Mazda 929 shenanigans

Well... i know at least a couple of you saw this thread and wondered what was going through my ate up mind again.

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/200x-classifieds/wtb-manual-30-v6-mazda-929/44672/page1/#post778423

I AM serious about this... thinking it might be a project for next winter after i finish two cars.

This all started due to random Ebay trolling, complaining to mndsm that a seller wouldn't come down on an item i'd been watching.

Item is here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&vxp=mtr&item=270885758569

Buncha cool stuff that i'd REALLY like to have, but i'm not paying $400 for gauges with missing sending units, a boost controller with no filters or solenoid, etc etc etc.

So i start looking through the seller's other items. Neat! BEAMS Redtop AND Blacktop!

Then i see this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/JDM-MAZDA-MPV-ENGINE-MPV-V6-ENGINE-MPV-JE-ENGINE-3-0L-MPV-/260936629823?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item3cc108fe3f

Immediately notice that the intake manifold looks a LOT like a Yamahammer SHO intake manifold. Start researching further, and can't find any correlation between the motors.

Unfortunately, that got the old brain thinking. I know the 3.0 V6 in the MPV is the JE SOHC. I also know there was a DOHC variant called the JE-ZE that made 207hp. Not that exciting, BUT. Everything i've seen on that motor suggests that it's incredibly overbuilt, and somewhat similar to the KL motors that i love so much.

KLs will easily make over 300whp on boost in stock form, and that's with an aluminum block. JE-ZE is cast.

Mndsm and i then start wondering what the motor sounds like. I happen to find a BUNCH of 929s on youtube that have rotary swaps. At that point, bells start going off. Turns out the 929 started out life as a piston-powered RX-4, much like the 808/RX3.

More digging suggests that the last generation 929 (that had the DOHC JE-ZE) is the closest possible cousin to the Eunos Cosmo, and that the 86-91 929 was the same chassis as the 3rd gen Cosmo. The DOHC motor swaps directly into the 86-91 929, which could be had with manual transmission.

Additionally, definitely overseas, POTENTIALLY in North America, the 929 was available with a manual and the F2 2.2litre i4. This would make the F2T that we know and love a pretty easy swap.

FC and FD RX7 rear diffs swap into the 929.

So naturally... what we've arrived to is the potential for a mazda equivalent of the insane Toyota Aristos that have been made. The boosted GS300s. The worked Q45s.

Take one 86-91 929, swap a JE-ZE from a 91-96 929, insert RX7 LSD, insert Cosmo aftermarket suspension, attach large turbo.

Alternatively, take one 91-96 929, swap to manual transmission, follow the rest of the formula.

The only thing that remains to be seen is whether or not there's a company similar to Junction Produce that makes body stuffs for this.

I have problems, i'd like to give this a shot.

Please post pictures if they exist of modified 929s.

I went trolling for the usual VIP suspects last night, nothin' doin. I suggest you, or I- learn fiberglass. From what i've seen, it's messy but not terribly difficult.

I'm thinking it doesn't have to be terribly overboard...

Paint car black, chrome dip door handles and window trim. Lower. Nice wheels.

Do something with the grill. Tint. Classy exhaust tips. A front lip of some sort, then call it done.

Junction Produce would be nice, but that's about as extreme as i ever like.

I know little about the 929 Cosmo, but I can say I want this car really bad!!!

http://japanesenostalgiccar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=17233

13B VIP indeed. Anyone have some spare cash they don't need and a shipping container coming from Oz? I could use both.

Mazdax605 wrote: I know little about the 929 Cosmo, but I can say I want this car really bad!!! http://japanesenostalgiccar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=17233 13B VIP indeed. Anyone have some spare cash they don't need and a shipping container coming from Oz? I could use both.

Requires login.

Can you hotlink pics?

Don't know how. It is an 86 turbo Luce rotary in Oz that is awesome. Has a built in fridge, air purifier, and power reclining rear seats. I love the 929/Cosmo/Luce of that era with a passion, but know very little about them

Try this one. Same car, but log in shouldn't be required.

http://japanesenostalgiccar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=17232

Chris

Enabling

Mazdax605 wrote: Try this one. Same car, but log in shouldn't be required. http://japanesenostalgiccar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=17232 Chris Enabling

AWESOME.

Wonder how the rotary deals with a car that size...

YESSSSSSS

The Luce is pretty badass. Same engine as a turbo II Rx-7. Auto only by what it looks like, but the Eunos Cosmo was auto only as well.

It's turbo so probably quite well. The auto-tragic may damper the fun a bit, but it is a sweet ass car none-the-less.

I love 929s. When I was looking for a new toy I couldn't find one worth buying.

Whoa. I am 100% on board with this plan! 929 definitely needs a piston engine for maximum reliable power.

clutchsmoke wrote: Whoa. I am 100% on board with this plan! 929 definitely needs a piston engine for maximum reliable power.

That's all they came with in the states, so there's a plus for you right there!

F2T or FE3t, trans from one of the usual suspects (RX-7 TII, etc) and Bushwacker flares? F2T was available overseas, manual trans in late-80's 929 was available here but I've never seen one in person. There's no good reason not to do this really, save for low cost of donor vehicles. No, wait, that's actually a good reason.

I've really got a good feeling about the JE-ZE, to be honest.

An F2T would haul the weight of this thing around easily, but won't really make the ludicrous power that interests me in a car this big.

The FE3 will do it, but it'll be a peaky sonovabitch.

I'm thinking a quiet-ish (until the wastegate opens) stealthy classy Q-ship.

Plus... the JE-ZE sounds like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I8Ce6Ut-vo

Sounds like a KL on bovine growth hormones. Daddy likey.

I thought the JDM 929 is what all the 20Bs in the world came out of?

ReverendDexter wrote: I thought the JDM 929 is what all the 20Bs in the world came out of?

That is the Cosmo

EvanB wrote:

ReverendDexter wrote: I thought the JDM 929 is what all the 20Bs in the world came out of?

That is the Cosmo

Yep, Eunos Cosmo, which is a cousin to the last 929/Infini MS-9/Luce, but not quite the same thing.

It gets confusing... the 929 has been the equivalent of many things, and the family tree in mazda's luxury side starts to look like a web.

I have an FC rear diff you can have for free if you want. Non-LSD though.

I seemed to find a lot more of that generation 929 for sale a while back in the Pacific Northwest. Maybe Javelin can confirm or deny this fact. Actually it seemed they all semmed to be in the Portland/Seattle area when I was looking. I like the boxy style that I linked to 92Celica best, but the newer vintage had some cool features, but the body wasn't nearly as cool. Mostly these were lost in a sea of Maxima's,Cressida's and the like but still cool cars. Luce is a much cooler name than 929 though.

In reply to 92CelicaHalfTrac:

I am currently in a location where a tube of you's would not be smiled upon. Can you just tell me what kind of power you think is decently streetable & affordable out of a boosted JE-ZE? And what transmission you'd use to back that up?

300hp/350lb-ft of torque out of a well built & well fed F2T seems fine to me, FE3 sounds interesting but maybe you have a point (I don't know the motor that well as far as dyno graphs and usability on the street) and the V6's never really interested me. For some reason I like a V4 in a motorcycle and an inline-4 in most vehicles with four wheels.

I think we just need to scour Atlanta. If anyone's gonna have one, it'll be in ATL. Everything else is.

mndsm wrote: I think we just need to scour Atlanta. If anyone's gonna have one, it'll be in ATL. Everything else is.

Everything? I thought most of the good '70s Japanese stuff was over here on the Left Coast.

$500 89 929 Auto AWD

$3300 93 929 Auto dubbed out

$2800 95 929 Auto clean

That's all we have in the Portland/Seattle CL's right now.