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One of the perks of working in NYC is that there's always something interesting happen. Yesterday, that something interesting made my day. Yesterday, Fiat Chrysler started listing their shares on the NYSE, and to promote their company and commemorate this day, they set up a display outside of some of their cars that are part of the FCA umbrella. And lucky me, one of those cars happened to be Ferrari's latest flagship model that replaced the Enzo...the LaFerrari!



Normally nothing can stop me from getting to/from work, not even the occasional celebrity spotting, but when i saw the bright red car sitting center stage and stealing the show from the rest of the cars out on display, i was stopped in my tracks. I quickly took out my phone and snapped a few pics after i wiped the drool from my mouth.







Even after i got to the office, i couldn't stop drooling over the car, and lucky for me, i could still see the car from a nearby window.



After seeing the Ferrari, i'm more inclined to get my car repainted red. Unfortunately, i don't really have too many updates for the car. The only thing i've done recently is install my quick release hub for my RE-Amemiya steering wheel and also fix my odometer that went blank recently. The next big thing will be modding the used RE-Amemiya GT-II wing that i bought to adapt it for my GT-III mounts, but the wing isn't expected to get here for a few weeks still, so that'll probably happen closer to November. The only other thing i've done recently is add some more stickers:





So not much has been going on recently, probably because i've been so busy with work, but i should have more updates soon, especially since there are two events coming up soon, First Class Fitment this weekend and the RX-7 meet the first weekend of November, so stayed tuned for some updates in the near future!

Since i completed building my car in June, i've met a lot of new friends through Instagram as a result of posting pictures of my car. It's been a lot of fun meeting people with a similar passion (or obsession) for cars that i share. First was Wekfest - East Coast Elites at the NJ Exhibition and Convention Center in August where i got to see some cars that i've always dreamed of seeing, including:

An RE-Amemiya FD and a Nissan Silvia S15 parked next to each other!


An R34 GTR!


Not 1, but 3 R33 GTRs!!!


A Spoon Sports S2000


And a full carbon-bodied J's Racing S2000!


Then last Saturday, i was invited to my first drift event where i was asked to display my car at the Los Goonies booth. The event was a lot of fun and it was great to see some live drifting action for the first time. I've seen tons of videos online but drifting is far more entertaining in person. Unfortunately, it was extremely hot, and with no shade, it was a little unbearable. But i'm glad i went anyway. Without further ado...here are some pictures from the event and a short video as well:



Here's where we parked our cars. The booth we parked at was Los Goonies who i believe is a company that specializes in media.


This is my friend Ted's car. Like me, he's a huge fan of RE-Amemiya. He's the one that invited me to the drift event. Driving behind him to the venue was probably one of my favorite drives to date...i just stared at his car the whole time...nothing better than following another RE-Amemiya RX-7 around!


And here i am parked next to one of my dream cars, the legendary R34 GTR!! This was like a dream come true for me! hahaha




Here are two more cars from the club i was hanging out with, Team Regiment Zero


This was the only drift prepped FD at the event. Unfortunately, i think the owner was having some set up problems because i barely saw the car on the track, and when i did it wasn't really drifting.


This was an actual S15 imported from Japan, vs. an S15 front end conversion. Too bad it was a track only car because this is a car i would love to maintain and drive around on the street.


And lastly, some more show cars that came to support the drift scene






Although the summer coming to an end, there's still more car events to come. I signed up for my first car show on 10/18, First Class Fitment in Princeton, NJ hosted by Canibeat. Then on 11/1, the 7th annual Chris Carlisi Memorial Event is going to be held at NJMP Thunderbolt, my home track! If you'll remember my post from last year, this the yearly RX7 gathering to honor fellow rotorhead Chris Carlisi who passed away from diabetes. Can't wait to meet up and hang out with more RX7s! Stay tuned!

I met up with a ともだち over the weekend who was gracious enough to take some pictures of my car for me. He's a fellow RX-7 enthusiast, and he has an incredibly fast LS3 powered RX-7. Before meeting up with him for the photoshoot, i cut and applied some new stickers. This time i decided to try a slightly different look and didn't go for the decal roll down underneath the mirrors. I thought it looked kind of bunched up last time, so i wanted to space out the stickers a little bit more. I also found a new "Volk Racing Wheel" sticker that i really liked as well.

We first went out and did some rolling shots which came out fantastic.









Afterwards, we came back, and we took some still shots. Mike, my ともだち, was gracious enough to take the time to go over with me some tips on how to take better pictures of cars. Luckily i remembered to bring my camera with me that day so i could shoot right along side of him. I'll post his pictures first since they're much nicer, and i'll share two pics i took.











In case you're wondering why i have an "Attack" sticker on my car, it's because i'm a big fan of the time attack scene in Japan, and "Attack" happens to be one in particular that i like because i follow DorAemon7's blog. I wish i could watch some of the videos, but unfortunately, grassroots type time attack scenes aren't easily accessible outside of Japan, so i just have to glean what i can off other people's Minkara pages to get a taste of it. In the meantime, i figured i would help promote "Attack" here in the US. Besides, the logo does look really cool as well!

And finally, here are a couple of pictures i took myself after trying out some tips from Mike

Now that i've finally completed the largest phase of my build, i thought it was appropriate to reflect back on the history of this build and take a look at how far it's come. This is also for people too lazy to read through this blog but would like to see before/after pictures in stages.

Mar. 1, 2013




These pictures are from the day after i bought the car. I remember at the time it felt like i was driving someone else's car because it didn't feel very personal yet. But even so, i loved the car and couldn't believe i actually got another RX-7.

Apr. 21, 2013


RE-Amemiya sleek headlights was the first real mod. I had always wanted real RE sleek lights for my old RX-7 but never got them, so this was a HUGE upgrade for me. Definitely something i was very proud of.

Jun. 12, 2013




The RE-Amemiya rear diffuser was my first real order from RE. With the addition of the diffuser and carbon side step, the car was really starting to feel like my own creation.

Jul. 19, 2013


These RE taillights were never part of my original design for the build, but that was because i never even knew they existed! Once i saw that RE had recently started selling these custom LED taillights, i knew i just had to have them.

Sep. 26, 2013


Probably the 2nd biggest phase of my build was done here. I installed a Brembo BBK, Ohlins Coilovers, and a Bride VIOS3 racing seat. Not really aero parts, but still they made a huge difference in the visual department, and obviously the performance department as well.

Dec. 21, 2013


The RE-Amemiya AD9 Hood was a treat to myself for my birthday. This was the true beginning of the RE-Amemiya transformation build. This is also when i converted from a front-mount intercooler to a v-mount intercooler in preparation for the RE-Amemiya transformation.

May 8, 2014




This was the beginning of all the chaos...kind of like the reverse of the calm before the storm...it was more like the storm before the calm.

May 24, 2014




And just when i thought i was finally done...

Jun. 2, 2014




Finally done! I can proudly say that i've finally built the car of my dreams. Even if i didn't do another mod for this car, i would be perfectly happy with where it is now. Granted, i do still have future plans for this car, especially if i want to take it to the track, but i can honestly say that i'm content with what i have. Unexpectedly though, now that i have the car exactly the way i want it, i feel like i have a much greater appreciation for what the car looked like in the beginning. But still, if i had to do it all over again, i wouldn't change a thing. Here's to many more years of enjoying my RE-Amemiya RX-7 that i built with my own blood, sweat, and tears...バンザイ!!!! ＼（Ｔ∇Ｔ）／

Well today, i finally sold 1 of my 4 cars, a 2003 Toyota Camry LE. Here's one final picture of it before it goes home with it's new owner.



This was actually my wife's car (妻の車) from before we got married. She had bought it from her mom for $10k in 2004 when it was practically brand new. She drove this car up until 2008 when we bought the Honda Odyssey in preparation for Isaac's arrival, then i started driving it as my commuter car for the past 6 years. So in reality, i actually drove the car the most during our 10 year ownership of the car. I had been meaning to sell it since we got the Mercedes back in January, but with the car being snowed in for months, and my being lazy, i never even got around to listing it for sale. Randomly, some guy came to the house yesterday and out-of-the-blue asked us if we were selling the car, which, of course we responded, YES! So today the guy came in the morning and haggled with me on the price of which we ultimately settled at $2800. Honestly, my only goal today was that he bought the car. I didn't really care how much i got for it, i just wanted it gone, so i happily took his offer, but only after making him think i accepted it reluctantly. I felt kind of bad because i didn't even have a chance to clean the car since i was holding off until i was ready to list it...which is probably why i never listed it; i was just too lazy to clean the damn car.

Anyway, the timing could not be more perfect, because i just found out a couple of weeks ago that my dad wants to give me his 2011 BMW 335D!



He bought the car brand new back in 2011 and has only since put 19000 miles on the car. He recently moved to Taiwan as part of his retirement, so the car has just been sitting in his garage. Now that my parents are set on staying in Taiwan on a more permanent basis, they're starting to get rid of the things they don't need, but my dad is really attached to his car (he's a car nut like myself) and he can't bring himself to sell it, so instead, he decided to give it to me as part of my inheritance. Cars have always been one of the ways my dad and i bonded since i started working on cars with him at a very young age. As far back as i can remember, as long as my dad was in the garage working on cars, i was usually out there with him, helping him out, although, i'm sure i was of very little help when i was younger. So despite never having really been interested in BMWs, besides the M3, i do think this car in particular is something that will be very special to me for a long time. I just hope i can do a good job taking care of it. Here are some additional angles of the car





Now that i'm back to having 4 cars again, i need to decide whether or not i should keep the Mercedes. My mother-in-law, who sold us the car to begin with, has graciously offered to buy it back from us if we do decide to get rid of it. I know my wife isn't willing to sell the car except back to her mom since that was the last car her father bought before he passed, so if we wanted to get rid of it, this would be our only option. Me, on the other hand, i still really like the Mercedes, so getting rid of it is a difficult decision. Actually, as far as looks go, i think i prefer the Mercedes over the BMW, though just slightly, but that goes for both interior and exterior. But on the performance end, the 335D vastly outperforms the C300, not only in power (265hp/425tq vs. 228hp/221tq) but also on gas mileage with the 335D averaging over 30mpg and the C300 around 22mpg (observed by me). So if i was forced to choose between the two solely based on the car's attributes, the 335D would be a no brainer. Luckily, i'm not forced to choose between the two...at least not yet. My wife is pressuring me to sell the car back to her mom, but i'm still debating whether or not i want to. I know 4 cars is kind of excessive, but hey, it's good to have options! We'll see in a month or so what i decide then. As of now, i haven't even gotten hold of the BMW yet (end of this month), so i'll still be driving the Mercedes for now.