I'll add some more ot skiing related info: I looked around for an awd 323 for a bit to drive up to tsv when I lived out your way. It never happened... they're pretty rare in the SW. I did end up with a suzuki sx4; even with it's odd looks and torsion scream rear end, its been a great ski car. They're getting cheap now that suzi's closed shop in the US and its not a subar(oken all the time) unimprezda.

 

I didn't know it was possible for subaru's to break so I'm not sure why you'd say that. My dads first subaru never had an issue, neither did his second (aside from headgasket at 130k, stock clutch is still fine), nor has his third, nor has my girl's beater 97 legacy with 180k miles...They also do awesome in the snow, its funny to make big truck owners feel incompetent in the snow...

 

I was mostly talking crap so I could insert my bad pun.
However every time I've touched the ej25/mt5 driveline something has been warped or de-geared or de-ball bearinged

On topic: I imagine the rwd and the curious powerband of an FD would make it a deathtrap snow commute vehicle . Wide studded tires would be interesting though

 

If I'm not mistaken, that wasn't a wiring diagram - that was merely the vacuum hose diagram...

 

Correct, that's vacuum hoses. You can go non-sequential or single turbo and get it down to significantly less.

From this:


To this:

 

**** a 323gtx. You can't get most of the parts anymore, the drivetrain is made of glass, and they rust like no tomorrow.


Oh, and they have a 1.6. 'Nuff said.




On the other hand, mx6 GTs rock face. Unbreakable, hilarious, comfy, good gas mileage, parts are available and cheap as ****. Cake to work on.

Get one. Best car purchase I've ever made.

 

Forget FD, build short block, make 300whp, drive forever.

 

Acquire FD, swap in f2t, epic troll.


Dat torque.

 

Haha, no way in hell i would ever use a front engine/RWD sports car for a winter DD/ski car. I've got other cars/trucks around I can use that aren't "mine" though. Honestly after this thread I'm over the idea of buying that car. Thanks guys. putting the $$ into some lotus seats and a built BP for more miata glory.

 

Needs more f2t.

I actually built another f2t today. The goal is 400hp. Stock bottom end and....

A PFC Fcon.

 

I unfortunately, do not have much of a choice. I want one personally, but I have to get one in the next few years. It's the wife's dream car, and she won't leave me alone about it. I'm not allowed to buy any more cars until she has her FD, and she fully understands that it will spend most of it's time on jackstands in the garage getting fixed. Luckily, I have a friend nearby that has spent the last year paving the way through the reliability mods for me to mimick.

On the plus side as well, her family can send us parts from Japan that we can't get here cheaply. There's an upGarage about a block from her brother's house.

 

If you want a project why not just do a 100% tube car and put some bodywork on it?

 

I don't understand?

The Miata is the greatest handling winter DD I've ever driven.

EVER.

Jeeps, trucks, FWD K cars, minivans, SUVs... They don't hold a candle to the Miata handling on the freeway in heavy falling snow. 45% of the battle is the right tires though, and 55% is the nut behind the steering wheel. A Wrangler with mud/trail tires is going to handle only slightly better than a crotch rocket on track slicks in the snow. If you didn't learn to drive in the snow with RWD, I can see how you might be phobic of the opportunity. People are afraid because of what happens when they hit the throttle at a stoplight. In a FWD Car, the tires spin and spin, but you keep going forward. In a RWD car, the back starts to kick out and you actually have to take action and take your foot off the gas. What happens when you slip at speed though? In the RWD Car, you simply take your foot back off the gas briefly and let the rear wheels take up their track again because the control wheels are still at full traction, in a FWD car, if you hit the gas too hard at speed and the tires slip, the only option to have is prayer. As a result, people who learned to drive FWD in the snow are terrified of driving in the snow at anything faster than "pulling away from the stopsign" speed, and they have also been convinced by too many people who drive RWD pickup trucks in the snow with no weight over the rear tires that a RWD car is even worse than a FWD car. TRUUUUUUUUCKS!!!!

 

buy FD. swap in B6.

 

but make sure to de-stroke it to like 1.3L

 

Dat state of the art valvetrain.




HNNNGGGGGGG.

 

Would I? If it wasn't red, maybe.

Would I recommend you do so based on the information you have provided in this thread? Hell no.

Not unless you were mentally prepared to take your Integra and $1k in cash and bury it in your backyard for a few years - because that seems like the most likely outcome of you acquiring this FD: You lose the utility of the Integra and pay the opportunity cost of giving up your cash for something that is most likely going to spend all its time making sure jackstands don't float away in the event that they somehow lose tie with gravity.

Again, your situation, my situation, and what I am understanding Fireindc's situation is all seem different enough that each of us could reasonably come to different conclusions.

 

Only buy a 323GTX if your prepared to search endlessly for even the most basic of maintenance items.

The engine is built proof, we all know about the b6's. The tranny ain't that bad if its been loved.

There are options to replace the bushings but it may involve shipping from australia.

Interior items are often sun baked and hard to get a hold of.

The biggest maintenance pain in the *** are wheel bearings and brake rotors. The rotor is captured under the hub and each hub has a unique matched space for setting bearing load. Damage that or mix it up with another and you are going to have a bad time.

There are work arounds and solutions to permanently solve most of the cars short comings but it involves chasing some pretty rare parts.

I love mine and am in pretty deep but I probably wouldn't do it again give the chance to start over.

 

Splittime had one, and a parts car.

IIRC he sold. but dailied it for a while.

 

now he dalies a fiat

like a boss