Update 3/11/22
It’s been a bit since my last update! I wanted to drop a quick update of the things that have been going on. We are so close to the finish line! So close in fact, that I believe the next update will be the end vision. I’ve done a couple of little things as I wait for the bumper to come back. I developed a small leak from the radiator hoses so I changed those out with brand new ones and brand new spring clamps. I also purchased a rather cheap negative terminal boot cover from Amazon. I think it looks a lot better than being exposed. My body guy also came over and we did some last minute test fitting. There is still some minor stuff that needs done to the bumper and skirts, but he’s on the last leg of that journey. While he’s had the bumper I’ve been doing some small wiring stuff to get ready. I have the wiring in place to support the A-Spec lights. I have decided to just illuminate the fogs through the accessory light switch instead of running a standalone fog light. I did this because it was near impossible to find a clean way of doing it without utilizing an inline fuse from the battery. I may re-look into it later as it’s not that difficult to pivot (a simple de-pin could have the accessory wire running the actual a-spec accessory light). I used Deutsch connectors for both of the A-Spec lights. Upon test fitting the bumper tonight I realized that MazdaSpeed really intended for all 4 wires to be individually connected because there is no way a connector will fit through the hole that’s provided in the bumper. I do not want to enlarge the whole due to structural integrity and holding the light surround in place. My plan for the time being is to de-pin the connector when I need to remove the lights.

Until next time!

Here is the wiring projects




Here is the new radiator hose and the battery terminal



Here is a picture of the test fit that went on tonight

 

Update 4/11/22
If you had told me a couple of years ago I'd be drilling two holes into the FD to fit side skirts I'd have called you crazy, but here we are. I had never planned on doing a MazdaSpeed kit, partly because I didn't believe I'd be able to find it all, but after scanning all these MazdaSpeed catalogs I guess they eventually go to your head.
I finally got the parts back and on the car. The A-Spec OE hardware was a bit difficult to figure out, but I finally did. I also documented everything to help further A-Spec owners make their own hardware kits. Unfortunately, as old fiberglass parts can attest, fitment isn’t 100%. I plan to rectify this by having the car eventually fully resprayed and will dial in fitment 100% then.

What’s next for the car? Not enough stuff to probably ever make a post about. I’m going to grab a Koyo rad and install the JP3 Fuel Filter relocation kit. There’s an eventual full respray planned, but I don’t think I’ll document that here (maybe I will?). I also plan on having the original bumper and spoiler resprayed at this time to enable me to swap back and forth in looks easily.

I hope everyone enjoyed the thread! I guess this is the end; for now, but do our car journey’s truly ever end?

Here is the parts being worked on



Primer



Finished




Finished on Car

 

Wow
Those huge driving lights look awesome!

 

So happy to see this come to life!!!!!

 

Got to say, that looks pretty damn awesome. Such a cool car.

 

Truly an incredible job! I seriously wouldn't change a thing. Wow.

 

That's a great looking car! If you go through with the full CYM respray, let me know so I can try to make it a "2 for the price of 1.5" special

 

The outcome is like a small time capsule that hits just as hard in 2022 - very well done!

 

Thanks for the kind words everyone! Feels good to be able to checkmark one off the list for now.

Now if only I can find the motivation for the FC... lol

 

Thought I'd share this cool video my friend did of the car. I completely forgot much of what I had actually on the car, but it's still a good video I thought lol

 

Hey all,

I saw some chatter on one of my build threads so thought I'd post a final update. In short, both of my RX-7s are gone.

I've been in the RX-7 Community a long time. I've made a ton of friends throughout the years and was even fortunate enough to create my own website and share a ton of free RX-7 media to the community.

Both of my builds turned out awesome - the only regret is that I pulled the FC a part one last time and it never made it back together.

I sold the FC to someone local fully gutted - Honestly, will be surprised if that car is ever in as good of shape and complete as it was when I had it fully complete.
I traded the FD in to a dealer up in Chicago (Diamond Motorworks). I reverted it back to stock beforehand. They've since sold it and I have no idea where it ended up.

In both cases I made good money on both the cars and got what I would have asked had they been complete the way I originally had them.

When my wife bought her 2021 Phoenix Yellow CTR I began gravitating towards the Honda world of things. My current collection is a 1997 Spa Yellow Pearl Acura NSX, and a 2000 Phoenix Yellow Honda Civic both in yellow.

If you're interested in those builds, or ever want to chat, you can find me on Instagram @ihateyellowhondas

Until next time!