I used to hang out with a bunch of guys who used to regularly talk about the high-performance Japanese imports.  We used to get together and go through Options magazine and Option videos almost every weekend.  I had gone through a couple Honda CRX's and wanted something a lot faster with more performance potential.  Being in Hawaii, the Corolla GT-S already had a strong backing.  I just wanted to be different.  The FC3S was my choice...

I bought my 1987 Turbo II in 1994 for $8,995 (plus tax and license) from a used car dealer.  This was a pretty spur of the moment decision as the car has popped up in the local "Buy & Sell" newspaper (Pennysaver-type free ads); the car was NOT listed or mentioned as a turbo, but it was obvious from the picture (hole in the hood) that is was a Turbo II.  I wasn't planning on buying the car, as I had paid a big bill on my 1988 Honda CRX that needed a CV boot replacement and full brake job!  The $2,000 tab was a serious bite out of my savings!  The asking price on the FC was rather high, but it was easier to swallow when the salesguy offered $5,600 trade-in for my CRX.  This deal was looking pretty good at this point.  There was one problem:  my previous two cars were CRX *automatics* - I had never seriously driven a manual transmission.  All Turbo II's were manuals!  Welp, after signing the papers and getting the >$4,000 financed, the FC was mine.  Going from 90hp to pretty much double that in the FC was just euphoric!  I managed to kill the engine at least a dozen times driving it home (about 5 miles away) and proceeded to kill the engine regularly at least half a dozen times each day over the next two weeks.  Eventually, I got the hang of driving the FC after the two weeks...

That was the start of this whole journey...

Over the next few years, the car has gone through a pulsation damper fire (on October 20, 1996) and rebuild (started up on July 16, 1998).  I've owned two other Turbo II's in between then.  I used to have a black 1987 Turbo II as my daily driver when my blue one burned down and eventually rebuilt.  I also had a silver 1987 Turbo II that was not running, but I never got around to working on it before someone wanted to buy it.  I've worked on these things by myself with only the aid of the Mazda factory service manual.  I wish I had the resources of the Internet back then, as a lot of the stuff I had to go through would've been a lot easier to figure out!  The current configuration of the car is listed below...

Engine
  • FC3S Pro rebuild
  • Hayes silicon-jacketed inner water o-rings
  • FC3S Pro Stage II streetport
  • Matchported coolant passages
  • FD corner seal springs
  • Mazda Competition engine mounts
  • Racing Beat 80-85psi Oil Pressure Regulator
  • Racing Beat Oil Pan Baffle
  • Racing Beat Oil Pressure/Temperature Gauge/Sensor Adapter Block
  • Transmission
  • Centerforce Dual Friction Clutch Kit
  • Royal Purple 75W90 Transmission Fluid
  • Intake
  • FC3S Pro TID
  • Generic Cone Filter, 3" ID mount
  • GReddy Type-S BOV Kit for FC3S
  • Throttle Body Mod
  • All intake manifolds matchported by myself
  • Intercooler
  • Generic eBay 24" x 12" x 3" FMIC
  • Exhaust
  • Racing Beat 3" Downpipe
  • Racing Beat 3" Pre-silencer
  • Custom 3" back to single Walker Dynomax UltraFLO 6" round muffler on passenger side
  • Turbo
  • Stock
  • Fuel Injectors
  • 4 x 720cc/min
  • Ignition
  • Crane Cams HI-6
  • Racing Beat Ultra Spark Plug Wires
  • All NGK BUR9EQ Spark Plugs
  • Cooling
  • AFCO Racing 80125N double-pass radiator
  • Spal FAN-PWM electronic fan controller
  • Be Cool / Spal dual 11" electronic fans
  • Electronics
  • Haltech E8
  • A'PEXi Super AVC-R (Gen I) Electronic Boost Controller
  • J&S Safeguard Knock Controller with Dual Display
  • Kenne Bell Boost-A-Pump - fuel pump voltage regulator
  • Dampers
  • GAB Sport Adjustable Shocks, F / R
  • Springs
  • (?)
  • Stabilizer Bars
  • Suspension Techniques, F / R
  • Strut Bars
  • Cusco Front Upper Strut Bar
  • Cusco Rear Upper Strut Bar
  • Suspension, Miscellaneous
  • Cusco Camber Plates, Front
  • Racing Beat Adjustable Anti-sway Bar Links, F / R
  • Ground Control Rear Camber Adjust Bar
  • Brakes
  • Front brakes - K2RD Stage I Big Brake Kit
  • Rear brakes - stock
  • Front brake pads - Wilwood Polymatrix E
  • Rear brake pads - stock
  • Goodridge Stainless Steel Brake Lines
  • Footwork
  • Front - GAB Sport, 16" x 7.0", +32, silver, "hi disc"
  • Rear - GAB Sport, 16" x 7.0", +32, silver, "lo disc"
  • Bridgestone S-03 Pole Position, 225 / 50 / 16, F / R
  • Gauges
  • GReddy 60mm Peak/Hold Electronic Boost, Black-face
  • GReddy 60mm Peak/Hold Electronic EGT, Black-face
  • SPI 52mm Electronic Water Temperature, Black-face
  • SPI 52mm Electronic Fuel Pressure, Black-face
  • VDO 2-1/16" Electronic Oil Temperature, Black-face
  • VDO 2-1/16" Electronic Oil Pressure, Black-face
  • VDO 2-1/16" Voltmeter, Black-face
  • J&S Safeguard Dual Display - shows knock intensity/retard and air/fuel ratio
  • Interior Accessories
  • R. E. Amemiya D "green" 350mm Steering Wheel
  • Razo RA-3 "gold" Shift Knob
  • Razo RM-34 Pedal Covers
  • Miscellaneous
  • FD3S alternator
  • All emissions equipment removed - no EGR valve, ACV
  • Relocated warning cluster to center console
  • Relocated A/C Logicon lower in center console
  • R.S. Akimoto 3mm Yellow Vacuum Hoses
  • Relocated battery using 1-gauge wire and Phoenix Gold accessories
  • Hella H4 Conversion Headlights


  • The car's fastest time down the 1/4-mile drag strip was 13.447 @ 105.00 at Hawaii Raceway Park.  This was running 14psi of boost on Nitto NT-555R Drag Radials.  The engine has produced 253.9hp to the wheels on a DynoJet 248C running 14psi on the T5/T6 compressor upgrade in Hawaii.




    Questions?  Comments?  Send mail to:  reted@fc3spro.com

    03/27/2007