Most of us tend to build a car for a few years and get bored of it rather quickly. Then there are a rarer set of people that cherish their cars from the day they pick it up, to a decade later. Kris is one of those people, having picked up his ’83 Mazda RX-7 GSL a little over 11 years ago. That’s right, 11 years – some of us haven’t even been driving for 11 years and Kris has been building and putting together this car for 11 years. The end result is a one-of-a-kind pristine first generation RX-7 and we were more than excited to take a closer look at it inside and out.
When Kris first came across this RX-7, he picked it up for a measly $100.00 dollars. Despite having no engine, Kris felt that this was a perfect example of a first generation RX-7. He immediately saw the potential in the car and came up with a plan on how he would go about building it. Needless to say, Kris probably didn’t plan on an 11 year scheme but nonetheless his project has continued on and he couldn’t love it anymore. When he first got it home, the chassis was an automatic with tan interior. The first thing he did was to convert the vehicle to a 5-speed manual making way for a custom 13B Streetport fully equipped with ’79 12A plates and GSL SE housing and internals. Supplementing the powerplant is plenty of go-fast goods keeping it in true naturally aspirated rotary form. FD modified stationary gears and bearings along with corner seals and springs not only breathes life into the rotary but keeps it healthy and reliable as it revs up to high RPM bliss. The motor is held in place with Banzai Racing motor mounts and additional breathing space has been made available with a Racing Beat intake, 48 IDA Weber and a Racing Beat exhaust. To keep things nice, cool and reliable an ’82 radiator and oil cooler was swapped in.
By now you’ll notice that Kris’ RX-7 has been rebuilt from the bottom up, much to his own taste. The transmission received its fair share of goods, helping get all the additional power to the ground. A 6-puck clutch along with a Mazdatrix short shifter makes driving the vehicle tons more fun. Suspension wise, Kris started by swapping in GSL SE suspension with Racing Beat springs and a Racing Beat front sway bar. Adjustability has found its way onto the rear sway bar courtesy of Suspension Techniques. Koni adjustable shocks complement the springs giving the RX-7 a quality ride as the years pass on.
On all four corners are rare Epsilon wheels in a black shade matching the exterior of the vehicle. Hiding behind each wheel are drilled and slotted rotors accompanied with Hawk HPS brake pads. Mazdatrix steel braided brake and clutch lines are icing on the cake to this project. Last but not least, Kris has been in the process of converting the entire interior from tan to black. A custom shift knob along with RX-8 seats are the major mods in the cockpit.
It’s always a marvel to run into a vehicle owner so passionate about their project. Kris goes above and beyond your normal car builder, putting in years of sweat, blood and tears into his project. Best of all, Kris has worked on the car in his way fashion, on his own schedule and the finished product really shows his hard work and labor. We’ll be following Kris’ car for a few more years as he continues to build and update it. We’ll keep you updated as he does!
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