|
Still one of the best threads in AI, keep up the awesome updates.
|
# ? Feb 15, 2019 17:41 |
|
|
# ? Jun 5, 2024 03:26 |
|
I wish there was a way we could do a battle of the fast 323s, yours looks awesome and doing things with care and thought means it will last.
|
# ? Feb 15, 2019 17:47 |
|
Thanks guys. That Opel headlight is great too.
|
# ? Feb 15, 2019 20:33 |
|
It of course wasn't perfectly straight, but it was at least some kind of light and at least an attempt at being slightly more road legal. This is what the very same car looked like a year later for it's final outing at a 24h race (October last year): We got a radiator and headlight from a junkyard, banged the hood into an approximation of it's original shape, liberally applied zip-ties and steel straps to hold the front together, put on new hood pins, and just sent it. Apart from worn out brakes and tires it did awesomely well and got us to 11th place. Mazda 323 BG just is an awesome car.
|
# ? Feb 15, 2019 23:42 |
|
Not sure if I posted this yet, but I found an SAE tech paper on the KL engines. http://foxed.ca/323/sae/SAE%20920677.htm It was an interesting read.
|
# ? Feb 17, 2019 04:26 |
|
I had no idea those things had such a flat torque curve...
|
# ? Feb 17, 2019 07:03 |
|
Rereading it, I noticed they discussed the advantages of a semi dual exhaust. Interesting that the stock MX-3 exhaust is what they are referring to as a standard exhaust. The aftermarket headers I used from a MX-6/probe are of the semi dual exhaust shape they show. I wonder if the stock MX-6 exhaust is also that way.
|
# ? Feb 17, 2019 08:14 |
|
Sgt Fox posted:The same could be said about the AC install... Eh, the AC is helpful to act as a dryer for the heater, anyway.
|
# ? Feb 17, 2019 09:33 |
|
Did you see the SAE paper on Ford trying to develop a touring car engine to replace the touring car spec KL? Had interesting details. Actually, once I get my book scanner going I should send you some interesting stuff.
|
# ? Feb 17, 2019 17:10 |
|
No, I didn't see that paper, do you know the number? I will gladly read any you want to scan, please.
|
# ? Feb 17, 2019 17:48 |
|
I mean more that I have a lot of cool out of print books that might fit the theme. Plus the famed Susko suspension manual, albeit I'm still not sure if I'm comfortable putting that into the wild if you get what I mean.
|
# ? Feb 17, 2019 17:54 |
|
Well, email me and we can chat at least. Email is at the bottom of foxed.ca
|
# ? Feb 17, 2019 18:23 |
|
KLs are awesome and you can feel a bit of corporo-wank getting into it but "We want an engine that makes good power and revs to the moon because it's fun!"
|
# ? Feb 17, 2019 20:03 |
|
This is a really cool project Over here in the MX-3 and GE MX-6 was somewhat unusual, but even then quite a few did a KL-K8 to KL-DE/KL-ZE swap since it was really straightforward and essentially impossible to spot without putting the car on a dyno.
|
# ? Feb 17, 2019 21:08 |
|
Wibla posted:This is a really cool project This is a neat project. These little cars deserve more respect than they usually get. Did they sell the 323f/Lantis up there? Like a tiny four door 928 with an MX5 engine. I'm a sucker for Japanese sedans with frameless windows.
|
# ? Feb 17, 2019 21:28 |
|
madeintaipei posted:This is a neat project. These little cars deserve more respect than they usually get. Yeah, we got the 323F with the 1.8 and 1.6 iirc. The 1.8 16V moved quite well all things considered.
|
# ? Feb 17, 2019 22:08 |
|
Wibla posted:Yeah, we got the 323F with the 1.8 and 1.6 iirc. The 1.8 16V moved quite well all things considered. The BP is an underrated motor imo. It's a shame they didn't come in 323's in the states, you had to buy a Protege (4 door) to get one or get an Escort GT which had them as well. I had the BG Escort GT with a BP and it was a blast, one of the best cars I've owned. Or comedy option Kia Sephia which was also a BG chassis with a Korean built BP, I had one of those too, it drove great but the cheap rear end Kia interior was disintegrating on me
|
# ? Feb 17, 2019 22:51 |
|
Applebees Appetizer posted:The BP is an underrated motor imo. It's a shame they didn't come in 323's in the states, you had to buy a Protege (4 door) to get one or get an Escort GT which had them as well. I had the BG Escort GT with a BP and it was a blast, one of the best cars I've owned. Yeah, I have a 1999 MX5 10AE with the BP-DOHC 1.8, 6 speed transmission and torsen diff and it's a hoot to drive. Wouldn't mind some more power, but it's pretty much impossible to add a turbo or supercharger legally, so meh...
|
# ? Feb 17, 2019 23:18 |
|
Ok, all caught up! This is a fun read. Count me among the followers. The AC setup on the 323/MX-3 is pretty much exactly like what Mazda did on the first gen RX-7s (which I guess you noticed...) The factory just stuck a duct in the evaporator location on non-AC cars. I was able to fit an ‘84 evaporator in my ‘79 with no changes to the boxes on either side (my ‘79 had a dealer installed system using flare fittings rather than o-rings.). Edit: I especially liked the efforts to make the fluid coolers etc. look factory.
|
# ? Feb 18, 2019 01:01 |
|
Applebees Appetizer posted:The BP is an underrated motor imo. It's a shame they didn't come in 323's in the states, you had to buy a Protege (4 door) to get one or get an Escort GT which had them as well. I had the BG Escort GT with a BP and it was a blast, one of the best cars I've owned. Had a second gen Protege LX (97 model year)with the BP. Canadian LXs came with it. God I miss that car. I didn't even like the car the first time I saw it, but I took it for a test drive at my mom's encouragement figured "gently caress it I'll flog the poo poo out of it, tell the guy I'm not interested and be done with it. Drove it and holy gently caress I was hooked.
|
# ? Feb 18, 2019 17:35 |
|
So, since I showed the finished picture of the fog lights in the last update, I might as well start off with that. I wanted a set of yellow glass lights, but I wasn't a fan of the GTX grills which mount them between the headlights, as I don't exactly have a ton of room up there anymore. I decided to mount them on the crash bar, using some small ABS spacers. I then spent a couple hours trimming and sanding the bumper cover to allow the lights to clear. I wanted to make sure they were tucked back, up and out of the way, and didn't look like they were stuck on there from the side. The bumper cover is pretty beat, but that's for later. With the bumper covers back in place, it was time to replace the leaking valve covers and connect the ac hard lines in the engine bay. The factory service manual for the MX-3 with the K8 engine stated to install the cover gaskets without any extra sealant, but the MX-6/626 manual, with the KLDE engine stated to apply a thin coat of sealant to the entire gasket. I had originally followed the MX-3 manual, and given that the rear cover is canted backwards, oil is always against the seal. This lead to a leak, which in turn dripped over my exhaust. So, after buying some better Japanese made gaskets and some black extra oil resistant RTV, everything was back together leak free. I still love looking at those valve covers. A grouping of all the shiny, restored hard lines. The AC evaporator core connections poking through the firewall: The first hard line installed: I was able to use one factory tapped hole for the drier, but needed to drill and add a rivnut for the other. The 323 chassis was never intended to have a drier here. Hard line to drier installed: Hard lines connected together. Luckily they cleared the air filter. Next, compressor, more wiring and the interior.
|
# ? Apr 9, 2019 17:47 |
|
You are a man after my own heart. I'm the guy adding all the OEM stuff from an '84 RX-7 GSL-SE to my '79 RX-7, so I'm right with you. So far, I think I've added something like a dozen threaded inserts for all the stuff that was never bolted into and SA22C. Sheet metal screws just will not do. That threaded rivet tool was one of my best purchases.
|
# ? Apr 9, 2019 18:49 |
|
Awesome stuff!
|
# ? May 7, 2019 04:59 |
|
10/10 thread. This is really making me miss my MX-3 GS
|
# ? May 9, 2019 01:42 |
|
Makes me miss all the BG cars I ever owned (a lot) they are the best econoboxes ever.
|
# ? May 9, 2019 02:20 |
|
Applebees Appetizer posted:Makes me miss all the BG cars I ever owned (a lot) they are the best econoboxes ever. Hell yeah
|
# ? May 9, 2019 06:25 |
|
As promised, its time for the compressor! I considered rebuilding the existing compressor myself, but the cost of the rebuild kit was nearly the same as a reman compressor. Easier to get up in the great white north as well. Look at all that shiny black paint: Its future home, with the newly refinished bracket installed: Slotted in, nothing difficult here, but luckily it does clear the radiator: Since I needed to swap the drive belt to a larger size anyway (anyone want a non AC KL belt, only 50km on it!) I decided to also rebuild the power steering pump. I had noticed a little bit of weeping along the pump body seal. As usual, the rebuild kit is another part local parts stores don't carry. I picked up a kit when I was down in the USA last. Greasy pump: Partially disassembled: The bearing there was a bit ugly, so I also replaced it. All the pieces and seals: Glassbeaded, clearcoated and reassembled: Onto the rubber bits! Since the AC system was designed for an MX-3, the condenser would have been mounted about 6 inches further forward. If you remember, the lines connecting to the condenser did not come apart and thus I needed new fittings. Given that the hardlines would not be correct anyway, I decided to abandon the short lines and use a rubber line instead, replacing the original rubber line to the compressor which was also attached to the damaged hardlines. I was able to order three crimp on metric AC ends from rock auto's universal component section. I carefully cut the compressor fitting crimp sleeve off the original flex line and saved the fitting for reuse with a new crimp sleeve. You can see the cut off hose on the top. Next it was time to crimp on the new ends to new hoses. I started at the condenser. The stock 323 AC system used a passthrough in the body to run its lines. I routed the hoses along the same path. One hose up to the drier: The other hose across the engine to the compressor: Time to reattach the bumper and check clearances: Looks good. The undertray will cover these and protect them as well. Last, lets check if it holds vacuum: Awesome.
|
# ? May 22, 2019 19:10 |
|
This whole thread is You gotta take this thing to car shows occasionally when you're done. It looks so factory, most people will be but those who get it will be
|
# ? May 22, 2019 19:40 |
|
Nuevo posted:This whole thread is There were actually a few factory V6 Proteges back in the day. They had the 1.8l.
|
# ? May 22, 2019 21:13 |
|
Really, certainly not in North America? All the 1.8L BG were the four cylinder as far as I know.
|
# ? May 22, 2019 22:38 |
|
Yeah idk about that, I was a pretty hardcore BG fanboi and I never once heard about a factory V6 Protege. 1.8 is the DOHC BP. 4 cylinder. Nice work as usual Sgt, you are really tempting me to get into a 323 again but there really aren't many left around here worth saving.
|
# ? May 22, 2019 23:23 |
|
This thread has the best updates, good work man. I love it.
|
# ? May 23, 2019 00:25 |
|
The Lantis had the 2.0L KF, although despite being called Familia uses a different platform. There might have been another model I can't think of, but not in North America, unless maybe the Neo had it.
|
# ? May 23, 2019 00:57 |
|
They were factory test mules that managed to make their way to the public. I knew of a few including one that made its way to a guy on the old Protegetech yahoo group. I seem to recall him being from Quebec. Vaughan was his name. I won't put his last name up (probably doesn't matter anyway but for privacy sake), I remember his story of going to a Mazda dealer for some part and said it was a V6 pro, the parts guy was all "what the poo poo" and asked for the VIN, and then was all, "well holy gently caress really? drat"! At least one of you guys in the last couple posts should remember him. For some reason, the number of them out there that most readily pops in to my head is 6. I am (or was) a Protege OG. Second gen muthafuckaz. wesleywillis fucked around with this message at 20:25 on May 23, 2019 |
# ? May 23, 2019 17:59 |
|
Was bored at work, did some searching. Apparently there were twelve. Cropped some poo poo out but left the relevant-ness including url for posts in case anyone wants to see for themselves. I wouldn't have gone to this much trouble to fabricate all this. I *think* there were some other posts about them in the group somewhere, which is why I'd heard about it, but thought it was a rumour (the post from "ask me" is me). This was the first that I can recall that was some sort of confirmation of it. The dude in question was known as being pretty knowledgeable about Pros back in the day, and didn't have any kind of reputation for bullshitting, lying or whatever. wesleywillis fucked around with this message at 20:49 on May 23, 2019 |
# ? May 23, 2019 20:25 |
|
Well that's interesting, of all the years I was posting in Club Protege I never heard of them, and there were lots of Canadians in that forum too. I imagine they all rusted away to nothing unless someone put one on mothballs which I highly doubt. Too bad, If I had one of those cars I would treat it like a Hemi Cuda
|
# ? May 23, 2019 23:44 |
|
Mazda Canada did some oddball poo poo around that time period (e.g. dealer-installed Miata DRL module made by drunken hobos) so it wouldn't surprise me at all.
|
# ? May 24, 2019 00:34 |
|
Man that's cool as hell and God bless the internet for stuff like "knows everything about Proteges guy" and all the others like him. So much of this unique knowledge would be dust in the wind.
|
# ? May 24, 2019 00:39 |
|
Sockington was the BG savant, he was a mod for Club Protege too. I wonder what ever happened to him I like that guy.
|
# ? May 24, 2019 03:18 |
|
|
# ? Jun 5, 2024 03:26 |
|
wesleywillis posted:Was bored at work, did some searching. Apparently there were twelve. I totally forgot about that, yeah. If I had the VIN I do have a copy of the electronic parts catalog and I could see what it says. I might need to find an XP computer as it's a really old version though and it need some Oracle DB software or something weird. The 323 hatch was offered with 8-valve vs 16-valve (B6-E vs B6-ME) depending on year / location sold in the U.S. Don't know about Canada. I think the 16-valve was for CARB? I haven't had a BG for 13 years but a lot of info is still at http://protegefaq.net too.
|
# ? May 24, 2019 03:19 |