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Hi everyone. My name is Tyler and I'm new to the forum and to RX-7 "ownership". Read on and you'll know what I mean.
I've always wanted to restore a car, and I've always wanted an RX-7. Those two dreams, however, were never intended to go hand in hand, yet here I am. Last year I got serious about picking up a project car since the used car market has gone berserk recently. I picked up a mostly complete 1987 turbo 2 and it's pretty much going to be a ground-up project:
I've been browsing the forum for almost a year now and the expertise of the community is impressive. I was fairly active on mye28 years ago when I owned an '86 535i and the one thing I miss the most from owning that car was the awesome support from the e28 community. Based on what I've seen here at rx7club, I think I'll be in great hands.
About me: I'm a California native of the San Francisco Bay Area currently residing in the East Bay. I work full time (plus a side gig bartending for the RX-7 fund) with a 2 year old son and lovingly patient wife. I have to give her credit here for allowing me to park the project in our driveway. I do not have a background in engineering or mechanics, but I work in tech support and consider myself a solid problem solver, critical thinker, cautiously meticulous worker, and avid tinkerer.
My plans for the car: as of right now, the intention of this project is to get it as close to stock as feasible. I'm sure there are some mods I should consider to modernize it's performance, but honestly I just want this to be a street legal cruising car. Being in California limits my ability to make extensive upgrades anyway, and I won't lie that growing up in the 90's fuels a nostalgic agenda for my appreciation for 80's cars, for all their successes and failures.
My biggest concern is the title and emissions. It has no title and is basically a junk car. I've been to the DMV to discuss the paperwork and procedure, and I've got most of the bureaucratic stuff sorted out. I just need to build the car and hopefully pass all necessary inspections to get it approved for road use. If anyone here has tips or suggestions, I would me very appreciative.
I know it might seem silly to undertake such a project only to bring the car to stock, but I love Mazda, it's heritage, and the unique place in history the RX-7 has. These cars deserve to be on the road, and if I can resurrect this one I would feel immensely proud. Thanks for reading, and if anyone in the East Bay has an FC and wants to pop by for a beer and to chat rotary, hit me up.
Additional un-glamour shots: Bumper fitment is off. Looks like she had a little bump causing the mounting brackets/flanges to bend inwards towards the passenger side light. Should be able to pull this back into place. Hood latches down but intentionally left popped due to laziness. Lights are also not bolted in. I've got the original passenger door, along with the driver side twin of this gray door. These doors have s5 moulding but I should be able swap out the ones from the original door. Passenger door fitment is off. This will be a fun nightmare. Lots of disconnected hoses, unplugged wires/connectors, some cut. I've got boxes full of parts (intercooler, air intake, etc.) I've got almost a complete interior ready to drop in here, so my plan is to yank this old stuff (keeping the dash and will either have it leather-covered professionally or maybe flocked to save money). Cosmetic upgrades and repairs are years away.
Thanks!
I plan to photo/video document everything so I'll put a build thread together eventually. The plan is to restore it to as close to stock as feasible. I'm still outlining components/systems that should be upgraded for practical, safety, and performance reasons, but I have to keep everything within California parameters since I want to be able to drive this on the street. The car seems to have sat outside for quite some time but there's no serious rust. I believe it was kept mostly inland in the northeast part of the Bay Area for the past 20 or so years. Rough outline of the plan:
pull interior - it's mostly shot but I have almost everything I need to replace it (this is phase one simply because my replacement interior is taking up storage space and I want to move it loosely into the car to make room for other parts)
pull engine to disassemble, inspect, rebuild/replace (probably won't port)
pull rest of drive train for rebuild
drop suspensions for rebuild
while this is all off, send the body in for repair and paint (i don't want to cheap out on this, but at the same time I don't have the hugest budget)
piece everything back together, replacing/refurbishing/rebuilding components as needed
probably going to keep the stock turbo (or equivalent) and TMIC config - i'm still reading up on power/tuning options with stock setups and researching exactly what my options are in terms of California restrictions on engine modification.
Welcome to the forum!! I will definitely look for a build thread on this car! I love that you're returning it to its original condition. I do all of my restorations to be as original as possible. My only concern with your car is the lack of a title. I would hate to spend the time and money on a car I cannot obtain a title for. Do you know any of the car's history?
I wish you all the best in your restoration and will definitely look forward to seeing updates on your progress!
My only concern with your car is the lack of a title. I would hate to spend the time and money on a car I cannot obtain a title for. Do you know any of the car's history?
thank you! I’m also worried about the title. I will save all body work until the end. If I’m unable to get a title issued, then I’ll try to find a rolling shell with a title to move all the mechanicals to it.When I saw this one for sale I felt compelled to save it from the crusher. Probably won’t start a build thread for a year or so. Thanks for the encouragement!
Realized I didn’t answer this question. I have some receipts that I found in the car and tucked into the Haynes manual that came with it. Looks like it lived in the Bay Area most of its life. Don’t know what lead it to it’s current state. My guess would be combo of blown engine and an body damage. There’s a baseball sized dent between the driver door and rear wheel well. That’s the piece that has my wallet sweating when it comes time for body work. The odo reads about 130k so it wouldn’t surprise me that the old owner got a shocking mechanic estimate and decided to scrap the car. I have a statement of facts from the gentleman I bought it from, which the DMV said was priority 1 in case im unable to get in touch with him again in the future. He’s not the owner who scrapped the car; he had also purchased it with the intention of rebuilding it. He ended up having a 930 turbo drop in his lap and needed the garage space. Some guys have all the luck!
The car is more than worthy of a restoration. Looks like it lead a hard life later in its life as many have. The benefit is that you have a huge community behind you and we can help you get the car back on the road.
Welcome! I am new to the forum as well. Looks like you have got quite the project ahead of you. I am working on getting myself in a similar predicament
The good news is that you will learn so much about this car through the process and when its running the joy you get from it will be monumental! Good luck with the build my friend
04-27-22, 06:42 PM
The Man with Half an FC - hello everyone!
