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

[progt91]

Dan why dont you just cut a reweld the sleeve in the proper location, that way you dont have to worry about it slipping. just an option. oh and i love looking at pics of this car

[Dan [Sac]]

Engine goes in today...

[Turpro]

I'm so excited(and its not my car)that I feel like a fat kid hearing about a new candy bar coming out.

[Mazda_Powered]

good luck man!!!

[bomdoutscort]

Be very careful. Bubble wrap is your friend.

[Ace]

Pics or shens

[4gethonda]

I'm so excited(and its not my car)that I feel like a fat kid hearing about a new candy bar coming out.

[Dan [Sac]]

Long ass day...

Engine had to go in and out a couple of times to resolve a clearance issue with the steering rack (had to slightly modify one of the rack mount brackets).

I'm happy to report there were no scratches, even working by myself and no bubble wrap. Just did it slowly, nice and easy. Paint is already very resilient, had a couple of wrenches bang a few places and nothing showing. Will probably take another couple of months to fully cure and reach OEM resiliency, but I'm already happy with it.

I finally tracked down the rubber fender welting I needed to finish the flare install - found them at a VW shop as they sell a lot of that stuff. Some of the american car restoration places also sell it, but it's usually the vinyl kind, and I wanted the rubber.

Here is the part # in case anyone needs it in the future. $10 for 25 feet, you need about 4 feet per flare, so this is plenty for all 4 corners.










Car this morning:





Car late at night:






Edit - don't mind that white tube thingy at the front of the engine, just threw it on so the car won't drip coolant from the engine.

[Mazda_Powered]

looks like it was meant to be! awesome work Dan, looking forward to more pics

[DerekEscortGT]

I can't wait for this to be finished. I can only imagine how you feel. haha

[4gethonda]

how come the engine looks super far to the right (passside...errr a iguess driver side now?)

both my kl swapped escort it doesnt sit that far to the right

[Mazda_Powered]

i'm seeing some blocks of wood...so i'm guessing its not bolted down 100% yet.

[bomdoutscort]

i'm seeing some blocks of wood...so i'm guessing its not bolted down 100% yet.

THe crossmember isn't on yet.

[joselito323]

my favorite 323 almost done!!! looks so good, nice work Dan

[Dan [Sac]]

how come the engine looks super far to the right (passside...errr a iguess driver side now?)

both my kl swapped escort it doesnt sit that far to the right

I think it's just an optical illusion. Looking at it dead center it looks like the center of mass of engine/gearbox coincide with the centerline of the car. There is more room (in the BG) between the RHS frame rail and engine than in the Probe or MX6.

THe crossmember isn't on yet.

True, when I took that pic the xmember wasn't on - that's the only bad thing about the MX3 transmission mount setup - when you take the crossmember off, the engine tilts way forward as the LHS mounting point is too far behind the COM.