Update: April 2009
I finally have some time to put into this car and have been going over some things. I'll probably look to tone down the rice-factor. I ordered the Spyder headlights with HID's. I'm looking at new bumpers. Would like to go with the Mazdaspeed version, but not sure if it will go with these ricey side skirts. I would like to lose the spoiler too, but now we're talking a lot of paint. We'll see if I can get it done with a modest price tag. Afterall, it's still a '93 and parts keep rusting away.
Update: November 2008
Well, the car is still kicking. I wish I could say that it still looks and runs as well as it did in these pictures. Unfortunately time has caught up with the ol' MX-3. The headlights had some leakage that only got worse with time. They're not too pretty right now. The hood is faded & looks bad. Exterior paint is rough, there are a lot of chips and scratches from excessive highway miles. The front bumper has a big rip in the fiberglass. The radiator fan motor seized up and I had been overheating. I have the signal spliced over into the former Air Conditioning fan. I think the whole cooling system needs to be overhauled regardless. The engine is still untuned. I get some bucking (maybe misfires, I can't tell) under full throttle. I think I need a larger diameter tubing for the bypass valve. There is probably also some leakage in the air system. Cruising around its fine, but I can't lean on it very hard for too long. The car is a picture of haste. It was mostly thrown together quickly without attention to perfection. It was my daily driver and time was a factor in all the work I did. Currently, I've moved on to a red Mazdaspeed6. Yeah, its tough to give the MX-3 love after driving that! I'd post current pictures, but I'd like this car's legacy to remain. I want to keep the memory alive of when it looked like this. And maybe in a couple years, it will again... until then...
Watch Shane's Mazda MX-3 Video Trailer
Engine swap..... page 2
Track times........ page 3
Image gallery..... page 4
Suspension....... page 5
Exhaust............... page 6
Anyone in the NY, NJ, CT area that is interested in starting an MX-3 team drop me a line in my guestbook.
You should visit www.MX-3.com and read this page completely before asking any questions about the work I have done.
Major thanks to all the Mazda MX-3 owners out there for the inspiration and knowledge, in particular those at MX-3.com, Corksport, ModifiedMazda.com, and the MX-3 Owners Club of Atlanta.
"Invader/Combat" style body kit, carbon fiber hood with inverted vent, custom Civic projector headlights.
17" silver Riax Zuka wheels with Ventus tires.
The headlights are wired up properly including the halo ring. The old turn signal lenses and housings have been removed. Here's how they look at night:
For those of you who don't aready know, the headlights are 01-03 Civic projectors. They need to be custom modified in the form of cutting them to fit and resealing them. I also made some cuts to my car. You have to pretty much just make it up as you go along, but if you want a guide, I used this web site: EvilYeti.com
Just blacked out my stock tail lights. Already been pulled over once for them. No ticket yet, but I think I am going to go back to stock. So enjoy the pics now:
The new engine has lots of performance parts including...
a Fidanza lightweight flywheel, ACT clutch...
Corksport downpipe, new exhaust manifold...
Magnecor 8.5mm ignition wires, new head gakset, new intake and exhaust manifold gaskets, various other new gaskets around the turbo.
My friend gave me his stock intercooler from his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.
Watch Shane's Mazda MX-3 Video Trailer
Please sign my guestbook too...
