Here she is... had to drive a bit to get it but it was all worth it.
I just wanted to show everyone what I'm working with, I will post several pics later on... in the meantime, school work must be done.

Here are some more pics of the car, untouched, (by me anyways)

first things first, I decided to gut the interior... I found some pretty nasty stuff in there, including some drug paraphenalia. Overall the car was ridiculously dirty, but it was to be expected for $400. She was trailored home from Maryland to Hamburg, NY. The guy said I could drive it home, but I thought different being that the tires had no tread, the brakes were shot, there was absolutely no oil in pan, there was dirt in the coolant reservoir, and most importantly, it wasnt insured or registered . Here are some pics of the interior removal project.

This is after I cleaned up the drivers side:


And the dismantling begins:



You can see that as I do have a 1994, I have the push button hvac controls






Fully Gutted


I decided on a metallic silver for my interior trim and I did the white guages of course:







I also made up a custom switch panel for some interior/exterior lighting. The space on the far right is for my safety toggle switch for nitrous... when it comes time for it...





I am going to do the AT, to MTX swap by the Spring. I also picked up a set of really nice heads for the K8 and some new gaskets. I'm going to get her running this summer with the stock K8 and the MTX. I might experiment with forced induction on the K8 when I can afford to get a new engine (in case I ruin this one) but until then, I want to be able to drive my mazda once again... It's been a while

Random pic of my dog, allie

did some more work on the engine the other day. I cleaned some parts, grinded some rust and oxidation off, and did some painting. I also received my new heads the other day, they are stock K8's w/ low mileage and very little wear. They came with the cams and valve covers, which is nice since now I can either plate them or powdercaot them. hmmmm...




I also received my new gaskets, seals, timing belt, and of course a water pump. I will post some pics of the new heads when I get some time.

Just a more recent update, I just received my new set of KYB-GR2 struts and a brand new set of Intrax Lowering springs. I have some before picks but nothing after the install as of yet. I plan to complete the install by this weekend and will DEFINITELY post pics.

Looks to be in good condition, nice find. Thats pretty cheap. Looking forward to seeing those pictures, I wanna see how those intrax springs look.

Do tell what kind of paint and whether a primer was used on the
interior plastic bits. Looks good, not tacky at all and the texture
of the plastic is unaltered. Also has there been any paint flaking
off / do you foresee any ?


I suggest a rubberized undercoating for the interior trunk area that
is covered by the carpet and wooden tire panel. Its a good way to
seal the back from further moisture from the inside and adds some
sound deadening. Just remember to get the good stuff and spray
very thin, otherwise it takes a long time to dry.

Oh give it at least 2 days to air out cause the stuff smells like arse.

I did apply a couple coats of grey sandable primer (but did not sand to keep the factory texture). Following that I applied about 3-4 coats (light) of metallic silver rustoleum for plastics. To prtoect even more and givei t some shine, i then applied about 2 layers of clear coat. Thanks for the input, its always appreciated! I also will be doing a semi-rebuild of my K8 following the suspension replacement. Here are some pics of my the newer heads I'm going to drop in:



These heads are under 50K and got them pretty cheap (100 shipped). I also have brand new head gaskets, valve seals, vlave cover gaskets, cam seals, water pump, and timing belt that will be done during this rebuild. I'm gonna flush the tranny and replace the filter to help prolong the life of the auto tranny, just so I can get the car on the road this spring. I plan on doing the mtx swap as I already have the shifter and linkages. Maybe ill replace some engine mounts while I'm at it. I also decreased the hell out of my valve covers and then painted them a nice gloss black (ceramic engine enamel). Here are some before and after pics:



This pic almost looks like a reflection of blue and it looks like the center section has tons of bumps. Those bumps are no longer visable and the paint is a very nice and shiney.

Here are some pics of the strut/spring replacement process as of this morning. I plan on having more by tonight as they should all be complete. I think i just may replace my rotors while im at it, they're pretty gross. By the way, this car was sitting for about a year prior to me buying it. (CORROSION!). I've become very good friends with P.B. Blaster .

Also, if anyone needs some stock struts/springs, I will have them very soon. They seem to be in ok condition and the only reason that I'm replacing them with the KYB's and intrax springs is because I promised this MX-3 that I would replace the necessary components with NEW parts. I refuse to skimp.

OHH, forgot to mention. I removed the custom switch panel and in its place, I decided to install three new guages (Oil pressure, voltmeter, and temperature). I also replaced the stock white bulbs with blue LED's to maintain the blue glow. Heres a pic of them as they sit- ready to be installed.

looks nice - you are going to love kyb's and intrax - I do!

Here is a completely assembled rear kyb strut and intrax spring... niiiiiiiiiiiiice !

What needs to be done to get her on the road:

Wheels:
- New Brake Pads (front & rear) - will be installed in March 2009
- New Rotors (Front & Rear) - to be installed March 2009
- 4 Tires - March 2009 - Nitto NEO-GEN's
- New Lug Nuts - Black

Engine Area:
- Complete the custom intake - done
- Flush cooling lines - done
- Flush radiator - done
- Drain tranny fluid/ drop pan/replace filter/ new fluid** - even better: swapping to probe gt manual tranny
- Remove current heads - done
- Install newer heads w/ gaskets - done
- New valve seals/ valve cover gaskets - done
- Cam seals - done
- Replace Timing Belt - done
- New Water Pump/ gasket - done
- Replace Alternator (millennia?)**
- Degrease/Paint fuel rails (bronze high temp) - done
- Install KLZE rails and injectors - Blue tops going on the DE
- New Spark Plugs/ Wires - done
- Drain/refill Brake fluid- done
- Drain/refill Power Steering Fluid - leaks.... so yeah, drained at least
- Replace Radiator Hoses
- Replace Coolant Reservoir - replaced then reinstalled/relocated
- Install Carbon Fiber Hood - done
- Install tranny oil cooler - NOPE - not with manual tranny
- Re-route tranny oil lines to cooler - no longer necessary
- Clean up engine bay - done (an on-going process)
- Remove A/C system - done


Future Plans:
- 17” rims (Konig?) and tires (gloss black or gunmetal)
- Wings West Supra style spoiler
- EVO front bumper - NO EVO BUMPER!!!!!! Staying stock
- Sound deaden the entire bottom of cabin
- 2X 12” Subs w/ amp in custom fiberglass enclosure - not fiberglass but done
- Polk Audio Components w/ crossovers - done
- Install StreetGlow Neons (Neo-Blue Lava tubes, lightning, and plain neons) - done
- ATX to MTX swap (90% of parts obtained)
- SS Brake lines
- SS Clutch Lines - done
- 7” flip out monitor
- Combat Side Skirts - NOPE maybe MS replicas
- Repaint with Pearlescent Black - mmmmmmmmm, pearl paint
- Racing Seats (Black) - maybe Corbeau's or Bride
- Complete Silver/black interior project (paint panels, rear seat, etc.) - in progress
- Of course…KL-ZE SWAP!!!!!!!!!! - Decided to go turbo'd DE instead (wooooooshhhhhh)
- Aluminum Radiator
- Millennia IM - using the short, straight neck
- New headers/high flow cat/cat-back exhaust - goin custom with exhaust outlet angle-cut out the side of the
car, in front of the passenger side tire.
- New Tach - NOPE, not until it becomes strictly track
- Projector Headlamps
- New Fog Lights
- Custom Badges
- Custom Fiberglass Center Console - wait until you see this when it's done
- Custom Switch panel - complete, but replaced with guages instead
- More as I think of them…


The heads/gaskets/water pump/ timing belt are complete!!!!!