Mazda with Subaru muscle

[odepaj]

A friend of mine has a Mazda Mx-3 with the 6cyl. in it and hes planning on doing an engine swap. The first time he rode in the SVX he fell in love with it. So I was talking to him earlier just throwing ideas out for his car, and i wondered if it was possibble to put in an ej25 out of an Imprezza into his mx-3 and convert it to RWD or AWD (if possible). He also wants to put in the 6-speed. I dont know if ill get crap for this or not, but the way i look at it atleast hes not bastardizing a Subaru, hes making his Mazda better by using Subaru stuff (cause we all know subaru is better ). So any and all help/info would be appreciated.



dustin - spreading the word of subaru across the world, or atleast the San Antonio area.

thats some crazy ideas floating around there I suppose most anything can be done with the right amount of money..having owned a 92 Mazda MX-3 GS V6 which was prepped for autox.. the easiest mod is the KLZE 2.5 V6 which 'basically' just bolts right in from the JDM MX-6 or Eunos, and offers around 40-70 more hp and more in the torque dept..I never did the swap but have owned a Probe GT as well with the KLDE (US 2.5 V6) which will swap in as well and offers about 30-40 more hp....as for the Subaru/Mazda hybrid..lots of money might get it done..but im the type who prefers to keep the originality of the product..I would look for a 323 GTX or the JDM 323 GTX and swap that into the MX-3 instead..if for the Subaru, id get an older Impreza and do that...I just really like Subarus..esp my SVX good luck!

[alltrac]

Originally posted by Weasel 22
thats some crazy ideas floating around there I suppose most anything can be done with the right amount of money..having owned a 92 Mazda MX-3 GS V6 which was prepped for autox.. the easiest mod is the KLZE 2.5 V6 which 'basically' just bolts right in from the JDM MX-6 or Eunos, and offers around 40-70 more hp and more in the torque dept..I never did the swap but have owned a Probe GT as well with the KLDE (US 2.5 V6) which will swap in as well and offers about 30-40 more hp....as for the Subaru/Mazda hybrid..lots of money might get it done..but im the type who prefers to keep the originality of the product..I would look for a 323 GTX or the JDM 323 GTX and swap that into the MX-3 instead..if for the Subaru, id get an older Impreza and do that...I just really like Subarus..esp my SVX good luck!

I owned a 94 Mazda MX6 LS which had a KL03

Originally posted by alltrac


I owned a 94 Mazda MX6 LS which had a KL03

The US MX-6 2.5 was the KL03 while Ford called theirs the KLDE..same engine..the JDM version is the KLZE with higher compression and different cam profile..its rated at 200hp maybe anywhere from 148-170+ to the wheels ..depending on what parts are taken from the US engine to make it function properly

[CigarJohnny]

Originally posted by odepaj
A friend of mine has a Mazda Mx-3 with the 6cyl. in it and hes planning on doing an engine swap. The first time he rode in the SVX he fell in love with it. So I was talking to him earlier just throwing ideas out for his car, and i wondered if it was possibble to put in an ej25 out of an Imprezza into his mx-3 and convert it to RWD or AWD (if possible). He also wants to put in the 6-speed. I dont know if ill get crap for this or not, but the way i look at it atleast hes not bastardizing a Subaru, hes making his Mazda better by using Subaru stuff (cause we all know subaru is better ). So any and all help/info would be appreciated.



dustin - spreading the word of subaru across the world, or atleast the San Antonio area.

Cars like the MX-3, that are designed as FWD only, will not be able to take a RWD conversion due to the fact that there is no drive shaft tunnel to get to the rear end. Of course anything is possible with enough money but the entire rear end would need to be reengineered and fabricated as well as the unibody, most likely destroying any inherent handling qualities that make him want to keep the MX-3 in the first place. If the MX-3 was designed with an AWD or RWD layout in mind it would not be an impossible task. Tell him not to waste his time and money and just buy a damned Subaru in the first place. He will be much happier with the result.

Just my opinion.

Johnny

[odepaj]

He at first was gonna go the KLZE route and turbo it, but i think if a boxer could be put in there, it would be one hell of a car. I think hes looking for a 95-97 Imprezza 2.5 to buy and then were just gonna take as many parts as we need, we'll probably try to use the imprezza suspension since just about everything on the rear of his car is gonna be custom.

Johnny, I've looked underneath the car and with the ideas we have there should be enough room for a driveshaft without alot of cutting/welding. The only reason hes wanting to keep the Mx-3 is because he likes the looks, I've already told him it will completely change the characteristics of the car.

The plans for the exhaust right now are true duals coming out the side just infront of the rear wheels, so the space where the stock exhaust goes is where the driveshaft will be. The only problem we're having with that is we dont know exactly where the cats are gonna go. But we've only been working on this idea for alittle less than a week right now and ive only been able to look under the car once. I'll probably try and make some kind of mock-up of the subaru tranny, driveshaft, and rear dif. to get an idea of what is gonna need to be done. The only thing im really conserned about with making this car RWD is the short wheel base, I also dont know if it can be made to AWD because i dont know if the front wheels are in the right position for the subaru tranny to power them correctly. Can someone give me some measurements for a subaru 5-speed?




dustin

[CigarJohnny]

THe 5-speed is 2" shorter than the 4EAT if that helps you. I will trust your judgement on whether it can be done or not. Not to be a party pooper but I fear that all he will end up with is a good looking car that handles horribly. Having said that, I will add that last night I watched Jay Leno mount a 66 Old's Toronado onto a modified Corvette chassis (destroyed 2 C5 Vettes to make it), so yeah, anything is possible with enough money and talent.

Best of luck and keep us updatedif he really goes through with it. It should be interesting to say the least.

Johnny

[odepaj]

Ive been trying to talk him into just buying a nice Imprezza 2.5 RS and sell the mazda, but hes fixed on trying to modify his mx-3. I'll deffinetly keep things updated and ill even try to get some pictures. Right now were just researching things, but in acouple months (maybe a year) the real work will begin.


dustin

[Subafreak]

Why not drop in the Masdaspeed 6 2.3T ? You might also be able to use the AWD sytem from it, and it would be really expensive. The WRX drivetrain will not work for an AWD platform in the MX-3, the nose is way to short to place everything where it needs to be. I think the best idea is to look for a GTX drivetrain to craft in, not easy to find but probly the most capable swap. Or just keep it FWD and go with the 2.5L.

Happy fabbing.

[TomsSVX]

Someone up top mentioned that they owned a probe. I always wondered as one of my buddies owned a 91 SHO taurus. Can the 3.0 SHO motor and tranny be swapped into the probe? I think it would make one hell or a fast probe since those Yamaha motors are pretty impressive. Just curious, I am not a fan of Ford vehicles in any sense but the SHO had a jap motor in it so its not all ford.

Tom

[odepaj]

Hey Tom, could you take some pictures of the probe rims on your ebony. I was thinking about getting a set for mine but i dont know how they would look on the car. Thanks



dustin

Originally posted by tomssvx
Someone up top mentioned that they owned a probe. I always wondered as one of my buddies owned a 91 SHO taurus. Can the 3.0 SHO motor and tranny be swapped into the probe? I think it would make one hell or a fast probe since those Yamaha motors are pretty impressive. Just curious, I am not a fan of Ford vehicles in any sense but the SHO had a jap motor in it so its not all ford.

Tom

I owned the 'Probe'..being that the car mechanical wise was a Mazda the SHO drivetrain was not a direct drop in..and to this date I do not know of such a swap..this is likely due to the JDM KLZE output..this probably makes the SHO idea not fruitful for Probe owners..interesting idea tho...I searched for it but came up empty

[TomsSVX]

thnx i was just curious though

i will take pix as soon as i get a free minute. I got the rims because the factory wheels on the red car were bent he probe rims were a cheap solution. It also opens up the veiw of my brake system which looks pretty good.

Tom

[NikFu S.]

Originally posted by CigarJohnny
Tell him not to waste his time and money and just buy a damned Subaru in the first place.