Vecia's 1994 MX-3: UPDATE - 8/06/12 New Picture!

[Vecia]

Where do you get that at? And would it be possible to find the Passenger Side Handle and Sun visor clips and hinge in black?

[ethand]

Where do you get that at? And would it be possible to find the Passenger Side Handle and Sun visor clips and hinge in black?

x2
Would wreckers have them? Were they stock on some models? I'm guessing that by passenger side handle you mean the one on the roof aka the HOLY F@#% SAVE ME FROM THIS CRAZY DRIVER handle??

[Vecia]

Exactly... lol. Were they even made in black? I think it was just tan and grey wasn't it?

[ethand]

yah, i've only ever seen them in grey & tan... am thinking of lightly sanding & spraying mine black if/when I get round to doing my headliner... not too keen on that, though, especially with moving parts...

[Vecia]

Hmm... I'm thinking maybe we could dye them. I mean, they're plastic or rubber so I don't see why we couldn't use like a dye because the material is porous. Would be better than painting and it wouldn't chip or flake because it would be stained into the material itself. Plus you wouldn't have to damage the surface or texture.

[ethand]

but the hinges/clips arent porous, are they? I thought plastic didnt absorb colour unless at high temps (i.e. it melts into it)

[Vecia]

I don't know. That's a good question though. I'll do some reading up on it today

[Vecia]

Wow... it's been a while since I have posted. I tell ya, this last year was rough...

Anyways, let's see if we can try this again! haha.

I've been working on my girl a bit, trying to get her ready for spring. Here's a few pics of some stuff I've been doing; kinda got several projects going on and hopefully will finish them as money permits.













First was my brakes....

This job started off as a simple $50 dollar, do-it-yourself brake job that turned into a $400 dollar front wheel rebuild.

Took the wheels off and discovered that my right caliper had been leaking break fluid from a bad piston seal. That ended up starting a chain reaction that ended with me replacing almost every component except the wheel-hub assembly.

Once that was completed, I took my car up to the auto shop to get a front-end alignment and found out that my tires, with only 50,000 miles on them, were shot because my struts had pretty much ruined them. Needless to say, I have been forced into starting my suspension upgrade sooner than expected. I was hoping I could put it off just a little longer.

Anyways, no worries.

I just ordered the Ford ZX2 struts from Jegs.com and they ship on 2/26/2011 so it may be a bit before I can get more photos in but at least you know I'll be posting in the next two weeks

I'm going to try out wytbishop's suggestion and hit up some salvage yards tomorrow to see if I can find me a ZX2 or late model Escort. Hopefully I can save some money like he did.

At any rate. Sorry I'm taking so long with this. If it's not one thing, it's another. Still wouldn't trade my car for the world though!

[Vecia]

Jackpot!!!


So, went to the salvage yard today and freaking scored!

Found a 2000 Escort ZX2 S/R with all four strut assemblies, complete. Was going to take the entire things but they wanted too much. The struts, however were shot but I hid the springs where I could find them later when I have enough cash

At any rate... Thanks, wytbishop for the tips in your "ZX2 Eibach" post. It was extremely helpful.

Here are some pics





The Thrust Bearings were a little old and so were the rubber bushings. I may replace those later on. As wytbishop said, I will be replacing them all in two years anyways.

Complete Salvage Price: $33.00

[Evo_Spec]

wow nice score, those look brand new.

you can try seeing how much ford motor sport thrust bearings are at the ford stealership, their all metal, actually let me see if i can find my bag and give you the part number.
if i don't respond, just assume i couldn't find it

[Vecia]

Thanks man but I got the part number. I appreciate it though.

Yeah, the parts were dang near new. The car had fallen on the yard in Jan. so it must have been a pretty recent wreck.

[Daninski]

Nice work so far, looks like when you do something you do it right. I like that.
that car has a few nice goodies worth going back for. Here's what I know.
S/R package adds stiffer suspension parts (Eibach springs (M-5560-Z2), Tokico struts (M-18000-Z2) and Energy Suspension brand polyurethane suspension bushings), more power (through a Ford Racing PCM (M-12650-Z2)), more efficient intake (Roush and Iceman), rear disc brakes (M-2300-Z2), a stronger clutch (Centerforce dual friction (M-7560-Z2), a short-throw B&M manual-transmission shifter (M-7210-Z2), an S/R-unique shift knob (M-7213-Z2) and boot (M-7277-Z2), upgraded seats, a unique blue valve cover, a different speed cluster that goes up to 150 mph (240 km/h) and a unique tire/wheel package. Engine power was increased 10% over the base Zetec engine used in the ZX2 to 143 bhp (107 kW; 145 PS), courtesy of a recommended premium fuel re-calibration, new air inlet system, the performance PCM, improved Borla muffler and pipe (M-5230-Z2). All ZX2 S/R have a special "S/R" badge on the back, either silver (on a red car) or red (on a yellow or black car). Some S/R went out of the assembly plant without some of the performance mods(example: missing the Centerforce clutch). The suspension bushings were not installed at the factory but instead packaged with the car for installation at the dealership. This also led to many cars leaving the showroom without the full complement of S/R parts.

[Vecia]

Thanks allot man. Yeah, I looked around for anything else I could use but most of the car had been stripped. I found several others though across the Dallas Fort Worth Area on Pick-N-Pull's website. Don't know if you guys have them up there but they keep their inventory online. I do know they have one in Seattle? Not sure if that's close for you Canadian guys.

http://www.picknpull.com/

edit: I checked, they do have 3 up that way---> Alberta: Calgary and Edmonton
British Columbia: Kelowna

[Vecia]

Talk about impatient as hell.... Those struts need to ship already!

I'm heading out to the Pick 'n' Pull in Dallas tomorrow. It shows several MX-3s in stock so hopefully I can get a little something off of them... in need of some splash guards for the front as mine has bottomed out too many times and the plastic is torn in a few places.

Not long ago, I was at a stop light and out of nowhere, a driver rear-ended me and took off; hit and run. Needless to say, the right side of the rear is kinda pushed in about an inch. doesn't seem much but being the owner of the car, I can totally see where the seams don't match up over the right tail light. The bumper cover is dented in near the license plate... so pissed.

At any rate, I've pulled out the inside trunk compartment plastic trim and am now looking for a way to pull the rear back out. my hatch squeaks like crazy now and I'm at an absolute loss on how to fix it without going to a body-shop.

Speaking of dents, I also have one under the driver side door down by where the OEM jack rests against the chassis when jacking the car up. You can kinda see it in my first images but the sun makes it hard to see. That's the biggest eye-sore and it really bothers me. Wish I knew more about auto body repair so I could fix it myself. It makes me hesitant on doing any cosmetic stuff to her until I can sport a dent-free ride with new paint.

I'm one of those guys that can't stand seeing a car beat to hell with 1,500 dollar rims and tires on it. But, to each their own.

Anyway, any words of advice are extremely welcome.

[Vecia]

Okay, still haven't received my shocks or springs but I did get my camber bolts. However, I just wanted to post this pic of my new LEDs... I freaking love them!