My new Laguna Blue 93 MX3 GS-ZE

[RobMinhas]

So Probe LX rear spindles and Probe GT front spindles will do the conversion then? I'm going the same route as well.

[91EscortGT]

Probe LX V6 and Probe GT (also MX6-626 GT Turbo) are the only ones with rear disc, the front spindles need to be 88-92 MX6/626/Probe 4 CYL NON TURBO!!! Also need donor cars e-brake cables, and your front balljoints need to be of the larger 18mm diameter

[91EscortGT]

small update... Yesterday I took a few hours off of work and drove 2 hrs into Massachusetts to a U-pull yard, hoping to find a good DE or G4.. no such luck... I did however get the front 5 lug spindles from a 91 626 LX... $80 for both spindles/calipers/rotors (crap pic, late night sorry)



This morning drove an hour down to the shore line and picked these up for $200
03.5 MazdaSpeed Protege Racing Hart wheels



And about an hour ago, knocked off my 4 lug spindles, and put it loosely together.... Still need the newer/larger balljoints to complete it

[kulluminati777]

oh man i cant wait till the brakes are done up and nice. they are going to look real mint in those sexy wheels you got for a steal!

[91EscortGT]

A few more updates.... I wish I had more time to actually work on it, but Im making alot of progress every day I do.

Picked up a DE dirttttt cheap, 146k from an Automatic 93 MX6, gonna refresh it and put on the ZE Heads/Cams/IM


My buddy Justin helped me out by tearing the IM/Heads off of the DE while I did some tranny work (blown diff) for a friends EGT


Then me and my bro in law drained fluids and pulled the tranny out.. had to deal with a stubborn linkage bolt that ended up having to get cut off.


Coated the starter, cross member, Linkage rod, axles, and tie plate with some Duplicolor Roll Bar & Chassis paint just to freshen them up a bit


Car had a pretty damn new Centerforce clutch in it, so one less expense on the list



The DE torn down, doesnt look to bad over all


DE Heads on the workbench so I can steal the springs/retainers from them


Engine is still in the car, just need to disconnect P/S and A/C and it'll be ready to come out.. more updates soon!!

[AaronTietje]

Looking good. Were you able to get the rear 626 spindles as well??? Also, how did you end up "thinning-up" the spindles so that they would fit the mx-3 strut?

[91EscortGT]

I may end up running 2g probe coilovers (yonaka) so I havent touched them yet.

Havent done much... trying to make myself spend $600 on suspension right now....

Heres a couple more pics::
Painted the I/M and fuel rails




Painted the trans too

[91EscortGT]

Finally got around to taking the siezed ZE apart... results were not pretty. Cylinder 6 had a broken piston, twisted & bent rod, and bad rod bearings... maybe it was a hydrolock, I dont know.

So now I only have one good KL31 head, I should have a replacement for the damaged one within a week.

I also switched the good head over to DE intake Springs/Retainers

[WhiteFinish]

Carnage !!

Show some more pictures

[91EscortGT]

UPDATE... gonna go sleeves/gr2s for now, got the GR2s already.

Picked up a milly KL31 Head in the yard yesterday to replace my trashed bank2 head

and picked up a set of hotshot headers my buddy in mass.. hes had them laying around for YEARS!



and another random 5 lug pic

[91EscortGT]

I really have been slackin on updating this so ill do it quickly..

The de/ze hybrid is all put together


Back in the car



AWR rear mount (running inserts on front)


Dropzone coilovers on gr2s w cut perches...




And its alive! More updates coming soon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTV0ll9 ... ata_player

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGvbXso ... ata_player

[91EscortGT]

Ok im gonna try to pick this up where I left off.... ALOT has gone on with the car since I last updated this.

The Mazdaspeed Protege Racing Hart wheels didnt work out, offset was too high and the rear was actually hitting the strut and I am NOT a fan of spacers, even less so on narrow wheels.

So I sold the MSP wheels and picked up a staggered set of SSR Integral A2s off of my buddys MR2 16x8 +38 and 16x7 +32 Tires were too big (245/45 F and 225/45 R) this was its 1st time out of the garage


Im actually running them reverse staggered. The 16x8s in front and 16x7s in rear

I couldnt drive on the 245s without massive rubbing on bumps, so I borrowed my friend andres green evo wheels until I could get my new tires::



And then off to my buddy justins exhaust shop
2.5" to a no name dual tip muffler. I later ended up adding a Magnaflow Resonator


Got tires on it, wanted a meaty/track look fitment, went with 205/50/16 Fierce Instinct VRs

[91EscortGT]

Got some Ksports for BJ (99-03)Protege for less than a set of OEM struts cost.. They fit the GD Spindles perfectly, but being that I had already narrowed my GD Spindles to work with BG Struts, I needed to replace the front spindles, rear I didnt have to narrow much so there was no issue..



Rear BJ Ksport on GD spindle.


BJ uses 3 studs on the rear strut mount. So I had to cut the 3rd stud off camber plate and also the bolts are about ~5mm further apart, so I had to oval out the holes on the strut tower



Fronts were direct fit top and bottom, zero issues I also had to switch out to FC RX7 balljoints, since my tie rod ends were maxed out and at my rideheight I still needed more toe out to align it properly.




Added a Magnaflow resonator


the new stance/rideheight w the Ksports

[91EscortGT]

Got a line on some minty GS SE Leather interior and drove 2 hrs to get them.




I chose to keep my rear seat back just to keep the same fabric pattern as the door/side panels for a wraparound look rather than break it up with the black.

Got some Mazdaspeed Protege pedals


Picked up some minty FC BBS wheels, but again as with the MSP wheels the offset was too high and had I gone with a lower profile tire, the car would have been dragging crossmember on 15" wheels.. sold them off for a profit


Got a PNP MS unit from Stratified Auto, still havent tuned it but Im planning some more upgrades over this winter, so no rush.


And heres some pics of the car as it now sits... Its come a long way








And the last pic I took of it before putting it away for the winter:

[mx3_ryder]

Great pics!! Digg'in the dual tip muffler... Sure makes me want to keep my mx and I just may as it's still mine.
Would love to hear an outside sound clip w/magnaflow resonator installed?