08-02-2004, 01:56 PM
So in my exploits all around the country for my job I met a guy from one of the other companies named Flavio. He is an Italian man working for an HR firm who had the common zeal for motoring that I have. Naturally we talked about cars and bikes and such and he spoke fondly of an 1989 Mazda RX-7 Turbo II that he had. Unfortunately he had stopped driving it because it had gotten side-swiped by a truck in DC.
We didn't talk about the car again until about 2 or 3 months ago when he gave me a call to see if I wanted the car. He was moving to Las Vegas and switching jobs and he wanted to get rid of the car. He didn't really have the time or inclination to fix up and sell the car but he figured maybe another enthusiast might enjoy it. Naturally anyone who knows me knows that I am a member of that lunatic performance fringe so he wanted to know if I wanted the car. He'd said he part with it for cheap if I could do something with it.
Now I had thought about a Turbo II as a daily driver/drifter for awhile but I wasn't really actively looking for one since I already have a truck and a racecar (that needs an engine rebuild among other things). But somehow the dual temptations of boost and drifting lured me in.
So I went to take a look at the car and of course it needed a jump (luckily I had my jump box) to get started. Once fired up the characteristic rotary plume of blue smoke poured out the back and the rest is history. Unfortunately I would've been history if the kind lady who was storing the car had not told me the car had no brakes. I didn't come close to crashing it really but it was enough to scare me into towing it to the local rotary shop.
I had Rotary Performance look over the car and they replaced the master cylinder for me. I could've done it myself but nowadays I like to just save time and hassle when I can. I picked up the car with my Dad last night and drove it back to my secret storage cove.
Sure it doesn't have a driver's side view mirror or window and apparently the ABS modulator is dead and I'll probably have to rebuild the turbo. But it has good compression and overall its not in terrible shape. After that first slide in the wet and the resultant grin I knew I made the right choice (even if its wrong).
It'll be awhile before its up to snuff because the racecar comes first but hopefully next year you'll see me sticking my giant shocka out the window while I slide and/or die. Its a purchase that doesn't make much sense but then again b00st rot is a disease of senselessness. Hopefully I can keep it under control and not end up with terminal rot like Dave or Boosticus Prime (Chris H.)...
We didn't talk about the car again until about 2 or 3 months ago when he gave me a call to see if I wanted the car. He was moving to Las Vegas and switching jobs and he wanted to get rid of the car. He didn't really have the time or inclination to fix up and sell the car but he figured maybe another enthusiast might enjoy it. Naturally anyone who knows me knows that I am a member of that lunatic performance fringe so he wanted to know if I wanted the car. He'd said he part with it for cheap if I could do something with it.
Now I had thought about a Turbo II as a daily driver/drifter for awhile but I wasn't really actively looking for one since I already have a truck and a racecar (that needs an engine rebuild among other things). But somehow the dual temptations of boost and drifting lured me in.
So I went to take a look at the car and of course it needed a jump (luckily I had my jump box) to get started. Once fired up the characteristic rotary plume of blue smoke poured out the back and the rest is history. Unfortunately I would've been history if the kind lady who was storing the car had not told me the car had no brakes. I didn't come close to crashing it really but it was enough to scare me into towing it to the local rotary shop.
I had Rotary Performance look over the car and they replaced the master cylinder for me. I could've done it myself but nowadays I like to just save time and hassle when I can. I picked up the car with my Dad last night and drove it back to my secret storage cove.
Sure it doesn't have a driver's side view mirror or window and apparently the ABS modulator is dead and I'll probably have to rebuild the turbo. But it has good compression and overall its not in terrible shape. After that first slide in the wet and the resultant grin I knew I made the right choice (even if its wrong).
It'll be awhile before its up to snuff because the racecar comes first but hopefully next year you'll see me sticking my giant shocka out the window while I slide and/or die. Its a purchase that doesn't make much sense but then again b00st rot is a disease of senselessness. Hopefully I can keep it under control and not end up with terminal rot like Dave or Boosticus Prime (Chris H.)...