Blackmexyv6 - MX-3 V6 Project
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Not really a project as such, just a bit of tweaking here and there!
Owned it for 2 and a half years now, standard and a bit tatty when
bought it for £550 but showed potential?
Try to make most of the tweaks reverseable? just in case when i come
to sell it, my taste wont be forced on others!
All panels that could be removed were removed and waxoiled behind before being refitted and gapped etc, removed nearly '3kg!' (yes I weighed it dry! ) of mud,debris from behind front/rear wheel spats! If youve never had yours off? eerrrmm!.
'Brilo pad' paint finish when i bought car, has been polished to within an inch of its life! Hatch spoiler trailing edge is polished down to primer? ( not noticeable unless you know where to look tho?)
I have 'micro' rust worms, burrowing in around sunroof, screen surround, and O/S rear arch( about the size of a 5p and on lip only) sills are solid, and should stay that way as I plugged drian holes with putty , then filled with thinned waxoil, then drained by unplugging again!
Engine is standard K8, apart from following, reliability, service mods and general 'tarting up' :D
Cam cover paint (+both cover seals done while tops off for clean/paint) I used old seals???? just cleaned, dried fully, siliconed into covers, let dry then a very thin film on cam carrier castings and 'fillet blobs' in places marked on workshop manual !!!!!
I then, in a model makers lathe, I shaved 0.5mm off each of the little spacers under the cover bolts?? so that when torqued down in the correct sequence, the cover would sit snug and oil/air tight! ( after 2 years of doing it, still no leaks)
Engine earth kit (all connections soldered!!!).
Air duct to air filter removed from front, hole blocked and ducted from below with a 72mm dia telescopic tube for summer/winter adjustments.
Coolant 'air bleed' mod in throttle body, as Ive read that the 'IACV' can get air locked in its internal coolant filled cavity? affecting the length of time the idle speed drops during warming up???. My mod is simply, a carfully drilled and tapped hole into the casting which is then plugged with a 5mm stainless screw with a nylon washer under its head. After any coolant/rad draining work, simply fill at filler cap to top, run engine to operating temp, undo screw. (bubbles come out first then solid stream of coolant at which point i tighten screw)
Now that I have learnt how to upload pics? ( thanks to admins 'how to' ),
Ill endevour soon, to illustrate my mods past, present, future, L8r.
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Your Mx-3 looks great! The rear lights and the chrome or stainless strip looks awesome too. Do they look as good in reality?
And if so how have you down the rear lights?
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Cheers fella, Its only bling X The strip is a length of upvc moulding
from wickes, I then covered it in chrome 'blue peter' style SBP! and 'mammoth taped' it to hatch, the MX3 letters are from 'halfords'.
I wet flatted the standard rear lights with 1500 grit to remove the raised
lettering that you normally get wax polish trapped in when ya wax car?
I then applied a full cover of gloss black SBP with hairdryer ( kin nightmare) and compass/scalpel cut the lense shapes out and outlined these in chrome SBP to create the 'Dame Edna Evaridge' effect!…...darlings! lol
When clean as pic they are stunning!!
Running filaments bulbs at min but looking at 5w cree dual direction LEDs
I am currently wiring to twin rears and brake lights with a cheat for the fogs, when the test comes round again? ( it passed MOT with these on last wednesday :) Doubtfull, ? having removed 'E mark' but no probs!
I am going for the 'black+chrome' look as I personally feel its a timeless look? (but I would do time for a white/white MX3 with KLZE with throttle bodies) or oldschool 'triple downdraught carbs'? mmm? bet someones wondered too? :shock:
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Nice clean and shiny car, rear lights are pretty mental!
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Definately some unique styling going on! Headlights remind me of something out of the TRON Legacy movie 8)