Hello all,
So I have been a member on here for quite a while now and have popped up with posts and parts for sale but haven’t really posted anything about my RX7 yet. Now I have stripped it fully down and have actually started to make some progress on it, I thought I would start a progress thread to document the progression and so you can all see what I am doing/hoping to do with the project.
So, early 2017 I decided I was going to bite the bullet and stop just talking about getting a RX7 and actually pull my finger out and get one. As we are all aware prices have been on the rise for good examples with decent engines, but to be honest, I wanted a project that I could eventually make my own and have exactly how I want it. This led me onto looking at rolling shells that did not have an engine, one to keep the cost down a little bit and also the fact that I was still toying with the idea of a 20b project.
After a few months of searching and not managing to make a deal on a couple of shells, I managed to find a shell, in yellow, up near Manchester. I went to view it and had a good chat with the owner and decided that this was the shell I wanted and I was going to go for it. A few months later, around August time 2017 and it was time to collect my shell and take it back home so I could start to make it my own.
Very soon after I got it home and parked up I began to strip parts off of it and advertise them for sale as I knew I was going to change the whole look of the car.
During the time I was stripping it down and selling parts I began to know the direction I wanted to go with the project, and this was a stripped out track car that was still road legal. I had a good idea of what I thought I wanted the exterior to look like and began researching for ideas on the interior.
The first couple of parts got bought which were a RE-Amemiya AD9 bonnet, aero catch bonnet catches and a MazdaSpeed GT-Concept front bumper.
Not too long after that a set of Hi-Spec Monster 6 pot brakes came up for sale on here for a good price, so I managed to get them sorted and swapped them for my standard fronts plus cash. I also managed to swap my UK spec bumper for a Jap spec one as I really wasn’t a fan of the UK spec one.
At this point, I pretty much decided the next move was going to be to remove all the suspension arms and subframes and get them powder coated, replacing all the bushes for uprated ones at the same time. However, I then stumbled across a guy called Paul Mattin, who coincidentally lives very close to where the car is located in Derbyshire. After chatting for a while and visiting him at his unit, I decided that the suspension arms and subframes were not that high of a priority at this stage and decided to book the project in with him at Mattin Motorsports to get a full weld in cage, spare wheel well cut out and replaced with a flat floor and quite a few other bits too.
During the time I was waiting for Paul to have the space to get my car in, I managed to source a genuine set of R Magic headlights complete with lenses and got them as I collected parts together for the car. I also managed to find a buy a set of fibreglass doors which luckily were being stored with Paul anyway, so I bought them ready to fit whilst it is in with him for the cage.
Then, whilst browsing through instagram and looking at other projects etc I came across a kit I hadn’t seen before and instantly knew I had to have it! So this now meant that the MazdaSpeed GT-C bumper I had was now going to be surplus to requirements. I managed to sell the bumper and that funded the chassis mount spoiler that I wanted to go with the new kit.
I trailered the shell over to Paul around September time, and since then I have bought a flocking machine so when the dash has been cut to accommodate the cage I can get it flocked. I also have a LRB demister vent, passenger vent delete, centre vent dual gauge pod and blank carbon fibre HVAC and gauge panels that will get cut to hold whichever dash and switches I decide on.
My most recent purchase has been the acquisition of 2 carbon/grp tillett B6-40 bucket seats with the optional seat pads that should go with the theme of the carbon parts on the interior and also the exterior carbon parts too. At some point I will be removing the seat pads and replacing them with custom ones to make them stand out a little more, but not 100% sure on what style to go for yet.
Next to buy is a new NRG wheel hub, NRG quick release, Nardi classic suede steering wheel and decide and what harnesses to have, which will near enough finish the interior, until I have to start buying the electronic parts that will be mounted in there.
Still tonnes and tonnes of work to do because I took the strip down to the extreme. Next will hopefully be buying the body kit (waiting on the £ getting stronger as BREXIT is ruining it at the minute and is making an expensive kit even more expensive), sorting wing mirrors (craft square mounted on the exterior triangle) etc for the exterior too and then I can focus on the suspension, subframes and the brakes. Probably missed quite a bit as there is around a year of “progress” even though most of it appears to be going backwards, but slowly but surely it is getting turned around and should be amazing when the kit comes and gets fitted.
Look forward to hearing your opinions and getting help/advise along the way
Briggsy
So I have been a member on here for quite a while now and have popped up with posts and parts for sale but haven’t really posted anything about my RX7 yet. Now I have stripped it fully down and have actually started to make some progress on it, I thought I would start a progress thread to document the progression and so you can all see what I am doing/hoping to do with the project.
So, early 2017 I decided I was going to bite the bullet and stop just talking about getting a RX7 and actually pull my finger out and get one. As we are all aware prices have been on the rise for good examples with decent engines, but to be honest, I wanted a project that I could eventually make my own and have exactly how I want it. This led me onto looking at rolling shells that did not have an engine, one to keep the cost down a little bit and also the fact that I was still toying with the idea of a 20b project.
After a few months of searching and not managing to make a deal on a couple of shells, I managed to find a shell, in yellow, up near Manchester. I went to view it and had a good chat with the owner and decided that this was the shell I wanted and I was going to go for it. A few months later, around August time 2017 and it was time to collect my shell and take it back home so I could start to make it my own.
Very soon after I got it home and parked up I began to strip parts off of it and advertise them for sale as I knew I was going to change the whole look of the car.
During the time I was stripping it down and selling parts I began to know the direction I wanted to go with the project, and this was a stripped out track car that was still road legal. I had a good idea of what I thought I wanted the exterior to look like and began researching for ideas on the interior.
The first couple of parts got bought which were a RE-Amemiya AD9 bonnet, aero catch bonnet catches and a MazdaSpeed GT-Concept front bumper.
Not too long after that a set of Hi-Spec Monster 6 pot brakes came up for sale on here for a good price, so I managed to get them sorted and swapped them for my standard fronts plus cash. I also managed to swap my UK spec bumper for a Jap spec one as I really wasn’t a fan of the UK spec one.
At this point, I pretty much decided the next move was going to be to remove all the suspension arms and subframes and get them powder coated, replacing all the bushes for uprated ones at the same time. However, I then stumbled across a guy called Paul Mattin, who coincidentally lives very close to where the car is located in Derbyshire. After chatting for a while and visiting him at his unit, I decided that the suspension arms and subframes were not that high of a priority at this stage and decided to book the project in with him at Mattin Motorsports to get a full weld in cage, spare wheel well cut out and replaced with a flat floor and quite a few other bits too.
During the time I was waiting for Paul to have the space to get my car in, I managed to source a genuine set of R Magic headlights complete with lenses and got them as I collected parts together for the car. I also managed to find a buy a set of fibreglass doors which luckily were being stored with Paul anyway, so I bought them ready to fit whilst it is in with him for the cage.
Then, whilst browsing through instagram and looking at other projects etc I came across a kit I hadn’t seen before and instantly knew I had to have it! So this now meant that the MazdaSpeed GT-C bumper I had was now going to be surplus to requirements. I managed to sell the bumper and that funded the chassis mount spoiler that I wanted to go with the new kit.
I trailered the shell over to Paul around September time, and since then I have bought a flocking machine so when the dash has been cut to accommodate the cage I can get it flocked. I also have a LRB demister vent, passenger vent delete, centre vent dual gauge pod and blank carbon fibre HVAC and gauge panels that will get cut to hold whichever dash and switches I decide on.
My most recent purchase has been the acquisition of 2 carbon/grp tillett B6-40 bucket seats with the optional seat pads that should go with the theme of the carbon parts on the interior and also the exterior carbon parts too. At some point I will be removing the seat pads and replacing them with custom ones to make them stand out a little more, but not 100% sure on what style to go for yet.
Next to buy is a new NRG wheel hub, NRG quick release, Nardi classic suede steering wheel and decide and what harnesses to have, which will near enough finish the interior, until I have to start buying the electronic parts that will be mounted in there.
Still tonnes and tonnes of work to do because I took the strip down to the extreme. Next will hopefully be buying the body kit (waiting on the £ getting stronger as BREXIT is ruining it at the minute and is making an expensive kit even more expensive), sorting wing mirrors (craft square mounted on the exterior triangle) etc for the exterior too and then I can focus on the suspension, subframes and the brakes. Probably missed quite a bit as there is around a year of “progress” even though most of it appears to be going backwards, but slowly but surely it is getting turned around and should be amazing when the kit comes and gets fitted.
Look forward to hearing your opinions and getting help/advise along the way
Briggsy
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recon you could do a long journey in them?
