Carbon unibeast -

Another car that every car driver must love. Initial D, fast and furious, CSI: Miami, a plethora of music videos. This is just a faint list of where this model appeared. Today, the Mazda RX7 is the same icon as the Nissan Skyline R34, Toyota Supra, or even the Porsche 911. However, there will not be much left of this RX7 in this case. Michal is chasing a brutal rebuild, which will turn the whole car into an incredible beast for hillclimb. And he really thinks of everything here. Michal is a big fan of technology, physics and mechanics. The way this car will finally look like, we will have to wait for a while. But I can already say with certainty that it will be absolute madness and something that will definitely not be seen here every day.

For the recommendation thanks Dom with its S14 (not in English, yet)! You can watch this whole project here! Photos are from TJworks, Jan Salcer, Monix.Media and of course Fabi himself. Give likes, follows, share and read tuneMAG! Enjoy!

Hi there! At first tell us who are you, where do you live and what are we going to talk about?

Hi, my name is Michal Fabiánek, but the one who knows me knows me more under the nickname Fabi and I’m from southern Bohemia. Thanks for the space to present the RX7 FD build.

How long have you been the owner, how did you get to the car?

For the car, we took a trip to England in February 2020, just before Covid joke. Since the friends around me knew I was looking for FD, they sent me an ad on Pistonheads.com, where an interesting piece appeared. Interesting especially for its setup and price.

Why this car?

Since the car was bought for the purpose of conversion to racing, it looked at several parameters. Chassis system, weight distribution, engine and swap options and of course design. RX7 has it all except the engine. 13B is still something I’m learning, so we’ll see. From production 50:50, trapezoids in the front, iconic design, weight 1280kg adjusted car = huge potential. When you add a speclist like a self-locking differential, large brakes with floating discs, a 50% finished fuel system, a modified exhaust system, 50% finished cooling, it comes out of a decent foundation for a build.

When was the first modification made?

In fact, we probably can’t talk about the first or last modification here at the moment, because when the car was imported, major shortcomings were fixed and the entire 2020 season was Mazda running. So I didn’t make any adjustments. And in September, we began to completely disassemble the car. Already when planning the construction, I had an idea of how it should work and the two basic preconditions for the construction, without which I would never have gone into it. It was a proper and complete workshop and construction from scratch without compromise. But if I have to say what was the first on the car, it was the production of a complete left-hand carbon instrument.

What was the last modification of the car?

One of the last adjustments on my list is the fire extinguishing system and the painting of the engine bay and interior. If all goes well, maybe by the end of this year.

The cheapest and most expensive modification?

Since I build the whole car myself, there are a lot of cheap modifications and these are mostly small things, various holders, modifications and technical solutions. And the most expensive modification is clearly a custom-made Öhlins coilovers and the costs associated with the production of molds and carbon parts. Not that it would be such an expensive material, but there are so many modifications that the sum of the costs for molds and carbon will be just behind the chassis a by a few.

Do you solve the modifications on the car yourself, or do you put it somewhere in the garage / service?

Yes, all the adjustments that my hands my equipment are enough for and I do by myself. So far, only the production of the frame, welding of some small items and work requiring a lathe were commissioned. Then the production of windows. Everything where I don’t have enough equipment, I try to do at least designs and basic CAD drawings so that the final products are as usable as possible. Since I have been working with laminate all my life, I know how to make molds, I know products, and this year the equipment and some basic skill for the production of carbon parts produced by infusion have been added to it. Many thanks to David Bareš here for introducing me to production and helping me with production and learning…. Follow his Instagram – Gravity+

What made you start modifying your car?

In the 12 years that I have been devoting myself to cars, I think that I have already succeeded in a few functional things and modifications. With most of the modifications, the car moved forward. So what made me was desire to make the car faster, better, more dramatic. But I’m not an engineer, I’m not a designer and I’m a regular garage driver, so not everything has always led to “improvements”. It in the garage to overcome the know-how and equipment of the carmaker is not always possible.

The best and worst experience with your car?

I haven’t experienced much with the car yet, so it may seem like a trifle, but the best experience so far was the first accelerator pedal on the floor, when it first opened on a full wastegate and all the horses leaned on the wheels… it surprised me how much it goes.

And the worst experience was getting to know the engine wiring. If you want to “slightly polish the engine with a cloth when you have nothing to do” and unknowingly disconnect the wires from the previous electrician and the injection connector, which has no latches, will fall out, then the car will not start and work. So it was not completely OK.

What do you prefer? Power or stance?

😊

Current car setup? Interior / Exterior / Engine / Chassis / Wheels / Audio / Other modifications

It is perhaps not in my power to write down the entire car setup. Only the original body remains on the car…. I will be very happy if you follow me on my Instagram, where I try to honestly map the whole reconstruction and where you can get a very good idea of the car setup. But at least something..

Wheels: Enkei RPF1 17×9

Chassis: Öhlins – modified version of the road track with modified valves, springs and stops. OEM arms equipped with racing uniballs in combination with Hardrace arms for geo adjustment, dural bearing control as well as differential.

Brakes: Brembo 4 pistons – 330mm front, OEM brake calipers and racing braking pads in rear, BMW ABS system MK20 Pedal box – Krob Motorsport fitted with Wilwood hedge trimmers.

Fuel System: racing surge tank between tanks equipped with main pump Walbro 440L and feed pump Bosch, Sard fuel pressure regulator, DM motorsport fuel rail, Injector dynamics 1700ccm and oem 850ccm injections.

Engine: Single turbo HKS T04R, External wastegate, ECU Power FC, HKS Spark Booster, Oil system with two radiators Setrab + thermostat

Carbon: Future one-piece front of the car (hood, fenders, bumper), Rear fenders, Door panels, Floors, Trunk lid, Instrument panel, Tunnel, Splitter with diffusers.

Will you reveal what are the next plans with the car?

Above all, finish it. In the future I would like to work on car aerodynamics, ie. Especially optimization and modifications of the underbody. The floor diffuser transports warm air from under the car somewhere to away. This will be related to the cooling of the drive system, insulation of the exhaust system, etc. And of course he plans to ride. The car is completely different from everything I was used to, ie. I’m going to have to learn with it somehow so that I don’t break it and maybe even find some space somewhere.

Where do you get your inspiration from? Do you do things yourself, or do you get inspired by foreign countries?

A great inspiration (both technical and mental / motivational) was the trip to Australia at WTAC 2016. It was a horde of inspiration and especially the desire to have something of its own. Something where the MOT technician does not decide on the setup of your car. Then youtube, I do not purposefully follow only some people, but overall channels where various crafts can be seen. Drawing in CAD, carbon production, mold production, machining, car testing, wind tunnel shots, aero modifications, replica constructions, body modifications, mechanical tests of various materials, etc. Just everything that has to do with the technique of physics and mechanics – I love those fields.

What’s your daily car?

As a daily I have an Audi A5 coupe quattro 2.0L petrol manual – a fun car. I like it.

Do you have any other cars?

Yes, my first long-term buid of the Nissan 200sx s13 TypeX, started this whole carousel I describe here. Apart from the engine, the car is built entirely and I am crushing districts and smaller competitions such as slaloms, a few times Most, AmaterCup Sosnová, Písek and some of the hills here in the south.

At what events can we see your car?

It’s more complicated. I don’t go to meetings much. At the beginning, the RX will be a lot to see in Most for testing, so that the car can be fine-tuned and I learn how to handle it. Then on the hills in the Czech Republic and if all goes well, perhaps in Austria.

What is your dream car that you would like to build?

Basically, I have already fulfilled all my big dreams that I have ever had with my current fleet. But I’m currently looking into a Ferrari Testarossa. So if I ever had the opportunity to ride Testarossa as King of Jump Street 21 himself, Richard Grieco with the musical backdrop of What is love, then I would be far beyond what I could ever wish for.

Do you know of anyone who deserves to have an article about his car here?

I would recommend a rocketman, and since I only know one so Martin Winkler with his S14.

A huge foreign exchange before building or modifying anything is the possibility of being in contact with someone who has already trodden the path. Being behind his ass for a while, asking questions, calculating well what money costs (and then adding another 20%) and always thinking about everything. Cut once, measure twice…

What would you like to say in conclusion?

I will be happy if you follow my build on my Instagram. And feel free to write me some feedback. It quite recharges me with taste and energy when I see that people around me are interested in it.

Thanks so much for the space…