GENERAL OVERVIEW

In the beginning - June 1996

I purchased my car in June of 1996 from a guy who lived 2 miles from my house. I had hunted for 9 months for a CYM (Competition Yellow Mica) car but found nothing but 1 extremely worn example that was over priced. All the other CYM's were in CA. However, in hindsight I am very pleased with what I bought. It is, to be complete, a 1993 Vintage Red (VR) R1 model with a 5 spd transmission. The build date was April of 1992! The 3rd generation models were sold from 1993 through 1995 in the US and are commonly referred to as FD3S models. For those who may not know, the R1 model came with 2 oil coolers (base and touring models have only 1), z rated tires, stiffer shocks, a front strut bar, suede like seats, a front

lip spoiler w/dedicated front brake ducting, a rear wing, and from what I can gather slightly different indications on the tachometer. I wanted just the stuff to go faster and chose to do away with the namby-pamby add-ons like leather seats, cruise control, sunroof, and the high-end Bose Acoustimass sound system. I did, however, retro-fit an OE CD player in the dash that I picked up used. At the time of purchase it had a little over 20,000 miles and had been freshly repainted as one of Mazda's factory repaints so it looked in mint condition. It was also completely and utterly stock! The seller told me he had purchased it and had it serviced locally so I was able to get a record of all the warranty and recall work. The car was also still under its original 3yr/50,000 mile warranty. Immediately after purchasing the car and having read of the many minor annoyances that infected the 1993 model year I showed up at the dealership and had them address them all. The work order was over three pages long! All were covered under the warranty. With the basics taken care of I began to enjoy my new car.

A few things began to crop up - like the 3000 RPM hesitation and clunking in the right front suspension (of which the dealership could not diagnose) I also discovered the hazards of owning such a car - that is, how much of a target you are for the police and other drivers. Other drivers just don't seem to see you or are totally clueless when it comes to estimating your speed. I can't count the number of times people have pulled out in front of me or the number of trucks that have tried to run over me! And the police, well lets just say that 72 in a 35 isn't something you would typically associate with my driving. The power and speed of the car is both infectious and frustrating. Too much of a good thing -for the street at least.

MADS Rotary Expo - 1998: I'm 3rd from the right Photo courtesy of MSCW

Well it wasn't long before I felt the urge to tinker. So I dropped in a  K&N air filter and installed a used  Borla cat back exhaust that literally was given to me, and bought a  factory front end cover (which I'm glad Idid because they don't sell them anymore) to protect the new paint. I was happy for a while but I needed more. So I began to explore the aftermarket and whattaya know - want parts? There was more than I could have imagined and afforded. For all my efforts so far I have won awards in all car shows that I have cared to enter. First place at the April 1999 and March 2001 MSCW Rotary Exposition and a second place in the May 1998 Rotary Exposition both in the modified rotary division. For all the specifics on what I have done so far, go to the THE HEART OF THE BEAST, STOPPING AND TURNING, and THE COMFORT ZONE and then come back to see what's next on the agenda.

If you would like to contact me and converse about my experiences with my 7:
please feel free to send an e-mail to crispyrx7@yahoo.com

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