Migration Time

[FirstRotaryExp]

Hello all you rotorheads new and old.

I suppose I'll finally get around to making an introduction. I'm Derrick, go by the same screen name on both 7club and this forum, dont really browse much anywhere else.

As for my rotary beginnings, I first got into out little money pits back in spring of 2005 with my first/current 1988 RX-7 SE.



Thats how I got her, factory everything with non-working A/C and then working PS and no radio.
The following december I went up to Mass. to pick up a parts car and a running 87 sport for my younger brother. The parts car was an 88 rx-7 gxl with decent tires and was mostly complete minus a radiator and a glass sunroof that blew off onn its trip back to TN.

February 2006 saw my lowly base FC getting a 5-lug hub swap and 4 piston front calipers swapped over from the parts car. 2006 also saw my first engine replacement with a slightly better condition 13b from an autobox 87gxl that was getting a V8 swap, which come to think of it I performed my engine swap before my hub swap and removed the ac and ps.



It eventually got a RacingBeat header/presilencer combo due to a few exhaust leaks I wasnt going to fix without welding parts together.

July 2006 I came upon the oppurtunity to purchase an 88 T2 with a fresh (20k mile by what I had gathered) rebuild by a known engine rebuilder in my area. Picked it up for $2000 and began to DD it since it had ice cold A/C and the power steering was still intact.



Fast forward to around spring/summer 2007 and after a few mishaps with wiring/ecu connections I had to park the car on the side of the interstate on the way to work. Mind you the car was as close to a guardrail as I could get it without being uncomfortable, and was well over the other side of rumble strips. I get called by mother whom I sent to pick the car up as I had to be at work.



I get greeted to severe rear quater panel damage, a bent lateral link, broken drivers mirror, and a rim with a hunk missing from the lip. The car was struck by a semi between 8am and 11am, with the sun rising in the direction my car was facing.

More demons plagued me than I cared to deal with and I parked her after replacing a busted radiator in my 88se. Sold my T2 fall/winter 2007 and replaced the factory catback on the NA with a stainless straightpipe after the presilencer and a crappy autozone muffler, replaced the broken windshield and replaced the depowered PS rack with a newer manual unit, replaced the popped autobox motor with a 43k mile mazda reman fron and individual doing a turbo vert swap. No current pic's of my se as im waiting on S5 body mouldings and bumpers.