hi all! new to the forum, new to rx7's, not new to mazdas. i've had 3.5 miatas, including my first car which I bought in highschool. here is my current drift car that i ******* suck at driving:



i am here because yesterday i had the opportunity to buy an fc. 20k miles/100% original/1 owner/sat for 16 years/blah blah blah.

how it has been chilling since '07 :

(i kept the playboys too)
unearthed:


after a super quick wash just so I could throw a cover on it and not destroy the paint:


i'm pretty used to owning "well used" cars that are significantly broken upon purchase, hence the title of the build thread. it don't feel right owning a car that is in such incredible condition. the plan for the car is to simply get it running (haven't tried to start it yet) and restore it to a weekend cruiser condition. the three modifications i have planned are wheels, coilovers, and a front lip. maybe an exhaust as the one currently on the car looks a little ragged compared to the rest of the underside. other than that, i just want to be able to repair it mechanically and preserve it to the best of my ability.

the mechanical plan for now is to change all fluids, clean out the gas tank, new fuel filter, probably change the brakes, new battery, new spark plugs (squirting some oil in the rotor housings in the process). at this point i will try to start the car to see if it even turns over.

aesthetically i haven't decided on a lip, but i'm looking to go for 16x7 +30ish single-piece white wheels along the lines of an advan rg or te37. this will be paired with a mild drop and should look pretty okay. before seeing the car in person i was planning to slam it with big shiny wheels but it is way too nice of an example to do that.

thanks for reading!

 

Wow that things super clean!

 

I'm blown away, it looks so good, nice find!
I would add a fuel pump and all rubber hoses (including brake lines) to your plan. Be sure to flush the coolant very well and I'd suggest flushing the heater core separately. You may eventually need clutch hydraulics and a brake master cylinder as well.

The model you have is a base model, so it's the "soft" version of the car with smaller brakes, smaller sway bars, an open diff, and 4 lug hubs.

 

Nice purchase, super clean

 

Aye. Miata question. What's that lip? it looks like the A-Spec type two but with the ducts blocked.

 

original down to the tires haha. not a ding on the whole body.

thanks! yeah, definitely gonna have to look at the whole fuel system.

thanks!

nue lip, it sucks and i hate it. fits like **** and sits higher than the skirts.

soooo on impulse I ordered a set of avs vs6 in white, 16x7 +30 and 16x8 +35. when paired with 205/50 I think they should look nice with a moderate drop, planning for like .5" of wheel gap. these are going to take a while to get here and I want to get the car off the original tires asap.

took off the bra to find some yellowing of the paint, hoping a polish will take care of it.

 

welcome to the board.

really, really nice. it's a gorgeous car. i love it. i also like the idea of a simple, basic build these days - so i dig your plans a lot. you definitely have to go through everything (mechanical, safety, maintenance items, etc.) with a fine-toothed comb though. good luck with it.

 

yeah, I haven't really had a chance to work on the mechanical bits just yet. the biggest pain in the *** is just cleaning out the fuel system.

ran a quick vacuum through the car last night. i want to make a note that the steering wheel/plastics are untouched (not cleaned or dressed) and really do look that good. nothing on the car is faded at all, interior or exterior. i really cannot explain how lucky i feel and how boggled my mind is.

before:


after:

 

so just going to throw this out there. This is an EXEREMLY clean example of an FC. When you get it running, you may want to consider throwing it on bring-a-trailer. I'm guessing you could get enought from it to buy another fairly (but less) clean FC, plus all the goodies you want, plus cash left over. Would be a shame to start modifying such a well preserved example of an FC.

Or get it running and enjoy the hell out of it. What a great find!

 

if everyone who has told me to put it on bring-a-trailer gave me a dollar i would have $12, i'm aware of the car's value and i have no interest in selling it. buying cars and reselling them for a profit isn't my style. no irreversible modifications will happen to this car, and its not going to drive too often. i hope to keep it forever, and if I don't my friend has first right of refusal when i sell it.

 

no real news, but vs6 arrived. i am woefully over budget soooooo pausing on this project for a couple weeks. i have to get the miata running and out of the garage before I can really work on this anyways