Phillip Pruit’s 1979 Mazda RX7: “Just like my dad’s”
All of you that are fortunate enough to share the same automotive appreciation with their father can relate to Phillip’s journey with his 1979 Mazda Rx7. I met Phillip many years ago when he owned his FD Rx7. But as far as I can remember he always talked about building a 1st Gen Rx7 just like his dad’s.
Back in the late 70s Phillips parents infused him with the rotary car love before he was even born, they both owned 1st Gen RX7s as soon as they hit the showroom floor. His mom owned a white one first and his dad bought his in yellow.
Phillip’s dad had no intention of buying the car at first. The only reason he ended up with it because someone else had ordered it in, but changed their mind when it arrived. Like most new sports cars , the 79 RX7 was hard to come by when it was released. Phil’s dad took ownership of the manual 79 in spark yellow and had plans to try and sell it later and buy a automatic one instead.
But once he got behind the wheel he was hooked, and the plans to sell the car were cancelled. Over the years Phillip and his dad gained their love for the Mazda brand together. But as Phillip out grew his baby seat, the need for a bigger car, forced his Mom and Dad get rid of their RX7s. Dad moved on to a Mazda 929, and his mom bought a 626 Turbo, but to this day his dad is a loyal Mazda owner.
Fast forward to the present, Phillip set out on a course to replicate the car that his dad owned when he was little. Rightfully so his first car was a 1985 Mazda RX7 that he owned for 26 years years, and after that he purchased a FD RX7. But as much fun as the FD was, he still wanted to build a car to replicate what his dad owned back in 79.
Phillip came across a 1979 Mazda RX7 that had been locked away for years but still running and in great condition. He contacted the seller, but the owner refused to sell it at the time. Fast forward a few months later, and the car was for sale on Ebay. And after a 20 minute conversation the car was sold and the owner delivered it all the way from Ohio, as seen above.
The car ran really well when it arrived, and still to this day has not had any major issues. The first thing to do was to get the car the same color as his dads was. His Dad’s RX7 was involved in a accident and in the 80s and no body shop could not match the oem spark yellow color of the RX7. So his dad chose to change it to 1981 Corvette yellow. So Phillip had the car painted the exact same yellow from the 1981 Corvette.
Another key detail to his dad’s car was the tan interior. But also the optional rear seats were he spent most of this time riding in with his dad.
Phillip also sourced the louvers, and the rare center taillight garnish to mimic his dads.
The lower plastic trim pieces Phillip purchased years ago and was finally able to put them to use on this car. The Epsiollons were always something that his dad wanted to add to his RX7 , but never got a chance to . So it was only right to have a fresh set of Epsillons refinished to make the build perfect, and just like dad would have had it.
From start to finish Phillip managed to put together this car without his dad even knowing that he owned the car. When I first saw the car a few months ago I was amazed and speechless that he was able to finally get to build a car like his dads old car. Because as long as I have known Phillip it has been his dream to be able to put a car like this together.
Check out this video of the full story behind the Bad 79 and watch the moment when Phillip showed his dad the car for the first time.
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