Hello from upstate ny

[fordracer603]

Hi everyone, my name is jake and i'm 19 i live outside rochester ny. Okay that sounds a little weird. at the end of april i bought my second car a mx-3 4cly. its a 92 has a five speed transmission and is pretty basic car. only options are a/c and mud flaps. i really love this car, it handles great is way faster then my tempo (ahhaha) and actually gets way better milage then the tempo too. I drag race a 77 mustang which is high 12's car. but onto my mx-3. i really love this car, its in great shape for upstate ny no rust on the body at all, thier is some rust underneath but i have sanded most of it down put a apoxy over it and then painted it, the car only has 74k on it and i believe i'm the third owner.
I have to say though guys, i really am already itching for some more power. I'm looking at swaps and understand alot more then i did a month ago but am still confused. it seems like my best bet is to swap a better four into my car. but two things concern me the most, wiring harness (i hate electrical work and honestly i;m rubbish at it i don't want to turn my car into an mg or 70's lotus lol). and the second thing that concerns my is expensive secondary work, will my transaxle still be good, what will i have to do to get a good escort gt tranny to fit in my car ( it seems they have the best). i know that a lot of this is out their but i constantly find myself looking at wiki going what a bp again a what... haha. and also i'm on a budget, probably no more then 1g, should i just get a v-6 car? god power is addicting. i sound so unappreciative of my car, but the truth is i'll never sell this thing my collection starts here. But you know Tim the toolman syndrome...

[muttpower]

Yeah, I know this is an old post, but maybe some one will still read this and find their answer. But yeah, your best bet is a BP-T swap...for all the specifics, look at the 4cyl FAQ and the like, as there are tons of write ups on this swap....Trust me people, most anything can be found on this forum about the mx-3, it's just a matter of searching.

[Nd4SpdSe]

Search around, there's plenty of info here. The BPT swap is the best best (BP = 1.8L, T= Turbo) but having a 92-93 4cyl (SOHC), you'll see how much easier it is compared to the later models.

V6 swap is tricky. Same car, but under the hood is a totally different configuation where you'll literally need a doner car and replace everything under the hood, but could also grab the rear disc and tighter steering rack from the V6 model if you do get a whole doner car, but that's a big undertaking. The BPT is 210hp while the most powerful swap-in 2.5L V6 (KLZE) is 198hp; your call.

[AaronTietje]

Hey a local. I was just in Rochester Monday. Welcome to the forum.

[Ryan]

Quickest cheapest bang for buck is swapping a 1.8L BP straight in. Keep your harness, keep your transaxle, everything bolts up no problems whatsoever. Maybe solder one connector over, but its just match the colours, brainless.

Engine from a 1.8L DOHC Protege, Escort GT, tracer LTS, kia sephia.

To do it a little 'better' you take the transaxle that comes with the new motor, along with its axles.

From there... its just boost for more power.

This swap will net you 130hp, which is where the GS (v6) model starts.

So its up to you, you can swap, or buy a GS to the same new power result. If you want to boost, I'd stick with the BP, but if you want to stay N/A, I'd take the V6.

[muttpower]

This is a pretty old post....wonder if the guy is still alive>??? Or if he said screw you guys, Im goin home!!!!

[Daninski]

Wonder why no one responded? Probably posted and then the page reset and his post was off the page. Too bad, sounded like he would of been a good member.