New owner, black \'96 Type RS (ex-philwhite)

[samoht]

I\'m Tom (hence the username).  I\'ve been into cars since before I could walk; for my second birthday, I specified that my mum make me a birthday cake in the shape of a Rover SD1.  (At the age of two I had not yet discovered the Daytona that the SD1 took inspiration from).

I clearly remember reading in Autocar about the new RX-7 - how Mazda sent the engineers go-karting before letting them start developing the car, the drilled pedals to save weight, and trying to get my twelve-year-old head around how a sequential twin turbo system could work.  I concluded that Japan was leaving the rest of the world behind in performance car engineering.

While studying engineering at uni, I became interested in discovering more about the culture that could produce such world-leading technology, and after graduating I spent a year living in Japan, teaching English to high-school students through the JET programme.

I was placed in a mountainous, rural area in central Japan.  Random luck gifted me a touge with almost 1,000m of ascent, five minutes from my doorstep - imagine spending a year living at the foot of Fujimi Kaido from Forza, but with less traffic  Arriving straight out of uni, I couldn\'t afford a rotary, but found a beautiful Silvia S13, which taught me about rear wheel drive in a forgiving manner.



Coming back to the UK I tried to get into the car industry, but with MG Rover in it\'s death throes, no-one was hiring.  I fell back on my second love, computer programming, which has a much more favourable supply:demand ratio, affording me a reasonable living.

Having loved my S13, I got another one, this time a turbo.  However, despite having many virtues I never quite clicked with my 180, although it was quite fun on track (until the front brakes got so hot they seized up).



At the same time, with a decreasing annual mileage my mind returned to thoughts of the FD RX-7.  Research convinced me that it was possible to find a car with a good chance of many years ahead of it, especially if I\'m only expecting to drive 5,000 miles a year or so.  Brian Long\'s book convinced me that the FD was something really special that I should try and get into.

I love the FD\'s shape and the clever sequential turbos.  Having expensively upgraded the brakes and suspension on my 180, I was attracted to the capable OEM brakes and suspension of the Type RS of later models, too.  So I was looking for a near-stock Type RS, 96-onwards for the reworked rat\'s nest that brings.

I narrowly missed out on a lovely blue \'99 car at Speedline last month, but on Thursday I went up to Daventry and bought Philwhite\'s old car from Jamie, who had only had it a couple of weeks before deciding he would rather keep his RX-8 with its heated seats for his daily commute.


(I tried to get some of my own pics today but failed - will try again tomorrow!)

So far, everyone I\'ve met through buying a rotary has been really friendly.  Jamie was totally open, honest and straightforward with me, making my first experience of taking four and half grand out of the bank in cash and giving it to someone I\'d just met an entirely positive one.  Phil offered to post me a couple of things he still had for the car, and to answer any questions I have.  Jason at Super 7 replied to my email immediately, full of information and enthusiasm.  

I\'m starting to think that the old Honda slogan should be re-worded - "You meet the nicest people, driving a rotary".

Driving home, a guy hung out of the side window of a white van, smiling broadly and waving vigorously - I can\'t remember this happening in five years with the 180.  When I mentioned to my colleague that I\'d bought an RX-7, he immediately launched into happy reminiscence of his old FB that he had back in Minnesota.  I\'d seriously considered getting a 996 as an alternative; but I see 911\'s every day in London.  When I see an RX-7, it *makes* my day.  That\'s the difference.


As for the FD itself, wow.  The steering is so immediate, just changing lanes on the motorway it immediately feels in a different league to anything I\'ve had before.  It makes driving at 100mph seem totally natural.  It\'s not just the endless stream of power, punctuated only by the 7k beeper; it\'s the way the car responds instantly to the steering, the stability and the immediately reassuring brakes that make speed seem totally natural.  The Mazda slogan \'jin ba, ittai\' (horse and rider as one) is totally apt for this thoroughbred.

First plans are to take the car to Super 7 for a six-monthly service, ask them to sort the boost gauge out.  I probably want to change the seats - while I love the suede, the side bolsters are just uncomfortably narrow for my hips.  And I want either a spacer behind the steering wheel, or a new dished wheel, to get it off my knees when I come off the clutch.

I intend to get on a trackday at some point, so I\'m interested in what cooling/reliability mods would be appropriate for that.  The furthest I would modify this would be a remap to get the most out of the standard sequential turbos, I think.  I\'m definitely NOT going down the coilovers + bodykit route, since this would ruin the things that made me fall in love with the FD originally.


Thanks everyone for all the help so far, this seems like a great community.  I\'m keen to get to some meets, so I hope to meet some more of you in person.

[marf]

Looks like you\'ve got a good\'un, and I\'m still a bit peeved you beat me to her :Giggle

Sounds like you have the same plans for it as I did, cooling mods, remap and track fun. Enjoy!

[jamie c rs]

Nice post tom.! Top bloke see you soon

[jimbo_GR]

Cracking intro chap looks like youre the right man for this FD

[mpk490p]

Welcome along! I was very close to buying this car from Phil didn\'t get to see it but I know it\'s a good one that has been looked after!

[Brett]

I can vouch that Tom is indeed a very nice chap!

But, frankly there\'s nothing of you - so how the hell are you having trouble fitting into the seats?!? :Giggle

[samoht]

Yeah, quite a number of people were interested in this car, I think Jamie received an offer by text a few minutes after we\'d finished counting the cash over.


It\'s funny, I\'m on the skinny side, however my hips actually stick out quite a bit.  

The standard seats feel like I\'m wedged between the two side squabs of the cushion, and not really supported by the base of the seat in the centre, which isn\'t so comfortable.  Which is a pity, since they\'re pretty nice suede seats, and I want side support - just not so narrow!