Page 01: Introduction
Page 02: White RX7
Page 03: Green RX7
Page 04: Engine
Page 05: Let the fun begin!
Page 06: Engine bay work
Page 07: The V8 drop-in
Page 08: IT'S ALIVE!!!
Page 09: Clutch & Radiator
Page 10: Driveshaft & Exhaust
Page 11: RX Unleashed
Page 12: Dyno and Weigh-in
Page 13: Alternator, Fans, Gauges
Page 14: SUSPENSION!
Page 15: Seven Not Stock, 2006
Page 16: Paint & Quarter Mile
Page 17: Saying Goodbye
Page 18: Conclusion.

My first year of school finally got out in late May 2004. Once home in Lynden Washington, the project began with a convincing talk with my parents as to why I should be able to set aside $1000 each year for 3 years to build my dream car. After a great debate with some excellent points on my behalf, they finally agreed... my search for the right RX7 was kicked off. Right off the bat, I spotted an ad locally for the car pictured above after a month of searching around, the owner was asking $500.

This particular car is a 1986 Mazda RX-7 GXL. The stock engine is a 1.3L N/A rotary engine which puts out around 146 HP. If you've never seen how a rotary works, it would be worth your time to take a look HERE. I called the owner, and he told me that the reason the car was selling for so cheap was because the car would not start. I thought I knew enough about rotaries to assume that the apex or coolant seals were probably toast and the rotors seized. However, this was no problem for me because my intentions were to swap it out for a V8 soon. The owner lived 1 hour south of my home, so I made the trip after work one day to check it out.

When I pulled up to the owner�s driveway, I immediately learned that the owner was an absolute rotary enthusiast. In his driveway I spotted 2 nice RX-7's, in his garage were 10 fully restored rotary pickups, there was about a dozen engines laying around, and a million housings and rotors neatly organized on shelving. I told him right away that I knew that I was in trouble considering even HE felt this car wasn't worth fixing ;). But he soon convinced me that he only worked with carbureted models, and that he just couldn't get the car running. He even went as far as to say that it would run on starter fluid... but he just couldn't the fuel injection figured out.

Deep down I knew he was probably lying to me, but I really didn't care about the condition of the engine anyway, and the car was extremely clean. The owner even threw in an older rotor and housing to put in my dorm room come fall, it's good conversation starter (with the right company :)). Anyway, I gave him the $500 and strapped the RX on my grampa's Kar Kaddy with expired tabs and bad lights, and dragged it home behind friend Chris Struiksma's F-150. No tickets, Thank the LORD!

The next day I popped the hood, and just for kicks tried some simple trouble shooting. It ran on starter fluid just as the previous owner advised, so I figured I'd just spend just one day and see if I could figure out where the fuel was getting hung up. To make a long story short, after an hour or so of following the fuel lines from the tank, and checking the essentials such as fuel pump, lines, and filter, I noticed a simple fuel line mix-up. It was a shot in the dark, but definitely worth the 2 minutes to switch them up. I cranked the engine, and it started right up! It smoked like none other for about 20 minutes of driving, it was the 4th of july evening so everyone was on the sidewalk pointing and laughing at my smoke show (almost embarrassing... but I was so pumped). However, at one point the smoke just stopped pouring out. I spent the next week or 2 working some of it's quirks out and then I was able to re-title it under my name after a lot of hassle from the DOL. Because it was now a nice running car, I decided that it would be most benefitial to me to sell it and put the profit towards the project. So after about 2 weeks of trying to sell, I finally sold it to a guy who shelled out $1800 for it... to me a profit of around $1100. As a note I still see it around town, still running strong! That $1100 went into my budget account increasing my budget to approximately $4000 (you will find later that this was a GOOD thing :))!

NEXT PAGE: CAR #2