Picked up my Protege5 yesterday!

MazKid

Member
ForceFed's car. After fighting with the tow vehicle(a salesman from my dealership let me use his QX4) for a while late last night, one of my friends went home to sleep, expecting us to leave in the morning. Well my dad sorted out the tow hitch issue so my other friend and I decided to just hit the road, at 3:45AM. lol When we got to Dayton, ForceFed wasn't really expecting us that early...a lot of the car was lying on the grass assorted and ready to be installed...so we spent some time putting as much stuff together as we could. The interior is nearly done except I need to get a headliner for it(the one in it is scuffed pretty bad) so the surrounding pieces aren't in.

But man I'm so happy with it! Can't wait to get the KL in and drive it.

Here's some pics:
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Damn tailgaters!!
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Oh wait, that's mine. :)
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That's it for today. I'll be making a list of everything I need for the car tomorrow.

Preliminary plans for this car:
'99 626 V6 5 speed drivetrain(2.5L KL).
Protege MP3 17" Racing Hart wheels
MP3 suspension(Tokicos and Eibach springs)
MP3 rear swaybar
Protege5 leather seats(with seat heaters from...something)
MazdaSpeed Protege LSD
626 4 cylinder 5th gear swap(taller gear)
Few other bits I can't think of right now

Hoping to have this car fully drivable within a month. Maybe. :D
 
Looks good! That car is a lot more put-together than it was the last time I saw it! Why are you going with a KLDE - or is it just something you have lying around? Same with the MP3 suspension - it will cause the rear to sag a little and the rear swaybar will require the subframe from an MP3. Otherwise, I can't wait to see how this pans out.
 
Looks good! That car is a lot more put-together than it was the last time I saw it! Why are you going with a KLDE - or is it just something you have lying around? Same with the MP3 suspension - it will cause the rear to sag a little and the rear swaybar will require the subframe from an MP3. Otherwise, I can't wait to see how this pans out.

Well, I always wanted to put a KL in something. My dad has a '93 ProbeGT, and my brother has a MX-6 LS with a KL-ZE, and has had other KL cars before(few Millenias and a Probe GT). My brother deals with the KLs all the time, he has a shop where he parts out those cars often.

I like the KL because it's so smooth, quiet til you get on it, makes decent power, has a killer sound, and etc.

I was able to find a '99 626 V6 5 speed at a local junkyard and picked up the whole swap(engine, trans, all of the accessories, all of the A/C, wireharness, ECU, linkage, mounts, everything) for $500, 110K miles on it.

Since the KL is slightly heavier than the FS, any rear sag from the MP3 suspension will be compensated...and I'm going with a Millenia Enkei alloy spare wheel so that'll take a few pounds off the back too. I'm not really concerned about it, I can try the suspension and sell if necessary. I know about the rear subframe...luckily, there's a MP3 sitting at a local salvage yard so I can get all these parts, and my brother knows the people there so it'll be relatively cheap. The yard isn't a self-serve but they let my brother in there to pull whatever he wants. I'll be going with him and getting the missing bits I need.

Basically, this car is replacing my 323 as a daily driver. The 323 is just too basic. It's a nice car, runs great, fun to drive, utterly reliable, etc...but it's slow, old, bare bones, kinda loud, etc. This will be my "nice" car...not that my others aren't, but they're a bit dated.
 
this should be an interesting project. im gonna keep my eyes peeeled
 
Glad to see it made it Home for you.

Your title work has been done today.
Its in my hand and ready to ship.
As soon as the hatch piece is painted..they will both be on the way to you.

IT was nice meeting you and glad this car is going to someone who will get some nice use of it.
 
Was at the shop today and figured I might aswell take a few pics of my Protege5 getting dusty. :( The ACT HDSS clutch came in yesterday, and a FB RX-7 left the shop today, so progress is being made...just slow that's all.

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very nice first gen in those pics. your car looks weird without weight in the front lol.

be sure to document this process well because ive been dying to find a thread with it well described.
Planning to swap mine for a KL from a 626 or mx6. im going from an auto, might stay auto who knows but still...PICS plz!
 
very nice first gen in those pics. your car looks weird without weight in the front lol.

be sure to document this process well because ive been dying to find a thread with it well described.
Planning to swap mine for a KL from a 626 or mx6. im going from an auto, might stay auto who knows but still...PICS plz!

I can't drive automatics anymore...so boring!

My '88 323 was an auto and I(well, my dad and I) swapped it to a 5 speed after I bought it from him.

But yes, I'll be sure to document/take pics of everything. I forgot to take pics of the parts I have for it...but I'll be there Thursday so I'll try to gather all my bits for it...need to do that anyway, the parts are all over the shop. :D
 
Wow! Glad to see ForceFed's car put to a sweet project like this. Nothing like brand new paint too, not to mention the JDM tails. Can't wait to see the build complete. I have yet to see someone who has successfully completed a KL-ZE swap into a P5 although I am sure it has. Keep us updated!

BTW I love your 323! That thing is sick! My first car was an 87' 323 wagon so I still have a thing for them.
 
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