Breakaway bolts

I will at some point need to replace the ignition in my RX-7- a theif knifed it and I need to use a screwdriver and the key to get the ignition to turn. It's mounted to the steering column by two "breakaway bolts." According to the Hayne's manual (stop laughing! I kill you!), I will need to remove the bolts with a small Vise-Grip plier, then get two new breakaway bolts to mount the new ignition. I've never heard of breakaway bolts before. Are these available at hardware stores or will I need to special-order them from Mazda?

Special order, or do without.

They deter theft. You will destroy them taking them off, and they are a pain in the tail.

You could probably use regular bolts to re-install, you just won't have that deterrent.

I agree. Breakaway bolts have been used for at least 30+ years. I owned a 1974 Capri that used them to attach the ignition/steering lock to the steering collum. .

Take a dremel (or any small portable gutting wheel-- I actually used an angle grinder with cutting wheel attachment. It made quick work of them) and slot them. Then use a flathead screw driver and remove as normal. Assembly is the reverse of disassembly.

That worked when I removed the ignition from my MX-3.

I'd do without them, but nobody's tried to steal my car and I'm not worried about anyone trying to steal it. Since yours seems to be a target, I'd get some new ones, even though they're a pain.

Also Achmed the Dead Terrorist's line is "Silence! I keel you!"

I have seen lots of Breakaway bolts. Most recently the two bolts holding the license plate onto the Truck were found to be Breakaway. Actually, I believe that Breakaway bolts were standard equipment for all applications on English vehicles prior to 1985, and used intermittantly after that, primarily for trim applications, after the original supply made in WWII ran out.

The Phillips screws used to assemble just about everything on Japanese motorcycles up till the late 1980s used a different form of breakaway; the recess in the head was made of a special metal soft as butter in the left hand direction only. These were used mostly in deep recesses in the engine cases to prevent the theft of internal transmission gears and used clutch plates. This brilliant piece of metallurgical engineering successfully choked off the thriving black market in those items.

Some assclowns on Teh Club posted step-by-step instructions on how to break into at least FB's in every way imaginable, if not FC's and FD's. My guess would be you had a crackhead or similar break in, any pro would have absconded with your car or more likely not given a E36 M3 about a ~20 year old car.

I've never had anything but a CD case stolen out of a car, so I'd just use regular bolts. In reality its so easy to get these cars moving that I wouldn't worry about replacing the breakaways, but like has been said Mazda would be the place to get them.

ChrisTaylor wrote: My guess would be you had a crackhead or similar break in, any pro would have absconded with your car or more likely not given a E36 M3 about a ~20 year old car.

Yeah, I rescued this car from the 'hood (Lynn, MA). I live in a safe neighborhood, but it's a stone's throw away from another ghetto town (Lawrence, MA). Security will be a priority with this build.

Depending on what your goal with the car is, I'd worry more about hiding the stereo and whatnot than buying a fancy alarm system. The fact of the matter is any one of 5 or so Mazda keys will open the doors or hatch, and they're easy to get into otherwise. If it's a track car and you want "tunes", find yourself an amp with a single external input and just run an iPod or something. If it's going to be a DD and you're an audiophile, get something with easily hidden remotes and put the head unit in or under the storage boxes.

Or retrofit a stock stereo and get yourself a cassette or radio ipod adaptor. ;)

But, above all, keep any valuables either well hidden or not in the car in the first place.

you can remove the old units like above with cut off wheel slice then put in studs and use breakaway nuts from McMaster.com

Cool, thanks for the link 44Dwarf.