BY MARTY
Growing up in 1980s and ’90s Sydney, I always wanted a Series 1-3 Mazda RX-7. These low-slung, rakish sports cars seemed so advanced compared to the big, V8 Aussie muscle cars many people loved.
However, Mazda’s iconic sports cars were always either outside my Young Bloke budget to buy, or popped up for sale when I didn’t have space for them or time for a huge restoration project. The rotary dream had to live as a fantasy for over a decade… until the stars aligned and I was able to buy my first classic car.
I’ve owned and modified plenty of later-model cars, but this was my first step into personally buying a dream classic of mine. Thankfully, my 1982 Series II coupe had benefitted from a tidy respray and thorough clean-up of the interior, leaving me to sort some minor mechanical gremlins and engine bay cosmetics.
Having bought the mad Mazda in late 2019, I was shocked to see prices of these lightweight rockets start exploding through 2020 and ’21. Normally I wouldn’t have any issues modifying a car to the wildest extent of my imagination, but the changing values of 1980s and ’90s hero cars have tempered this.
In my teenage years the idea of slapping a 400hp turbocharged 13B into the clean survivor wouldn’t have encountered a moment of doubt, now I understand that this example is too nice to radically alter. This is why we just added the EFI, to improve drivability.
With classic looks and modern reliability, the RX-7 has become the perfect sunny Sunday cruiser for me to enjoy… once I fix the gearbox and take it off Laid-Up Cover.
Shannons understands your passion may not be stock standard.
If you like to modify your car, Shannons policies can be tailored to your needs.
