Went to check out a black mica where the guy said it was a clean shell and no rust "none anywhere" i got excited about it and drove the 4 hours to see it and well i learned a lesson in how one persons idea is not always the same as another persons lol! Within 30 sesconds i saw dozens of rusty spots mostly in those awkward places that msps get it like on the door jams and the inside edge of the A pillars and under thte doors and in the engine bay also sharp impact dents on the door creases that are hard to fix just on and on with it to his credit though the fenders were not rusted and the hood and roof only had a few spots on them haha i was kinda pissed about it for a while but then it made me really appreciate the two that i have that much more to see how someone treats their cars so badly as this and say its in good conditon! Count these two MSPs that i saw yesterday all but out of the game theyll be dead soon. Sad.
What have you done to your MSP today?
- Thread starter baconbitz
- Start date
So,I'm nearing the end of my MSP forged engine rebuild and starting to turn my attention the interior ie the seats to start with.My factory ones are tearing and hard to find factory replacements.
I've seen the MS3 seats on ebay for about $400 a pair and even some ppl using the WRX seats.Both seem like a viable option and color matching is pleasing enough.
Any advise from you guys on wither i should go with something like that or a different route like the Sparco/Recaro and just do the driver seat since nearly 100% of the time i'm the only person in the car.
Cost effective wise and possible hassles with fabricating,adding in that its a daily driver so comfort is still high on the needs.Thanks
(forgot to add i'm 5'10 and 34" waist)
I've seen the MS3 seats on ebay for about $400 a pair and even some ppl using the WRX seats.Both seem like a viable option and color matching is pleasing enough.
Any advise from you guys on wither i should go with something like that or a different route like the Sparco/Recaro and just do the driver seat since nearly 100% of the time i'm the only person in the car.
Cost effective wise and possible hassles with fabricating,adding in that its a daily driver so comfort is still high on the needs.Thanks
(forgot to add i'm 5'10 and 34" waist)
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ZealoustheEnder
Contributor
- :
- 2003 MSP
For adjustable seat brackets.
http://wedgebrackets.com/seat-brack...V54KH-p177YK7WYgBU8dfZh8xnZvU0K6lsaAu-k8P8HAQ
Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk
Ok,looking around and still leaning towards the WRX seats.I called wedge and planet international about brackets for Recaro/Sparco seats and also Braum at which their price point is good for 2 seats.
But for 2 wrx seats $75-100 each at the local junk yards w/ some carpet/fabric cleaner and a bend on the mount i can get either some scuba 02-03 buckets(bolstered) or some 06-07(color matching,less bolstered).I'll go sit in both at the junkyard first and prob call it a day,like i was saying its a daily driver not a comp car and it needs some comfort for longer drives also.
But if anyone has experience swapping out Subaru Impreza/WRX seats into a Protege please let me know any tips.I know it's been done but searching through 17 pages of seat swaps can only give you so much info.
I have likely only 1/2 of it figured out vs someone that's done it.
Advise?
But for 2 wrx seats $75-100 each at the local junk yards w/ some carpet/fabric cleaner and a bend on the mount i can get either some scuba 02-03 buckets(bolstered) or some 06-07(color matching,less bolstered).I'll go sit in both at the junkyard first and prob call it a day,like i was saying its a daily driver not a comp car and it needs some comfort for longer drives also.
But if anyone has experience swapping out Subaru Impreza/WRX seats into a Protege please let me know any tips.I know it's been done but searching through 17 pages of seat swaps can only give you so much info.
I have likely only 1/2 of it figured out vs someone that's done it.
Advise?
hornsfan10609
Certified Mazda Tech
- :
- 2003.5 Mazdaspeed Protege x2
Damn there are WRXs in junkyards near you? I have yet to see one here. The STI seats are pretty cool but it would be weird to have STi branded seats in a Mazda.
The first gen Speed3 seats will bolt in with Wedge brackets and there is a little more info on them. They have good bolsters and say Mazdaspeed on them.
Been collecting parts for a P5 I got last weekend, haven't done much to the speeds lately. Once the P5 is running I will be cleaning up 1574 and putting it up for sale. Hopefully I can get around $4k for it.
Finally got the black box in the trunk that controls the rear defroster for 1574, been looking for one for a couple years now.
The first gen Speed3 seats will bolt in with Wedge brackets and there is a little more info on them. They have good bolsters and say Mazdaspeed on them.
Been collecting parts for a P5 I got last weekend, haven't done much to the speeds lately. Once the P5 is running I will be cleaning up 1574 and putting it up for sale. Hopefully I can get around $4k for it.
Finally got the black box in the trunk that controls the rear defroster for 1574, been looking for one for a couple years now.
Yeah,there was quite a selection of junked WRX/Impreza's.
Actually sat in 4 sets of seats before settling on a pair of 2002-3 WRX seats in great condition for $150.(Great thigh and mid bolstering)
Looked at some near perfectly new STI seats and agree the logo would bug me but the ones i got were cleaned on the junkyards dime and look pretty nice afterwards.No logo or tag except the airbag one.
Just need a torch and some eyeballing to get the angles right on the front brackets to line up right and g2g for 5 years at least.Could even get them recovered to match better later when they wear out for under $100 I'd imagine,compared to new Sparco/Recaro costing upwards of $600-800 each.
More money for the little things that happen...
Actually sat in 4 sets of seats before settling on a pair of 2002-3 WRX seats in great condition for $150.(Great thigh and mid bolstering)
Looked at some near perfectly new STI seats and agree the logo would bug me but the ones i got were cleaned on the junkyards dime and look pretty nice afterwards.No logo or tag except the airbag one.
Just need a torch and some eyeballing to get the angles right on the front brackets to line up right and g2g for 5 years at least.Could even get them recovered to match better later when they wear out for under $100 I'd imagine,compared to new Sparco/Recaro costing upwards of $600-800 each.
More money for the little things that happen...
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my oil return O ring is failing again. noticed a small puddle of oil where i parked at work yesterday. i'm running the stock turbo for those that don't know. the o ring was replaced about 2 years ago. is there a better solution? a quality gasket? rtv? gasket with rtv? gasket with o ring and rtv? lol
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good to know. next time it fails, i will switch to a gasket. had a spare oring since i ordered two last time so i'll use that for now.
hornsfan10609
Certified Mazda Tech
- :
- 2003.5 Mazdaspeed Protege x2
The clearcoat on the hood of 1574 is starting to fail, like much of the rest of the car. I polished it and waxed it but it isn't going to come back unfortunately. The whole car needs paint, but I don't think I will get my money back if I pay to paint it and then sell it.
Charged the AC in the forged car, and replaced the drier and some O rings. Planning to put the AFC in that car and get an AEM WB since the Innovate sucks and never works consistently. Once the AEM is in I will hook it up to the FTC and tune the car to hopefully run smoothly and without fuel cut on ~16psi.
Charged the AC in the forged car, and replaced the drier and some O rings. Planning to put the AFC in that car and get an AEM WB since the Innovate sucks and never works consistently. Once the AEM is in I will hook it up to the FTC and tune the car to hopefully run smoothly and without fuel cut on ~16psi.
hornsfan10609
Certified Mazda Tech
- :
- 2003.5 Mazdaspeed Protege x2
Found a Nardi Torino air bag from an NB Miata at the junkyard this morning, been looking for one for a while. Unfortunately the wheel was in pretty bad shape. Also found another nice sunroof wind deflector, probably going to sell it since I don't have a protege with a sunroof.
Still need to finish painting the wheels, install the coils and get an alignment in the forged car 1345, but I've been dedicating all my free time to getting the P5 motor swapped.
Still need to finish painting the wheels, install the coils and get an alignment in the forged car 1345, but I've been dedicating all my free time to getting the P5 motor swapped.
Looks like I'm getting my engine back from the machine shop this week.Then back off to the builder where he will be putting on all the new forged internals,Pope eng stuff,MFactory LSD,Doc B treatment,and AWR/Whiteline bushings for the engine mount and control arms,etc...
never ending list but this is kinda major compared to the rest of the list.Mostly cosmetic.
Just bought new rear Hawk pads so i fig when the fronts (which are at about 1/2 way now)go bad ill do the MS6 or Evo 8/9 Brembo conversion then.
Need to do the tinting and get a touch-up pen to hit the small shop dings.
Never thought it would be a 5 month ordeal to have the engine machined and rebuilt.I miss my car something fierce.
To anyone else rebuilding an engine plan ahead and get ready to wait unless you can do a lot of it yourself.
Finding a top notch machine shop/engine builder,even close to NASCAR country was hard with wait lists from 2-5 months on average plus a few weeks for the job.
never ending list but this is kinda major compared to the rest of the list.Mostly cosmetic.
Just bought new rear Hawk pads so i fig when the fronts (which are at about 1/2 way now)go bad ill do the MS6 or Evo 8/9 Brembo conversion then.
Need to do the tinting and get a touch-up pen to hit the small shop dings.
Never thought it would be a 5 month ordeal to have the engine machined and rebuilt.I miss my car something fierce.
To anyone else rebuilding an engine plan ahead and get ready to wait unless you can do a lot of it yourself.
Finding a top notch machine shop/engine builder,even close to NASCAR country was hard with wait lists from 2-5 months on average plus a few weeks for the job.
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ZealoustheEnder
Contributor
- :
- 2003 MSP
For anyone building, a spare motor is the way to go.
Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk
- :
- Mazdaspeed Protege
Not today, but last night... Bought it. 2003.5, blue.
Needs some TLC, but hopefully it won't break the bank to be a fun DD. Once I get some parts in I'll start a build thread, and link to my youtube channel where I post all of my repair videos.
Needs some TLC, but hopefully it won't break the bank to be a fun DD. Once I get some parts in I'll start a build thread, and link to my youtube channel where I post all of my repair videos.
hornsfan10609
Certified Mazda Tech
- :
- 2003.5 Mazdaspeed Protege x2
Yeah I am up to three now. Once the P5 is running I am cleaning up #1574 and selling it.
And now there is a black MSP that needs a little work for $1k close to me. If I hadn't bought the P5 I would probably be buying this MSP. Oh well. I am not a huge fan of the black ones to be honest.
I have been wanting a newer car with a more modern and advanced ECU and actual tuning solution. May end up with a speed3 or something eventually.
- :
- Mazdaspeed Protege
How do you know which number yours is? is there a plate/build sheet somewhere?
