I got my MX-3 GS back in 2001 just after high school and it was completely stock. Had a Magnaflow muffler and 2.25 cat-back system installed in April of 2004 when the stock one fell off...seriously, and things have really taken off from there. Spring 2005 I put on a PRM CAI and clear corner lenses and sidemarkers.
Summer 2005:
I also put on some Slimvisors.
Painted the ugly orange turn signals on the tailights red with Testors 1605 Transparent candy apple red spray enamel, then tinted them.
The shadow makes them appear darker than they really are. I think they turned out nicely though.
Got some 17" Enkei CDR9s and Kumho tires, they really improved the looks of the car. The stock GS rims dated the car, now people dont believe me when I tell them its almost 15 years old. The small GSR decal is reflective, so it really lights up at night. Also have a larger one on the back near the center brake light.
Winter/Spring 2006:
Installed 6 1/2" 4-way Pioneer Premier speakers all around. The stock speakers in the back were like 5 1/4", so I had to cut the hell out of the rear speaker panels to make them fit. The speakers in the doors were much easier, just had to drill a few holes for mounting. The windows just barely hit the speakers, but will go down completely...going to make a .25" spacer to fix that. I used Metras wire harness speaker adapter for Mazda vehicles(part number 72-7901) for the rear speakers, just had to cut out a small piece of plastic. The front speakers wire harness was completely different though, so I had to use 72-9301. Its for Toyota/Mitsubishi/Hyundai/GM cars, but worked for the MX-3, no cutting involved.
Looks a little goofy since they are so big, but turned out better than I thought they would. Sound great too, now all I need is a sub and amp. Planning on making a custom box out of acrylic.
Installed front and rear strut bars. Just removed the rear seatbelts instead of cutting them up. No one sits back there anyway. The front strut has been taken out and needs to be modified before going back in because of this:
Had a KL-ZE engine installed last month(March), which was hell, but worth it. Put on a 95 Millenia intake manifold and KL-47 throttle body. Also got a KL-36 ECU installed. Put a stage 2 clutch in as well. Going to have to replace some of the mounts soon, one seems to be knocking when I shift. The vacuum lines are a mess and its pretty dirty from sitting in a shop for a few months. But its amazing, now I can keep up with my friends' 300Zx and SVX.
Next Project: Installing the pacesetter short throw shifter and a SRD front crossmember that are sitting in my room. Also, I just ordered some new brake pads and Brembo rotors.
In the near future: Looking into getting either OBX or Pacesetter headers, and of course I need to get some shocks and struts. So expect some updates soon.
**Update May 12, 2006**
Got my brembo brakes and some new pads and installed them over the weekend. The first one was a pain in the a--, but it was nearly smooth sailing after that. My old pads were nearly gone. No more ugly rusted rotors! Now I just need to clean and paint the calipers.
Snagged this one the night after putting them in, just thought it looked cool.
I also installed my silver reverse glow gauges, the SRD front crossmember, and a Pacesetter adjustable short throw shifter. Thinking about painting the needles red, anyone done that?
It has been raining for a week or so and my car was filthy. So I just gave her a bath, has nothing to to with the worklog, I just think it looks great.
Looking at these pics reminds me I need to polish those headlights.
Also some better pictures of my tailights.
**Update January 2010**
Wow, its been nearly four years since I've done anything on here. Last semester I took a Paint Your Car class at school, here are some pictures of that process:
With the class being only four hours a week and 16 weeks long, I didn't have enough time to do a real thorough job and remove bumpers and really strip it down. So I did what I could; removed lenses, brake lights, spoiler, front lip(which was in three pieces and in need of repair), mudguards, door panels and some of the stripping in the doors and hatch.
Here it is in october with some sanding done.
It took a ton of sanding, I busted my a-- working on this thing. The car didn't have any big dents, just minor ones from doors hitting it. So I didn't bother filling anything, just sanded. Here it is a month later after a couple coats of primer.
And here it is all finished with some projector headlights and I finally installed my H&R springs.
These are shitty cell phone pictures in the garage, I'll take some better ones out in the sunlight later. I am pretty happy with the way it turned out. I have no painting or prep/bodywork experience and the class instructor really didn't teach anything, he just came by once in a while to tell me what I was doing wrong. I did mess up in a few places and have a couple runs, but they are in places where no one will notice unless I point them out(like top and bottom edges of the front lip). For my first paint job and it costing me less than $500, I can't complain.
**2/18/2010**
Changed the silver gauge faces to black reverse glows. The silver would reflect sunlight sometimes, it got annoying. These were a bigger hassle to put in cause the inverter was bad and then I broke a connection on the speedo gauge.
Stupid flash...
**March 2010**
Tinted my turn signals and side markers. Also redid the taillights since they have faded since the last time I did them. Here's a few pictures. The car is dirty, I know. I haven't had a chance to wash it.
Also installed a Pioneer DEH-P5100UB receiver, Alpine MRP-M500 amplifier, and I have a Alpine SWR-1042D 10" subwoofer that I will be putting in this weekend once I get the box.
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