13b – Build Threads

FC RX7 – quick build

I’m so far behind in my posts (story of my life, yadda yadda yadda), so here’s a quick build at only four pages long that was submitted by it’s owner, Colin. This is a nice and simple build, which goes through the process of anÂ interior strip, engine bay clean up, engine rebuild, wheels/tyres, paint job, and finishes up with a well-used track day car that looks just as good sitting still as it does attacking the corners. The best part is you don’t have to sift through 100+ pages of chatter to see it take shape from beginning to end. I might be a little bit biased, as I love FC RX7s, but I feel this is an accurate representation of what regular car folk like you and I like to tinker with in our garages.

Need more rotaries in your life? Click here for more rotary-powered builds.

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20B-powered Time Attack NC MX5

Time Attack season is almost upon us, with World Time Attack Challenge just around the corner (click here for my photos from 2010), I thought it would be a great time to share this long-term build from Australia. The brainchild of a Mazda aficionado and die-hard collector, this NC MX5 welcomes the addition of firstly a supercharged Renesis 13B, and then a 20B 3-rotor with individual throttle bodies and a whole host of goodies. Apart from all the CAD screenshots, machined metal goodness, fabrication, welding and general race-car building, you’ll also find a bonus R35 GTR build and a visit to Mazda HQ in Hiroshima within the thread.

Thanks to David from MX5CarTalk & Pixel Culture for submitting. Click here for more rotary-powered builds.

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Forum spotlight: JDMST (pt3)

Back again with another JDM Style Tuning forum spotlight for your viewing pleasure. This time we’ve got an NC MX5, an AW11 MR2, an FC RX7, and a 4-door R32 Skyline. So here’s 4 more of my favourite builds, coming right up…

For previous spotlights, check out Part 1 and Part 2.

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Speedhunters: Best of 2010

Here is my second and final guest-post for Speedhunters in 2011. You can read the actual story by clicking here. As usual, I like to post it on my own blog as well for archiving.

There are some teaser shots of new upcoming builds to be featured in 2011, so make sure you stay tuned for those, regular programming will commence soon. I apologise for the lack of content but the guest-posts take a decent amount of time to put together.

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13BT Rotary Chevy Nova

I don’t know if you guys have noticed but I like to feature a bit of everything here, from big dollar to small budget, high power to electric, cheque-book-built to DIY, fabricated to bolt-on, and so on and so on. If I had to put my money on it, I’d say the most popular builds would have to be a combination of the following elements; DIY, engine swaps, and some fabrication thrown in for good measure. This build features all of those plus some wow factor, a ’74 Chevy Nova with a 13B turbo Mazda rotary powering the wheels, submitted via email by Daniel. If this isn’t enough Chevy Nova action for you, check out another one featured previously on Build Threads by clicking here. On with the show…

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13B Turbo Rotor NA MX5/Miata

I found this build in a post on Racer86, so firstly thanks to Rob for putting it out there. I’ve seen pictures of this particular car before in full drift flight, it looks so cool slammed on Work Equip 03’s (one of my favourite wheels). It’s just one of the many MX5/Miata’s built on the west coast of America that are making these little car’s appealing to a whole new generation. They used to be synonymous with balance, poise & pure driving enjoyment (among other less-positive analogies). Nowadays, though, people are slamming/stretching/drifting them, earning a level of respect and lust from a new, younger crowd.

This particular build thread focuses on the engine & drivetrain swap, showing the ITB’d 1.8L 4cyl being thrown out in favour of a 13B Turbo rotary. Along with the engine, it also receives S5 RX7 transmission & diff amongst other upgrades.

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Truckasaurus FC RX7 Pickup

Japanese hatches such as the FC RX7 and S13 180SX make great candidates for pickup conversions, as we’ve seen before in Japan with a few drift cars getting the chop.

Earl has created his own spin on the concept with this 2nd Gen RX7, come and see it get built and continually evolve.