My last build was named 7 of 9 because it was one of 9 cars I was working on at the time and decided to keep, while this car is technically 13 of 19 or so... it retains enough of the old ships spirit to keep its title. Same color, model, and many of the parts were transplanted.

Every build has an inspiration, this is how the car got trapped in my wake. When my son was 12, he had been getting interested in cars, and is/was a GranTurismo addict. So I decided to teach him the real thing. He is now 16, getting to be a much better assistant everyday, unfortunately for him, lucky for me, they are still not allowed to drive until 18 in Japan. Over the last 4.5 years we have a hand in one way or another in putting 53 rotary vehicles back on the road, a large percentage of which were likely headed in the wrong direction. Try to rescue them when possible, and one way or another find a better situation for the vehicle. Okinawa now has a fairly healthy rotary community now, like to think we helped that along. We have not been losing money on it(if labor is free lol), it would be much more profitable to just part them 90% of the time, but that is not why we do it. Rotaries are getting very sparse here in Japan in comparison to what it was, so I do what I can to move it in the right direction, but no matter what I do that will continue as more become exportable everyday. It is a constant struggle to get all these young US military guys on Okinawa to stop destroying their cars, all I can really do is try, most don't listen very well. Luckily the price of FD's in Japan have begun to skyrocket in the last couple years, and that has started to keep out a lot of the riff raff. On this path found our new base chassis.

I am a sucker for White FD's, glass sunroofs, and OEM sideskirts. This base met the requirements for all 3, was a very clean bone stock automatic touring with 75,000 kilometers. It is an October 1998 so it is likely one of the last FD's to ever be released with the glass sunroof auto AC touring package, it has a 17" type brake booster and 99+ ABS system, but it should not according to any brochure or manual I can find, and I verified at the dealer that it is original, must just be a production fluke because of the model switch. All touring models in Japan after 1993 unfortunately were automatics, so that was the first item that needed to be addressed. I am shooting to make a 2001 RZ replica because that is the most challenging I could think of as only 175 of them were sold. Interior and exterior I want to use only RZ, OEM, or MAZDASPEED products.

Mods:
Koyorad cooper core radiator
ＲＥ雨宮 AST
Apexi PFC
AT>MT swapped (It was litterally plug and play as we made a nice OEM harness for the old car.)
Excedy Super Single Clutch
KAAZ 1.5 Diff (too noisy for my old man ears)
HKS Hipermax Pro suspension
Bonzai transmission brace w/ rubber bushing
IRP street engine mounts
Racing Beat sway bars
Radiator mount front brace
Knight sports Dual Tip muffler (rare and out of print, quiet with great flow, deep sound really travels but does it polietly, very similar to the Racing Beat one.)
C's short shifter
Heat insulated the transmission tunnel floor by firewall
3M UV/infrared clear tinted the sunroof, windshield, and door glass (living on a subtropical island I consider this my best mod, made night and day improvement of inside car temps)

MAZDASPEED/OEM options/upgrades:
'01 RZ Red Carbon Kevlar Recaro Tilt Recline Bucket Seats (w/ ESH alacantra bolster covers *5 stars!* look great never fall out of place when used)
'01 RZ 17" OEM brakes this time with 17" brake dust covers
'01 RZ 17" Enkie spare tire from RZ
'01 RZ 17" Gunmetal BBS Wheels
'01 RZ aluminum foot rest
'01 RZ Floor Mats (most difficult thing I have ever sourced)
'01 RZ door panel knee bolster (*still need to install)
'01 RZ front bumper w/ OEM, blinkers, brace, fogs, air box baffle
'01 RZ rear cargo bins (*still need to install)
OEM keyless entry (*still need to install)
OEM hand rest option
OEM map pocket coin holder option
OEM rear cargo area carpet cover option
OEM arm rest ashtray replacement
OEM aluminum door sils option
OEM aluminum pedal covers option
OEM poly side steps
Upgraded single OEM oil cooler to dual
AUTOEXE windshield wiper blades
MAZDASPEED spoiler (Too big for my taste)
MAZDASPEED tower bars front and rear
MAZDASPEED carbon fiber ebrake, and shifter (*still need to install)
MAZDASPEED rotor oil cap
MAZDASPEED 33cm steering wheel (so hard to find in this size, need it small for my legs to fit comfortably)
MAZDASPEED front calipers (They are copies but use the exact same pistons, pads, and caliper manufacturer just a slight difference in the caliper face.)

 

 

So many amazing JDM parts on that car! Love the white!

 

Always a fan of 99 spec

 

Anymore update Jesse?

 

Finally got around pulling the rear seats and installing the RZ bins in the rear. Put down some insulation and replaced the crusty 18 year old OEM speakers, with some Alpine 6 inch.





Got the RZ driver door knee bolster installed in a near mint panel, going to buy some more speakers, and try to get them installed with the door panel soon.

 

More heat insulation, red stitch shift boots, MAZDASPEED shifter, and E-brake, and carbon rear veiw mirror.

 

The 2 seater bins came with a Hello Kitty key, simply can't have that, so I asked my Manga artist daughter to zombify the key.

Turned out great, complete with detached retina. lol

 

This is such a clean, well-executed car, Jesse!

Dale

 

Where did you pick up the MS strut bar? (engine)

 

Thanks Dale!



Been hoarding MS stuff for over 20 years now. Selling a couple of these actually...

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generati...-more-1117374/