I'm sure the term has been used before, but I'm claiming to have come up with the term 'Broject.' In essence, my brother-in-law and I bought a 1998 Mazda Protege SE for $250 total, as a running/driving vehicle project that was on the road. It was destined for scrap but we saved it from a certain death, in order to put it into dignified field service. The plan is to do a proper field car, with purpose; rather than just beating it to death.
One of the key ingredients in this project will be our attempt to get back from the car what we paid for it, by selling off all the parts of the car that aren't essential for it to run. Things such as the doors, trunk, hood, fenders, glass, bumpers, wiper assembly, etc etc will be stripped from the car to boost our ROI, as well as perform a first class vehicle lightening procedure. Along with stripping the body and mechanicals, the interior will be stripped of as much plastic and cloth as possible.
With That In mind; here is the basic introduction to what will hopefully be a decent field car.
Hard Specs:
-1998 Mazda Protege SE
-1.5L I4, producing at best 89 HP when new
-currently 128000 km on the clock (this cars mechanical saving grace)
-Silver in colour, which should be a common colour for selling body parts
- Rust Issues. mainly confined to the lower portion of the car, the bottoms of the doors, and a few little spots here and there.
-Running 13" Rims with nearly new Goodyear Nordics all around. Lots of bite left for good field service
This Blog will operate under the intention of documenting the tear down. Hopefully this project will, as all good projects do, teach the 2 of us some valuable mechanical skills and give us the opportunity to learn more about the automotive manufacturing process. As well, we will learn just how far you can push a serviceable car when you do it properly. All around independent suspension should allow us to incorporate a moderate lift for increased ground clearance.
