Are there any 323 owners in the Protege list? I like to share my project and maybe see more 323's with 1.8L DOHC engines in them. Very easy and cheap to do. This is the way mazda should've done it for the USA like they made it in Japan and Europe with the difference of the Turbo ofcourse.
MY-RIDE

 

Yeah you right, so where are all the 323's and GLC's owners at? Now who is Rod Millen? I know this guy has a history of rebuilding engines and stuff like that I red it on the web, GT-R forum, MX-3, GT-X, this guy must be good. Does he still make parts for these engines?

 

Howdy

I should post here more often I guess. I also have a 1988 323 DX which is the 4 door sedan. I have not done anything to it other than hubcaps. I took off the original small Mazda caps in the middle. I just bought a P5 and that is the vehicle I am concentrating on right now. However, I am planning on doing some stuff to the 323 such as painting the bumpers so I will probably drop in for any help if I need it.

 

I have a '90 323. Not much done to it now. Once I get another car, this will be my project car. I'm planning on a KL-ZE swap right now.

 

I've been checking out your website and you've made great progress. Either you got good information off the boards, automotively inclined or the 323 is easy to work on! I've found it much easier to maintain compared to my old Dodge Charger HB (Bless the engine, it was a smoothy). Early research found that the 323GTX/R was probably the best BG ever made so the platform is very solid, the BF's were rock solid too. Rod Millen, back in the early 90's use to tune Ford Escorts (Mazda Protege's ) and still is very much alive tuning Nissan and Toyotas, to name a few. I think he concentrated on the 1.8 BP Dohc's, very solid engine with great potential (Boosted Miatas, GTX & the famed GTR engines) but after the BG chassis was retired, demand for his products waned and if there is no demand, there is no supply. There has been you can say a resurgence in popularity here, in Canada I suspect there is a large underground following and people still love their BF 323 GTX's. The simple truth: the car is forgotten and only those who either are stuck with it or are attracted to its killer potential work on their 323's with passion. Most are regulated to 150k miles of regular commutes and college students. I once wanted to make it supercar but I have made plans to purchase a MX3 GS w/ a tuned 626 V6 engine. My goal for that will be 180hp @ the wheels. As for the 323 you ask, well its going to be doing family duty but not without a few tweaks. The stereo will be revamped (maybe ya'll can answer my ? in the Car-Audio forum), brakes redone (9" drums, I can't wait to do a brake test), ZX2 struts, OEM rear sway bar bushings, 14" Miata alloys w/ AVID's and a right side view mirror. As for the B6E, its getting a custom 2" downpipe w/flexpipe & flanges, 2" piping, 2" highflow cat and either a glasspack or Magnaflow muffler w/ a 2.5" tip. The exhaust piping is slowing rotting away so when it snaps, I'm puttin the exhaust system in. Maybe when I get some extra time and cash I'll put together the 323 with a 300+ turbo BP, fuel management & LSD. Good luck with your project, it looks good so far!

 

Thanks man, I went to college and got a degree on Automotive Technology so I can say that I understand some about cars, that's why I feel very happy about my little project. It was a lot of fun. I got most of the ideas from the web until I saw a picture of a 323 with a BP engine in it. That's when I went serious about it. One day I went to the Junk Yard and found a Protege LX and you know the rest. The good thing about these engines is that they are ready for the Turbo, so maybe some day I'll end up doing the turbo upgrade too. There are lots and lots of these engines in good shape and with desent milege, most of them in the Ford Escorts GT's but if one day I brake my engine (wich I doubt it) I can alway go back to the Junk yard and get me another one, and have it ready in couple of days. So I'll be around with my 323 for a while surprizing people at the stop lights and waiving bye bye

 

i got a 1988 323 GTX

 

I've got a question for all of you 323 guys out there....
Do the 323's have a tach in the guage cluster? Is it just the LX models that do, or do all of them? I'm trying to find a cluster for my 91' DX Pro, and I want a tach in it. If the 323 is a possibility, it is going to greatly increase my chances of finding one. I'm pretty sure it's the same guages that they put in the Proteges, correct me if I'm wrong....

 

I have a '90 323, and there is no tach. I'm pretty sure there wasn't a tach avaliable in any of the similar yeared 323s. I think they share the same gauge cluster with the protege dx. My speedo goes to 140, and I have fuel on the left and temp gauge on the right.

 

I only saw one 323 with a tach once, but I don't think they came with tach from factory, not even in the LX models. In Canada is probably a different story. I once saw a 91 323 with a 16 valves head. I'm guessing that somebody probably swap the engine for the Protege DX, I think it would be a very simple swap. The engines look identical with the difference of the cc of course.

 

I've got -91 323 1.6 GLX SOHC 16v and it has a tach

 

i have a 91 323 and i did the same BPD swap. i also have a "special" engine ready to go in soon.

 

What evil plans do you have in mind Dru?

 

ive got a 93 DX hatch with no tach. the clusters are the same. nice car dru!

 

thanx celi, manuel: i have a 1.8l turbo engine in the garage that i am porting as we speak as well as trying to get ahold of a vj20 to mount up to it. im also still searching for that lx tranny if anyone has leads. send em my way.