Lewis7789 2002 Protege5 build thread (tons of pics)

[PrinceValorum]

Ugh, what a tease

 

[Lewis7789]

It took us 2 weekends and a week(6/7pm-10pm) to get mine done. Evan, I think if the confusion with wiring diagrams was avoided you would have been done quicker. Anyways, I don't see unless you go the full and functioning OBDII KL route that you will be able to pass inspection. I do suggest thinking everything through. I had helped with swaps on Hondas before and many rebuilds on DSMs in the area, but never did anything with a protege. But, its all the same idea. I played out what had top be done over and over again in my head, then formed a good plan. Ran into having the wrong Disty, but that was a easy fix and would have saved 2 days of delay. Basically, check through it everything and make sure u have what you need.

Teeson, like Justin said, if you have a plan and are organized I'm sure it would be much easier and take less time. I didn't have a DD when I did my swap, so that would've helped a lot. But with all the restrictions you have up there, I'm not so sure you could get away with it legally...

lewis i love your car and can't wait to see the potential new DD

Thanks man, I really like yours too. Especially your CF hood, the Mazdaspeed in the paint the hood latches are awesome.

Evan,

Go roll bar/cage before that harness bar, they are more fashion than anything. You really shouldn't be running harnesses on anything less than a REAL rollbar, as mentioned before, they can deform/collapse/swivel in an the event of an accident/rollover. So long as you're without a rollbar, stick with the stock belts. Also mentioned elsewhere is the cg-lock, thats a pretty nifty tool to improve the restraint of the stock 3pt belts.

Track time is fun regardless of what your in, run your P5 I think that's great! If mine is road worthy I may make the trek to summit point in november. Seems like the perfect track car, plenty of room to haul another set of stickies, a pavilion, cooler, tools, etc. HPDE's are great fun if you aren't into competition. I do it more because I enjoy it, not to prove anything. Now that you're KL powered, the P5 should be a hoot!

Yeah, I'm just going to hold out on the full cage and wait for harnesses next year. No rush since it won't see any track time this year anyway. Boo. I haven't even put my Enkeis on this year.

Manual 626/Mx6 > Millenia

Just sayin

You still don't understand what I want my DD to be, man. Haha. I want comfort, quiet, reliability and classy.

OUP! guess my comments can be taken out of context. I have HSAX and that was like no investment at all just having fun with the car. But I meant to say (cause I had no idea till this first year of real W2W racing) that racing by its self is expensive. Its not necessarily a deturent but a note to start saving now for next year. It cost me 500 bucks in fees gas food and stickers and what not just to get my license. And like every single day weekend is like 350. I had no idea. I saved up a good bit of money to help me along the season, but went and spent it on the trailer like a jerk. So now I have to put some of this cost onto a C.C. I make s*** for money, so if I can do it anyone can.

Oh, and yeah don't race what you wouldn't mind loosing. It dose not seem to happen much, but I mean it could happen at any time. But only love for ya man. Good Luck!!!

I was actually talking to The Phen, but he deleted his comment. Not you, mate. I understand racing is expensive, not just the cost for the HPDE weekend (~$360) but for tires, brakes, fuel and wear and tear. But I'm excited for it. Next year will be a blast. Expecially since I'll have the Milly as a DD I won't have to worry too much about the P5 breaking down. Though she's still my baby.

 

[Lewis7789]

Okay, so as some of you know, I found that Craigslist ad for the Milly. The owner was super nice and said it overheated and she thinks the head gasket is blown (which it is, but it still runs. Or else it woulda been a b**** moving it around. Haha). My GF and I went out to look at it and meet with her Friday after work. It is filthy though, dog hair everywhere and dirty and just hasn't been cleaned in years. Ack. But the outside looks pretty good and it's a Missouri car so there is minimal rust, if any. It will clean up really well, no worries. She listed it for $750 and when we saw it I offered her $650 and she said okay. I rented a trailer and called up Josh to, once again, save the day (thanks again, GUY!). He and I went and picked it up in his Trailblazer today and brought it home where it's now sitting in my driveway. It's starting to rain a bit or else I would be out there scrubbing away. I'm super excited. I mean, who get's a Millenia for $650?

So the plan is first, to pay my father back the $600 he loaned me. Then save up the money for a new motor (just another JDM KLDE which are baout $900 shipped) so I should have that in about 1-2 months. Then swap in the new motor and enjoy the car. It's a straight swap so it shouldn't be anything too tough. Oh, and it has a brand new transmission that is about a year old. Double score.

It's totally an old ladies car though. The color is "sand mica" and the interior is brown leather. I wanted a black one but I just couldn't pass up this deal. More pics tomorrow after I get her cleaned up.

 

[Josue6WGN]

Good stuff pimpin!!! That was a killer deal for sure...

 

[CheeseHelmet]

If it's just a blown head gasket, why replace the whole engine?

 

[Lewis7789]

Well the KLDE has 175k miles on it. Plus to me, it's easier to swap the whole motor than to pull the heads off these motors while in the engine bay. So I'm just going to swap in a 30-40k mile JDM motor, transfer the EGR and all the stupid USDM emissions crap and call it a day. Oh, and clean the s*** out of the engine bay and paint the new motor.

 

[PrinceValorum]

My mom had a '99, in CWPM with tan leather interior, and it only had 62k miles when she traded it in on the Prius and got 1200$ for it... Sad day. I wish my parents knew something about cars, lol. It was a super nice car, besides being auto and underpowered.

Anyone placing bets on how long the Milly stays stock? I say 8-9 months.

Edit: You got the good wheels, too. I really wanted her set for my 626, but it didn't work out. I still regret it.

 

[bullshark524]

congrats on the new car bro

 

[03zoomzoom]

Anyone placing bets on how long the Milly stays stock? I say 8-9 months.

I bet an intake goes on it before the new motor starts. ha ha ha

 

[Lewis7789]

I'm telling you guys, no mods. Why would I invest ~$100 into an intake system for 1-2whp and the chance to pull water into my motor? No thanks. R E L I A B I L I T Y.

Plus, I've got the P6 as my money pit already. I don't need two of them. Window tint for the Milly and that's it.

 

[KZL_99ES]

damn mate! great deal indeed!

i'm assuming it's manual? i don't see you buying a car that's not! lol

and good idea keeping it stock! besides the window tint, i would get some HID's and new brake pads too! ...to see farther and stop shorter! especially if you're going to be driving it everyday!

 

[jri4]

and on top of what Kevin said, I'd then slap a turbo on it. I mean, you've got to be able to pull out safely onto the highway...0 to 60 in 4.5 seconds or something, ya know?! Remember, it's all about SAFETY and RELIABILITY!

LOL, you know I jest! Congrats on getting a DD and finally getting to turn the Protege into a summer/track monster. Yay for no more salt!

 

[Josue6WGN]

No, it's auto. I don't think 5spd's were available in Milly's.

I'm telling you guys, no mods. Why would I invest ~$100 into an intake system for 1-2whp and the chance to pull water into my motor? No thanks. R E L I A B I L I T Y.

Plus, I've got the P6 as my money pit already. I don't need two of them. Window tint for the Milly and that's it.

Don't worry Evan...I understand you keeping it stock.

 

[Lewis7789]

Yeah, Kevin. Like Josh said, it's an auto, they all are in the US. I keep looking for the clutch when I start it. But the tranny is less than a year old so it should be good to go for quite a while. And when the motor goes in I'll swap the brake pads, radiator, hoses and probably HID's. Oh, and an aftermarket double din stereo. The stereo works and sounds pretty good but the CD player doesn't read the disk and just spits it out and turns off. And I need my iPod integration. And once it's running I'll keep an eye out for some OEM Mazda wheels to replace the ones on there now. The finish is pretty rough and quite the eyesore. But I spent all day cleaning it out. Scrubbing the interior of all the GD dog hair and dirt. Stupid Jack Russel terrier...

ps- my P5 steering wheel is for sale and so will be the brand new unopened Infinity powered sub I bought for the P5 earlier this week. Doh!

 

[CheeseHelmet]

That's a pretty pimp-looking car, I don't think I've ever seen one before.

 

[ajkulish]

i dont think thats bad looking at all. great pick up.

 

[hat1018]

Really nice looking ride there mang. The window tint should kill off some of thye "old lady car" look. I would drive it. The wheels do look a bit rough from what I can see of them, I like the style of them though. Maybe have them blasted and powdercoated.

 

[Lewis7789]

I thought about that but then when you add up everything it would be cheaper just to get some new OEM wheels. Dismount the tires ($65), sandblast ($60), powdercoat ($200), remount tires ($65). But Wes showed some interest for him to use them as winter wheels next year or so. And I've got my P5 stockers with snow tires for this year so that gives me until the spring to find some new stockers.

 

[hat1018]

I thought about that but then when you add up everything it would be cheaper just to get some new OEM wheels. Dismount the tires ($65), sandblast ($60), powdercoat ($200), remount tires ($65). But Wes showed some interest for him to use them as winter wheels next year or so. And I've got my P5 stockers with snow tires for this year so that gives me until the spring to find some new stockers.

Sweet! Charge Wes $900 for the wheels and you get your engine free.
Well once you flash the numbers it really would not be wallet friendly to have them refinished.

 

[ajkulish]

if you go to autozone there is a wheel refinishing kit for like $22.00 that i heard can really bring back of the wow to the wheels.