@RXPROBATE
About Me:
For me, being into cars was in my blood from a young age. From watching Top Gear with my old man on evenings, to hearing his stories of fixing his old Carltons and Cavaliers at the dinner table, and growing up playing games like Forza Motorsport and NFS, I knew I was going to be a car guy.
I started off small with just a basic tool set on my parents’ driveway, getting dirty nails and bloody knuckles in the snow and rain. But to me there’s no greater feeling than seeing the projects and ideas that you’ve poured your heart and soul into come together:
1988 RX-7 FC Coupe (S4)
One of my absolute dream cars I was finally able to obtain, my FC RX-7, an 80’s wedge shape, with a 13B, and a factory Manual. It ticked all my boxes, and FC’s are SO hard to find these days – which is a shame indeed, as nothing beats the sound of a naturally aspirated rotary that throws flames all the way to 8000rpm with that pop-top open too for good measure, it will never get old.
Currently in project status undergoing engine rebuild*, wiring, respray and some other bits I want to do before bringing it out again.
As far as mods it’s on a set of 3-piece 18” Work Meister S1 wheels 9.5J and 10.5J, adjustable Coilovers with custom camber plates, a stainless-steel exhaust and a few other upgrades like a stereo and upgraded Focal speakers.
I currently have some period correct aero parts to be fitted, and *hopefully a Bridge-ported 13B-REW with a few other upgrades along the way, I’m super exited to continue with it.
1993 Mercedes 190D (W201)
It`s slow, beige over brown (taxi spec – and was a taxi in the 90’s), and it’s on nearly 300,000 miles, but it’s got boat loads of charm. It's dropped on 60mm H&R Springs, Technix shortened shocks, Silver Project camber plates, and sits on a set of staggered 16” Borbet A wheels. For the interior there’s a Momo Monte Carlo 370mm steering wheel, a Blaupunkt DAB radio made to replicate the original stereo, all playing through Focal speakers.
2002 Mini (R50)
I’m going to be honest, I’ve never been a big Mini “fan”, but after rocking up to many a session at Blyton Park and Cadwell and seeing these silly little hatches bouncing two wheels into the air off kerbs like it’s nothing and passing everything short of supercars, curiosity got the better of me… and, after a bit of pressure off my mates (who had also just bought Minis too) - I folded and picked up this early R50 in British Racing Green for £250.
Since buying it as a completely stock car, it’s gone through a lot of work to make it fit for track purposes, the interior has been gutted, rear seat towers drilled out, mounting plates for various modules removed, and the loom has been trimmed to remove all unnecessary wiring, it was then painted body colour inside. All the weight reduction was worth it, as the car now tips the scales at well under 1000kg.
The drivers seat has been swapped out for a Corbeau bucket seat, a short throw shifter has been fitted as well as a flocked dash and a motorsports suede steering wheel, there’s also an auxiliary systems plate mounted under the interior toggle switches where the TPMS and Mirror controls are now mounted. A motorsports grade lifeline fire extinguisher now sits on a bracket in front of the passenger.
The car is on height and damping adjustable Meister R Coilovers, with adjustable drop links too to dial in the handling. The car has had a stud conversion, and a set of 16” Hairpin wheels with 205 section Zestino Gredge RS semi-slicks with 16mm hub centric spacers to fill the arches.
The engine and tune are standard in it’s current form but it does have a port matched R53 inlet manifold and throttle body bolted onto the front of it which does help performance. I’m currently in the process of building a new engine with a Newman race cam that should see some more power and torque, as well as bolting a factory Cooper S Getrag 6 Speed with an LSD onto the side of it for good measure.
