WTB: 4wd Protege

[therieldeal]

i havent tried the swap, but projectmx is putting an awd drivetrain in his MX3... which has a nearly identical chassis to the protege. it took a LOT of fabbing. the center tunnel is also to small so running exhaust AND a driveshaft will be interesting.

[Rivet]

But the MX3 does not share sheet metal with the Protege, only running gear. I don't think even the sunroofs are the same and I'm fairly sure the floor pans are completely different. The MX3 was never intended to have a 4wd option, where the Protege and 323 where.

I like projectmx's "project", maybe I should have held on to my raspberry GS!

[therieldeal]

the floor pans are not as different as you think. the center tunnel is just as small as on the protege fwd... the 4wd one is much wider. also, front and rear subframes can be directly swapped between the protege and mx3.

-jon

[Rivet]

I'll have to remember that. Maybe I'll do a K-series powered Protege someday.

[therieldeal]

i'm not trying to discourage you by the way, a 4wd conversion would be awesome!

[Rivet]

No discouragement taken. I'm just trying to make the most informed decision possible. I have a few "big" projects sitting around here, so I'm not looking to take on a "major" project, plus every $ that goes into this project is one less $ for the other cars.
My plan is to get the best car I can and then go from there.

[jay]

Tranny tunnel is wider, rear subframe mounts are different, they put the lame engine in to avoid competing with the gtx. Shot theyselves in the foot doing so, in my opinion...but at least the swap is dead simple. BPT or GTR drivetrain just bolts right up.

[Rivet]

Would you clarify; a BPT should bolt into a 4wd Protege; but will a 4wd protege driveline bolt into a 2wd protege body? The 4X4 supplement for the factory manual says "the 4wd body is basicly the same as the 2wd body, but the undercarrage is changed" but a cannot tell what exactly is changed. I do not have a copy of the "regular" shop manual, just the 4x4 sup.

[therieldeal]

its completely different from the 2wd. he was saying that a GTX/GTR driveline will bolt into a 4wd protege.

[almighty4wd]

the tunnel is wider to accomadate the driveshaft and exhaust. the frame is wider at the front to fit the wider transmission. the rear seat pan is shaped differently to fit the dual fuel pump tank since the shaft goes right through it. the bolts for the rear subframe are located differently (not much, but enough to make a difference). the spare wheelwell sits farther back to fit the rear subframe.

when they say "basically" they mean they more or less look the same, but the 4wd drivetrain will not fit without work. There are enough "small" differences to make it not worth the work.

[Rivet]

Thanks for the input! The research I've been able to do on my end, comes up the same: a lot of small differences that make the job impratical. Plus, it is not like GTXs are hard to find; but I really rather have a Protege.

[jay]

" Plus, it is not like GTXs are hard to find; but I really rather have a Protege."

+1. Keep looking for a 4wd one, they are out there. You may find yourself putting more effort into cosmetic repairs, but those are easier than the mechanical needs of the typical GTX these days.

[323driver]

Keep on looking, there are some left. Be carefull with the frame as it tends to rust in the front, where the subframe attaches to it. Mine looked good but when I took the tranny and the subframe out, found out that the frame will need some major welding done to it very soon.

[Rivet]

Found one

Well, I found and bought a 4WD Protege. It was on craigslist:

http://saltlakecity.craigslist.org/car/373946386.html

I still have to work on getting the car shipped to me; and I'm doing this "sight unseen". Probably, not the best way to buy a car; but I got it at a low enough price that I can't lose out, short of the car not showing up.

The next step: BPT driveline from either JSA Motors or Japenese Star Motor.

[therieldeal]

285k!?? damn!