On a daily basis, we see a lot of different cars here at 2NR headquarters: fast cars, slow cars, big cars, small cars, ugly cars, crazy cars, sleepers. We'll probably never see a more beautiful car, though, than a fully street performance-prepped and massaged third-gen RX7. Ask any true import fanatic: The late-model RX7 is one of those cars that simply stirs the soul, in the most literal sense of that clichfd old phrase. This car is a lot like an intoxicatingly beautiful woman; let your eyes fall over the gentle undulations of its flowing outer shell and you can't help but let the nasty thoughts fly.
Tom Ngo, from the San Diego area in Southern Cal, was drawn to the third-gen RX7 like a moth to the candle flame. Ngo is the proprietor of his own speed shop, The Hook-Up Shop in Poway, Calif.
"The Mazda RX7 has always been my dream vehicle, ever since I first saw it at a car show," Ngo said. "I saw an ad in the Auto Trader advertising a 1995 RX7 twin turbo, low mileage, well kept, second owner, and I knew this was my dream vehicle to be."
The engine bay was the first area that Ngo attacked, outfitting it with plenty of performance parts and polished bits and pieces, enough to hypnotize showgoers and judges alike. The stock intercooler has been enhanced with an enlarged Peter Farrell system, and the notoriously undersized Mazda radiator has been replaced with a Mazdaspeed upgrade. The engine now sucks air through a Matrix dual-intake system and spits hot gases out a Mazdaspeed 3-inch downpipe and HKS Super Dragger cat-back exhaust system. The factory twin-turbo induction system remains intact, but excess pressure is now relieved by a pair of polished Blitz blow-off valves. Boost pressure is adjusted and monitored through a cockpit-mounted APEXi AVC-R, and the system winds down under the watchful eyes of a Greddy turbo timer. The ignition system has been upgraded as well, using an Ignition Solutions Plasma Blaster timing box and Ignition Solutions Hot Wires. Various dress-up pieces, like the reservoir caps, Vitek plug wire sleeves and Earl's hoses appropriately deck out the engine bay in order to elicit the "ooohhs" and "ahhhs" from the show-going crowd.
The second item on Ngo's to do list was the car's interior. The main point of interest here is the stereo system, which was designed by Ngo himself and installed at The Hook-Up Shop. The centerpiece is a special-edition Soundstream 7-channel amp that powers dual JL Audio subwoofers and component speakers. Input is provided by an Alpine six-disc changer, a Panasonic portable DVD player, and a Graffiti Sound EQ. A secondary 6.4-inch LCD screen has been installed in the dash's center console for intensified viewing pleasure. To help the car's electrical system cope with the entertainment system's thirst for energy, Ngo also installed three SVR auxiliary 12-volt batteries.
Helping the driver keep an eye on the engine's vital signs, an array of AutoMeter gauges have been installed on both the driver's A-pillar and center portion of the dash. To make up for the fact that the center dash is now all electronic gadgets, The Hook-Up Shop performed a pretty crazy modification that moved the stock controls for the car's climate control into a custom console located in the passenger's glove compartment. A MOMO Commando steering wheel, F-16 shift knob and leather shift boot, as well as a set of Razo Competition pedals, now relay driver input. The factory seats got tossed and replaced by a pair of Sparco Alcantra Milano buckets. Sabelt harnesses keep the car's occupants in place.
The final statement on Ngo's RX7 was to be made on the car's exterior, where a grip of aero enhancements, vinyl stickers and a new coat of platinum silver paint have been placed in effect to make that all-important first impression. The front bumper is a 2000 JDM RX7 piece, imported specially for this project. A Veilside carbon-fiber lower air dam has been grafted into this piece for a custom look. The car's front end also sports custom headlights, a Catz Eye Projector conversion kit from C-West that gives the headlights a more traditional look and eliminates the need for the factory flip-up mechanisms. The hood is a lightened fiberglass piece from R-Magic, and features functional scoops for augmented induction properties. The rest of the car's trim was molded directly to the metal body panels, so the Knight Sport side skirts and three-piece Erebuni wing look more like natural appendages than bolt-on body enhancements. Other exterior enhancements include Catz foglights, Japanese anime girls custom etched into the side windows, and rampant graphics by Modern Image.
The RX7's street fighting stance is attained by using Eibach sport springs up front, Ground Control springs in the rear and Tokico Illumina dampers at all corners. The factory lower stabilizers remain in place, while a Cusco upper strut bar ties the shock towers together in front. The stock brake assemblies have been seriously upgraded in front with a Hurricane Power big brake package, which consists of 13.5-inch cross-drilled and slotted rotors, eight-piston calipers, semi-race pads and stainless lines. In back, Stillen cross-drilled rotors and metal pads provide enhanced stopping power. A set of huge, huge, huge Enkei Zeus three-piece wheels, sized 20x8.5 inches, wrap up the suspension. They have been wrapped with 35-series Nitto NT-555s to maintain the car's hook ups with the road.
With his work complete, Tom Ngo hit the show scene running and has not looked back. You may have seen him at such events as Hot Import Nights, Import Showoff, the SEMA Show in Vegas, Lowrider Fest and D-Day. Ngo has come away with numerous awards at said events, some for best Mazda, best body and best street custom. As always, the work will never be complete, so keep an eye out for Ngo's rotary-powered vessel to learn about any new tricks that might fall out of the old sleeve.