Stopped a little ways before Memphis and slept in the back seat for about an hour, then got cold and drove again till almost Little Rock where I slept another ~ 2hrs. Made it to Houston by 1pm yesterday, and made the trade. Details and pictures to come, currently on the return trip and going to try and go another hour or so before calling it a night :)
eastsideTim said:If you can get the timing right, hit up Lane Motor Museum in Nashville. I'm in the Cincinnati area, and can't think of much you'd want to do in a rush, but if you have time, the Air Force Museum at Wright Patterson in Dayton is worth a stop, and admission is free.
I stopped at that museum once while on a week long road trip out to Pikes Peak. I seriously considered scrapping the whole trip, booking a hotel in Dayton, and just spending the week there. Makes every other aircraft museum look like 4Th grade show and tell by comparison. Only downside is that the Navy isn't represented.
An update now that I'm slightly better-rested: I met the FC owner where he worked, which was a storage/impound yard. Test drove the FC first and it was very solid, interior is fantastically clean and in good shape, the only issue is that the previous owner had deleted the air pump when installing the Racing Beat exhaust - without the air pump the engine's 5th and 6th ports do not open via the actuators, so I'll have to source and install that. During the test drive of my wagon, seller/trader wasn't impressed with the throttle response, and for a few moments I thought how awful this might be to drive 1200 mi one way and not agree to trade, but once the paperwork was signed he stopped playing it so cool and seemed really excited about the car, I think he's already ordered some parts for it since I got home. He was probably 10 years younger than me, and enthusiastic about having a car with a larger aftermarket than the FC, I'd say despite the FC being so clean, it just wasn't the car for him.
After the trade was done I drove across town to stay with a friend, and thought I would get on the road early Saturday morning, but he asked if I'd be willing to help move some of his car collection from one storage warehouse to another before I left. You don't have to twist my arm much when it comes to driving cool cars, so Saturday morning was a joy, waking up a handful of classic cars from long-term storage and driving them a few miles across the neighborhood. Highlights include a very mint Lotus Carlton, a Lincoln Mark IV, and a 20th Anniversary Riviera. After the great reshuffling, I got back on the road with the FC around 3pm to head home. This time I got past Memphis before trying to sleep in the car again (which was much easier in the wagon) then drove another hour or so before passing out at a rest stop till daylight. I made it home around 5pm yesterday, and the FC performed flawlessly other than a slight dash or door panel rattle I couldn't find. It also got 24 mpg average, the a/c and cruise control works, and the seats are comfy for long hauls.
This is very surreal for me, partially because I'm probably still sleep deprived, but also because I've wanted an FC since I was 14. When I was younger, that was "THE" RX-7 so to speak, at least to me. The FD was always way out of reach for my budget, and though it's a gorgeous car, I really prefer the sharper angles of the 80s cars. In high school, I don't think I was even aware that the FB existed, so when I came across mine it sort of became a car that grew on me substantially over time, and it turns out it's still the most fun-to-drive car I've ever had. It's interesting how a lot of the car's feel or DNA is shared with my FB that I've had for 16 years now, though the FC is more of a GT car and has a much better steering feel, there's definitely a shared familiarity with the FB when driving. It kind of feels like the FB grew up a little and got more mature for everyday use type driving, but it's still a lot of fun when the road gets twisty.
Prior to the trade, I told myself that if I really liked the car I'd limit modifications to wheels and suspension at most, but now I really think I just want to leave it alone and enjoy it. So far it's reasonably fun to drive (though probably slower than my FB since the extra ports aren't functioning and the car is heavier) without any uncomfortable drawbacks. I'm having the opposite of buyer's remorse, really glad I finally made this happen, and it's cool that the wagon went to someone who's already pretty excited about it.
Does it make that nice little rotary exhaust fireball on shifts? One of my favorite little automotive sensations to remember is the flash of that fireball at night driving an FC convertible with the top down.
In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :
I haven't confirmed it with someone driving behind me, but it sounds like it blips little flames when I get back on the gas, my FB lights up the roadway on deceleration with the weber and free-flowing exhaust combo, it's the simple joys in life..
Bonus mostly stock engine bay photo:
That's a very nice looking Mazda. At the beginning of this tale I thought this might be a long travel for a "maybe." But, I was wrong. This looks to have been a great score!
I like these RX7 converts. They were cool back in their day too but they were quickly overshadowed by the Miata which came out right after. Due to the lower sticker on the Miata a newer Miata could be bought for the price of the older RX7. At least, that was my experience in 1993 when I bought my '90 Miata.
PS: Make sure the BBS wheel caps are on correctly and tightly. The caps themselves used to (and probably still do) retail for more than what the wheel alone retails for. The wheels look pretty bad when the caps are missing. I like the wheels and recommend keeping the car as period correct as possible.
I checked recent ebay sales:
$225/4 wheels = $56.25 per wheel
In reply to John Welsh :
I didn't know that about the center caps, maybe a good excuse to find some period-correct wheels and shelf the factory wheels :). I'm really happy with the car's condition, and with the fact that no interior plastics are cracked or missing. I'm currently waiting on a response from a friend as to whether he has a spare air pump laying around so I can get the secondary ports working, in the meantime I'll need to get the car registered and start enjoying it.
A lot of years ago, maybe 2004, I came across one of these in a old school, self serve JY. It had 3 caps. I pulled just the caps knowing their worth. Sold them individually at more than $50 and nearing $100 each on ebay. Shipping was near nothing compared to shipping an entire wheel.
I also looked. MSRP of a 1990 RX7 convertible was like $26,500 and a 1990 Miata started at $13,500 with real prices being more like $16,500 -$20k. That was a big price difference.
In reply to John Welsh :
I looked up an inflation calculator and that price in 1990 today would be eye-watering, over $60k. Which I guess is equivalent to the new Supra, but twice the price of the ND Miata.
A small update since I've owned the FC for about 5 months now, we're getting along swimmingly. My biggest apprehension about the convertible vs a base FC was the additional weight possibly making the car feel reluctant to change direction, but I really like the way this car bends into a corner, it really gives some sense of letting you know what the sway bars are doing, and the wheelbase is the same as my FB, so it's still pretty spry despite the weight difference. I'm considering a lighter flywheel to make the engine feel a bit more willing, and maybe a shorter wheel/tire diameter to effectively change the final drive ratio, because finding the rare 4.3 diff seems unlikely. Compared to the FB or even the IS300, these gears are looong. The car will do 90 or 95 mph before hitting redline in 3rd. I think a shorter tire might help slide the dial closer to sports car than GT car, though I'm looking for a nice balance between the two.
I haven't missed the Sportcross much, on too many occasions it was nicer to look at than it was to drive, and at no point while driving did it hide its weight. It was fairly practical for a compact car, and had a much better stereo system than the FC, but the seldom occasions I'm required to carry more than one passenger didn't really justify having a wagon and a truck at the same time. Now that the weather is starting to cool off, it seems ideal to have a removable roof, and I'm hoping to do the Road and Track PCOTY loop around Hocking Hills this fall, as I've never been down there.
sharing the driveway with the FB, and earlier this year near Blackwater Falls.
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