin4827]

Loved the Holden Monaro of that era...❤

[@cocojinx9193]

Love looking at premium older cars, this is really unique

[@jamesfrench7299]

Interior took years off the Holden version! That inviting bone velour makes all the difference.

[@Your.Uncle.AngMoh]

Mazda putting this up against the Century and President seems somewhat silly, but they've added a lot of extra kit over a Premier you would have bought here. As you say, it would still have come up short- and that's without me Googling up what a 1974/5 Century would have had as standard equipment. If Holden still existed and was producing the Caprice, they would not hold a candle to a modern Century or President. The Century is not called the "Japanese Rolls Royce" without good reason. I think they are around USD130,000 (210,000 Aussie dollerydos ) in Japan for the 2025 model. The Century SUV- their take on the Bentayga and Cullinan- will be closer to half a million Aussie in Japan. I'd forgotten that only 800-odd Roadpacers were ever produced. I first learned of them in 1976 when I was given a book that listed all the world's car models in them with one photograph and a list of basic specifications. Even then, I thought a Holden Premier with the engine out of a Mazda RX4 meant it would have sucked petrol at a great rate and wouldn't have had enough power to pull your granny off the opt or push a greasy sausage off a plate. One thing to note is that in Japan, wool seat covers are the premium option, while leather is somewhat plebian. Very nice in a cold Japanese winter, but not so nice in Australia with 30 to 40 degree temperatures in our summer.

[@harrywalker968]

ausie cars were lucky to get a radio.. thats why i buy yank cars, or european.. holdens suk..

[@Kiwibkk-f3p]

I worked in Japan 1999 and saw a RP in a used car dealer, definitely existed.

[@andysaunders3708]

A guy I worked with had one, same colour and everything. It was cool, but he said it was no ball of fire, and drank gas like there was no tomorrow...

[@NZMOPAR]

i am sure there was one at a car show last year in NEW Zealand down south I think its on one of my videos

[@67hr74]

The late Paul Terry had one in his Extravaganza museum in Albany. WA

[@barryphillips7098]

i doubt even the 13B rotary would have sufficient torque to pull a big heavy sedan around. The rotary can be expanded so a four rotor rather two would be much better! Pretty sure Holdens of this era had a full chassis. Fords were like the modern chassis/body in one!!

[@JosephCowen-fz8vj]

The rotary in this car was rated at the same HP as the 202 ci Six but it only had half the Torque of the 202 .

[@jessb4535]

I doubt you know what your talking about.

[@jessb4535]

@@JosephCowen-fz8vj 13b = 186 torque 202 red = 228 torque hmmm 186 x 2 = 372 NOT 228 but good math

[@JosephCowen-fz8vj]

@jessb4535 yes he does , it was a 12 A , lmfao he said " even a 13 B would not have the torque " please read b4 opening mouth ! You let everyone know your real IQ 🤣🤣🤣

[@barryphillips7098]

@@jessb4535 And who asked for Your opinion????????

[@GAGL.Evolution]

HJ grille and HJ instrument panel 😊

[@StuFletch68]

There was one in the museum at Whiteman park at one stage

[@AntiCoruptionCentral]

Red?

[@joehuaelwood9753]

Wonder what rear gearing they had i once owed a mazda cosmo with a auto 3 speed 12a in it was super low geared drank fuel wasn't fast but was silky-smooth to drive

[@jashugg]

Based on your numbers, it seems the max power was similar to the red 6, but the torque was way lower, so it required lots of revs to get anywhere which wouldn’t suit the characteristics sought by buyers of a typical luxo barge. Definitely not a wafter!

[@JonathanTamm]

They had a 3 speed auto with no manual avalible

[@TheBillzilla]

I saw one in person many years ago. A very rare beast here.

[@golfy808]

There was a deal struck between Mazda and GM.. GM swapped these bodies for rotary technology.. and they were mainly built for high end markets

[@craigavery4934]

Street machine magazine did an article on these cars back in the 80s.

[@jeffydahmer-ln6go]

Looks like an Oldsmobile with a few tweaks and Mazda badges! So strange... dang!

[@supertoastboi3231]

Seen one in bendigo, couldnt belive the sound was coming from it 😅

[@ClwnJuNkY]

There used to be one in Tauranga Bright organge !

[@geneva760]

NEATO - heard of many many years ago - but never seen one

[@Circlotron]

The box under the floor at the left of the screen at 7:00 is different to normal.

[@ChrisTopher-cy8ph]

Bloody good nick

[@gav6808]

There are heaps in NZ my mate told me he worked at a dealership years ago and when he found out they were rotarys he thought wtf. A heavy car with a rotary from factory.

[@glenndodson1914]

Yes extremely rare and I have driven one once, surprised the shit out of me when I lifted the bonnet.

[@BlairRedington-jp4jn]

That is a very rare car what were they thinking putting a rotary in a kings wood

[@mikevale3620]

Read the comments.

[@Raw-i7h]

@@BlairRedington-jp4jn True bro, terrible idea

[@nikonboy07]

Guy I work with just imported one into Adelaide from Japan. They should have made an RX2 with a Holden 308 instead?😊

[@jessb4535]

you do know what the R stands for in RX2 dont you ?

[@paulk6824]

Best holden ever built!

[@peppersteakpie4986]

So fucking cool, basically a rotary Kingswood.

[@LVNITUPM8]

Let the lebbos near it and it will be putting out 800 horse power.

[@leehorne6443]

Fully sick

[@markhamze154]

Rotary engines are fast, but they can't pull heavy weight. I put A 13b in a Honda 800 and nothing came close.

[@jameshatton4211]

Funny comment. Definitely an upper cut compliment - very Aussie well done. And the Lebs can't hate either cause we all know how true the statement is. They will likely 20B swap the thing and make 1000 just to prove a point? I mean who gold plates every single metallic surface on a drag car (even the clutch inside the bell housing FFS)..... Is it a shock that it would be the Australian Lebanese rev head community? Not even a shock let's just candy paint and gold plate a twin turbo Ferrari "street car" like it's a tax write off..... Cause more 6 enough people see the bling at the drags so gotta drive that sh!t on the street. We do remember what happens to auto salon guys when they get the HP bug? They bring the culture to the track in almost expected fashion. Very extravagant like Lebanese Pastry shop. No sh!t if you are an Aussie and never experienced it you'll understand them a little bit. Nothing short of perfection 👌 and maybe a tad extravagant. Lebs are addicted to wow factor. In the 2000s Lebs world put Xibit to shame for how many TV screens you can fit in a CRX. Extremists they maybe but channeled correctly we have a very unique culture. No "Ewwww brother yuck" 🤣

[@jameshatton4211]

Btw I'm as white Aussie as can be but I'm part of the rotary community and well those dudes are among us. Best thing to create unity among cultures is cars and if it's rotaries than so be it 👌

[@jameshatton4211]

@@markhamze154 Or give it to Aussie Jay from Low Standard and he'll put a quad rotar in that thing and send it around the track sideways with tyres blazing...... Jay built the quad rotar VL Commodore at last Summer nats

[@jameshatton4211]

I did know of a satin black RoadPacer that was an original body but was not original motor, it had a S4 13B turbo that was put in it in Japan. The car was on air bags and white walls and was pretty tough. This would have been in the mid 2000s-2010ish period. I believe the owner of this RoadPacer was a pilot and he also had a wild build very old school white coloured Mercedes Benze 2 door with a big HP 13B Cosmo engine with a wild port and massive turbo and also on air bags. I think he lived somewhere West of Toowoomba and got to see the Mercedes in at a Rotary workshop in Toowoomba (not sure if it is still around?) Called Taz Rotaries or Taz Performance? Maybe if someone knows how to contact those blokes you may be able to track down the black Road Pacer; cause it may still be around? I do recall that the guy that owned the Road Pacer was getting p!ssed at Bogans throwing beer bottles at his car when he took it cruising so that's why he built the Mercedes so he could open a can on the bogans at will and often took the savage out on weekends to go slaughter bogans for fun

[@Willyz6]

Cool car same you couldn't get mad Mike to put a 20b in ii😂

[@radioactive4388]

I sent one out the front of the shop I was working in , I seen the Mazda badge an old couple was driving it , still a local car if he hasn't sold it

[@dapinchyfpv4219]

They put the rotary in them for emmisions rule of that time period fyi Very cool find only ever seen one in real life so awesome to see

[@johnbell2677]

I saw one in a car yard in Rotorua NZ in 2006, I'm sure it was an HQ, that calf shit brown with a white roof, it was a sunday so i couldn't get in for a wee geez, I often thought i was seeing things

[@martinsmallwood9605]

I remember one going though the auction at turners I am sure it was also calf shit brown and only had two headlights so not the same model as this holden .

[@johnbell2677]

@martinsmallwood9605 yeah the one i saw was more like a kingswood

[@accadacastkr4912]

fancy that japan said it needed alot of work esp when they were making datsuns😂😂

[@instagraham8]

I gather they didn’t use any of the Australian engines as Japan already converted to unleaded petrol in the early 1970’s

[@commodoreman1]

@@instagraham8 Great point!

[@jamesfrench7299]

Pity Mazda hadn’t developed a V6 until the 1980s in the 929. That would have worked ok in this.

[@johnbell2677]

I think it had to have a certain % of Japanese manufactured parts, that was my understanding

[@harrywalker968]

@@commodoreman1 thats nothing compared to american cars of the 50, . 60,s.. we never had anything in this country.. base pos.. i have a memory of someone saying back in the 70,s. that holdens went to japan as taxi,s.?. not luxury cars.. & not with rubbish rotaries.. holdens killed themselve by not inovating. plus the bs aus gov, let cheap imports in.. & they still sell all our wealth o/s. for fk all, & we get nothing from it.. a lot goes back to the u.k. still, seeing they own aus. still.. so why dont we have free medical, like the u.k.. ???.. cos they dont care about us, just the minerals.. ect.. [ i have a 73 challenger. 340. r/t.. it has seat belt warning.. ].. ausie.. mates 72 cadilac, had auto wipers, elec. bench. we were lucky to get a factory heater.. or radio...

[@harrywalker968]

@@jamesfrench7299 ford taught mazda how to make cars. even today, mazdas are still based off a ford focus.. german...