ok, here's the deal, i found a 1979 GS for a great deal and im thinking of getting it as a weekend car or restoration. i've always like the styling of the 1st gen and it has an awesome history. its has about 139,xxx and from what the guy mentioned, burns a bit of oil. excellent interior considering 1979, and all stock from what he told me. i don't know much about 1st gens and the research i've done have come pretty nicely but the little intricacies of the 1st gens are not yet known. any advice about checking out a 1st gen. i will be checking the car this weekend right after i get out of class.

 

Besides the engine you will want to check out everything as you would on a normal car. Check for rust all over the car. Storage bins areas behind the seats, are extremely prone to rust, and there will more than likely be some there.

As for burning the oil, the rotary is supposed to burn a little because it injects oil into the carb. to lubricate itself. We're not talking quarts here, but it will probably smoke a little on startups, and you will occasionally need to add oil.

If the engine wasn't run on a regular basis it might have some carbon buildup or maybe even carbon lock. Those are both addressed frequently here, and there are a number of ways to try and fix those problems. Oils, additives, treatments, etc. Rotaries in general will take a good deal of punishment, and teh worst thing you can do to them is not run them. That is what causes carbon buildup. But I'd say with 130,XXX you're probably pretty safe.

Other than that just test the car out, look everything over really well. If it feels like a good strong car then it probably is.

 

thanks for the rust check tip for the storage bin area, i never came upon that while researching, just underneath the car and the wheel wells. about the oil burning, from what we talked over the phone, he made it sounded like it burns more then the usual amount of oil. thanks for the advice.

 

I'm pretty sure that the '79 has no storage beens, so scratch that. They only came one the 81 to 85s. Anyway, good luck, and have a lot of fun restoring it. These cars are a blast to drive and work on.

 

I'm pretty sure that the '79 has no storage beens, so scratch that. They only came one the 81 to 85s. Anyway, good luck, and have a lot of fun restoring it. These cars are a blast to drive and work on.

 

yeah, 79's only have a metal deck area in the back, no storage bins.... You CAN pull that out, but I doubt the owner would want you to

The car shouldn't smoke excessively, most should be a little puff at startup, for no more than a few seconds... and it should be blue, not white...

If it IS a GS, it'll have a sunroof, and a two-post stereo...

I think you'll have fun with it, and it'll give you many years of enjoyment.... the 79's are faster than the rest of the 12A cars too, 'cause it's the lightest

 

Actually you could get the GS with a solid roof too.

 

really? Hmmm... I thought the GS has the sunroof, and the S didn't, but I suppose making the sunroof an option on the GS would make sense.

 

alright, i decided to get the car. yep it is a gs, with a sunroof. i took the metal rear plates out though since the previous previous owner had it cutted to fit 4 10 in there, the metal pieces were starting the rust. besides that, the interior is pretty clean. it was hell trying to get it home though. i stopped for gas before coming home and the car just died on me. i was stuck in stockton for 4 hours. i took the battery to get it checked at an autozone and it was totally sucked dry (autozone battery). got the battery recharged and drove it home (3 hour drive). the next morning my brother moved the car like about 50 feet to wash it and after that, it just wouldn't start. im assuming the engine is pretty badly flooded. i tried to start it but i only hear a shhhh...sound coming from around the choke piece and engine bay closest to the driver area. sounds like something is sucking in air or some liquid, i don't know much about carb cars. anything i can do to get it at least started. i tried the unflooding it, it ran for a short time but when the gas was depressed, the engine died again and eversince (bout 1 week ago) the car has just been sitting, not being able to run. the spark plugs are quite black but not covered is gas. im think it could be the coils? any suggestions would be nice.

 

Its flooded. Never shut ur car off without bringing it to running temperature. Search and u can find some unflooding techniques

 

try cleaning the spark plugs with a wire brush. If they are really black and dirty they will not spark very well.

once you clean the plugs, make sure you have spark. take a spark plug out, set it on the strut tower (sparky end twards the windshield), get in the car and crank it. you should get a nice, strong blue spark.

If you have spark, then you must not be getting fuel. (but it sounds like you are) check to make sure that the fuel pump is working correctly. to do this, take the inlet line off the carb and put it in an empty 2 liter pop bottle. run the pump for one min, you end up with a bottle a little over 1/2 full (1100 mL). If you have a fuel pressure gauge, use it. the pump should run at 3.7 to 4.7 PSI.

that should help narrow it down

 

I thought that was only with the GSL-SE cars, a glitch with the computer or something. I can shut off my car at any time, warm or not, and it never floods

 

79 rx7 are very easy to work on and they probably will be the most sought out 1st gens in the next 10 yrs so keep it almost stock and mint. I also had an 85GS that had no sunroof I don't know if the 79GS had a sunroof Ive seen many 81-85GS with sunroofs I think most of them came with it. But Mine didn't which is goodcause I'm pretty tall and no sunroof adds a little room for my head. It sucks that 79-80 models didn't have bins..And some had the 4sp instead of the 5sp.The 81-85 had a bigger gas tank too. and other little differences.

 

yeah you are not going to do any immediate harm shutting it off cold. But it does promote carbon build up and when done enough over time will greatly decrease the life of the engine. I've only shut mine off cold a couple times when absolutly necessary due to some other threatening problem.

Anywas, try what they suggested above.. It sounds like you have a couple things working against you here. Some type of electrical short and a fuel / spark problem. Work on getting it started first, check each component of the ingition and check the timing if you manage to get it started. My second Rx7 i got needed a carb rebuild, new plugs, wires, coils, a cat to pass smog and an ignitor took me about 3 weeks to get it running and i enjoyed every minute of it.

 

All suggestions above are great and I can't offer much more other than to say don't get frustrated. Sometimes it takes time to track down fuel problems and vacuum problems. I think it took me about 5 months to track down mine just working on it off and on. I had the tank dropped and clean because it would continually clog the fuel filter, changed the fuel filter, replaced two stock fuel pumps and a universal pump that I tried with a Carter 7psi/100gph fuel pump and holley 1-4 psi fpr, replaced the carb twice, replaced spark plugs and coils, and removed all of the emissions to eliminate most of the vacuum stuff before I finally got it to work

What's really funny is most of the time, my wife helped me do things on the car and now she knows more about a 1st gen engine, fuel delivery systems and drivetrains than she does about her Neon which we've done plenty of work on too, just not as much or as detailed except for removing the head because of 5 busted valves (waterpump failure, led to timing belt failure).

Also sounds like your charging system may not be working correctly. Maybe a short somewhere or the alternator itself. I'd actually check that first since it'll be easier to fix.

 

thanks guys for all the great information. im going home this weekend so i'll check out everything that was listed above. oh by they way, it has 5-spd so it pretty cool but when i was driving it home, downshifting was kind of weird. i've never driven a first gen before but when i downshifted from 4th to 3rd, i didn't feel anything. the engine revved but nothing from the car. it actually just seemed to go slower. downshifting from 5th to 4th was ok i guess. i could feel some movement from the car. nothing like my 86 gxl. should the power gained from downshifting be more apparent then just hearing the engine a bit louder? ok, anymore problems that comes up, i'll be sure to return and seek more advice.

 

Sounds like maybe the clutch is slipping. I definitely feel a difference when I downshift. One way to test it. Go about 20-25mph and put it in fifth. Then floor the gas. If the engine just revs, the clutch is slipping. If it bogs then it isn't slipping. Another way to test it. While idling, keep your foot on the brake while you put the car in 5th. If the car dies immediately the clutch isn't slipping, if it continues to run the expect the clutch.

 

ok guys, any new diagnostic info well appreciated. i went home this weekend and tried to figure out what was wrong with the 79 gs and to no luck. i unflooded it the easy way, and it cranked. the engine started but couldn't hold idle and immediately died. i tried again and it didn't work anymore. i checked the spark plugs..yes they were all black so i cleaned it and tested them. they still sparked fine but was all wet from gas. i think its pretty badly flooded. i did the complex unflooding technique and it still didn't work. well when testing the spark plugs, i had to test it on another car. i think the alternator and/or coils are bad. the battery we just got (die hard gold) went dry, and after a full recharge, was sucked dry again. just couldn't keep any juice. um..so i guess i will try to find some replacement coils, but seems there aren't too many 79-80 1st gens where i live. i can probably check out the junkyard, i remember they had a few later model first gens. the should be interchangeable right? and the alternator, should i replace with another 1st alternator or try and swap in an s5 alternator i have around. the wire are a little different (by one wire) but i think it can be done right? anyone swap in an s5 alternator in their 1st gen. ok..so..what else...um...i think that is it soo far...its starting to get a little frustrating trying to figure out what's wrong with it..but i guess it comes with the rx-7 territory.

 

this might be a dumb question, but its worth a shot...

after you un-flood it, are you dumping a little oil down the carb? it helps a lot with compression. I have to do it every time I flood my car or it just wont start

or maybe you could try a ground wire from the engine to the frame, that might help you get better spark...

 

There is a really good thread for swapping in a different alternator (130-135Amp, sweet). Do a search and it should turn up within the top ten. If you can't find it let me know and I can do the search and post the link or maybe someone else who knows the link can post it.

 

yes, thanks. i'll search for that thread.

 

im almost out of ideas what is wrong with the car. the fuel filter was replaced, new spark plugs & wires, fuel pump was checked and in working order, swapped in another fuel pump just in case, checked fuel lines...unflooded with every technique known so far...i am stuck at the moment. when i try to start, it only starts if i directly pour a bit of gas into the carb. with th egas pressed all the way down, the car still dies, no idle. im beginning to think i need a rebuild or something? any help?

 

check the fuel delivery line from the firewall (the bigger one) and make sure at least 1100ml of gas comes out in a minute. If that's alright, check the compression of the engine...

 

re build the carb
25 years of setiment is a long time


pump the gas pedal (1 time) with someone looking in the carb if they see gas shoot out then im out of ideas
if not you got a problem

and it shouldnt be a stream just a little squirt from your accelerator pump

 

rebuilding the carb eh. actually i was thinking just that. i've never rebuilt one but im pretty good with diagrams and schematics and directions. i don't have money to get it professionally done at the moment. i have my 86 gxl as a daily so i won't mind tearing it apart to rebuild it. from the looks of it, everything in the engine bay looks sooo much more simpler then the 2nd gens. i also noticed that there are lots of oil on the rotor housing...looking in from the driver side. im thinking i will need a rebuild then eh? man...i want to at least get it to run first before rebuilding it since i don't have the tools to take it out of the car. the other thing is, who rebuild 12As. i've only seen quotes for 13b and up. i think i want to attempt the rebuild. would the parts needed be the same as the 13b or different since i can't find anything for 12As. so far, this is just speculating the possibilities of getting the car running.