Scott's 1988 Mazda MX-6 GT

Figured I would start up a build thread for my newest addition. I bought this car in Statesville, NC over the weekend. Car still has the dealer sticker from Montgomery Mazda in Charlotte, NC. It has had some serious care, and with 220k miles, it still feels fresh. Paint appears original as well. Original owner kept a folder with mods to the car with some pretty cool old school brochures.

Car has Centerforce Stage 2 clutch, HKS upgraded inter cooler piping (still rubber), unknown small FMIC which I believe is HKS, HKS controller with two fuel injectors right at the TB elbow, Crane ignition with dash retard control. HKS fpr, Greddy mbc in dash, old Greddy boost gauge. Drilled rotors, pace 17" rims needing new front tars, 3" exhaust that's "get off my lawn" too loud.

This winter I plan to rid the car of band aids and start fresh with megasquirt, some rx-7 injectors, a set of rx-7 convertible BBS wheels 15", resonator, door latches, shift bushings, and other minor things. Car is in great shape and drives really well. I think I will like the F2-T life.

One of us. One of us. ONE OF US.

By the way, that's an OLD (circa ~1992) HKS Racing BOV you have on there as well. I have the same unit on mine. Very quiet, very fast, HUGE piston. Fun fact, it uses the "Greddy" flange that everyone is familiar with today, but that was actually an HKS flange first. HKS switched after Greddy copied their flange.

And your manifold looks like it's been ceramic coated.

Car looks really nice! I call dibs on the cast-offs when you go Megasquirt!

If you look to the far left you can see that haggard wire I was talking about to the t stat housing.

Also forgot about the legit Momo steering wheel.

ScreaminE wrote: If you look to the far left you can see that haggard wire I was talking about to the t stat housing.

Yep. That one breaks/goes bad on every one of these cars. Ever. If the wire doesn't break or get loose, the pin in the sensor itself does.

Ben has been super helpful with the car and I've already switched directions as far as tuning goes.

Updates to follow.

I am massively jealous.... that is a nice example.

Very nice looking.

mndsm wrote: I am massively jealous....

+eleventy billion!!

I can't find one to save my life! They either get snatched up, or people don't respond to their e-mail and leave no phone number! I guess I will live vicariously through you until I get my hands on one. Watching with anticipation!

sethmeister4 wrote:

mndsm wrote: I am massively jealous....

+eleventy billion!! I can't find one to save my life! They either get snatched up, or people don't respond to their e-mail and leave no phone number! I guess I will live vicariously through you until I get my hands on one. Watching with anticipation!

Post a WTB ad on MX6.com, and another in the general 1G section saying you're looking for one.

In reply to Swank Force One:

Good idea, thanks!

Sethmeister, I wish you had a garage to work in and could take on a project. I know of a cheap one for you, but it needs to be assembled. My friend is trying to get me to take it, but I probably have too much on my plate. But I may take it anyways. I'm sorta overloaded with turbo MX6/626s and want to try something more antiquey for my next project. I already have 3 Mazda projects ahead of me and this car would make 4...

ONE OF US.

I think your thread has more posts already, as well. I guess I need to get my ass in gear and make some progress. Goddamn rain/Volvos/ring gear bolts/excuses.

Looks like a really solid starting point.

Holy E36 M3 that thing is clean

This is what you should do with it.

twopointwo wrote: ONE OF US. I think your thread has more posts already, as well. I guess I need to get my ass in gear and make some progress. Goddamn rain/Volvos/ring gear bolts/excuses. Looks like a really solid starting point.

Your thread is where the all the magic is happening when it comes to these cars. I will just be going down a path that many before me have.

In response to all the "clean" comments. I agree! Can't believe the niceness of this car inside and out. Interior is in amazing shape minus an Autozone shift knob, poor door latches, and a faded rear seat top from the sun. The driver's side doesn't have a single door ding, and the third picture shows the minor blemish on the passenger side. The PO I bought the car from took excellent care, and waxed the car with quality products before selling to me. My parents were shocked that I got such a nice clean car for such cheap money.

So many things I want to do to get this car going. First thing will be a clutch master/slave cylinder that is on order from Amazon. Next will be replacing shift knob and boot. Front tires are worn, and the rears are near new (never rotated). I think I will keep the boat anchor wheels and keep car "as is" to enjoy this summer. Winter will hopefully yield removing the "mods" in order to start fresh with some actual upgrades.

In reply to Swank Force One:

I've read that thread. A lot. Forgot to mention that the car has some Tokico "Blues" with Eibach springs. Car behaves decent on the street. Will keep this setup for now. I think some RX-7 Vert BBS's would help this car out a ton. I'm not sure what the Pacer 17's weigh, but I'm sure it's a lot.

Hmmmm....

With all those goodies... a bit of decent headwork should go a looooong way....

exhaust...

intake...

Just sayin....

Woah. Looks like a lot of improvement is to be had on the exhaust ports.

Yeah, the heads on these things are hilariously bad.

Yep. They don't make power because of their design, but rather in spite of it.

These things are near and dear to my heart, and I just want to say that I'm really happy to see more people picking these cars up and caring about them.

How do you like the oscillating vents?

Or the fact that you can flip open the vent switches and get ACTUAL GENUINE OUTSIDE AIR forced in from the cowl? No modern car has that.

In reply to JamesMcD:

Have yet to experience the oscillating vents. The car is still in NC awaiting transport to Pittsburgh from my Dad. I have only drove the car maybe 5 glorious times. The blower motor is apparently bad, but I've read online it's either a relay or corroded contacts on the relay so I have to check that out when it gets here.

Another ? for the MX-6 Wisemen. How do I know if the car has ABS? I am trying to order a new slave cylinder and clutch master, but the master cylinder is listed for both ABS and non-ABS.

ScreaminE wrote: In reply to JamesMcD: Have yet to experience the oscillating vents. The car is still in NC awaiting transport to Pittsburgh from my Dad. I have only drove the car maybe 5 glorious times. The blower motor is apparently bad, but I've read online it's either a relay or corroded contacts on the relay so I have to check that out when it gets here. Another ? for the MX-6 Wisemen. How do I know if the car has ABS? I am trying to order a new slave cylinder and clutch master, but the master cylinder is listed for both ABS and non-ABS.

Blower motor is probably the resistor pack or the relay by the battery area. I'd blame resistor pack first, relay second. Both are extremely easy to replace and cheap.

You'd see an ABS module if it has it. If i remember your pictures right, i don't think it has ABS. I honestly don't know how common ABS was on these in the first place. I can't say i remember seeing one with it in person.

SHOULDN'T matter for clutch hydraulics anyways. They're their own separate circuit, unlike the BG chassis cars.