The Grail FD - 14k-Mile 1993 R1 in Vintage Red
 

This will not be a build thread persay, more a catalog of the car I recently purchased. Not much modification or even maintenance required on this one - the reason why will become clear as you read on. There are some definite plans for the car though, so stay tuned.

Those of you who have seen my WTB thread in the marketplace know I have been looking for an FD for a year+. Not just any FD though. The third-generation RX-7 has been a dream car of mine for a long time now - there is just something awesome about all the 90s Japanese halo cars, and the FD with its twin turbos and lightweight is my favorite of the bunch. The more I searched the classifieds, the more it became clear that only one particular spec would do - an R1 or R2 in Vintage Red. I fell in love with the color and sporty spec and also like the fact that it doesn't have a sunroof, so the double-bubble roof is more pronounced.

Possible candidates came and went - I even almost won an extremely nice R1 on eBay, but was shut out of bidding at the last minute due to an unexpected verification screen (thanks eBay). That one really stung! I eventually got into contact with the winner and found out that my high bid was $1,000 higher than his, so I would have won the car. In retrospect though, I'm glad things worked out as they did...

A few weeks ago, a seller that I had previously been in contact with finally got back to me and let me know that their car had just been inspected at Sakebomb, and would I still be interested in the car. Yes I would! This particular car had been posted on Craigslist with scant information, and it took a while to get enough information from the seller. What I did know is that it had 14k miles (yes, 14k!) and was stock except for an aftermarket head unit. The history of the car is a bit unclear, but the Carfax shows it has been in California its entire life and had been driven sparingly for the past ~15 years. Of course, engine compression was my primary concern, and I asked the seller if they could bring the car to Sakebomb in Fremont for a PPI, which they eventually did. With the PPI indicating healthy compression (and noting that the tires were original, backing up the mileage claim!), I made the seller a final offer, and they accepted.

My plan was to fly out to California to look at the car, drop it off at Sakebomb for some much needed fluid/filter changes, and then have the car be picked up from their shop on a trailer for shipment back to Texas. Here are some photos of the car when I first saw it in the seller's driveway:

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...004cc60c8b.jpg

The Cressida in the background was, oddly enough, part of the Craigslist ad for the car - perhaps part of the reason the seller did not have more serious local interest in the car. Long story short, I was blown away by the condition of the car. It is as close to a new FD as I have ever seen, though admittedly my experience is limited. Even the A/C worked! The test drive was only my second time driving an FD. I did my best to inspect for accident damage and everything seemed gravy, though who am I kidding, I was going to buy the car as soon as I saw it! After a brief hiccup at the California DMV, we had the paperwork squared away, and I was sitting alone in the DMV parking lot with a new car and nowhere in particular to be. On the way to SBG:

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...e8fc83a57e.jpg

My initial driving impressions were very positive. This is by far the fastest car I have owned (I'm weird and have only owned cheap 80s/90s German/Japanese cars, though have driven faster ones), and I was surprised at how much push it has stock, even though I was reluctant to push it too hard. The rotary engine is awesome and has this addicting sound that I can only describe as a metallic "ripping" - videos don't do it justice. The ride to SGB was mostly uneventful, though it made me realize the need for paint protection film. Despite the low mileage, the paint is pretty swirled out and has some heavier clearcoat scratches where someone aggressively rubbed the paint (probably to remove a stain), so a paint correction is in order. Just a light polish - my primary goal is to preserve the clear coat (which I believe to be mostly if not 100% original), not correct every tiny scratch. Arrival at Sakebomb:

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...197c3df9fb.jpg

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...1b5c5413d9.jpg

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...30320a68ae.jpg
The guys at Sakebomb were very hospitable and even took the time to hear me complain about the DMV. :lol: Was fun hanging out at the shop, highly recommended visit if you need to bring your car for service in the area. The car was there for changes of the transmission, differential, and clutch fluids as well as the coolant. Spark plugs, fuel filter, and oil had already been done. Initially thought they wouldn't be able to remove the wheels to do brake fluid due to the lack of a wheel lock key, but later found out that the original wheel lock key is actually in its holder on the left side of the cargo area with the rest of the jacking tools. So brake fluid is still on the list. One thing the guys at SB mentioned before the fluid flush was that it shifts poorly - I had noticed it was difficult to get into first/second during the test drive, but thought maybe FD gearboxes are just balky. I actually have a receipt from 1995 showing that the transmission was rebuilt by Mazda due to issues with 5th and reverse, makes me wonder if they did it 100% correct. It still is a bit crunchy/high effort going into second, though I'm not sure what is normal on these. My current daily is an Integra GS-R with that famous Honda shift quality, so my reference point may be skewed.

The car arrived to my house yesterday and it is great. Can't drive it much until I get new tires - I'm currently on the hunt for a set of unchromed stock wheels (unreinforced), so if anyone has a set, please let me know! Local would be a bonus. Today I greased the door hinges with Wurth HHS, protected the interior plastics (Aerospace 303 Protectant), and gave it a quick wash with Optimum No Rinse - no point in going all out since it is getting paint corrected later.

What are my plans for the car? Mainly return it to 100% stock (I would like to replace the head unit and wheels with stock non-chrome items - will also give me an excuse to store the original tires) and get the PPF installed ASAP so it can be driven without worrying too much. The doors (especially the driver's) requires a good slam to get it to shut even after greasing the hinges, so some realignment of the striker may be in the future. May replace the stock radiator/AST as a preventative. Right now I'm going to enjoy the car stock for the foreseeable future, but also plan on owning it for a long time and would eventually like to do a catback, downpipe, PowerFC, and have it all tuned by Chris at RP in Garland.

Congratulations! You got yourself a gem of a car and looks like it's in amazing hands.

YES. Huge congrats man, that is one hell of a buy. Love it.

A few more pics...

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...b6371ced33.jpg

Waiting at the gate to take off for California. The photo is of the plane I flew on, a 787 Dreamliner, which was very nice. Unusual for a domestic flight to be on a big widebody plane like this.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...75a6ae130d.jpg

Here is a photo from the delivery. You can see the FD peaking out on the top. Very exciting moment.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...ff956c0996.jpg

Taking delivery #2 (I have always wanted to say "taking delivery.") The whole shipping operation from Plycar was very professional and impressive. There was a C7 Corvette below my car, and a Porsche 959 in front... driver said it was a replica. The truck pulling up on my residential street caused quite the commotion on Sunday night and brought damn near half the neighborhood outside to watch. A couple of kids were enamored with the FD.

Will be posting more pics of the car later... interior, engine bay, etc. The interior is mint and still smells like a new car.

Nice find! You gotta wait, fly, and ship if you want a top notch FD these days.

Congrats

Call me crazy but this is the only time that I have actually thought the optional stock chrome wheels look good. Unless you're taking them off for preservation my vote is for you to keep them!

Beautiful car & congrats!


Also...... I'll be the guy to ask- did you buy at market/auction prices or do better?

Very nice!

The chrome wheels usually look like ass over time, they didn't do a good job chroming them and it flakes off after a while. Those may be quite desirable for someone.

If/when you get some new rims you may want to have them professionally refurbished. They can get rid of curb rash, bad finish, etc. no sweat and get them totally clean inside and out. There may be a wheel place near you that does this, may want to look around.

On the transmission, do you know what gear oil was used? FD's are pretty picky on gear oil. A good synthetic like Redline makes a BIG difference in how it shifts.

Post up some detailed engine bay and interior shots, there may be other small things that will make it even better.

Oh, you may want to think about getting a new "RX-7" badge for the rear. It should be a bright silver. If you are going to have it detailed it's worth doing, I think it's a little pricey (like $80) but you can remove the badge, have them do the paint correction, then apply the new one, that will freshen up the back big time. I would make a template or something to make sure it sticks back EXACTLY where it was, I've seen TONS of FD's with that badge just wherever they thought it should go which drives me nuts. That is in the correct factory spot.

Dale

Nice pickup, I remember Heath telling me about this car a few weeks ago when the now-previous owner brought it by to be gone through :)

It's a little hard to say, as there have been so few low mileage cars that have come to market. Seller and I were both happy with the deal. They had acquired the car in 2013 so I'm sure they did very well indeed.

Some people love the chrome wheels, I think I would like them better if they were slightly less reflective (so, polished instead of chrome) and the car was black. The wheels tend to "disappear" in the wheel wells.

I have looked into having these refinished in the original silver, but I believe stripping the chrome is a fairly intensive process and would make them twice as expensive as just finding a good used set - correct me if I am wrong. Finding wheels is #1 on my priority list right now, as I can't really drive the car without new tires. The originals are not even dry-rotted thanks for the California climate, but they are rock hard. I actually experienced wheel spin in first gear when entering a freeway when driving it in Cali.

The shop used Redline MT90 for the transmission fluid, and Redline 75W-90 in the differential. Engine/interior shots coming soon!

Interesting about the badge, not sure it is actually faded as you say though - it may just appear that way in the photo/lighting. Cars with misplaced badges on the rear drives me crazy as well. I'm sure the PPF installer will remove the front badge - hopefully they can do so carefully, as the awesome old school 'eternal flame' emblems are now hard to find.

Congrats. Nothing like a VR FD, but I may be a little bit biased. I just turned 22k on mine after a 1129 mile trip. Those original unmolested interiors seal so well, you have to close the door like a damn truck. I never had any luck with the redline oil, it was always notchy for me. I’ve been using Neo 75w90 with great success for years now.


~ GW

Tried Valvoline 75W90 synthetic in my trans - notchyness was worse than with the OE oil. NEO 75W90 did the trick.

I agree the chrome wheels actually look really good. Would not like them on montego blue or CYM, but in VR, black, or SM they are sick.

OP you may want to pull the shifter out and re-grease and replace the bushing as per page J-59 in the manual.

Congrats on this find, extremely impressive! 14k miles...wow. I think My car hit 14k before it was a year old lol. And those wheels...this is actually the very first time I've ever seen a set that looked good...in picture or otherwise. I'm not jealous because I'd most certainly ruin that car, but it is most certainly a diamond! Again, congrats.

Congrats on the find! The whole flying out to see the car and shipping it back reminded me of how I got my first FD 10 years ago. As far as gear oil, NEO 75W90 gets my vote.

Can't wait to see more pictures of this beauty.

I freaking love this car dudes. Getting used to driving it and can't get enough of the feeling. Lithe and taut, but muscular feeling at the same time with the torque. "Like a muscular ballerina" in the words of one automotive reviewer. And this is just on surface streets around the neighborhood! No twisties yet, which I'm sure will be a whole different experience. My previous cars have been an S14 240SX (stock automatic... boo), a Z32 300ZX, an E30 (318iS), an old Mercedes, and my current daily '94 Integra GS-R. All cool rides no doubt, but all were relatively low-powered and none had the torque of a stock FD. I have also driven a bunch of performance cars from the 80s-2000s, including Porsches, and the FD stands out amongst all of them, IMO.

Has been fun giving family members spins in the new ride... promise I will get some additional photos soon.

Yesterday I thoroughly cleaned the steering wheel and shift knob, which it desperately needed. This is something I do on all my new cars - only after doing this do I feel the car is truly "mine". It is amazing how much fresher a car feels when the touch points are nice and clean. Cleaned with Optimum No Rinse at quick detailer dilution ratio then protected with Dr. Tork Leather Master. Perfectly leather safe, and leaves the finish feeling soft and with the correct matte texture. It seems Mazda used very high quality leather on the touch points.

Amazing brother, I can't wait to get to this point of thoroughly enjoying the FD. If you haven't already, I HIGHLY recommend getting brand new tires A S A P before putting more miles in. We *really* underestimate how dangerous old tires could be because they feel completely fine until they aren't, and with RWD fast cars like the FD, it will likely be a very dangerous situation and if not dangerous it will probably harm the car.

Excited for you, and really peaking my interest of trying to find an unmolested relatively low mileage FD in the future.

Tires are #1 on my priority list... still looking for a set of stock wheels to put them on, as I can't stand the chrome. Have posted here and on all the FB groups but not much luck. Have a few leads, but in general I think people are busy due to the holiday.

IMO, you should look at the Firestone Indy 500's. They are highly recommended (Tire Rack), inexpensive, come in the OE size (225/50R16), and are asymmetric (can be rotated to any position). I have them on my FD and they're great. Decent ride, excellent grip, and look good.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...omCompare1=yes

Great find :)

YEP, even bone stock these cars have the perfect vibe or they plenty fast to have fun for a street car.

Always listen to DaveW, however the only thing I'd add regarding tires is go up to a 245 45 16 if you plan to do any competitive type driving like autox etc... These cars were made for autocross and dominated for years until the C5 came out.

If you can make the trip to Deals Gap Rotary Rally in the spring, do so. Those roads will give you a whole new appreciation of the car and it’s awesome to meet everyone. And you can hang out with me :)

and I’m just going to leave this here -

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generati...added-1104322/

100+ hp with just bolt ons and a good tune.

But, really, a ceramic coated Downpipe and a good cat back is a good idea, maybe an HKS twin power. The car is much more fun with some sound to it and a turbo rotary sounds SO good.

But, yes, tires first!

Dale

Consider some nice '99 spec JDM OEM wheels..... 17x8 and 17x8.5 so you get a bit more rubber and the 225/45 and 255/40-17 sizes opens up many more options. You're barely adding any weight as a bonus :)

Firestone Firehawk Indy 500s are exactly what I'm going to get. I had them on my Z32 300ZX and was a big fan. They do have a pretty stiff sidewall though, so quite sporty feeling.

Dale, that dyno comparison thread is one of my favorite on the forum. It is amazing how easy it is to get an extra 80 whp out of these engines, almost seems like a waste to leave them stock. As I mentioned, my plan is to eventually do a downpipe, catback, and PowerFC with tune. Will be keeping all stock parts and won't do anything irreversible. Also not chasing big power, but basic upgrades like a downpipe and aftermarket ECU seem like sensible modifications that increase reliability, decrease temps, and make the car that little bit more exciting.

nice pickup and thanks for sharing that dyno thread!