Hello everyone,

My name is Justin and recently my dad and I decided we wanted something new to race and move away from go karts, so thanks to some help from my college roommate, I have gotten into ChumpCar. My dad and I bought a 87 RX7 two weeks ago and I have been working on the mechanical stuff on the car to get it running. I'm actually waiting on brake and clutch parts now, but I have already serviced most of the car and I'm ready to crank the old rotary up as soon as I get the clutch master and slave back in it.

We are from the Valdosta area, and this is not our first rotary, my mom had a 88 convertible a few years back, so we have some understanding of how everyhting on this car works...

One question I do have, is what weld-in kit would someone recommend for this car? We have a hard top, and I would like to find a kit that would fit tight against the inside of the car's sheetmetal. Does anyone have a good reccomendation? I have been considering a S&W ChumpCar kit, they claim that they do build the cage to specifics on your car.

 

Justin, I can't answer any of the technical 2ndgen questions but I wanted to take the time to thank you for saving another RX-7 from the crusher and taking the time to register with RX-7 Club. It's always great to read family projects centered on an RX-7, I tell ya.

Good luck and have fun with the new acquisition!

Mario III

 

Well, I did find a cage kit for the car I liked, and I am waiting on it... I also found another 91 Rx7 I'd like to get also, bascially the same shape as ours, just waiting on the owner to get settled where we can meet...

I've enjoyed messing with the car so far and I learned alot figuring out that the fuel pump was dead and the fuel tank is ruined... lol...

 

Just to update my project, we have to get to work if we want to make the Sebring rac,e still a ways off, but the deposit is due soon and the rest of the entry fee money..

I order a seat, fuel cell, fuel pump, and a set of g-force racing belts today... I know I have a wait on the seat, but I am ready to get started on this thing...

 

I am looking for an FB to race in the chump car/24 hours of lemons series! good luck with yours!

 

Go to a shop and have a cage made. The kits will never fit as tight as a custom cage. Headroom is at a premium in this car. We cut into our roof structure to get enough room for our tallest drivers (and then gusseted the body to the cage to get the structure back). Lots of pictures on my blog to give you some ideas maybe.

 

Agreed. Go to a shop and get it made

 

I always wanted an 87

 

We, our kit turned out well and my teammates had already built race cars along with myself and it looks just as good as other cars I saw at VIR this week.

 

Hello Justin! I am working on a 88 Rx7 for the 24 hours of lemons/chump car as well! Had no idea people did this in south GA. (Im in Glennville) Quick question, which cage kit did you end up going with? Thanks,
John

 

Hi John, I will go ahead and tell you to just build it as a ChumpCar... LeMons only runs that one race in SC I think, and to be honest, none of the GA teams seem to care about it that i have talked too, plus, the Chump races are bigger and better and at the best tracks.. I was just at the 24 hour at VIR... we had 120 cars and over 730 drivers...

I got my kit from Roll Cage Components in Virginia. I had him make it so the halo was a bit moved back so my tall guys would fit, and it turned out pretty good. We did the Nascar bars, but only did two on driver's side since it was more than enough, and we managed to get the bars in so that we didn't have to cut the door, but there is barely an air gap.

 

Ok I gotcha. Whoa thats a ton of drivers! Sweet! Thanks for the roll cage advice. Will deff take that into consideration when I get to that step. All the best building and racing!
John