Lee Stephens & Nathan Stephens (Son) (username: 323F Rock)
1.8L 323F GTR 1997 UK Birmingham

The modification list 13/01/14

Engine:
Original 1.5l engine 90BHP change to 1.8l BPD now at 275BHP - 205% power increase!
Mazda 323 GTR 1.8L BPD Turbo engine
IHI VJ23 Turbo RHF6
Tial F38 External Wastegate
A’pexi air filter (500-A026 -> replacement filter 500-A022)
Grayson Thermal Systems Custom Charge Air Cooler (CAC)
Custom Tubular stainless steel exhaust manifold
SARD fuel pressure regulator (69010 G)
GATES Racing timing belt (T179RB)
Link G4 Storm Stand alone ECU
Kerr Nelson Red Ignition leads (For 323F BG GT)
Walbro 255l/h fuel pump (ITP253)
550cc SARD injectors
Toda Cam adjustable pulleys (14210-NB0-001)
Forged internals (Pistons - WI-K553M835)
HKS SSQV dump Valve with Gold fin
2 x 11” SPAL radiator Fans (VA10-AP9-C-25A)
Grayson Thermal Systems Oil Cooler (HP-2412-210)
Greddy Boost Controller - Profec - B-Spec. II
Greddy Turbo timer - FATT2
Custom-made s/s exhaust twin pipes either side of the car
Gulf Competition 5W40
K&N oil filter (HP-1010 might try a HP-4001 next time as its even bigger!)
Mocal Oil Thermostat (OT/1 - 1/2" tails)
Street Unit front engine mount (SUPAFMM - modification required 6mm shaved off the bottom of the mount)
Samco Red silicone radiator hoses (TCS552/C)

Transmission:
323F 1.8 BA G series Gear box
Titan Race 75W90
TWM short shifter
Competition Clutch Stage 4 sprung clutch, 6 pad ceramic disc (10045-1620) (old clutch - Exedy 5 Paddle Sports Tuff HDB Clutch kit - MZK-6548HDB)
Competition Clutch lightweight flywheel 4.95kg (2-746-STU) (old flywheel - Standard GTR "lightened")

Suspension:
FK silverline Coilovers (FKXMA28)
Whiteline Front strut tower brace (KSB563)
Whiteline Rear strut tower brace (KSB518)
Whiteline uprated anti roll bar (BMR53)
Ultra racing room brace (UR-RO2-555)
Ultra racing rear body brace (UR-RU2-552)
PU Front Anti-roll Bar Bushes (SPF1406-24K)

Brakes:
2 pot calliper upgrade using Subaru Legacy (92-94 Turbo) calipers
Mazda 626 GD caliper hangers
Mazda 323f BA V6 front hub carriers
Mazda MX-5 2008 2.0l sport EBC ultimax grooved and dimpled discs
Goodridge braided brake lines (for Mazda 323F BJ with rear discs)
Mazda 626 GD EBC Yellowstuff brake pads (were Greenstuff)
Rear drum conversion to disc brakes from a MX3
Mazda Mx3 rear EBC Yellowstuff brake pads
Mazda Mx3 rear EBC ultimax grooved and dimpled discs
"Pudding bowl" scoop cooling ducts to front brakes from front bumper
1 1/16" Diameter brake master cylinder (Subaru Legacy 2.0L TT 95-98)
Proportional valve (323F V6 without ABS - B01C43900A)

Wheels:
TPI Steel XR wheel nuts (WNXP40251445FH/BC)
Road:
WOLFRACE KATANA Shadow Chrome 18" x J7.5 40ET 4x100 alloys (Red to silver fade on the inside on the wheel)
Nankang NS2 215/35/18 tyres
Track:
Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 17" x J7.5 ET36 4x100 alloys
Nankang NS-2R 225/45/17 tyres - (Rear arches need rolling to fit these wheels and tyres when lowered)

Body and Chassis:
Full Re-spray in classic red by Bodytech Solihull
Pakfeifer side skirts shaped into front mud flaps (044TAMA323F4)
Rear Pakfeifer spoiler - Aero style (044TAMA323F5)
Der-tuner Front bumper (PP25071)
De-badge front
Painted brake calipers (RED)
Headlight protectors tinted
Blacked out indicator units
Rear lights tinted and stencilled with Japanese Kanji symbol for 'Speed'
Rear fog and reverse lights replaced with white Type R units
LED Rear fog light bulb
Clear side repeaters
Under car LEDs (RED)
Club stickers on side skirts
Tinted windows
Custom one off rear diffuser
Custom front grille
Real Carbon-Fibre bonnet (10104600) part painted
Real Carbon-Fibre canards
Twin red Sickspeed horns

Interior:
Black mats with Club 323F logo and red piping
Smiley face air freshener
Chrome with red pedals
Aluminium and red leather handbrake cover with
Custom red hand stitched leather gaiter
MOMO Trek 350mm Steering wheel with snap off boss kit
Red and black front bucket seats
Rear seat trimmed to match front seats
Red 3 point Sparco Safety Harness both front seats (04608BVRS)
Solid stainless steel 'Garath style' gear knob
Mazdaspeed head rests

ICE:
7” Flipout DVD player
JVC head unit with a JVC 12 disc changer in boot
VIBE CBR 12” Active
Infinity component speakers and tweeters in front doors with external crossovers
Custom parcel self with:
Infinity 6x9’s with external crossovers
Kenwood 400W Amp

Planned Mods:
Digital dash - Race Technologies DASH2
Standard GTR manifold to replace the knackered tubular one!
Variable intermittent wipe, wiper stalk (to be installed)
Link G4 knock link (to be installed)
PU suspension bushes front and rear (to be installed)
Uprate the G series gear box
PAR Straight cut gear set
MFactory or Quaife LSD
Extra bracing on the gearbox

Here's how she stands today:

























Here's how we got there:

In an industrial unit far far from home (well about 45mins actually :P )


a 323f was parked


Which was being shared with a tasty red DC5 (bad pic )



And let the modding begin


we started with some carpentry... we used wooden blocks on the lift to help clear the side skirts




old stuff to be removed





Ooooooo nice new parts to fit



mmmmm red hoses



behold the worlds MOST stubborn drive shaft stuck in the hub....

We tried for many long hours, breaking in total i think 6 different hub pullers by shearing bolts, leaking hydraulic rams and actual failure of forged steel causing shrapnel spearing off and hitting me twice!! In the end Nathan took the shaft and hub to work where he heated the hub whilst being under 30 tonnes of pressure on a bearing press and nothing happened so, we gave up and bought new bits from a scrap yard!


10 tonne hydraulic ram on said drive shaft



bit of an interesting shot lying on the floor after a long day



new cool tools

probably the most important tool required Lateral link bolt insersion tool


One of the many inncorrect drive shafts that we were supplied and the reason we didnt make it to JAE!!! Grrr!!




when pressing the front hub out of the hub carrier the inner race of the bearing tends to stick... to get it off Nathan filed two flats (using diamond files; normal ones won't touch them; angle grinder works well too but didnt trust myself enough to grind so close to bits we wanted ) on the race opposite each other and used a two leg hub/gear puller to pull it off.



we painted the inside of the strut towers with hammerite as they were starting to show some slight surface rust...



this one wasnt too bad but we did it any way



look ma no legs!



rear end all fitted up after having to cut and shut the brake line on the drivers side as the brake pipe nut rounded off so we cut it, re-flared it and bent the pipe up and around so we didn't have to add more pipe in (more special tools bought)




Lee, puting some bolts in



hose run looked a bit funny to us but decided it was fine with some reassurance from Andy



Handbrake cable... Grrr!! we bought a 'Blue print' one rather than a mazda one is the right length but the fittings on the caliper end need filing to fit in the bracket!!

bit of work and it fits!



new leg



new parts pile going down



we bought 270mm discs as advised in the guide however these are veryveryvery close to the calipers so i had them turned down to 263mm just to make sure! pics are before they were turned down.
new and old discs comparison.




much happier with that clearance



front bolted up and ready to go





brake fluid required thought we'd better put some good stuff in as recommended by Andy and Stu


Wheels on quite like these pics show all the goodies behind the wheels :P



(for the worried eagle eyed members the rubber collars are temporary till we get some more metal hose clips )




ride height set to a sensible level



(wood needed under the wheels to get it off the lift )

Drove her home sunday with only a couple of niggles:
Handling is awful... not been 4 wheel aligned yet and the front wheels are noticeably toeing in
and the rear brakes were dragging slightly so we just need to adjust the hand brake.

It's safe to say we are very happy with the outcome just gutted it wasn't ready for JAE 2010!!

Big massive thank you's to:
Paul for letting us steal his lift for soooo long
AndyM for coming and helping us out on a number of occasions and for the loan of the 'Book of Knowledge'
Matt for caliper hangers and loads of information
Stu for information on his rear brake conversion and hand brake cables
FPS for supplying a fair few parts
Matco Engineering - http://www.matcoeng.com machined the discs down for us (a veryveryvery good machine shop!)
Grayson Thermal Systems http://www.graysonts.com (where Nathan works) for letting him miss a fair bit of work so he could use the machines when we were trying to get it finished for JAE.

There are probably people we have missed and if we have we're soooo sorry please let us know!!

Very nice work...but get those wheels off again, and paint the centre of the brake discs - before they go rusty

perfect job
and looks great with the wheels

looks great.. got to say this is the first time i have seen this thread and wish i had the facilities to do pretty much the same thing to mine

Same.

Some excellent work there. Well done.

the brake discs are zinc coated, we only painted the outsides because we had them machined and it exposed bare steel!


We only started this thread up last night so you havent missed anything

Thanks guys,
We must say without access to the garage it would have taken a lot longer and been a lot more difficult!!!

X2

Excellent work looks awesome
maybe some paint in the rust bars??



Cheers

out of interest - which brake hoses did you go for?

Thanks guys yeah we will be getting some paint on the rusty bits soon



Went for the 323f BJ with rear discs set

Gents - truly awesome results, MASSIVE pat on the back to you both - Top work

nice work lads! your brave tho guys, running it that low with fibreglass skirts and front bumper....but suppose its not your daily ride

Oh and cover those coilovers in either wax or copper grease not the sh1t FK give.

From what car did you use the calipers?
And you mention instrucions for making a swap. Got a link?

Thnx

We went for the subaru route as we didn't fancy grinding bits of metal away!

links:
http://www.imazda.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13001
http://www.club323f.com/club323f/forum/ ... d73dbf7219



Cheers, Stu and Kash

I'm taking these photos to bed with me

Looking good guys

Wish I could have been there for the final lowering ceremony, looking forward to seeing the lady in the flesh

Tis about time we seen her slammed down!, great work guys, a club classic

only just read this, and wow

can we get some shots of your shield for the exhaust please, looks amazing!

Nice one guys. How low can you go with your driveway and speed bumps?


Mark

3 years old now!! lol here's the original post:
http://www.club323f.com/club323f/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18839&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=rear+splitter
and another older pic:






We've not gone stupidily low but so far so good cleared the local ramps ok and our driveway luckily! lol




Cheers guys

quality, few months before i joined up here!

gives me even more ideas, just need a better rear bumper first LOL

cheers guys

and i love the side lights

To be continued...........

I'll post the build pictures up tomorrow with some write up

wow you kept that one a secret lol.... nice work and looks lovely... how does it go?

Great work guys




brum...tish

Nathan and Lee, I had the pleasure of seeing your project yesterday, and can only compliment you guys on not only a great job done, but the quality of your work is so good to see. A car you guys can be greatly proud of and sure there will be improvements to follow.

Like Shayne, seeing the amount of work you have put into the car it looks magnificent

Bet it goes well

awesome motor guys! glad shes running nicely now and she looks like a right demon

Hella impressive guys Gonna have to up my game with my conversion now

When I looked under the bonnet yesterday, I simply said ‘f*** hell’

How easy is it to drive? With all that power I can imagine it to be a bit of a handful?