Project 1988 Mazda Familia GT

[DeeAOne]

Ouch, what exactly happened?

Also how do you like those black housings? Have any issues with water getting in them? And hows light output with your HIDs compared to stock lights with HIDs?

[mazkam]

Now i know why this thread haven't got any updates from you in awhile.

http://www.mazdaspeedforums.org/forum/f415/little-mazdaspeed-3-history-86845/

And here i was thinking that you was neglecting your BF, good to see that you're still @ it.

[FamiliaGT]

Haha, sry about that. Ile make an update here soon when I can get some more pics.

[68stang]

im liking the project. Very nice wrk.

[mazkam]

After over a year with no update is there anything new you have to share with the cp community? Is this car still up and running, is it in hibernation or sold?

[FamiliaGT]

Hey all, I guess I owe this thread a decent update.
The car is still drivable, but have run into some dreaded issues. 4 years ago when I rebuilt it, I sourced a used but (what I thought was..) good original crank. The crank was the dreaded short nose crank. but I didn't look too far into it which I wish I had. Mid last year, problem #1, I was heading over to a friends house after the CorkSport end of summer event in Vancouver, I look down and watched as my temp gauge pegged. This was odd and rather horrifying. Pull over and checked it out. coolant level is fine, no excess pressure, etc. After a thermostat change, came to the conclusion I have a minor leaking headgasket or possible head issue.

Moving onto November, I started having another issue. a weird chirping noise, and erratic timing. I put the car on the lift and pull the t-belt off to find the t-belt pulley loose and wobbling in my hand. I inspected the keyway, and it looked ok. ordered a new key, pulley and bolt. This seemed to work for about 5 months. Ran into the same issue to find the same scenario, this time, the crank bolt was finger tight some how! I know I torqued it! Anyways, this time, the keyway is FUBAR on the crank. I make a temp fix by milling a custom woodruff key. It sure didn't help the crank wobble, but it was tight and its been holding.

Plans as of now, I will be pulling the motor in the next 2 months (After only 18k on it since last rebuild...) to rebuild it yet again. I have sourced a brand new Long Nose crank (Thanks Matt!!) and just ordered a new head gasket, T-belt, Piston Rings, cam and crank seals, T-belt Pulley, Bolt and Key, Water pump gasket, and few odds and ends. Engine will come out, torn down completely, send the head and block in to be cleaned, checked and have the crank inspected and installed, and Head resurfaced.

While Im into it, the stock VJ14 will not be going back in, but in favor of a Garrett GT28 Hybrid. Time to make use of this built motor! More details to come. This I promise.

[FamiliaGT]

New Update! After 3 months, the engine is now back in and running! After removal, we found that the headgasket was indeed leaking. over a couple months, the engine had overheated enough to cuase some major issues. cyl 4 had some bad scoring from heat, and the clearances in the cylinders where way off (from previous rebuild/boring) This ment new rings would not fix it. Ordered new 0.040" over forged pistons instead. New crank checked out and balanced fine. Head DID have issues as well. 3 HLA's where junk, the cams had unrepairable damage, and most of the valves where ground too thin. So, almost $800 in head work alone later, and about $300 in block work, I got the main components back. The rotating assembly was balanced, anc checked. Slowly built the motor and got everything buttoned up and dropped in. 3 weeks after, I find the clutch slipping pretty bad, so the trans is coming out this weekend to get the clutch replaced with an ACT Street clutch. I have pics, but need to upload them to my computer. will get them up soon.

[mazkam]

I recently saw a b6t on Mazda 323 GTX facebook page where the owner said his b6t was putting down 315 hp from his built b6t. So there is a whole heap to smile about after building your b6t & getting it tuned.

Here is a pic of the engine setup. The owner used the b5 1500 dohc head on the b6t block.



Here is the Mazda 323 GTX facebook link https://www.facebook.com/groups/2111..._comment_reply