11x03 - Mazda RX7

[bunniefuu]

This time on Wheel of
Dealers I'm looking for a rebel

Japanese sports car with
a radical Wankel engine.

Wow and it's a 1.3! The RX-7 is fast
and clever. Buy a good one and it's an

amazing car. That's very smart finally
get a Wankel in the workshop that's

pretty cool. But get it wrong and that
rotary engine could turn any investment

into a write-off.
Cranking it over, there we

go, end of test. I do
the deals. I think we

know we're gonna end up here don't we?
Okay. Yes, top work! And it provides the

mechanical muscle and
hopefully will sell for a profit.

With its unconventional rotary
Wankel engine the Mazda RX-7 is a true

Maverick and a genuine high-performance
sports car. The third-generation RX-7

was launched in 1992 and put together
everything Mazda had learned over the

years of rotary engine development.
With its lightweight, precise handling

and 250 brake horsepower
and silky smooth rotary grunt,

the RX-7 could give a
Porsche a run for its money.

The engines can be problematic but
find a good one and the RX-7 is a seriously

desirable motor. Trouble is good ones
are getting thin on the ground and now is

the time to grab one. Now some people
are afraid of the RX-7 because of the

radical rotary engine but the truth
is there's lots of specialist firms out

there that can repair them and make
the car have a much longer life. But

because of these fears it means that
the prices are low and they can be a bit

of a bargain and that's why I want one.
I'm looking for a third-generation RX-7

the last of which were built in 2002.
So even the youngest cars are going to

have seen some serious use by now.
Looking through the adverts there are

cars coming up around the two to three
thousand pound Mark but they're cars

that need engine rebuilds and that's
unlikely to make financial sense for

us. And there's cars that were at the
other end of the scale would have been

highly modified but they're too
expensive eight and a half thousand

pounds. What I'm after is a car
somewhere in the middle. Now I have

put the word out with the trade but
I'm looking for one of these cars and

I've had one email coming from a
contact of mine. He knows if somebody's

selling a 94 RX-7 it's in silver
which isn't a bad color and the guy is

called Nick he's asked him six
thousand pounds and if the engines good

and strong then that is bang on the money.
So I think what I'll do is give.

him a call. Hello is that Nick? I want
a car that's been well looked after but

not overly modified and not going for
top money leaving a space to add value

for a potential profit. Listen the one
concern is just how good the engine is.

Cheers mate thanks a lot bye bye.
I'm not gonna waste any time I'm gonna

hit the road and go and see that RX-7.
It is always a worry going to see a

rotary engine car. If you have to
strip out the engine, rebuild it and put it

back together it would negate
any profit I'm likely to earn. I'll be

keeping an eye out for poor starting
and lumpy idling both signs of rotary

wear. If it's worn in any way mechanically
I'm just gonna turn around and walk away.

Oh yes well that certainly looks like
the car. Wow that's fantastic aren't they?

I forgot how good
they look. Hi. Hiya. Are

you Nick? That's me.
Nick are you doing a mic?

Pleased to meet you Mike. What a car
looks absolutely fantastic. What can you

tell me about this wonderful RX-7?
I imported it from Japan 2004. It's

slightly different from the standard
one this isn't it because it's got a

few bits and pieces. I mean this is a
special body kit. It's a Mazda speed.

body kit all round. And not only has
it got this different nose on the front

the bonnet's different as well isn't it
because these vents they're not standard.

Well that's a vented body kit which
helps to keep the engine cool. And these

skirts they're not normal are they
down the side but they add to the car.

And what about this boot spoiler?
This boot spoiler is unidentified we don't

know where it's from which I think
adds to the charm. It suits the car

doesn't it? Yeah. And it looks really
nice and square this car. Any incidents

or accidents with it at all? Absolutely
none at all. I like the industrial piping.

The standard exhaust pipe on a Japanese
car. And these wheels, BBS's, they look

great. Are they original? They are.
Can we have a look inside? Yeah sure.

There you go. It's a sea of black in
there isn't it? Five-speed gearbox? Yep.

And what are these little bits of
gadgets on? You got a box on the top

of the dashboard? That's a water
temperature Gauge on the top there.

What does that do then? Just tells
you how hot the engines running so you

can look after it make sure it's
not overheating. Okay and this little

thing down there? That's a turbo timer.
It's a safety thing really. If you turn

the engine off too soon that will
keep the engine running just a little

bit longer. To cool the engine down
so you don't damage the turbo? Exactly.

Does everything work? The aircon needs
regassing otherwise it's good. Okay can

we get under the bonnet? Yeah sure.
These bonnet catches they're not

standard are they? No because it's a
vented bonnet if you're going up very

high speed there's a tendency for
it to flap about. Oh it's nice and light.

It's made of fiberglass.
A lot of people including

me would find this
rather astonishing that

that is just a 1.3 litre engine.
It's amazing isn't it? It packs such a

punch that little engine. Is
there any charge you can

fire it up for me? Can I hear
it? Yeah of course you can.

Very nice. Give it a
little rev. Okay that's

enough. That sounds
absolutely fantastic you can

turn it off. All that's left for me to
do is to say get for a test drive if

that's all right with you?
That sounds like me.

Right nice straight. Put me foot down.

Wow! What a cracking
engine! It's unbelievable!

And it's a 1.3! Wicked!
Absolutely wicked!

And as the car only weighs 1,300 kilograms
it's really light and it can go from 0 to


And as for the handling look at the way

this car drives! Wow! You just
choose an apex in the corner,

point the car to it and it gets
through. Oh what a motor!

Oh!

So the thing is do I want this RX-7?
Well there's always that niggling doubt

about the reliability of the Wankel engine.
There's lots of rumours and

scare stories about how fragile they
are but this one was rebuilt 10,000 miles

ago so I think it's gonna be alright
but you'll never really know until you

start really looking into it.
I know it's at the top end of the

dry scale and there
doesn't seem to be a

lot wrong with it but I
reckon me and Ed can

have fun with it. If we bought this
car we can turn it into something that's.

a little bit more fast
and furious so I think

I'm gonna go back and
try and win myself a deal.

So what do you think? I absolutely loved
it. Yeah what a car. It's so wicked to

drive. I'm saying all the wrong things.
I should be saying no it's

absolutely awful and I've had a terrible
test drive but no I'm not gonna lie to

you I really like it. It's such a car.
What you got there? I have all the tax

discs and a full-service history.
Do you know that really helps when you

come to buy a car and it does add
some value but with all that in mind

I do want to try and get some money
off because you want how much? 6,000. I

love the car but I think you're
just asking the top end to what this

car is worth. There's not much broken
to fix but I want to add some value. I

was thinking more like four and a half
thousand pound. That's too low Mike. What

would you take for it? Five and a
half that's fair. Five and a half thousand

pound. I think we know we're gonna
end up here don't we? Why don't we just

meet in the middle. Five thousand pound.
Come on have a deal with me. Okay. Yes

top work. I just bought myself an RX-7.
I've paid five grand for our first

ever rotary wankle engine car.
A Mazda RX-7. If the engine is sound then

we're in with a chance of a profit but
if the engine has worn rotors we're in

trouble.
Only Ed will be able to tell for sure.

I've been on the hunt for an unsung
Japanese hero. The Mazda RX-7. Oh what a

motor. It's tiny but powerful wankle
engine makes the RX-7 go like stink.

Unbelievable and handle like a dream.
Look at the way this car drives. It's a

high-performance Maverick with a serious
bite. Let's just hope it doesn't bite us.

Now you may think why
have I bought a car with

nothing for Ed to do.
Trust me I've got a plan.

What we need to do is to add value by
changing it in some way. What we can do

is get the ECU which is the engines
computer remapped and that way we can

unleash some more power and unlock
some more profit. Another thing that we

can do is give it a really cool paint
job or even do some really clever

graphics on it. The one gamble with
this car is that wankle engine. If the

tips are worn out then I could be
saying goodbye to the 5,000 pounds

I've just spent and I won't know
whether I bought a good one until I

get it back to the workshop
and Ed puts it on the

ramp. I just hope he
likes it as much as I do.

Hey look at this. That's very smart
an rx-7 finally get a wankle in the

workshop that's pretty cool. Yes look
at this a 1995 Mazda rx-7 Mark 3 twin

turbo wankle engine and isn't it a
cool-looking car. Do you like it? It's

pretty cool except it's not exactly
a standard nose is it? It hasn't got a

soft front end this is a Mazda speed
nose so what I've done is found a car

that needs very little done to it
just to give you a little bit of an easy

ride but it's a car you're really
gonna enjoy. I'm slightly suspicious but

that's good news I mean this is a
cool car it's a bit underrated I've always

loved rx-7s and that's quite cool because
it's actually got a turbo timer. Let me

just start it back up again you'll like it.
Okay listen to this that is

pretty awesome isn't it the wankle
engine is a very clever engine but if

it's not maintained properly unfortunately
can be ruinously expensive to get back

up to scratch. This one has had a
recent engine rebuild somebody has

lavished a lot of money on this car
they've done the engine and it is as

sweet as a nut 250 plus brake
horsepower twin turbos a little 1.3

engine and it's so silky smooth.
Now it does look pretty impressive I mean I

think one of the things to think
about is like is there any smokers

over the back which there isn't which
is kind of groovy so I mean you know

you've done alright. Come and have
a look at inside there very nice indeed.

no roll cages no nasty speaker holes
cut in the door. Now it's all pretty tidy I

mean it is a bit plastic even of
course they always were but it looks

very original which is good. So how
much did you pay for it? Very cheap this

car five thousand pounds.
Five grand okay so then that begs the next

question what's wrong with it? Do
you have no faith in my car buying ability

there's very little wrong with it.
Well that's fantastic hooray. Yes I know

but that doesn't mean you're gonna
get away like me we need to make this

car better than it already is that way we
can extract the profit out of it. So what

are you thinking? Well I'm thinking this
is a hardcore car what we need to do is

to make it harder. Okay so you're
thinking kind of more horsepower more

bite perhaps we mess around with the
cooling system make it cool better and

should we add some graphics and stuff
on the outside? That's exactly right we

need to make this car also look meaner.
Okay and presumably all of that on no

budget at all. No there is a budget try
and spend between two or three thousand

pounds air more towards the two thousand
pounds if you can and that way we can

get a little bit of profit out of it the
other end. So when can we start? I mean

when can I start? That's what I meant
when can you start? Let's get in the.

workshop. Cool. It is brilliant to
finally get a Wankel rotary engine

into our workshop and of course
the rx-7 which is synonymous with that

wonderful power plant is a brilliant
car in itself it's powerful it handles

beautifully but the thing is the
thing that makes it special the engine

is also perhaps its Achilles heel so I
need to make sure that the engine that

Mike's got us is actually as good as
he says it is. As you can see on this

old engine instead of pistons the
Wankel engine has rotors which move

in an eccentric motion around the
crank creating a moving combustion.

chamber but interestingly it still has
the four-stroke engine the suck squeeze

bang blow so you can see here you've
actually got the inlet port there just

about see the light coming through
there so of course first of all as it's

rotating it actually sucks the fuel and
air mixture in and then it starts to get

smaller again so you actually get
the squeeze cycle so of course this is

getting tiny and then the spark plugs
sit here so then you get your bang of

course that's your power stroke that's
actually what drives this little rotor

around and then if you go through
this side you can then see you get

the blow so the exhaust is then
blown back through this port here and it

all starts again. Now interestingly
manufacturers of rotary engines have

always been a little bit cheeky when
it comes to describing the capacity of

their engines they've looked at this
space and they said well that area

there is about 0.65 of a litre and of
course there's going to be two rotors

sitting on this crankshaft another
one here and they said oh that's about


about it there's three of those spaces

going on all at the same time so
it's actually a little bit more like a

four litre engine which makes it
powerful but also thirsty however the

real problem with these engines are
the seals. You have all kinds of seals you

have a load on the top and the bottom
of each rotor but mainly the ones we

need to worry about are the ones on
the tips they have to travel all the way

around the circumference of that
chamber which means they have to rub

for maybe three to four times the
distance that a piston ring would have

to do. And as the tip seals are
held in place by centrifugal force the.

faster the engine spins the more that
force is increased and therefore that

could also increase the wear. If the
engine is worn that means a rebuild and

a swift goodbye to any chance of a profit.
So before I do anything else to our car.

I want to give the engine a proper
health check and that begins with a

compression test. Now when you do
a compression test on a conventional

engine you would actually take
the plugs out pop a Gauge in spin the

engine over and then you'd measure
the compression on each individual

cylinder. Unfortunately we've got
three chambers all kind of bundled up

together so if you to use a
conventional Gauge all you'll be

measuring is the best compression
out of all three of those chambers so we

have to use a special digital
Gauge which you can actually discern

between those three different
pulses and that way we can find out

whether maybe one or more of
the seals is actually leaking. But if.

that is the case then of course
that means Mike hasn't bought a

good engine and therefore
we're going to blow all

of our budget and then
some trying to repair it.

With the engine fully warmed
up I remove the fuse for the

ignition so the engine can't
accidentally fire up during the

test. Then the spark plugs are
removed so the engine can turn.

freely and finally the compression
tester is screwed into the front

spark plug hole in the first chamber.

So I've got our clever little
digital compression tester. I've

turned it on.
I'm just going to wait for it to wake up.

I've also got my foot fully
down on the throttle because that

way the maximum amount
of air is going to get into the

engine. It's going to make it
very accurate. So here we go.

Cranking it over. I've got a
reasonably steady reading. I just

push this little button. There we go.
End of test. 7.95, 7.8 and 7.7.

Now to get anything over
six is fantastic. To get nearly

eight is awesome. So bank
one is looking very good.

All I need to do now is
repeat the test on the rear

chamber and hope there are no
problems on that side of the engine either.

The results are 7.8, 8.05 and 8.05.

Wow. Well, that's even better
than the first rotor, which is

fantastic. So now we know
that the basic health of the engine

is OK. The next thing to
do is to find out how much

horsepower generating by
chucking it on a rolling road.

I don't yet have a rolling road, so
I've sent the RX-7 away to be tested.

British and Japanese RX-7s
have the same specs, so our

grey import should have
about 250 brake horsepower. It's

showing 215 at the wheels,
which the computer calculates as.


Very impressive for a



Well, that is brilliant.
We now know that Mike's hunch about.

this engine was spot on.
So now we can move on to the

next stage, which is trying
to eke a bit more power and

therefore profit out of
our wonderful motor.

While it's making sure our
RX-7 performs brilliantly,

I want to make sure
it looks brilliant too.

So I've pinched the wheels
and the rear spoiler and I've

brought them here to a coating
specialist to see what they can do.

Good to see you. You alright?
Yeah, I'm really good.

Maybe you can help me out
because we've got this Mazda.

RX-7. Ed's doing his magic
on making the car go better.

And I want to make the car
look magic on the outside.

And one of the things I
was thinking of, we could

transform the wheels.
We should be able to take care of

that for you. We can literally
put anything on any surface.

We could even put your face
on that wheel if you want to.

Yeah, then I would have tyre
kickers come round the boot

of the wheel, wouldn't I?
First things first, we need to

give that wheel a good clean up.
So if I take care of

that, I'll leave you to look
through some of these.

samples and I'll come back shortly.
Okay, yeah, lovely.

That's the kind of thing, you know, orange.
I've got.

that in my head.
It'd be quite nice, wouldn't it?

Carbon fibre. Seen that before, haven't we?

I like that. That's snakeskin.

Wooden wheels on an RX-7.

Bit of novelty, but I
don't think it'll work.

No, I'm drawn to go back to this snakeskin.

Now, okay, that was good.
Look at that, nice and clean.

Well, listen, I like this one.

Is it possible that we
can put this effect on, say,

the centre of the wheel and
maybe paint a solid colour

around the outside?
There's a few little problems,

like the recesses in the
wheel causing some air traps

and again in the middle,
but I'm confident we'd better

get it done for you.
Is it possible at the same time

we could put that snakeskin
effect on the spoiler?

These large objects can
sometimes be a little bit more

problematic, but again,
we'd better get it done for you.

The process starts with a quick re-spray.

How do we get this
pattern put on top of it?

Well, we're going to
use water transfer printing

and as you can see
here, here's the special film

that we use for this process
with the pattern printed onto it.

The transfer is cut to size and our
wheel is suspended over the dipping tank.

All right, it's going to go up here, is it?
Yep.

All done? Yep.

With the wheel in
place, the transfer is

carefully lowered onto
the surface of the water.

So we've got to wait a little
bit of time for this to activate,

have we? Basically, we
just wait in for about a minute

or so for the supporting
layer of PVA to soften,

so when we come to the printing stage,

the pattern's going to form
nicely across the wheel.

Finally, a catalyst
is sprayed over the

transfer to help speed
up the softening process.

It's looking good.
Oh, yeah, it is looking good.

Oh, I hope it works, I really do.

Nice and gentle, isn't it? Oh, yeah.

Look at that! Wow!

That is amazing!

The total cost of transforming the
wheels and the spoiler comes to just £500.

I can't think of a more visually
dramatic way of spending the money.

The wheel is washed, dried and masked up,
ready for the final part of the process.

Good luck!

Well, that's the orange coat
going on now round the rim.

You can see it's totally going
to transform the look of the RX7,

and it's really going to help
when it comes to sound time.

But I can't wait to get it
all back to the workshop.

I just hope Ed isn't scared of snakes.

It looks like we've landed a good RX7,

but now we need to make
sure we get maximum profit for it.

And to do that, I need Ed
to make it faster and meaner.

But rotary engines need
to be treated with care.

Otherwise, you'll end up
with an expensive write-off.

The Mazda RX7 is a hidden gem.

People worry about its
fragile, wankle engine.

But in truth, it's one of the best sports
cars to ever come out of the Mazda factory.

Ha-ha-ha-ha! Wow!

We know ours is a good one,
but we need to make it even better.

If Ed can upgrade the cooling
system and increase the power,

we'll add value, which will hopefully
put us on track for a big profit.

Now, the Mazda RX7 is a cool
car, but if we're going to make

any money out of it, we are
going to have to extend its talents.

Now, our plan is to actually get
a bit more grunt out of the engine

with the remap, but because this
car has that magically unconventional

wankle engine in there, we
do have to tread carefully.

So far, I've established that
our twin-turbo rotary engine

is healthy enough, with a dyno
reading of 247 brake horsepower,

only a whisker short of what
the car had when it left the factory.

Now, the problem we've got
is not with the engine itself,

it's actually with the cooling,
because at the moment,

the radiator, and
particularly the intercooler,

are only just good enough
to cool the engine as it is.

As soon as we start adding
horsepower and make it

more powerful, of course
it's going to get hotter,

and therefore we need to look
at up-rating the cooling system.

I've ordered in a kit which
includes a much bigger intercooler

and an uprated radiator that fit in
a new position under the bonnet,

allowing much better airflow.

The kit isn't cheap at £900,
but protecting the engine is vital,

so it's definitely a price worth paying.

Now, the downside is that all
this new hardware is far bigger

than what we'll be
taking out, so a few other

things are going to
have to come out as well,

just to make some
room, so things like the

battery, the air-con
radiator, the condenser dryer.

Mike's already established
that the air-con doesn't work.

If it was, it would just be sapping power.

As it is, it's just a dead weight,

so we might as well
remove as much of that as

we can, just to make
the car go even faster.

First thing to be removed is
the battery, then the air-con dryer.

I disconnect the intercooler pipework,

and finally the intercooler
itself can be pulled out.

I then lift the car so I can gain access
to the air-con condenser or radiator.

Oh, wow, look at that.

That's a pretty good reason why
our air-con isn't actually working.

I imagine this radiator is properly rotten,

and therefore it's letting
the gas out all over the place.

There we go. It's good that it's going.

With the air-con condenser out of the
way, and the engine's radiator drained,

I drop the car, undo the pipework,

remove the air filters, move
the relay box out of the way,

and with a few more bolts
undone, lift the radiator free.

The air-con compressor comes out too,

because you won't need
that any more, either.

I'm just popping on a
new, shorter fan back,

because, of course, now we
don't have the air-con compressor

in the way, which is great,
so now that's in place,

we can now fit the new radiator
and new turbo intercooler.

Now, the radiator's going to sit about


so rather than being in that
position, it's now going to

be in that position, so it's
going to be in half of a V,

and then the top will be the
intercooler joining that V up,

but, of course, then it
makes a kind of a wedge,

so the air comes into
the front of the vehicle,

and it's going to be forced either through
the intercooler or through the radiator,

and hopefully that new, improved design

is actually going to improve
the cooling by as much as 30%.

The best way to fit all this
stuff is to put everything in

place loosely first, and then
tighten each bolt a bit at a time.

That way, everything will centre properly.

Well, these are now finger-tight,

just so I actually get the
position of the radiator.

As you may have noticed, there
are no holes in this tab just here,

and that's because, obviously,
each car and each assembly

might be slightly
different, so they're kind of

allowed for that, so I now
need to Mark that hole.

I could use tape and a ruler and some pens,

but another way of doing
it is to use a ball bearing.

It's much quicker.
There's an existing hole underneath there.

I'm just going to pop that into position,

and then what I'll need to
do then, hit it with a hammer,

and, of course, end up with a Mark
I can then use as a guide for drilling.

And once the lugs are drilled, I can
mount the new radiator in the car...

..followed by the intercooler,
which sits on top of it.

Then all that remains
is to fit the pipework

and fill the system with coolant.

So now everything's looking
very tidy and nice in here,

but, of course, there's a
fundamental thing missing, the battery.

So, clearly, there's no room under the bonnet
that's going to have to go in the boot,

but, actually, it's no bad thing
because of the weight distribution.

It's a fairly simple process.

The battery is put inside a
box, which fits neatly in the boot.

All I need to do is cut out the carpet
and then bolt the battery box in place.

The cables are then threaded
under the car from the front.

Well, now we've improved
the cooling of this car

by 30%, we can safely
move on to the next stage,

which is hotting things up under the
bonnet by adding some more power.

Ed, are you all right, son?
How are you doing?

I'm good, sir, I'm good. Good to see you.

I'm excited about seeing
the RX7, but a little bit nervous

because when I bought this Mazda,
I thought it had a really good engine,

but the only person who can
tell me whether it is good or not.

is you, the master.

Well, you have been a lucky boy

because we did a little compression
test with a very clever machine

and it's actually got
really good compression.

Then we stuck it on a
rolling road and, look at

it, it's got oodles of
power, so it's all good.

Fantastic. Well done. OK, that's a relief.

That is really good.

They're quite fragile, these engines,
so I'm really happy about that.

Have a look under the bonnet.

It's a little different, isn't it?

How did you get that in there?

Well, it wasn't easy.
We had to take an awful lot of stuff out,

but you can see we
basically put a new radiator

in there, but at a
different orientation,

and a massive, massive
new intercooler as well.

And now it's going to cool so much better,

we can then kind of eke
a bit more power out of it.

So that's actually the next process,
actually going and getting it chipped.

So you've been really working your magic,

basically, on getting the
engine performing well.

Yep. I've been working my magic, too,

because you'll notice the
wheels are missing. Yes, indeed.

And I'm kind of hoping that
you're going to like them.

I just hope so, too. OK, you ready?

I'm going to be crazy, otherwise
I'm not going to be happy otherwise.

Liking the sign of this
already, orange is groovy.

Look at that. That is wicked.

Now, that's perfect. Seriously?
Absolutely, this is awesome.

OK, I know, because it
was such a gamble to do

it, but I'm so pleased.
That's your reaction.

That is... Isn't that incredible?

That is really, really
smart, and that's exactly

what you should be doing
with that kind of process.

What can we do to
enhance the rest of the car?

It's already working away, mate.
Leave it to me, it'll be fine.

This is going to be awesome,
and there may be some orange in it.

I'm going to fit a
programmable ECU to our RX7.

Right, Pip, how's it going?

And this is going to allow us to tinker
with a whole range of parameters.

It's a complex job, so I've come to
see a rotary engine expert, Pip Gardner.

Now, this is our new ECU,

and at £875, it's not exactly cheap,

but it is very clever and
actually very versatile.

It can handle almost any modification
you can Chuck at one of these engines,

but actually, even on a standard engine
like ours, with our extra bit of cooling,

we should hope to get as
much as 20% increase in power,

which makes it a very cost-effective
way of adding as much as 50 horsepower.

The first thing to do is
disconnect the battery,

because the last thing you need
is current running through the car

while delicate electronics
are switched over.

The old ECU is easy enough to remove,

it's just held in with a couple of bolts.

It's connected with four
complicated-looking yellow multi-plugs,

but as they're all different shapes,

you can't fit them into
the wrong holes on

the new ECU, so there's
no need to label them.

So I've now connected
the loom to our new ECU,

but I'm not going to
actually fix it back to the car,

because I'm going to
have to connect another

wire in here to actually
program the device.

But now that's done, we can now
connect the car to the dynamometer.

A hub dynamometer does
the same job as a rolling road,

but with no open rollers, it's much safer.

An oxygen sensor is put into the exhaust,

the hubs are connected to the dynamometer,

and with the battery reconnected and Pip's
laptop plugged in, we're ready to start.

OK, so assuming everything
we've done here is correct,

we've connected everything up properly,
and of course the ECU is a good'UN,

this should now run up nicely.

We're working with a visual map

that shows the duration of the
time the injectors are open for,

and therefore the amount
of fuel being injected

at any given rev speed
at any given boost.

The system allows adjustments to
be made at any point on the map.

Now what we're going to do is we're going
to adjust those numbers to suit this car.

OK, so then when the ECU looks at that map,

it then sees the numbers you've put in
and you've chosen to be able to work.

So when that box is in that place,

those are the numbers the ECU
is going to use to do its sums.

I get you, fantastic.

And that's the thing,
you can change it, you

can keep changing
it, you're totally happy.

I can change all those
numbers to my heart's content.

Even from the factory,
every car is slightly different,

so it will benefit from fine tuning.

Do you need to be in the driving seat, sir?

I certainly do.

OK.

The beauty of a programmable ECU

is that rather than a generic chip to
suit every car off the production line,

it allows us to build a
bespoke map for our actual car.

But this is a skilled job

because changing the parameters
incorrectly can blow the engine.

I've put a knock monitor on the
engine so I can hear if any funny noises,

I can hear them and react accordingly,

turn the timing down, whatever it needs.

The amount of fuel that can be burned

is limited by the amount of
oxygen being sucked into the engine.

Your job now is to get the fuel
right to use up all of that oxygen.

The optimum amount
of fuel so we've got no

wastage, so we haven't
got any dirty exhaust.

Brilliant.

Remapping the parameters
across the whole rev and

boost range is a long,
time-consuming process.

It takes Pitt three hours and eats
another £400 out of our budget,

but hopefully the result will be worth it.

Oh, wow, well done.

Looks to me like we've got a
bit of a result on the screen there.

Yep, 296 horsepower.

Thank you very much, sir.
I'll shake your hand.

That is awesome. Pleasure.

So that's nearly 50
horsepower more than we had

before we started and
that in a car as light as this

is going to be a fantastic
change to the performance

and also that's going to
make it much easier to sell.

But of course the thing
that's actually going to attract

the customer to the
car is what it looks like.

So it's back to the workshop
for a few last modifications.

We know now that the
Wankel engine in our

RX7 is a good one and
isn't about to go bang.

We've made it run cooler and go harder

but now we're nearing the
limit of our £3,000 budget

and we still need to
make our car look the

part if we want to
guarantee a healthy profit.

We've bought ourselves a Japanese
pocket rocket with a radical Wankel heart.

Wow!

The RX7 is a serious sports car

with sparkling performance
from its tiny rotary engine.

But now Ed's worked his magic
and made it go even harder.

The mechanics may be sorted
but if we're to ever make top money.

Ed's still got work to do.

Well I've been busy sorting out
the driving performance of the Mazda

Mike's been busy sorting
out the visual performance

and he's found this
fantastic wet transfer process

which in this case has
produced this wonderful

snake skin effect over
the spoiler and the wheels

and the best bit is
rejuvenating them this

way meaning we didn't
have to buy any new ones

but the problem is it's
such a bold statement

it means that I've now
got to work out a way of

doing something to the car that
kind of ties the whole look together.

I needed some expert help
so I handed the problem over

to a friend of mine who's
actually a car livery designer

who needs to come up
with this rather natty scheme.

He's taken the snake skin motif and
used it to kind of fade from front to back.

So now I've got the design sorted I need
someone to help me apply it to the car.

Hi James.

Hiya.

Now so this is the snake skin that
obviously we sent you as a graphic

but you obviously made it a
lot bigger and we're just going

to start at the back end and
sort of work all the way forward?

Yeah it should sort of break
up as it goes down the vehicle

and then we can sort of make it unique
by chopping and changing as we go.

The design has been
printed onto translucent vinyl.

ready to be wrapped onto the RX7.

The vinyl can't be applied to the car
unless the bodywork is absolutely spotless.

Once we're sure the car is clean

the transfer paper can
be cut into the approximate

shape of the area that
we're trying to cover.

So this is where it
starts to get tricky isn't it?

When we peel the back off.

Yeah it's obviously
exposing the adhesive now

so we've just got to be careful
not to handle the adhesive

in any way or allow it
to become contaminated

by any dust or anything
so just take your time.

It looks really cool actually
I mean because obviously

because it's translucent we
can see the pattern on this side

even though it's actually going
to be the other way around.

Exactly you're just seeing
the reverse basically.

Because each bit of snake
skin is a separate piece of film

the whole design is transferred
to the car while it's still

on the adhesive backing
which holds everything together.

Tricky to cut accurately in a straight line
so what we're going to do is actually use

the very straight panel edge to
give us a perfectly straight line.

Once the panel gaps have
been cut a smoothing tool

is used to neatly fold over
the edges of the graphic.

The next problem we've got here

is this kind of transition
from all the shapes to nothing.

Obviously we need to fade
so obviously we can space it

out a bit more but it might
actually be a bit jarring.

Yeah it does look a little bit harsh so
what we've actually pre-thought that in

and what we've done is
because we digitally printed

we've printed a fade so
it actually goes to clear

eventually so it will go
for that lovely transition

from the metallic silver
through to the darker snake skin.

It's been a lot of hard work but eventually
all the graphic patches are in place.

Well thank you sir, vast improvement.

Not a problem.

And all I need to do is
reattach the rear spoiler.

and the wheels.

and the job's done.

We've always wanted an RX7 in the workshop

particularly because of
that fantastic Wankel engine

and having now dialled in a bit more
horsepower to give some outrageous performance

we've then matched that with
an outrageous looking exterior.

I can't wait to give this a test
drive before someone snaps it up.

Ed, how you doing son?

Hi sir.

Wow, look at the car
as the youth would say.

That is wicked.

So that looks fantastic.

Great job.

Well thank you sir, it was
a bit of a challenge actually

trying to come up with
a cohesive look to go

with such a bold statement
but I think we've pulled it off.

You've certainly pulled
out the snake skin motif.

I think it looks great.

Well thank you sir, and
the cool thing is of course

that this car doesn't just look
like it might have some bite

because of the modifications we've
done under the bonnet, it actually does.

Well if it's got some bite,
that means for us, some profit.

The Mazda RX7 is the
first ever rotary Wankel

engine car we've had
on Wheeler Dealers.

It's a comp car that
deserves better recognition

because the way it goes and
the way it handles is top class.

We paid five grand for ours.

Yes, top work.

I just bought myself an RX7.

Not the cheapest but we
avoided serious engine issues

and instead worked on making
our hardcore sports car even harder.

Now with a full health check.

To get anything over six is fantastic.

To get nearly eight is awesome.

Uprated cooling system.

Well now we've improved
the cooling of this car by 30%.

New ECU program to a
healthy 296 brake horsepower.

So it looks to me like we've got a
bit of a result on the screen there.

And a radical new look.

We've got a car that
should be worth top money.

On top of the original purchase price
we spent 900 quid improving the cooling.



Over 1200 pounds on a
programmable ECU and remapping.

And 350 quid on graphics.

In total, our car owes
us just over eight grand.

Big money.

But then this really is a special car.

And before we sell it
on, it deserves to be

taken somewhere special
to show what it can do.

The Welsh island of Anglesey.

Land of druids.

Puffins.

And a really good racetrack.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

Oh, there you go, son.

Oh, wait, I gotta say.

You have done us so proud.

Not only does this car
just drive hard, just judging

by the way you're handling
it, it also looks hard.

It's just perfect.

It's what I asked for.

Well, it's been pretty hard work
as well, but I think it's well worth it

as long as you can sell
this little chap for a profit.

Man, this is a beautiful place.

Where have you brought it?

Well, Ed, when you
liberated that nearly 300 brake

horsepower from this
fantastic Wankel engine,

the only way to test it is to take it to
a place where it's gonna be happy.

So I brought this to a track.

Well, that is fair enough, because of
course this is one of those rare cars

that's as equally as happy
on the track as it is on the road.

Yeah, the only problem is with that is tracks
can be quite lonely in desolate places,

especially when you're
trying to k*ll your mate.

So go nice and careful.

So I've managed to hook us up with a
load of other like-minded enthusiasts.

That is fantastic.

This is quite a fantastic
lineup we've got going on here.

There's an RX4 in the
background there, an RX7.

This is a real plethora of Wankels.

Yeah, the Wankel engine
is so amazing in its design.

It's almost got like a cult following.

And these people, right,
they're as passionate.

I think he's a bit more passionate.

They're as passionate about
rotary engines as we are.

Well, they really are, clearly.

And it's a genius engine, actually.

It's a real shame that because
of emissions legislation,

we might not actually see very many
more of them on the roads in the future.

So we should enjoy these while we can.

We certainly should, yeah.

Our car fits right in with this lineup.

So why don't we all pull over
and see what they think of this one?

Hey up, everyone.

How are you?

Hiya.

You all right?

Thank you very much for coming down.

It's good to see such a, well, a
brace of Wankel engines here.

Fantastic.

Yeah, they look great.

Particularly this one.

This one must belong to you.

You've got all the right
equipment on, haven't you?

Yeah, I suppose so.

So what's your name?

Brad.

Brad, tell us about it.

It's a 91 RX7 FC with a
triple-rotor Cosmo engine in it,

running 600 horsepower.

What do you think of that, Ed?

That is fantastic.

I'm loving that retro vibe from over there.

Whose is that?

That one's mine.

Let's have a look at this one, if you can.

That's very cool.

It's very cool.

So this is an RX4, is that right?

Yeah, 1974.

OK, so tell me a bit more
about the history of this.

How did you get hold of it?

OK, well, this car used to belong
to my mum and dad back in the 70s.

They sold it on, but eventually
I managed to pick it up.

That's fantastic.

So were you even looking for it,
or just literally found it by mistake?

By absolute chance.

I was looking for an
RX3, and I found this one.

You know, that proves my point.

Cars do have a soul, because I
reckon that car has found you again.

Anyway, listen, what do you think of that?

Because this, a couple of weeks
ago, was just a humble little Mazda RX7.

I gave it to the genius of a mechanic, Ed,

and this is what he's done with it.

Well, we've done some
really special things.

It's got snakeskin wheels, PBS
split rims, and that's quite rare.

I've never seen that before.

We've gone all out with the snakeskin
motif all the way over the bodywork.

And also, Pip actually helped us
out with some of the modifications,

so we've now got a car that
really does perform beautifully.

It's a fantastic package, actually.

And you know, this car is
for sale, don't you, everyone?

So what do you reckon we could
get for something like this then?

You know, a well-sorted
FD is hard to find these days

with the engine modifications, the wheels,
the graphics, nine, nine and a half.

Fantastic.

OK, good news.

That's a really great price, yeah.

I'm proud of what we've achieved,

and I'm really thankful that
you've come down here today

to share your cars with us, and
let's keep the Wankel flag flying.

Cheers, then. Thanks a lot.

Well, Ed, nine and a half
grand, that's not bad, is it?

But you know what?

I reckon it's worth maybe a
little bit more, possibly £10,000,

because a car that looks as
good as this with a solid engine,

I reckon we could go possibly £10,000.

No, you're definitely
right, because the thing is,

there aren't that many cars out
there that drive as hard as this,

but also turn as many heads
as this for less than £10,000.

So, yeah, go for it.

I will do.

Now, before we sell this lovely beauty,

do you mind if I have one last little go?

You really should. It is fab.

Our Mazda RX7 has
come a long way from the

solid but unremarkable
car that we started with.

I paid just £5,000 for the car, but
now I'm asking £10,000 for the car,

but I've had really good news,
because I've not had one phone call.

I've actually had seven, and
they're all off the same guy.

This fellow behind me is called Nick.

Do you recognise him?

He's the guy that sold
me the car in the first

place, and I think he'd
want to buy it back.

Let's see what he makes of it.

So then, Nick, what's happened?

You just miss it?

I miss it, yeah.

I regret selling it to you.
I've missed it a lot.

I bet you have.

You miss that rush this car gives you.

I do.

Do you know what?
I would miss it if I was you as well.

All of this work comes at a price.

I know what I paid you for the car, £5,000,

but I'm asking £10,000 for it.

£10,000 sounds like quite a lot.

How about £9,000?

Very good shout.

And I'd love to say yes,

because, you know, you sold
me the car in the first place,

but I know I can get
a little bit more money

for it, and I don't want
to give the car away.

So why don't we just be
gentlemen and say £9,500?

What do you say?

OK.

Yes? Fantastic.

You just bought yourself your RX-7 bag.

It's been great to have a Wankel engine
car in the workshop for the first time,

and even better, with
uprated cooling, more power

and a radical new look, our car
has banked us a tidy £1,500 profit.

We set out to turn a middle-of-the-range
Mazda RX-7 into something truly special,

and I think we can be immensely
proud of what we've achieved

because there's no bigger
compliment than selling the car back

to its original owner for
almost twice what I paid for it.

If you want to see more
triumphant transformations,

then please join us again
soon on Wheel of Dealers.

Ta-la!