And so it begins....323BG hatch ----> V6 powa with a few extra surprises

[Dan [Sac]]

Tell me you are going to paint the engine bay before throwing that in.

Of course. This is only the first of many mock-ups. I will assemble it all the way to make sure it all runs right, then take it all back apart to the shell and paint it, including the engine bay. Paint will be a 2-stage with base and clear, and engine bay will receive same paint treatment as the exterior in terms of finish.

[Dan [Sac]]

More photos -

There is excellent engine/master cyl clearance - I was afraid for a minute that it will require new engine mounts to shove it forward, but after a bit it settled in place and it was all good.

I am using the USDM MX-3 master cylinder. The GTX one had ABS integrated in it, and besides being heavier, it required some frankenstein-ish wiring to make it work with the MX3 harness - not to mention having to add sensors to all 4 wheels, etc. Simpler = less parts to fix.

The lower radiator support will require some fab work to allow for the supercharger outlet to clear properly. I'll make new inlet/outlet manifolds for the blower later on.

The ground clearance of the supercharger is the same as the oil pan - so that's good. I'll have to add a lip to the front bumper to hide it a bit better.

[joselito323]

nice!!!!! really nice!!

[Gforcefd]

Drool.....

That car is going to be amazing, I am always amazed when these really sweet builds come about. I always start building without knowing exactly what I want and end up with a mess. Good work.

[Turpro]

I'm this close [-----] to orgazm.

[Mazda_Powered]

sex!

[Lex]

The quality of work here is top notch. How long has this project taken you so far in terms of hours? Progress is very quick.

[MD323]

your top trans mount look to be lower than the ones ive seen/owned. is it actually something special or just bad camera angles?

[mx-3_4evr]

^Nah you are just getting old! lol

[Dan [Sac]]

I think it's just the camera angle and the absence of lower mounts which lets the engine tilt forward a bit more than it should. The transmission is a Probe one, I had to add 2 studs to it as it mounts with nuts instead of bolts at the top.

[Kris]

amazing your almost done.how many % you think you have done so far?

[Dan [Sac]]

Probably 20-30% done. Still have to do the engine bay smooth finish, body work smooth finish, HVAC system, then the wiring harness tuck, then the piping from the blower, then radiator fitment, then final sanding and body paint. So quite a bit of detail work left...but one day at a time will get'er'done.

[Dan [Sac]]

Today I put on the headlights, corner lights and grill - then whipped out the extension tape and weeped :D

Not much room for a radiator, but where there's a will, there's a way.

Basically the hood latch will not be going back on, and neither will the center post between the upper/lower rad. supports. The hood will be closed via flush-mounted hood pins (see last pic).

The room for getting a radiator to fit (without any work other than minor dremel fitting) is about 22"wide and 15" tall. And what do you know, Summit has a Scirocco radiator at 22x13x3 that has been successfully used by turbo KL owners before, so it should work in terms of cooling capacity. It will also work in terms of space, but the only hiccup is that the inlet/outlet are both on the same side. Minor thing.














Aerocatch flush mount pins:

[1992tracerlts]

do those hoodpins come with a key? I cant tell but it looks like there is a key hole.

[tireboy]

thats a sweet build dan . that v6 should put down some good numbers with the supercharger .