MX-3.com

I recently purchased this wrecked mx-3 because I've always liked MX-3s and thought I could heal this one. It has sustained front-left damage. Engine runs strong. Clutch slips, suspension is soggy. My plan is to make a rally car from it. I have taken some photos, will post later. Don't view them if you don't want to be depressed...

This initial post will try to describe the current state of damage:

1. Damage: The hood is wrinkled, has been straightened a little, but is still quite wrinkled.
Repair: I know I can do better, I'll lay the hood upside down on some cardboard and mallet it mostly flat, and try to adjust for curves. I think I may make some cuts in the metal and convert the hood into a reverse scoop/vent type of hood. I figure the metal has a bit of stretch to it, and I can peen it into shape. A little bondo, sanding, priming, etc, and I'll be able to repaint it. It may look a little odd though...

2. D: The left front fender was unsalvageable.
R: I bought a wrecking yard fender of the same color, will install it when the chasis is ready.

3. D: The left headlamp is shattered.
R: I bought a hazy replacement, and buffed it up with Brasso. It looks better than the right, I'll have to buff that one too.

4. D: The air box is broken. The corregated intake tube has is slashed.
R: No matter, I am planning on installing cold air intake anyway.

5. D: I removed the fender, the chasis under the fender is unrecoverable infront of the wheel well. There is a softball size dent in the wheel well. The strut tower appears to be undamaged. The top bar that is infront of the radiator is twisted, but may be salvageable. The chasis behind the wheel well is straight except for where it meets the corner post, and it is wrinkled -- shortening the wheel length of the left side by an inch. I didn't see this when I was considering buying the car, otherwise, I would not have bought it. This buckle brings the hood and fender backward far enough that the hood was not able to be opened without bending the corner of the hood. The fender interferes with the driver's door opening correctly.
R: I'm not sure if this is a deal breaker. If repairing this is too much trouble, then I'll part out the car to get my money back. Or, keep some parts for future use. For repair, I am thinking I could take some 3/16"x 1" soft steel bar, mark it with the locations of screw holes from the right (undamaged) side, and drill and tap it to accept bolts in the right places. I plan on installing it under the current chanel that the finder bolts into, and riveting it in place with stainless steel pop rivets. This should allow me to realign and move forward the fender and hood so that they open correctly and are situated in the right places. I'll need to manufacture (or buy from a wrecking yard) a new left engine bay wall infront of the wheel well. At least, I won't be afraid to modify it to accomodate the cold air intake. I'll rivet the new wall to the remainders I leave of the old wall and the frame, etc. I'll likely need to manufacture a mount or two for the headlamp or such too.

6. D: The left front corner post is pushed back a little too. This has caused a buckle on the top of the door jamb which leaks water in the rain.
R: I have an idead to try to strsighten the jamb, and pull the corner post foreward, but if that doesn't work, I'll probably just fill with bondo and try to shape in a decent manner.

7. D: The coolant overflow bottle is shattered.
R: I love this one -- I'm going to replace the overflow bottle with a Nalgene. It'll be one of the few cool looking things in the engine compartment. I might just do that with the washer fluid resevoir too, if I can tool it correctly, but admittedly, I'd need it bigger than a litre.

8. D: The cutch slips. The guy I bought it from said he hasn't tried to adjust it yet.
R: I figure that he has, and it needs replacement. That's fine, I want a better clutch anyway.

9. D: The suspension is spongy.
R: I plan on replacing the struts with new ones, perhaps KYB GR-2, or perhaps Ford. I will measure the holes that connect to the wheel assembly and will measure the mount, etc. I hope to use that info to find another strut that is about 4" longer when fully extended. I plan on using stiffer progressive springs that are taller and raising the car 2" of the additional 4" length. Hopefully, this will give me 2" additional travel in both directions. I further intend on installing Suspension Techniques anti-sway bars, and stiffen to top side with tower braces.

10. D: The tires are worn out. -- heck they're almost slicks.
R: I plan on mounting slightly narrower wheels/tires that have plenty of sidewall. Maybe a light-truck tire or rally tires.

11. D: The battery has corrosion. I suspect the battery is not the right size, (it seems small) and that the alternator is underpowered.
R: I plan on going with the GS alternator if I can find one that is used and in good condition locally. For the battery, I plan on buying two batteries to hook up in parallel, move the batteries to the trunk.

12. D: Corner of windshield is cracked.
R: I don't plan on repairing this at this time, as it is a very small area that is affected.

I think that does it for things that are wrong, there are other things I'd like to do to the car, but they would be upgrades, not repairs. I'll post those plans at a later time. I welcome your comments, suggestions, and conversation; please PM me.

So, in this post, I will describe my intended use of the car, and some considerations to take into account in reagards to what I do to my car. As I have posted in other forums, I am planning on using the mx-3 as an amature rally car.

Certain rules in Rally competition governing bodies will put the car in a certain class. I plan on racing in the class that a normally aspirated 2.0L engine with variable valve timing and 4 valves would compete in. The BP engine would qualify since it wouldn't have enough multilpiers to knock it up a class. Some rules just go by modified displacement versus weight. I do not want to race against turbo cars since that is a professional level, so I wouldn't be competitive. I'd rather race normally aspirated, then I could be competitive and the mx-3 would kick butt. Unfortunately, different race orgainizations have different classes. So, likely, the preparation for one body would be in a different calss that from another body.

In the SCCA, I might be looking at the Rally Prepared Front Wheel Drive class. The local SCCA uses SCCA Rally rules for the Rally Cross competitions, but uses Rally-America rules for stage rallies. SCCA rules allow mods to: the exhaust after the head ports, intake before the TB, sway bars, strut bars, coil overs, ecu mods and piggybacks but no replacement, and racing seats. But, PF does not allow hood replacements, "any" clutch, lexan windows, body panel replacement, and alternative fuel systems

Rally-America rules have two classifications that my car might fit into. The first is class 2, which allows most modifications, but must be normally aspirated, and the car must have a certain minimum weight for the displacement of the engine; a car with a 1.8L engine must weight at least 2138 lbs. The other class is Production, which must have an adjusted displacement of 2649 or less. 1800cc x 1.2 (4 valves per cyl) = 2160. The production class allows some modifications, but is supposed to be for stock. I suppose that putting a different engine in my car might make this class unavailable.

Anyway, so I have some studying to do and some questions to ask about to determine which classes I should try to compete in. I will likely edit this post as I get more clarifications.