I was given a protege for free cause it had a blown head gasket. Tried to sell it as is but noone would touch it even for $500. So it sat for 12 months. I had bought a new A1 Audi back in 2016 so didnt need to fix it so it sat. One day I decided to learn how to fix it since the quotes I was getting started at $1700 if everything went smoothly and if they ran into hiccups it would cost more. Recommendation was to replace engine cause it was quicker and cheaper. So I thought fair price and good advice. I called South Brisbane Cylinder heads and they quote me under 300 to resurface head and do other bits and peices so I thought, ok if I do this myself its going to cost me around 300 bucks. **** why not. I always believed people who worked on older cars wasted money and should just buy new. So I never bought second hand cars. I only bought new. 150k I spent on 2 new cars. 300c Hemi back in 2007 which cost me 70 on finance and 31k for a 2016 A1 Audi back in 2016. Didnt pay attention to the interest I paid on these cars as I saw it as a fee for not having problems. This car was free so who cares lets put some small amount of money into it.

So I begin work. I buy technical manuals and read everything I need to know about dissassembly and reassembly and I spend countless hours on youtube getting things right in my head and to confirm what I was reading was accurate. Half way into the job I think oh **** I need timing belt and water pump, may as well do this while Im at it. Cost goes up another $400. I finish the job and I cant stop, I keep pouring money into this thing like its a hungry baby crying for breast milk. Then it clicks. This is why guys spend money on older cars. They want their cars perfect and its more cost effective. The car is taylored to their specs down to the bolt. I think back to all the money I spent buying new cars and regret every penny I spent paying finance and interest. The amount of car I could of had for just 30k fixing up an old japa would have smashed anything I owned in the past or future had I kept the same mindset. I now have ZERO interest in new cars. I sold my Audi after putting 170k on the clock but what amazed me about Audi is it never broke down and I serviced it myself once the warranty ran out. Main reason I sold it is I know what that car can do in corners and the Protege basically out handled it. A 20 year old car. I could take corners at higher speed than the Audi. How is that even possible? So now Im a big fan of proteges/Astinas. In the past I didnt even give these cars a glance so never knew they existed.

This is how it started

Front Before pic

Claybar and polished

I did 3 oil changes within 500km starting with cheap oil (shell) then finished with Pentrite before cracking this open. Looks so clean.

This is what happens when you use 91

Cleaning the deck took me 3 days cause I was trying not to get debris into the oil and water holes. Also cleaned off the pistons.

Head back from Southside Cylinder Heads in Macgregor

Job done, picked up new hubcaps but suspension felt too high and car vibrated above 80kms so had to fix that

Full pedders suspension with lowered sports ryder springs to fix handling issues

Rear installed

Get car prepped for Car Audio

Eliminate panel vibration

Purchased cheap Alloys to replace buckled steel rims to keep costs down but tyres would make the car feel wobbly during cornering but acceleration was good with these light weight alloys

17 inch forged auto wheels so I could upgrade tyres as 14inch dont have good rubber so have Bridgestone Potenzas and car feels like its on rails and even with it lowered still dampens bumps at this height. Green caps to remind me that its nitrogen in the tyre.

TPMS to monitor pressures 40psi is what I run this car but this picture was taken after a few cold nights. Usually sits around 38.

Car Audio Time Aligned for sharp and balanced sound

Apple Car Play

In car nav

Reverse Camera

1200W tyre well sub to keep boot space and spare

Finished. Next is engine swap but since this is the car I setup for my gf and kids, Ill have to wait til ive finished my Protege SP20 project so she can drive that around while im doing the engine swap. I have 3 options. SP20 motor (Easiest), KL 6 Cylinder (lil more difficult), K24 (bit more expensive).

 

I love this. Reminds me of all the work I did to my 03 Protégé within the last year alone just to have it taken from me at the beginning of this year... I do not in anyway wish this upon you. But I really appreciate all the work put into these beautiful vehicles that would could last another 200k

 

Thanks JP. Sorry to hear about your car dude. Ive got GPS on mine hidden deep so even if they get away I can just direct the cops lol. You cant really stop thieves even with the most prudent alarms. All you can do is help police catch them. Its just a material thing so shouldnt really matter. Some people arent fortunate enough to be able to buy cars so they have to steal it cause they dont know any better so I cant really blame them. I get sms when car falls outside set boundaries. I work in I.T. so this car has a lot of tech in it. I basically used my Audi as a frame of reference in terms of what the car should have which made me realise I was heavily over spending on new cars for features I can get aftermarket. Even 360 cameras is something I thought was only available to large car manufacturers. My SP20 is going to be sick when im done with it and even if I k24 swap the white Mazda, the amount of money put into it is peanuts compared to what I spent in the past on new cars. Never again. Now these cars are what I recommend to family and friends. Within a week we had 3 of these in the family for a total of $1300 lol. two for free and 1 for $1300. If I see a car being sold because of issues I usually message them and help them figure it out incase they waste their car. But yeah the protege handling is amazing and Ive driven a lot of expensive cars. I was shocked that a cheap car like this handles so good. Im just happy people dont know so they let them go for peanuts lol. I care more about handling than speed because you cant go over 100 legally anyway so all I aim for is a quick 0-60 time cause on the street thats all that really matters. 300km/hr is either going to kill you, someone else or land you in jail.

 

Great write up and PICTURES... NICE! You're going to have a fun little MAZDA when you're done!

 

Yeah I understand just sad to have gone through it with my Protégé. And yeah I used ot live driving that thing because the handling was really great for such an old car. Even with stock struts. Anyway great work you've done here!

 

Thanks, working on my SP20 that i got for free with an engine in excellent condition. I bought a 2002 Astina for $1300. They wanted 4.5k but It needed some work so they let it go. I basically put ebay coil overs on it, polished it and swapped it for a SP20 that was for sale lol. Needs some work though. Once I finish it then i can post up a complete start to finish lol.

 

Yeah im still amazed how good these are around corners. Its almost like the car isnt cornering at high speed. Ive taken some people in it to show them what it can do and they are gob smacked at how it doesnt feel like its went round a corner at high speed lol.

My 2016 A1 1,4 Turbo Audi I could only push it to 70 round this tight corner before you get to my house. In the Mazda Ive done that same turn at 90 and the A1 was naturally low and had 17s with Michelin pilot 4 rubber on it so I had to get rid of it, It didnt cut the mustard. Its possible the audi was heavy. Never weighed it. I usually go to my local council tip to put my car on the scale. When they ask me what Im there for I say im dropping off greens and drive round for free and throw a leaf out my window lol.


This is what my protege replaced. Out you go.

 

You might consider posting as you go. It makes members interested to follow your progress instead of waiting for the finish. Just a suggestion. I would like to see your progress myself!

 

Its just me and my personality. Thats how i like to see things, I want to see start to finish cause im impatient and dont like to wait. Its the same reason why i dont watch a tv series until its done then I binge it to the end.

If i was interested in Turbo application for my SP20 id look for a thread where someone has done it start to end. If i get to the thread and I see it stop half way through it pisses me off lol. That white mazda took me about two weeks to do. The head gasket took me a week and a half cause it was my first time doing it and I ran into so many issues from a combination of trying to figure out how to remove 1 bolt and the multiple trips to the tool store to get specific tools. I prepared myself for unexpected delays.

The only issue I really had with buttoning up the head was the head stud bolts. As I was tightening the head bolts 1 bolt wouldnt make my wrench click. So I kept going but I knew i was going over the torque spec, I could feel it so I stopped and undid everything i did, purchased new gasket, new bolts and did a bit more research and did it again. What I had to do to fix it was to scuff up the stud washer as it was acting like a bearing giving my torque wrench the wrong reading. As soon as I did that it went on without a problem.

https://www.enginelabs.com/engine-te...ng-head-bolts/

 

Hi Wapwapwap,

Nice write up of your mazda experiences, keen as well to see updates of your SP20.

Love the pictures of the white mazda and the work done as well.