Readers' Rides: James' Mazda RX-7 Autocross Racer

It was James' childhood spent working on cars with his dad that fuelled his petrolhead passion. As toy cars were replaced by video games, in turn replaced by his own cars, he was always surrounded by four wheels. High school was when things got really serious, though, as James found a group of like-minded car guys with a beat up Volkswagen Golf to keep his hands dirty.

In 2012, James started attending Clemson University. Suddenly he found himself in a new place without any friends, so when he spotted a Miata and Golf GTI hiding beneath a tent at a student fair, he just had to check it out.

The guys were from the Clemson Sports Car Club, and after finding out they held AutoX events on campus, he knew he was in the right place. He started hanging out with his new friends, helping turn a wrench: "I didn’t mind helping out as long as there was a beer with my name on it and someone to teach me what I didn’t know."

After working on a bunch of other people's projects, it was time to get his own. James wanted to compete in AutoX events, so he needed something quick and nimble - there was only one car on his mind. Initial D provided his inspiration. "My favorite car out of that whole series was the 1990 FC3S owned by Ryosuke Takahashi."

But it wasn't just aesthetics and an urge to cling to his favourite show. James' mechanical mind was fascinated by the Wankel engine. "It was like, these magical spinning triangles that I knew nothing about." So with an urge to learn more and drive fast, the search for his very own FC began.

It wasn't long before a friend of a friend popped up with the perfect car. Not only was it the right RX-7, it was already track-prepped, and simply needed a little TLC. The engine's street-ported 13B was given a K&N high flow air filter and a bunch of other small modifications for a little extra oomph. The rev limiter was also deleted, allowing the engine to rev up to 8000rpm. The noise has also been turned up to 11 thanks to a straight-piped exhaust.

Handling has been taken care of by Koni shocks and a larger front sway bar. Sticky Falken Azenis RT615K tyres have been mounted on Factor BBS wheels to help in the twisty stuff, and loads of weight has been saved by ditching non-essential interior accessories. No air conditioning: because racecar.

But it wasn't all rosy. The wiring was in an absolute state, so James got to work with his friends at Chap Racing to determine the cause of his problems.

We determined that the wiring to the AFM was screwed up and would send random air/fuel ratios to the car. So I spent hours drawing electrical diagrams trying to figure out where all the wires were heading to and from the ECU. After we figured out the wiring diagrams we tackled rewiring the rats' nest of wires at the ECU. It took a few months due to school commitments but we got the issue resolved.

Once all that was sorted, James then noticed that the Mazda had a fuel leak. After sliding under the car he realised the fuel pump was not sealed properly, so he replaced the line. Upon further inspection, it was clear that the fuel pump was barely attached to the tank. After completely reworking the fuel system, James ran a magnet through the gas tank and "found a broken drill bit and about 6oz of metal shavings."

The car won't be sold any time soon, because James loves his ride. In the long term, though, he could see himself grabbing a turbo RX-7 or an S14. For now he'll continue to race his pride and joy and fix it up himself along the way. If you find yourself at the Tail of the Dragon hill climb in Robbinsville, North Carolina this weekend, say hello to the guy in the blue RX-7!

If you want your car featured on Readers' Rides, email darren.cassey@carthrottle.com with a pic and a few words explaining why you love it so much. If we like it, we'll feature it!