Project FD RX-7

[ScottyB]

I'm probably going to make some changes here and there as time goes on, unfortunately one of them being the use of the Fikse wheels I purchased earlier.

i had a moment of impotent rage just now reading this

but then

AND YOU TOTALLY REDEEMED YOURSELF

[.RJ]

I'm just going to leave this here for you, Goodspeed.

https://jalopnik.com/new-formula-aero-me...1826176848

[Goodspeed]

I'm just going to leave this here for you, Goodspeed.

Is...is that a wheel in a wheel?

[JPolen01]

I saw those yesterday and fell in love.

[xvxax]

Go 18s, relying on a single manufacturer who happens to make one tire short enough is dumb, 265+ on a 25" height is good for 18s only fo show. Do it, smart move.

[Goodspeed]

Go 18s, relying on a single manufacturer who happens to make one tire short enough is dumb, 265+ on a 25" height is good for 18s only fo show. Do it, smart move.

Definitely the plan going forward - & decided to just get the Fikses I like in the end.  Spending any funds on any other set only to get replaced doesn't make much sense, so the car can roll around on stockers until then.

Time for a long-winded & slightly OT update on where things are at with the FD.  There's been a few developments that have slowed down progress on getting the car to the launch pad which I'll get to in a moment, but first I have to share this video:



A few of you have sent me pics of this car sighted around NoVa, Summit, etc.  Funnily enough I saw this car myself at Katie's a while back & it's just one of those small-world reminders that hits me now & then - this car is eerily close to how mine will eventually look & it's a stupid-clean car in person. Just a well-done video overall that I enjoyed.

Back to my own FD & the aforementioned slowdown - two things came up, one in particular that gave me pause.  There was an announcement of staff changes possibly occurring where I work that meant I had to put the project on the back-burner.  It was a fairly tense situation for many coworkers & I that caused a lot of stress & honestly had me exploring the idea of selling the car & all the parts I've collected for it for a bigger safety net/school fees, etc.  But, it seems that in the short term at least, that I'll remain gainfully employed (thank god) & able to continue on.  The thought of selling was honestly depressing & just made me kind of miserable, as I knew I'd regret it terribly & the last thing I want to do is have such a cloud hanging over me.  

Still, I'm focusing more mental energy on bolstering myself professionally which will take time, focus, and money away from the project.  The car is past the 6-month mark of having sat in storage in my parent's garage, and it doesn't look like that'll be changing any time soon (cue all the FD jokes!  Except...mine *does* run with healthy compression, it just leaks oil and gas when it does   ).  My goal still to do a one-and-done build with the car, I'm still in touch with the proposed builder, but it's definitely more of a long game now.

I have however gotten a handful more parts for the car, and still paying attention for anything else that'd help get the car across that eventual goal line.  Most special are two very hard to find discontinued parts these days, an ABS pump and a set of OEM fans - both from a southern, low mileage parts car.

My ABS pump functions fine, but is probably the sorest spot in the engine bay for corrosion & this one is much, much cleaner.  It'll replace the original unit, but I'll still experiment with cleaning both up (mine much more so than this one) if anyone has metal/rust cleaner recommendations.



The mint OEM fans.  These are nearly impossible to find in this shape, since everyone keeps them installed as they're very good and don't often get replaced by anything aftermarket.  Again, way nicer shape than my original ones.





Speaking of playing the long game....

(and yes, this does kind of fly in the face of my personal goals stated above, but what can I say, really...)

I know it's silly to think about the next car before the first one is even finished (to add to, not replace....and that is silly to do, right?), but the mind wanders I suppose.  Well, in my case, the mind wandered back to the MKIV Supra, that ethereal white whale that's followed me around for much longer than anything Mazda-badged.  While after having experienced both behind the wheel and preferring the driving experience of the FD, I still can't get over the look, sound, and 20+ year personal history of & with the Supra.  

It's but a twinkle in my eye, but the long, long game now includes the goal of parking, ideally, a turbo, auto 1998 Quicksilver Supra next to the FD one day, either a NA-TT swap or original TT, and yes, I said automatic - I'd be looking to get something that I can just pop the targa off and cruise in, the yin to the FD's yang.  I figure that by the time I'm able to get one, I'll be old enough to where banging gears and all that jazz will matter even less than it does now, and I've been seriously impressed with the progress the aftermarket has made with the factory Aisin A340/41E automatic transmissions the MKIV came with.  They're now holding 1100+whp, going 8's & knocking on high 7's in the 1/4 mile, all while driving like stock:



Less than 150 in this color came to the US for the final '98 model year, and it's one of the most striking colors I've ever seen in person.  The car literally glows - a sparkling silver in direct daylight, a golden hue in evening light.



This is of course just a dream at this point, but having this goal fermenting in the back of my mind put into sharp focus that if I ever hope to have a MKIV parked up next to my FD in a future dream garage, of the same caliber as the FD, the time was NOW to get a hold of what parts I could to similarly restore a Supra ~25 years on.  I had to be serious about a pipe dream, which I could debate amongst myself ad nauseam, but ultimately I decided to take the plunge on sourcing parts. This will likely be even more of a challenge than finding FD parts, but I've made some contacts and begun in earnest with the goal of mimicking the FD process - things like interior bits, lighting, rubber trim, and so on.



This endeavor will of course eat in to the car budget that was once solely focused on the FD, which itself is as I explained on the backburner so I can focus on other, more important things.  How cool it'd be to just drop the bomb that I managed to round out my dream pair of cars, but I figured sharing this will help answer the questions I've been getting about the status of the FD.  I hope this makes sense in some twisted, alternate-universe type of logic.

...as if to taunt me, a perfect '98 QS TT Auto just appeared on eBay yesterday.  One day...

[ScottyB]

you are utterly mad. and i respect that.

[WRXtranceformed]

The definition of crazy is buying spare parts for a car you might get at some point in the future.

If crazy is wrong, I don't want you to be right Goodspeed

[Goodspeed]

you are utterly mad.  and i respect that.

This is basically me right now when I see clean FD (& now Supra) parts - is it hoarding if I admit I'm hoarding?

The definition of crazy is buying spare parts for a car you might get at some point in the future.

If crazy is wrong, I don't want you to be right Goodspeed

Amen to that.  The Quicksilver part is probably the biggest "might", I could definitely see myself finaaaaally getting a MKIV of some form or another in the future, and by long game, I mean like...in the next 10 or more years. Health, career, living life etc. are all more important but it's nice to have a vision & something to achieve. I hardly drink, don't smoke, don't do drugs, don't gamble, don't buy 99% of the fancy stuff, clothes etc. I could - so I'll afford myself this dream at least. Oddly enough, the parts can almost maybe be seen as an investment.  Discontinued Supra floor mats new in the bag are now a thousand bucks with people lining up to buy them.  I'm not making that up.

[D_Eclipse9916]

you are utterly mad.  and i respect that.

YASSSSSS I love this, proof someone is more nuts than me for the money we spend on cars.

[JPolen01]

Goodspeed you are mad and I love it. I'm with you on the Supra parts as an investment yet. Worse thing that happens is you stock up parts and flip them for a premium in a years. I know you're already doing this but keep a spreadsheet of costs so you don't forget what you have in each part of it does come time to sell.

[.RJ]

My ABS pump functions fine, but is probably the sorest spot in the engine bay for corrosion & this one is much, much cleaner. It'll replace the original unit, but I'll still experiment with cleaning both up (mine much more so than this one) if anyone has metal/rust cleaner recommendations.

Vapor blasting.

[rherold9]

[ScottyB]

Worse thing that happens is you stock up parts and flip them for a premium in a years.

this is a good point.

some people collect wine or paintings instead of investing.  others collect rare OEM supra parts.  can't go wrong.

[WRXtranceformed]

I can't fault you at all for buying rare, sought after parts even if you don't know if / when you'll use them. If you end up needing them, you scooped them up when they were obtainable and if you don't for some reason, they're nearly guaranteed to go up in value and you can make a few bucks. This only works if you know and follow the market, which I know you clearly do on this stuff.

I've been doing the same thing with vintage watches. I've spent *good* money on a few super desirable pieces lately that I hadn't planned on buying soon but wanted to snatch them up before they become unobtainium. Even with $500-$650+ in service into them if they need it, playing the long game you know they will worth many thousands in a few more years.

---

Worse thing that happens is you stock up parts and flip them for a premium in a years.

this is a good point.

some people collect wine or paintings instead of investing.  others collect rare OEM supra parts.  can't go wrong.

Exactly.  If you ever watch American Pickers, there are a lot of old timers that just bought up old motorcycle, bicycle, and car parts as their "401k" plan.  If you know what you've bought over the years, it can be as good as money in the bank (and it's tax free when they're selling it   )

If you really want to justify it, you could see it as a form of financial diversification while being able to enjoy a hobby at the same time. At least that's what I tell myself when I'm putting $1200 at a time into old Seikos

[navin]

My ABS pump functions fine, but is probably the sorest spot in the engine bay for corrosion & this one is much, much cleaner.  It'll replace the original unit, but I'll still experiment with cleaning both up (mine much more so than this one) if anyone has metal/rust cleaner recommendations.

Vapor blasting.

^this.. since no one around here does media tumbling (gives more of that natural aluminum look).. 

There is a guy in Winchester area that can do vapor blasting, he does mainly bike stuff but I've been meaning to take him some stuff to see what the finish will end up looking like.

His name on IG is motorelic if you want to contact him .

[Goodspeed]

you are utterly mad.  and i respect that.

YASSSSSS I love this, proof someone is more nuts than me for the money we spend on cars.

Goodspeed you are mad and I love it. I'm with you on the Supra parts as an investment yet. Worse thing that happens is you stock up parts and flip them for a premium in a years. I know you're already doing this but keep a spreadsheet of costs so you don't forget what you have in each part of it does come time to sell.

Oh yeah, I've been really on top of tracking everything in a spreadsheet.  Dontopenme.xlsx.

lol...your gif skills are getting better by the post my man 

Worse thing that happens is you stock up parts and flip them for a premium in a years.

this is a good point.

some people collect wine or paintings instead of investing.  others collect rare OEM supra parts.  can't go wrong.

Exactly.  If you ever watch American Pickers, there are a lot of old timers that just bought up old motorcycle, bicycle, and car parts as their "401k" plan.  If you know what you've bought over the years, it can be as good as money in the bank (and it's tax free when they're selling it   )

If you really want to justify it, you could see it as a form of financial diversification while being able to enjoy a hobby at the same time. At least that's what I tell myself when I'm putting $1200 at a time into old Seikos 

Truth, hopefully I'll be able to put them to good use but its nice to know that they won't be losing value over time.  However, I'd totally not care if I "lost" value on them due to parts being restarted by Toyota or reproduced by someone else.  There's a company in Holland called Suprasport that is slowly expanding their offering of repro'd parts like dash panels which I think is amazing.  I'd much rather see all the communities out there (FD, Supra, Z, etc) have parts than see hoarders make out like bandits

My ABS pump functions fine, but is probably the sorest spot in the engine bay for corrosion & this one is much, much cleaner.  It'll replace the original unit, but I'll still experiment with cleaning both up (mine much more so than this one) if anyone has metal/rust cleaner recommendations.

Vapor blasting.

^this.. since no one around here does media tumbling (gives more of that natural aluminum look).. 

There is a guy in Winchester area that can do vapor blasting, he does mainly bike stuff but I've been meaning to take him some stuff to see what the finish will end up looking like.

His name on IG is motorelic if you want to contact him .

Good stuff, I took a look at his IG.  I wonder how much something has to be taken apart for that process?  If they can just spray a bit of the exterior housing since that's all it needs w/o being totally disassembled.  I'll give him a shout

[ScottyB]

Vapor blasting.

bro wait i thought this was some cool new thing in the subaru community

[Senor_Taylor]

$84,000 for that Supra? Oh my goodness. Dream big, Goodspeed. Never change.

[Goodspeed]

$84,000 for that Supra? Oh my goodness. Dream big, Goodspeed. Never change.

That one, or one like it, is definitely the peak of ambitiousness for sure.  I was definitely swept up in desire when I posted that 

Seriously though, there are few cars out there that draw the moneyless "dreamers" like moths to a flame quite like the MKIV.  I was definitely one of them for many years growing up.  Hell, I still am, after the usual bills, savings & what I devote to the FD.  But in the longterm, realistically speaking, I might could swing something like a TT auto in need of some work, or a clean non-turbo auto.  It's a fairly straightforward swap that I could collect parts for over time - building a built-auto, ~700whp singled Supra is about as complicated to do these days as baking a cake.  It starts to get moot $ wise depending on what cars are on the market that are already built, so it just depends on what's out there at the right time.  

As you can tell, I've by this point in life gotten pin-point Inception-detailed about said dream, it just depends on where life takes me & what priorities & sacrifices I have and am willing to make for a car.  As our hero Brian O'Conner once said, "visualize and win".  We'll see what the future holds!