There were a lot of FD RX-7 builds to admire at SEMA 2021, and all of them were special in their own way. It certainly wasn’t easy to pick a favorite from the bunch, but something about Chris Johnston’s Time Attack FD3S. Inspired by the Japanese time attack scene covered by Narita Dogfight, as well as his love for 90s JDM, this 1993 FD from the Fortune Auto booth checks all the boxes for me.
When he lost an apex seal in 2015, the car was going to be down for a while, and he used that opportunity to plan out the build exactly the way he wanted it. He got his first rough ideas of how it would look by playing around with design options in Forza and Gran Turismo video games, and fine tuned his idea over time as he gathered parts and made changes to the overall vision. As it came together, his lifelong dream of unveiling the car at the SEMA show started to become a possibility.
A properly put together 13b REW with a half bridge port built by Eccentric Motorsports serves as the heart of the FD, with a Borg Warner EFR 8374 EWG turbo doing some of the heavy lifting to make good power. Part of what makes the FD stand out among the rest of the RX-7 builds is the beautiful RE Amemiya kit and accessories like the carbon fiber tail light cover. A healthy dosage of R Magic add-ons go the distance as well. The combination of the properly built 13b, the aggressive time attack styling, and all of the incredible work throughout makes this an easy favorite. There’s a lot to love here.
As seen in PASMAG #169. ORDER HERE
Photography by Chris Gosda (@photosbycg13), Chris O'Neal (@conphotographyllc)
ESSENTIALS
Owner: Chris Johnston
Vehicle: Time Attack FD3S RX-7
SOCIAL
Instagram: @attack_fd3s
ENGINE
- Half bridge port
- Stud and dowel kit
- Goopy solid apex seals
- Borg Warner EFR 8374 EWG turbo
- Eccentric Motorsports (billet manifold, V mount, throttle body elbow, radiator, ducting, alternator bracket, catch can, custom hard fuel lines, oil pan, downpipe)
- Turbosmart wastegates (2)
- Davis Craig electric water pump
- Spal electric fans
- Custom (air separator tank, oil filler neck)
- Jp3 throttle cable
- CJM billet fuel rails
- Injector Dynamics 1000/2000cc injectors
- Aftermarket Industries SP800 billet surge tank
- Walbro (525 fuel pumps (2), 450 fuel pump)
- Aeromotive FPR
- Stainless steel fuel lines
- Sakebomb ignition coils
- Setrab twin 19-row oil coolers
- Titanium intercooler piping
- Turboguard filter
- Haltech (1500 Elite ECU, engine harness)
- AEM Performance Electronics water-meth injection system
- LRP alternator
EXHAUST
- Eccentric Motorsports full titanium exhaust
- Custom fender exit exhaust dumps
DRIVETRAIN
- Exedy (twin disk clutch, lightweight flywheel)
- Angel Motorsports (transmission brace, diff brace)
- Mazdaspeed short shifter
- Racebred shifter
- Kaaz 1.5-way differential
- Rx8 4.44 final drive
- Eccentric Motorsports custom diff cooler
WHEELS / TIRES / BRAKES
- Volk Racing CE28N wheels - 18x10.5 -18 (f/r)
- Toyo R888R tires - 275/35/18 (f/r)
- Project Kics lug nuts
- Project Mu 4-pot front BBK
- Mazda Spirit R rear brake caliper brackets
- 929 brake master cylinder upgrade
CHASSIS / SUSPENSION
- Fortune Auto Dreadnought Pro 2-way coilovers w/ Swift springs
- Super Now (poly bushings, billet sway bar mount brackets)
- Racing Beat sway bars
- J Auto (sway bar end links, pillow balls)
- Mazdaspeed titanium strut bar
EXTERIOR
- RE Amemiya (first gen n1 bumper, dual carbon canards, carbon undersweep, sleek headlight kit, headlight intake duct, AD9 good, carbon hood gurneys, carbon diffuser vortex generators, center dividers, carbon tail light cover, front tow hook)
- Klaus composites dry carbon chassis mount splitter
- Eccentric Motorsports (custom splitter mounts, side step guard)
- Ready Go Next carbon hood vents
- R Magic (modified N1 widebody kit, carbon side steps, air deflector, rear canards)
- Seibon Carbon (doors, hatch)
- Fal lexan rear window
- Marshpowerhouse carbon roof
- Esprit (GT wing, gurney flap)
- Car Shop Glow (carbon fiber end plates, carbon diffuser)
- Custom chassis-mount wing stands
- Craft Square carbon mirrors
- Bubble Tech (lexan door windows, rear tow hook)
- Sponsor stickers by fancy logic design
- Narita dogfight custom banner
- Evo R carbon door handle covers
- Garage Alpha carbon cowl panel
- LED Tail Light Modz tail lights
INTERIOR
- Bubble Tech (aluminum race dash, aluminum V2.0 race door panels, heel plates)
- Bride Zeta 3 seat
- Recaro SPG seat
- Takata 6-point harnesses
- Haltech dash display
- Eccentric Motorsports water pump LCD
- Custom switch panel
- 945 garage 10-point roll cage
- Fire suppression system
- Garage Alpha (aluminum widened gas pedal, titanium E-brake handle, titanium shift knob)
- Ronin Speedworks seat rails
- Sparco (steering wheel, quick-release, hub, hub spacer)
- Narita dogfight steering wheel
PHOTO GALLERY
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