My cars: 1989 Mazda 323 (the first one)

March 6, 2015 by slp950

I ended up having three Mazda 323’s. This was the first one, purchased for $500 when I was dirt poor. Spray painted wheels and faux carbon fiber spray painted hood, along with a 323 GTX grille were the only changes to the exterior. Inside I had a set of GTX seats, a Momo steering wheel and an aftermarket shift knob. Oh, and my portable cd player velcroed to the dash. Best thing about this car were the brand new Tokico sports shocks I installed because they were discontinued and cheaper than anything else I could find. Don’t worry, everything was better after this.

Project Junkyard Jewel: 1988 Mazda 323 GT

October 4, 2012 by slp950

So, I was looking for parts for another project in the junkyard one day when I spotted this diamond in the rough (quite literally) from across the yard. I recognized the distinctive intake pipe and knew immediately what i was looking at. $300 to buy it from the yard and a couple months of paperwork later and it was mine.

3 days after I bought it it was running. Over the 5 years I had it, i learned a great deal about working on cars and my GT benefited by receiving all sorts of upgrades and enhancements, such as new shocks, lowering springs, MX6 front lip, Subaru GL foglights with snap on covers, Work Equip 03 replica wheels, 195/55-15 tires, full header back 2.5″ exhaust, Exedy clutch, Toyota MR2 seats with adjustable bolsters, 8 ball shift knob, Momo steering wheel, tinted corner markers, turn signals and taillights, rare factory decklid spoiler, and more.

There were likely less than a thousand of these ever made, and it was a very fun car and project. On to the pics!