11/09/2026
🔥 HOT ROD FRIDAY 🔥
For anyone who hasn’t met me yet, I’m Luke. I’m usually the bloke behind the camera, creating the videos and writing the posts you see across the North Vic pages.
This week, I thought I’d step out from behind the camera and feature something a little closer to home, my own 1982 Mazda RX-7.
I bought it in 2009. It was stock, full of rust and bog, had a blown engine and was missing the sunroof after sitting in a paddock for far too long.
I also paid way too much for it. It was not a good buy… but I bought it anyway.
I sourced another engine from Promaz, cleaned the car up and drove it around for a year or so. Eventually, the rust in the doors and hatch caught up with it, as it does with most of these, and it was time for a proper paint job.
That’s when the modifications really began. I shaved the door locks and antenna, then converted the rear to the cleaner JDM/USDM look.
I drove it like that for around five years before overheating the engine. I sold that setup, and the car sat while life got in the way.
In 2018, I bought a Toyota Soarer for next to nothing and pulled out its 1UZ 4.0-litre V8. That kicked off the process of fitting the V8 into the RX-7’s empty engine bay.
An S13 steering and front suspension conversion made the swap easier and gave the car power steering. The original steering box was showing its age and was already pretty dicey, so the upgrade completely transformed how the car felt to drive.
I later found a TR6060 gearbox on Marketplace, along with an adaptor kit to make it work behind the 1UZ.
Then, six weeks before my wedding, a mate and I decided it was finally time to get it finished.
Many late nights followed, along with a few questionable decisions, but somehow we got it there! 💪
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