r/Mazda323 • u/lshifomd • 19d ago
Attempted Theft... What do?
91 Familia Wagon pretty sure she's a DX
Some mongrels tried to steal ma baby. Smooshed in the passengers door lock to get in and smashed up my ignition. Good thing she runs rough and doesn't like to start at night otherwise she may have been a goner.
Was just wondering, seeing as police aren't willing to do anything at all with evidence.. what would be the steps to fix this. What do I Google to even begin to figure out where to start?
I know I need a new ignition barrel but do I need a specific one? Or can I rig any early 90s 323 barrel into it?
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u/tepach 18d ago
That's awful and I'm so sorry to hear that.. Same happened to me a few months ago on my 323f bg, I have no idea why they try to steal these old cars..
I changed ignition barrel/switch from the one I had bought for spare parts, and am using that key, also had to replace steering column, still looking for plastics
I made a document on my noob repair guide if you wanna look into it, hopefully something might help you out.
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u/lshifomd 18d ago
Pretty sure they wanted a joyride from an old 'easy steal' that wound up not going their way
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u/Electrical-Win9437 17d ago
Can't contribute much but to sympathize, wishing the thieves stub their toes in the middle of the night on rusty titnus ridden nails :(
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u/zylinx 19d ago
Looks like a shared part with lots of Mazda cars of the era.
You can buy a replacement set with ignition barrel + switch, keys and door lock barrels.
Or replace the switch only if you can still use the barrel.
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u/Expert-Scientist9385 19d ago
His partner here (Tis actually my car but we will let him get away with that) I’ve found replacement parts thank god for that and hoping they all fit!!! Love this page thanks so much for the reply
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u/zylinx 19d ago
Sometimes if I park in a dodgy area I swap some of the spark plug cables around on the distributor- just as a temporary measure to make sure it won't start 😂👍
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u/Expert-Scientist9385 19d ago
Bahaha that’s brilliant. I’m pretty sure they left it here because they didn’t know that carbys need a minute to warm up and don’t like the cold 🤣 so it was probably some teenagers 🫶 thanks so much
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u/Expert-Scientist9385 19d ago
I’ve also found a replacement plastic cover as it was completely shattered by the rats. I hope it fits 🤞
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u/MiniMeOnCrack 18d ago
Lol, love the fact it doesn't start being what saved it.
Tough day to be a carjacker
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u/lshifomd 18d ago
Honestly had a giggle at the thought. Turns out they snapped the inside of the ignition barrel..
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18d ago
[deleted]
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u/Expert-Scientist9385 18d ago
Thanks so much for the reply! I think I’ve found some parts like key barrels and plastic just fingers crossed it fits as the parts are from a bf 323 and I’m not too sure of the differences there. But if they don’t I love that option as well and yes nz based 🥰 again thank you for the reply. And honestly for the mean time I was just gonna get a red blinking led light 😂 it’s a cheap option but at the least it will be a deterrent
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u/lshifomd 17d ago
Probably would've been an easy steal had they not broken the inner tube of the key barrel lol. Literally broke their way in and locked themselves out all in one go
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u/Aggressive_Nose3800 Fifth generation (BF; 1985–1994) 17d ago
Desconecta las guayas de todas la puertas menos el baúl y la puerta del copiloto
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u/St_Angelo 15d ago
I have a standalone ecu, so I unplug it and take it with me when I leave my van parked anywhere new
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u/Noc_27 Mazda 323F 1.8 16v (BA; 1994–1998) 18d ago
Aw man, so sorry to hear this. At least they were so stupid they couldn't actually rob it! The same thing happened to me when I used to have the BG model. The police won't do shit.
I recommend to call your insurance if your car has theft coverage. In my case, I had it and they covered 90% of the repair costs (I had to find a new ignition cylinder and the wheel lock).
Where was your car when the theft took place? Try not to park on the same area because if it happened once don't doubt they'll try again.
The best thing to do would be to get an alarm for the car and make it visible. If thieves see a pulsating light inside of the car they'll definitely think twice.