Resto-rotary

Restoring a car is a labour of love, and only a very select few make it to completion before the project is forgotten about, or modified beyond the original plan. Ryan Dunn’s Mazda R100 will be one of those select few. This New Zealand–new rotary spent 25 years in storage in the shaky city [Christchurch], and is now being returned to its day-one form in excruciating detail: the only item to change will be its heart. Every nut and bolt has been recoated with zinc, and every part is a new replacement or has been rebuilt to ensure it is all original. It still has the original plates issued back in ’ 71, and the original interior and dash combination. So far, it has racked up one and a half years of build time, which isn’t a surprise given this level of detail — each part has been sandblasted, and the body was hammered straight. The old girl is set to wear a lush coat of original paint code ‘Eiger White’ ( WA) to complement the rechromed and restored trim, along with the original set of 14-inch wheels and hubcaps.

As for the heart, this Mazda won’t see an original 10A sunk into the engine bay, instead a very close to period-correct 12A will take its place. The ports have been opened and matched by Grant Munro at Rotorsport Racing & Engine Balancing, and it runs a 48mm IDA that will be replaced by a set of quads once the car is in one piece again. Behind it will sit an RX-7 five-speed gearbox and Mazda 626 bellhousing combo. Otherwise, this is the ultimate example of purity, and Ryan has told us it is on the homestretch, with completion set for the next few months. We very much look forward to seeing this beauty for a full feature in the near future.