Bathory

hello all, im fairly new to RX-7's, i currently have an 89 Supra non-turbo and i was thinking of buying a 1st gen RX-7 (an 81 to be exact) as a project car, the one i have in mind has an excelent body or an 81, and interior as well, it runs and all that, i can get it for $400 (is that a reasonable price? it comes with an 84 parts car) but my question is concening performace, and the rotary motor itself. a mechanic friend of mine told me that rotary motors are cool but when something goes wrong with them they extemely hard/expensive fix. is this true? he saidhe wouldnt even want to attept to fix/get involved with a rotary motor and not many shops will? any truth to this? i figured it would b good to ask the people that own them. but anyhow aside from that what r some of the performance specs on the 1st generations? well thats about all i can think of as of now, any responces would be greatly appreciated.

12aPwr

well considering ive only had 1st gens, they are fairly simple to work with, only 3 major moving parts in the engine (if there is more im sure ill get corrected). now power the 12a(carbed) is about 100hp if you could fine one try to look for a 84/85 gsl-se it has a FI engine with 135hp i think but dont quote me on that.

82transam

iTrader: (18)

Rotaries are relatively cheap, and can be quite reliable as well. The reason most people say bad things about them is because they don't understand and won't take the time to understand how it works. If you don't have to worry about smog testing where your at you could get a pretty decnet performer just using bolt ons.

brianmcd

Also, when considering the horsepower numbers, you must factor in weight. First gens are 2200-2400 lbs cars, so horsepower goes a long way with them. 100 hp doesn't sound like much to begin with, but once you start doing some mods you'll find you've got a pretty quick car. Putting on a full exhaust will boost you up about 20 horsepower.

Pele

iTrader: (28)

Stock first gens aren't very high performance with a meager 100 HP... However, exhaust buys you a lot, so does weight removal. Being a light car at a little over 2400 Stock is good...

Rotary engines are very reliable in N/A form. People who say otherwise are morons. Over heat it and you blow coolant seals, much like the head gasket on a standard engine. Predetonate and you'll blow other seals... But that shouldn't happen on an N/A...

Problems occur when people think they can get power by slapping on a turbo and cranking the Dial-A-Boost up to 223453425 Lbs... Don't work like that.

This forum is a valuable resource and we'll help you in any way possible. If you get everything right, you can have anything from a 10 Sec dragster to a nimble little road racer... It all depends on what you wanna do with it.
An 81 and an 84 for $400 is a very good deal, if at least one engine runs.

mar3

iTrader: (8)

Actually, if the interior is in great shape and the body is in very good shape, then $400 is spot on for a rex with a DEAD engine, so grab it....

hornbm

actually, after looking around after I got my rex for 500 with a dead engine, 300 seems to be what they are generaly sold for. If I bought another rex with a dead motor, I wouldnt pay anymore than 300 for it.

inittab

The truth of the matter is most shops will not touch them with a 10 foot pole but that's only because they don't understand them. The other truth is they are extremely easy to work on. Armed with only a Haynes manual you can rebuild the entire engine if needed and honestly it's pretty easy to do. The car you're looking at has a N/A rotary and as others have said, they are very reliable if it's been taken care of. The problem is these cars are 20+ years old so stuff will break or simply wear out. If you're looking for a fun project car, look no further than the 1st Gen RX-7. They're a blast to work on and even more fun to drive. Oh, and I say this to everyone new to rotary's. Be sure to read Felix's Own General Rotary Engine FAQ.

Don't hesitate, grab that rex and start having fun with it!

Pele

iTrader: (28)

THe reason they're so easy and fun to work on is that I can climb into the engine bay and shut the hood, There's that much room under there...

I can smuggle a family of four across the border... Just watch out for the belts and fan.

Aviator 902S

All true. While 100 hp (for the stock 12A-powered 1st gen) doesn't sound like much, take a good look at the hp curve compared to most stock piston engines:
With a typical piston engine, peak hp is around 5200 rpms, but go 1000 rpms to either side of peak hp and it drops off rapidly.
Not so with the rotary. This engine reaches peak hp between 6500 and 7000 rpms, but the hp curve is much more useable. In fact, you can go 2000 rpms before peak and 1500-2000 rpms after peak and still realize at least 80% of the available hp. This means that the hp is useable over a much wider range of rpms.
Furthermore, the rotary LIKES higher rpms. Unlike typical piston engines, you can run a rotary at 5000-6000 all day long (if you have a proper cooling system. Guys using these engines in home-built aircraft do just that) and it won't hurt them or shorten engine life. This is because while the eccentric shaft (crank shaft) is turning at a give rpm, the rotors (equivalent to pistons) are only turning at 1/3rd that rpm. Nothing reciprocates in the rotary either, so there's much less engine stress.
The only drawback with the rotary (when non-turbo'd or supercharged) is that torque below 3000 rpm is weaker than piston engines. This means that you won't win many light-to-light drag races (which only idiots do anyway)

Pele

iTrader: (28)

So ya just gotta launch hard. It should crush your basic Honda in stock config.