Author: Matt Haugness

After cleaning the engine bay thoroughly it was time to move on to the interior. The passenger side engine harness had already been removed so the next step was to determine how to remove the driver side harness and discard any wires that were used for the rotary. Since this side goes to the fuse box, there were quite a few wires that were preventing the harness from being removed through the firewall. I started by removing the dash which was held in with fewer bolts than normal. I’ve taken quite a few dashboards out over the years so this…

This is a guest post from Brian Turner. Brian is interested in all types of cars and he enjoys writing about the inherent toxic hazards in them. He is a staff contributor for the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance Blog on mesothelioma.com where he writes about the cancer risks that toxins like asbestos pose. While regulations in some countries concerning the use of potentially dangerous and lethal chemicals, materials and substances to manufacturer cars is strictly regulated and controlled, in some places of the world there are few standards or laws protecting a consumer against these risks. With growing concern and increasing…

Over the next few weeks, I will be working with Matt (v8rx7guy) to prep the RX-7 for the engine/transmission swap (date of swap TBD). If you missed the project introduction post, be sure to check it out here.

With the help of a few local members, I recently picked up the official track car for ImportMeet.com. This black beauty is a 1990 Mazda RX-7 GTU. As you can see, the stock rotary is non-existent and the passenger fender is missing. This makes for the perfect starting point as I have no desire to build a rotary (no offense rotary guys). The car has a clean title and it appears to have never been in an accident. Most of the interior pieces are intact with the exception of the seats.

Lately I've been contemplating building a track car that can bring exposure to the site and also a build that everyone can follow on the blog. The only criteria I have at this point is that it must be able to compete in drifting, drag racing, and autocross events.

We couldn't have picked a better day to hold our very first import car show in Bellingham, WA. The weather was perfect and the amount of quality cars was impressive. Our goal for this show was to raise as much money as possible for the National MS Society. Our sponsors were very generous and donated merchandise to help us accomplish this goal. In total, there were 61 cars that entered the car show which nearly filled the available space at the Sehome Village Haggen. People from as far away as Vancouver, BC and Tacoma, WA came to Bellingham which meant…

Import Face-Off is back for 2011 and the weather forecast looks great for this weekend! The event starts at 10AM and ends at 5PM. There will be a car, truck, and bike show as well as drag racing. They also plan on having a Stereo Crank Up Contest and a Burnout Competition if time allows. Over $7,000 in prizes will be awarded to the the winners in each competition.

What a great day for a drive to Mt. Baker! One of my favorite things about H&R's Wanderlust drives is the variety of cars that come out to these events. This year was no exception with everything from a Dodge Viper to an Ariel Atom in attendance. The pre-meet at H&R's warehouse was nearly full by 9:30. If these events continue to grow at this rate, I suspect they may need to hold the pre-meet at a larger location next year.