FD3S
Mazda RX-7, FD
13B-REW, twin-rotor sequential turbo, rear-wheel drive
The most beautiful and least forgiving car in this market. Production ran October 1991 to August 2002, so early cars have been legal for years and Spirit R-era cars are still clearing.
An FD sheet is read differently from any other. Compression and cooling history decide whether the car is a bargain or a $9,000 engine, and neither is on the sheet, which is precisely why the parts that are on the sheet matter so much.
Series matters and the sheet dates the car
Series 6 through 8 differ in cooling, gearing and trim. The build month on the sheet is the reliable way to place a car in the run.
Any note about the engine
Handwritten notes on engine noise, smoke or an aftermarket item are the most important lines on an FD sheet. A rebuilt rotary with no documentation is a coin toss.
Rust at the rear arches and the frame rails
FDs rot at the arches and under the battery tray. C marks anywhere near the rails deserve photographs before a bid, not after.
Non-original cooling and intake
Most FDs have been modified in the sequential turbo system. That is not necessarily bad, and it does mean the car has been apart, which is worth knowing.
Every mark named above is defined in the codes library, with what it costs to put right at US rates.
Night Line
Be told when a FD3S matters
We write when the FD3S clears another month of the 25-year rule, when the yen moves more than 3% your way, and once when the free Decode opens. Nothing else.