Mazda MX3

These little things interest me. Nice lines, small, not really cheap yet, but look like a fun car. Any interesting things you can do with them?

I love mine

supercharge or turbo a KLZE/DE 2.5, drop in a KLG4 if you want solid lifters and a bump in compression, great for a nicely built N/A motor. I plan on putting a turbo G4 in mine

I wasn't going to open this thread... I just dropped a KLZE into mine, 500 kilometers later, it developed a knock. Managed to find a replacement KLZE (what a score) really cheaply, just waiting for funds to get the swap done.

I love, love, love this car. I've taken it to lapping days at Mosport, handles great, has typical Mazda steering. My solo sprint school instructor compared it favourably to his Miata, said they felt quite similar. There's a lot of info on them on http://www.mx-3.com/phpBB3/index.php and http://www.atlantamx3.com/mocaforum/. OBD I cars are much easier to tinker with than OBDII. My old one, a 96, was always throwing codes - the freaking distributors contain ignition, cam and crank sensors, and they're always failing. No problems with my 92. There is a way to re-wire the disty so there aren't ignition failures (common) - a good thing to know since the disty is over $600 new.

I bought one new in '94. It wasn't the GS with the tiny V6 though. I liked that car, but it had to go a few years later when child number two came along and we figured it was a bit small to be our family car. My wife refers to that car as her 'purple pod' since it was creek mica blue which was really a nice purple color. I don't see many around anymore.

Awww.... that was the colour of my first one. Love that colour.

last time I saw one was in a Junk yard.. I always liked the looks of them

My friend has one with the 1.6 I4. Totally slow as hell, but it has coilovers and some wider tires and some other fun stuff, so it's at least fun in the corners. It did grenade it's transmission, though, and he's having some serious fun (not) trying to adapt a newer transmission with stronger axles that usually mates up to a Zetec motor. I really would suggest an engine swap if you want any straight-line speed, the thing really is damned slow. It makes my Saturn feel like it has a V8. The one time I stomped on it, it was on a slight downhill grade, and it still fell flat on it's face when I hit third gear.

I don't see these all that often, but when I do it seems that better than 75% of them have a 4 cylinder and automatic.

Mazda sold a car very similar looking to this in Europe with a 5 door/4 door + hatchback body. I think the smaller V6 was used a lot more in that car than it was in the MX3...sorry, I don't remember the name right off hand. And if I remember correctly, the front of the European car had "hidden" headlights.

integraguy wrote: I don't see these all that often, but when I do it seems that better than 75% of them have a 4 cylinder and automatic. Mazda sold a car very similar looking to this in Europe with a 5 door/4 door + hatchback body. I think the smaller V6 was used a lot more in that car than it was in the MX3...sorry, I don't remember the name right off hand. And if I remember correctly, the front of the European car had "hidden" headlights.

Lantis. It's similar but not the same car. Had a 2.0 litre V6.

I have a rusted hulk of a 1.8 V6 MX3 that i've been tearing apart in my garage.

They look even better with the hatch off. People kept mistaking our LeMons MX3 for a Del Sol

Ahhhh, was that YOU guys? I was reading your thread on www.MX-3.com just a couple of days ago!

I loved loved loved mine. Won quite a few local races with it, simple suspension and a KLZE swap was it. I was t-boned in it, sold the whole car to a friend with an empty shell. He's now running a lot more mods but close to my same setup and he's winning tons of autox's.

There's my .02 :P

Here's mine at Mosport:

120,000 kms, no rust, new brakes all around, new shocks and new clutch - $1,000. Put $2,500 into it, it's now 200 hp.

if a 4 cylinder swap in a bpt and 170whp is at your finger tips. swap the turbo and some goodies and youve got 300whp what more do u want?

^A built motor so it lasts?

The BPD will handle it happily, though.

+whatever to "these handle incredibly well."

bpt will handle 300 fairly reliably assuming you dont try to just use a stock ecm and fuel controller. ms it and it will.... otherwise 250 is totally fine.

I used to agree with that. Not so much, these days. Of course, "fairly reliably" is subjective, so i won't argue.

i went 60k on a 280 whp bp with customer turbo manifold and sheetmetal intake using a factory na ecu and msd ignition and safc. the intake is the big problem... the na intake and bpt intake mani are really uneven flow normally leaving 1 or 2 cylinders really lean. i sold it and dont know what happened to it after that.

Just saw this on local CL. Possibility or money pit?

I have a 93 Mazda mx3 gs with 2.5 swap tranny works perfect it is stick has a lightened flywheel and fx300 kevlar clutch two brand new cv axles new clutch master and clutch slave has 18" rims two of which have new kuhmo tires one has to be rebalanced though. Has black leather front and rear seats which are in good shape one minor rip on driver side. Has full electric Windows and sunroof all in working order. Currently not running stopped getting spark. Call me if interested I will not respond to emails my name is James and my number is 954-662-1631

cwh wrote: Just saw this on local CL. Possibility or money pit? I have a 93 Mazda mx3 gs with 2.5 swap tranny works perfect it is stick has a lightened flywheel and fx300 kevlar clutch two brand new cv axles new clutch master and clutch slave has 18" rims two of which have new kuhmo tires one has to be rebalanced though. Has black leather front and rear seats which are in good shape one minor rip on driver side. Has full electric Windows and sunroof all in working order. Currently not running stopped getting spark. Call me if interested I will not respond to emails my name is James and my number is 954-662-1631

Bad distributor. Do the "HEI" mod and never look back. Should run you about $60 to fix at most.

The black leather interior is hard to find, and it being a 93, those are Recaro seats.

Very good possibility!

He's only asking 700.00.

I've never met a Mazda I didn't like. Perhaps one I didn't fit in, but never one I didn't like.

cwh wrote: He's only asking 700.00.

Go look at it... if it's clean and the swap doesn't look like a hack job, i'd go pick it up. At the worst, it needs a new motor. (But it's just the distributor.) Even IF it was the motor, you should be able to get another for $300.

With the 2.5, even if it's just a KLDE (probably is) with 164hp, it'll be a riot.

That's a great price, as long as it's not rotten. Those leather interiors run hundreds of dollars on the forums. I suspect it's the disty too - I went through that with my first MX3. There's a step-by-step on how to rewire them on mx-3.com.