Project Jay-Spec Mazda 323 KLZE

[IMACHU2]

I had to work Saturday, but I put in some hard time Sunday and Monday on project MX-326.

The rockers were in really rough shape






First I ground out all the rust and then I patched them with fiberglass.




The fiberglass repaired rockers were very close to being the proper shape, so only a light coat of body filler was used to even them out.







The car was very straight and dent free accept the panel under the tail lights, it looked like it had been through a war I fiberglass-ed a few holes shut, and pulled countless dents out of it, then I gave the whole mess a skim coat of filler to even it out.







I rolled the 326 out into the sun to check my work. I spotted a few mistakes and fixed them up.







Then I masked it off and gave it a coat of primer.














I am very happy with how it turned out. It is not perfect, but close enough for now. My next adventure will be painting the interior roof, and shooting the hatch/trunk with some liquid truck bed liner. After that I am going to rebuild the suspension, plumb it, then put the wiring and the drive train in. Once I have it running, I will hang the rest of the body panels on it and bring it closer to perfect with a little more filler and a some spot putty. Once the body panels are back on I will hose it down with some flat black paint. In the pictures it has the MX-3 front cross member and a junk rear 323 cross member. The wheels may look cool, but they are all bent and square from an unfortunate conflict with a half re-paved road.:cuss: I kept them to roll the 326 around. They were 16" TSW's with 205/40/16 Dunlop tires. Stay tuned for the rebuild of the front and rear MX-3 GS suspension/cross member, coming soon

[mx3autozam]

hey man looks great. will you be runnig power steering in this thing or not. If you are what rack will you be using?

[wytbishop]

I soooo want to build a 323 now.

You and Dan[Sac] are ruining my life!!

[IMACHU2]

hey man looks great. will you be runnig power steering in this thing or not. If you are what rack will you be using?

I have had enough of manual steering! My daily 323 is manual and I converted my V8 Mustang to manual, I am looking forward to MX-3 power steering in the MX-326. I drove the MX-3 parts car 2 hours home, I like the MX-3 P/S it was not to over-assisted. The Mustang and the 323 feel like 25 turns lock to lock. (not very sporty)

[IMACHU2]

I soooo want to build a 323 now.

You have every part you need to make a MX-326 already! Just add 323. I sold $650 worth of parts off my $500 MX-3 and I still have all the parts needed for the swap.

You and Dan[Sac] are ruining my life!!

If it is any consolation Dan is ruining my life too. My MX-326GS is being built as a sensable / practacal daily driver for the summer. Dan's car has me looking into used C230 superchargers. (they are really cheap, which is killing me) MX-326GS Kompressor has such a nice ring to it though.

[hotsiit]

I soooo want to build a 323 now.
You and Dan[Sac] are ruining my life!!

True that, ...A friend of mine is also restoring a 323, but hes running a b6t, just rebuilt it a couple months ago.

Nice progress on yours!

[IMACHU2]

Worked on the MX-326GS on Saturday. I painted the interior roof. I don't plan on putting a headliner back in so I painted it black Then I disassembled the rear MX-3 suspension, It came apart much better then I imagined it would. The only casualties were #23 stabilizer link(s) and #19 bolt(s) they attach the rear spindle(s) to the the front & rear lateral links. Killed poor #23 & #19 on both side(s) I am thinking about using the Escort wagon rear stabilizer bar as it has "normal" sway bar links (a bolt with 4 bushings on it) instead of those goofy half metal /half plastic / part rubber tie rod thingers. Has anyone ever tried to put an escort rear bar on a MX-3?? (Note: my MX-326GS has a 1994 Mazda MX-3 GS suspension) I hear the 97 Escort (wagon or Sedan) is not any bigger, but the Escort GT has a bigger one.

[IMACHU2]

I can see why people don't use Escort bars now. Escort bar on another MX-326 LOL. Note his hybrid of a little tie rod on the MX-3 latteral link and bushings on the Escort bar.

[wytbishop]

That's actually very easy to do. I'll post some pictures of my end links when I get a minute.

[mx3autozam]

^^^^

I really recomend your links for this guys build. I have them and there great. Even better with a whiteline bar. but either way a mx3 bar is probably more than enough on this 323.

[IMACHU2]

I found an cool el-cheap-o fix LOL (Mustang II sway bar link)

[IMACHU2]

I ordered (4) Monroe strut mounts, (2) Moog Ball joints, (2) Moog tie rods, A set of front & rear KVR Performance brake pads and KVR black cad plated "J" hooked front brake rotors. I ordered a set of KVR stainless steel brake lines and energy suspension sway bar mount bushings (front & rear). Ordered 2 brake line tee's. I am going to use an adjustable aftermarket brake propotioning valve.





Yeah! no more bodywork...for a while. MX-326 Suspension rebuild in progress.

[IMACHU2]

Bought a table sander today. I am going to modify suspension bushin's on it.

[IMACHU2]

Managed to do a little bushin' pushin' on Sunday night.

Rebuilding the 1994 MX-3GS rear suspension. (to put in my 323)


Drilled many holes into the old bushings.


After weakening the bushing by drilling them, I pushed them out with a socket and a hammer.



The dead bushing.


I cleaned out the rest of the bushing with this kool sanding roll kit I bought.





After trying a few different ways to kill myself with various power tools, I discovered putting a bolt though the collar and using a angle grinder with a wire wheel is the most effective way to remain alive and remove rubber from a bushing collars



I wire brushed all the crust and rust off the arms they arms now ready for a paint job and some new bushings. Note: I bought new trailing arms, because they were in really, really bad shape.



The idea of actually starting to put the MX-326GS back together has got me all pumped. I now have all of the new parts to rebuild the suspension in my parts pile. I am going to rebuild the rear suspension first, bolt it back in, and then rebuild the front, so I can still roll it around the shop.

[PATDIESEL]

Nice build- but I might suggest considering buying or building what I would say are the third and fourth most used large tools in my garage- a press and sand blasting cabinet. 1 is the jack and 2 is the engine hoist. The hoist is over 3 and 4 only because I have taught or helped so many with Mazda swapage.
The blast cabinet can be built for about 100 bucks or less if you have the tools to do wood working. PM me if you are interested in the details and I'll give you some direction. Just tell me what you have questions about so I do not go overboard with details. The press was less than 100 on sale at Harbor Freight and is nearly invaluable when you need it (like on bushings).
Anyway, loving your build and please keep the pics and all coming. I started at page 20, but whatever nice work