AngryScottish
Member
Hey everyone... just a build thread for a Chump Car me and a few friends being built. Thought it'd be nice to share some of our problems and hopefully get some solutions for issues we encounter.
First, some pictures of the car in question...
It's a 1992 Mazda MX-3 GS 1.8L V6 with a spun bearing. We also scored a second engine in the deal...all for $400. Luckily, the car came with a host of parts we were happy to see:
- KYB struts
- new strut hats
- new 6 puck sprung clutch, pressure plate, pilot bearing, and throw-out bearing
- aftermarket air filter
- aftermarket steering wheel
- cross-drilled rotors
- stainless steel lines
- front strut brace
Problem is, there were a host of other problems we found along the way:
- engine had been bottle-fed
- PS leakage EVERYWHERE
- hockey puck rear mount that was poorly executed
- most of the hoses were brittle, along with most of the wiring
We eventually stripped the interior from the car:
We still need to dry ice the sound deadening material and get that removed.
We also yanked the broken engine. And prepped the other engine for installation:
But, I still had to get around to fabbing up new motor mounts:
The previous owner decided to over-torque the mounts, thus stripping the threads on the bolts... Apparently, Autozone doesn't have the proper engine mounts (front and rear), so buying them new wasn't going to work; OEM Mazda was $70/ea, way over budget for our needs.
So, the old mount bolts had to be removed, and new hockey pucks fitted
A friend came by and wanted to do something... the fender was originally rusty so we gave him a belt sander. He sanded the fender down, then sprayed it black. not back for 45 mins of work.
Also managed to reinstall most of the front suspension, with half a coil cut from the OEM springs.
Interior back in after all the unnecessary crap was removed. I need to go through all of the wiring and remove all of the wires that fed the radio, e-con, etc, etc. I've already stripped most of the rear wiring to only taillamps and fuel pump.
Our future rear brake ducts...I had a late night idea of making z06 type of brake ducts. My friend went to town and started cutting.
Our new air filter location
Our goal to have it running on the 1.8L V6 by tomorrow for a track day won't happen though. We're missing too many little things to get everything working
Some other issues we ran into:
- PS/AC delete. We removed the PS and looped the lines. Removed AC too, and somewhere along the line I threw out the pulleys. Oops. Now I need to find another pulley to make everything work.
- Shift linkage fell thru the floor. Previous owner did the ghetto "screw it in the plate" mod... I welded it to the shifter plate.
- The gearbox wiring was soooo brittle that a lot of the wires broke off. Thankfully it's just the reverse switch and the neutral safety... I'm hoping I can just ground the neutral safety switch and the car will start. The reverse switch I could care less about.
So far, the total build cost is:
$400 - car
$30 - hockey pucks
$20 - junk yard parts (shift linkage, various mounts, bolts, hoses)
$1000 - autopower roll cage (includes shipping)
$10 - Battery kill switch
$120 - window net, 6point harness
$100 - water pump, pcv, thermo, crankshaft seal (for KLZE)
$1000 - KLZE engine (includes shipping)
$100 - Miscellaneous crap (hoses, wires, bolts, etc)
------
$2780
Our total OOP budget is $3000. We still need a seat and fire system. Seat we're getting for free from a friend, and the fire system/bottle will be less than $50. Not bad for a Wheel-to-Wheel race car. We could have done it for $2000 if we opted to not go with the KLZE... but the 200hp is nice, as we plan on only revving it to 5000rpms to save the motor, afterall, it's endurance racing.
First, some pictures of the car in question...
It's a 1992 Mazda MX-3 GS 1.8L V6 with a spun bearing. We also scored a second engine in the deal...all for $400. Luckily, the car came with a host of parts we were happy to see:
- KYB struts
- new strut hats
- new 6 puck sprung clutch, pressure plate, pilot bearing, and throw-out bearing
- aftermarket air filter
- aftermarket steering wheel
- cross-drilled rotors
- stainless steel lines
- front strut brace
Problem is, there were a host of other problems we found along the way:
- engine had been bottle-fed
- PS leakage EVERYWHERE
- hockey puck rear mount that was poorly executed
- most of the hoses were brittle, along with most of the wiring
We eventually stripped the interior from the car:
We still need to dry ice the sound deadening material and get that removed.
We also yanked the broken engine. And prepped the other engine for installation:
But, I still had to get around to fabbing up new motor mounts:
The previous owner decided to over-torque the mounts, thus stripping the threads on the bolts... Apparently, Autozone doesn't have the proper engine mounts (front and rear), so buying them new wasn't going to work; OEM Mazda was $70/ea, way over budget for our needs.
So, the old mount bolts had to be removed, and new hockey pucks fitted
A friend came by and wanted to do something... the fender was originally rusty so we gave him a belt sander. He sanded the fender down, then sprayed it black. not back for 45 mins of work.
Also managed to reinstall most of the front suspension, with half a coil cut from the OEM springs.
Interior back in after all the unnecessary crap was removed. I need to go through all of the wiring and remove all of the wires that fed the radio, e-con, etc, etc. I've already stripped most of the rear wiring to only taillamps and fuel pump.
Our future rear brake ducts...I had a late night idea of making z06 type of brake ducts. My friend went to town and started cutting.
Our new air filter location
Our goal to have it running on the 1.8L V6 by tomorrow for a track day won't happen though. We're missing too many little things to get everything working
Some other issues we ran into:
- PS/AC delete. We removed the PS and looped the lines. Removed AC too, and somewhere along the line I threw out the pulleys. Oops. Now I need to find another pulley to make everything work.
- Shift linkage fell thru the floor. Previous owner did the ghetto "screw it in the plate" mod... I welded it to the shifter plate.
- The gearbox wiring was soooo brittle that a lot of the wires broke off. Thankfully it's just the reverse switch and the neutral safety... I'm hoping I can just ground the neutral safety switch and the car will start. The reverse switch I could care less about.
So far, the total build cost is:
$400 - car
$30 - hockey pucks
$20 - junk yard parts (shift linkage, various mounts, bolts, hoses)
$1000 - autopower roll cage (includes shipping)
$10 - Battery kill switch
$120 - window net, 6point harness
$100 - water pump, pcv, thermo, crankshaft seal (for KLZE)
$1000 - KLZE engine (includes shipping)
$100 - Miscellaneous crap (hoses, wires, bolts, etc)
------
$2780
Our total OOP budget is $3000. We still need a seat and fire system. Seat we're getting for free from a friend, and the fire system/bottle will be less than $50. Not bad for a Wheel-to-Wheel race car. We could have done it for $2000 if we opted to not go with the KLZE... but the 200hp is nice, as we plan on only revving it to 5000rpms to save the motor, afterall, it's endurance racing.
