So after taking a Probe hiatus for about 8 years, I got back into the game a few months ago. I had been looking for a cheap candidate to tool around in and came across a 94 PGT locally. It was at some hole-in-the-wall stealership in the back. The guy was a total slimeball, but the deal seemed good. It wasn't running, but the interior and body were in pretty good shape. I ended up paying $400 for it and 2 months of my time dealing with the scheister sales guy because of a title problem.
A good friend of mine let me work on it at his house until we got it running. This is a picture of the day I got it back to his house:
So after checking just about every common Probe problem related to starting, it was determined that the camshaft driving the distributor had snapped and torn up the head to the point of being beyond salvaging. So this led to tearing down the whole top of the engine. While it was all torn up, I had most of the parts sandblasted by my friend so I could paint them. I picked up some rebuilt heads and used cams while I was at it. Here's a pic of the mocked up head assembly (minus the cams):
Thanks to a couple eBay finds and many helpful PT members , I was able to get some decent performance upgrades into the PGT. I picked up some Outlaw spacers, eBay CAI, Hotshot headers (actually a hybrid of eBay headers and Hotshot collector-long story), PRD plug wires, and RR Racing motor mount inserts. This was how the engine bay looked after putting everything back together:
I moved on to the suspension last weekend. I took a chance on some Yonaka coilovers and so far they seem to be a quality product with decent ride quality and adjustability.
I also installed my AWR rear sway with adjustable endlinks and AWR trailing arms that I picked up a while ago. In the front, I put in some new ball joints and tie rod ends while I was in there already. All this adds up to a whole new world of handling in that car. The rear is A LOT more composed and planted than before. Here's how she looks now. I might raise the rear up a little bit to even it out.
Pardon the hella-sunk look on the wheels, I'm still figuring what to do with that. Maybe some FDs? Mmmmmm Hmmmmmm.
The car's going in to a friend's shop this weekend to get the exhaust sorted out next. Whatever cheeseball owned this car before me had some Auto Zone 3A racing muffler on it that is so hack-jobbed into the stock exhaust it's embarrassing. I picked up a Pacesetter/Magnaflow combo from a local guy but it has a curve section cut out of it, so I'm having the shop fab up a nice custom piece to put in. I'll keep the thread updated when that gets done.
I've also got a like-new pair of black synthetic leather racing seats I've gotta get some brackets fabbed up for. And I'm currently contemplating what to go with for brakes. Just OEM or do the Mazda 6/Mazdaspeed Protege combo upgrade? I know this thread is long and probably boring. I should have started it a long time ago and taken way more pictures. Oh well. Thanks to those PT members who have hooked me up with parts and advice in this restoration so far! This site has always been a great network. Let me know what you guys think!
A good friend of mine let me work on it at his house until we got it running. This is a picture of the day I got it back to his house:
So after checking just about every common Probe problem related to starting, it was determined that the camshaft driving the distributor had snapped and torn up the head to the point of being beyond salvaging. So this led to tearing down the whole top of the engine. While it was all torn up, I had most of the parts sandblasted by my friend so I could paint them. I picked up some rebuilt heads and used cams while I was at it. Here's a pic of the mocked up head assembly (minus the cams):
Thanks to a couple eBay finds and many helpful PT members , I was able to get some decent performance upgrades into the PGT. I picked up some Outlaw spacers, eBay CAI, Hotshot headers (actually a hybrid of eBay headers and Hotshot collector-long story), PRD plug wires, and RR Racing motor mount inserts. This was how the engine bay looked after putting everything back together:
I moved on to the suspension last weekend. I took a chance on some Yonaka coilovers and so far they seem to be a quality product with decent ride quality and adjustability.
I also installed my AWR rear sway with adjustable endlinks and AWR trailing arms that I picked up a while ago. In the front, I put in some new ball joints and tie rod ends while I was in there already. All this adds up to a whole new world of handling in that car. The rear is A LOT more composed and planted than before. Here's how she looks now. I might raise the rear up a little bit to even it out.
Pardon the hella-sunk look on the wheels, I'm still figuring what to do with that. Maybe some FDs? Mmmmmm Hmmmmmm.
The car's going in to a friend's shop this weekend to get the exhaust sorted out next. Whatever cheeseball owned this car before me had some Auto Zone 3A racing muffler on it that is so hack-jobbed into the stock exhaust it's embarrassing. I picked up a Pacesetter/Magnaflow combo from a local guy but it has a curve section cut out of it, so I'm having the shop fab up a nice custom piece to put in. I'll keep the thread updated when that gets done.
I've also got a like-new pair of black synthetic leather racing seats I've gotta get some brackets fabbed up for. And I'm currently contemplating what to go with for brakes. Just OEM or do the Mazda 6/Mazdaspeed Protege combo upgrade? I know this thread is long and probably boring. I should have started it a long time ago and taken way more pictures. Oh well. Thanks to those PT members who have hooked me up with parts and advice in this restoration so far! This site has always been a great network. Let me know what you guys think!
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