My first engine swap build thread

[eurotiva]

Hey thats gonna be 1 "fresh"tiva

[freshtiva]

Went to a couple of J/Ys today and found some wheels with the aspire bolt pattern. Took a while to find a car with all four wheels. I guess people bend a rim and then go to the J/Y and buy only one leaving an imcomplete set of three. Also wanted to get a 323 down pipe but only found one 323 and it was an 87 so it doesnt have the correct newer generation pipe. The one I removed from the older 323 was just like a festiva down pipe and different from what I need. Will the one in the ebay link listed below work ???

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/90-95-Mazda-323-MX-3-Protege-Header-Pipe_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3286Q2em20Q2el1116QQhashZitem290309412102QQitemZ290309412102QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

Since I got some wheels on the front I was able to move the jack stand around to the back and got the rear torsion beam off. That was harder than I was expecting. Score so far.
Marcus ...............3
Lower strut bolts ..1 (still soaking in PB blaster)

Didnt break any bolts and all the brake lines came free so all went well I guess. Ill try to get the aspire beam in before work tomorrow.

[freshtiva]

Oh yeah I found one festiva @ the J/Y, it had new halfshafts, control arms, and sway bar bushings. It was in good shape really. 214,000 88 four speed with factory air. I wanted to bring it home with me. I need to go get that stuff off of it at least..

[JoDan]

Oh yeah I found one festiva @ the J/Y, it had new halfshafts, control arms, and sway bar bushings. It was in good shape really. 214,000 88 four speed with factory air. I wanted to bring it home with me. I need to go get that stuff off of it at least..

If you do I might be interested in those control arms

[freshtiva]

man.... I'd love to visit the festiva ranch but them I'm afraid I'd never want to leave! :lol:

Well just come and stay. Bring the BP festy with you.

[freshtiva]

Got the torsion beam in this morning and was about to torque it down when a thought occurred to me. This may be a stupid question but consider the source, me. I was thinking of the "coil " springs and wondered if there is a right and left spring and if it was possible to put a spring in upside down. Do the coils need to compress in a particular direction or does the coil winding direction make any difference ?

[sasquatch]

i dont think you can put them in wrong but i do know that jack stand is NOT safe.... one good torque of a wrench the wrong way and the car comes down on you.... not cool

[freshtiva]

Ha Ha, I was waiting for someone to flame me for that. I removed the old torsion beam and put the new one back in like that. It hasnt budged yet. If the car falls on me Ill get out. I dont get to far under it to start with.

[sasquatch]

Ha Ha, I was waiting for someone to flame me for that. I removed the old torsion beam and put the new one back in like that. It hasnt budged yet. If the car falls on me Ill get out. I dont get to far under it to start with.

"It hasnt budged yet"... YET!!! all it takes is one bad movement and...

" dont get to far under it to start with"... whats the part of your body your sticking under there? your head... i bet it dosnt feel good with a car on top of it... lol...

i would be a bit more careful. atleast put on a helmet lol jk.... i put them on the sub frames on my car, then they are out of the way too

[Safety Guy]

Did I miss something? What rear shocks are those? They ain't Festiva/Aspire.

I missed something, didn't I?

Karl

[freshtiva]

They are Monroe Sensatrack but they are for a festiva. At least I hope they are after all the trouble I went to this morning putting them on. What ? dont they look right ?

[FB71]

Did I miss something? What rear shocks are those? They ain't Festiva/Aspire.

I missed something, didn't I?

Karl

they look ok to me, Karl... ?

[freshtiva]

OK as soon as I figure out how to bleed my brake by myself the aspire brake swap is done. The rear torsoin beam was the biggest pain to date. Probably a lot easier with some help. Took over an hour to get the right side lower strut bolt to thread, just couldnt get it lined up for some reason. Anyway its getting closer.

[freshtiva]

Anyone know anything about this down pipe ? Is this what I need since I cant find a 1990 + 323 down pipe or b6 header.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/90-95-Mazda-323-MX-3-Protege-Header-Pipe_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3286Q2em20Q2el1116QQhashZitem290309412102QQitemZ290309412102QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

[festivaWES]

^^ That doesn't make sense to me?? A b6-sohc downpipe is the same as a BP?? And also for a protege after 95?? I'd try to find one at a junkyard.

BTW your going to have to lower that festiva......and you call that a hazardous place for the jack?? Ha if you guys only knew what i worked under sometimes...