84 gsl. grayish blue with brown interior (need bins back, so i might just get a new color interior), guy said the water seals are gone. there is a browniish color liquid on the plugs (could be rust, i dont know yet) when i turn it over. with the smell of gas, so i dunno yet what it is exactly. have to refill the radiator and everything to see if it is the waterseals. (i think the guy that owned it before was going to pull the motor, most of the hoses are either cut or off)

ill get photos later, in a couple days when i find out whats wrong with the motor.

 

Congrats on joining the 1st gen group of fanatics.

It does sound like there's coolant getting in to your combustion chambers unfortunately. I hope you got a smokin' good deal on it.

Talk about coincidence--- I too bought an '84 GSL today, charcoal gray with red interior. The body, paint and interior are in very good shape except for a very few small local areas on the body that need to have corrosion nipped in the bud. Of greater concern are the howling transmission and the front suspension components that need to be replaced.

My '85 GSL is now a parts car having been rear-ended a few months back and having lost an apex seal last week (after 163,000 miles indicated), so once we move into our new house I'll swap over the necessary items to the '84.

Lots of little things to take care of, but for $1000 I think I did ok. What did yours set you back?

 

mine was 150$. also the drivers side rear quarter has some damage, but its not as bad as i thought it was, a little bondo and paint should fix. car has a little over 140k on it.

also, these cars are so damn small. im 6ft4 and its a tight, tight fit.

 

That is one color combination I never could understand. I like the brown interior better than the maroon, but not with a blue body. Have fun with the project.

 

Sounds like you got a decent deal, even more so if you do your own body work and engine swap. Yeah, they are small. The narrowness of the cockpit is actually good because it holds you in place, but for someone your height you may want to install a set of SA ('79 or '80) base seats (they sit a couple inches lower) and a smoked glass or plexiglass sunroof panel. The combination of these two changes will give you about 3 more inches of head room.

 

im considering putting my fc seats in it for the time being, i think im just going to pull the motor and do a basic rebuild. who has the best kits? mazda or RA or atkins? who sells the rebuild kits the cheapest? also, does anyone sell rear fender flares? the damage in the rear panel is inthe second photo, whats the best way to go about fixing it? also the build date on the car is 5/84, thats still 84, just ner the end correct?







(i had a reply to this the other day, but the forum decided to quit on me, so ive been lazy)

 

AHHHH FIX IT!!! LOOKS LIK SOMEONE TUBGIRLED YOUR REAR CORNER PANEL!!!

 

wow emmisions makes the engine bay look so hideous look at all the clutter
get rid of it i say naught man your 7 needs to breath lol jst kiddin

great buy have fun

 

when i pull the motor to rebuilt it, ill do the emissions removal. i should start reading up on that too.

and i checked the undercariage, and wheel wells for rust and have found no rust at all.

 

sweet thats always a bonus i was happy too when i couldnt find rust either

how much you spending on the rebuild just curious

 

Wow, damage near the gas tank makes me scared

Still a good deal at $150, though. The bay reminds me slightly of my friend's when he first got his. Real nasty dirty.

Was the car originally Tender or Gold? The color code for gold is Msomething, Tender is V3.

 

it looks like it was a light impact, just enough to dent up the rear. and ill have to check the color code tomorrow. but im pretty sure that is its original color.

 

Cool. Just seems odd Mazda would be strange enough to put a tan interior with a tender exterior

Cool find though. If you happen to want to switch to dark grey carpetting, I have a bit of extra, mostly bins back stuff

 

[QUOTE=razorback]

im considering putting my fc seats in it for the time being, i think im just going to pull the motor and do a basic rebuild. who has the best kits? mazda or RA or atkins? who sells the rebuild kits the cheapest? also, does anyone sell rear fender flares? the damage in the rear panel is inthe second photo, whats the best way to go about fixing it? also the build date on the car is 5/84, thats still 84, just ner the end correct?


The 5/84 means the car was built in May of '84 and is an '84 model. This can also be confirmed by the presence of an E for the 10th character in the VIN. (An '83 would have a D, and an '85 would have an F). The change-over month is July, so a 7/84 and an F in the VIN would indicate an '85 model.

The argument over who has the best seals is a can of worms that I do not wish to open but suffice to say, you can't go wrong with the Mazda seals. They cost more though.

A basic rebuild on these older engines often ends up costing more though--- the rotor housings are often flaked and the irons worn beyond what you are allowed to plane off during resurfacing. Then there's the argument about the effectiveness of re-nitriding the plates. Supposedly, the factory job goes deeper and lasts way longer than the work done in a machine shop.

Same goes for the option of using JHB cermet-coated housings. This process sounds promising but it's too early to tell if the heat cycles will have the negative effect on these housings that some at Mazda claim will happen, ie: flaking of the coating, causing apex seals to catch on them.

Since the cost of a basic rebuild kit (not including housings) hovers around 1k you might be better off tearing this engine down just for grins and then buying used housings from a rebuilder--- housings that you can view and measure with a dial indicator before buying. This way you get reasonable rotor housings and the irons will still have the factory nitriding on them. As long as the wear is within specs you're ok.

As for fender flares, I don't have a Victoria British catalogue on my desk at the moment but they may have some of the more subtle (ie: not riced-out) versions for a reasonable price.

BTW, in the photo your tan interior looks more like a faded red interior (?)

 

i might just get the mazda rebuild kit from racingbeat.com which is about 1100$. and rebuild it with that.

i should be getting a victoria british catalog any day now, i ordered one about a week and a half ago so ill check in there when i get it for the rear fender flares. i checked the vin, there is an E so i just wanted to make sure its an 84, not an 85.

the interior is actually brown, i think it just needs a good cleaning and it will be ok. i dont like brown, so im goign to try to switch everything over to grey. (but brown is better than red, i HATE red interior) i dont have rear bins or carpet so im gonna have to pick those up sometime, they were pulled when i got the car. and since im considering going with grey, i figure why not just switch it all over.

 

I have the bins, the bin frame, and all the rear carpetting. I think, though, that the bin frame may be a wee bit too expensive to ship
If you can't find it any closer, contact me.

It's a Real Dark grey, just shy of non-metallic gun-metal. I have all the plastic peices, too.

 

paint code is v3. i checked on it today.

 

Good deal. If you need any spare exterior parts, then, I've got those too, but I'm sure you can find some closer to you.

 

thanks. there is a guy in a local city that has a rx7 salvage yard, ill try there. if his exterior parts are priced like his motor parts, then they will be overpriced.

 

"RX-7 Salvage Yard"!?!

WHERE?!?

 

Im Chaning My Interoir From That Nasty Red To Gray It Has Not Been Hard

 

http://www.snyderweb.com/drivingforce/ i dont know how up to date that is, but i stopped by the place the guy owns today (an extreme sports shop) and today was one of his off days. you can either email him or call him and see if he has what you need. i dont think he will sell a car out right.