Yeah the name is lame, might change, but that's basically what this car will be. Here's the story so far:
ForceFed, a member of the Mazda forums, bought this '03 Protege5 for $2500 with a bad engine due to oil starvation, and dings, dents, and scratches galore. This was his project car, and he spent literally thousands on parts for it. It was going to be awesome...but he changed his mind and decided to sell it all. Here's pics of the car before he dug into it:
Many more pics of the car in progress and with what parts he bought and his plans can be found RIGHT HERE.
I've been looking for a Protege5 for months now as a be-all end-all replacement for my 323. Nothing wrong with my 323 really, but I want something newer, more fun to drive, safer, better audio, faster...everything really. The problem was, I didn't want a complete, running Protege5 as I knew I was going to just rip the drivetrain out and go with a KL V6. I've always wanted a KL car, I love the way they run, how quiet they are when cruising but sound amazing when on it, and how smooth as silk, can't tell it's on, they run.
So a while back I picked up a '99 626 KL 5 speed drivetrain, 110K miles, $500 for everything(engine, trans, wireharnesses, all accessories including full A/C setup, shift linkage, ECU, all of it).
Then I saw that ForceFed decided to part the project out, right in the middle of painting it. Here's some pics of it in progress:
Then epic fail happened, in the form of Hurrican Ike hitting Ohio right as the car was being sprayed with clearcoat. The guy tried to keep going in a frugal attempt to not waste clearcoat. With the power out, poor lighting, and no ventilation, the clearcoat came out horrific. As I had already dibbed the shell in painted and clearcoated form for the price he had first posted, he unfortunately had to sand all of the clearcoat off and do it again. He had fears that it wouldn't end up very well done, but I held my breath hoping for the best.
Here's what it looks like as of today(10/5/08). He just got it home from the paint booth. Looks VERY nice IMO, I know pics aren't to be trusted much but he said it looks good, not like a factory car, but like the best of a repaint. As I was going to pick up a preowned, probably beat to hell Protege5 with no plans of getting it repainted, I'll be happy with it.
Here's a rundown of what is with the car, as far as I know:
Factory exterior/interior with the following exceptions:
Purchase price for me is $3,500. Not bad at all IMO!
My plans at the moment:
That's about it so far. I should be making the drive to Dayton this Sunday. Stay tuned!!
-Ryan
ForceFed, a member of the Mazda forums, bought this '03 Protege5 for $2500 with a bad engine due to oil starvation, and dings, dents, and scratches galore. This was his project car, and he spent literally thousands on parts for it. It was going to be awesome...but he changed his mind and decided to sell it all. Here's pics of the car before he dug into it:
Many more pics of the car in progress and with what parts he bought and his plans can be found RIGHT HERE.
I've been looking for a Protege5 for months now as a be-all end-all replacement for my 323. Nothing wrong with my 323 really, but I want something newer, more fun to drive, safer, better audio, faster...everything really. The problem was, I didn't want a complete, running Protege5 as I knew I was going to just rip the drivetrain out and go with a KL V6. I've always wanted a KL car, I love the way they run, how quiet they are when cruising but sound amazing when on it, and how smooth as silk, can't tell it's on, they run.
So a while back I picked up a '99 626 KL 5 speed drivetrain, 110K miles, $500 for everything(engine, trans, wireharnesses, all accessories including full A/C setup, shift linkage, ECU, all of it).
Then I saw that ForceFed decided to part the project out, right in the middle of painting it. Here's some pics of it in progress:
Then epic fail happened, in the form of Hurrican Ike hitting Ohio right as the car was being sprayed with clearcoat. The guy tried to keep going in a frugal attempt to not waste clearcoat. With the power out, poor lighting, and no ventilation, the clearcoat came out horrific. As I had already dibbed the shell in painted and clearcoated form for the price he had first posted, he unfortunately had to sand all of the clearcoat off and do it again. He had fears that it wouldn't end up very well done, but I held my breath hoping for the best.
Here's what it looks like as of today(10/5/08). He just got it home from the paint booth. Looks VERY nice IMO, I know pics aren't to be trusted much but he said it looks good, not like a factory car, but like the best of a repaint. As I was going to pick up a preowned, probably beat to hell Protege5 with no plans of getting it repainted, I'll be happy with it.
Here's a rundown of what is with the car, as far as I know:
Factory exterior/interior with the following exceptions:
- MazdaSpeed Protege front bumper(no bumper marker lights)(brand new)
- MazdaSpeed Protege headlights
- MazdaSpeed Protege front sway bar
- Familia S-Wagon tail lights(brand new from CorkSport)
- Some sort of aftermarket radio but including the factory one(aftermarket FTL!!)
- Maybe a P5 roof rack, to be determined, he plugged the holes in the roof for it(under the roof strips) and I probably would never use it anyway.
Purchase price for me is $3,500. Not bad at all IMO!
My plans at the moment:
- 626 V6 5 speed drivetrain - already have
- Protege MP3 17" wheels - already have
- Protege MP3 seats - have located, not sure if I'll get em or not, probably will
- MazdaSpeed Protege LSD diff
- 626 FS 5th gear swap
- FC RX-7 Enkei alloy spare wheel
- H4 high/low HIDs
- Quiet exhaust, will have to be custom ofcourse.
- K&N drop in filter maybe
- Eibach Prokit OR some good riding coilovers
- RX-7 Convertible BBS wheels with Bridgestone Blizzaks for winter use
That's about it so far. I should be making the drive to Dayton this Sunday. Stay tuned!!
-Ryan
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