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Anyone else watching this? Still 2 days left on the bid. I think this is a little crazy honestly especially considering the condition. As I understand, only 500 sets of the rz seats were made vs the 1500 of the spirit r? Did every spirit r and rz come with the recaros?
The 2001 Bathurst R also had black Recaros. There were 500 2001s made. I don't know if every one had the Recaros.
I bought one seat from Carpe Diem out of Cyprus. Shortly after I bought another from a guy in Ontario who had the seat stored at his cabin. He had got it from Norway.
When he went to fetch it from the Cabin he found it buried 2" deep in husks. Squirrels had wintered over in the car.
The seat from Cyprus was sent back to Cyprus by Canadian customs and then resent to Canada. It was comical (in aftersight) to follow the tracing history.
The seat made the journey wrapped only in layers of bubble wrap, no box. But arrived unscathed.
Another item (factory CF interior plastics), shipped on the same day, took only five days to arrive. The seat took three months.
When I got the seats together, they seemed to be a close match!
The seats went to a friend that had a '96 RZ that somehow arrived in Canada with only stock seats.
Not all Sprit R had Recaro racing seats. Type B and Type C had red leather. I believe 1000 Type A were made and likely were configured with Red Recaros.
(I just got an original Spirit R sales brochure today in the mail. I was surprised to see the 2002 Bathurst was included in such brochure. It was the only version getting a light metallic silver paint. I suspect it too had black recaros)
Last edited by Redbul; Dec 10, 2020 at 02:30 AM.
Reason: Added paragraph.
Roadster RS Ltd. had them.
My set was 2000GBP without tilt this spring, and with one of the seats pretty trashed in the fabric. Also the early ones (93) all have discolored resin by now, so they have yellow/brown stains on the back.
With the prices like the above for items requiring reupholstery anyawy, ill just try and make myself some molds and replicate them.
Anyone else watching this? Still 2 days left on the bid. I think this is a little crazy honestly especially considering the condition. As I understand, only 500 sets of the rz seats were made vs the 1500 of the spirit r? Did every spirit r and rz come with the recaros?
Given the car price doubling every 2 years for a decade in Japan the parts are destined to follow especially rare ones. JDM FD's are already now more expensive than the US market in many ways.
Only the Type A version of the Spirit R had RECARO, and according to this thread just over 1000 had them.
As for the RZ 1992=300 1993=150 2001=175 Do not know if the number of RZ's from 1995-1998 is published, but they are nearly unicorns in my personal experience but have owned a couple so I know they exist.
Last edited by laujesse; Dec 10, 2020 at 07:17 AM.
The 2001 Bathurst R also had black Recaros. There were 500 2001s made. I don't know if every one had the Recaros.
I bought one seat from Carpe Diem out of Cyprus. Shortly after I bought another from a guy in Ontario who had the seat stored at his cabin. He had got it from Norway.
When he went to fetch it from the Cabin he found it buried 2" deep in husks. Squirrels had wintered over in the car.
The seat from Cyprus was sent back to Cyprus by Canadian customs and then resent to Canada. It was comical (in aftersight) to follow the tracing history.
The seat made the journey wrapped only in layers of bubble wrap, no box. But arrived unscathed.
Another item (factory CF interior plastics), shipped on the same day, took only five days to arrive. The seat took three months.
When I got the seats together, they seemed to be a close match!
The seats went to a friend that had a '96 RZ that somehow arrived in Canada with only stock seats.
Not all Sprit R had Recaro racing seats. Type B and Type C had red leather. I believe 1000 Type A were made and likely were configured with Red Recaros.
(I just got an original Spirit R sales brochure today in the mail. I was surprised to see the 2002 Bathurst was included in such brochure. It was the only version getting a light metallic silver paint. I suspect it too had black recaros)
A couple of corrections here.
The 2001 Bathurst R did not come with Recaros, nor were they available as an option. It came with standard black cloth seats but carbon fibre look plastic trim (not real carbon fibre). The seats fitted to that car must have been owner add-on.
All Spirit R Type A came with red recaros. All type B and type C came with standard seats but trimmed in red leather, like some of the earlier Efini special edition models.
The 2002 Type R Bathurst model (no "R") is not the same as the earlier Type R Bathurst R. It was just the name given to the base model in the final run. It is essentially a Type R with a different name to help with the model runout but no limited edition colours, special decals or carbon fibre interior trim like the Type R Bathurst R.
One additional point. The extremely limited edition homologation RX-7 SP that were available in Australia only had black Recaros (like Type RZ models) as an option, but not standard.
Brian Long's book page 195, says "Carbonfibre-style", which may more likely be "Carbonfibre-look" rather than tstraight carbon fibre. The pieces I have appear to be Carbonfibre wrapped, at least, but I don't know.
The Bathurst R came out in August, 2001, with a run of 500. Long says it was based on the Type R. It had adjustable dampers (blue colour, I believe). It came in Pure White, Innocent Blue Mica and Sunburst Yellow. The yellow being a unique colour to the Bathurst R.
Long goes on to say that the Type R Bathurst (as different from the Bathurst R) "joined the existing line-up" on December 10, 2001. It was again based on the Type R, but with adjustable shocks and foglights. Colours were the familiar Innocent Blue Mica, Pure White, Brilliant Black, Vintage Red and Sunlight Silver.
However, in the Spirit R Brochure, on the page with the colour charts, the fine print in Japanese says the Sunlight Silver was special to, or exclusive to, the Bathurst. The same words are used to refer to the Titanium Metallic paint being exclusive to the Spirit R.
The brochure confirms that Type R Bathurst had fabric seats.
Long says he bought one of the last FD made. He calls is a Type RB. He says that there was a Spirit R, Type RB, planned but dropped.
Whether the brochure reflected the showroom reality, who knows. Page 198 of Long's book shows the cover of the Spirit R brochure, which is the one I have.
The origin of the Black Recaro I got is now a mystery. I thought they came from the same car that yielded the CF-look interior pieces.
Both the Type R Bathurst R (2001) and Type R Bathurst (2002) had Showa brand height adjustable coilovers. This is one of the differences from the Type R I neglected to mention. It is the only RX-7 spec level that got the height adjustable option.
Sunlight Silver is most definitely not exclusive to the Type R Bathurst - but it was the only model to come in that colour for the final model year, as it was not offered on the Spirit R Type A, B or C. Sunlight Silver was available throughout the rest of the Version 8 model range, but was quite rare. Only 456 cars came out in that colour.
There is a complete breakdown of colours and spec levels (as well as the complete VIN registry for every individual series 8 aka Version V and VI ever made) here: GTR-Registry.com - Mazda RX-7 FD3S Series 8 VIN Table
The Black Recaros would have come from a 2001 RZ or an earlier JDM special edition, some of which did come with Recaro options. The Australian SP had the black recaros as an option in 1995. A lot of the special bits on the SP came from the M2-1010 concept car developed in Japan, including the Recaros, larger brakes and BBS rims. Some of those same M2-1010 bits ended up on later special edition JDM cars including the RZ and Spirit R, but also earlier special editions, notably the 1992 Type RZ lightweight model, as shown here: https://prestigemotorsport.com.au/pr...-sports-model/ The version 2 RZ (1993) also came with the black Recaros. Mazda Japan also listed the seats in their catalogue, so anybody could go an build them from a dealership. So, adding up the 4 models that came with them from the factory (SP, RZ-1, RZ-2, RZ-3) plus all the extras Mazda parts sold, I would say that several thousand black kevlar RX-7 Recaros were made in total.
If you join fdrx7.com, you can also get much more detailed and accurate details (and brochures) for late JDM model RX-7s that is not really well covered in Brian Long's book. We have been importing these cars in large numbers for over 20 years in Australia and New Zealand so a bit of knowledge base has been developed beyond what has been available in Europe or North America.
I tried to join FDRX7 quite a while ago. Seems one needs several sponsors. I only know one Australian.
The brochure I have must be for the last run of FD. That would meet with your comment that Sunlight Silver was exclusive to the Bathurst in the last year.
My '99 RB is Highlight Silver and with the factory S8 16" wheels looks like that Bathurst in the brochure.
I have the brochure for the 2001 RZ. It has a four page fold out. One of the panels clearly shows the Red Recaros. The equipment list seems to pretty much match the Spirit R. With only 175 of those RZ made, it would be a rare catch to pick one up.
I picked up a set of the Bathurst Showa struts. Very nice. They show up on ebay from time to time. People might not realize their rarity. Nice upgrade while staying with the OEM catalogue.
I have started a thread called RHD FD Nation. We have pics from RHD FD owners around the world. Spread the word.
Thank you for the S8 list link. If I can prove there were only 1500 (or less) Type RB made in 1999, I could use that knowledge to apply for "collector plate" status in Canada. Permits significantly lower "second car" insurance.
Here is my Cyprus sourced seat at its new home, after traveling maybe 30,000 km going back and forth twice to Canada from Cyprus by post. It is a good thing price was "shipping included".
Last edited by Redbul; Dec 11, 2020 at 04:11 AM.
Reason: added info.
Here are the parts I discuss above while still in their source cars. The recaro seat seems to be in a car with backseats. So not likely an RZ. The dash plastics are in a car with the "fabric" or, maybe, "rubberized" seats. This car is more likely a Type R Bathurst R.
It really depends. I mean, if you're above 6ft, you're going to have a tough time getting into the car let alone drive it.
If however you're below 6ft, but you've got some Corona weight on you, it might start to get uncomfortable to drive. You'll probably fit in the seat, but you won't like it too much since it will start to pinch you from all sides.
It really is designed for the average Japanese person. Luckily for me, I've got the height down pat. I'm a bit wider than your typical Japanese though, but I seem to have no issues with the seat. Can drive for hours without getting fatigued. For rough body config, I"m 5ft5" and about 165-175lbs. I would say the car starts to get uncomfortable as soon as the person is above 5ft8" and anything over 180lbs.
[QUOTE=Redbul;12447565]Here is my Cyprus sourced seat at its new home, after traveling maybe 30,000 km going back and forth twice to Canada from Cyprus by post. It is a good thing price was "shipping included".
/QUOTE]
Did you just receive the driver side? Still waiting on the passenger side?
Here are the parts I discuss above while still in their source cars. The recaro seat seems to be in a car with backseats. So not likely an RZ. The dash plastics are in a car with the "fabric" or, maybe, "rubberized" seats. This car is more likely a Type R Bathurst R.
I've always wanted the white dials. However, the boost gauge would serve me no purpose and the speedometer only went as high as 180km/h. I did try to look into getting my current dials converted to white when I did have the console ripped out, but it was too much work. Plus I didn't want to mess up my gauges so I let it go...
If there was an easier way of converting the gauges I would've done it years ago... alas...
I remember a friend selling a set of original carbon kevlar RZ seats in very good condition for $1000CDN ($730USD) about 6 years ago. I bet he's kicking himself now.
They are really nice seats but not 7k USD nice! I've got two sets but didn't pay nearly that much for either set.
I do get a lot of people commenting on how nice and comfy mine are with the ESH covers. They do kind of make the car.
That's a fantastic combo! Well done!!
We lucked out seeing as how I didn't pay anywhere near that much either. It's been about 4-5yrs now that I've had mine... I always get the line "oh well, you put racing seats in yours..." I have to respond with "Those are stock from the factory.." Then they have this face of What?! lol
Anyone else watching this? Still 2 days left on the bid. I think this is a little crazy honestly especially considering the condition. As I understand, only 500 sets of the rz seats were made vs the 1500 of the spirit r? Did every spirit r and rz come with the recaros?
I am guessing that theyre so high given worldwide shipping. A lot more foot traffic as they will populate on any version of eBay...maybe?
Ive also listed high end items on eBay, and they more than anything seem to garnish bidders with no intention of paying.
Final bid came in at 7421.98usd...... goodness. Scratched kevlar, duct tape on the seat, messed up seat belt holder, literal duct tape on the fabric................ 7500 in United states currency. I'm in shock. So does this mean that rz seats with the tilt rails are now legal to sell for that price range? What would a set of those seats in good condition be valued at proportionally? 10k?
I'm starting to question who these people are and how they asses the price for these things? Of course you're free to sell whatever you want for however much you want but where is the line of realistic? Do you make it and wait for the world to catch up?
Every Part has a Story
