I bought a black MX-3 GS (5-speed) in March 2007 and I've been working on it since. It's been a dream of mine to hook up a car for like 5 years and it's finally coming true.
From 2007:
From 2009/05:
My modifications are mainly intended to produce a neutral handling, fun and fast car with a great sound system.
Modifications as of 2009/05/13:
Performance
2.5L KLZE w/Millenia intake
LSD equipped transmission
Clutchmasters Stage-1
Fidanza aluminum flywheel
KL02 VAF
Headers
Adjustable FPR (set to 40PSI)
B&M Short Shifter
Bronzeoil shifter bushings
Mazdaspeed engine mounts
AWR racing polyurethane front & rear engine mounts
NGK copper V-groove plugs
Bosal OE muffler
Eibach pro kit (~1 - 1.3" drop)
Tokico HPs (blue) + new bearings, top plates, etc.
SRD polyurethane control arm bushings
Whiteline 24mm rear sway bar + polyurethane bushings
SSR Comp-C wheels (16x7)
General Exclaim UHP 205/45R16
Wilwood forged superlite calipers
323mm front x-drilled rotors
Braided SS brake hoses
New rear calipers and pads, with x-drilled rotors
Custom 3" intake
Spyder Auto HID projectors
Mazdaspeed front bumper
CF hood
Rolled fenders
20mm wheel spacers (mainly to accommodate larger brakes)
Racing seats
Aluminum crossmember and rear tie bar
Electrical/Audio
26AH SLA battery (trunk relocated)
12->24VDC SMPS power converter/regulator for amplifiers
2ghz VIA C7 w/1GB ram, 120GB disk
USB GPS with accelerometer (for HP estimates, skidpad, etc)
USB OBD-II link
7" double-din SVGA touchscreen
Mini USB keyboard and Logitech SpaceNavigator (volume/track selection)
7 channel homebuilt Tripath 4100A amplifier (6x100 watts @ 0.1%THD, 1x200 watt @ 0.1%THD)
8 channel USB soundcard (Gigaport AG)
USB ground loop isolator with external battery pack/relay activated charger
Accelerometer & GPS
Carputer vehicle instrumentation (speed, tach, pressures, battery voltage, airflow, temps, etc).
Full vehicle data logging
A-pillar gauges (oil pressure, EGT, wideband O2)
Infinity Kappa 60.7CS components (front)
Infinity Kappa 63.7i (rear)
2x10" generic subwoofers (waiting on JL audios)
All new speaker wiring (2x18AWG per side to fronts, 16AWG to rears)
Filter capacitor bank at alternator (4x 15000uF 20V)
1F stiffening capacitor
Alarm system / Keyless entry (driver & passenger side) / Remote starter
Remote trunk release
Later this year
MegaSquirt-II
Dunlop Direzza 225/50R16
Other pictures
Power distribution center in trunk, Infinity Kappa tweeter:
75,000km KLZE:
News
2010/04/16: Body was in such bad shape, I decided to scrap my baby. But, thanks to the efforts of many here, I was convinced to give her another life. I posted a message looking for body shops on montrealracing.com, and a guy named Alexandre in Terrebonne shot me a message. Brought the car up, worked out an excellent deal, and he's already workin on er! Sent me some pics of progress so far. The guy is incredible. If you need bodywork in the Montreal area let me know and I'll get you in touch with him!
2009/05/13: WIth my new CF hood, bumper, and fenders, I've started repairing the crash damage from last year. It's starting to look good again. Next up: installing my big brake kit.
2009/01/12: Swapped my JE50 for a KL02. WHAT A DIFFERENCE!! My idle is musical now.. perfectly smooth at all engine temperatures. As it turns out, my PCV system was pumping oil into my intake at an alarming rate, and had filled the resonator half way. It also coated the JE50 and its rebound action was very slow. Could have had something to do with the poor fuel economy.
I also installed an alarm system with 2-way remote keyless entry, car status and remote starter. I had to install a power lock actuator on the driver's side first. Works beautifully.
2008/05/20: Engine swap complete! Signature modified appropriately.
2008/05/16: Engine swap well under way. Journal/pics posted below.
2008/05/05: Ok, engine comes out tomorrow! Not all the parts are here yet, but I can't wait any longer..
In the meantime, I've been doing a lot of work on my carputer setup. Details on page 2.2008/03/31: The swap has begun! I'm currently cleaning up and rebuilding my "new" KLZE. I was lucky and scored an engine in near perfect condition, including a transmission with an LSD! I'll be keeping my stock OBD-II ECU and wiring harness, using a curved neck Millenia intake. We'll see how it works out. If it runs badly, I'll either swap the wiring harness/ECU for OBD-I or go standalone (probably MS-II).
2008/02/15: Ok, so my stereo got stolen some time in December. I've been listening to all the creaks and vibrations in great detail ever since. I'm in the process of building a Linux based carputer with software crossover filters, driven by 8 separate amps. Software crossovers produce no phase-distortion and are infinitely adjustable, and on my test bench it sounds excellent.
KLZE Swap Journal
Day 1:
Spent most of the day getting the garage set up, sorting tools, aligning and lifting the car (tight work space), etc. So far I've pulled out the intake and fuel systems, vacuum lines, about 10 connectors, wheels, control arms, axles, hood, and other odds and ends.
Tomorrow I'll do the A/C, PS, exhaust, radiator, and if all goes well, lift out the cruddy old K8.
Good news is the fuel lines and vacuum hoses I'm missing all look quite decent.
Pics to follow.
Day 2:
Didn't have much time to work today, so couldn't get the engine out. But, I did pull the exhaust, PS lines, clutch line, radiator, shift linkage, more wires and throttle cable.
As it turns out, I don't have A/C. Damn. I'll have to do some research into putting one in because I have a compressor and I really want A/C.
Engine should come out first thing tomorrow.
Day 3:
Engine is out. Had a little trouble with the exhaust (had to tie the flex pipe back against the engine), and it was a tight fit, but after struggling for 20 minutes we slipped it out.
Spent the rest of the day cleaning the engine bay, cleaning and transferring parts from the old engine, and cleaning the work area.
Day 4:
Day 4 is really several days combined. I've been so busy at work I didn't have more than a couple hours each night.
Here's where the problems started.
1. Jackshaft was very difficult to separate from the CV joint bell housing. It took a while, but my friend and I came up with a solution: viewtopic.php?f=30&t=64963
2. Exhaust headers only have 2 O2 sensor holes, but I have 4 O2 sensors on my '96. I'm going to run with two dead until I can get the car to an exhaust shop. I'll have them tap two more holes downstream.
3. Headers had an EGR tap, but obviously there is no plumbing on the Millenia header. I plugged the hole with an appropriately sized bolt, and transferred my old EGR valve to the new engine so at least I can hook it up and stop the code from coming up. I'll run plumbing for the EGR later.
4. Change control rod was completely fused to the tranny. I had to grind out the old bushing/housing to get the linkage off. I wire brushed and rust-sprayed the linkage to extend its lifetime (was looking pretty bad).
5. Took me forever to figure out the vacuum system. I had to transfer over some vacuum chambers and solenoids, and replace all the lines. Also took me a while to understand what the coolant was doing.
6. Don't remove the rubber grommet that the PCV valve sits in. You'll be sorry if you do... impossible to find, and tough to get back in. Mask it off and paint around it!
7. I snapped off a bolt holding the valve cover on (snapped right at 18ftlbs!) Probably best to replace the bolts if they are old (if you can find them). If it leaks, I'll drill into the bolt and use a screw extractor to get it out.
Aside from all these problems, I bolted on the clutch and transmission to the new engine, as well as installing the starter, exhaust headers, and a bunch of other odds and ends.
Engine is almost ready to drop in. Hopefully I'll be able to fire it up on Saturday!
Day 5
Dropped in the engine today. It took a fair bit of struggling as I was alone, but after an hour or so, I had it bolted up. Clearance was fine, even with the headers and millenia intake. Hooked up the fuel system (relocating the fuel filter to a more hospitable place), shift linkage, sensors, charcoal canister, power steering, alternator, axles, and some other stuff.
I fired it up for the first time. Oh ya. No exhaust.
LOUD. Sounds great though.One major issue came up, however. I stripped the clutch hydraulic line where it connects to the rubber hose. Wrong tool for the job.. I should have known better. I went to Canadian Tire to pick up a replacement 30" x 3/16" brake line with fittings pre-installed, and a mandrel bender. It took me a while, but I bent it to the right shape and it hooked up perfectly. No leaks!
Day 6 - DONE!
At long last, I'm done! Today I put in the remaining parts (radiator, intake, exhaust, etc) and added all the remaining fluids. For the exhaust I just cut a 7-8" segment out behind the catalytic converter and used thick exhaust repair foil, gasket maker and 2 clamps to seal it temporarily. It works perfectly and should hold up for a couple weeks while I work out the remaining issues. Then I'll take it to an exhaust shop to get a new cat-back.
My sway bar end links were shot and I had to grind them off (couldn't get them free). Adds another $120.
I had a little embarassing coolant issue on my first test drive. I didn't realize you had to actually add the coolant to the engine; I thought it would suck it out of the overflow tank. I was taking a quick spin around the block when I noticed my temperature gauge rising quickly. I shut it down before it got too hot, and sat to ponder the problem with my friends for a few minutes.
I figured it was a freak bad thermostat (brand new) and was about to rip it open when my buddy asked how much coolant I put in. I said about 2 liters (to the overflow tank). He's like "no.. that's not enough... where did you add it?"
Needless to say, they laughed pretty hard. He was like "I don't get it.. you can swap an engine, but you couldn't figure out how to add the coolant."
The engine drank down a good 4-5 liters and is fine now. Whew.
Right now I'm throwing 7 or 8 trouble codes that I'll have to work through. I must have missed some connectors; I'll look at it tomorrow. For now, I drove it around for about an hour and it's running ok. It pulls hard, and the fidanza flywheel rocks.
It's been a long, hard upgrade but a lot of fun. I'll take some pics of the installed engine tomorrow. Thanks everyone who helped me along the way!
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Here are some pics (at last). Unfortunately the high-res pics of the engine were all lost.
Before starting:
A little cramped...
Lifting the engine:
Couldn't get the shift linkage off.
Engine almost out (rope holding exhaust flex pipe straight down):
Cleaning engine bay:
New engine almost ready to drop in (tranny not installed):
Have fun modding man, make sure you dont go half assed. Post some pics or make a worklog! 
-Jim
