'93 Base Rx-7
11-22-17, 03:04 PM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
'93 Base Rx-7
Hi All,
Just doing a quick introduction here to hopefully get "approved" by admins so I can gain full access to starting a build thread and talking to sellers in the classifieds.
I live in Lexington, KY, like many of you I consider the FD to be arguably the best looking Japanese sports car of all time. After drooling and dreaming for far too long, I purchased journalist Larry Webster's 93 base car (no sunroof, has leather and that's about it) which can be seen here:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...8/#listing-bid
There seemed to be quite some confusion on it, searching by vin during the auction led me to an old ebay listing in Sarasota FL from early 2017, offered by the second owner, poor ad with few photos. As Larry was not even aware that the car began as an automatic and Larry mentioned a hunting idle, the potential bidding pool became quite scarce because there were unanswered questions. I contacted the ebay seller since I could tell Larry was getting rid of the vehicle awfully quickly, and they were helpful in identifying that it was their "Florida car" and the transmission swap was performed by KD Rotary (I believe now they are speed1), along with an engine rebuild around 2000. Car appears stock with exceptions being: aftermarket head unit and speakers, "rats nest" is all silicone, it has a catless downpipe and tune, and appears to have an ACT clutch assembly on it. Larry put the car on a dyno to see how she was doing and it put down 255rwhp on a mustang dyno which seems pretty healthy to me. I was the high bidder but quite far off from Larry's reserve, he and I contacted one another back and forth and met in the middle.
Larry encouraged me to fly in to Detroit and he would help me get to the car and I could drive it 4 hours home. Between the photos of the tires, knowing the car has a hunting idle, knowing it may have more than just a hunting idle, and the fact I was going to pick it up within 7 days of getting married, I decided the safe plan was to use my trusty ole pickup and a trailer to fetch it and bring it home. Boy, am I glad that I did, tires were worse in person, rubber is extremely hard and dated, and to make it better once the car warms up and I put some boost into it, the transmission tunnel vibrates like crazy, makes a terrible noise and feels like the car wants to fall apart. Now, I have a large admiration for Webster. I actually grew up reading his articles in Car and Driver, and I know that he can turn the wheel in anger on track with some very talented folks...But I also know that there is no way he wouldn't have noticed that the PPF was cracked and causing the trans to rub against the tunnel like that, making the driveshaft go at an angle it didn't need to be... My resulting point is this, it doesn't matter who you are buying a vehicle from online, just be cautious. My only gripe with him honestly is that he kept encouraging me to drive the car home instead of towing it, why would you encourage someone to drive a vehicle that clearly needs work 4 hours as their first encounter with it? Rant over.
I'm excited about the vehicle, two nights ago I finally got it up on jack stands and dropped the exhaust and removed the cracked ppf. I'm trying to order one through a member in the classifieds, and am debating doing some upgraded polyurethane motor mounts as well. The goal with the vehicle is to bring it back to what it should be. Once the ppf is fixed, I will sort out the hunting idle, get a repaint (I wish it was white..) I will sort out the 90s broken interior trim (what I'm expecting to be the hardest part), I will most likely upgrade the stock radiator and intercooler to try to help with reliability, and then I plan on just enjoying it. I have a track day car, I just want this to be the back-road corner carving weapon it was meant to be. I appreciate this forums members, I have used it in the past when considering different vehicles and believe there is a wealth of knowledge on here.
Cheers
Just doing a quick introduction here to hopefully get "approved" by admins so I can gain full access to starting a build thread and talking to sellers in the classifieds.
I live in Lexington, KY, like many of you I consider the FD to be arguably the best looking Japanese sports car of all time. After drooling and dreaming for far too long, I purchased journalist Larry Webster's 93 base car (no sunroof, has leather and that's about it) which can be seen here:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...8/#listing-bid
There seemed to be quite some confusion on it, searching by vin during the auction led me to an old ebay listing in Sarasota FL from early 2017, offered by the second owner, poor ad with few photos. As Larry was not even aware that the car began as an automatic and Larry mentioned a hunting idle, the potential bidding pool became quite scarce because there were unanswered questions. I contacted the ebay seller since I could tell Larry was getting rid of the vehicle awfully quickly, and they were helpful in identifying that it was their "Florida car" and the transmission swap was performed by KD Rotary (I believe now they are speed1), along with an engine rebuild around 2000. Car appears stock with exceptions being: aftermarket head unit and speakers, "rats nest" is all silicone, it has a catless downpipe and tune, and appears to have an ACT clutch assembly on it. Larry put the car on a dyno to see how she was doing and it put down 255rwhp on a mustang dyno which seems pretty healthy to me. I was the high bidder but quite far off from Larry's reserve, he and I contacted one another back and forth and met in the middle.
Larry encouraged me to fly in to Detroit and he would help me get to the car and I could drive it 4 hours home. Between the photos of the tires, knowing the car has a hunting idle, knowing it may have more than just a hunting idle, and the fact I was going to pick it up within 7 days of getting married, I decided the safe plan was to use my trusty ole pickup and a trailer to fetch it and bring it home. Boy, am I glad that I did, tires were worse in person, rubber is extremely hard and dated, and to make it better once the car warms up and I put some boost into it, the transmission tunnel vibrates like crazy, makes a terrible noise and feels like the car wants to fall apart. Now, I have a large admiration for Webster. I actually grew up reading his articles in Car and Driver, and I know that he can turn the wheel in anger on track with some very talented folks...But I also know that there is no way he wouldn't have noticed that the PPF was cracked and causing the trans to rub against the tunnel like that, making the driveshaft go at an angle it didn't need to be... My resulting point is this, it doesn't matter who you are buying a vehicle from online, just be cautious. My only gripe with him honestly is that he kept encouraging me to drive the car home instead of towing it, why would you encourage someone to drive a vehicle that clearly needs work 4 hours as their first encounter with it? Rant over.
I'm excited about the vehicle, two nights ago I finally got it up on jack stands and dropped the exhaust and removed the cracked ppf. I'm trying to order one through a member in the classifieds, and am debating doing some upgraded polyurethane motor mounts as well. The goal with the vehicle is to bring it back to what it should be. Once the ppf is fixed, I will sort out the hunting idle, get a repaint (I wish it was white..) I will sort out the 90s broken interior trim (what I'm expecting to be the hardest part), I will most likely upgrade the stock radiator and intercooler to try to help with reliability, and then I plan on just enjoying it. I have a track day car, I just want this to be the back-road corner carving weapon it was meant to be. I appreciate this forums members, I have used it in the past when considering different vehicles and believe there is a wealth of knowledge on here.
Cheers
11-22-17, 08:27 PM
#2
Sounds like you have a solid plan for it 
and good call on towing it home! Always is sketchy driving a newly purchased car home over a long distance, especially if its a 20+ year old sports car. Once you have it sorted and driving well, if you're like most of us here, the FD driving experience will get its hooks into you and you'll be addicted for life 
What is your track day car?
and good call on towing it home! Always is sketchy driving a newly purchased car home over a long distance, especially if its a 20+ year old sports car. Once you have it sorted and driving well, if you're like most of us here, the FD driving experience will get its hooks into you and you'll be addicted for life What is your track day car?
11-26-17, 11:22 AM
#3
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Sounds like you have a solid plan for it and good call on towing it home! Always is sketchy driving a newly purchased car home over a long distance, especially if its a 20+ year old sports car. Once you have it sorted and driving well, if you're like most of us here, the FD driving experience will get its hooks into you and you'll be addicted for life
What is your track day car?
and good call on towing it home! Always is sketchy driving a newly purchased car home over a long distance, especially if its a 20+ year old sports car. Once you have it sorted and driving well, if you're like most of us here, the FD driving experience will get its hooks into you and you'll be addicted for life What is your track day car?
My track car requires a little imagination, it's an 07 solstice gxp with a z0k style hardtop, 4pt scca rollbar, z0k handling package, factory option non a/c. If you are scratching your head then you aren't alone, but it is a car that is under 3,000 lbs, rwd, gm performance tune yielding 340 tq and 290hp, and most importantly double wishbone suspension on all four corners (factory adjustments go up to -3.0 front camber). Dialed in, these things are a performance bargain. Sorry for the novel, if I just said gxp solstice I'm afraid I'd be labeled clinically insane 🤣
11-27-17, 02:30 AM
#4
You certainly won't be disappointed with the FD I expect
Neat track car! Can't say I've seen many of them at the track, but I've heard a lot of good about that engine in them. And don't worry, I believe we're all clinically insane here, with our obsession for rotaries
Neat track car! Can't say I've seen many of them at the track, but I've heard a lot of good about that engine in them. And don't worry, I believe we're all clinically insane here, with our obsession for rotaries
11-29-17, 01:48 PM
#5
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Hah thanks for the vote of confidence. I saw in your sig that you track an elise w/ supercharger. I've only driven a non-supercharged '05 with some light mods but it is by far the most fun I've ever had behind the wheel. I've ridden shotgun in both an na and supercharged elise on track and the feedback and rawness of the car never ceased to amaze and amuse me. This is all my way of saying, absolutely excellent choice
11-30-17, 02:32 AM
#6
Thanks
Its certainly a blast! Not a very usable street car by any means, but its at home at trackdays. Haven't driven mine yet with the supercharger, still under the knife with supercharger install at the moment. Looking forward to next season when its ready to hit the track!
Its certainly a blast! Not a very usable street car by any means, but its at home at trackdays. Haven't driven mine yet with the supercharger, still under the knife with supercharger install at the moment. Looking forward to next season when its ready to hit the track!
11-30-17, 02:35 PM
#7
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Thanks
Its certainly a blast! Not a very usable street car by any means, but its at home at trackdays. Haven't driven mine yet with the supercharger, still under the knife with supercharger install at the moment. Looking forward to next season when its ready to hit the track!
Its certainly a blast! Not a very usable street car by any means, but its at home at trackdays. Haven't driven mine yet with the supercharger, still under the knife with supercharger install at the moment. Looking forward to next season when its ready to hit the track!
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12-01-17, 03:12 PM
#9
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Road America is definitely a bucket list track for me, but it will most likely not happen this coming year. Autobahn Country Club's new driving school is really appealing and may be something I try once I have a car for wheel to wheel.
12-13-17, 08:03 PM
#11
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Indeed they were, not many pre-recession club racers in my area so they are shocked to find out about the platform winning SSB runoffs in 06 and 07 and T2 runoffs 1-2-3 finish in 07.