Whitey

[nitrofarm]

Say hello to Whitey my recently acquired 97 Aspire ATX. Picked him up about 5 days ago, with 108k in Aurora IL for $750.00. Car is very straight & has no Rocker or sub frame damage at all! Just some minor rust underneath. It was an 80 yr old driving him. Motor & tranny are very very solid.Interior is very clean & smells great. I'm wondering if these are the stock plugs? What comes from the factory? These are Champion. He needs a front wheel bearing,tires,Ignition switch.Found a nice Other than that I've already logged 500 miles.

[Safety Guy]

Looks nice. Wouldn't they come with Motorcraft plugs?

Any swap planned? I'd love to see a Z5 swap, but I'd want a 5 speed for that.

Karl

[blkfordsedan]

Yeah, Motorcraft would be factory in any Ford.Congrats! Very nice Aspire. I'd love to have one like that for the old ball-and-chain to drive.

[nitrofarm]

I dont know Karl thats a good point about the Motorcraft plugs......did ford drop ship them to Mazda? No plans as of yet other than getting him back to factory. Mounts,Exhaust,tires & most important seals. I'm really wanting to put some Honda civic aftermarket "Craigslist special" 18" rollers on him. That ought to help with the Highway rpm'zzzz.The tranny shifts so smooth it would be a shame not to get another 50-75k out of it.

[TheresGabe]

Makes me miss my old white auto. Sounds like you got a good deal!

[nitrofarm]

Yeah, Motorcraft would be factory in any Ford.Congrats! Very nice Aspire. I'd love to have one like that for the old ball-and-chain to drive.

LOL I didnt just hear you call your better half a "Ball & Chain" :highly_amused:
Brian what plugs would be in a early B6'd 323? Would those be a NGK or Denso? After I read your post I second thought my question & realized that it would def not come with champion. I really had to coax these plugs out,I could tell they had been in there quite some time. When I first put a socket on them they wouldn't move but a 1/16th of a turn.:nono:
I just kept flooding the pocket with penetrating oil and wiggling the plug back and forth.Making dang sure I didn't gall the threads. It took @ an hour but I safely got them out. I couldnt help but to think that maybe that member from San Francisco (what was his name John Gunn)? Had owned this car and had forbid any use of anti seize on his plugs ! ohsnap The oil you see on those threads is from penetrating fluid.They were so dry they were wanting to "Chatter" every time I moved the socket.

[blkfordsedan]

Not sure. I would assume that Mazda would probably use Denso in their cars? It just seems that anything with a FORD oval on it would be required to leave the factory with Motorcraft plugs and filters. I could see Denso on an import, since Denso is a major OEM supplier, but I doubt Champion would ever be the factory plug......with the exception of maybe a Chrysler?


LOL, "ball-and-chain" is a term of endearment. Two guesses on who's "ball" she has on a chain.....first guess doesn't count. The wife and I have a pretty good relationship. She makes fun of me and the stupid "guy" stuff I do, and I return the favor. But, we all know who has the last word.....

[Safety Guy]

The B3s would be from Mazda in Japah, right? Would they ship those engines to Korea with or without plugs in? They would put some block into the plug holes to keep dirt out, IMO. The plugs themselves would be the logical choice, I think. Might the plugs be put in during final assembly in Korea, though? I think they probably drove the cars onto the ship in Korea, so the plugs should be in when the cars leave the factory.

I'd say the plugs would either be Japanese or Korean, and probably were put in in Japan. However, they could be put in in Korea.

I see it as quite unlikely that the plugs would be put in in America, since the cars were probably driven onto and off of the carrier. I also think it's unlikely that American plugs would be shipped to either Japan or Korea for installation.

New car customers would be highly unlikely to take out the plugs in the showroom, or on a test drive.

Karl

[nitrofarm]

Progress ! I gotta remember to change the date on my camera ...left the thermo gasket at the parts store. To busy to get it.








Now to "Sackle" that Dizzy ! Its got issues !

[nitrofarm]

Anyone know if there is a difference between OB1 & OB11 Dizzy's? This Dizzy is weird or else the the prom that I'm supposed to be jumping is the not the correct one in the "Self Test" box. I cant get the timing to advance @ idle???? I'm thinking the Dizzy is shot unless someone has some info for me. Thx Are the terminals different that you jump on a OB11 Aspire different? All I have is a 94 Aspire manual....

[Bert]

Whole different ballgame when it comes to OBDI and II dizzies. I drive with OBDI (93 EFI Festy) and have a spare 97 Aspire engine in storage. Nothing on there (except for the long block (includes roller rocker head), and not even the manifolds, so I'm told, are interchangeable.

[FestYboy]

were you able to replace the dizzy o-ring? if not, it's a 36mm nitrile rubber o-ring, any parts store should be able to hook you up.

[avitsefdrof]

Nitro...where'd ya get the two stage thermo at? Got a part number? thanks.

[zoom zoom]

Hey lookin good man! It's good to see these nicer cars comming out of the woodwork and belonging to someone who appreciates and knows how to care for them!

The difference between 94/95 and 96/97 distys is the later OBDII cars used an external Ckp mounted down by the crank pulley. Earlier models everything was internal in the disty. Kind of sucks, the coil can't be upgraded...at least not as easily as a Festy coil...but then it is a lot simpler to have it all in one place.

[zoom zoom]

Oh, are you planning on starting a fuelly account for him? I'd like to see some mpg numbers if you track it!