Alright, so I needed a new daily for commute and transport of the offspring as well as the occasional movement of building material.
After buying and selling two Xedos 6 V6s last year (yes, I desperately wanted a V6 in my life), I decided I'd go for the practical compact kinda hot kinda hatch that is the 323F BJ Sportive. I chose the 2000 model year because it combined the JDM interieur with a less rusty shell than the later years. Still, it took me months to track down a suitably candidate and actually the best I could come up with was silver (Oh my god!!) a beat up unloved thing of ugliness which I acquired for the sum of 250€. I stress again, this was the best i could find including all offers up to 4000€.




Oh, i should mention that I had to travel about 200 miles one way (twice actually, so a total of 800) to buy it and bring it home two weeks later. Makes sense, right?

If u're interested, I will continue posting this story here but it might take some time to translate it all for you...

Cheers,
Chris

Yes, I think it's safe to say that the ex-Porsche team who designed the BA were not involved in styling the BJ Sportive

I hope you weren't charged for the tape on the bonnet as well?

S

Nope, i actually brought this with me...you know, safety first
I only drove a few miles like this towards a mates garage where i picked up a bunch of parts and ghettofixed the front end a bit.






The trip home took about 4 hours due to the worst weather conditions and a somewhat limited top speed because accident damage and dead tires. Still, we made it. Safe to say, my wife was a bit underwhelmed with my purchase ^^
But this was the least rusty 323f BJ I could come up with, that has an engine that's not terribly slow (i.e. no 1.5 or 1.6), has a nice interior and the variable passenger seat and rear bench option, which is really awesome.

Hang on a minute - that's a nice BG in the garage there ... and "323" on the number plate too!!!

Your mate is as nuts as all of us

I note that the plate for the Sportive begins "EMS" ... don't put a red cross on it, it might be mistaken for an ambulance

I am sorry, I'm being inexcusably rude about another club member's car, but obviously looks are not what Chris bought this one for. Apart from the bonnet and bumper the rest of it looks very clean, so if the interior is good, and the bodywork truly isn't rusty (which is miraculous for a BJ, let's face it), it might be a real bargain as a practical daily runner ... I like the sound of the seating options too.

Put some flashing neon puddle lights in it, Chris. Go oooon. Just for kicks!

S

That's alright, I've got other cars for looking pretty

So, back to the morning after. Like you, the Lantis was not impressed with my purchase




A few more detail shots.






Apart from all the filth, the interior was actually really nice.

Some accident damage:



After vacuuming the mess on the inside, I quickly put in a 626 wiper stalk with variable interval control.



That's actually very useful in german winters.

After that we found a space for the car where it would stay for a few weeks during repairs.

Ok, first steps while waiting for spare parts:

new rear wiper



JDM emblem


The original remote was completely dead


I could restore the connections on the board and pair the remote with the car again. But i still was lacking a case with buttons


The doors were the only parts with rust:



The car still sported the original radio!


...which was replaced by this. Also added the Touring Computer from a 626


Started changing the illumination from green to red (weirdly, the speedo dials already were illuminated red)



Changed the interior air filter


And received the new suspension



tbc

Just from those few photos, it seems looks much smarter already!

It's just little things, that make so much difference ...

S

Interesting... so the wiper switch and little trip computer from the 626 are plug compatible?

That's a BK Mazda 3 key fob in Oz, I guess it fits the older PCB? I had to solder one SMT button back on in mine, nasty little job but saved me probably $450

Rear wiper looks like it's off a Forester or maybe Toyota?

...and you get parts quickly- so many bits on the way home alone!

What size engine do you get? They are a 2.0l here in Oz.

Good luck with it and sorry for so many questions! While you've got the front off a nice set of lairy-bright horns would look good (well, maybe ghetto-ish but never mind )

Patrick

Ok, after that, i started dismantling the front end



It turned out that there was more damage than I originally anticipated but that's just life...






Test fitted a facelift bumper:




Installed the antenna bit from the Mazdaspeed 3



Tried to find out what happens if you pull on the fugly black bumper bits


And went through my stored parts to find a set of barely used Fondmetal wheels in 7x15"

Thanks Patrick, I'm happy about the interest I actually wanted to fit said horns but there just wasnt enough room behind the grille. Maybe that will change in the future though...

Great stuff - I might even take back the rude things I said about it



I'm really pleased that you posted this picture: as I have to get a wash bottle wired up on my V6 BA before the MOT, and I wasn't sure how it was done! Now I can see what I'm looking for

So thanks!

S

Happy to help!
Next steps:
Getting parts from a donor (including a remote)



Repairing both remotes (as described above)




Receiving moar parts



Cleaning up the mess behind the fugly black stripe things



Becoming motivated enough to start pulling on the other fugly black stripe things on the car

And deciding to put that on hold until i'm able to remove the sticky glue that held them on.

Replaced the front wipers completely



Prepared the suspension





The next one's a biggie and I dont want to doublepost...

Thanks for the replies to my queries.

I can see you're on an accelerated (by my standards) repair/improvement program

I assume you had the fluid to redo the buttons, if not you could probably pull a couple of contacts from the back of old mobile phone buttons and glue those on.

I forgot to mention in my earlier post good thing you replaced that cabin air filter as it looked..well...original!

Looks like the A/C, if not shot already, is gonna be shortly with those rusty pipes. Might be worth just removing, I'll guess in your climate it's not as critical. Mind you I had an A/C condenser like that once- bent by a roo but unbroken it lasted for years after.

Lovely wheels too!

Patrick

Well, you do realize that this all happened last autumn...
A/C should be ok, the rusty pipe is the power steering cooler.

On we go. The bonnet opener was destroyed by the dealer so i had to replace it.




Used this opportunity to do some rust proofing






Removed some rust on the windscreen frame






Also at the sills



And the doors




And the front fenders and under:





Replaced the door sills





Installed new brakes all around because well...





Then had some fun with paint

Ok, soon after, i received a "new" bonnet


Unfortunately, the paint has seen better days and there was some rust beneath.

Direct comparison



Rusty rust



Treated that as shown before and painted it grey






Test fit, meanwhile, new parts arrived


Tried a spinning rubber bit to remove the glue under the side protection things



Worked well. Therefore i removed all the stripes


Started changing brakes and suspension




old vs sexy







Implemented some corrosion prevention measures








Random Pic


And got some updated rear lights

Next up, I continued to change the switch illumination from green to red



Sandblasted and painted the strut brace mounts


I had two sets of head lights: one with blind covers and one off the donor with "as new" covers but cracked housings from the accident. So swap it is. And black!


Dipty dip


Winning 's winning



Add more wax!


Put new Conti winter tires on the wheels and this:



Since i couldnt make the facelifted front bumper fit to the car in a reasonable amount of time, i went back to the donor to get the bumper and a few more bits



Since this bumper had seen at least two accidents and had been repaired as cheaply as possible, I decided to go full #nöfuksgvn


Glued the bumper in 9 places with epoxide and added color matching jdm stitches


Added EZ lip for additional street cred


Also glued the front grille and fog lights - nothing goes to waste

Then I pulled the front crossmember back out...



Over all it's ok for this application. I was able to make all parts fit so that you couldnt see the damage from the outside.


Added new radiator and aircon condenser and dryer.


Added yellow for light bulbs


The engine received fresh coolant and oil, a new battery, coolant hoses and OEM iglition leads. Topped it off with a OEM strut brace, powder coated valve cover, dipped front grille, Corksport finish panel and an AutoExe Carbon Airbox.

The engine bay was filthy as...

Then cleaned the interior (so dirty!), added wiring for an amplifier and new carpets. Was left with this


Finally, the new indicators arrived

Next up, i covered the holes in the bumpers



Added new spray nozzles


Radio and TC working


Found covers for the roof trim


Added some color in form of stickers


Received a large parcell


Center console and rear bumper off the BJ2


Unfortunately the bumper was damaged. But the rear lip still intact...

Direct comparison of center consoles




Hand brake lever wouldnt fit the new console, so got one of those as well


Now all fits fine. Added some Xedos sound deadening



Much better


Almost ready to take over for winter duty


Aand got it registered and washed!





The front suspension made some weird noises...turned out the aftermarked upper bearings were slightly tighter than oem, rubbing on the spring seats and tensioning the spring when steering, resulting in a "boing" noise. Put the OEM ones back, problem solved.


First snow came, the Lantis had made it to the garage in time


New parcel arrived


A dealer option sport exhaust with mazda engraving


Some evening fun



At new years, a heat wave struck - so i decided to put on the rear lip



Added some audio to the front doors



Then at cold winter days, the starter motor decided to not reach the flywheel when trying to start the car. After a fey days of keeping a hammer in the car and gently motivating it to work, one evening I manned up and removed the motor for some much needed cleaning




After that, the starter worked like a charm. It's the little things sometimes.

And more recently i added a new bonnet mat that I got cheaply

Aaaark! No I didn't!!! I thought you did it all in about a week...this past week!!!!!

Keep up the good work!

Patrick

Top work, that's looking pretty cool now (though I thought you'd done it all in a week too!)

I love the bumper stitches. My V6 has some, I was going to replace the bumper but I might keep them now. Somehow I had no idea that was a JDM thing

S

They are JDM if they are mint!

Ok, so we got snow again


I put on summer wheels


Changed the thermostat


Added gauge rings


A set of new rear speakers



The car made itself useful transporting heavy materials


And finally, I test fitted more Sport20 aero


Fitment is spot on so i will paint them and get more pictures once they're on.

That's the recent status now. I have to say, with the new wheels, suspension and audio, the car is actually quite fun to drive and still it doesnt hurt if I have to transport stuff or get a little dirt inside. So i guess, for now, it suits me well and gives me the opportunity to look after my other cars whilst they are off the road

Moving on...
Transport duty:


Redid the front turn signals


So this...


...became this


Much better


After a quick hand wash (the first one since i got it and probably in the whole life of the car), it looked quite nice

Should have been like that from the factory.

Prepped and primed the skirts



Test fit - almost there



Now I wait for paint to arrive and the right time/weather to continue

Ooops, I somehow forgot to update this...
Side skirts are on for a while now and i added a front lip as well:


More pics here: https://driving-culture.blogspot.com/20 ... daily.html

looking really good dude! Impressed with the work gone in to this

Thanks, it really has come a long way and I doubt that anyone else would have been stupid enough to go down that route ^^

^^^Only a "MMM" like you!!!
(Mazda Mad Man)

Haha i guess
Was in the mood for pictures this morning...

https://driving-culture.blogspot.com/20 ... x-323.html

Loving the work you’ve done with it Chris! Makes me wanna grab a cheap car again and just improve it in a simil way you do.

I’m getting lazy with my 2008 Corsa cdti. Even though it is pretty nice with the 125hp it doesn’t inspire me much to improve it or work on it.

Go ahead and do it
New econoboxes like this just take the fun out of life...