My name is Kipp and I live in Richardson, Texas (DFW area).
I bought my 1980 RX7 Anniversary Edition in 1981.

My father did not own a screw driver, so later in life I learned how to work on cars - just so happened it was my RX7. With the help of a friend, I replaced the 12a engine and caught the bug. I started collecting parts in the 90's when you could find a 1st gen in the yards. I started collecting TII parts, so I could upgrade the engine with a 13B turbo. I wanted a "fast" daily driver so I went with a straight conversion - no engine mods. Ended up that I put a NEW 13B crate engine from Rotary Performance (Garland, TX) and used the parts from 88 TII parts car(s). The engine was manufactured by Mazda - left over from a special order. I have give credit to Mark, Matt, and Chris from Rotary Performance for their assistance - good people.
It took awhile but finished the upgrade and my 1980 TII and it runs great. I did have to put a new Monza muffler on it - lost some HP but it was so load. Have not gotten to the interior or paint.

My 1980 TII