auto w/ hand controls. is a swap worth it? *update*

[eyezpinned]

here's the thing: i have a 93 rs. my engine is tired. 150k, gas mileage has always been shaky, leaking oil and have developed a crank bearing knock. have the cash for a swap, but have to keep it an automatic for hand controls. would it be worth throwing in a bp automatic? i have my eyes on a b6 sohc w/ 87k, but could just as easily afford a bp. i know a protege engine will drop right in, but does this hold true for a bp w an auto tranny? hp isnt everything to me, im just happy i can drive, but i figure if i can pull off a bp swap why not? what do you guys think?

[se7en]

you spoke of hand controls...two of my friends are in chairs, and one of them races stock car, and the other races in the bracket class at our local dragstrip.

It's kinda cool that they do all that stuff, and I can hardly get motivated to do anything sometimes lol.

[Aston Wards]

I don't see why it wouldn't, doesn't the BP use the same auto tranny?

[TREVO123]

BP uses a G-series.. its worth the swap, but id advice swappin the Bp auto tranny with it as for its stronger..

[Nd4SpdSe]

I dont believe it's possible, I know Custommx3 looked into it for his RS and I believe he found it not to be possible, so it's going to go with a ZE+5spd swap (lol, long story for him).

Just an idea, but since it' hydrolic clutch, so can't you rig it up as a type hand-clutch on the shifter like a motorcycle? I have no idea on how that would be done, if at all fesable, but as far as I know, it would be more fesable than an auto BP, cause as far as I know and heard, an auto BP on an Mx3 isn't possible.

I fear is you can't get any of the above done, you'll end up having to sell the Mx and get a car with a auto BP stock.

[shameem]

AFAIK the 92 -94 Protege BP and 92-93 B6 atx are the same - the tranny code is F4A-EL (there are other variants such as F4EAT). There are a few differences when it comes to 94+ models. They have electric speedo and the controller is different (infact it is very similar for K8 as well - the bellhousing has different bolt pattern and has slightly different final gear ratios - See page TD-19 on the online manual).

The BP atx will atleast fit mechanically i think (you might have to use the BP mount or a combined BP/mx-3 mount) - but control electronics *might* have one or two mismatches - so it will be safe to transfer the entire wiring harness/control unit. You also might have axle issues.


The following thread doesnt exactly answer your question - but you get the idea......
http://www.mx-3.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=54032" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[eyezpinned]

hmmm... i dunno the last thing i want to do right now is to buy an engine just to find out i cant do the swap. i know that there are hand controls that include a clutch, but i think they're more like custom jobs not available to the mass market. the closest ill probably ever get to that is a tiptronic trans... i was shopping around and found a sohc w/ 98 k. the place offered to do the whole job (engine and labor) for $700 including replacing all the seals, waterpump, timing belt, whatever so long as i pay for the parts. if i bought the 87k motor id have to pay installation on all that stuff. My engine also has some new parts i wouldnt mind holding onto (new injectors, cai). im gonna try to see what i can come up with today, but if my car goes down im screwed. just swapping the hand controls over takes like a whole day. ill let you know what i come up with... thanks for the help so far

[projectmx]

i'm confused why the bp and auto trans won't work, if you swap over the engine / trans / wire harness / ecu i'd think you would be ok.

what exactly are you going for? just a daily driver that gets good gas milage and is trustworthy or something with some kick? if just getting around is your goal get the sohc rebuild it and drop it in, if you want some kick do the bp or you could do a dohc b6 engine with auto trans and you can easily add some kick to that since it is the same as the miata engine and you can for sure fit it with an auto trans in just know that all mazda auto trans are kind of weak and can't handle a lot of power

[eyezpinned]

just letting you guys know i sucked it up and stuck w/ the b6 sohc. it would have been fun exploring new territory w/ the bp auto swap, but until i do some more research, i'm sticking with the sure thing. i also finished my catback exhaust w/ a 2.25 resonator to 2 inch pre muffler piping to high-flow muffler (had to put a silencer on it though). figured i'll work on the rest of the car to have everything set if i do do the bp engine swap. i'm happy w/ the descision, the new engine has 98k, i was able to swap over my new injectors, cap, rotor, plugs, wires, etc... no more low idle problem, or voltage surges (had a bad alternator ground). most important no knock or oil leaking. now if my mpgs go up ill be a happy camper.
thanks everyone that gave me their 2 cents

[projectmx]

hope it works out for ya.. and don't be a stranger