Chris' Mazda 323F V6

A.A.S. (Newburn, Tyneside) fitted a custom s/s Cat back onto my Proton SAVVY.

Looked really cool >> extremely QUIET 😕

Stock look (single centre exit)


Yours is GR9 👍


OVIMOR

I got the car up on a ramp at work to have a closer look at the new exhaust and to also check the exhaust hanger rubbers. The exhaust company mentioned the hanger rubbers aren't covered under their warranty. If they failed causing the exhaust to drag along the road, which in turn damaged it i.e putting a hole in it then it wouldn't be covered in the warranty.

It seems two out of four had been replaced, why they didn't swap the other 2 is beyond me. But they look to be a good condition anyway so nothing to worry about just yet.









I've been eyeing up another camera to help with the content creation. I'm hoping to move over to my Canon SLR but thats too bulky when it comes to filming tight spaces, like the suspension/brake areas, underneath the car etc.

Back in the day when I used to go drifting I used GoPros, starting off with their original Hero (which I still have, the battery has swollen though), Hero 3 and a Hero 3+ (you can see how long ago this was). After having numerous issues with the 3s I gave up and lost faith in the brand.

I was planning to go back to the brand and pick up a Hero 10 until I came across DJI's version, the Osmo Action.

Their latest model the Osmo Action 4 is compatible with their Mic 2 which I purchased not long ago. After watching a few videos I decided to take a gamble and ordered one.

In my latest video I talk about some features of the camera before heading out to capture some videos.



A couple of photos while out on the drive





I'm keeping an eye on the weather for the next week or so, hoping to take some annual leave to tackle one job I've had planned for some time.

I also have a replacement clutch kit ready, just waiting to hear back from a friend about helping me if not I'll have to get a garage to do it due to the lack of free time.

With it finally on the work bench I could begin cleaning it inside and out. I didn't realise how bad it was inside, nothing some aerosol brake and clutch cleaner couldn't sort.

With the top cover removed, it revealed one of the VRIS butterflys



And here's the other butterfly on the end, which has the link pipe connected to it.



Other side of the link pipe





Inlet side behind the throttle body



Throttle Body



Eeeek!



The previous owner had painted the rocker covers last year in what looks to be a wrinkle black finish. It was ok, but I felt the engine bay needed some colour



I used some Motip Paint Remover to strip the paint from the covers. The first one took a little longer because I was too impatient in the video and started to scrape it too soon. It's best to leave it for 5mins+ and let the paint really bubble up.





With the various componants now prepped and masked up it was ready for paint. Etch primer followed by Simoniz Wheel Steel and then their Clear Lacquer





With both rocker covers now back to bare metal, they were degreased and had the baffle plates removed ready for etch primer and then white primer.



Next up was the top coat, I went with Honda Indy Yellow Pearl



It's hard to see the flake because it's so fine but it does pop nicely under direct light



With the lacquer left to dry over night, the next day it was finally time to reassemble. Starting with the baffle plates, I used some RTV sealant around the plates along with some threadlock on the screws.





Going back to the broken one way valve under the inlet manifold. I got a universal valve from work but made the hose coming off the vacuum chamber longer, making the valve more accessible. While I was trimming down the hose to make it fit better, instead of pulling the valve off, I ended up pulling off the barb I had previously glued on.

Annoyingly this was the LAST thing to do. I retraced my steps and removed the inlet manifold (again) to gain access to the broken barb.



I should have done this on the work bench, but you live and learn The barb pushes in but without doing a smoke leak test I'm unsure how well sealed it is.

So to conclude this update, here's a before photo



After





I painted various brackets and pipes in Simoniz Tough Satin Black, it's one of my favourite paints to use



It turns out the dipstick handle isn't designed to be leant on, ooops! Luckily I had a solution stashed away which I knew would come in handy at some point.

Jass Performance make a handle specifically for broken MX5 dipsticks and luckily it fits the 323F too



Strut Brace nuts still need replacing after I found out they're M10 x 1.25





Stainless hardware makes all the difference (don't worry, I used threadlock on every single one). Zinc was an option, but I didn't know if it would be too much yellow







My Part 2 video on Youtube can be viewed here

It looks like it needs moooore gloss lol

I'm doing some catch up with the build thread. There's been lots of little jobs but nothing really worthy of its own update.

While doing the clutch change we swapped over the passenger side gearbox mount. The bracket that bolts to the gearbox is different on the V6 and I so happened to have ordered a 1.5/1.8 mount *eye roll*

Luckily that bracket is on a spindle that passes through the bush mount and is held on by a large nut. The bush itself looked the same so we swapped the bracket over and it all bolted into place.

The reason for the change was because I get a knock when changing gears and sometimes under harsh acceleration. I had purchased all 4 mounts but we only had time to do the one (which made sense because of the clutch change).

Although we did look at the front mount, but the one supplied was incrorrect. Turns out the studs are wider on the V6 model.

The driver side mount was the next one to look at. With the engine supported with a trolley jack and a piece of wood it was time to loosen the nuts.



There's 4 nuts on the top, one is for an earth strap which sits ontop of another nut.



There's 2 bolts that hold the mount to the chassis. There's also a 10mm nut that holds a bracket onto the main mount.



The powder steering reservoir needs unbolting and lifting up and off from the bracket. From here the mount can be removed while navigating under the hose.



The mounts look pretty identical with a couple of minor differences. The top stud is longer on the new one and there's an additional bracket? on the right hand side which faces the bulk head.



At first thought I didn't think it would line up. But I threaded in the bolts by a couple of turns and they equally tighened up. The top bracket dropped straight on





Unfortunately I still have the knocking noise. I've got front lower ball joints and stabaliser links to change. But I've got a strong feeling it's going to be the rear engine mount. To do that the subframe needs removing because access to the bolts is blocked by the bulkhead.

The next job was something that was being revisited from the engine bay refresh update. You may remember me breaking the check valve and barb on a vacuum chamber which are bolted to the underside of the inlet manifold.

I made an(other) order with Amayama for some replacement parts to fix the issue. I decided to buy both chambers, check valve and the elbow hose.



After the refresh I knew something wasn't right, the car was lacking a severe amount of power (well...what ever is left lol) So I knew it was related to the check valve I got from my work.

It didn't take long to remove the inlet manifold (I'm getting pretty good at doing this now!) to see what was causing me problems.



The barb had pulled itself out from the chamber (I already knew the glue had failed from last time), that would explain alot!

It didn't take long to fit the new parts, it's a good job I purchased the other chamber because that barb had snapped off to.



I'm kicking myself for not ordering a new foam buffer ring thing that goes around the check valve, it's just to stop the check valve from rubbing against the inlet manifold. Hopefully this one lasts a little while longer.

With it all back together it was time for a test drive. My face lit up when the VRIS engaged and the car was back to running normal again.

Youtube video can be found here:





A couple of Sunday's ago I was invited to the local Mazda dealership for a small event they had organised for the 35th Anniversary of the MX5 (or Miata to some readers), it was also the 30th Anniversary of the 323F . The MX5 club were there having a number of cars on display. I did arrive late due to being at my Cars & Coffee event that I organise.

The rain hadn't stopped all morning so alot of people had already left. The event finished at 12:30pm and I waited till everyone had left so I could get some photos outside the dealership.

Fun Fact: The owners manual that I got sent by another member, that car was originally sold at this dealership back in the mid '90s. The staff even recognised the signatures in the service history.


I managed to find a new old stock K&N panel filter. The bag had been opened so chances were high of the oil being non-existant. I ordered a recharge kit (cleaner and oil) and set about re-oiling the filter before installing.



The Youtube video can be found here:




The last part of this update was an interior change. The car came with a steering wheel boss kit so I decided to put it to good use. These cars probably weren't designed for larger people like myself and I'm ashamed to admit that it can be a squeeze getting in and out.

With the battery disconnected and left for a couple of hours I could get to work with removing the airbag. There's x4 10mm bolts holding it on. With the airbag pulled out it revealed the loom, a large blue plug that housed a smaller blue plug and an orange one.



I couldn't unplug the short loom that goes to the clock spring. I followed the wiring back and found another blue and orange plug.

** FOR FUTURE REFERENCE ** The Orange plug with single wire is for the horn. The blue plug with 2 wires are for the airbag



Club member Paul kindly sent me a couple of resistors, I pushed them into the blue plug and taped it up. I wrapped the wiring around the boss and pushed the cover for the HKB boss over the top.

Unfortunately the resistor still put the airbag light on the dash. I'm hoping its from a poor connection, but I didn't have my soldering iron to hand to make a little adaptor. I got the steering wheel bolted onto the hub and went for a test drive.



Finding a suitable steering wheel was tricky. The original measures 375mm but most steering wheels seem to be 350mm. I wanted something 90s styled to suit the car better.

After numerous messages to a long list of sellers I finally found this 320mm Momo Tuner on eBay in very good condition.

The youtube video can be found here:



Sorry for the long read, turns out it was a larger update than anticipated.

The next update is a big one, I've been wheel shopping!

Since buying the car, I knew the S14 wheels weren't going to be a 'forever' wheel. They're not a bad looking wheel and they do suit the car, but I felt the large flat spokes were abit boring.

I've spent countless hours browsing through selling sites and despite specific searches, I kept being presented with everything but what I was looking for.

I wanted to stay with 16s, I knew this would limit my search but I wasn't expecting it to be so difficult. Majority of results came back as 15" (I'm unsure if they're fit over the brakes) or 17" (can look too big on the car) or the wrong PCD.

Here are a few options,unfortunately I didn't have a HUUUGE budget which also didn't help the search.

Rota Fighter (Volk Racing CE28 reps) Not a huge fan of multi spokes



Japan Racing JR3/Rota Grid (Volk Racing TE37 reps)



Japan Racing JR11 (Weds SA-99R reps) again, quite a few spokes



I've always liked the Enkei RFP01 design and it works on alot of cars. It was one wheel I couldn't find in the specs I was after (at the time)



The Rota Slipstream were my first choice. I had these on the Motul K11 Micra, its a simple design which looks great



This grey 323F has the real deal Desmond Regamasters (or so the owner says)



Mazdaspeed installed their MS01 wheel on their Lantis models, which came in 16". But as you can imagine these can hold a good 2nd hand value



The more I searched for examples the more I prefered a 5 or 6 spoke design. I did come across a set of Work Equip 05s but by the time they're refurbed it'd be close to a 4 figure total. Plus my days of keeping polished lips clean are in the past from the Work Meister S1s on the purple MX5.



That's when I had a wheel design pop into my head which may tick all of the boxes. An OEM wheel from a rival manufacturer.

I sent out a few messages to people who may know the whereabouts of said wheel, which led me to a seller local to me. I immediately went to view them and providing they were all straight with no major damage or cracks, they'd be coming home with me.



The wheels had been stored for a number of years outside, but the lips had quite alot of brake dust embedded

I tried the strongest wheel cleaner/fall out remover I had and it didn't shift it at all. This meant I would struggle to clean them and the only way was a refurb.



I was able to get my hands on a knackered tyre in the same size as the Kumhos. I used this for testing on the car to make sure they cleared the arches and brakes.



With no spacers it was a pretty good fit and plenty of clearance. A small spacer would be required due to the centre bore being smaller than the 323F hub.

It was all steam ahead so I got it booked in for a refurb. A friend of a friend was able to do them for me for a cash price. I asked for them to be sprayed in a gunmetal colour. Their response was they do a light or a dark gunmetal. I didn't want it too light where it'd be silver, but I didn't want it too dark and it's almost black.

I left him to decide and hoped they came out ok.



I'm very very happy with the colour and the overall condition is great considering how much corrosion and pitting the wheels had originally.

I gave them a layer Meguiars Ultimate Wax to help seal them

Forged Nissan R32 GTR 16x8j ET30 (technically ET27, I have 3mm spacers fitted), 205/50R16 Kumho tyres





I lowered the BC Racing coilovers to eliminate the rear arch gap. Both axles were different heights! The front got lowered approx 10mm and the rear approx 15mm

The distance from the locking collars are:

Front: 40mm
Rear: 135mm













I'm extremely happy with the result!

What do you think?

The Youtube video can be found here (I tried improving my 'cinematic' editing):



** EDIT ** Post count 323

Looks great on the GTR rims! Surprised how not stretched the tyres look.

Ultralite do some good reps, I put their RFP1 reps on my R56 Mini.

I have changed the badges on previous cars to match their import version but for some reason I stuck with the ZXi.

I think it had something to do with recreating the logo for other owners and wanting to show an example of them fitted.

With the track day just 3 weeks away I needed to finish some prep for the day.

Me and fire aren't friends after the engine fire in my first MX5 back in 2008, so the first safety precaution was to install an extinguisher.

The easiest way to mount it would be to the front of the passenger seat rail. I started off by making a cardboard template for a rough shape and to make the holes of the rail.

The original plan was to make it wider and flat to the floor with a slight bend in the metal. Upon offering up the fire extinguisher I realised I could make it half the width and it should tuck underneath the seat quite well.



I was happy with the way it had turned out. The mounting holes for the bracket were drilled and it was given a couple of coats of tough satin black.





The seat does clear the top, but I don't think it'll ever be that far forward.



The last time I did a track day was 2021 in the Motul Micra K11. I remember the tyres seemed to have been holding me back a little. It may also partly be me not having enough confidence in not just the tyres but the whole experience.

To help conquer that I decided to buy some better tyres. Originally I managed to purchase a pair of Nankang NS2Rs for £66 delivered. When they were mounted to the S14 wheels one had a tear on the inner shoulder, dammit!

Fast forward a few weeks and I found a pair of 2021 stamped AD08RS locally. I struggled to find another pair when two more pairs appeared on Facebook Marketplace. Both fell through, well one did the other stopped responding, so I decided to bite the bullet and buy a pair of new ones.



These are a 205/45/16 which should give me 10mm more arch clearance compared to the current 205/50 setup on the R32 wheels.



The last thing to do was to change the brake fluid. While the car was at the garage last week having the gearbox seal replaced, they bled the brakes for me too.

It seems to be a can of worms when asking for recommendations. Alot of people say either Castrol SRF or Motul RBF 660. I had a local performance garage owner Fast Eddy come into my work, we got chatting and he recommends the EBC BF307+. He's an EBC dealer and was able to drop some off for me.

I'm still using the Blueprint discs and pads and I've ordered replacements to take with me. Unfortunately there aren't any performance brake pads available so I'll have to be careful.



I'm probably over thinking alot of this, I just want to be prepared and not have the day cut short due to something silly (like boiling brake fluid for example)

The Youtube video can be found here: