300BHPZE's 93' MX-3 SE ZE

[300BHPZE]

I've been an MX-3 owner and member at MX-3.com since the summer of 04'. I'm known there as Wytbishop. I'm not sure why I used a different handle when I signed up here...wasn't really thinking I guess.

I've had the current SE since 07'. I'll give you all the high points...

December of 2007: I bought the car from another MX-3.com member. We haggled and he hummed and hawed...then I hummed and hawed...and finally the stars aligned and I flew to Vancouver and drove it home. I plan to drive this car for many years. I could have bought a new car last year if I had wanted to, but nothing I looked at gave me the feeling that the MX-3 does.

Here are some pictures...

A fair winter's day the week I got her home...


The very nearly perfect interior...




The car's interior was in phenomenal condition. The engine had 285,000km on the clock. It still ran well and burned surprisingly little oil for it's age, but getting tired and noisy. The suspension was basically worn out. Springs soft, bushings loose, it was a 15 year old car.

So I installed a cold air intake which I patched together from an Integra kit...



...and converted the ignition to the ZE distributor with HEI mod and Blaster 2 coil...




I spent the next year and a half or so just driving it and collecting parts to rejuvinate the suspension.

Sometime in late 2008: ZX2 shocks and Eibach springs...





March of 2009: The ZE swap. This is a bit of a read...sorry.

I set aside a long weekend to swap the engine. The plan was...Friday, old engine out, new engine prepped. Saturday new engine in and everything hooked up. Sunday, first start and troubleshoot. Monday, off to the exhaust shop and then home. What could possibly go wrong?

After a number of issues and 40 hours in the shop by myself, the engine is in and I'm ready to fire it up. Turn the key....CLICK!!! NOTHING!!! Get me home. I'm done. (I'm actually doing the swap at my parents place in another city because that's where the engine I bought was and my hoist and stuff are there.)

The following weekend my wife and I went back down to my parent's place. I confirmed the timing, installed the Optima battery I bought and it cranked like a champion. Still didn't start. I went online and dug around and figured out after an hour or so that I had the fuel lines reversed. Anyway with the lines on the correct rails, the engine fired right up. Ran pretty well too. The HLAs were LOUD...but after several minutes they quieted down. Permanently relocated the battery in the cargo area and called it a night. It was about 11pm and it was just starting to snow. The next morning there was more than a foot of snow on the ground so I had to leave her there for another week...but it was a done deal.




Straight neck KL31 ZE with pretty much all new everything, Mazdaspeed motor mounts, modified MX-6 brake booster, relocated the battery to the back of the car.

Also installed the new projector headlights while I was at it.





The Purple Beast is now the Purple Monster.

May 09': This finally arrived...



It took me a loooong time to get it painted and installed because I needed to get my hands on some other UK parts to make it possible to install without hacking anything.

This is what it looks like installed...




November 09': Miata Rear Brake Upgrade. Pretty straight forward.

[300BHPZE]

So just to round things out...somewhere in there I did the following:

Euro vents in the cab cuz unlike the stock A-spec ones they can be closed and...well they're European
Clear corner signals...also European
reverted back to the stock distributor because the HEI mod just couldn't be made to look clean
97' MX-6 tranny
blasted and painted up a nice pair of 94' GS 5 spokes for winter wheels


and the Epic Polyurethane Bushings thing...the ones Dan[Sac] installed on the ZE323...yeah...I did that. These are the prototypes on my computer desk...


I have been running on 80A polyurethane all around for about a year and a half now.

Really just trying to keep it looking stock and choosing mods that actually make the car better in a measurable way. The Miata brake upgrade did improve the braking noticably. The MX-6 tranny is nice with slightly taller final drive and significantly taller 5th gear it makes the car a lot nicer to drive, particularly with the more powerful engine.

The poly bushings really transform the rear active steering. But I'm not in love with the bushings in the front...which is hard for me to say because I designed them. They just seem to make the front end a little "clackie".

On Saturday I will complete the 2 piston front brake swap. I also have the parts and plan to do the following in the next couple of months:

Paint and replace the driver's door (big cancerous rust hole)
Paint and replace the sunroof panel (small cancerous rust bit)
Paint and replace the rear bumper...the original one is cracked a bit
Repaint the front bumper cuz it's showing some wear already
Replace the fog lamps. I broke one on the original install of the JDM bumper so I got another set in much better condition.
I had to modify the KL36 throttle linkage to clear the brake booster, even with the MX-6 booster, but I have another one which I'd like to use, so I plan to relocate the brake master. I ahve a plan for that...have to try it and see. I am going to delete the ABS on the car so I'll try it at that time.
I bought some nice 3" t-clamps from Dan[Sac] a while back which I would like to use to redo my not so nice looking CAI
I bought a new Hi-Flow CAT and pre-muffler that I would like to install and see if I can quiet her down a bit
Last...but worse...if I get time I'd like to pull the engine and clean up a few little nagging issues and detail the engine bay...but we'll have to wait and see on that.

So not much going on really. I'll keep you all posted as I knock stuff off this list. I hope you like my car. I love it more than any car I've ever had and I plan to own it for as long as it can be kept on the road. That is my 07' Mazda 3 GT on the left as well. We roll in Mazdas at my house yo.

[300BHPZE]

Big weekend planned. Picking up a set of 17's from a local guy, finish the brake swap and hopfully delete the ABS. If there's time I might start prepping the replacement door.

[Mazda_Powered]

car looks good! Odd to see you swapped back to the distributor system though, on my KL 626 I hid the HEI system under my cruise control unit, can't even tell it's there.

[300BHPZE]

Well I think there will be some difficulty getting good working distributors soon cuz lets face it these mitsu disties have a lifespan so I imagine I'll be going back at some point . I left the wire harness in a way that will allow me to easily go back.

[Mazda_Powered]

Ya good call, I tried 6 different auto wreckers myself trying to find a used disti within spec, but it's almost impossible it seems now lol.

[300BHPZE]

I might just buy a new one from Rockauto while they still have it listed. They were selling a bunch of at low low prices last time I saw. They'll be gone soon.

[300BHPZE]

Foiled again!

Went to complete the brakes and found out that the 323F steering knuckles require the larger post ball joints...not the smaller post ones that came on 92' and 93' MX-3's like mine. I should be able to pick up a pair of them tomorrow. Everything is bolted together I just need the ball joints and I canhave the whole thing installed in a couple of hours.

I hope I can find the time. Getting frustrated now.

[BP-mx3]

Very very perty. Didn't follow the one on mx-3.com but I love the SE color. Glad you stayed with it.

[Turpro]

Didn't know you were that guy over there lol. Car looks good and stealthy. If you want your name changed over here talk to fe3 323 or deadly_sleeper. They can do that for you

[monoxidechild]

looks good man. SE's are the only ones worth owning. and that interior is cherry!

you need to swap a milly manifold on there. they look much cleaner in the engine bay in the mx3, and they make more low end TQ anyways.

[300BHPZE]

Very very perty. Didn't follow the one on mx-3.com but I love the SE color. Glad you stayed with it.

Thank you. I love the color though I do get some flack for it at work. I'm secure enough in my manhood to rock a purple car.

Didn't know you were that guy over there lol. Car looks good and stealthy. If you want your name changed over here talk to fe3 323 or deadly_sleeper. They can do that for you

Yeah I might do that. It's kind of stupid having two names.

looks good man. SE's are the only ones worth owning. and that interior is cherry!

you need to swap a milly manifold on there. they look much cleaner in the engine bay in the mx3, and they make more low end TQ anyways.

Well I have always been one to do things differently. I like having things sort of unique while still looking like they belong. I wanted to do the straight neck because everyone does the Millenia curved neck swap...it sort of seemed too easy. I like the performance of the engine the way it is. I plan to relocate the brake reservoir in the next couple of months and I hope that will make things look a little tidier.

It's been a year since those last exterior shots were taken and three and a half since the interior pics...it looks like a daily driver. I do my best to take care of the interior but the body needs more work. I have a number of panels to fix. I will continue to post progress as I get things done. Thanks for the compliments.

[300BHPZE]

OK I finally got the Subi brakes installed with some help from another MX-3 guy I know. No pics at the moment as I was racing to beat an incoming storm. I will take pictures and provide impressions in the next few days.

First drive felt pretty good, but there was a wierd noise that we had to go back and figure out. All good though...it was just the brake like hitting the wheel.

Speaking of which I got a nice set of 17"s from said MX-3 buddy and they look great. I'll post pics soon.

Now I'm tired.

[300BHPZE]

Kind of a big day today. I am finally starting the bodywork on the Purple Beast.

Here's a photo record of the issues which must be addressed...

Passenger door handle where an attempted break-in occurred...


Front passenger corner...little dent and a bunch of chips...


The front bumper I did last year isn't holding up so well. This is the major motivation for the finish I'm going to attempt. Also can't wait to get the fogs fixed and working.


Passenger's side rockers...not too bad...




Passenger rear wheel well...




There are lots of paint chips all over the car. This one is my fault...


The rear bumper has been in a collision at some point before I got it.



My personal favorite, the hole in the driver's door...


Rocker's not bad...



This corner doesn't look like much but it's probably the worst part of the whole thing because of the shape...


Driver's rear quarter is pretty bad...



So, I attacked the worst part first and cut the rear quarters. I decided it was best to do this now so that I can gauge how I'm going to cut the patch panels.

The driver's side had a big sctratch there above the fuel door that had been touched up by the previous owner. Passenger's side wasn't as bad. I ground them both down, cut the bad stuff out and put a bit of primer on 'em to keep it from being exposed while I finish the rest.



I cut through the bumper to get to the stuff underneath because the bumper's trash and I didn't want to remove it at this time. I also spent an hour or so on the hood grinding out all the chips and put a coat of primer on it.

More updates to follow and a cool suprise at the end. Next week...patch panels!!!

[Mazda_Powered]

brave man! I need to dig into some scratch/dent/paint repair as well...luckily I have no rust to deal with yet, just give it a few years probably lol.