A Little Mazdaspeed 3 History

[FamiliaGT]

This is my first Turbo car Ive ever owned, also what got me addicted to boost. This is my 1988 Mazda 323 GT Factory Turbo, 1 of only 700 ever imported to the states, and last reading showed less then 200 registered in the DMV database currently. This is one of mazdas first production turbocharged sedans built to interest the younger drivers and those looking for more of a sporty car. Its sister, the 323 GTX was the AWD Hatch version of this car, both being the only models to sport All Wheel disc brakes, a Turbocharged DOHC 1.6L Engine pumping out a whopping 143HP, and a charcoal interior with sporty seats and fabric. The GTX got a little more ontop of the AWD system, which included matching Recaro front seats.

Anyways, heres the car. Originally bought the car pretty well stock with the exception of a TurboXS RFL, a Magnaflo exhaust, and an HKS intake.




At this stage, the car has been lowered on coilovers, sitting on Rota's, with a custom fabricated front mount intercooler kit with an HKS SSQV.



Also swapping out the RFL from time to time. It was about this point that the oil pump decided to blow out on me on my way to Seattle, making a nice sized mess, loosing oil along the way. Limped it home making many oil stops, and parked it until I came up with a game plan.






This point, it was tear down time.


I had bought a second GT in poor shape, not running in 08, and parked it in my back yard as a parts car. I pulled the motor and sent it off to my machine shop to be gone through. It was time to stop fooling around and get serious. Ordered Forged Rods and Forged Pistons as well as a new crank and had a motor built for my future plans (Which I still havnt done yet).
Once I take a spending brake from the MS3, I will be looking into either a GT25 or GT28 to replace the little IHI sittin under the hood.




All internals (Rotating assembly) balanced.




And the final product. A block built to handle up to roughly 700HP. Not that it ever will, just like to over build for protection sake.


And its first little photo shoot after the first couple of miles put on the motor. Genpu is nuprin503. Last 2 photos taken by nuprin503.





I will add photos and changes very soon.

[mazdaspdmike]

Sweet post. This is why I enjoy ClubProtege.com... it's cool to see the history of the Mazdaspeed projects from Mazda, and they've always had a knack for being awesome little cars.

[AZSPEED3]

Very nice looking 323. Looks like a fun project. Any idea how much power its producing now?
You plan on traking it, drag, autocross, etc.

[Dahouse702]

Sick!

[FamiliaGT]

Originally Posted by mazdaspdmike Sweet post. This is why I enjoy ClubProtege.com... it's cool to see the history of the Mazdaspeed projects from Mazda, and they've always had a knack for being awesome little cars.

Thank You. Had alot of help from the information provided over there.

Originally Posted by AZSPEED3 Very nice looking 323. Looks like a fun project. Any idea how much power its producing now? You plan on traking it, drag, autocross, etc.

The car has a shopping list of "To Do's" to it to make it track ready. I orederd all new Intercooler plumbing last week, going from 2.5" to 2.25" to help with clearance issues, and to repair a few damaged tubes. Next month im planning on replacing the entire suspension (which the current setup is now shot to hell), then adding a manual fuel pressure regulator with bigger injectors. Once the car is running right, then a 2.25" or 2.5" stainless exhaust will be built from the turbo back. Sucks that no one really builds parts for these cars anymore.

Right now, the car is chipped for a regular run of 16 psi with the occasional pull up to 18, but at that point the fuel map is tapped and the injectors are peaked. This being why it needs bigger injectors and hopefully a standalone EMS system here real soon. After all is said and done, I plan on atleast taking it down the quarter, and if the new suspension handles the way Im hoping it will, then Ile give it a try on AutoX. This car only weighs about 2100lbs, so it will be interesting seeing what the power gains and suspension will do to its abilities.

All said and done, im hoping to have a 300-350 Horse sleeper.

Originally Posted by Angr-E1 Nice build. I remember my car craze started with my buddies turbo 626.

lol, and look at what your driving. Funny how the 626 lead you to the Speed 6, and the 323 lead me to my Speed 3.

[andrewpiro]

I'm the lucky owner of a 1988 GTX. So great to see someone else with an appreciation for these cars on MSF.

[AZSPEED3]

Wow, that will be one fast ass sleeper, with 300-350hp to the wheels in a 2100lbs car.
Keep us updated on this build, Im impressed so far. GL

[FamiliaGT]

Nice Choice!

Heres my current garage. There used to be a red 1966 Chevrolet Impala SS with a 396 and 4 speed in there too, but it was sold a few months back. Miss that car.

[andrewpiro]

Either you're going to have to drop in a full BPT driveline, or find a way to bolt up a BG tranny. The BF trannies are like glass when they get pushed over 200hp.

[FamiliaGT]

Originally Posted by andrewpiro Either you're going to have to drop in a full BPT driveline, or find a way to bolt up a BG tranny. The BF trannies are like glass when they get pushed over 200hp.

lol, sorry but wrong. The GTX AWD Trannies in the BF chassis are glass houses. The GT Sedan was the only 323 Mazda used a stout G Tranny on for whatever reason. Dont know why they wouldnt make the GTX Trannies strong, but that was definately a failure point for those cars. The 2WD transmissions in the GT's are actually pretty strong. Ive yet to hear of someone breaking on from horsepower. Back when we had Mazda323Performance.org up and running, there where a few GT28 GT's on there in the low to mid 300 range on stock drivetrain. For my goals, I think Ile be ok.

Which reminds me that I will soon be ordering an M Factory 26 Spline LSD for the car.

[andrewpiro]

Ahh! Didn't realize. I guess you learn something new everyday.


I still think you should drop a BPT in tough. Nearly 200hp in stock form. Then build from there. You'd have a mean autox-er right there.

[FamiliaGT]

Well, thats the thing. EVERYONE I know who has a GT or GTX has Either A) Just chipped ECU, raised boost, put on a catback and intake and called it good, or B) BPT/BPD swapped the car and made a monster.

What I want to do is prove that even with the B6T 1.6L in the car (Which even factory is stronger then the BP in most cases except for the BPD/GTR motor), I can still make massive amounts of power out of it, showing that it can be done with this motor. Alot of people see this motor as being too small for good horsepower which I can say right now is bullshit.

Believe me, I used to have way too much spare time to think all this out lol.

[andrewpiro]

Originally Posted by FamiliaGT Well, thats the thing. EVERYONE I know who has a GT or GTX has Either A) Just chipped ECU, raised boost, put on a catback and intake and called it good, or B) BPT/BPD swapped the car and made a monster. What I want to do is prove that even with the B6T 1.6L in the car (Which even factory is stronger then the BP in most cases except for the BPD/GTR motor), I can still make massive amounts of power out of it, showing that it can be done with this motor. Alot of people see this motor as being too small for good horsepower which I can say right now is bullshit. Believe me, I used to have way too much spare time to think all this out lol.

I gotcha. I'm excited to see how it turns out. I also agree with you. If it's done right, a B6T could make a ton of horsepower. I'm anxious to see how it turns out for you.


As for me, I'm going to be typical with mine. Like you said, intake, chip, and exhaust. I'll get it up to ~180hp and call it good.

[mazdaspdmike]

Ace_Protege on here is also Ace from Club Protege and his BPT swapped 94 made 203whp on a mobile dynojet and he's just running a mildly bolted GTX setup on a Miata block... impressed the hell out of me and he still needs a better fuel pump too.

[FamiliaGT]

I am excited to see what ends up happening. A local buddy of mine had a yellow Miata with a megasquirt system and an ebay t3/t4 i believe and was running north of 250hp with a mild tune if I remember correctly. It wasnt bad. He also went out on a limb, bought the cheap $300 ebay turbo to see how it performed. Hes got quite a number of miles on it apperently. I personally prefer a Garret as you know what your getting, but for my sake of playing with different turbos to find out which one works best, I may try a few of the cheapy godspeed turbos just to see which one works best for me, then go with a good garret or ATP.

We shall see. Intercooler kit starting to trickle in as we speak. Most should be in this week. Ile post picks when I start cuting it up.

[ALIEN3T]

lol seeing alot more Club protege peeps popping up over here. (aliennation here)

[FamiliaGT]

Mr. Postman dropped off a couple goodies today, one of which was this box...



Full kit of 2.25" Aluminum Intercooler plumbing (DIY Kit) with all T-Bolt Clamps and 4 ply Silicon re enforced couplers. Decided if Im doing this over again, im doing it right. No more worm clamps and cheap rubber couplers(although I havnt had one for over a year and a half).

I guess my main goal here is to do a full high horsepower kit on a budget, hence why I went with the CXracing kit. This will give me a chance to retest it and give a review on what I find. So far, for only $80 shipped, its a good buy if your good with a die grinder, measuring tape and simple hand tools.

More cheap ebay stuff to be tested to see what works and what doesnt to come!

If the rest of the kit comes in tomorrow or saturday, I will hopefully have this side of the project finished by the end of the weekend. Will update with more pictures.

[FamiliaGT]

Made some progress today.



Torn down and started taking measurements.

Heres a few of the issues I was replacing (Thank God!)





Movin right along....



While I was playing with the piping, I was taking brakes to prep the intercooler for a cheap easy sleeper mod.....





More measurements and cutting.



Test fitting as well...





Picked up a sweet adapter for my HKS SSQV, just like my previous one.



Look Familure? Came off a local guys wrecked speed 3. May suck for stock ones, but man are they an improvement over the originals for the car.



My work station... in front of the car...... on a busy street..... you can imagine the looks I got.



The Intercooler all ready and black. Even bought black 4 ply Silicon reducers for each end for the plumbing so as to hide it better.



And where I stopped for the night.



Closed for business..... till tomorrow.



Ile reveal whats under the ductape tomorrow so as to see why I used 1/4 roll OF ductape to cure it.

[FamiliaGT]

A little more headway today.
Decided to keep the BOV adapter pipe in the same place as before so as to make other lines work.

Installed intercooler for alignment and pipe measurements.



Got eh Turbo to Intercooler plumbing all sized up and finished (Main Goal). Everything fits perfectly with the right measurements.



Was able to run the charge pipes around the filter element instead of over, which was causing some space issues.



So modifications to the core support to allow for better charge pipe running.
NOTE TO SELF: Use better cutting wheels for this!



And the intercooler sitting black and happy.




One of my orders got fuberd for the Intercooler Reducers, so I will have to wait until the right parts arrive. Hopefully have this side of things finished by mid week. Just need to cut one last peice, then off to get the cut peices flaired.


Keep in mind that if I had a welder and the right experience I would be using the least amount of couplers as possiblem, plus the intercooler brackets would look tons better, but for now this works.

[FamiliaGT]

Forgot about this thread (DANM YOU A.D.D!!!).

Car now runs very well, Boost lag has been minimized, and power feels strong, although Im sure my wastegate actuator is going south.

Ordering an Aluminum radiator here soon to top this baby off for the CorkSport Get together later this month. Im entering this car for the sleeper segment.

Pics to come soon.

[FADE2GRY]

Good read... brings back good memories. It's nice to see a car like this still getting some lovin'.

My first real car was the 1987 626 LX Turbo bought new. What a fantastic car for the time. The full LCD instrument panel would still look futuristic today. I then moved to a used 1990 323 GT (Canadian only model w/ 1.8L DOHC - no turbo). Once the family was older I got back to having car fun with my 2007 MS6.

Looking back I was way too green to fully appreciate my 626 Turbo and left it stock for it's 170,000 mile life with me. If I had it today I'd be doing what your're doing to your 323.

Looking forward to more updates on your project.

[mx3claude]

nice man love the 323

[FamiliaGT]

Once again, Life/Work has taken pretty much all my time. Pics to come once the rain stops. I have since added an Aluminum Radiator to the car, plus added a 1989 323 GTX to my garage. Money is now spread out all over the place!!! Wish I knew how to say No!

[FamiliaGT]

What else I have been playing with. Camera sucks, so only a few shots came out any decent.







Within the first week of owning this car, I have replaced all brake components (Calipers, stainless braded lines, pads, rotors, mastery Cyl.), turbo, wheel bearings, clutch slave cyl, 1 tire and 1 headlight. Now onto struts. But first and formost is getting it registered. That alone with title is like $250. Car has not be registered in over 10 years. Been parked with a blown turbo the entire time going from owner to owner just to sit. Now shes ready to go for the most part, and ready for some snow.

[andrewpiro]

GTX love.


Struts are fun. Don't trust any place that says they have GTX struts. In reality, they are unbelievably difficult to find. I didn't want to go full coilover, so I went 323 struts in the front, and had to go with 626 in the rears. Both made by tokico.

GTX'es are money pits. However, its the funnest money pit I've ever owned.

GL!

[FamiliaGT]

Ive learned this on a grand scale with the GT, but then again, the GT isnt as involved as a GTX either. Its been sitting in my driveway waiting for me to come up with the funds to legalize the car so I can drive it. Hasnt been registered in 10 years, and was from Washington. Eitherway, working on it.

My computer crashed and lost all my info on both cars, pics, etc, so I need to start over.

[Hectik1]

Very cool build!

[Boosted Beluga]

Nice these look like a relative ready car to work on. GL on all 3 projets.

[Lex]

Much love for the older Mazdas. Too bad the trannies were weak compared to the motors. the cars are very rare however. Heck my old Escort GT is now rare

[FamiliaGT]

lol, this is true.

On one note, Im selling the Speed 3 to dwindle down my outgoing bills. Sad to see it go, but I will like having the spare $300 a month. BUT the good news is I just got hired at ANOTHER local Mazda Dealership, so I can stay in the Mazda field and hopefully make a better paycheck then what Im making now.

Anyone want a bolted and tuned high mileage Speed 3?

[TRSpeed]

Nice work man

[theurgy]

I have to say I'm glad I stumbled across this thread.
Great build man.

Every day I've been walking by this absolutely abandoned 1988 Mazda 323 GT parked in a carport that faces my street's back alley.
It's so covered in dust, flat tires and everything, and yet something about the car is begging me offer the owner a ridiculously cheap offer to take it off his hands and use it as a fun project car.

[Boosted Beluga]

Do it ^^

[theurgy]

LOL... here's the car:



Taunting me...

[Boosted Beluga]

Is it the awd version? Ether way it would be fun but awd at 275whp you can pick on evos and stis and shit

[theurgy]

Nah... that one is FWD, and non-turbo.
That said, it has the same engine as a Miata of that timeframe and dropping a BPT engine couldn't be too difficult.
It also has all disk brakes (bonus).
I could get that thing track ready for less than $2000.

[Boosted Beluga]

Offer him $500 for it

[theurgy]

LOL I was gonna start @ $200... site unseen.
I'm not even sure if it runs.

[Boosted Beluga]

This is true. Good luck man keep us updated.

[b4n30n3]

nice familia.