Good luck finding a manual AWD BG Protege, especially in GA. I make use with what's available to me. Besides, I already had the Tracer.
Thanks, Eric.
$2008 GRM Challenge – Turbo AWD Mercury Tracer LTS
- Thread starter kcbhiw
- Start date
Good luck finding a manual AWD BG Protege, especially in GA. I make use with what's available to me. Besides, I already had the Tracer.
Thanks, Eric.
Good luck finding a manual AWD BG Protege, especially in GA. I make use with what's available to me. Besides, I already had the Tracer.
Thanks, Eric.
No, no...you misunderstand. The only question is: did they make 'em? If so, and budget is of no concern...I suspect that (new) parts could be availible from Mazda...that are of a more plug-n-play nature...so that having a one-off AWD LTS..or, um, ZX2 in my case could be a reality. Could be one helluva SM car...
FWIW...could some items be sourced off of a Tribute/Escape as well in doing something like this? ...thinking transaxle and drivetrain bits specifically.
Moving to the Back
At this point I'm into this build with less than $500 spent, believe it or not! With the front of the car at a point where I'm sure everything will work as I would like it to, it's time to see about making the rear wheels turn under power.
I started with removing the rear subframe from the GTX. Fortunately, nearly everything came off relatively easily as rust was minimal. The trailing arms are still stuck to the hubs and will need to be removed, but I'll get around to that in the next few days.
It's interesting to note that the suspension geometry and parts between the two cars are nearly identical. The trailing arms and lateral links share exactly the same measurements, however the Tracer's trailing arms are a touch beefier and the GTX's rear most lateral links are both adjustable where as only one of the Tracer's is. At this point, it looks as though the GTX's rear wheel spacing is about a 1/4 shorter than that of the BG's.
Of course, the entire rear end of the Tracer had to be disassembled along with it went the fuel tank. I'll have to use the GTX's fuel tank since it allows clearance for the drive shaft whereas the Tracer's does not.
At this point I'm into this build with less than $500 spent, believe it or not! With the front of the car at a point where I'm sure everything will work as I would like it to, it's time to see about making the rear wheels turn under power.
I started with removing the rear subframe from the GTX. Fortunately, nearly everything came off relatively easily as rust was minimal. The trailing arms are still stuck to the hubs and will need to be removed, but I'll get around to that in the next few days.
It's interesting to note that the suspension geometry and parts between the two cars are nearly identical. The trailing arms and lateral links share exactly the same measurements, however the Tracer's trailing arms are a touch beefier and the GTX's rear most lateral links are both adjustable where as only one of the Tracer's is. At this point, it looks as though the GTX's rear wheel spacing is about a 1/4 shorter than that of the BG's.
Of course, the entire rear end of the Tracer had to be disassembled along with it went the fuel tank. I'll have to use the GTX's fuel tank since it allows clearance for the drive shaft whereas the Tracer's does not.
Attachments
Rear Drive Gear
Both the Tracer and GTX's rear subframes mount to the chassis at 4 locations, 2 per side. However, the locations are quite different between the two cars. The GTX has 4 studs protruding from the chassis and the subframe is secured by nuts. The Tracer has 4 threaded bosses and two alignment dowels and the subframe is secured by bolts.
To properly align the GTX subframe, I flipped the Tracer's subframe over and secured it to the GTX's using common mounting points between the two, namely the inboard lateral link attachment points. This ensured proper alignment so that I could mark and drill the holes for the Tracer's alignment dowels and bolts. After measuring several times, I was convinced that everything was square and aligned properly and thusly marked and drilled the holes in the AWD subframe. I'm only able to use one of the original bolts per side to temporarily secure the subframe to the Tracer as there isn't enough clearance to allow use of the other two bolts.
Currently, the subframe is held in place only by those two bolts. I will mark each of the original mounting holes of the GTX subframe onto the Tracer and drill them through the unibody frame rails, running bolts into the trunk floor. I will also need to fabricate a few spacers to allow proper seating onto the unibody rails as it is loosely sitting in place.
A quick measurement indicated that everything will line up perfectly from the front to the back of the car. Furthermore, it appears that all of the rear suspension will also align properly. This was a little too easy, I wonder what hang ups lie in wait.
Both the Tracer and GTX's rear subframes mount to the chassis at 4 locations, 2 per side. However, the locations are quite different between the two cars. The GTX has 4 studs protruding from the chassis and the subframe is secured by nuts. The Tracer has 4 threaded bosses and two alignment dowels and the subframe is secured by bolts.
To properly align the GTX subframe, I flipped the Tracer's subframe over and secured it to the GTX's using common mounting points between the two, namely the inboard lateral link attachment points. This ensured proper alignment so that I could mark and drill the holes for the Tracer's alignment dowels and bolts. After measuring several times, I was convinced that everything was square and aligned properly and thusly marked and drilled the holes in the AWD subframe. I'm only able to use one of the original bolts per side to temporarily secure the subframe to the Tracer as there isn't enough clearance to allow use of the other two bolts.
Currently, the subframe is held in place only by those two bolts. I will mark each of the original mounting holes of the GTX subframe onto the Tracer and drill them through the unibody frame rails, running bolts into the trunk floor. I will also need to fabricate a few spacers to allow proper seating onto the unibody rails as it is loosely sitting in place.
A quick measurement indicated that everything will line up perfectly from the front to the back of the car. Furthermore, it appears that all of the rear suspension will also align properly. This was a little too easy, I wonder what hang ups lie in wait.
Attachments
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Rear Drive Gear (Con't)
I will continue working on the rear throughout this week and hopefully have it completed in the near future. Currently, the biggest hangup I foresee is the driveshaft, foremost, locating one. Secondly, I'll need to have it sized to fit the car.
A few more....
I will continue working on the rear throughout this week and hopefully have it completed in the near future. Currently, the biggest hangup I foresee is the driveshaft, foremost, locating one. Secondly, I'll need to have it sized to fit the car.
A few more....
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Yes, one did exist, but it wasn't anything really special as the drivetrain was only mated to the B8 (SOHC) and was never turbocharged. I honestly can't say what's still available from Mazda. I'm sure there are a few new bits around, but I'm also sure it'll fetch a pretty penny.
I doubt anything from the Tribute/Escape would work without having more of a headache than this project already is. The Tribute chassis shares no resemblence to the BG/BF so who knows how it would bolt together underneath.
Square peg into a round hole....Hong Norr
(that reminds me, I need to find a graphic from the shirt).
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swiz cheeze
Member
- :
- 1994 mazda miata
Man I hope everything goes well. I cant wait to see the outcome. This is very interesting. you have alot of work to be done but after seeing pic's of the miata I know you will get it done. maybe this one's a winner. good luck.
Steering Rack
Looking back, I neglected to mention the steering rack. Since I neither care for power assisted steering nor the added weight to the car (at least when it comes to competition), I decided to de-power the power steering rack. Three options are available: by-pass the PS pump and leave the rack untouched, source and install a manual rack from an Escort LX Pony, or remove the inner workings of the rack that work with power assist.
It's difficult to find a Pony manual rack and I already had a perfectly good power steering rack [that came with the Tracer]. As always, I chose the more difficult route. In the past, I'd de-powered a couple of Miata PS racks and thought this one would be no different. It's a typical rack and pinion so all that was necessary was to disassemble the rack and remove a metallic bushing (I have no idea of its proper name) and o-ring. It's held in place by a pair of recessed circlips and is much easier to cut off. After making a pair of cuts on both sides and a quick swack of a hammer, it was time to reassemble. Furthermore, there are no costs associated other than a handful of grease.
Looking back, I neglected to mention the steering rack. Since I neither care for power assisted steering nor the added weight to the car (at least when it comes to competition), I decided to de-power the power steering rack. Three options are available: by-pass the PS pump and leave the rack untouched, source and install a manual rack from an Escort LX Pony, or remove the inner workings of the rack that work with power assist.
It's difficult to find a Pony manual rack and I already had a perfectly good power steering rack [that came with the Tracer]. As always, I chose the more difficult route. In the past, I'd de-powered a couple of Miata PS racks and thought this one would be no different. It's a typical rack and pinion so all that was necessary was to disassemble the rack and remove a metallic bushing (I have no idea of its proper name) and o-ring. It's held in place by a pair of recessed circlips and is much easier to cut off. After making a pair of cuts on both sides and a quick swack of a hammer, it was time to reassemble. Furthermore, there are no costs associated other than a handful of grease.
Attachments
Nick Leone
Member
Yes they did it was just a Protege but with AWD
kickniteasy
Member
you sir, are my hero!
My first car was a '93 escort hatch....if it was a manual I would have kept it and it'd be a beast by now. I needed something more reliable for college/wanted a stick though, but still smile every time I see one. I would love to snag one to do a project similar to yours. Good luck!
My first car was a '93 escort hatch....if it was a manual I would have kept it and it'd be a beast by now. I needed something more reliable for college/wanted a stick though, but still smile every time I see one. I would love to snag one to do a project similar to yours. Good luck!
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- '13 CWP MS3 & '16 Mazda6 GT
Jees! good stuff Kevin!
I could only wish for a small percentage of your know how and skills...good work man!!!
I could only wish for a small percentage of your know how and skills...good work man!!!
More in the Rear
Thanks for the support, guys! I really do appreciate it.
I put in a touch more work to finalize the rear subframe attachment this evening. Since the subframe was already aligned squarely with the original alignment dowels, I proceeded to drill through the unibody rails into the trunk floor using the original GTX subframe mounting points as a template. Then using threaded rod cut to length, secured it to the car. To ensure a square fit and overall proper alignment, I added make shift spacers above the original Tracer mounting bolts and aft-most GTX mounting point. The front most mounting point already sits flush with the unibody. I'm not happy with the rear spacers, but I'll leave them in place for the time being and will tidy it all up a bit upon final reassembly. I may box-in/reinforce the whole area with 12 gauge plate. Furthermore, I added a square of 1/4” plate above each bolt that protrudes through the trunk floor to add a bit more rigidity to the unibody sheet metal. This too may be changed later. I'll have to see how the subframe reacts whenever I finally get the thing on the ground .
Tomorrow, I hope to either start swapping in the fuel tank or assembling the diff and various suspension components into the Tracer.
Thanks for the support, guys! I really do appreciate it.
I put in a touch more work to finalize the rear subframe attachment this evening. Since the subframe was already aligned squarely with the original alignment dowels, I proceeded to drill through the unibody rails into the trunk floor using the original GTX subframe mounting points as a template. Then using threaded rod cut to length, secured it to the car. To ensure a square fit and overall proper alignment, I added make shift spacers above the original Tracer mounting bolts and aft-most GTX mounting point. The front most mounting point already sits flush with the unibody. I'm not happy with the rear spacers, but I'll leave them in place for the time being and will tidy it all up a bit upon final reassembly. I may box-in/reinforce the whole area with 12 gauge plate. Furthermore, I added a square of 1/4” plate above each bolt that protrudes through the trunk floor to add a bit more rigidity to the unibody sheet metal. This too may be changed later. I'll have to see how the subframe reacts whenever I finally get the thing on the ground
.Tomorrow, I hope to either start swapping in the fuel tank or assembling the diff and various suspension components into the Tracer.
Attachments
'87 Turbo II
Member
- :
- 1987 Mazda Rx-7 Turbo II
the rear wheels on the black car. what size are the tires on them? The front wheels are 1st Gen Rx-7 wheels. They have the SUPER HARD TO FIND 4x110 bolt pattern and ifthe rears are fairly wide and can fit 205s I need them for rear tires on the 7 on track day........ you can only fit 18s on 1st gen wheels, but if the bolt pattern is the same on the front and back of that car and the rears are wider that'd make my day
The GTX wheels are 4x114.3. That RX7 wheel was just sitting there.
'87 Turbo II
Member
- :
- 1987 Mazda Rx-7 Turbo II
aww crap. I wish Mazda didn't make a new bolt pattern and discontinue it after 4 years...... show some commitment guys haha. Yeah, I'll need a hub swap and/or custom drilled wheels.
Oh by the way the project looks like it' comming along very well.
Oh by the way the project looks like it' comming along very well.
