Hello all! I have always wanted an FD, however with the prices steadily rising I never thought I'd own one. Despite this, Ive always kept an eye on marketplace and Craigslist hoping to find a good deal.

And I finally did! I hope..
I found a 1993 rolling chassis. The car has 99% of the interior, and a tubed front end (likely due to an accident it was in). It has some dings, a little bit of rust around the sunroof, and the paint is in rough shape.

My ultimate goal with the car is to get it looking good, and to make around 350whp. I believe it's a CYM car. It's yellow at least, and a 1993 so I'm assuming it is.

I have a pretty solid bit of experience working on cars, however not with a rotary, and not starting from scratch. I dont have the benefit of taking everything apart and knowing what I have and what I need. I have nothing. This is going to be a long project, probably over the course of several years.

Currently Im looking into acquiring a 13brew and trans for it. I've been trying to learn as much as possible about these as I can, so any information you can pass along is appreciated!

All the little things though are what I'm worried about. All the random sensors and vacuum lines, that I don't even know that I need yet. But it's a long way away from being put together, so for now I'm trying to make a list

What are some must do modifications? What do I need, and what can I do without? I want to do as much as I can myself. For now I'm just trying to aquire parts for it.

Pics coming soon!

 

I'm in WA, so not exactly close by. But I've got a trans, PPF, and drive shaft I could crate up. I have not used the trans, car had a blown motor so I assume the trans is ok but can't be sure.

 

I am interested, but im a bit tight on funds after purchasing the chassis. Also, it seems I can't send PM's yet haha. But if you're still gonna have it in a month or so, I'll hit you up!

 

Where the car sits now








Fuel pump died on the freeway


So here's some photos of the car and where it'll be sitting for the next few months while I accumulate parts for it. On my way out to pick it up my trucks fuel pump died and that became a mess of its own. But i finally got the car!

The car is not a CYM, it was originally Montego blue. Which I'm kinda glad, cause I don't feel obligated to keep it yellow now.

 

More pics of the car. Trying to get the rust out of the roof. Looks like ill have to do some fabricating to fix it.

Still trying to source an engine for it. If anyone has a 13brew theyre looking to get rid of for around 5k ill happily take it off your hands haha. Otherwise, im still saving up.

 

its kind of nice its been a couple different colors, you can do anything you want to it and it would be better.

for the engine you might look for a front cut, you could get the engine/trans and front Sheetmetal at the same time

that thing must have a story!

 

That would be nice, but I can't find anything like that for sale haha. The tubed front is not very well done.
All I know about it is what the carfax shows. It was bought new and the first owner had it until 2005 when it was in front end collision with a fixed object. It then sat in a tow yard for like 8 years before someone bought it as a project car. And eventually it ended up in my hands.

 

🦒


Finally got the engine. Found this complete 13brew for sale in texas. Bought it along with a/c lines, oil cooler/lines, power steering lines, heater core lines, and the torque arm for $3400. The owner stated it has low compression in the rear rotor, but it does still run. I turned it over by hand and it felt fine.

My truck kept eating serpentine belts. Changed it 4 times over the 1200 mile trip. I just kept using the warranty at autozone to replace it each time. Truck needs a water pump, pully is super loose.

Giraffe I saw in El Paso.

 

So obviously it needs a rebuild. Are there any good threads anyone can't point out? Everyone has vastly different opinions when it comes to Apex seals and coolant seals and such. Not sure what brands to go with.

 

Coolant seals - stock
Apex seals - what are your power goals?

 

400-450hp. Will be doing single turbo.

 

Update- Haltech wiring harness and ECU purchased. Found an unexpected deal on Marketplace for a brand new terminated harness and ECU. Guy said he'd bought it, but ended up going with something else before it arrived. $1000 was too good to pass up!

Here's a bit of a checklist that I've made up as to what the car still needs in no particular order. At least what I can think of off my head. Hard when I don't have the car here. Please feel free to suggest changes or point out what I'm missing here. I know there's a lot that needs to be added.

Also, if you have any of this and you want to sell, let me know!

-5 speed transmission
-Clutch
-Seats/brackets and belts/harness
-New interior carpet
-Door panels (possibly going to get aluminum panels)
-Single turbo kit (maybe turblown's kit, kinda pricey though) and all supporting mods.
-Exhaust
-Intercooler, radiator, oil cooler, and condenser radiator.
-Probably a new steering rack since it's easy to swap out right now.
-Engine mounts
-Fuel delivery
-Wheels and tires
-Coil overs
-Engine rebuild
-Four IGN-1A coils for the Haltech harness.
-Sensors?
-Weather stripping and anything else made of rubber.
-Sun roof. Not sure what to do with it. Keep it or cover it?

 

More parts acquired! Haltech coolant temp sensor and air temp sensor, 4 IGN 1A coils, 2 brass AEM 150 psi pressure sensors, and a Haltech wideband controller.

 

I love to see you save this car. It deserves it, and you deserve to have your dream car! It gives me motivation for my own build, which is more involved than expected, but definitely less involved than what you are doing here!

 

Maybe give TBR Move's channel a watch. They just finished basically what you're doing, and took some really detailed videos of the entire process:
https://www.youtube.com/@TBRmove

 

Thanks! It's gonna be a slow process given how expensive everything is, but its slowly coming together.

And that's a great YouTube channel! Thanks for the recommendation.

 

Update! Another piece of the puzzle. Got a 5 speed trans for it! Was incredibly lucky, the seller hooked me up and let me have it for $250. Originally was asking $1000 for it (and I intended to buy it for that much) but as usual, I had truck issues! Ironically transmission problems too. Anyway, he said it didn't have any issues. It feels fine shifting through the gears, granted its just sitting on the ground.




Photo from the listing since I didn't take any. If you're reading this, thanks Jerry!

 

Another piece! And a big one at that. Wasn't really something I was looking for but hard to pass it up once I saw it. It's a complete front clip, and it's been cut slightly past where the front of my car was cut for the tubed front end. So there's a little overlap.

Came with the bumper and some other misc stuff.



I will likely need to add some material on the lower frame rails but it should be good up top. Has a bit of rust i need to clean up too. I think this will be a lot better than a tubed front. Which needs to be redone anyway.

 

More parts! Project not dead!

Ive continued to slowly aquire parts for the car.

Found a brand new unopened ACT Streetlite Flywheel Kit on marketplace for $200 plus 50 to ship.

Picked up 4 more coils, Aeroflow fuel rail, Full Function Trigger hall, Atkins pulley set, Radium FPR with gauge, and a Full Function alternator relocation bracket for $500. Seemed like too good of a deal to pass up even though I dont necessarily need all of it haha.

Me and my brother have been working on building a shop, recently got all the permits pulled and soon will start building. Finally my baby can be stored indoors and I won't have to work on it in the dirt!

 

Way to go! Looks like you still have a road ahead of you, but you're still plugging along. Keep us updated how it goes.

 

How did you find that front clip?

 

Facebook marketplace. I searched pretty much the entire western half of the US for a year before I found it haha.

Of course about a month later I found another that goes all the way back to include the firewall for less than half of what I paid for this 🙃.

 

Nice! How did you search for it? I need some parts off of one. I am currently pulling the engine out of mine and need the front shrouds and core support. Mine has been in a slight front bumper collision that I found. Nothing major but definitely want it fixed correctly.

 

I just set the range to the max and would go to random places in each state that would cover the most cities. Searched RX7 FD, FD3S, 13B REW, stuff like that.

 

Talk to Kevin in Florida (RX7Parts.com). He cuts up a bunch of bodies. He might have what you need for sale.