Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

My 1994 Probe GT Restore

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • My 1994 Probe GT Restore

    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!
    1994 PGT MTX-CAI/STS/Hotshot headers/Vibrant catalytic/Pacesetter-Magnaflow catback/Outlaw spacers/RR inserts/Mazda6 brake upgrade/Yonaka coilovers/AWR trailing arms/AWR rear sway bar/PRD rear STB/95-97 rear end conversion.

    2006 Velocity Red Mica Mazdaspeed 6

  • #2
    Needs spacers! Other than that it looks great!

    Comment


    • #3
      looking good man. It needs a nice intercooler in front of it. And im liking that fox body in the pic i sure miss mine so much. And the rims up front needs to come closer to the fender to make it look fuller.
      Here is the 96 gt turbo No more leaks and running great 270whp 259 torque 8psi

      Comment


      • #4
        I like the Racing Hart rims but unfortunately I would have to space them out like 40mm to sit flush. Gotta try some other wheel options. Powdercoated swirlies or FDs maybe?

        The fox body is my buddy Jon's. Mild upgrades and he just put down 204/251 on the dyno a couple weeks ago.
        Last edited by RedGT; March 29, 2011, 07:03 PM.
        1994 PGT MTX-CAI/STS/Hotshot headers/Vibrant catalytic/Pacesetter-Magnaflow catback/Outlaw spacers/RR inserts/Mazda6 brake upgrade/Yonaka coilovers/AWR trailing arms/AWR rear sway bar/PRD rear STB/95-97 rear end conversion.

        2006 Velocity Red Mica Mazdaspeed 6

        Comment


        • #5
          Oh yeah, I forgot I have a video of the first start up after putting it back together. The distributor wasn't timed in yet, hence the awful backfiring.

          [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZs9TUCLwME"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZs9TUCLwME[/ame]
          1994 PGT MTX-CAI/STS/Hotshot headers/Vibrant catalytic/Pacesetter-Magnaflow catback/Outlaw spacers/RR inserts/Mazda6 brake upgrade/Yonaka coilovers/AWR trailing arms/AWR rear sway bar/PRD rear STB/95-97 rear end conversion.

          2006 Velocity Red Mica Mazdaspeed 6

          Comment


          • #6
            nice job... the car looks good
            2g probe ze

            Comment


            • #7
              Looks really good man. I would try and get some window tint and put a black hood in there instead! but thats just me though to each their own...

              Comment


              • #8
                Well body work starts soon. I've got everything I need to do the 95-97 rear end conversion including US and euro tails. I'm going to go for silver body with a black roof and A pillars. My buddy did a rough photoshop of what I'm going for.

                1994 PGT MTX-CAI/STS/Hotshot headers/Vibrant catalytic/Pacesetter-Magnaflow catback/Outlaw spacers/RR inserts/Mazda6 brake upgrade/Yonaka coilovers/AWR trailing arms/AWR rear sway bar/PRD rear STB/95-97 rear end conversion.

                2006 Velocity Red Mica Mazdaspeed 6

                Comment


                • #9
                  wait, did you buy this from a dealership in norfolk? was the car parked in the back in the grass with other cars? i seen this same exact car and i was going to buy it. it wouldnt start when i messed with it
                  Leo
                  94 PGTze - sold vid 1 vid 3 vid 2
                  98 Pontiac firebird formula WS6 the race car.
                  95 PGT-T..AKA..The ReD GhoSt KLDE turbo Built by me ..sold

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Car looks great. Nice work and nice save. Your PS looks like my '93, minus the black top.
                    My 93GT, Wendy - the oldest second gen Probe in the U.S. still on the road.

                    Forever in search of Enkei Shoguns.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Looks real good! Can't wait to see the finished product!
                      Blue 94 PSE DD/Winter beater
                      New Project: 93 PGT-T Loaded.http://forums.probetalk.com/showthre...&highlight=CDN
                      Formerly known as CDN Pr0b3

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        car looks amazing just need some spacers with those mazdaspeed wheels just bring them out a little more
                        94 PGT- ZE cams, fidanza flywheel, stage 2 clutch, UDP, GREDDY SP1 catback, headers,test pipe, CAI, MAZAD6 bakes, 626 rear sway bar coilovers, F&R strut bars, MACH 1 lip, and much much more http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...DSC_0252-1.jpg
                        97 PGT - burnt to a crisp and stripped

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by ShexSlow View Post
                          wait, did you buy this from a dealership in norfolk? was the car parked in the back in the grass with other cars? i seen this same exact car and i was going to buy it. it wouldnt start when i messed with it
                          Yup, it was at that crappy used car lot off Military Highway near the airport. The guy was a total douche. Like I said, I had been hoping it would be something easy like a CKP sensor or bad distributor but it turned out to be that the cam was broken and therefore not driving the distributor. You could tell someone had been messing with it before too because it had a brand new looking distributor on it. I also had to clean up the battery wiring somewhat because the chode who owned it before had some hack -ob, big-thumping system wiring in there.
                          1994 PGT MTX-CAI/STS/Hotshot headers/Vibrant catalytic/Pacesetter-Magnaflow catback/Outlaw spacers/RR inserts/Mazda6 brake upgrade/Yonaka coilovers/AWR trailing arms/AWR rear sway bar/PRD rear STB/95-97 rear end conversion.

                          2006 Velocity Red Mica Mazdaspeed 6

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            You should of photoshop the hood to just to see how it would of looked! just my 2cents thou...

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Looks great man!

                              Now you just need the spark plug wire clips, in addition to fixing your wheel offset, and you'll be all set!
                              95 PGT MTX - Probezilla - Supercharged 'n Squirted ZE @ 8 psi
                              93 FD - LSx 7.0L - 11.6@128.5 (w/ old rotary setup)
                              89 DTM PGT - 49K ORIGINAL miles! - MINT! - Sold
                              04 Subaru WRX STi - Perrin FMIC, Greddy 3.5" catback, K&N intake - 308AWHP/318AWTQ - Mustang Dyno
                              Probezilla & The FD 540 RWHP/415 RWTQ @ 24.5 psi (past rotary setup)

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X