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Re: Joe Maddox Super Rare 1/100 1989 FC3S GTUs RX7 2JZ GTE VVTI Build
I ended up getting the Power By Max problem worked out, the store in the USA can ship out parts from the other stores around the world through their checkout, so I got all the rest of the parts for the subframe and diff!
One of the guys on the groups had a set of louvers for sale in my area. I happen to have a nice CorkSport exhaust and some mint condition red seats he was looking for and set up the trade. He came over and we swapped!
They are in pretty good shape. Now I have two sets. I can run one on the GTUs and one on the Savanna. One RHD and one LHD... Problem I face now is I also have a shine roof spoiler and was thinking about running it on the GTUs. So now I have decisions to make.
Re: Joe Maddox Super Rare 1/100 1989 FC3S GTUs RX7 2JZ GTE VVTI Build
Power By Max solid bushings and Derlin poly bushings came in for the GTUs. I just bought the solid bushings to replace the Derlin ones though, so they will be going in the miata or rhd rx7.
Re: Joe Maddox Super Rare 1/100 1989 FC3S GTUs RX7 2JZ GTE VVTI Build
Well... I made the car model really popular within the rotary community and there are several popping up again and a few that are making false claims. I am excited to see how many get confirmed as legit and are real GTUs models! To confirm the model it takes showing a picture of the car, the door ID tags and the firewall vin number! That't it! There are no other cars with those credentials!
Re: Joe Maddox Super Rare 1/100 1989 FC3S GTUs RX7 2JZ GTE VVTI Build
So Andy's was a scam. They said they had, it was not in stock, they said they could get it, they could not. So... I ordered the one they had in stock at apexi online and then found it was also, not in stock. Yup. Lame. Had this before, loved it, want it again. So Apexi was called to see if they could still get it. They said that another company just bought all of them and that is an old model they do not make anymore. I asked if they can still have one made and they said they will make one more for me. I got to put in the order and am awaiting one being made and shipped from Japan right now! Not only are they making one for me they are selling it to me for the price quoted for the one in stock and the 40$ shipping that the site quoted me for it! I love Apexi!
I now have everything for the car new. The GTUs is going to be like new when done. For those who watched the previous video and are concerned that I am taking the rotary out of such a rare car, please note that I have the rotary, its being rebuild and will be sitting aside and able to be placed back in at anytime. The bolts that were cut out (first off were rusty) were replaced with the exact same bolt that is an inch longer. To allow the shims that make it possible to put in the 2jz without cutting the firewall, the hood or the rails. Removing the shims and putting the rotary engine/trans back in can happen at anytime because there has been no permanent modification to the car. Peace to the rotary community, I love them, I have them, I will keep this safe while enjoying it!
Some racing beat sway bar end links. I have decided that I am going with suspension tech sways over racing beat (unless enjuku cannot get them like andys could not get the exhaust) or I will end up getting racing beat. Put in the order, will see as all but the sway came this week.
I think this picture should be used on their page, the one they used had me unsure if the part was worth buying, I almost spent more on the old racing beat one I had because this one looked so shabby in the pictures they had posted. However the part is amazing and I look forward to using it! I promote and support this company 100%. Oh, and they give away swag with each buy, love it. lol
I got some new engine mounts for the 2jz. I am going to paint the white so I can hate myself later.
I also got some OEM ball joints and tie rod end links for it. I bought some aftermarket ones from supernow but I do not like them. I will probably toss them on the RHD savanna.
Re: Joe Maddox Super Rare 1/100 1989 FC3S GTUs RX7 2JZ GTE VVTI Build
I am seeing this type of response everywhere! I am setting the record straight once and for all! THERE ARE NO 100 NON RESTAMPED GTUS MODELS. Here is how this false rumor was created and grew and the truth behind it all!
Where did this all start?
There are two threads that gave the myth to this car and they both came from the RX7Club and from the same person.
None of these things make this credible... That is why no one answers the questions people ask about my car and the build thread! They all end up going silent after stating its all just people guessing.
Now because of this miss information and people making up things, the numbers have changed, the amount produced is always questioned and it is getting to the point where people are not even sure if the restamp cars are real and I start to get called crazy and all who agree are called me as a fake profile. Meanwhile as shown above there are restamped models but they have proven to be GTU models. Many of them destroyed and hacked up, except for that example!
So... No Nick, they are not made up, the restamped models are real, they are just not GTUs models.
Everything that ICEMARK claimed was never stated by mazda and cannot be confirmed. I have tried with many others to have mazda Japan and USA confirm the production numbers and they do not know.
This is what a restamped GTU model looks like:
Now aside from what I was told, there is the facts I am leaning on. The car sports the same turbo door stickers set up as the turbo, I was told by two mazda dealerships this was their story about them because of this. I am aware that I might have gotten stories no different than the owner of the rx7club. The GTUs video and the couple of threads lean heavy on they were trying to up sales and promote the car but lacking in the turbo parts.
Here is really all there is outside of the few dozen people who have been lucky enough to find them and post them on the registry list over the last almost 20 years, mazda released them, there are 100 rare ones, there are only three color options. They were featured in motor week, they had a few promo posters and they are different than all other models. True mutts. And I love them.
Re: Joe Maddox Super Rare 1/100 1989 FC3S GTUs RX7 2JZ GTE VVTI Build
Oh, not all FC's are turbo outside of the USA, but all JDM ones are. AUS got the best IMO
So I got some more parts in the mail and I am REALLY stoked to hear that the new Apexi Dual N1's are finally made and on the way to the States as we speak! I cannot wait to get them and put them on the car! The power by max parts are always the best and I fully recommend them to anyone who is wanting to tighten up the car! Racing beat... OMG I love these people. They are the salt of the earth. I was not expecting the service during times like this. Not sure where to start but lets just say that I ordered some sway bars from them for the build and the bars are on back order, being made in Japan and now tightened up for them (bushings and logos) in WA. I am in NO rush and I tried to be clear about that (its not easy times for most) but this response is amazing. I am glad I have so much more to purchase from them! :-D
It has been a lot of fun meeting all of the GTUs owners, even if there have been a couple disagreements along the way. I am going to make a thread somewhere to try to find all the remaining GTUs models that might exist still today! I think it would be cool to have a place where all the pictures of the GTUs existed and can be seen as well as all the information that can be gathered up on it! I think that is a fine way for me to pass some time during the lock down the Corona virus has caused!
Now there have been lots of comments on social media about how I am trashing the rare parts on the car by swapping the 2JZ into it. I was always aware that the diff cannot take the power, that the power steering with this swap is an issue no matter the rack, but the swap can be a rack killer... I am more than aware that the original seats are impossible to redo, etc.
I HAVE EVERYTHING THIS GTUs CAME WITH AND IT IS NOT GOING TO BE ON THE CAR! Please read and hear that so you can sigh in relief knowing that the original parts are safe and nothing is going to be destroyed!
I have a RHD Savanna... Another reason why this VIN thing is so funny to me, I have had and have RHD Euro cars, JDM cars, AUS cars. I have bought all the imports at this point. So I have been hording for it as well.
So while I have been gathering spare parts for this turbo FC build I also got some parts for the GTUs build to run the turbo set up the JZ motor will have. So I will have all the original suspension and drivetrain parts pictured soon, with new OEM parts or as close to, to show off the reality it can be just put back on and the car is right back to original! The removal of four shims is all that is required.
So in the meantime I am using the best drift parts possible. The S5 A arms that it came with are terrible. The ball joints on the S4 can be bolted on and off, as you see I got new ones above for an S4. So here I got some S4 A arms to run new ball joints, dipped them and got the energy suspensions bushings in everything.
Re: Joe Maddox Super Rare 1/100 1989 FC3S GTUs RX7 2JZ GTE VVTI Build
This is cool! I recently was talking with the Japan Mazda public relations departments and was sent to the head of the American departments and while they could not get any info outside of that the GTUs exists and there were only a select few models made, they were not able to clear up anything more about the car. The dealerships that made them are long gone, the commercials and the sales pitch is lost to history and the people who gave the ok to make them are not around to talk about it. So it seems this is as good as the mystery of the 100 GTUs models goes.
Re: Joe Maddox Super Rare 1/100 1989 FC3S GTUs RX7 2JZ GTE VVTI Build
While starting on the body work to prep the GTUs for paint I helped get the kids body kit on his 03 Miata. He has been working on it for a year or so now and has brought it back to new. There are lots more goodies he has to put on it. He is starting a build thread on it and I will post a link to it for the Miata lovers here!
He is actually the worlds youngest professional rotary engine builder. He is currently building a couple other rotary cars right now, here is a little video of his last rotary engine build at 12 years old! Long version:
Re: Joe Maddox Super Rare 1/100 1989 FC3S GTUs RX7 2JZ GTE VVTI Build
I ended up getting everything all ready to install after paint is done. I am getting a bit excited now that the weather is so nice! All the hording has paid off and very soon I will be getting to put it all on!!!
I ended up getting everything all ready to install after paint is done. I am getting a bit excited now that the weather is so nice! All the hording has paid off and very soon I will be getting to put it all on!!!
So huge week! Remodeling the house. New floors, kitchen and adding an addition, also got to put a little time into the shop as well! Saved the floors and am prepping for an addition and a lift!
So I wanted to talk a little about the original GTUs parts on the car, the difference between them and other models and give a little sneak peak into what I am doing with those parts.
Here is the original GTUs steering rack. Now this has the same set up as the series 4 sport however note the tag shows the difference:
Here is one of my spare RHD savanna steering racks for comparison:
Here is a series 4 base, series 5 GXL and a rhd series 5.
Here is all the original GTUs parts! The only thing not shown here is the trans, however I have that with all the other trans in storage and will get pics of it and post them up! I am restoring them and the original engine (minus the blown coolant seal plate) to factory specs. They are all in perfect 114k condition and I intend to have them show ready with factory bushings and paints.
I have three other differentials I am using for this build. I have two open NA diffs and one 2jz to na driveshaft. I have one 2jz to fd/turbo fc driveshaft and two turbo II differentials. I am using the NA diffs with the solid kit and the drift parts to break in the motor, do some slideways damage to them and have some no ****s given fun. The turbo diff will go in when its dialed in and serious, when I want to play but mean it and then when I am all done and ready for a new toy I will toss the GTUs parts back in (because its as simple as removing the 4 shims required to put the 2jz motor in the stock, uncut, chassis) and then have it as the rare show car it deserves to be!
Re: Joe Maddox Super Rare 1/100 1989 FC3S GTUs RX7 2JZ GTE VVTI Build
Watching the rotary community respond to this build and the reality of the rarity of these cars has been a trip! A couple of my biggest fans locally have been getting a little riled up about this build and the rarity of this car. Unfortunately as it all unraveled we have found that there are less than a dozen GTUs models that exist in the world right now and are confirmed while we can only guess that there was less than 50 made by how many have been claimed to exist over the last 30 years now. There may be 100, but so far less than 50 have been claimed and less than a dozen verified! That would make it the rarest production model to exist right now and to have been made for the public. We all know that one off FD that mazda sold to themselves to store in a museum until it was crashed was not a production line, it can be compared to the orange prototype lol.
So to all my fans out there who are staring builds and are making threads and videos, do not be this guy with the series 4 on tick tock claiming he has a GTUs because they are trendy AF right now
To be confirmed as legit you need to post a picture of the car, the door id tags and firewall vin number. Or you are just making things up like this guy here:
Anyway, while waiting for parts I gave the kid a hard with his project cars. We got the flares on his SA rx7 and some work done to the exhaust and preparations for it going piston as we are good with having two rotary cars in the house already lol. He got some OEM mazda stuff and we started getting some of it on. While it was out of the shop he got a couple pics. I like the look he is going for. Classy. So yeah, he restored the interior to new, got the body all dialed in and is now putting the motor together. Not even 14 yet and all about it. Good times.
Got the Racing Beat sway bars in today! Love it! Amazing products and some of the best guys to work with in getting parts! I even got a couple free shirts for the family! Through the virus they kept in constant contact and went out of there way to get this to me in a timely manner! Thanks guys!
01-16-2022, 07:32 AM
Re: Joe Maddox Super Rare 1/100 1989 FC3S GTUs RX7 2JZ GTE VVTI Build
