Slow NA Pro5 build

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Mazda protege5
Well the wagon has been through allot over these past 5 years and s*** is starting to fall off so it's time to finally start a build to try and keep Ole Yeller going.

I'll start with the bad, the rear brakes are gone (calipers are seized and one side is actually missing a pad), struts and springs are toast, needs bushings EVERYWHERE, exhaust is ultra custom rust muffler delete (the muffler rotted off lol), engine mounts are all cracked out, engine is starting to smoke a good bit and transmission hasn't held fluid in 3 years. That being said I've driven it everyday for the past 5 years and it's taken a beating. (2 miles of haul roads everyday for 2 years probably didn't help), I'm pretty amazed this car is still running but it's sad to see the condition it's in and a little piece of me dies every time I hear another piece bouncing down the road behind me on the freeway.

So I've decided to finally start rebuilding, I'm going to start with an engine and trans, and then gather all the suspension goodies I can and hopefully I can do everything all at once and just take a week off to install everything.
My plan for the engine, I'm going to stay NA and keep it simple and reliable.

wiseco 11:1 custom pistons with side skirt coating

K1 Billet Forged Connecting Rods

FSZE Camshafts

DeatschWerks Fuel Injectors

awr 4-2-1 exhaust header

MP3 ECU Reflash

Mishimoto Radiator

Mishimoto Aluminum Fan and Shroud Kit*

fidanza lightweight flywheel

exedy stage one clutch kit

AWR engine mounts kit

Transmission is just getting a simple rebuild and either an msp or quaife limited slip
(1) Main shaft oil seal

(2) Axle oil seals

(1) Locking Nut (main shaft)

(1) Locking Nut (secondary)

(2) LSD bearings

(1) Lower Main shaft bearing

(1) Lower Secondary shaft bearing

(2) Upper shaft bearings (31.02 for both)

Oil pass channel

All (5) Synchros

(2) main/secondary shaft shims

(1) LSD shim


For suspension I want a mild track build that's still streetable
yellowspeed coilovers

626 front brakes 1993-2002 (2.5L) V6
v6 626 front calipers 1998 to 2002

v6 626 front caliper brackets

v6 front brake pads 1998 to 2002

rear calipers from a mazdaspeed protege

rear brake pads from a mazda6

msp rear brakes
Centric Posi Quiet Loaded Brake Calipers 142.45527 passenger side
Centric Posi Quiet Loaded Brake Calipers 142.45528I drivers side

msp 25mm front sway bar

AWR rear sway bar 21.5mm

AWR rear sway bar bushings polyurethane

AWR rear sway bar brackets 21.5mm

custom endlinks F/R

AWR bushing clamps

msp front strut tower brace

Megan Racing Trailing Arms

Megan Racing F&R Lateral Links

Mazdaspeed Racing Harts 17x7 +55

Yokohama 'S tires (I'm gunna try some firestone winter force for rallycross)

Arp extended studs ARP-100-7708 from summit racing

Braided Steel brake lines

gt spec trunk cage (forums for sale once in a blue moon)


So this is pretty much my plan of attack, most of this list will probably change seeing as I've never done anything this big before and don't really know my stuff, but hopefully at the end I will haha. I just picked a '97 626 engine to start tearing down, I've heard you can use the block but everything else will need to be swapped out with protege spec parts or it won't run quite right. Anyways I'm hoping you guys can help me out along the way and maybe this will eventually help someone else out. I will get pics when it's not dumping down rain.
(Edit) I revised my to do list for my budget and ocd(lol), I priced out allot of it and realized I'd be in my mid thirtys before I finished. Btw if anyone has part ideas or knows any info you wanna share feel free to fill up the comments [emoji6]🖒
 
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Hres the 626 motor, got it for 100$ at a local pick n pull
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Took off intake manifold and exhaust manifold today, that's about it so far. Love how easy it was, I didn't have to touch anything but the thermostat and the manifolds.
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Felt encouraged by my progress earlier and started to pull the timing belt cover and valve cover. Made pretty good progress till I hit the 10mm bolts on the cams, need a socket for the ones directly behind the cam gears and mine are all in the work rig at my coworkers. So I'm at a dead end till tomorrow, still not sure if I'm doing this all correctly(?) But stuff is happening [emoji23]
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Emailed corksport and wiseco, found out wiseco can do 11:1 pistons for just under a grand and corksport is able to source the ZE cams even though they don't sell them. I'm still waiting for a reply from corksport for pricing but oh man the internals alone are gunna be the price of the car alone haha. Anyways nothing much done today just some tidying up around the garage. I was wondering if anyone had recommendations for rods, I've done a bit of digging but I don't know enough myself. My goal for this build is 170-180hp so what rods should I get for an 11:1 comp. pistons and fsze cams? I'm not doing a crazy build like Installsheilds (Love that thread, wish I had twiggys [emoji24]) i just need some that are decently priced and won't s*** out after 100k. I'm kinda leaning towards the K1 billet rods as I've heard there is a lighter set specifically for NA builds, but info. Is getting sparse, Thanks guys and happy New Year's
 
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Duuuuuude! So stoked to see this, glad to see your sticking with the pro! And unless your going standalone i'd probably stick with closer to stock CR pistons. K1 or molnar rods will be your cheapest new options.
 
Duuuuuude! So stoked to see this, glad to see your sticking with the pro! And unless your going standalone i'd probably stick with closer to stock CR pistons. K1 or molnar rods will be your cheapest new options.
Thanks man, I was thinking of getting the ECU Reflashed with the mp3, I wanna do a stand alone but that's over of budget. I was thinking it would be able to handle the 11:1 because the mp3's are 10.4:1(...i think?), I've read a couple threads where people have run them with the mp3. I'm wondering if the FSZE cams are gun a be enough to handle it without adj. Cam gears. Anyways how's your pro5 doing? Anything new happening this summer?
 
Well I've got everything off but the oil pan and head, I'm stuck on the cam gears. Does anyone know a backwoods method or am I stuck buying the tool for it? And looks like I need to clean the garage again lol
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There should be some flat areas cast in to the camshafts, Chuck a wrench on that and you should be able to get the bolts off the pulleys

After that you might need a gear puller or maybe some persuasion from a soft face mallet (turn the cams every hit so it comes off evenly)
 
Thanks man, I was thinking of getting the ECU Reflashed with the mp3, I wanna do a stand alone but that's over of budget. I was thinking it would be able to handle the 11:1 because the mp3's are 10.4:1(...i think?), I've read a couple threads where people have run them with the mp3. I'm wondering if the FSZE cams are gun a be enough to handle it without adj. Cam gears. Anyways how's your pro5 doing? Anything new happening this summer?
Haha, mines doing great man! I really need to update my thread sometime. But anyway, mp3 compression ratio and engine internals are all the same as a normal protege.
 
Haha, mines doing great man! I really need to update my thread sometime. But anyway, mp3 compression ratio and engine internals are all the same as a normal protege.
Damn I was way off haha, good to know though. Well I tried fitting a wrench on the cams, the largest one I have on me is 7/8 and it's just a bit too small so I decided to work on the valve cover instead. I couldn't get between the letters for the life of me so I said f*** it and ground them off lol
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Looks great man, you gunna grind off the little brackets on the front of the VC too? And adjustable wrench on the cams!
 
Looks great man, you gunna grind off the little brackets on the front of the VC too? And adjustable wrench on the cams!
Ima leave them for now so I can keep the plug wires looking clean, and all my actual tools are in the work truck so I'm screwed till Monday. All I have is a mismatched half set of wrenches, one tiny crescent, and a bunch of half inch drive sockets that should be with my work tools lol. And yo pcb, that is the greatest backwoods contraption I have ever set eyes on, I'm definitely gunna try that just cuz it looks crazy cool[emoji23]
 

I found that picture after I did my T-belt. It would have saved me a lot of headache.

The cams are "spring loaded" about one tooth out of synch. The wrenches keep everything lined up.

One guy had a plastic tool that held the cams but he said it just bent and wouldn't hold the cams.
 
I found that picture after I did my T-belt. It would have saved me a lot of headache.

The cams are "spring loaded" about one tooth out of synch. The wrenches keep everything lined up.

One guy had a plastic tool that held the cams but he said it just bent and wouldn't hold the cams.
That's what I call engineering right there. And making progress towards painting, just doused it in brake clean, then it's taping and painting
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