Nigel, the little P5 that could

Awesome stuff man! Glad to see new builds up and alive. Looks like you have a great plan laid out. If you want some tribute washer nozzles I have a set for sale for only $12 shipped if you're interested? Keep it up!

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Ordered some goodies from Amazon, Mini H1 projectors and LEDs will be here tomorrow! Now I just need to think of an excuse to leave early tomorrow :D

Awesome stuff man! Glad to see new builds up and alive. Looks like you have a great plan laid out. If you want some tribute washer nozzles I have a set for sale for only $12 shipped if you're interested? Keep it up!

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You have my attention... PM me!
 
Projectors are in! I still need to do a little bit of aiming, but they are in and they work great! Took about 3 hours with a few hangups.

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What transmission fluid do you guys suggest? I have Redline MT90 and lately it's been difficult to shift, especially into 2nd. I didn't have the problem with the OE fluid (dunno if it's ever been done, but the drain and fill bolts didn't look like they've been touched, even after 250k ish miles). Should I just hit Napa and get whatever? Or should I do something specific? I only did MT90 because my buddy bought the wrong weight for his car and that was what worked for the P5. It felt good for the first month or so but now every gear change is "crunchy", not notchy.

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Love your build bro ! I'm thinking about starting on mine. How hard were the projectors to put in ? Can you give me like a small run down on how you did it?
 
Love your build bro ! I'm thinking about starting on mine. How hard were the projectors to put in ? Can you give me like a small run down on how you did it?

Installing the projectors was like a 6/10. Took about 3 hours total, most of that was on the first one. Just bake the headlight lens off, remove the bulb protector thing, take your Mini H1, put the silicone grommet on the back, thread through the hole, add the H7 adapter, thread the backing nut on, get it snug, put on the bulb adapters, add the bulbs, mount the headlights on the car, make sure the cutoff lines are even/parallel, tighten the lock ring, double check everything, wipe down everything to remove paw prints, throw the headlight together, and bake it again. Mount it up and adjust the aim with the stock adjustments.

Also I suggest painting the housings black while the headlights are open, do that first that way the paint can dry while you do projector things. Also polish the lenses inside and out while they're out.

I was thinking about a How-To, but it's stupid simple. Hopefully this helps!
 
Did the swaybar endlinks do any difference? btw BORN OF OSIRISSSS did u go to their New Reign 10 year anniversary concert?

also the headers, i had a really hard time installing the ebay headers, they barely fit and the flange was slammed against the oil pan. i ended up returning them...
 
Did the swaybar endlinks do any difference? btw BORN OF OSIRISSSS did u go to their New Reign 10 year anniversary concert?

also the headers, i had a really hard time installing the ebay headers, they barely fit and the flange was slammed against the oil pan. i ended up returning them...
The swaybar endlinks were factory, and were just clunking around. After the back end settled, it felt like the swaybar started to actually do something.
I did go to the BOO Eternal Reign show, it was sick as **** dude. Also saw Aversions Crown a couple months ago, so that was cool.
The headers didn't it the oil pan, but one of the bolt holes was off, and the EGR dealio was practically a mile away. I ran some natural gas hose as a remedy and it gets the job done.
 
Sorry I haven't been updating this, I've been a busy dude, short on time and monies. I have done a few things:

I did happen to pick up a brand new Magnaflow cat back for $200 from Amazon, and it sounds beautiful. A little buzzy (gotta check my clamps) but it sounds right. I love love love it. 11/10 highly recommended.

Also, hit pick n pull and scored a reel light from a GMC Yukon. Mounted it on the underside of the hood, so now I have an underhood light with a 20ft reel. Tore apart one of my many hard drives I have laying around and glued a magnet to the base of the light so it can stick wherever.

Installed a camber bolt on my problem wheel, didn't do s***. Probably did it wrong. Oh well. I'll just have an alignment shop fix it. I'm not getting another hernia from busting bolts at odd angles.

Also got new shoes today, Nankang NS20s in 205/45r16 fashion. These are "good" tires in the sense that they are comfy, grippy, and quiet all for the low price of $80 each mounted/balanced/installed. Not complaining about that. Not track tires, but for spirited driving and daily commuting, they're solid. Any Portland people should really hit the Lovely Tire & Wheel Co, awesome people, awesome prices, awesome service. I was in and out in 30 minutes.

The pleather shift knob finally got too gross for me, so I did a camouflage bandana custom dealio. Looks cool and isn't nasty yet.

Got a Millenia PCV valve and a new grommet, oil consumption has dropped drastically. I was down half a quart after about a month, where I was going through about a quart a week.

Oh story time/epic fail sharing. Pulled the intake to do the VTCS delete and rear motor mount. Having the other 3 mounts in was a ******* pain getting lined up. Also the plastic harness sheath thing that everyone bitches about? Wtf just remove the top nut, pull the harness out, and rotate the sheath/clip to get at the other nut. Then vice grip and wiggle the stud off. Took like 10 minutes and half a beer to figure that one out, but I digress. Removed the intake, removed the VTCS, plugged the hole on the outside for the actuator rod, and popped the thing back in. Then it idled and drove like absolute s***. Engine light going bonkers throwing all sorts of codes, couldn't figure the s*** out. Come to find out, the manifold gasket got nicked going back in and was causing a massive vacuum leak. Replaced the gasket (scraping off 14 year old gasket on a 90 degree day blows s***) and it has been smooth as silk since.

I think that's it? Mainly just tinkering and doing cool things every now and then. I need to tighten my shift linkage, it's sloppyish again. Also my clutch is getting icky, hardcore shudder in traffic if I don't baby it, and the throwout/pilot bearing is rattling. Not cool, man.
If I think of any other dumb s*** I did, I'll let you guys know.
 
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Some dummy got the wrong end links. Replaced the K80869s with proper K80868s and it drives with some semblance of control.

Now I need to replace the RSB and lateral links from the damage that was caused by the longer links. I'll be doing the Progress bar and Megan links.
 
I'm sorry guys, Nigel will be no more, perhaps living a good life for someone else.
I'll be taking a look at a 2010 Mazda3 S Sport tomorrow. Manual, roof, Bose, all for a good price, and less than half the miles I have now.

Hate to leave you guys, but Nigel is getting tired. The cat is plugged (just ordered a cat, too!), it's got all sorts of rattles and noises, and it's just time to say goodbye.
A real shame, I put a lot of love into this car. I might get choked up if I do end up driving away from it while blasting "Are you gonna go my way" by Lenny Kravitz (Is there any better way of breaking in a new-to-you Mazda?)
This car has been a blast, bouncing ideas off you guys and learning about this car, as well as pushing it well past it's limits has been something I enjoyed every moment of.
I'll let you know tomorrow if I signed the papers. Nigel has been cleaned out, save for the amp wiring and the CS Shift knob (you bet it'll be coming with me!)

Cheers all! Hope to see you in the Mazda3 board.
 
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