Project FD RX-7

[Goodspeed]

Dusting this off with one more update for 2018 - my attention has been mostly elsewhere & the whole effort has been on a trickle charger for a while, but things are looking brighter for moves to be made next year.  Somebody quote that for posterity ; )

Some more parts are in my possession or on the way as I type this, in order from my last update:

A rear-hatch extinguisher mount from boutique RX-7 & S2K shop, Sakebomb Garage (where I got the dual oil cooler kit from as well).  Super nice piece and will secure the 2.5lb Halon extinguisher that I have:





Also from Sakebomb, a reproduction aluminum (instead of plastic) passenger grip handle and brake master cylinder brace.  You can basically rip the factory piece right out of the door panel if you're not careful, so this piece is a lifeline for the FD community to stop this from happening:



The firewall has been shown to flex in the FD around the brake master cylinder, so their brace is a worthwhile upgrade that gets rave reviews for improving pedal feel.  Installs quickly using factory mount holes and doesn't interfere with the factory R1 cross tower brace, right on:



From Himni Racing, a collection of stainless hardware for the engine bay.  This'll take care of a bunch of crusty original bolts & such in that area, and anything else will get refinished or replaced:



From Mazda, another order of OEM parts:

• New rearview mirror
  
• All new battery mounting parts - tray, bolts & hardware, cover
  
• New cigarette lighter (remember when Joe Camel & the Marlboro Man took up full-page ads in 90's car mags?)
  
• New power steering pump fluid tank & cap, and pump rebuild kit
  
• New driver-side interior A-pillar trim
  

The last piece will be for a little side project I'll be investigating to mount the Speedhut boost gauge as cleanly as possible.  The original piece has been drilled-into for a dual-gauge setup, so if what I have in mind doesn't pan out, this new piece will present a reduction to a single A-pillar gauge more cleanly with no exposed holes.  But, what I'm hoping to do is incorporate the boost gauge, in the Autometer single pod that I have, near-seamlessly into the pillar trim, via some leather/vinyl upholstery work, in a fashion that I've seen done on a lot of Euro builds (fabric here but you get the idea - maybe some alcantara?):



Currently, the factory trim (vinyl) & the Autometer pod (plastic) have totally different grain patterns so it'd be nice to make both match.

Lastly, another feather in this car's cap that's currently on the way - a pretty unobtanium find from the leftover parts bin of the Grand Mighty RX-7 build - a complete 1994 AC system that was removed at 25k miles on the odometer during that car's build.  There were parts changes to the system between the '93 and '94-on model years in the US, and you can't find almost all of this rarer '94+ stuff new and it's scarcely found used, especially in this condition.  My original condenser is pretty beat from driving around without an underbelly tray for who know's how long (I have a new one), so worth it for that alone.

With the way FD prices are going, I doubt we'll see many low mileage cars getting swapped and/or having their systems parted out so I'm thankful I found this when I did.  I need to link up with that vapor blasting shop that RJ is using on his bike build to touch up anything from this system (and other parts) that could use it, and maybe get in touch with one of those classic resto shops that restore vintage air systems to make sure everything is 100%:





Stay frosty my dudes.