So I participate in the local Tennessee Gambler 500 event, the off-road trail cleanup in cars that cost $500 or less. I prefer doing it in cars that have no business off road and modifying them on a zero dollar budget to survive. I also like RX-7s and own an FB and FD, so when this trashed FC popped up for sale I had to have it.

Here it is, in all its glory





I plan on selling some parts to get under $500. The BBS wheels will go and be replaced by the largest mud or snow tires and steelies I can find for cheap, and any remaining valuable bits will be sold off. The car even came with a nice set of S5 door cards I can throw on ebay.

Here's the minimum build:
- Several inch lift. I'm thinking bigger struts and springs up front (I have some mustang parts laying around) and potentially raising the rear subframe with hockey pucks or shims
- Full underbody plating
- Reinforced front bumper/grill area to prevent radiator puncture.

The car has 249k miles and starts great hot or cold. The clutch sucks and the transmission feels like it has no oil though, so it'll need some work. Not bad for a car parked in a field in front of a trailer park for 2 years.

Any suggestions about how to make this more off-road capable, please let me know! Budget is near $0

Oh, I also have a spare set of FD twin turbos in my basement... not sure how much work it would be to bolt those up and get more fuel into the engine.

Bonus picture: my other gambler 500 car, a wrecked 1985 CRX Si for $400

 

I got some time to work on the FC this weekend and start prepping it for off-roading.

Earlier I posted parts up for sale, and someone swapped a steel hood and stock steering wheel + $80 for my aluminum hood and royal steering wheel. My total investment is now down to $720.

The top is shredded, and the interior is wet and moldy, so I ripped out the carpet and took a shop vac to it. We then decided to fix the soft top on a zero dollar budget, meaning we used 3m windshield adhesive and zip ties to attach a free harbor freight tarp. The interior is finally dry again!


The brake rotors kept the tarp pressed down while the glue dried.




When I bought the car, the shifter sucked. It was almost impossible to shift from first to second and the whole shifter would lift right out because the spring that normally holds it in is missing. Instead of replicating the spring, I decided to find something to act as a second bushing on top of the shifter ball to hold it in under the retaining plate. A 1" PVC pipe coupler cut to a 1/4" section fits perfectly. Adding a little fresh oil and it shifts almost as good as new (except for the lack of a return spring). A huge improvement, and a $0 investment.




The shifter boot was destroyed, so we made a new one out of leftover tarp.


We still need to do something to cover the seats, but the rest of the interior is now passable. No more mold or cigarette butts stuck in every corner. I also discovered that the random switch in the center console actually provided power directly to the wiper motor. I guess the original wiper switch is broken, but this thing works fine


And best of all, we got our first bit of lift out of it! I keep spare springs laying around, and a set of OEM Ford Mustang gt (2012) rear springs fit perfectly in place of the FC rear springs. The backend looks like it's about an inch higher now. Between that, bigger offroad wheels (old Jeeps share the same bolt patterns!) and a slight down-space to the whole rear subframe I think the back end will be ready for off-roading.

Also, we left some slack on the sides of the tarp cover for now until we are confident where to cut and still have the roof be able to retract.





Bonus picture – I had to get all 3 generations in the same picture, before I started work on the FC this weekend. Never thought I'd own all 3 at once