I have to make a decision about what to do with my MX6. I've had it for two and a half years and wouldn't mind changing, plus also may be getting a co car soon, but cannot bring myself to part with the 6.
It's a 94 model, 120k miles, in excellent condition except for a small amount of rust on one wheel arch and a hell of a tappety top end [it only did 40k miles in nine years with the bloke I bought it from and is a bit glued up I think, but I can't seem to clear it].
I've done nearly 40k miles since I bought it, and have done nothing to it. It's just gone through it's third MOT with no requirements. I'm thinking of chucking a wedge of cash at it and getting it nicely sorted out. It's either that or sell it for a pittance. What I'd want is a complete top end overhaul, that rusty bit fixing, and probably some suspension parts replacement, and maybe a stainless steel exhaust. ALso the lacquer in place is coming away - [what's it cost to fix that?]. Some way of adding 20-30 bhp would be appreciated whilst we're at it...
I'm a bit of a purist and don't likie modding cars beyong subtle improvements. Can anyone recommend a enthusiats/mechanic who knows these cars, could take it in for a couple of weeks and gently work it over, basically with a view to ensuring that it'll give another five years of good service, looking great and perhaps with a bit more oomph thrown in? I'm in the midlands [stratford on avon]
Snap out of it Dave. You own a very rare car, they are getting fewer on the road because of people not wanting to spend money on them. Do the bits you want and enjoy it!
On the motorway from Manchester to Japfest I had cars steeming up behind me then slowing to have a look at the 6, what other £1,000 cars get's that sort of attention! You can make these cars look really smart for very little cost.
Get to an event with us and you will see what I mean.
Hi mate, I can help with some of this stuff but i'd need to know what sort of budget you want to work with. Getting the mechanicals AND the bodywork done at the same place isnt going to be easy and getting 20-30bhp more is going to be almost impossible unless you want a KLZE transplant or nitrous fitting.
[color="Yellow"]I've taken people's money, without delivering goods. I've lied about it, too! DON'T DO BUSINESS WITH ME!
Hi Mark ...I'm doing all I can to hold on! I do appreciate this car very much which is why I can't bring myself to part with it. But if I'm to keep it, I have to invest in it. It owes me nothing.
Windy..In my mind, I've reserved between 1000 and 2000 quid, on the basis that 2k is the depreciation one would get from a newer car in a couple of yers [or less] anyway. Although I can't afford this...but I have to do something. The BHP increase puzzles me...wouldn't simpler ss exhaust, a k&n filter assembly [maybe even a turbo??] add something useful? I was told that in the US, they tune these engines up to 300 odd bhp. I wouldn't want that, but just a sniff more responsiveness would be nice. 180 or 185 rather than 165 bhp - just a bit more funk. But without taking too big a hit on fuel consumption if possible. It's not crucial, but would be nice.
As for overhaul stuff...it's been tappety since I bought it 40k miles ago. If it's been stick lifters all this time, the cams might be worn now. I'm pretty sure those nylon bushes I'm tols prevent lateral movement are worn, as there's a random clicking.
Just lately, I've noticed a tiny bit og clutch judder as well. In the inetersts of doing a complete job, this might need attending to. And there's a bit of a knock on the back end when shifting from forwards to reverse.
The wheelarch rust is a puzzle..there appears to be two 'v' shapes dents pointing down, at ten o'clock and two o'clock, and it's here that arch is rusting. What caused these dents I don't know, although the lead weights on that wheel vanished a while ago, but this wouldn't explain why the dents point down.
Anyway, I accept that bodywork and mechanics may not get done at the same place, but a good mechanics garage would know a good paintshop...and here's the opportunity to quote for the whole job, details to be discussed with the lucky winners expert input and opinions.
Wow, now this is the sort of thing I like to get my teeth into!!!
Based on your budget and your very good realistic expectations I would say you need to shop for the following.
SS exhaust system and headers (I would expect to pay £500)
Full length induction kit (£40 ebay or £60 probestore)
Uprated Fuel pressure regulator (improves throttle response - £40)
Banjo bolt mod (increases fuel rail pressure to go with the FPR - FREE!)
All the above are basic entry level bolt on mods to improve bhp and driveability + give a bit more sound to the V6
KLZE cams + inlet manifold and throttle body + KL36 ECU and Vaf - Around £300
Bolting the top end from a KLZE onto a DE engine will give you an approximate gain of 20bhp I would think + it keeps the lower compression bottom end if any future boosting is to be done. You can service/replace the HLA's at the same time or get a complete KLZE top end with heads and bolt it straight on.
With all the above I would expect you to be around the 190bhp mark.
Service with oil, filters, plugs, leads etc - £100-150
If you are getting clutch judder then you may have something worn in there. Now would be the time to do a clutch change + add an MX3 flywheel. This is around 8lb lighter than the mx6 flywheel so improved pick-up and response. A flywheel can be found for £50 on ebay if you email some breakers, Clutch kit is a tricky one, the clutch itself is around £100 but not sure of fitting price, I would say that in total you should budget £300 in total.
Bodywork wise, would be tricky to say without seeing it but as a guide, my mate at the bodyshop charges around £100 per panel for things like de-badging or repairs and painting.
When was the cambelt last done? The ticking could be the tensioner at full length due to a worn belt. A cambelt change with idlers etc is around £200 fitted.
Mechanically you have a bill around £1500, which should give reliability, power and driveability. Bodywise you would have to get a quote or send some pictures. What colour is the car?
[color="Yellow"]I've taken people's money, without delivering goods. I've lied about it, too! DON'T DO BUSINESS WITH ME!
Hi again Dave,
If you want to up the BHP the KLZE engine transplant get's you up to 200BHP with a simple straight forward engine swap. Then you can consider the CAI and exhaust to push it a bit more.
I think that the most powerful (power to weight ratio) MX6 on UK soil is Piers14 J-spec.
He went down the power route first then he addressed the weight issues, he basically gutted it and ended up with a very fast and stable car.
It was a road going car up to recent times, but not very practical.
It would be worth digging out his old posts and follow his progress.
Get some photo's of your car up and let us have a look at what you have to work with
I don't want go mad. Just to create an elegant, well preserved version of my 6, prolonging its life, - caring for it properly instead of just driving it into the ground. And if possible, improving it in the process, performance included.
Mine is a bog standard one in passion rose. It was immaculate when i bought it but is starting to look worn. So I'm trying to refurbish it. I certainly wouldn't dream of gutting it. I want a sound, useable, 'nice' car. [with just a little more oomph!]
I also don't like too much modding...big exhausts etc...these cars will be a classic one day but over modded ones won't be. There's often a difference I think between a mod and an improvement that retains the essential character of the car.
By the way, having said that, the car in the pic looks gorgeous. Great colour.
I'll shoot some pics of mine tomorrow. Thanks for all your input.
I've been talking to a friend of mine who is a mechanic and paint sprayer and he's happy to do any work required. I can source the parts from reliable sources so the ball is in your court really.
Matt is currently spraying my LSi side pods and sunroof as a "test" to see how good they turn out + he's doing a Red 24v DOHC front rocker cover for me. He's a trained mechanic and works at Nissan, has restored a mini clubman from the ground up and painted cars + bikes. He recently replaced the cambelt etc on the Black R reg car we're currently selling.
If you want us to pop to Stratford, or meet up somewhere like Coventry then thats no problem and we can chat over whats best. Alternatively, if you want to pop up to Melton Mowbray Saturday morning you can meet us and Gerry and watch us go to work on 2 MX6's.
Gerry is buying my leather interior and i'm having his cloth one so we have that to swap plus a strut brace, induction kit and sill plates to fit. Then i'm having his lowered suspension and he's having my standard set-up so we will be stripping and re-fitting that. You are welcome to pop over chap.
[color="Yellow"]I've taken people's money, without delivering goods. I've lied about it, too! DON'T DO BUSINESS WITH ME!
i'm going to monitor your post with interest, i love it when someone decides to plough into their car and do it up proper!
power wise though, it sound sto me that if you give it a good tune up like windy suggests, you will notice a amrked improvement. hell, when I fixed the ENGINE MOUNT on mine, i noticed a marked improvement! These cars are so worth the investment, everyone stops for a look. Only tonight at B&Q, souped up Supra just had to park next to me out of all the free spaces, for a look! and thats a supra, so thats saying something!
mine, its fairly standard, with minor mods, but it shifts!
Addict, that looks great. But I stil hold to the opinion that the more you change a car from the original, the less it is that original car. In all but appearance anyway. I like this car. I like driving it, I like the way it looks...in short, I think the people who conceived it and designed it and built it did a damn good job. And replacing everything and changing it converts the car into something else. I want to avoid that as far as possible, without being silly about it...there's no reason why the original design has to be seen as something perfect that can't be improved, but it's a fine line between subtle improvement, and reinvention.
I certainly like my car to look like that. And I'm more than happy to accept Mazda approved mods. But I insist that original [or possibly mazda approved after market] items are used.
Clivjoo, Windy's proposing a complete engine change, not just a tune up! I feel a bit uneasy about this, but may be persuaded. If I did, I'd probably go for a head swap only, and make sure the original is well stored and available for reconciliation with the block in the future.
[Sh*t they're good looking cars aren't they??] If that one in the pic was a woman, I'd need to change my underpants.
Have to say that thin spoked wheels dont suit them. The original alloys look almost solid when spinning, and I think this works better. Those on the grey one in the middle look quite good though.
Also have to say, it's great to find a bunch of people who appreciate this oh so overlooked car. And to think Ford turned it into the Probe.
And I'm more than happy to accept Mazda approved mods. But I insist that original [or possibly mazda approved after market] items are used.
Are you serious about that part? Finding genuine mazda parts or a list of approved aftermarket bits isnt going to be easy and you're £2k budget isnt going to go far thats for sure.
1st thing I would do is to upgrade to later model parts or add some of the j-spec goodies. A leather interior, stainless sill plates and tidy cabin can work wonders as can adding a j-spec brake light, folding mirrors and j-spec lip and side skirts (as seen on piers car).
Next would be to find a set of 16" speedline alloys from a 1996/1997 car as these are factory wheels and make the car sit nicer (Gerry has done this to his 1993/4 Blue one and it takes years off the car).
After that, start searching for Mazda approved parts etc and cry when you can't find any!
[color="Yellow"]I've taken people's money, without delivering goods. I've lied about it, too! DON'T DO BUSINESS WITH ME!
Windy, thanks for that offer. Much appreciated. If you don't mind though, I feel I want to undrstand more about what's possible, and advisable before I proceed. I know little about paint jobs, but I can see that this one has a thick layer of undercoat on it, and it must make sense that any respray work maintains that. And the shine on mine is down the the lacquer coat, not the original paint. I need to know more about how that is restored/maintained as it's coming away in places.
So just give me a while to get a better feel for all of this...I think I have quite a lot to learn.
The AutoGuide.com network consists of the largest network of enthusiast-owned enthusiast-operated automotive communities.
AutoGuide.com provides the latest car reviews, auto show coverage, new car prices, and automotive news. The AutoGuide network operates more than 100 automotive forums where our users consult peers for shopping information and advice, and share opinions as a community.
........but that suspension setup will soon be on mine 
......that's how we do thing around here.
