The process of building a car can be a long, painstaking journey-an experience like no other, footnoted over time with trial and error, success and failure-and there are always things to learn along the way. Take a look at any well-built project car and you can't help but wonder how it came to be. Once upon a time, every car was fresh off the showroom floor and 100 percent stock. Many of these cars live out their days in that same state, some get abused or wrecked, and only a lucky few are destined for greatness in the hands of the right people. One glance at Pat Dulcey's '89 RX-7 will leave you wanting to know more; this car has a long history behind it littered with blown motors, rebuilds and changes of heart. Nothing happens overnight, and everything is a learning process.
"I picked up the RX-7 when I was 17 years old-it's my first car," Pat says. At such a young age (and not knowing a whole lot about cars yet) he didn't really know what he was getting into at the time, but the bug soon caught up to Pat and he began modifying. First on his list were the basics: intake, exhaust, some suspension mods and a paint job. These upgrades suited Pat's needs for a little while (after all, he was still a youngster and very green in the car-tuning realm). One thing led to another, and eventually Pat stumbled across something that made him scratch his head and wonder what else was possible with the very capable FC3S chassis he had in his possession. "I found some videos of Mitsuru Haraguchi's famous yellow FC online, and I was immediately inspired."
Exterior RE Amemiya Pro2000...
Exterior RE Amemiya Pro2000 front bumper with carbon-fiber canards, headlights, side skirts, carbon-fiber diffuser, aero mirrors, spoiler w/ winglets, fiberglass rear window frame w/lexan window; Border Racing Aero hood, Pan Speed overfenders, Mazda '93 RX-7 R1 Competition Yellow Mica paint
After dreaming and scheming for a while longer, the inevitable (but not fun) first step of initiation to the world of rotary car ownership happened. The trusty 13B motor died (for the first time) and it was time to figure out what was to come next. Pat came into some money and took the plunge, ordering a slew of wonderful goodies for his baby, including a fresh motor to get the car back on the road. After dropping some serious cash to get what he thought would be a nicely done, race-ready car, Pat and everyone else who saw it was disappointed by the results. "I was still new to the game so I found a shop to do the majority of the first build for me," Pat says. "I won't name any names, but they did a piss-poor job. I was not pleased with the outcome."
Down but not out, Pat made a few calls to try and start the process over again. He and his good friend Vince Hafner-who, at the time, had recently opened R/T Tuning in Lansdale, PA-decided to tear into the car and get it right this time by rebuilding the FC from the ground up.
Vince and Pat spent many sleepless nights working on the FC, stripping everything down and even going so far as to cut out the first rollcage, all the while Pat was busy in mechanics school. "After my bad experience at another shop, I wanted to learn how to get things right," he says. An understandable sentiment, and what better way to learn than going to school and rebuilding your own car simultaneously? The process of Pat's final build took time-in fact, it took the better part of three years start to finish.
It was about this time when the car was fully taken apart that Pat decided that the factory white paint had to go. He wanted to do a major overhaul, so a color change was the natural choice. Following his original inspiration from Haraguchi, the R1 Competition Yellow Mica color from a '93 RX-7 was chosen, and to really set the car's exterior apart Pat turned to RE Amemiya for body treatment.
An extremely rare kit was ordered, consisting of a RE Amemiya Pro2000 front end with headlights, front bumper, side skirts and aero mirrors start the lineup. Pan Speed overfenders, a Border Racing aero hood (another extremely rare item) and RE Amemiya Pro2000 carbon-fiber rear diffuser, rear wing with winglets and fiberglass rear window frame finish off the unique exterior of Pat's FC. To say these parts were difficult to come by would be an understatement. "I actually had to order the body parts through a furniture retailer in order to get a reasonable price on shipping," Pat recalls. After nearly eight months, the goods finally arrived and, boy, was it worth the wait. The unique combination of color and aero selection make the car's exterior second to none.