Devon's Black Mica MSP

Devon02 · Aug 17, 2016

Hey guys just recent picked up a 2003 mazdaspeed protg and was hoping to keep track of the progress I make with the car. This car has had a pretty sad history and I'm hoping I can bring it back to its former glory and then some.

I purchased this car with 102k and boy does it show every mile. Known issues were a worn left front wheel bearing, rear sway bar bushing clunk, leaking turbo oil lines, terrible paint and messy interior.

Some pictures for your entertainment

First mod. I hate the evil M sorry to those who like it.

This will do for now

I have ordered a few maintenance items to get her running and driving well, and hope to start modifying and cleaning it up very soon!

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Preferio · Aug 17, 2016

Best thing you could do was ditch that evil M.

323 · Aug 18, 2016

welcome! other than the problems you listed, the car doesn't seem like it's in really bad condition.

Devon02 · Aug 18, 2016

Yeah it's a fairly solid car, no rust since it is a California car and where I am in Massachusetts that's huuuuge. Drove fairly well aside from the oil smell at idle from the turbo lines and bearing hum. Planning on doing a bit more preventative maintenance and replacing the driver side rear door, has a large dent I don't think I'll be able to pop out. Regular protege doors should fit right?

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323 · Aug 18, 2016

yeah regular protege doors will fit as long as it's from a sedan. rear p5 doors are different i hear.

well now all you need are some rims that poke past your fender, stretched tires, and slam that thing to the ground! (evil)

Devon02 · Aug 18, 2016

Yeah not so sure about that last part lol, looking for something simple like evo8 or 9 wheels and some falken azenis

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323 · Aug 18, 2016

lol yeah im kidding.

Devon02 · Aug 18, 2016

My other car (Miata) is lowered on some wide wheels but it's still very functional and a blast to drive.

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Devon02 · Aug 19, 2016

Starting to get into a little rust removal/prevention. Suspension pulled apart to do wheel bearing,fenders and bumper taken off to address some rust.

after using rustoleum rust remover gel, forgot to get a before picture of that.

painted in satin black

I'm really bad at taking before pictures but where the side skirt mounts up had a good amount of surface rust.

On to the radiator support/bumper support!

unsure as to why the passenger side had rust but the drivers side didn't?

got about as far as applying a few coats of primer before I lost daylight, put one coat of black on but was unable to get a decent picture, so those should come tomorrow!

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Devon02 · Aug 20, 2016

Got a few coats of paint on this morning, I was confused as to why the paint was drying so strangely on the bottom bumper support...

well clearly I hadn't had enough coffee yet because I pulled wrinkle black off my shelf instead of satin black (face palm) I decided to just leave that as it was on the bottom because it actually didn't look half bad.

pretty happy with the end results it won't win any awards or hardly even be noticed but I'm happier knowing that the rust is taken care of. Ac condenser got some over spray on it so I just decided to paint that whole thing, and the smic did as well but I didn't paint it. Maybe I'll just upgrade it instead....yeah I like that idea much better!

Out with the old

In with the new!

Black leather shift boot with grey stitch to replace the worn factory boot. Also got my AWR bushings in to get rid of my rear clunk

Can't wait for my bearings to arrive so I can finally drive the car again.

323 · Aug 20, 2016

nice shift boot. mines looking super raggity but whatever ha. looks like your having fun and have lots of free time on your hands!

Devon02 · Aug 20, 2016

It's a bit big for the car but it was 16 bucks so I'll deal for now haha, looks much beyter

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323 · Aug 20, 2016

$16? sign me up. where did you get it?

Devon02 · Aug 20, 2016

eBay the company is vms, just typed in mazdaspeed protege leather shift boot and it was one of the first ones. I will say though before you buy it when I installed mine it was a bit bigger on the shifter trim it attaches to we have two tabs on the sides and two tabs front and rear which it slips over. The boot however has 3 tabs on the sides and 2 front and rear so it will bunch together on the sides because of the extra length. Unless you luck out and get one smaller lol

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323 · Aug 20, 2016

i looked at your pics again and see what you're saying. thanks for the heads up

Devon02 · Aug 27, 2016

Replaced my lower control arms because the ball joints had a bit of play in them, also replaced the headlights to get rid of the nasty yellowed lenses. Then installed some countersunk fender washers around the bay to neaten things up a bit.

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hornsfan10609 · Aug 29, 2016

Nice work man, be sure to grease the swaybar bushings. I used marine grease, it's supposed to last longer without washing out with water. Hopefully painting the AC condenser won't affect the efficiency of it.

Devon02 · Aug 29, 2016

Thanks and yeah they got greased real good, I can't imagine it would because some come painted from the manufacturer.

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Dpwhitehead1 · Aug 29, 2016

not bad at all. looks super clean with the new lights/fender washers and paint.

Devon02 · Aug 29, 2016

boostdprotegelx said:
not bad at all. looks super clean with the new lights/fender washers and paint.

Thank you! I'm pretty happy with it for now. I wish that the paint on the roof and fenders was as clean as the engine bay though lol. I also just picked up a door for $80 same color and all to replace mine that has a big dent.

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