solo_ryder - 1994 MX3 GS-ZE - Update March 17 - Goodbye

[solo_ryder]

Well guys, I am going to start a new worklog after I had the previous one removed. I didn't like how it was going. Anyways, here is the new one that will hopefully get updated every once in awail as we are starting to get near spring! My philosophy is that if your car is not clean enough to eat off of, then you shouldn't be be driving it! Lets see how I do with my own philosophy.

Before I go on, I wanna give a shoutout to a few that have inspired me for this build:

JM1EC-V6
ND4SPDSE
Mooneggs
Gro Harlem
And many more..

History on the car:

I had asked my dad to purchase the car for me in summer of 2008. I had NEVER seen the car, only in pictures, but I had a good feeling about it and it had everything that I wanted (minus the airbags). Here are some quick stats on the car when I got it:

222,XXX KMS
No aftermarket mods, just an alarm
I am the 2nd owner of the car
A/C
Full power package
Sunroof

Here are pics of the car that I received from the original owner, the pics sold me on the car and then my dad picked up the car while I was away on business in the Philippines. I purchased the car for 2500$ CAD which is fair considering the condition:






When I got back from the Philippines I had 2 MX-3's at my house! So strange haha. I had my black ZE mx and the stock K8 silver car. Funny thing was that I drove the silver car more then the black one just cause it drove quieter, nicer and had A/C!! It was so pleasant to have that. I was very impressed with the car, my dad bought this huge cabinet from Walmart and he could not fit it in the 4 door accord he had! So I drove home and grabbed the silver MX and picked up the cabinet and it fit! I could close the hatch and everything, what a great car. My black car would not work as I had a rear strut bar and a system. So need less to say, the car was off to a good start to gaining a place in my heart.

Next mod was to sell the black car and mod the silver car, I ended up swapping a crap load of parts over from the black car. I will show pics and list mods later today. Please feel free to comment and give me some suggestions! Please keep it clean and negative comments to yourself


Mods to date (09/11/09):

Engine/Trans:

JDM KLZE - 2.5L V6 - KL31 Cams
Eunos 800 KL47 Intake Manifold and Butterflied kl68 Throttle body - Painted Gunmetal
Shaved Valve covers - Silver Vein powder coated
Custom KL fuel rails - Silver Vein powder coated
Chipped Probinator K834 ECU
PRD Spark plug wires
AWR Racing 88 durometer mounts f+r
Custom 3" CAI w/ K&N
Exedy stage 1 clutch
Nyloil Shifter bushings
NGK Plugs/Wires
Hotshot Gen 5 Ceramic coated headers
Magnaflow dual tip muffler
Magnaflow Hi-flow cat
Mazdaspeed Miata Oil cap
SRD Battery tie down bar
Greddy oil catch can

Body/Footwork:

UK Spec glass H4 Headlights - Black housings
4300k Hi-Low HID kit with slim ballasts
Clear corners with JDM signal housing for LED's - Black housings
Optional rear mud flaps
Euro mini skirts
Black Altezzas
Mazdaspeed License plate frame
Mazdaspeed Protege badge kit
Slim Visors
Stock 5 spoke 15's on 205-55 Falken 512's
16x7 Buddy Club P1-SF - Powdercoated silver metallic
205 50 16 Kumho Ecsta 712
Ford racing Tokico ZX2 shocks
Ground control coilover sleeves w/custom spring rate
Camber bolts f+r
Rear strut tower bar
JW B-Pillar Bar
Replica SRD rear tie bar
Zinc coated cross drilled rotors F+R

Interior/ICE:

Full SE Heated Leather swap
Mazdaspeed Protege steering wheel
Mazdaspeed Miata pedals
Mazdaspeed Protege shift knob
Custom Shift Boot - Black leather w/silver stitching
Custom short shifter
Non-airbag 94+ dash conversion
Panasonic Ghost CQ-HX2093U head unit
MTX 6.5" Components front
MTX 6.5" Coaxials rear
MTX Thunder 6500 10" sub / Sealed box
MTX TC4004 Amp
Stinger 4g Wires
Stinger 1.2 Farad cap
Whistler Radar Detector
Fake Cig lighter

Video of the car ATM:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8DYCvWqkUg

Enjoy!

[Steve_SK]

This is an example of ONE wonderful car, with my favourite colour, with my fav dashboard, fully loaded with everything I've always wanted to have in my MX-3. Look at those nice 94+ V6 rims! Oh, this is such a nice car! Nice to see picture of the dash and temp gauge. Now I know my temp needle position is OK. Once again, it's beautiful and I would only exchange springs for Eibach ProKit set, no more mods are required in my opinion.

[solo_ryder]

So driving around for a week or so on stock blown suspension sucked, so I decided to start swapping parts!

First order was my suspension/brake setup:

Ford racing ZX2 SR shocks
Ford escort ground controls
Camber kit
Rear strut bar
Replica SRD tie bar (not installed)
F+R cross drilled rotors

Here are pics after I did this, I also swapped over my powdercoated Konig Heliums and my 215/40/17 Nitto neo gen tires:




Once that was done I wanted to put in my JDM headlights:

[solo_ryder]

So, car is turning out very nice! Next mod was one of my favorites! I put a nice eyebrow tint on the front window and also put tint on the rear hatch! I also put on my uber rare slim visors:



Next step was to install my stereo, this is what I was running before:

Alpine CDA-9815 deck
MTX 6.5" coaxial F
MTX 5.25" coaxial R
MTX TC4001 amp
MTX MXS1004 sub
Stinger wires
Bassworx ported box

[solo_ryder]

Next up was a dash swap. I HATE AIRBAGS. I think they look ugly and really take away from the car. So I did a dash swap with a old 94 dash I had at my place:






Finished:



Phew, that was a long day!

So, that night I had a stunning revalation, it may sound silly to some, but it has benefited the car so much IMO. I decided that with all these Mazdaspeed cars that were coming out I thought that I would use AUTHENTIC Mazdaspeed parts on my car to make it not only more appealing but more of a OEM updated look. Some of these parts are VERY hard to locate and expensive, but IMO they worth it just because of the quality. Here is a list of the parts I have accumulated:

MS Miata racing pedals
MS Miata oil cap
MS Protege steering wheel
MS Protege shift knob
MS Protege badge kit

And the pics:






Oh yea, I also put in some black euro's. I like the look!

[johnmx3ze]

very very clean mx3...

[solo_ryder]

So whats next people say?

Well the car is nice and clean, I LOVE it. It drives very nice and smooth, but I wanted some more sound... Hmm, so I started researching exhausts for the car. On my last car I had a big N1 muffler. I loved that muffler, but it was very racy and aggressive. I wanted something cleaner and more civil. I decided to get a axle back made with a Magnaflow dual wall, dual tipped muffler. Here are some pics:




So, I decided that near the end of the year I was gonna do a budget KLZE build. Here is the specs on everything I got:

Super low KM JDM KLZE - Straight neck motor KL31 cams
Powdercoated/shaved silver vein valvecovers and fuel rails
Curved neck IM - Cleaned, sanded and painted
Hotshot headers
3" 1 piece CAI w/K&N filter
NGK plugs and wires
AWR 88A mounts F+R
MBX Oil relocation kit (not installed yet)
Exedy Clutch and PP
Nyloil shifter bushings

Motor/Tranny pics:










Swap Pics:

[hgallegos915]

This is one of my favorite cars, looks very sweet!

[96mx-3]

probably one of every ones fav car... so clean .. and every thing is finished not left half assed....good job man.. looks great

[jbud1291]

i love your car... u make me want to mod my car so bad even though i dont have the money....at all lol

[Steve_SK]

Are those 5-spoke OEM alloys for sale now?

[solo_ryder]

Nah, they are my storage rims and the rims I use for early spring

[fowljesse]

Beauty full!
Great choice keeping it stockish with MS parts!

[onlytrueromeo]

I love the MS shift knob, but I can't find one for less than $120 I refuse to pay that much for something for aesthetic purpose only.

[JM1EC-V6]

Very well done and nice build up ! Love the JDM headlamps, nice built, looks like mine but at kilometers away !

We are at least two who knows what to do with these cars !!!