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Yeah those LEDs look nice!! Did the same for my bumper!! Great minds think alike!!

Very unseasonably warm weather had me changing my plan of attack today. I decided to take advantage of the nice day and dig out and paint the interior. I drove! the car out of the garage and into the sun. It really needs a wash, but it was nice to see it outside.







I spent half the day looking through my Mazda crap. Looks like I saved three 323 interiors, which was good cause I was able to get one fair conditioned one by picking, and choosing through all of it.



I scuffed all the plastic with a 3M pad and cleaned it all with a wax and grease remover. This was a much more epic project then I expected.



I painted it all with Duplicolor flat black interior paint. I used this on the dash previously, it works really good. The interior is now all satin black instead of, green, blue, and grey

















Next round I am considering, painting the blue back seat black to match the MX-3 front seats. In time I plan to replace the MX-3 seats with black Suede aftermarket units. The MX-3 seats have seen better days. I need to paint the front seat brackets and instal the whole works too.

Looks great, I still can't get over how amazing your car looks!

i can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it looks great!

Josh wrote:Looks great, I still can't get over how amazing your car looks!

It is not perfect, but not bad for a rattle can paint job. I am happy with my $119.92 "paint" job Maybe you like it cause it has 95% MX-3 parts in it?

I know your car is not AWD but I think a set of ralliart mud flaps would look killer with your paint.

Josh wrote:I know your car is not AWD but I think a set of ralliart mud flaps would look killer with your paint.

I may have to look at this, as a number of people have mentioned it.
I was going for more of a Mini Copper S built out of junk by someone poor look, but it does have a rally vibe.

Wow, that looks mad!! Awesome awesome awesome work!! It really seems to be coming together so well now, you must be so excited! The body just looks fantastic, and yes, that is said out of pure surprise & excitement hahaha

Hey IMACHU2 just a heads up on that fabric paint it doesn't work that great on fabrics! I tryed it on my headliner before I did the suede and it looked good after I did it but it comes off super easy!! I also did it on my door panels as well and it was a no go, you rub you or hand over it and it's all over your hand! So I would not recommend using that Duplicolor vinyl and fabric paint for seats unless you want black clothing!

I am happy to get back into this worklog! Such nice work. If I had a work space, I would do the same thing; swap all the stuff from the wrecked car to a 323.

IMACHU2 wrote:

Josh wrote:I know your car is not AWD but I think a set of ralliart mud flaps would look killer with your paint.

I may have to look at this, as a number of people have mentioned it.
I was going for more of a Mini Copper S built out of junk by someone poor look, but it does have a rally vibe.

That's some funny $H!T right there. lol

I really want to go pick up an AWD Pro and paint it like this just because of your car

They are polyurethane and you can get them in black

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y138/t ... C_5006.jpg

they would be sexy on there

I will take the pic down if you like just LMK

ethand: Thanks....I think
The trick to painting a car, is the more time you spend on the prep work the better it will look. There are three types of body men.
Type 1: Naturally gifted.
Type 2: Those that suck but are too stubborn to quit until they get it right.
Type 3: Those that are lazy and/or they suck.
(I am category 2).
You can practically drink paint and piss it on the car and it will look good, if you spent the time on the prep work. (Not recommended for heath reasons)

Tavman_1213: Good to know, Mexican blanket for the back seat then

Fowl Jesse: You should rent a shop. My shop is some dood's garage, I pay him $200 all inclusive a month. You could go in on a space with a few of your friends. Be warned shared spaces can be a nightmare if you chose the wrong shop-mates. A nice 323 shell is not big bucks either. The world needs more
MX-326GS' so get on it!

Josh: I don't think I am feelin' the flaps for my project. I plan to drag and lap the beast. As a wrong wheel drive and me with no off-pavement adventures planned they would not suit it. You need to build a AWD Protege, and then they would fit your build, so get on it!

Haha the surprise in my last post was more that:
A.) I didn't know that old school 323's could look this good - the lines are actually quite bold, and work brilliantly with you paintwork, and
B.) I'm not usually a fan of flat black, but this looks really really good!!
Stubborn-ness ftw, because it certainly looks like it's paid off!
I'm guessing you're still trying to chase up a good condition centre garnish for the rear hatch?

Ya I think 323's have really nice lines too, the 155/80/13 tires on 4.5" wide wheels are what kills their look. My daily driver even at 4x4 stock height looks 100% better with it's single mod of 205/50/15 tires on 15" MX-3 wheels. It does not have enough power to turn them, but it looks way better.

I have given up hope of finding a good condition garnish for the rear hatch.The garnish is like a pool to keep water in to rust the hatch. It is near impossible to get one off in one piece and all the hardware gets super rusty.I am saving up my fun tickets to buy a new one at the Mazda stealership. It is a lazy/easy approach cause it comes with all the hardware and gaskets. The cars are getting old and the garnish's did not age well, I think a new one will really freshin' the appearance.

The kool kid thing to do is get the JDM one that say's "Familia" (the name of a 323/Protege in Europe/Japan). The EDM one even has cool red fog lights in it. (thats what the holes in the hatch are for, even the US and Canadian hatches have the holes). I can't bring myself to buy a rare JDM garnish and nite shade it black. The JDM thing is a disease, if I catch it I will end up with a grill with a funny red badge, corner lights with driving? lights in them, self leveling headlights and a bunch of other crap that does make the car go quicker. In the 323 "scene" I personally think the JDM stuff is played out. Like the Civic scene, only your brethren will know or care, as the differance are pretty subtle. I think the 323 GTR & Protege GTX and all things JDM are really neat, just not something I am looking to recreate. In my opinion if you stuff one piece of JDMness on it, it is like sticking a Cobra badge on your V6 Mustang. If your going to do it, you need to go through all the work and expense to do it right (a full JDM conversion). With minty 323 GTR's going for less then $5000, It would be a labour of love/lunacy.

A guide to 323/Protege JDM/EDMness:
http://www.clubprotege.com/forum/showth ... s-And-More

Ya, fully see your point on the perspective of the JDM-bug... thats why I just bought a JDM import! Haha... it wasn't intentional, actually - just figured it out after buying it that the badges said 'Presso' instead of '30x', and it had a compliance plate haha
Could you not purchase a new garnish from Mazda Japan & get it shipped? I would think that they'd be the same price as one from a stealership in the US, no? (Plus postage, obviously), if you were keen on a hint of subtle JDMness?
Either way, a brand new one sounds like a top idea... maybe you can think of a good way of sealing it a little better to stop the rust or something?