Hello all.

In 1998 when I was in high school I bought my first RX-7, a naturally aspirated '87 base model in harbor blue with blue interior. Living in Concord, CA I was lucky enough to meet with Mike Johnson when he opened his shop JRE and learned some tips from him on how to increase output without adding a turbo or spending too much money on a rebuild with porting and/or a fuel system upgrade. I loved that car and over the next 2 years upgraded the suspension to poly bushings, Suspension Techniques Springs, Tokico struts and light weight wheels with Yokohama tires. I then worked with a friend to shave the door handles and third brake light as well as adding a sunroof from a junkyard car which I cut the roof off of.

In 2001 I moved to Southern California to attend Universal Technical Institute and learn about becoming an automotive technician. While attending school there I found and purchased a '93 touring model in vintage red with tan interior from a guy in San Diego. Since I now had the vastly superior third gen I sold the '87 to a friend in Alamo, CA who drove it for a few years before selling it to another one of our friends. The last I heard the '87 was still in Concord, CA in the backyard of that friends mothers house with a blown motor.

Unfortunately shortly after selling the '87 to the first friend the twin turbos of the '93 gave out and I started on the path to upgrading. I opted for an HK turbo system with a T04E turbo and a much larger than stock downpipe and wastegate. I ordered a high output fuel pump, high pressure fuel regulator and some massive 1k cc primary and 2k cc secondary injectors for the project, I also installed a McLeod clutch and was working to have a custom front mount intercooler made. I finished school in southern California and brought the car with me to live in Martinez, CA about a year later but not before meeting my wife.

This is where the story gets sad for all of us 7 lovers. If you have been married and had children you will know they are quite expensive and a 2 seat sports car is not the best vehicle to drive when trying to get around with a bunch of them so before moving to a less expensive part of California I had to sell the '93 and was left without a rotary vehicle let alone a sports car.

It has been many years now since I had to give up my '93 but my children have grown into adults and I am finally on a path where I have a view of the sunshine through the clouds in such a way as I may be able to once again acquire a '93-95 in the next few years. I now live on the Oregon coast and no longer need to worry about the horrible smog regulations of California and will likely modify whatever third gen I end up purchasing (hopefully a LHD manual in Montego Blue or Silver Stone Metallic). While I am waiting to be in the position to buy one I am happy to have found a community of 7 lovers to be a part of.

I hope to make some good connections here and maybe even a few friends.

Thanks for reading my long winded post,
HTLP

 

Welcome to the forum, your professional knowledge, and your experiences with two generations of Mazda RX7's will no doubt be of help to others here at the RX7 forum. I was fortunate enough to purchase my 1985 GSL-SE when I was stationed at Port Hueneme, in Ventura California, and she's been my constant companion for the past thirty-two years. Good luck in your search for your "specific" FD choice. Pictures are a "must" when you find her.

 

Nice introduction, and welcome to the forum. I hope you can find your dream car, the pickings are getting slimmer, but they're still out there if you're patient, or willing to pony up the new inflated costs that these now command.

Currently there's a very decent "drivers" example of a Montego blue car on Bringatrailer. You can definitely tell it needs some love, but it might be the right crack for someone with your experience and knowledge.

 

There may be a interesting prospect at auction on BAT for someone with your experience.

 

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...-7-us-can-107/

Market is a bit soft at the moment and this listing has some issues that will keep price down.

 

While that car would likely be a decent one for me, I am in a position where I need to get my wife into something newer and smaller than her old decrepit Dodge Durango before I buy another vehicle for my self. I am currently saving to get her a newer model Mazda 3 or 6 and then I can begin to rebuild my war chest to take on another third gen RX-7. I figure I should be ready in 2-3 years, hopefully there will still be some around that price when the time comes as it seems quite low compared to what I have been seeing on other sites.

 

Welcome welcome! Concord is so far but yet so close in the grand scheme of things as I grew up in Hayward/Fremont area. You got a few good options if you want to stay within the mazda family like a Mazda3 / Mazda6 or even a CX5 are good choices which are a little roomy and you got AWD options.

 

I never spent much time in Hayward or Fremont but I did spend a lot of time hanging out in Berkeley when I was in high school. I would ride BART out there from Concord and spend the day pretty regularly, there and the City.