Mazda MX3

Saw an MX-3 sitting in the weeds today, lost and abandoned. So I thought I would give the little space ship some love today. This is a car that is often festooned with ridiculous wings and spoilers and air dams (curse you Fast N Furious!) and it doesn't deserve that. It was a pretty cool package in it's day, 2500# with a 130hp V6. (Yep, a little V6) and a 5-speed. Looked like a coupe but had a back seat and a hatch, so it was kinda practical for it's size. I never drove one, but always thought they were cool. If you have an MX-3 story, share it.

these and Nissan nx2000s were too cool for the treatment that they often received.

A good friend had one years ago. It had some crunchy syncros but otherwise was very reliable. Not terribly fast, but very fun to drive. That little 1.8 v6 sounded terrific and was very happy up at the top of the tach.

The 1.8 V6 wasn't the best idea. All of the weight of a V6 with all of the power of a 4cyl. You weren't going to win any drag races against an Integra. Fortunately it didn't take much to swap in the 2.5L 199hp KL-ZE engine from the Japanese Capella/626/MX6.

The good news is that the all aluminum V6 wasn't really an appreciable amount heavier than the cast iron 4 banger lump that car came with.

Source: Swapping a KL into my Escort in place of the BP it came with resulted in a net LOSS of around 150lbs.

I bought one new in 1994. It was a dark purplish color called Creek Mica Blue. It was a 4 cylinder version with a 5 speed. At the time the 1.8L V-6 would've been a stretch for me at the time. It was a decent car. Ended up getting rid of it after a couple years and got a Contour because we needed a car we could get a babyseat into.

MCarp22 wrote: The 1.8 V6 wasn't the best idea. All of the weight of a V6 with all of the power of a 4cyl. You weren't going to win any drag races against an Integra. Fortunately it didn't take much to swap in the 2.5L 199hp KL-ZE engine from the Japanese Capella/626/MX6.

I want one because they're neat. And really aren't a notable weight penalty based on the 4 they replace unless I'm misremembering.

The last one pictured belonged to an Autocrosser here in the Bay Area. He competed with regularly in Street Mod in the early 2000's. It had a 2.5L engine swapped in.

I rode in it a few times as a coach/instructor. The bigger motor in fairly light car was a lot of fun.

I've always wondered how much the rear hatch glass weighs.

In reply to captdownshift:

A LOT.

I have an MX-3 story.

On Halloween 2011, my (now) wife and I bought a '94 Protege DX to fix up as a fun and economical commute attack car.

It was a cheap piece of E36 M3, but I wanted to do it right. I stripped all of the broken and disgusting things out of it and started collecting parts. A cheap MX-3 GS was listed for sale very near home, so I took a look and bought it. It didn't run, but was complete and I didn't want the engine anyway. All I saw was cheap alloys, good tires, nice seats, front lower control arms, steering rack, rear tie bar, etc. It had a lot of the things that I needed for the Protege. The donor:

When I originally looked at the car, I pointed out that the intake tube was disconnected. The seller said they had unhooked it during troubleshooting. Good enough for me. I towed it home and hooked up the tube. The car started right up and drove pretty well. It had a miss but now I KNEW everything was good. Two days later, a friend came over and we did a little troubleshooting and got the car running better. After that, he went home and we were going to meet for dinner. My wife and I left in the new prize and made it to a stop sign a mile or so from our house when a Grand Marquis backed through the driver's side window of the MX-3 at a high rate of speed.

The photos were obviously taken after the GrandMa rolled forward off of my car a bit. I was sort of trapped in the car and my lovely blonde locks were full of glass, but I was okay. I may have sharted a bit, but I wasn't really hurt. My wife was fine as well since the passenger's side was completely untouched. The ugly MX-3 was U-shaped, the Grand Marquis was U-shaped, and the driver of the very totalled S10 that broadsided the idiot in the GrandMa was sent to the hospital.

A nice police officer helped untangle the cars and I was able to drive the remnants of the MX-3 home. The insurance payout was substantially more than I had in both the Protege and the MX-3, and I got to use all of the parts that I had originally wanted anyway. It was a win overall, but certainly not a situation I would've chosen. They take a hit like a CHAMP.

There's my MX-3 story. I've never liked the way they look, but anything that shares bones with the BG Protege/Escort/etc is a winner in my book.

The Protege turned out pretty bitchin', too:

They're substantially stiffer-feeling than most BGs i've driven, too. The wider track also transforms how they feel.

I bought a "parts car" MX3 GS (V6) from someone on here years ago for the Escort. Rusty nasty pile, but ran awesome. I drove that car about.... 750 miles. Home, hooned around the back roads a couple times, then to the shop where i promptly ended its life. Yamaha helped.

It was a good, no, GREAT, FWD car. Stiff, responsive, great brakes, super stable, and loved to be beat on.

I've often thought i would want one as a daily, but there's just not room in the fleet right now. One of the best FWD cars i've ever driven.

I've thought about getting one, stripping the interior, dropping in the 2.5L, relocating the battery to the hatch, and attempting to shape a lexan rear glass piece.

The center of gravity would be pretty low at that point.

I've been racing my '94 MX3 with my Hong buddies in both LeMons and ChumpCar for a few years now. It's about 300 miles shy of crossing over 20,000 track miles with a 1.8L BP from an Escort GT. Easily one of the most fun cars I own.

Here's a video from a track day at Road Atlanta yesterday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRmuHYGQidc

Saw one of these at the gas station the other day. I like them.

Kind of want one.

I always liked them. It seems any that I see now are not running. They seem to attract the worst of owners kind of like the old Fiestas.

When I bought my AE92 this is one of the cars I was shopping for, pretty rare around here though. Technically a great FWD car, but about ZERO aftermarket for anything but the engine...and not a whole lot for the engine either AFAIK. Looks nice but like a Miata, it looks a bit feminine and could use a butching-up.

In reply to GameboyRMH:

Pierce Motorsports has all the suspension bits you'd ever want for one.

I always thought they were kinda cute. In '97 or '98 we looked at them a bit as a replacement for SWMBOs '89 Corolla. We went with a '93 MX-6 V6 instead. It was a pretty good car too.

In reply to GameboyRMH:

Engine is probably the least-supported part of that car.

Those things are great. I know the K8 is one hell of a little mill, but for me, all a four-cylinder needs to be legendary is a KL-DE swap (and possibly a small turbo).

They had a pretty comprehensive review of them in the magazine years ago. Like so many of those articles did, it left me with a strong desire to own one. I keep looking but the only decent ones I see are the 4cyl and after hearing what the little V6 sounds like that's the one I want.

I always wanted to gut one and stick everything into a Escort wagon.

Is that wrong?

I still think it could use a 'ShoGun' treatment.

Another kindred spirit! What year is the car? My first one was a 1996. I loved the funky, clamshell dash, but dealing with OBD II drove me bonkers. Those berkeleying disty issues are not only crazy, but very expensive. My current one is a 92, OBD I, which made it easy to upgrade the stock 1.8L V6 for a 200hp KLZE. It's currently up on jackstands, awaiting new suspension and exhaust. Took it to a lapping day at Mosport a couple of years ago, and I love this little car. Feels very much like the MX5, despite being a FWD.