Trevor (Ice Man)'s V6
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Well, I got back safely in the end, the mx3 didn't miss a beat and the engine sounds amazing. oil level was a bit low, ie just on the end of the dipstick… and the steering was vague and pulling left, but when I put some air in the tyre, it was great. mechanically sound, cosmetically challenged LOL needs more than polish before japfest! Seems very quick and did about 38 mpg driving home. pics to follow...
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Got £480 :-)
Decided what to do with it!
Sorry - couldn't resist that one!
The train journey was much harder than the car journey, after someone unfortunately passed away on the main trainline just before my first train arrived, missed connections and running to various platforms ensued and I got there 90 mins late… the only thing the train ride had that the mx3 didn't was generous leg room!
off topic, but the toilet had a door open button, a door close button, a lock button and a flush button. It was easy pee-sey :roll: … then I witnessed 8-10 people on the journey go in, and ALL of them were confused and had to ask what to do... LOL is it difficult or are all rail commuters thick???
anyway, I put 19l of petrol in (4.2 gal) and it looks like i used 3.2 galons in 122 miles... roughly 38 MPG.. at a steady 60-70 all the way back...
Of course I opened her up a couple of times… 70-90 in 4th is great! :D
cant really see in teh dark but the bodywork is no where near as good as it shoed in the pics, i think theye were old pics. but I've been around and I was expecting that. LOL
I'll get some pics up over the weekend, but for now I'm smitten, the car drives superbly and the issues all seem to minor at the moment..
So glad I went for a V6 in the end :D :D
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Glad you are pleased with it, you should have tried to knock seller down for be a lying bastard about bodywork
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To be fair it looks like the ebay pics in daylight. Garage forecourt lights pick up everything at night. Thee is one dent I didn't see. Anyhow, for .£480 I'm still pleased :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)
Picked up a key today from the local locksmith £25. Just got to disconnect the aftermarket alarm and remote cl because I don't trust it.Oddly, it has 205's on the front and 195's on the back… weird.
Central locking locks the car by itself.... problem in the divers door...
There are no sounds of any play in the suspension / bushes etc. And everything works. Slight tiny amount of blue smoke on start up. X1 noisy tappet for a couple of minutes when cold (sounds like 1 on the rear bank.)
Took off the induction kit this morning and put the standard air box back on. K&N panel filter will be going in next month.
Loving it!
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Actually, slight blue smoke issue may have been my imagination??? exhaust was clean today…
Gave her a bit of a wash...
The wheels are in good straight original condition. Absolutely filthy though. I got to work with a bottle of wheel cleaner I found in the garage and an old toothbrush… after 5 mins it was clear that multiple soakings are going to be required and a lot of elbow grease!!!
Only problem I now have is the friction material has come off one of the back brake pads :shock: need new brake pads and disks!!! also brakes are a bit spongy… old fluid, air or sticky caliper sliders ??? to be continued :D
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Next project, learn how to use photoshop properly!!! meantime, I think i'll keep everything standard except for a 40 mm drop. Sorry about the poor editing! but you get the idea…
before
after
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dont be afraid to push the V6 mate, mine has taken a whole heap of punishment! 61mph indicated in 2nd gear, 91mph indicated in 3rd gear (changing literally just before the 7.5k rev limiter). havent pushed it that hard in 4th and 5th but my old one was good for about 130-135mph topping out (private roads of course officer ;) ). forgot to ask, you were worried about headroom if i remember correctly, did you have any issues?
oh and nice looking 3 you got there bud keep the log updated :D
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Hey Dan, this is the best car I have ever had! I'm well chuffed.:) engine is sweet., loves revving… before bidding on feebay I had a quick sit in Hammy's car. It's a bit snug tbh but the mx3 is bigger than it looks. I collected a treadmill in it last night! Turns out it is an inch longer and wider than my old 323f...
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yeah i know what you mean, its pretty snug for me and im only 6ft but because of the low down driving position it can still fit a big lad lol. yeah i got a washing machine in the back of mine with the seats down. they are surprising little cars that just love to rev :D
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Update, got the car washed professionally today, wheels didn't come up too bad with a jet wash… still a bit of work to do... then I went to machine mart and bought a polisher, some spare mops and a wire brush attachment for the chassis. Got a week off work - will be getting her up on x4 axle stands and having a good look around. replace the back pads, clean the wheels and rub everything down underneath and jenolite all the corrosion. if its not to bad I will then spray it with some stone chip guard... then I need to get the arches to bare metal, treat, paint, fill and paint them...
Once polished I am going to try some 'bodyshield pro' - also on order.
Plan is to get everything good and as standard and get through the MOT in May (just before Jap-Fest! ) after that I want to get a cat back stainless exhaust (£300), or even full exhaust incl tubular manifolds and a sports cat (£650 ish..) lower 40 mm, (would love coilovers but again, £££!) white dials and a carbon dial surround / polished rings, smoked rear lights and new front twin hao lights maybe. Leather interior would also be a bonus. This is going to take me years...
I absolutely love this car. best car I have ever owned :D :D :D
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Buy coilovers forget the exhaust for a while :D
Glad your feeling the car mate 8)
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Every time I go to my dads, he comes outside to listen to me drive off! :D
I loved my 323f… - this MX3 is even better!
Forgot to mention, leaky cam covers... I want to clean them up and get them annodised .... :P
I should have about £100 per month budget for improving the car... reckon in 2 years it will be how I want it.
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Sounds like a good plan!
I looked into anodizing a valve cover and I'm afraid I was told it wont turn out all that great as it's cast aluminium where it really needs to be billet to achieve the desired effect.I would go for paint/powder coat or hydro-dipping tbh.
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big plans mate :) i like the style. all in no holds barred. there is still so much I would like to do to mine but recently lost my job so its all on hold for a min and just being used as a daily (til the cambelt snaps) keep us informed of the updates mate. its nice to read a new thread on here with someone thats serious about the mx3 :D
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Loving it!
Got the week off work…. however I havent done much to the MX3 :evil:
managed to spend about 45 minutes on the car on Sunday... been a sungle mum for a couple of days while the wife has been faffing about with her mum and dad etc (need to go back to work for a break)
I putmy time to good use :) bought a polishing mop on Saturday and dug out the meguires polish that I should have used onmy last car :oops: (pink)
After a small ammount of elbow grease and a lot of electricity the bonnet came up OK (needs more work though)
then I got on to the rear bumper, which is 2/3 flat and 1/3 shiney. need to put about an hour into the back bumper to prevent embarrassent at Jap fest!! :oops: :oops:
The flat bit on the rear bumper now has a semi-gloss / shine. I think it will come up OK with a good polish and some Meguiars Carnuba wax…
Will getshiney pics up n a couple of days... Hopefully I will have changed the rear pads and rust treated / stonechip guarded the underside by the weekend - fngers crossed...
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Looks real tidy keep up the good work :bigok:
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Looking good so far. Please get rid of those crummy England stickers!
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Nice work fella :D do red is such a pain to stay looking good
Keep up the good work
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Thanks Guys :D
The bonnet is still shiney, but the rest of the car is not looking so good.
Today I took off the rear mudflaps… they were rubbish. luckily the bumper / paint underneath is OK. Then I jacked up the car and took off the back wheels. Started to cut out the rust from the back arches and made a couple of holes in some rusty parts :shock: in the O/S rear wheelhouse / sill end. one of them is next to the rear washer bottle. Might have to do some welding tonight...
Next to do - take off the rear spats, check out the previous welding, rub everything down, rust treat with Jenolite and zinc prime… then not forgetting replacing the rear brake pads.... busy times!
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Bloomin hate rust as much as the next person…
Went to see my mate Pete and his mig welder today, here are the results...
removed the washer bottle and found this large dead stick insect??? Random.
then I cut out the rot…
prepared the paint… notice I bought a new powerflow back box, didnt get round to fitting it today though :-(
then we welded a plate in
same at the front of the wheelarch…
couple of months MOT left… should be OK for it :bigok: