A 3-Rotor Mazda RX-7, a Few Bad Apples, and a 13-Year Build Journey

Contrary to what some YouTube videos might suggest, building a high-powered vehicle, especially one as niche as a three-rotor Mazda RX-7 FD, takes more than a week or two, even if the parts are available. There are far too many intricacies and details that must be addressed to list, but with that said, it shouldn't take over a decade, like this one did.

Much of that time was well out of the control of owner Mike Wedl, who had to deal with a few bad apples along the way, including a shady seller and a few performance shops that aren't worth mentioning.

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Who's the Boss?

A few years before it became an official "build," Mike picked the car up as his daily driver. "I got it in college from an older gentleman and I still remember the day because when I showed up, he told me his wife was making him sell his jet skis or the RX-7," he recalls. "The guy asked me if I was sure I didn't want the jet skis instead."

With two years of daily duty, Mike began tearing the car down and its first version included a built 13B with a single turbo. He adds, "The opportunity arose to purchase a freshly rebuilt AutoEXE 20B, so I jumped on it." Too good to be true, the engine arrived and upon further inspection, looked to be in very bad shape. To make matters worse, the seller suddenly went radio silent and was never heard from again.

At a fork in the road, Mike concluded that his three-rotor dreams weren't going anywhere, so he shipped the damaged engine to Chips Motorsports of Michigan for a complete refresh. The project, beyond its engine updating, was at a halt for a few years as Mike dealt with more than one shop that offered false promises and things looked grim. That is, until his friend Aaron Parker introduced him to the small crew at OMD in San Diego.

Highly Experienced

OMD, or Otsuka Maxwell Design, is an unlikely mix of Martin Otsuka's fabrication and drift experience, combined with "Ferrari Steve" Maxwell's remarkable CNC work and high-level automotive knowledge from the grip and race world. Together the duo have put together some outside-the-box creations at a very high level, like multiple Kia Stinger V-6-powered Deloreans, a Hayabusa-swapped Toyota Starlet, and, most recently, a 1984 Maserati Biturbo that's now powered by a turbo 3SGE Beams engine, all of which you can see on their YouTube channel.

After having met, Mike and OMD went back and forth by email, and the shop was interested in tackling the project, but there was a caveat. OMD had their hands full at the time with Ferrari repairs and other projects and wouldn't be able to bring the car into the shop for at least a year. With no specific timeline and knowing that the work would be top notch, Mike accepted the wait. "When I was finally able to drop the car off with them, progress was non-stop," he says. "It was the complete opposite of all my past experiences. Martin did all the fab work and Steve did the custom CNC work, wiring, and tuning. I really can't thank them enough."

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Brand New, Only Better

If you were to crack open Mike's 20B, you'd find S5 rotor housings, S4 rotors, all new seals and O-rings, 2-piece Apex seals, and more, and it's been balanced to 10,000rpm. There's an OEM Mazdaspeed dry sump front cover and a Ferrari internally baffled dry sump tank at play. Steve's CNC work is apparent the moment the hood is lifted with what can only be described as an aluminum artwork in the form of an upper intake manifold he designed and machined complete with velocity stacks. He also CNC machined the intercooler's end tanks and the custom turbo manifold's collector that joins a Garrett GTX4294R.

Painstaking pie cuts form the short path of enhanced airflow to and from a V-mount intercooler and there's more fabrication used in the one-off tubular front skeleton that traces the FD's front end—currently still in raw form as the car was only recently completed. A 3.5-inch downpipe was built and leads to a CarShopGlow exhaust system in matching diameter. A trio of Walbro 450-lph fuel pumps and six ID2600s ensure that substantial MPG is never an option but flows enough fuel to keep the triple-rotor heart pumping. Haltech's Nexus R5 was wired in and led the 20B's charge to 770 hp with 530 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels.

To give the FD a fighting chance to harness that power, Zeal Super Function X coilovers were brought in and a number of Super*Now bushings updated the aging factory rubber, with the same brand supplying upgraded toe links, tie rods, and trailing arms. While the car was in the air, APG Performance six-piston front and four-piston rear calipers with two-piece fully floating rotors were installed, along with Chase Bays' ABS delete kit. Finally, Volk CE28 in 18x10.5 were bolted to all four corners.

Wider, Meaner, Cleaner

Like LEGO, the FD RX-7 has an array of aero options to snap into place to change its look and rather than picking and sticking with a single brand, Mike mixed things up to get exactly the look he was after. That meant starting with RE Amemiya's 02 front bumper with aggressive splitter and ducted headlights, then topping the front end with a ReadyGoNext x Workshop Takumi dry carbon fiber hood. Aero Tech Rando Black Edition front fenders, which were cut and fitted with Professional Awesome louvers, match the rear over fender panels.

In an effort to shave some weight, the roof panel was replaced by a Marsch Composites dry carbon version that drops over 10 pounds from the car's highest point and the rear window was replaced by a Plastics4Performance polycarbonate version. Downforce for the rear is supplied by a hulking Esprit 1,800-mm dry carbon wing and RE Amemiya rear diffuser. With all of the aero choices made and the parts received, the car was delivered to DTM Autobody for proper fitment and a complete color change to Lexus Ultra White to work against the generous hits of black carbon.

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Modern Meets Classic

Sink into the Recaro RMS bucket seats and take a look around and it's hard to believe this cabin is over thirty years old, though some of the modern additions blur those numbers. BubbleTech carbon fiber door cards and custom stitched shift and e-brake boots, for example, tend to subtract from its age. Functionally, the Haltech IC-7 digital dash is packed with engine information and a carbon fiber plate mounted behind the OMP steering wheel houses a series of buttons and switches that will soon be set into action.

The road to this point has been long and full of proverbial potholes along the way but Mike's ultimate FD build is nearly complete. It's a given that most would've throw in the towel after so many setbacks, but he was determined to see this one through and now he's looking toward further progression. "I have a 2016 BMW M4 7-speed DCT sitting in the garage," he says. "My plan is to put it in the car next month, program the paddle shifters and steering wheel panel, and tune for more power!"

1993 Mazda RX-7

Owner Mike Wedl

Instagram @whitexdevil_777

Engine 20B swap, S5 rotor housings, S4 rotors, new OEM seals, O-rings, springs, 2-piece Apex seals, CNC lightened and race clearance rotors, solid dowel pins, engine balanced to 10,000RPM, "street" intake and exhaust porting, extended exhaust sleeves, enlarged oil galleys in block and stationary gears; OEM Mazdaspeed drysump front cover; Ferrari internally baffled dry-sump tank; BMW CWA400 electric water pump; DCPower 180amp alternator; Xcessive Manufacturing mounts, lower intake manifold; Garrett GTX4294R turbo; TiAL 1.01 A/R turbine housing, V60 wastegate, blow-off valve; 321 SS turbo manifold with CNC'd turbo collector, 3.5-inch downpipe; CarShop Glow 3.5-inch titanium exhaust system; custom CNC'd upper intake manifold with velocity stacks, titanium intake piping; Bell Intercoolers core with custom CNC'd end tanks; Walbro 450lph fuel pump x3; Radium Engineering stainless fuel filter, fuel hanger surge tank, fuel pressure regulator/damper, catch can; Full Function Engineering primary and secondary fuel rails; ID2600XDS injectors x6; PTFE -8 fuel lines; Setrab oil cooler; AntGravity ATX-30-HD battery; Haltech Nexus R5, flex fuel sensor, air-temp/coolant temp sensors, boost control solenoid, TMS-4 tire sensors; Bosch 2 Bar MAP sensor; AEM Electronics IGN-1A ignition coils

Power 770whp, 530wtq

Drivetrain CD009 6-speed transmission; Collins Adapters cerametallic twin-disc clutch, flywheel; Tilton 6000 hydraulic release bearing; Fisch Racing Tech transmission mount; 2004 Ford Cobra 8.8 rear differential 4.10; WaveTrac LSD; Xcessive Manufacturing shifter; DriveShaftShop Pro-level axles, hubs; AtomicRex CNC'd aluminum manual steering rack; Chase Bays clutch master cylinder delete

Suspension Zeal Super Function X 16kg front/rear coil overs; Tri-Point Engineering front/rear sway bars; Super*Now bushings, sway bar mounts, toe links, tie rods, trailing arms; OEM bushings; Rogue Motorsport 4-pt. roll bar; chromoly tube front frame

Braking APG Performance 6061-T6 6-piston calipers front, 4-piston rear, street/track pads, electronic e-brake; 2-piece full floating 6061-T6 drilled/slotted rotors; Chase Bays ABS delete kit

Wheels & Tires Volk Racing CE28N 18x10.5 +18; Michellin Pilot Sport 4S 295/30

Exterior Lexus Ultra White by DTM Autobody; ReadyGoNext x Workshop Takumi dry carbon fiber hood, canards; Marsch Composites dry carbon fiber roof; RE Amemiya 02 front bumper, carbon fiber undersweep, ducted headlights, rear diffuser, tow hook; Aero Tech Rando Black Edtion front/rear fenders; Esprit 1800mm dry carbon fiber wing, endplates; Craftsquare mirrors; Plastics4Performance polycarbonate hatch; Professional Awesome Racing fender louvers; HotWaterLabs turn lamps; full body PPF

Interior Recaro RMS seats; PCI seat rails, sliders; Schroth harnesses; OMP 320mm Super Quadro steering wheel, QR-03 quick-release; R-Magic shift knob; Garage Alpha pedals; Z Precision drive by wire pedal mount; Haltech IC-7 digital dash, CAN keypad; DiiSpec interior panels; BubbleTech carbon fiber door cards; Track Formula carbon fiber paddle shifters and button plate

Thank You to my wife Cora for never making me sell the car. To my family for letting me store the car in their garage while I was in college and to the OMD San Diego boys( Steve, Martin, and Corey) for all the fabrication, wiring, and tuning. DTM Autobody for the paint work. Without them I could have never finished this car. Thank you!