Should I buy a 1992 Mazda Protege LX for a SWAP?

[denisizzle]

I got a good deal on 92 protege LX ($600). It has 230 clicks and is manual. Runs perfectly fine (as in the description). How can I tell if it's a BP-ZE and not a BP-01? Will it be a direct bolt on except for the 2 or 3 wires that need to be spliced from the ECU? So can I use all the parts from it to do the swap, and if I want to swap the tranny I use the mounts and axles from it? Btw I have a 1993 SOHC B6 MX3, manual as well.

Thanks

[Ryan]

Its a BP. All north american BP's were the exact same (minus the 323 GTX/GTR)

The BPZE is a miata motor.

If its a 1.8 DOHC its a bp. if its a SOHC, its a B8(the most likely)
If its a 2.0 DOHC, its a POS F series engine.

Since it runs, I'd do a compression test before swapping it in. Make sure its worth your time.

[Josh]

If its a 2.0 DOHC, its a POS F series engine.

In a 92' Pro LX.... *Weird*

But like Ryan said do a compression check if it comes out then sweet deal.

A BPZE motor would be nice, but unless someone has changed it you will be stuck with the BP01, its a 92 so its probably a small nose crank. This really doesn't mean that much. If you have the entire car then the swap is easy. Just change out the engine bay wiring harness with the harness from the Pro. Swap as much as you can. YOU will want to swap the trans as well and axles as well. The half shaft from the 1.6l will not bolt up to the BP block without modding it..

[Ryan]

Ignored the 92 part, whoops. You're right. The 2.0 only came out in like 98 or something.

on the SOHC motor, there was no halfshaft. Its a F series transmission, you get a long a-- passenger side axle.

Use the axles that go with the trans.

[denisizzle]

Hmm then the engine swap faq is wrong.. Is the bp01 125 horsepower (dohc)?

[Ryan]

The BPZE is none of your concern. People made up names for motors that made them feel good about their swap. All North American BP's in proteges and escorts are BP01's.

Mazda's BP was 125, Fords 128, likely due to the slightly different intake design.

[Josh]

By using the search function above you can find tons of details on this, or google mazda BP motor. The only difference in BP's in North America is a short nose crank or a long nose... I believe the cutoff was 94' for the short nose then all the rest produced through 2000's were long nose. only real difference is the oil pump and the crank pulley is different from short to long. Then slight changes in the head designs but the blocks remained the same.

[denisizzle]

Sorry the Club Protege FAQ said it was the BP-ZE so that confused me. I don't know if the seller will let me do a compression test, if it runs well should I buy it, or definitely do the test before buying?

[Daninski]

Listen to the motor from cold start to when it's warmed up, drive the car and see if it has solid acceleration. Look at the inside of the oil cap for any signs of head gasket leaking (white) after you've driven it. Check for stuff like lubricated door hinges to see if the owner took good care of the car or not. Ask if he has any maintenance records you can look through.

[denisizzle]

Ok thanks, I'm gonna go check it out tomorrow.

[denisizzle]

Well just did a compression test on my car and going from right to left (facing the car) I got 160, 155, 50, 140. I think my 3rd cylinder is dead . Going to look at the BP tomorrow and most likely get it and then I'll post if I need any help. Thanks

[Ryan]

140 is service limit. 186 is stock. Your motor is quite tired.