Mazzei Formula: David Mazzei's 1993 Mazda RX-7

Mazzei Formula: David Mazzei's 1993 Mazda RX-7
The RX-7 with the heart of Le Mans and the soul of Formula 1

Do you remember the days of 1990s Formula 1? The sights, the sounds, the V8 and V10 engines screaming at 18,000 RPM - all hallmarks of a golden era of motorsport, commonly regarded by many enthusiasts as the most soulful and pure of its kind. David Mazzei remembers it fondly, and an unbreakable love for that era of racing has led him to pursue a build that stopped our entire editorial team in their tracks at SEMA 2018. Luring us in with its giant spoiler, Work wheels, and wide Maxxis tires, we were blown away upon closer inspection. We had to ask Mazzei more about it, and we’re glad we did.

2018 PAS152 DecJan Mazzei Formula RX 7 03

While the V8s and V10s of 90s Formula 1 are long retired and damn near impossible to acquire, there exists somewhat of a rotary counterpart: The 26B - a four-rotor engine found originally in Mazda’s 767 and 787B. For those who don’t know, in 1991, the 26B-powered 787B became the first Japanese car to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as the only car, to this day, to take the championship title in anything other than a reciprocating piston engine. Put that in your exhaust pipe and smoke it, V8s.

2018 PAS152 DecJan Mazzei Formula RX 7 17

The legacy and the soul-churning sound of the 26B had Mazzei stricken, and he couldn’t let his ideas stay just a vision for long. After buying his first RX-7 in 2005, he spent countless hours researching everything he could about rotary engines making power and staying reliable. It wasn’t long before he decided to cast aside “rotaries blow up” naysayers, and swap a 20B into his FD3S. After toying with that car for a while, he had amassed enough confidence to tackle the four-rotor project of his dreams. He sold his 20B-swapped RX-7 and pulled out an RX-7 parts car that had been sitting behind the shop for years. He was starting this one from scratch.

2018 PAS152 DecJan Mazzei Formula RX 7 18

The 26B was purchased from an overseas company that shall remain unnamed, and you’ll find out why shortly. Purchased as a drop-in swap, the engine would come with everything except an ECU, wiring, and fuel system. Unfortunately for Mazzei, in addition to being many months late, the engine had no shortage of mechanical shortcomings.

2018 PAS152 DecJan Mazzei Formula RX 7 05

“The oil pump had incorrect ratio gearing, the exhaust manifold had incorrect scroll pairing order, insufficient wastegate priority, and inferior primary tubing sizing, causing excessive back-pressure and uncontrollable boost,” he says, remembering a builder’s nightmare. “Furthermore, we had insufficient oil pressure, oil pick-up problems, alternator failure, and peripheral ports that were sealed incorrectly, which leaked coolant internally.”

2018 PAS152 DecJan Mazzei Formula RX 7 02

Down, but not out, Mazzei was fortunate enough to have a network of motivated individuals who recognized how much love he had already poured into the project, and they weren’t about to give it up without a fight. Walker Morgan of Morgan Performance Fabrication was quick to fabricate a proper exhaust manifold that would give it that signature 787B sound, thanks to some instruction from Carlos Lopez of Carlos Lopez Racing. “The sound was a night and day difference!” exclaims Mazzei, before remembering further tear-down trauma. “However, we still ended up having to tear the motor down due to compression inconsistency.”

2018 PAS152 DecJan Mazzei Formula RX 7 19

Upon further dissection of the franken-rotary engine, Eccentric Motorsports and Chip Motorsports discovered that the rotors were never calibrated or balanced for proper clearance, and they had been wearing down their seals on contact with the irons. Chip Ursu took it upon himself to machine the rotors for lightness, clearance them properly, and balance the entire rotational assembly all to proper race spec. He also took that opportunity to machine some metallic inserts to fix the sloppy peripheral ports. It turns out this whole rotary thing can get complicated quickly at this level.

2018 PAS152 DecJan Mazzei Formula RX 7 27

With all of the engine’s mistakes corrected, it was just a matter of reassembly at Eccentric  Motorsports, and after fitting a billet oil pan from Built-To-Apex, the engine was ready to rock and roll. When it came time to install the engine, JD Durham from Krowrx - a previous feature car builder, as well as good friend to Mazzei - stepped up to the challenge, and helped influence Mazzei to get wild with the install. A new tube front end courtesy of Durham allowed for a bigger intercooler and turbocharger, and all that freedom to expand just had to be capitalized on. Mazzei decided to upgrade to a GTX5533 98-mm Gen 2 turbocharger from Work Turbochargers and a larger intercooler, and that was just the beginning.

2018 PAS152 DecJan Mazzei Formula RX 7 16

The FD also features several tweaks thanks to Durham. In addition to custom brackets for a rear-mount, cable-driven fuel pump from Waterman Racing Components, he also integrated ducting for the Optic Armor polycarbonate rear window. Those air ducts feed airflow directly to a rear-mount intercooler water core, which flows all the way up to keep the custom intake manifold cool, well into the RPM range. Keeping the internals of the rotary monster cool, as well as cooling the transmission, are a set of oil coolers, with three in the front bumper, and one in the rear, all integrated cleanly into the overall look of the car, especially with the Shine Auto aero kit and 1999-spec front bumper conversion.

2018 PAS152 DecJan Mazzei Formula RX 7 11

With a proper tune from Abel Ibarra, the struggles of getting his build together have paid off in spades for Mazzei. Churning at a soul-shaking 10,000 rpm, the 26B four-rotor puts out more than 1,000 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque at the wheels, and achieves the exact sound Mazzei was looking for: 600 Hz at 9,000 rpm - true to the Formula 1 golden age he hoped to emulate. The power is obviously fantastic, but according to Mazzei, the real goal was the feeling of it all. Because my words can only explain it so well, I’ll let David break it down for you.

2018 PAS152 DecJan Mazzei Formula RX 7 25

“It's all about the feeling and the experience for both the driver and the bystander. When you're moving through the rpms, you feel it moving through yourself and everything around you. The sound waves are so intense that the shifter knob will begin to unscrew itself from the transmission if you don't seriously lock it down,” he laughs. “As soon as you stab the throttle and boost hits, you look over from the road to the wastegate dump tubes exiting the hood and see blue flames shooting into the air with an even louder accompanying scream. When you release the throttle at 10,000 rpm to grab the next gear, you feel the concussion of the backfire and flames exiting the side exit pipe, sometimes so strong that it readjusts your side-view mirror. The transmission bangs into the next gear, and you go at it again, until you decide that you're too afraid to keep your foot down.”

2018 PAS152 DecJan Mazzei Formula RX 7 29

We can practically hear the whining of the straight-cut gears and smell the burning E85 as he describes the visceral experience to us in all its intensity, and it immediately becomes clear that his passion for this project runs as deep as the build’s historical origins. In closing, Mazzei lets us in on a little secret: In tandem with some of the key names mentioned in his story, he will be building a transaxle-based, rear-engine, rotary hyper car. Yes, really. Needless to say, we’ll be keeping a close eye on him moving forward.

2018 PAS 152 Dec Jan Cover

David Mazzei's 1993 Mazda RX-7 is the cover feature of PASMAG #152. Click HERE to order.

Photography by Cade Garrett (@cxde)


ESSENTIALS

Vehicle: 1993 Mazda Rx-7
Owner: David Mazzei
Location: Birmingham, AL
Engine: Mazda 26B 2.6L turbocharged 4-rotor
Horsepower: 1,000+ whp
Torque: 650 lb-ft

SOCIAL

Instagram: @mazzei_formula
Facebook: david.z.mazzei

ENGINE

  • Mazda 26B 4-Rotor swap
  • Peripheral port
  • Garrett GTX5533R Gen 2 98-mm turbocharger
  • Garrett Water-to-Air core integrated intake manifold
  • Haltech Elite 2500 ECU
  • Morgan Performance (exhaust manifold, custom intake piping)
  • Turbosmart 50-mm wastegates
  • Mocal (30-row oil coolers (3), 15-row oil cooler)
  • SPAL cooling fans

EXHAUST

  • Morgan Performance exhaust system w/ side-exit cutouts

DRIVETRAIN

  • Exedy Triple Plate clutch
  • Dog Ringed straight-cut gear set
  • Carbonetic 1.5-way differential

WHEELS / TIRES

  • Work Meister S1 3-piece wheels - 18-inch
  • Maxxis VR-1 tires - 245/40/18 (f), 295/40/18 (r)

CHASSIS / SUSPENSION

  • Krowrx Fabrication tubular front end
  • Megan Racing EZ Street II coilovers

EXTERIOR

  • Krowrx Fabrication (front splitter, rear lexan windshield w/ NACA ducted intercooler heat exchange system, fender exhaust exit plate, custom rear mount fuel pump bracketry)
  • Shine Auto aero kit
  • 1999 Mazda RX-7 front bumper
  • VIS Racing hood
  • Chassis-mounted rear spoiler
  • CGS Vinyl Shop decals

INTERIOR

  • Carbon fiber dash panels
  • Bride Vios III seats
  • Sabelt 6-point harnesses
  • Sparco steering wheel
  • NRG quick-release hub
  • Racepak dash
  • 6-point roll cage

SPONSORS

  • Maxxis Tires
  • Built-to-Apex Oil Pan

SPECIAL THANKS

  • Speedsouth Performance Center
  • Cheyenne Pearl Stirling
  • Nolan Holcomb
  • Brian Phillips
  • Brandan Davis
  • Work Turbocharger
  • Bryan Leonard
  • Grant Snyder

PHOTO GALLERY

2018 PAS152 DecJan Mazzei Formula RX 7 14

2018 PAS152 DecJan Mazzei Formula RX 7 10

2018 PAS152 DecJan Mazzei Formula RX 7 26

2018 PAS152 DecJan Mazzei Formula RX 7 22

2018 PAS152 DecJan Mazzei Formula RX 7 04

2018 PAS152 DecJan Mazzei Formula RX 7 09

2018 PAS152 DecJan Mazzei Formula RX 7 06

2018 PAS152 DecJan Mazzei Formula RX 7 23

2018 PAS152 DecJan Mazzei Formula RX 7 24

2018 PAS152 DecJan Mazzei Formula RX 7 08

2018 PAS152 DecJan Mazzei Formula RX 7 12

2018 PAS152 DecJan Mazzei Formula RX 7 13

2018 PAS152 DecJan Mazzei Formula RX 7 07

Related Articles

21st Century Mid-Night: Austin Barnett's 1976 Porsche 911 21st Century Mid-Night: Austin Barnett's 1976 Porsche 911
Mid-Night Club played a pivotal role in shaping underground car culture in Japan. The group was known for pushing the boundaries of speed and...
Unleashing The Dragon: Jimmy Tu's R35 GT-R Unleashing The Dragon: Jimmy Tu's R35 GT-R
In the concrete jungles of the San Francisco Bay Area, where every turn of a corner reveals an automotive tale, Jimmy Tu's Nissan GT-R emerges as a...
Laekoi: Beefy Clanton's Unicorn 2017 Lexus RC F Laekoi: Beefy Clanton's Unicorn 2017 Lexus RC F
Immediately upon first glance at his 2017 Lexus RC F, a platform he chose for its own rarity as far as Japanese V8 sports cars go, you can certainly...
Kurenai: Jason Helmick's Show-Stopping 2015 Scion FR-S Kurenai: Jason Helmick's Show-Stopping 2015 Scion FR-S
Photography by Paul Delapena. “It’s a daily. I’ll just keep it stock.” A sentiment we’ve heard time and time again. One that may be true for a moment...
Craziest Skyline at SEMA in Years: Devin Mariannino Driver Motorsports' 1991 Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R Craziest Skyline at SEMA in Years: Devin Mariannino Driver Motorsports' 1991 Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R
This Vibrant Performance booth car was an easy pick for Editor Adam Gordon’s Top 10 Cars of SEMA 2022. The R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R built by Devin...
Jamison McCall's K Series Swapped 2001 Honda Civic Jamison McCall's K Series Swapped 2001 Honda Civic
This 2001 Honda Civic owned by Jamison McCall, also known as RJ, was displayed in our 2021 Tuning 365 Showcase at Drive Festival in Bowmanville,...