So I randomly searched "mazda 323" on Kijiji the other day and found a $100 FWD BG and a $450 323GT. Yeah, a GT for $450. Needless to say, I pounced on it!
PICTAWRS!!!!!
At the time of sale
Brought it over to Jovanne's house to begin the fun job of de-rustifying the car. First order of business: The rear passenger side strut tower was hanging by
a piece of metal one inches wide. Pictures better describe the situation:
The only piece of metal holding the strut/strut tower to the body:
So after a lot of hammering, we get the strut tower back in its place (for the most part) and start to weld it:
We called it a night after that. Welding of the strut tower will resume on Saturday. Until then... more pieces of the puzzle
- Current status: 132HP, 134lbs/ft
- Trunk floor being torn out and replaced with fresh metal
A little info: - 1000 323GTs imported to North America available in 88-89. Probably only a couple hundred still around.
- FWD, unlike its rally big brother GTX (full time 4WD hatch, same engine)
- Electronically adjustable suspension
- B6T 1.6L DOHC turbo: 132 hp, 134 lbs/ft @ 7PSI stock
- With an ECU reflash and a boost controller (EBC or MBC) the B6T will handle 16PSI and make about 185hp
- Net weight with full tank of gas and a passenger: 2300lbs.
Things I noticed about this car - There's f*cking rust everywhere except the frame rail and engine bay
- Master brake Cylinder appears to be leaking
- Lower fins on rad are squished
- Electronic suspension uninstalled due to replacement after market struts
- The car is burning a bit of oil, there's oil in the intake pipes, suspect the turbo because there's oil droplets in the J-pipe (charge pipe attached to
throttle body) - Slow leak in rear tires, front tires are now bald
- New brake pads, rotors in good condition
- Rear speaker connector broken
- Mint interior (but a bit dirty)
- Hood release doesn't fully retract when not open. Need to use a coin to jam it into place.
- Timing belt replaced last year but not the water pump
- Don't know the last time the distributer was rebuilt
Things to do - Install my spare EBC (Electronic Boost Controller)
- Install chipped ECU from RocketMan, good until 18PSI
- Build a VJ14 ex / VJ11 in hybrid turbo (Ford Probe GT/Mazda MX-6 GT turbo) so I can boost at 18PSI to redline
- Port internal wastegate to avoid boost spikes
- Finish welding rear passenger side strut tower back in place
- Replace rear fenders (fiberglass & weld new metal)
- Replace front driver fender
- Fix hood release
- Check/replace fluids
- Get alignment done (reattached a strut tower)
- Get inspection done
- Insure & register the car
- Fix/Replace master cylinder or brake booster if needed
- Upgrade to the Probe GT/MX-6 GT side-mount intercooler
- Rotate tires, grab cheap rubber for the rears for the winter
- Replace turn signal in front bumper (Paul, you said you had a spare?)
PICTAWRS!!!!!
At the time of sale
Brought it over to Jovanne's house to begin the fun job of de-rustifying the car. First order of business: The rear passenger side strut tower was hanging by
a piece of metal one inches wide. Pictures better describe the situation:
The only piece of metal holding the strut/strut tower to the body:
So after a lot of hammering, we get the strut tower back in its place (for the most part) and start to weld it:
We called it a night after that. Welding of the strut tower will resume on Saturday. Until then... more pieces of the puzzle
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