Now I've done it... prepare for a long story...
Ever since I've been able to drive I've wanted an RX-7, this is mainly due to my friend having an FC and driving us around in it when we were in high school. The first time I saw an FD was back in 2007, I immediately fell in love with the car and knew one day I'd get one. In Japan, the first day I was there, the first picture I took was of an FD, it's always been my dream car. For a while I was totally happy with my FC's, but after finishing up my degree and buying a house, I realized I was in a position where I could afford an FD. I've always looked at the FD market, just researching their prices and what a good deal is. After Woodward dream cruise, I kicked my search into high gear, this is especially true due to fact that ITSWILL would be willing to help me out in finding one and bringing it back home.
After a few weeks of searching, calling people and inquiring about their cars, I finally found one. This one was in Nashville, Tennessee, it was red, but more importantly, an R1 and rust free, with new paint. ITSWILL and I agreed on a date to drive down there and pick it up, and the seller agreed on the date and price. I was looking for something that I could drive, but wasn't already highly modified, this was definitely it as compared to others I had inquired on. I had prepared the garage for a new addition.
We headed down to Nashville early in the morning and got to the seller's house early afternoon. The sellers were a married couple that were crazy about rotary cars, in fact they had 3 FDs, 1 turbo SA, 1 RX-8, and 1 REPU. When I got there I was amazed at how damn good the car looked in person, it was then that it hit me that I was actually about to purchase my dream car. We took the car for a test drive, and the seller even let ITSWILL drive the REPU following behind us, and encouraged him to rev it like hell, needless to say the sellers were really cool, oh and I got to drive the REPU as well while ITSWILL drove the FD back to the seller's house. (The REPU experience was really cool on its own!)
As we loaded the car on the trailer, you could tell the sellers were really emotional, they even recorded it on video check out their YouTube page! You are not allowed to view links.
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The drive home consisted of us staying the night at ITSWILL's brother's house (it was coincidentally his birthday too) and having a mean BBQ and much needed sleep. I had chick-Fil-A for the first time, and had breakfast at Taco Express, we also stopped at the Corvette museum, all in all it was a good trip. Also, the car got so much attention from people giving thumbs up, to asking to have their picture taken next to it.
We got home and had it in the garage just before midnight, the whole trip took 42 hours. Big thanks to ITSWILL for driving! It was a great time actually.
Once i finally had time, I installed the undertray that was off at the time of purchase, this was really easy and I didn't even need to lift the car. The clutch engaged really high on the pedal, this was adjusted and is much better now. The throttle cable had a good inch or two of slack, this was adjusted to just a few milimeters of slack. The rear strut bar was added and I decided to take the car for a spin.
First thing I noticed is the idle is a bit inconsistent at times, reminds me of a poor TPS adjustment on the FC's, which is very well possible on the FD as well. It doesn't want to stall, it just gets a bit lumpy at times. There's no low end, this is due to the fact the turbos are ran parallel instead of sequentially, this is typically done for reliability and better fuel economy on the low-end. At WOT, the thing hauls ass actually, it may not be as fast as ITSWILL's cars (ahh hhem) but it's damn quick for me. Boost response is nice, the car rides very smoothly, and there are no clunks in the suspension. There are a few shakes and noises from the interior, which I've actually managed to correct a few of them. I drove for about 40 minutes, checking for any issues, in that time I had a few thumbs ups, one guy asked if the car was made in 2010, and another thought it was the new Supra.
What now? Well I want to drive it more, learn how it handles and from there do light modifications. I need to replace a tie rod boot, and fix the 5th gear grind (involves removing transmission and replacing a synchro.) Then, wheels and tires, cold air box, better air shrouding, inter-cooler, suspension, get a PFC, and maybe turbo upgrade or single turbo route. There are a few good modifications done already, such as upgraded Koyo radiator, downpipe, high-flow cat, boost gauge, deleted AST (air separation tank) boost controller, new suspension parts and bushings.
Expect a lot more pictures to come over the next year.
