Nick's 2000 BJI Protege

[TheMAN]

try beating it back first, then try to buy new locally first, then wreckers

if all fails, I can help you get one and ship it over... uninsured parcels will be the way to go for something this cheap

you can also try PMing the ebay seller to see if they will ship to oz.... I'm sure they will since they will ship to Europe and Canada... it doesn't hurt to ask! you'll be saving a few dollars buying from ebay than me helping you get one!


pretty interesting that the BJ1 used the same exact headlights as the JDM BJ1s (except Sport20 of course)... cheaper to use these than the UK ones I guess, because the UK ones have "E" marks on them, which lights have to pass a very high standard and I suppose it's more costly to make those and therefore more expensive to put them on the car

your headlights just has the JIS and US DOT markings (USDM lens shared with the JDM/AUDM ones for lower costs)... I think the UK lens have a better plastic that resists fading better, because I know the BJ2's headlight lens have better plastics than the BJ1 and they resist fading better too

[xeon8]

I didn't realise I had the JDM headlights haha. I thought the JDM headlights were only the Sport20 ones, but little did I know

I'll PM the seller about shipping, but in the meantime I'll get the hammer out and try and bash the bracket back into shape. I'll also give Mazda a shot but as Ben said there is very little that they actually have for the BJ's anymore.

If all else fails, I'll be shooting you a PM

[HAIGHIE]

haha nick i took my bumber off only the other day to find that mine was bent aswell nothing a hammer didn't fix

can't wait to see this kit go on

[xeon8]

So my efforts today proved a great success. I got the trusty hammer out today and spend a good 30 minutes trying to reform the bracket to make it fit properly again.

Basically, I went from this:





To this:





Probably not the best looking, but hey its all fixed and back to normal again! I painted it with some primer I had lying around the house, then put some clear coat on it... Actually looks similar to the original 18G paint!

Kit will be on soon... Just waiting for my front bar

[HAIGHIE]

looks good man actually a lot like mine hahah, will be keeping my eye out for when you get ur bar

[xeon8]

Whacked the 50mm on the camera and took a few photos. So because I can, I'm going to spam with a few pics. Went a bit crazy in Photoshop too

[xeon8]

Also started priming the side skirts... not long before they get installed on the car!

[TheMAN]

you might find those clips are insanely expensive at your local mazda dealer, so if you need me to help you get some, let me know... they should be cheaper to get here

I really wouldn't chance replacing only some and not all of them... once you put the side skirt on, it is very hard to remove without breaking the clips, if you find out the old clips don't clip on correctly.... these clips can get weak, brittle, and deform... so why give yourself more work?

[xeon8]

Going to have to leave these pictures here for now!







Tomorrows mission - install it on the car!

Will also be leaving this image here - a sign of things to come

[Rhys]

Pretty keen to see the body kit on, hurry up! Are you getting someone to paint them for you or..?

[lukeyprotege]

good things to come

[xeon8]

Originally Posted by Rhys

Pretty keen to see the body kit on, hurry up! Are you getting someone to paint them for you or..?

Still undecided. I think I might end up getting someone to paint the bumper and skirts but I'll do the prep work myself just to save costs.

No ETA of the kit installed on the car yet - been pretty tied up with uni and work, so I'm just playing it by ear! I'm hoping it'll get done sometime soon though.


Good things to come indeed, in the form of 17's

[marcs_sp20]

woot, cant wait to see the transformation

[bjk]

Lol, these are familiar looking images!

[xeon8]

Originally Posted by marcs_sp20

woot, cant wait to see the transformation

Must admit I'm pretty excited to get this all done I'm hoping the end result looks good though

[TheMAN]

do all the drilling/fitment work before you paint it
but please do paint the pieces BEFORE they go on the car!

IMO, the car will look horrible before the pieces are painted to match... there's tons of kids here who drive their civics around like this... makes their car look like cheap crap!

[xeon8]

Ed is right. It looks pretty horrible when its a different colour. Doesn't help that it is half sanded either, but I was keen to see what it would look like on the car! It hangs pretty low, and would undoubtedly scrape going over bumps or dips... let alone my own driveway! The bumper also doesn't fit the standard Aus number plates, hence why I have marked the recess to be cut bigger. I also didn't screw it in fully as it was only a dry fit, so that's why it looks like the bumper is sagging. Anyway, I digress. Here are the pics

[Ben]

YES! So cool!

I reckon you should see if you can put the mesh/grill that comes stock on the sp20 you can buy it from Mazda,

[TheMAN]

the mesh grille on this mazdaspeed bumper is metal, you don't want to mix it with the plastic ones from the SP20, it's a very obvious mismatch

DON'T CUT THE NUMBER PLATE AREA BIGGER!!! It's going to weaken the bumper and you might make it look worse
instead, just buy a plate bracket meant for a different car such as a 3 and just use that to raise the plate up!

mazdaspeed liked to place their emblem offside on their cars, it looks better IMO.... the centre placement of the emblem looks odd

[bjk]

Lookin' mean! Should get some shots from further back. How does the low on the bumper match with the SP20 skirts??