The 323 GTX has many distinguishing features that make it stand out from other 323's. The biggest would probably be the rear spoilers. The GTX came with a lower and upper spoiler on all models. It is made of a flexible plastic material and is highly sought after by non-GTX owners. The GTX model also came with painted front and rear bumpers. The lower doors and quarter panels were also part of this two-ton paint scheme. The front bumper also has additional opening to allow for additional cooling for the radiator and intercooler. The 7 spoke wheels and honeycomb grill are also specific to the GTX.
Interior
The GTX came with pretty amazing factory seats for a late 80's vehicle. Both front seats offer good support and deep bolsters to keep the driver from sliding around. A digital dash is standard on US models. A manual sunroof, power mirrors and windows were all standard on the US GTX.
Wheels
The GTX came equipped with Enkei alloy wheels in a 14" x 5.5" size, with a 40mm offset and 4 x 114.3 bolt pattern. They feature a seven spoke design with a removable center cap. The 7 spoke design doesn't look like a 15+ year old design, but they are heavier than most stock wheels today at 15lbs. The bolt pattern and offset limits the use of other wheels from different manufacturers, although wheels from the Maxima, Infinity G20 and 2nd generation RX-7 are known to fit and allow for an increase in tire size.
I decided to keep the factory wheels for budget reasons at this time, but did decide to change their appearance. I was glass beads in my blasting cabinet to remove 16 years of brake dust and oxidation on the aluminum. The inside was easy to clean, as the brake dust had destroyed most of the factory clear coat. This was not the case for the outside of the wheel. With the exception of a few scratches and some corrosion from wheels weight, the outside of the wheel held up pretty well over the years. I took about an hour and a half to blast each wheel. I wanted to make the wheels a darker color, maybe the look of titanium or magnesium. With my Hot Coat powders, I decided on a 1:1 mix of gloss black and chrome smoke. Without really trying, the color matches the lower body color almost exactly.
I had new valve stems installed and mounted a set of Falken Anezis Sports from Tires.com in a 195/60R14 size. I have heard nothing but good reviews on these tires from my friends on the Miata message boards. They sell for $51 each and delivery was free, so I didn't have much to lose. Working with the stock wheel size I was limited in tire choices and sizes.
My 1989 Mazda 323GTX as it sat for 2 years in storage. I bought it with a broken crank nose and a promise the trans was in good condition.
The little Mazda only had 89k on it still looked pretty good for a 16 year old car. Sporty front seats only came in the GTX.
I found this glass sunroof panelin a local U-Pull-It yard. It's from a late model Mercury Tracer, but it bolts right in.
In my old garage and begining to clean up years worth of dust and dirt. It's amazing how dirty a car can get just sitting around.
After a few hours, the engine compartment was showing signs of improvement.
In order to have a front mounted intercooler, I found it easier just to remove the front bumper completely.
Welcome to the 80's. The dash screams 80's design, yellow on black, digital gauges, huge steering wheel, ect.
I added a boost gauge to the steering column, not real pretty, but I didn't want to block my view or mess up the dash.
More cleaning, and more wires I have no idea where they go. The previous owner did some disassembly before I bought the car.
Vacuum lines for everything. These will be simplified before anything goes back together.
As you can see the factory wheels were a mess. A few hours in the blasting cabinet had them ready for powder.
A special blend of gloss black and chrome smoke powders made a pretty good match for the two tone GTX.
The finished wheels with 196/60R14 Falken Azenis Sports.
Putting everything back together. The steering rack was removed and cleaned with new tie rod ends installed.
Now we're getting somewhere. No longer stored beside the house, I can actually start putting the GTX back together.
I don't know who found this, but a front air damn from a 1985-1992 Chevy S10/Blazer is almost a perfect fit.
For $26.00 new, the air damn looks OEM and doesn't require any triming.
Sunroof
If you have a GTX, chances are your factory sunroof panels has some rust spots on it. The sunroof panel and the passenger side rear fender are the most common problems. There is no easy fix for the rear wheel well rust, but the sunroof panel is another story. Another situation were another factory part, from a car with no relationship with the GTX, fits like it was meant to be there. On late model, or second generation Ford Escorts and Mercury Tracers, there was a sunroof option. That sunroof came with an electric powered glass panel sunroof. I don't know who is credited with finding this swap, but it's a dandy. The glass sunroof panel can directly replaced with the stock GTX metal panel. Or, the entire assembly can be swapped into the GTX and plugged right in. Just think about it, no more rusting sunroof panel and no more cranking it open by hand.
I found my sunroof assembly at a local U-Pull-Iy yard for $30 complete. I also grabbed the control panel from the same car, it's not a direct bolt-in, but it's close enough. The unit I picked up is also tan, along with the sun shade. I'll keep an eye out form a gret one, but for $30 it was well worth it. If you are pulling the assembly yourself, it's heavy. There are 4 8mm bolts and 2 nuts hold inthe unit in place. the motor unit is secured with 2 sheet metal screws. Be sure to have the sunroof assembly supported proberly before removing all the bolts. I even grabbed the drain lines for the unit, they came with the package price, and they are nice to hide boost/oil pressure gauge tubbing in.
The only thing you need to do before installing the new unit in the GTX (other than removing the stock one) is to switch the mouting tabs on the back. The Escort is a few inches wider along the roof line, so Ford changed the size of these brackets. If your replacement unit didn't come ith brackets, you can see where they go from your stock unit. I kept them finger tight until I had the unit in place, as there is a lot of room for adjustment in the brackets.
With the new power sunroof in position I decided to test the unit. I probably should have done this first, but if the motor was bad, I could have swapped it latter. The problem I found could not have been changed with the headliner installed. The wiring for the GTX does not plug right into the unit I picked up. There is amini-wiring harness that I removed from the stock unit to wire the Ford unit, the problem is the stock unit only supplies power to one of the terminals. The main harness has both power wires to the female terminal, but the mini harness only had the one male. Since the Ford unit also had a female terminal, I had to make a jumper harness with two, 2 wire male terminals. Hard to explain, but when you see it, you'll know about the problem.
With the new wiring in place and a quick test, it was time to put everything back together. When I installed the control panel. I noticed it did not fit the entire opening in the GTX. I don't know if control panel from the 323 is a perfect fit, but a little triming made a big difference. With the rear view mirror installed, I had to removed the plastic mounting post from the front of the control panel. This allows the new control panel to fit flush against the headliner. Still not a perfect fit, and the tan color is a dead give away something isn't quite righte, but an all around nice upgrade.
Air Damn
It's well known that there is little aftermarket support left for these rare cars, so when something is found to swap from another application, it's a pretty big deal.
The air damn pictured to the left is intended for a 1985-92 Chevrolet S10/Blazer. I don't know who figured out the swap, but it looks like OEM. Many people find these at junkyards for a few bucks, but I bought mine new. Not from the Chevy dealer, but from Keystone. Keystone is large aftermarket body panel supply company that stocks many parts needed for collision repair. A quick phone call let me know they had the item in stock and for an out the door price of $26 plus tax. The part number you want is GM1090104. This is for a product AirDFL;w/oHLS;82-94S10 BLZR/PU, basically an air deflector without holes for a 82-92 S10 pick-up or Blazer. Check the website for a location near you, there are a bunch of them.
When I fit the spoiler n place I could not believe how close it fit the lines of the car. The only thing missing were the corresponding mounting holes in the GTX bumper to make it perfect. After deciding to mount the spoiler above the lip on the GTX bumper (you'll understand when you try it) it only took a couple of 6mm bolts and 2 screws and it was done.
Check out the pictures and then find a spoiler for your GTX, I think you'll like it.
This page was last updated on: September 27, 2004
The stock unit is the the lower left, the Ford unit is a direct rplacement and offers a glass panel and electric operation
The clip on the right is from the stock unit, it needs to be insatlled on the replacement unit before it is installed.
The new control panel looks factory from this angle, but it does not completly cover the stock opening.
The new Ford control panel is shorter than the stock unit. It mounts in the same holes, and the wiring is in the right location.
insatllation of new electric, glass panel, sunroof assembly complete. Total time for swap took around 3 hours.
