Kenny's B6t Festiva

[KB Motors]

Well i haven't much time to work on my festiva project lately, last weekend i pulled the b3 and trans out of the festiva and sold it to tatrobb, i just ordered a battery relocation kit and a walbro fuel pump. i spent most of the day yesterday pushing me shed back about 15 feet so i can put both cars on the side of the house. progress is slow but when it cools off here im gonna really start getting things done!!! (here is a pic of the empty engine bay, not as dirty as i thought it would be)

[KB Motors]

I'm not real familiar with the Mazda v6 engines. All I know is they had a 1.8L (in the MX3? Wasn't it built by Mitsubishi?) a 2.5L DOHC that was in the Mercury Cougar, Contour/Mistique (also the MX6 & Probe?) and the 200HP 3.0L DOHC Duratec that was put in the Taurus, Escape, etc. (also maybe the 929 or whatever Mazda shares that platform?). I had a Duratec Taurus and it was a screamer (tranny was the weak link). It would surprise everyone that rode in it. Plus, they are a dime-a-dozen. I'm curious if the Duratec will bolt up to any manual FWD tranny that Mazda has. If so, it would be a great (and unique) combo in the lighter 323.

if your gonna be putting any taurus motor in a 323 it should be a SHO motor.

[blkfordsedan]

Why not swap in the mazda k-series v6. Its been done before.

I'm not real familiar with the Mazda v6 engines. All I know is they had a 1.8L (in the MX3? Wasn't it built by Mitsubishi?) a 2.5L DOHC that was in the Mercury Cougar, Contour/Mistique (also the MX6 & Probe?) and the 200HP 3.0L DOHC Duratec that was put in the Taurus, Escape, etc. (also maybe the 929 or whatever Mazda shares that platform?). I had a Duratec Taurus and it was a screamer (tranny was the weak link). It would surprise everyone that rode in it. Plus, they are a dime-a-dozen. I'm curious if the Duratec will bolt up to any manual FWD tranny that Mazda has. If so, it would be a great (and unique) combo in the lighter 323.

[muscle_Car1]

I change my vote. I was thinking it was an original GTX. I was also thinking he was getting the motor rebuilt, but now I realize its just the turbo that needs rebuilt. Plus, he got a lot of good turbo-specific performance parts as well. I guess I would do the transplant as well. But.....I still hate to see such a straight 323 get totally dismantled. I think you should buy it, put a DOHC V6 in it and use it as a DD. How hard would it be to drop a 3.0L Duratec in a 323?

Why not swap in the mazda k-series v6. Its been done before.

[KB Motors]

still, its got the spoilers and its a clean bf, how many clean bf's do you see???????? espically up north. i would swap dashs with a american 323 and register it that way.

this is where things get complicated, i had thought of buying a cheap xr2 and putting the motor and trans into the 323 shell, but the guy has already re did the interior so the vin on dash doesn't match the vin on firewall,plus finding another b6t thats doesn't have 200,000 on it around here is pretty hard, and the pinch welds right behind the front wheels are all smashed and pretty rusty. i would love to sell the shell to someone who wanted it just to keep the car intact. the only things i want/need from the car are motor, trans, wiring and the digital cluster.

[blkfordsedan]

You do realize its not a GTX, it was a regular model 323 that was converted to look like a GTX along with the B6T.... although i do agree it is a great looking car but from the above posts i also read it would cost him too much to register it in the US, which is another reason for the part out..... all that i got from the above posts

I change my vote. I was thinking it was an original GTX. I was also thinking he was getting the motor rebuilt, but now I realize its just the turbo that needs rebuilt. Plus, he got a lot of good turbo-specific performance parts as well. I guess I would do the transplant as well. But.....I still hate to see such a straight 323 get totally dismantled. I think you should buy it, put a DOHC V6 in it and use it as a DD. How hard would it be to drop a 3.0L Duratec in a 323?

[Hot_Wheels]

still, its got the spoilers and its a clean bf, how many clean bf's do you see???????? espically up north. i would swap dashs with a american 323 and register it that way.

[Damkid]

I gotta agree on this one! As much as I love Festivas, the thought of parting out that clean looking 323 makes me woozy, unless it's totally rusted out underneath. Considering what you paid and the fact that you still want to rebuild it, I would keep the 323 in tact and look for a BP to turbo or a B6t Capri that you could ship from somewhere in the states and still be within the price range. If you do take the motor/trans, at least leave the rest of the car together and sell it to someone who can put a BP or a KLDZ or something in it and save a piece of Mazda performance history! I would think you should be able to get at least $1500 for the car, less the motor.

Whatever you do, it's your decision. I look forward to seeing your Festiva build!

You do realize its not a GTX, it was a regular model 323 that was converted to look like a GTX along with the B6T.... although i do agree it is a great looking car but from the above posts i also read it would cost him too much to register it in the US, which is another reason for the part out..... all that i got from the above posts

[blkfordsedan]

dont cut the 323 up!! its clean find another b6t or theres plenty of bp's to turbo! also lets see a pic of the intake pipe on the 323, is there a different intake on that car? the b6t are usally straight over the valve cover

I gotta agree on this one! As much as I love Festivas, the thought of parting out that clean looking 323 makes me woozy, unless it's totally rusted out underneath. Considering what you paid and the fact that you still want to rebuild it, I would keep the 323 in tact and look for a BP to turbo or a B6t Capri that you could ship from somewhere in the states and still be within the price range. If you do take the motor/trans, at least leave the rest of the car together and sell it to someone who can put a BP or a KLDZ or something in it and save a piece of Mazda performance history! I would think you should be able to get at least $1500 for the car, less the motor.

Whatever you do, it's your decision. I look forward to seeing your Festiva build!

[KB Motors]

did you buy that 323 gt from a guy in vancouver BC? that looks VERY similar to the one i saw when i went to get a bunch of parts from him...

yeah i got it from a guy in bc, he was a really nice guy, drove the car over the border for me and everything. his name was richard

[sasquatch]

did you buy that 323 gt from a guy in vancouver BC? that looks VERY similar to the one i saw when i went to get a bunch of parts from him...

[KB Motors]

dont cut the 323 up!! its clean find another b6t or theres plenty of bp's to turbo! also lets see a pic of the intake pipe on the 323, is there a different intake on that car? the b6t are usally straight over the valve cover

here is a better picture of the engine, has the normal b6t intake as far as i know and you can see the ram horn header more clearly

[KB Motors]

is that a ram-horn turbo manifold?

It is indeed

[KB Motors]

dont cut the 323 up!! its clean find another b6t or theres plenty of bp's to turbo! also lets see a pic of the intake pipe on the 323, is there a different intake on that car? the b6t are usally straight over the valve cover

i have been looking for a good donor for my b6t project for about a year, i drove 5 hours to get this one. the car is from vancouver, bc and im from vancouver wa. it would cost me a fortune to transfer the title to the us. i do feel bad about taking the car apart it has some goodies like, power sun roof, viper car alarm, digital gauges and power windows.

[festivaWES]

is that a ram-horn turbo manifold?