Although I haven't had much experience with them outside of owning a project MTX Vulcan V6 Probe for a very short period of time, I've always had an odd soft spot for 80's/90's econo Mazda's and "Fazda's". I was fascinated when the ease of swapping a B6T into a Festiva was discovered years ago, and had fun tooling around in a friends modded 89 PGT when I was in high school. This gave me an appreciation for often shrugged off vehicles like Escort GT's and Probes. This seems to be a place that shares that sentiment...
Now finally having my own garage and my DSM project continuing at it's stingly almost non existent snails pace, I've tossed around the idea of buying a cheap fun car that I can play with while also splitting commuter duties with my thirsty WRX Wagon on my 100% city commute.
Although vastly hated on, the Capri seems like a real worthwhile candidate. The seem to have the complete opposite level of desireability as the Miata, and their prices show it. While I understand the virtues of a Miata, they are moot to me. My automotive enthusiasm is really limited to breaking things, hard parking, winding out a couple of gears on a (usually straight) open road, and a couple of trips to the dragstrip in a year. That being said, the only things that I would truly appreciate out of a Miata would be the removable top, fuel economy and simplicity. The RWD handling hoopla really isn't a big deal for me. All of those appreciable things for me appear to be available with the Capri for a fraction of a DECENT Miata's price(and technically a Geo Tracker...). Atleast in my area... I've found good looking, running and driving XR-2's around here for under $2k. I even came across a mint example of an ultra rare 1994 XR2 with around 75k on the clock for around $3k. Hell, this past summer my buddies neighbor was selling one that needed some minor work to be road worthy, and it came with a complete non running parts car... all for a whopping $1200. The cars also seem to have some clouded potential to put some lightweight power for not much money.
Other than the "TeamCapri" forum, there really isn't much of a knowledge base out there for these cars. And even at that forum, you have to search for and piece together bits from old posts.
From what I've gathered, they seem to be pretty durable little cars despire their reputation. As long as you stay away from the '91 models that have the same crank nose issues that plague early Miatas.
As far as mods, save for a few suspension goodies here and there, a performance aftermarket for these cars is nearly not existent. Looks like the modability is similar to other Mazda of that era and require some eBay and JY hunting. There's a guy on those boards that can "chip" the ECU. The stock IHI VJ14 turbo apparently has the same kind of "hybridability" as the stock F2T VJ14, and can be be adapted to a VJ14 or the fabled T-bird turbo. Which works in my favor, as my buddy who has owned three F2T Probes has a small stock of parts remaining from each. Apparently, you can also easily modify turbo manifolds meant for D-series Honda to fit other turbo's. IIRC, there was a member on that board who used one to mount a DSM 16G on a B6T head mated to a N/A B6 block that was otherwise stock. With an FMIC and some fueling goodies, the car apparently ran high 12's...
My question's are regarding it's drivetrain durability, interchangeability with other Mazda platforms, the B6T's interchangeability the Miata B6 and any other common issues to look out for.
Firstly, how well does the B6T hold up to more boost, and when will it start to need some fuel upgrades? How "glass" is the trans that comes in it? Next, can parts be scavenged from other Mazda platforms that would count as an upgrade (swaybars, engine parts, etc...)? Any rare JDM goodies for the B6T that I could hunt down? With it's popularity, the Miata has an obviously strong aftermarket, including engine parts specific to the B6. Would a set of upgraded cams meant for the B6 Miata go directly into a B6T head? Any other common issues to look out for?
The vision I have in my head is a 92-93 dropped on some nice springs and later Contour SVT wheels.
Thanks in advance to any who can lend some knowledge.
