Over 100 Holes Welded Shut: the Jewel-Like FC3S RX-7 That Took a Trophy at Wekfest Japan

Motor Fan has featured an FC3S Mazda RX-7 that started as a car with more than one hundred holes in its body — and ended as a show winner with a high-revving naturally aspirated rotary. The number is the shop's own: the metalwork stage alone involved welding shut over 100 perforations before paint.

The build is a two-shop effort from Gunma Prefecture. Garage Quest handled the bodywork and paint; Garage Infinity took care of the wiring and the detail finishing around the engine bay. The color is Ruby Stone Red, a choice the owner framed around the Porsche 944 — an era-appropriate cross-reference for a chassis that spent the late '80s being compared to exactly that car.

A 13B built for 10,000 rpm

The centerpiece is a naturally aspirated 13B built by Anniversary Racing Factory, which the builder says can handle engine speeds up to 10,000 rpm. That is a very different character from the turbocharged setups more commonly associated with modified FCs, and the choice suggests an emphasis on response and sound over a headline power figure — Motor Fan quotes no output number, and the build does not appear to be chasing one.

The project extended well beyond the engine, taking in the wiring, suspension and interior, with the engine bay finished to show standards.

From an FD3S at 18 to a neglected FC3S

The owner had an FD3S — the third-generation RX-7 — at 18, and wanted a way back into rotary ownership. The way back arrived as an offer: "we have an FC, if you want it." What followed turned a neglected car into a jewel.

The result has already been judged. At Wekfest Japan in May 2025, the car took first place in the Mazda category. The entire build was also documented on 51 Machines, a Japanese restoration YouTube channel with roughly 99,500 subscribers whose Datsun 240Z restoration video has logged over 4.5 million views — meaning this FC's rebirth has probably been watched by more people than ever saw it rusting.

For overseas readers, the practical footnote: FC3S production ran from 1985 to 1991, so all FC-generation cars are now past the 25-year age threshold for the US federal exemption. As always, eligibility and registration ride on the individual car — build date, documentation, EPA requirements and state rules — and if you are checking a specific FD instead, the Import Checker covers it; the final FDs, built up to August 2002, keep clearing month by month into 2027.