My "new" Car

I had one about 15 years ago and always wanted another one. I was looking to get another one and I started my search. I finally found one that I wanted but it was in Washington, the other side of the country for me. Luckily, it was only 15 minutes away from Cats Exotics. Big thank you to Roy and Kevin for brokering the deal for me and looking over the car before I bought it. They also set up transport for me. 1994 Mazda RX-7 with 74k miles on it. Needs some TLC but it is in great condition and has MANY new factory parts, it is also 100% stock.

 

Thats fantastic Tara.  Congrats, nothing like that feeling of your toy arriving home.     What plans do you have for it besides a little elbow grease and tlc?  you going to keep it stock? 

Absolute stunner! I love the FD's! Yeah, we need to know what is coming down the line for this one? I bet it's all good stuff! Bigger radiators are a must! 

I changed the tires and got an alignment last weekend. Going to get the front bumper repainted and a few small dings fixed with PDR. This weekend I'll be changing all of the fluids, spark plugs and wires, cooler thermostat. The guy I bought it from had the oil and spark plugs changed recently and I have records but I want to change the weight and brand and know it is done and I can continue on my own maintenance schedule. I'll be ordering a ceramic coated downpipe soon to get rid of the pre-cat that gets ridiculously hot and causes problems in the long run. I want to make it a "reliable " touring car in time. I don't plan on tracking it. My goal is to upgrade or replace parts that are in contact to what the upgrade is. For example, when I switch to coilovers, I want to upgrade the tie rods, ball joints, sway bars, sway bar links, etc. just so everything is sound. I know it will cost more but I think it would be beneficial in the long term. Whatever doesn't need to be replaced can be thoroughly cleaned and repainted if necessary. My brother recently bought a house that has a two car shop with a lift on the property so that will be very helpful. Sorry for the rambling. I'll post updates as I go along if that is something you guys would want to see

I would love updates to the "build" .  Congrats again. 

Congrats Tara and enjoy for many miles in the best of health!  Those are great cars - go-kart style!  

Your plans sound logical, and it makes perfect sense to replace/upgrade whatever is upstream/downstream from mods.  In the past we learned the hard way that a modification almost always has unintended consequences and it has made me far more particular in what gets done to make sure everything works together and is engineered properly. 

I’m a bit late to the party - hope you’ve got some progress reports coming soon. 

Thank you Cake!

Last weekend while changing the downpipe a stud snapped. This is actually a common problem but my brother was able to get it out in a few minutes. Also, in the process of removing some intake stuff to reach the top bolts of the downpipe a few rubber hoses that turned solid from all of the heat cracked and broke so I'm waiting for those to come in. We also didn't have time to finish so it will be finished this weekend. Thankfully the garage is air conditioned which is nice since it has been 90*+ here lately

 

Looking good! Are you planning wheels for it at all?

Looks like a great project car Tara I feel stupid, but for a split second when I saw the first photo, I thought you meant the TRUCK was what you had bought

6 hours ago, WheelsRCool said:

Looks like a great project car Tara I feel stupid, but for a split second when I saw the first photo, I thought you meant the TRUCK was what you had bought

 

That would be a heck of a project! 

Haha you guys are nuts! Yes, I'm planning on wheels in the future. They are just so damn expensive

On 7/28/2021 at 10:14 AM, Tara said:

Haha you guys are nuts! Yes, I'm planning on wheels in the future. They are just so damn expensive

TE37's? Yes please! 

On 7/28/2021 at 10:14 AM, Tara said:

Haha you guys are nuts! Yes, I'm planning on wheels in the future. They are just so damn expensive

How about start with a nice aftermarket steering wheel? 

You know, the only thing needed on a car, per me. 

On 7/30/2021 at 9:12 AM, Destructo said:

TE37's? Yes please! 

I like them but so many people have them. I have been likeing the gramlights 57dr lately. It will be a while before I get wheels though

Hows reliability on these? Ive always wanted an R1. 

20 hours ago, Allan-Herbie said:

Hows reliability on these? Ive always wanted an R1. 

From what I've seen, if you go over 400-500 horsepower you need some serious reinforcements on the cooling side of things. The rotaries require a lot of upkeep, but  aren't bad if maintained. 

The 50/50 weight distribution is a big plus, out handles a lot of higher priced vehicles. You should add on to the collection!