1992 MX-3 with F2T Swap Build Thread

No Efffin Way.....

Yes way.

The tensioner went bad. Replace that and the idler pulleys while you're in there.

If you want to get fancy, King6Fab makes a manual tensioner that in my opinion should be mandatory for all KLs.

I need a pic of the engine bay. It's probably got a Millenia curved neck intake manifold on it, not running real KLZE electronics.

I have a JE50 vaf you "need." Buy that, a KLZE straight neck intake manifold, and track down a JE50 VAF. (Alternatively, some people find they make more power on the K8 ecu. (I have one of those, too.)

The straight neck intake requires a brake master cylinder reservoir relocation. (Not a big deal, cost you about $20.)

Getting the ZE running the way it was meant to be will give a big chunk of power over running it with a curved neck ECU.

the guy that has it didn't say anything about pulling the engine, so i'm assuming its included... If not it's still a major score! I'll post pics tomorrow evening when I go to get it.

92celica, you are a plethora of odd ball car information.

Lol Steve i know. Keeps it interesting and frustrating at the same time.

Dan i meant je50 vaf and kl36 ecu. The K8 ecu works fine as well and some have reported that it run better on it. Running that motor on a kl01 ecu and a millenia intake manifold is silly.

Yesterday, I finished prepping the Hood, Fenders, and Front Bumper. The plan for today is to have those parts painted soon as I sand the primer down. Pics to follow shortly!

Finally the weather has given me a little break and I got some more parts finished....

its a cool build, and I really want to, but I just cant like that paint...different strokes for different folks I guess...I do give you big thumbs up for painting it the right way. A little prep in the bodywork goes such a long way!

I think you might come around on the paint after it's all back together and sitting right...

He certainly needs to swap bumpers to put it over the top though.

Or find the actual mazdaspeed bumper.

And i need to sack up and find a way to ship him the rare-as-hell 1 piece sideskirts i have for this car so he can purchase them for crack pipe price and put them on his car.

Here is the frontend and Hood I'm using. Taken before I sprayed them...

I really like that Mazdaspeed Front!!!

BTW if you want clear bumper light/turn signals, they're Miata units.

See if you can track down the two piece OEM front lip... might look a little better than the lip that's on there right now.

I saw you mentioned Alsacorp- they make some KILLER stuff.

I got my paint on sale for $199 for 2 sprayable gal! I haven't used a 1/2 of one yet

About to head to the garage, and hopefully have the doors finished this evening. Yay!

keep it going...I like that hood, didnt notice it before.

I borrowed it from the KLZE MX-3 I picked up a few weeks ago ;-)

Have I mentioned how good this looks? Because it really does. Only suggestion I can make is to color match the wheel centers to the car.

Thanks man! Its lookin pretty decent for something to have been done in a regular old garage. I've had several people say the same thing about the wheels, but I think the "GM Dark Otter Pearl" is just right. It looks Black, but is actually a very high metallic charcoal grey. I almost went to the OE Gold that was on one, but now really glad I didn't! lol If someone can assist in getting the MS DIYPnP up and goin, it should be a RIOT!!!

I think it would look a lot better if the wheels were all one color. Other than that it looks cool.

Well I started reassembley and imagine the horror on my face when I back it out into the sun and see this... WTF???

Immediately started to wetsand it and prepare for an overall respray to even out the color.

First coat of Black

Intermediate Coat Sprayed

Clear Coat Finished

The color variation was caused from not putting enough Intermediate Coat on and the Base Coat showing through. Never been so thankful to have so much extra material!!!!

glad you got it sorted out - in the right light, it looks pretty good. Definitely looks better without the weird variation. Nice save.

Thanks.... I was totally sweatin it ;-)

Looking back at the pics, I almost wonder what it would look like with a flat clear.

gonna spray the Spoiler & Mirrors Thurs, then yank the engine maybe this weekend ;-) Stupid Rear Main Seal...