1973 Mazda 808 wagon - Murphy's Law
Chris Murphy Old Schools All With His RX808 Wagon
By Matt Greenop, Photography by Alastair Ritchie (ARL)
The deep and lustrous paint turned a few heads at Jamboree-Orion Silver applied by Chris's mate Daniel Barlow. It's a top job, which wouldn't give away the fact that Daniel did it on Saturday at midnight after a few more libations than most painters tend to neck before they spray an aspiring show car.
The wagon's silver-on-silver look is finished off with a set of Simmons FR 17-inch rims wrapped in super-sticky Toyo T1S rubber, and firmly affixed to terra firma with a KYB coilover set at the front and a strengthened and flattened leaf set at the rear.
The other biggest look-creator has to be the major lack of a factory interior and the dirty great I-mean-business rollcage. For a bit more custom fun, the dash has been made from scratch in aluminum, and the RX-3 centre console in stainless steel, which sits between a pair of Autosport Kevlar race seats. The door trims are yet another unique feature of the 808-black over grey with stainless steel tribal-inspired rotor-design inserts. Auto Meter competition gauges monitor oil pressure, water temp, boost, fuel, RPM and speed.
Chris is already onto the next project-a full show and go RX-2 sedan, with plans to sink the wagon into the low 11-second range at the strip. And if he and his hugely enthusiastic and talented mates can pull something like this stunning wagon together on a tight budget in a mere ten weeks, then chances are this won't be the only lesson that Mr Murphy will be teaching us this year.
By Matt Greenop
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