If I don't have the FD anymore , it will be because I traded / sold it for a 911 or an NSX

 

10 years? Gee, by that point I may actually have it off the jackstands and out of my garage.

Like some of the others, I see no reason to get rid of it. Every time I take it out, people comment on how pretty a car it is. As Gordon mentioned, a beautiful design is ageless. I'm a semi-old fart, the car is paid for and the insurance costs are minimal for a "weekender" car. And the grin I get on my face when I take it out in the country on a nice spring day - that is priceless.

I mean, what am I going to replace it with? Anyone can just go out and buy a Porsche - that just takes money. It takes a special kind of crazy to keep an FD around. David Lane could probably write a wonderful multi-page essay on the joys and pains of rotary ownership (in fact he has) but if you look at the quote from him in my signature, I think that summarizes it best.


Mechanically, the car is pretty much stock now and I'll probably try and keep it that way. The only big issue is with the turbos - replacement stock twins are going to become hard to find and I could see eventually going with a small single just to keep things simple.

From an appearance point of view, it will need a respray and the interior will need a refresh. The seats will need new covers. That's about it.

-b

 

Well, in 10 years, holy crap, I'll be 76 (How th' heck could that happen - I feel like I'm 40 now)... And my FD will be 27... And we'll still be together!

And I'll still be racing my Formula Continental (or whatever they will change its name to) in SCCA!

 

As for the "collectability" aspect of ownership, I think you are looking at the wrong group of car enthusiasts. If you are wondering if we will eventually see an FD up on the stage at Barrett-Jackson pulling 6 figures, I don't think that will happen. Not in 10 years. Probably not in 20. These cars that you see on B-J are the ones (IMHO) that are always trading hands. They are viewed (and often treated) as art - something nice to look at. A piece of car history. A piece of jewellery to wear when you go out. And there is nothing wrong with that.

But I don't think that the RX-7 is going to go that route. What I think that you will find is a group of enthusiasts who have a passion for these cars, who love to restore them, to maintain them, to drive them. An "Owners Club".

Right now, FD's are relatively easy to find and parts (both stock and aftermarket) are relatively plentiful. But as the sources dry up, as the basic maintenance issue become more costly, we will see a change in the ownership profile. There will be a lot less "how can I make 400rwhp" topics and more "how can I repair a broken headlight cover".

Go look at things like the 240Z owners - no one is making a mint restoring these cars. But you have a group of hardcore enthusiasts who just have a passion for them. Another example - during one of our club's "R-B-Que" events up at VIR one year (just a big cookout and watching SCCA racing for the day) one of the guys brought up a beautifully restored RHD RX-3. Now this car was not one of your classic "collectables", nor was it about to go out and set lap record on the track. You would never recover the money that it cost to put it back in prime condition. But everyone there admired the car, complimented the owner, and appreciated the work that had gone into restoring it.

This is where I see the FD (and indeed the RX-7 community) heading over the next 10-20 years.

-b

 

Well said. FD swap meet anyone?

 

I'll hopfully have my FD still in 10 years time but if not maybe a new year one or even an RX8. Once you go rotary you never go back

 

happily together.

 

Check those numbers, thousands yes, tens of thousands no.

 

In 10 years I won't own mine, I'll be honest. The longest I've ever owned a car is just shy of 3 years, and that's only because of half of it's life it wasn't a dd. I will move onto something much higher end and MR. Like an old 360, Exige, etc. I always have loved FD's, and love my FD but that may be because it's not strictly my dd. haha They for sure won't be worth more than they are now.

 

I plan on having this car as a street driven, CARB legal, LS1 swapped vehicle for some time to come. The only changes I will make are to add a little bit more power here and there.

A lot of blood, sweat, and tears have gone into this car. I plan to keep it for a long, long time.

 

I have and continue to collect RX-7's along with other marquees. Each for a peculiar reason, at least the FD has a timeless beauty on par with the E-Type, Miura, Dino and 250 GTO.

I am sorry to say that most of the people on this forum are not able to answer the question of collectability for an FD or any other car. Will we have them in 10 yrs; definitely not the person that needs it to provide so resemblance to a DD, definitely not the one stating in 10 yrs I will have an Exige or 360 in place of the FD; on that path you are trading one old problem for another, without gaining any ground, prestige, performance, rarity. Now if you said today I replaced my FD track car with an Exige that makes sense or in 10 yrs sold my FD to make room for my new 2020 Ferrari FXXX, so be it.

That is my biggest problem and perhaps main reason why in 10 yrs I really may not have my FD even though today I see no reason to ever part with one. With cars scattered in three parts of Texas and more dd’s in my driveway that I can drive in a week; maybe something will come along that I must just have in its place.

 

I've owned my FD for about 2 years now and I've decided it's something that I want my child to have (wife just told me she's pregnant). I've raced with 20B's in my sandrail and I've collected enough parts (then and now) to keep the car running for many years. All it does is take space in my garage (when I'm not dragging, autoxing and hillclimbing with it) so she's not going anywhere.

 

Gordon, ... A thanks from you is an honor.


Julian

 

LOL! Rambling and futile, yet you go on to attempt a rebuttal. That's too, too funny. Your response belies the charge you make in the quote above.

 

I disagree with you here Julian. My personal experience with the car has taught me that the FD and the way I drive don't mix, and as track car the FD has never been my preference to begin with. I prefer NA power and response, controllable understeer, and a car thats not down every other weekend because something cheap but critical broke, again. And lately I've been feeling that the FD really can't keep up with those that are really able to pound to the pavement and I'd like to try something else and see if it can satisfy me, thats why I'm moving on. I may be wrong, hell I probably am wrong and its the driver more than anything else, but I prefer to make that mistake and learn from it, rather than bitch and moan for the rest of my life.

 

You hate discussions of collectibility, but here you are writing on the subjet yet again. Apparently, like Dr. Strangelove, you're wrestling for control of your own hand, in this case, trying to restrain it from lunging toward your keyboard and typing another post on collectibility.

Just because somebody collects something doesn't make that thing collectible in the generally accepted sense of the term. There are people who collect string and form it into giant ***** of twine. Do you have framed and mounted samples of string displayed in your den? I don't know, maybe you do.

Indeed there is a market. And it provides a measure of the collectibility of various automobiles. That measure is money, and it is why Triumph TR6's, 240Z's, and FD's aren't worth that much overall, and why even some trashed examples of other marques and models are worth a whole lot of $$$.

I wrote a post in another thread tonight in which some members were discussing the FD and the Jaguar E-Type. There's no question in my mind that the FD is the faster, more exciting, more precise, indeed "better" car to drive than the Jag.

But there's also no question about which car the market values more highly and which is indisputably the collectible car.

I could elaborate on the reasons for that, but I'm afraid it might cause you to break out of your restraints and start flailing away at your keyboard again on the subject of collectibility. I wish you success in your struggle for self control.

 

I think you're exactly right. In fact, I think we're already there in many respects.

 

Any car? That's not true. In fact, you allude to the answer later in your own post.
Take the Ferrari Enzo. There's a car that's collectible from Day 1.

As you descend the automotive heirarchy collectibility can become more questionable. Even some Ferrari's are just used cars.

 

I don't see the FD becoming a "collector" car per say, but it will defiantly become a lot more rare, which will have an impact on the price Don't expect the price to jump all of a sudden, but more or less sustain at what it is right now... or a bit higher. Basically hold it's value for a long time.

 

Series-7 = Jan 96 - Dec 98...Japan + Australia only
96 = 4762
97 = 3556
98 = 1423

Series-8 = Jan 99 - Aug 02....Japan only
99 = 4151
00 = 2611
01 = 2589
02 = 3903

96-02 total: 22,995

Total production run: 36,874 (not particularly rare, though collectibility is subjective)

 

Gordon - could you recommend some reading on this? I don't run in the "car collector" circles, but I'd be interested to hear what more knowledgeable people outside of the rotary community are saying.

Thanks,

-b

 

Well, I know that when I re-enlist in a little less than 2 years from now, I'd like to go ahead with my 2JZ project.

After that, I just want to continue to clean the car up cosmetically and have it be as COMFORTABLE of a ~500rwhp beast as I can. hehe

As far as 10 years from now, goes....I dunno.

I see myself having a go fast weekend car, like my FD...and a comfortable and more luxurious, but still fast family car...G35/G37-style. That's my taste.

 

Sorry, for my rambling statement, but what I said, or meant to say was is not out of line with your thinking. I said I would understand someone today departing from an FD to an Exige [or Elise for that matter], the comment I made was responding to a particular poster in this thread that said in 10 years he would be in an Exige or 360. That is what would make NO sense of jumping from one old unreliable car to another old unreliable car. Don't ever tell me a Lotus is reliable or durable. Grew up with an Elan in my parents household and later a Europa auto-X project car for myself in '80's. To this day will take the Lotus position S&M pain, even my wife was getting me an Elise for my B-Day this last December which we put on hold pending a better understanding of my '09 - '10 business climate. The Elise would never replace the FD only supplement it as I feel I have over burdened the FD using it as both a road and track toy. And yes like Gordon, I would also add a Dino 246 to the stable if only I could afford todays prices.

 

ok, I am mistaken a few 10k produced but not 10's of k

Lower voume than the Porsche 911 production over that same time period!

 

I'll probably blow my 7 through the roof of my garage within 10 years unless I manage to get everything in prestine condition.

These cars enjoy making people crazy... Damn window switch!