Hi fellas.

I've been searching for a project car for the last month or so. My requirements were only that the vehicle was 1) Manual Tranny, and 2) Rear Drive. It's all about the fun factor. Well, today I've stumbled onto an RX-7 here locally.

WAAAAY back when I was 14 my parents bought me a 1985 RX-7 and it was AWESOME for a first car. I've never forgotten how much fun that car was, so when I found this, I was greatly overjoyed. I'm 27 now, and it's been so long since I was around Rotary engines, I had to ask for your assistance before purchasing.

On to it, then: It appears to be a great little car. A 1980 RX-7. The owner is out of town with the keys, but the body looks to be in great shape. There is little to no rust I can see, the panels are all straight, but the interior needs help. The dash is cracked badly, and the seats are covered with sheep-skin leading me to believe they are cracked up too. I'll also need to hear it run and spend some time driving it. The rear end has drum brakes (which as I understand it means NO LSD). The pumpkin is leaking noticeably, but there are no oil spots under the car.

The asking price was $2500. Later in the week it was dropped to $2000 (make an offer) was also added. I believe it has 138,XXX on the odometer. It's white/red but that's all I can tell you for now. There are no other badges on the car, save one that says 'Rotary Powered'. That emblem appears to be factory item too...

The owner will be in town on Saturday - so I will likely go drive it and HOPEFULLY take it home with me. So I would like to know if there is anything specifically that I should check out. I appreciate any help you can provide.

BTW, do you think that $2k is a fair price for the car given the description I've left? Here's a picture of the car as I found it listed.







Thanks for your input. I'm planning on adding some performance parts and hopefully getting it to look something like this one:

 

Hmm, its not a bad looking car but for $2K find a GSL-SE with the fuel injected 13b, disc brake and LSD. That GS is probably worth about $700 in my mind.

When you find the right car check for rust under the storage bins, has it run lately, and has the front rails ever been bent.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mazda...QQcmdZViewItem

Here is an example on eBay

 

Thanks for the input... that was FAST!

I'd LOVE to find a GSL. Unfortunatly there are VERY VERY FEW Rotary cars in this area. That's why I was so excited to find this one. I think this CAN be the 'right car' if the price can be made to match the value of the car. $700 is much lower than his asking price - so I'll be pressed to get it for that much. I was hoping to offer him $1700 for it. Aparently that's WAY too much money for this machine?

 

Hey, I think that the car would be worth about $1000 to $1500 if it was real nice. But from what you have said, I probably woudn't go over a grand.

 

Watch the values on eBay for a few days, it will give you a good idea on what they're worth. remember a GS has a lot less standard luxurt and performance parts, although a non sunroof body can be desired for race car use.

I would offer them $700 and tell them to call when they will accept that, there are many more cars around if you search.

Try the 1st gen cars for sale section in here for a start.

 

Screw that. SA all the Way.



They way you describe the car it is worth $1500 to 2K, 2500 is high unless the engine is new/newer. Sounds to me like $1500 will buy the car, Offer 1k and then work them from there.

With 130K on it, it will need an engine rebuild or new engine in the near future. The SA engines just dont last as long as the later ones.

You will want to change the rear for a GSL or SE rear. or Ford 8.8 or similar. you will want to update the front spindles and brakes to 84 - 85 ones.



.

 

Yeah if you can get the car down to 1500 - 1700 i say go for it. I bought my 82 GS for 1500. This car fro mthe pics looks pretty damn clean. Hopefully you can get him to go down on that 2K price. Good luck mang!

 

AWESOME, finally some support on this one! I'll try for $1500 on it...

What is the difference in the 84+ spindles you are talking about?

 

hey, that looks my car! but it's not

GO FOR IT!!

SA is the ULTIMATE fun-factor/ bang for the buck car. Since I got my lisence about 2 weeks ago, I have been nothing but smiles! However, they're a little harder to upgrade, because they were only made for two years. Much of the stuff you will find will be for 81-85, but thats ok, because you can make stuff work. You can always find a GSL rear end later on if you want to put that in. I'm guessing by "84 spindles", he means the better brakes, beacause from what I understand, SA's weren't the best.

good luck, hope ya get it!


~b.k.

 

Like advised, I would look around some more. I purchased my SA in way better condition than that for less than a $1000. For that price you can pick up a better version and not have to worry about "upgrading" which is going to bring you back closer to the original asking price. Don't jump on the first thing you see as that is a common mistake with people in the market to buy a car. Good Luck.

 

The 79 and 80 cars had awful front brakes and old school rears. the 79 to 83 cars had smaller Diamater spindles on the front. So when upgrading it is best to use the Larger bearing 84 - 85 front spindles, with their better brakes. This also gives you the ability to go to 2nd gen brakes or even some aftermarket brake kits, as they all require the use of the larger spindles.


If you plan to mod and enjoy the car for many many years then dont worry about the cost of the car so much, And I have passed on cars and wish I had not. My current 79, I passed on the first time it was for sale, A year later I jumped on it like a chicken on a june bug.

 

I picked up a nice SE for $1500. If the car runs and drives great then I might go $1500, other than that $700-$1000 would be a generous offer.

 

I would say the car is worth about 1500. Its clean looking but thats a lot of miles. I am just about to buy one myself for about that price but it has a lot fewer miles on it. I have owned an RX7 before and they are great cars for a fun drive. You will enjoy it. Good luck.

 

Man if you want the car get the car!! id say between 1k-1.5k sounds right.

GET THAT SHYT MAYNE!!!

 

I payed 700 for a GSL with trashed brakes and a trashed automatic. I would say do 1000-1500 if it mechanicly checks out. See if you can talk the guy into getting a compression check on the motor, and make sure the oil looks clean in the engine. All the basic walk around stuff before you buy it. Of course, if you have the budget and plan on modding it, buy it for whatever you can get it for and swap in a better engine, interior and rear end!!! A very clean exterior makes up for alot of issues. I hate body work and will give up a large amount on the mechanical side if the body is perfect.

 

My plan is to keep the car and mod it unmercifully. I dont have a budget per say... so the price really is not the issue. Naturally I dont want to get RIPPED, but a measly 1500 is nothing to get me to back out on.

It looks like I'll take it if the price is good, and just upgrade to the recommended parts. Thanks for the feedback fellas - that's EXACTLY what I was looking for.

Any links to sites for mods? I've been reading that the 12a built properly gives fits to the 13b's AND takes the punishment better. Where should I start to accomplish that feat?

I'm assuming the internals are basically the same. I guess I'll learn more as I continue to read up on here... LOTS of good info, and friendly people too.

 

Go to nopistons and read the engine building and porting forum. Posts by Judge Ito and BDC are some of the best.

 

I think a rather obvious thing to do with ANY rotary purchase is get the rotor-motor compression tested at a Mazda dealer using the factory rotary compression tester machine (standard compression testers don't give proper readings). The "Deal-Or-No-Deal" issue here is if the engine is cooked. Its the diff between a $1500 runner and a $100 parts car. And in case you haven't noticed, a replacement engine is not cheap!! The compression test will run you $75, and check out the rad for any signs of engine oil floating in with it. The deal with a rotary is that it can still start and run even though the engine is on the way out due to bad sealing between the water jacket and oil galleries. The OTHER issue is rust. It WILL be rusty, the question is the degree of it. SAs weakest spot is behind and over the rear fenders. Get the car on the hoist at the dealership and have a good look underneath.
I love my SA to death and I think its the best $$ spent on a sports car - IF you get the right one! They made over 100,000 SAs so chances of finding a nice one are good-
'luck!
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska