David Aaron Segalla passed away January 30, 2007. He was the Master at modifying, porting and rebuilding rotary engines. Dave was one of the best engine tuners in Southern California. There is no replacement for Dave and his void will be felt for the rest of our lives.

Dave will be missed.

June 22, 1979 - January 30, 2007

Dave summed up with one of his Rotary Forum posts.

i often find myself recollecting on the past and different ways i could have gone in this life.

i can't remember if it was '00 or '01 when i got my fc. the rotary always intrigued me, but i really knew nothing about them. i had a bit of money saved up and was looking at supras, 7's and camaros. yes, dave still likes v8's

so i somehow decided to get the fc. at this time, i was in school for chemical and mechanical engineering (along with random automotive classes), still played guitar like 4 hours a day.

since i seem to take everything i do to a level of rediculous excess, so was it with the triangle. i tore into that car and just started figuring shit out. if there was a problem to be had, i had it. if there was something to modify, i modified it. i basically learned rx7's by working on that one and all my buddies cars.

i learned so much so fast that i started doing side jobs and mobile work. i moved on to rebuilds and porting, ems stuff, tuning, and basically any kind of mods you can think of.

as is the case with many white boys, i ran out of money and the government doesn't see fit to financially help us to go to school. and seeing as how i just moved and couldn't make the commute to my old job, i found myself unemployed. so i started doing more rx7 work. another year of doing nothing but rx7's, and rotaryheads was born.
in the last 4 or 5 years, i went from hearing about that one kind of triangle engine to running a shop and doing nothing but rx7's...all day, every day. hell, work is even going good every now and then. i'm staying busy!

i guess i have no point whatsoever. i just think it's funny how some things work out. if i got a supra or a camaro instead of the 7, i wonder where i would be right now. i never would have signed up and posted on this (or any other rx7) board. maybe i would have stayed in school. maybe i would have been a normal mechanic. maybe i would have been a rockstar or something. i know i would have never met some of my very best friends.

such a small and simple decision i made years ago has changed the course of my life.


but it's interesting that a decision as small as what car i chose to buy actually shaped a lot of my current life as i know it.

if i would have done just one or two things differently, i wouldn't have the experiences that i have now. it's kind of hard to imagine what would have happened. well, in part, i know what would have happened. if i got a camaro, i would have worked on them, same for the supra or whatever... i've never owned anything i haven't taken apart; numerous times.

and if i would have chosen a different course of action, that path would have been considered my norm and maybe i'd be writing this very same post in the supra forum.

i wonder how much pre-disposition has to do with the course of actions one takes in life. it might not have been rx7's, but i think i'd always find things to take apart and put back together.

maybe i would have finished college and been working for LL labs. maybe i would have gone apeshit and been a bum.
ok, this train of thought hurts my head. i'm done for now. but think about it--where would you be right now if only one or two things in your life were different. a very small decision now can drastically dictate the path you take and 5 years from now, you might wind up on a path you would have never imagined.

Some pictures to remember Dave by... (Guitarjunkie28)

More pictures to come...