1972 S1 SNA Mazda 'Capella 616' NAB Series 1600

[karsaz.engineers]

and here I am again thinking of my woes...

I didnt care for old capellas back in time - their parts were dirt cheap - way cheaper than my 808 parts. If I had just collected them in a box I would have been flying in the blue.

sure you would have, even if you would have collected 808 parts instead of capellas'
these are the cars which were scarce in the first place when introduced in the pakistan market thus not many parts either but have had you hoarded some, you would be in the blues no doubt

[karsaz.engineers]

continuing with the exterior details on the pella

rear license plate light there but would need a NOS replacement just like my luce as the condition on this one is bad with one mounting hole of the cover cracked

even though the front grille surround alum trim is there (3 pcs. missing the bonnet lip piece) but is in bad nick as have been broke and been patched up with rivets/screws. would need complete replacement set. the three present pcs are easier to source, the lip piece is a tough nut to crack but we will see

front guards side indicators would need replacement with NOS units, look to be same as 1200/1300/1500 ones but will give them a thorough look for part # etc.

front indicators/parking lights have already been sourced in NOS so no worries there. front bumper (pressed style) looks to be pretty straight just a couple of minor dings here and there and paled out chrome. i am guessing this will buff right out with a little bit of elbow grease and metal polish

front stone tray (in which the front indicator assemblies go) is sourced NOS as well and so are the front guards so nothing worrisome there either

[karsaz.engineers]

all three s1 capella sedan deluxe front grill badges are there (thanks almighty, all three are hard to find these days) though the PO poorly tried to restore them by removing their respective finishes (centre M badge is chrome finsih, deluxe & 1600 badges are gun metal gray with gray base) and putting in some white with a QALAM - these shall buff right out when the time comes and will be restored to original specs

though the headlights are there but are dirty and intact. i still have to check if these are working because they are pricey to buy. if these are working, 3M h/l restoration kit will make them as good as new. are original 'stanley' - mind you these are different than 1200/1300 and other mazda models as are larger in size than 1200/1300 ones and have a different front glass profile in terms of design (read triangular side profile)

[karsaz.engineers]

front windscreen chrome moulding is in good nick and will polish right up - though the polishing would need to be done with it installed else being alum, it would bend/break

its the areas below the front windscreen (a-pillars) and above windscreen which are a point of concern because these are the areas prone to rust on the pellas/rx2 and this one is not any different

front cowel grills are in good nick and so are the windscreen washing spigots though both would need refinishing in order to look as good as new

parking unattended while capella was for sale have had its consequences, broken pass side wiper pivot shaft is one of those. though the wiper arm/blade came with the car but inside cabin instead of their original spot

[karsaz.engineers]

s1 vented bonnet is not as bad as i had initially thought but i would preferably replace it with the NOS s2 bonnet that has already been sourced

bonnet latch & pin are in good nick and will buff right out with some sand blasting and zinc plating

roof rain gutter trim is all there and in very good nick on both sides - a deluxe feature. bailey channels and window chrome trim on the door windows is mint as well though would need polishing/buffing

and a close up shot of the tow hook which too is in good nick. would be as good as new with blasting/powder coating. though i dont plan to keep it on but have decided to hold it for any future needs as these are hard to come by even abroad. it mounts to the chassis rail ends under the rear bumper, very neatly thus i dont believe its a custom job. will try and find about it more if it ever was offered as an accessory

[karsaz.engineers]

continuing with the details on the pella - engine bay
altogether, its a mess which seems to have resulted from years of neglect and incompetence of the guys who have attended to it

engine block itself is original to the car. chamber/oil pan is leaking, so is the top cover. engine itself looks to be in good compression and there is no blow too though i still have to confirm it using a compression gauge. oil levels are all good too

slapped on with a datsun carb (i believe), the mileage on the OHC is a bad one. could be lot better with a proper nikki carb and tune up. CNG installation must have had its effects too, to what extent, i still need to check as well. alternator is an aftermarket unit and is not mitsubishi. looks to be honda?

original air filter housing has been swapped out for an aftermarket unit to accommodate the CNG kit venturi. a hack which is currently being reversed as sourced some original factory capella air filter housing in australia.

coolant reservoir bottle and radiator both are missing caps. radiator would preferably need a replacement. fuel pump is mounted on the pass side at the inside wheel well - wrong location as it should go in the boot. also the fuel pump is an aftermarket unit and is not mitsubishi

wiring in the engine bay is another mess that would need careful correction. battery box is missing altogether and will need to be sourced

more on the engine bay when i get to see everything in detail

and some pics of the original factory capella air filter housing that has been sourced with a borrowed pic to show how it would look once installed

brake booster looks to be original though i am not quite sure. will need more r&d. brake oil reservoir however, doesn't look original i am not so sure either about the cylinder if its original

[karsaz.engineers]

boot in good general nick except that its missing the fuel filler neck pipe, a fuel tank inspection cover and plastic covers of the rear shock towers. surface rust mostly. rear tail lights still have their plastics in tact! no tools/tool bag came with the car unfortunately

since these pics were taken, CNG cylinder was removed along with piping/bracket/nozzel

and here is a reference pic of the missing plastic shock tower covers - top left

[karsaz.engineers]

Mazda Capella 616 Factory Service Manual PDF Link now added to opening post of the thread, in case someone needs to download it for their project

[karsaz.engineers]

Only if one had access to a time machine And I just read the part where you mentioned that only the parts would cost around a million Does the figure include the cost of the 12a as well? That is a serious amount going into the project and should turn out to be a gem in shaa Allah (one of the gems i.e.)

this should give you a fair bit of idea of how pricey this project could be if put together correctly (and that is exactly what i plan on doing). its an ad for ONE front grille surround trim - two are required originally for two guards and then there are two more pieces along the length of the grille. one on the bonnet lip and one below the grille, between the grille and the stone tray

a complete set is hard to come by even in used condition, a full NOS set looks to be un-imaginable to find at this stage

part # on the sticker is 0305.99.713

and this is where it belongs on the car

[karsaz.engineers]

a similar fate awaits for my pella - rx2 pics borrowed from johnny in UK who is running an awesome restomod, one of the best out there at the moment

[karsaz.engineers]

little history fill in on the capella

according to its return file, in february 1976, the car was a direct import by the owner in karachi via her daughter in the UK. was registered in pakistan in mid 1977. was used by the elderly owner for some time before it changed hands in 2002 was picked up by a mazda enthusiast in karachi who seem to have stored it for a long period, thinking he might one day restore it but in the end sold it and it passed onto another mazda nut who then sold it again in february 2014 to the current PO and then it was passed onto me in january 2016. but this history is not all verified as of yet as the hand changes from the original importer are little sketchy for now. but i am onto verifying the history and working on it still. will have more update(s) on history whenever i have any

this following 'mazda spotting' pic seems to be of the same capella when it was parked somewhere in hill park karachi back in 2015 whether if its the same capella, is still being verified as i have written to previous owner(s) to verify if its the same car. if its the same, i would know that the two POs are Faraz Arif @farazarif ? & Ahmed Nayyer (karachi) and if its not the same car, then we might have a "fifth" known capella which is still out there to be found and looks in a good nick too - even though the pic is from 2015

someone who knew about the above cited car in person has now been able to identify that this particular car in the pic is actually the car i bought. thanks abdul rafay you've been a great help

[OwaisYunus1]

this should give you a fair bit of idea of how pricey this project could be if put together correctly (and that is exactly what i plan on doing). its an ad for ONE front grille surround trim - two are required originally for two guards and then there are two more pieces along the length of the grille. one on the bonnet lip and one below the grille, between the grille and the stone tray

a complete set is hard to come by even in used condition, a full NOS set looks to be un-imaginable to find at this stage

part # on the sticker is 0305.99.713

and this is where it belongs on the car

Wow! That is really expensive! It may be expensive to do everything properly but I'm sure the joy that it would give once done would not be comparable in monetary terms.

[karsaz.engineers]

Wow! That is really expensive! It may be expensive to do everything properly but I'm sure the joy that it would give once done would not be comparable in monetary terms.

i concur with what you just said. the joy of driving a correctly put together classic is matchless, that is exactly why we restore these beauties to their glories. it might be expensive for once but then these beauties are good for another couple of decades if put together right.

i am maintaining a worksheet on this rebuild, like luce, so we would know what it really cost once we are done what we just started. will share the cost if there need be once its all over

[karsaz.engineers]

turns out almost all of my dash would need replacing except the glove compartment as either things are broke or not in a tidy enough a condition which would help with the quality of the final finish of the project. no compromises there so first required bits list sent out to wreckers in australia for hunt - heard back from a wrecker who seems to have all these bits and is sorting them out for pricing and packaging - fingers crossed. i hope its not billed at a price which i cant immediately pay

s1 sedan steering wheel
dash side vents w/ levers/knobs L&R
dash cluster
centre dash (sedan)
A-pillar plastics above dash
under dash parcel shelf (no ash tray needed)
console
all the heater/blower/defogger piping under dash
fuse box cover
bonnet opening cable with pull knob
ignition barrel w/ key (palstic fastening nut at the tip)
fuel tank with all the piping/mounting hardware
air filter with all the piping
four window cranks
four door arm rests
roof cabin light
C-pillar fins in chrome finish L&R
good used nikki carb
complete lock barrels w/ mounting hardware/key (doors/boot/fuel flap)
rear shock towers plastics in boot L&R
factory driver's door mirror
pair of factory sunvisors
spare factory steel rim x1

[karsaz.engineers]

before we could continue with the details of the interior on the pella, would want to share this rare capella assembly line photo - used the word 'rare' because i haven't come across another capella assembly line photo beside this as of yet. plz note that all the cars pictures are jdm capellas. you might also want to note the super rare factory fog lights which were only offered to jdm. yep you guessed that right, these are all s1 capellas thus one of the earliest lot on the production line

a better shot of the fog lights - thanks to josef who took years to find a pair that you see in this pic

[karsaz.engineers]

one quick pic of the compliance plate, is all faded but still there. i plan to replace it with a repro which are done exceptionally well by juan of vintage rotary decals. and before you ask, yes will safely store the original with the documents file of the pella

here is a specimen of his work

[karsaz.engineers]

continuing with the details on the pella - the dashboard

first up is another hack - the ignition barrel is original s1 but the ignition switch is a suzuki fx(?) implant. steering column cover hover is mint

this is how an early s1 pella barrel looks like

and one from owner's manual

[karsaz.engineers]

quite a few bads in this single pic - fuse box cover is missing, h/l relay is aftermarket, tab next to fusebox on the left is a mount for aftermarket ignition switch and the tab to right bottom of pic is the bonnet opening cable mount which is not only broke but is also missing the cable altogether

here is how a correct fuse box cover should look like

this is how a NOS cable would look like that goes onto this tab

everything mentioned here being sorted as we speak, hopefully have all these bits in by end of march

[karsaz.engineers]

today's score: 13"x10" - 4x114.3 MAG slotted aka beanies with 4" lip
these wont fit under the capella without structural mods (read shortened differential/axles) as the maximum width that fits under the rear arches on pellas is 8" (some even say 8.5")
will polish these up and will hold onto these until another application as good wheels as these are hard to come by everyday

not impressed with the chrome? try flat black to see their true potential

[karsaz.engineers]

steering column turn indicator stalk and the adjoined headlight/hazard switches seem to be in very good nick - further test only when its stripped

dash cluster though looks good in a birds eye view but its not. it is broke at the right bottom corner and is badly patched - this pic wont show it properly but will get a better pic showing the repairs later. also the trip meter knob is missing. speedo and gauges look good though speedo is not working as is missing speedo cable. warning lights are all good. i am replacing it with a mint unit from australia as you would know by now

center dash though looks good but isn't. its not cut up at the radio spot though is filled in with a cheap plastic radio blank plate. choke cable is missing (the visible vacant hole on the bottom right). the aftermarket switch next to light on bottom right is basically there to hide an ugly broken dash hole. heater/cooler/defogger control levers are missing the knobs. map light though looks good but not sure if its working. this piece too is going to be replaced with a mint unit from aus

glove compartment is the only part on the dash aside ashtray which is completely there though not in a mint condition as the vinyl has faded over years and the mazda badge has lost its chrome but all there. glove compartment lid lock has a battered lock, thinking to replace it too to put in a complete dash except ashtray. lets see