The more I read posts on this forum the more I wonder if we are llossing track of what a gen 1 is. It is obvious its a 1979-85 RX-7. But how far do we take modifications before we get a hybrid funny car.

Is tranplanting a gen 2 engine or a 20b a legitimate improvement? Is the shape so poor its necessary to add a wide body and massive rear spoiler with the largest wheels and widest tires? Now we have people substituting gen2 suspension parts. Let's rebuild the interior with the latest mock carbon fibre parts and rice racing seats wth a 500w sound system.

Is the Gen 1 going the way of the 1930s ford V8 and ending up as an inexpensive hotrod for people who can't afford a modern sportscar? Five years down the track there may be a rush to turn them all into original classic cars.

I really enjoy the original and am concerned that the remaining gen 1s are cheap student rust buckets or an assembly of a page long list of changes as shown on many signatures, which will never get back a quarter of the money spent on them.

Should I go out and buy a RX-8 and modify it with a gen 1 body which I think is a much better shape. Now that would be a great car!Am I too much of a purist?

Devil's advocate as I drive my daughter's CRX vtec

 

Oh trust me, it's not a cheap car to modify.
Us as first gen enthusiasts are just a bunch who love the first gen body and the way the car drives.

There are always two kind of car enthusiasts.
1. People who like to show off their car.
2. People that want maximum performance.

Both of these groups of people always help a car grow. You cannot blame people for wanting something better. The car is still a 1st generation RX-7 doens't matter what it is done to it.

I am personally doing all the changes to the car (I am assuming you are talking about me with the change in suspension and bodykit), so I can win with the car and once again show to the racing community that this car is one of the best out there. Of course I can go out and buy a new sports car. But I love the 1st gen and I will keep improving what Mazda should've done 20years ago. So don't hate on people, we are all just enthusiasts.

Cheers,
Omid

 

First gen RX7 78-85
MOST first gen people who post here still run the stock unibody set up,That wont get you a funny car,I would say a 3/4 chassis would be called a funny car or all tube frame.

Your comment on transplanting second gen and 20 b engines is where the **** hit the fan.

The first gen IS the lightest of ALL RX7s,and can TAKE most rotary engines up to a 20 B with minum fab work.
Yes a first gen could still work good with a 12A but you wouldnt put a 12A in a FC or FD.


Now your comment on " Gen 1 going the way of the 1930s ford V8 and ending up as an inexpensive hotrod"

Do you live in AU? Cause woudlnt MOST Rotary powered cars you see on the track would be over 20 yrs old?

In my book The First gen RX7 will always be a classic,This is the start of the Rotary powered sports car.


If you know ANYTHING about moding a car,You should know YOU wont get back most of the money you put in,So WHY buy a modern car,lets say a 20k car.(Then consider payments)then dump another 10k in mods when you can get a older car you like then dump alot less and get the same or better performance..


" Am I too much of a purist?"
Where do you live and what do you drive,or own..

Lets start with that..

*Edited by Acuspeed

 

Where did all of that anger come from??

 

Can you say? superiority complex. Just ignore it because it doesn't reflect the spirit of this forum.

Source: The Collins English Dictionary © 1998 HarperCollins Publishers
superiority complex
n. Informal. an inflated estimate of one's own merit, usually manifested in arrogance

 

Abeomid=-i think you are a great/mechanic/engineer and you have made a great improvement to your car.

There is another group of enthusiasts who love to drive the Gen 1 RX-7 in a relatively stock form.

My point is how far you modernise the original design specifications before the Gen 1 looses its original character along with some handling and performance limitations. An extreme example would be my Father's old Bugatti 37, imspite of 110mph on a 1.5 litre car after 70 years its really outdated but there was no way an original part would be modernised. When does a gen 1 become a classic and people spend hours going through junkyards looking for original parts to backdate?

BoRRoW- I forgive your unfortunate response, it must be that time of the month for you. To help you appreciate the rotary and its history, have a look at the first rotary sports car the Cosmo 110 or even the RX-500. The RX-7 came 12 years later.

You asked what cars I drive. I have owned everything from a Ferrari GTS to a Lotus 47. Currently a Nissan R34 is my 12 second 5 seat daily driver, and my favourite a 1985 RX-7 convertible, one of a handful commissioned by Mazda

 

what inittab said ^^^^^

 

I'm one of those. Although I have upgraded some of the mechanical aspects of my car, it still looks pretty much as stock as the day it came off the showroom. The only exception I would consider are aftermarket wheels. But yeah, I love the way the Gen 1 looks and I don't think it needs any fixing.

Pictures please.

 

As long as you have a rotary powerplant and keep the body, you have a "pure" 1st gen.

As long as you can look at it and recognize it as a 1st gen, it's a 1st gen.

Here's a nickel, keep the change

 

Well just cause you can afford a Ferrari GTS,Does that give you the right to bash first gen owners?

I know about the Cosmos and the R100,RX2,RX3,RX4,RX5 (Cosmos)

BUT The RX7 is what made the rotary sports car line noticed and lasted over 22 yrs even thought it came 12 yrs after Mazda released its first rotary.

Theres alot of people here who like performance and speed,And i can probally all other first gen owners can say a stock first gen either being a SA,or FB can say its slow as **** stock,Every thing can be improved,handeling,performance..etc..


*When does a gen 1 become a classic and people spend hours going through junkyards looking for original parts to backdate?*

If you have restored any old cars you should know,parts get discontinued after so many years from the Manufactor,It dont matter if you pull them from a junk yard or buying it online through someone else who pulled it,Theres alot of classics out there,People like to restore them on thier own ..yeah if you have the cash its not hard to send the car to someone and have it restored then drive it like you did something,

On your remark on junkyard parts...You want to know something funny.My latest RX7 I just bought was from the junk yard,1988 10 AE yes its a classic 10 Aniversarry of the production of the RX7,Im glad I saved this car from being crushed or parted out,The title is good,I got alot of the manufactors paper work and im the 3rd owner and still talk to the second owner who bought it in Cali in early 90s,and then came to FL..

And your 85 RX7 are you sure its Mazda factory convertible and not an aftermerket company out of Cali to buy them new and convert them over?


As I recalled your the one who posted about the first gen owners like we arent **** for buying old " rust buckets" and dumping money in them and dont get **** out of them..Theres some of us who cant afford a $50,000 sports car and like to work on our own ****..

 

SoRRoW- somehow along the way you have totally missed the point.

At no stage did I bash first gen owmers, i'am one myself!

My comments solely related to how far you can change a gen 1 and still call it a gen 1. Pratech's view is if it looks like a gen 1 its a gen 1 regardless of whats under the body.

My comment on junkyards was a classic cars situation. Many of the sports cars I drove as a student are now a collectors item. I sold an AC Aceca for 200 pounds UK, recently it fetched &0,000! Many 1930 ford V8s were turned into hotrods. Now people are buying them and converting them back to stock at great expense. The visit to the junkyard is to try and find an original part.

Here in Aus people are going out to rural farms to find old cars regardless of condition, as they have been long scrapped in cities.

Will people in future scrap 13bt engines and retro fit a 12a into a RX-7 to make it original?

If you want a good example, it now costs more to get a 12at than a better condition more powerful 13bt!

Regarding my RX-7 convertible, no its not a Pacfic Avatar conversion but a rhd model as displayed by Mazda at motor shows. It comes complete with the RX-7 convertible badge and is se equipped which in rhd was still 12a or 12at powered. Its got the larger ports which produce an extra 15bhp exfactory.

 

All this negatory speak. I love my first gen, and wether its the polished panasports i would like to have on my car, or the imsa front facia, or even if i decide to implant a N/A 13b or N/A 20b in it, it will still stay a first gen. I do plan on keeping the 12a for a very long time, but if it goes for some reason, theres more rotary engine possibilities than the 12a. I mean, there were basically 3 engine options for the 1st gen, the 12a the 12at (japan) and the 13b. Wich one of these engines is MORE of a 1st gen than the other? If its a rotary, it fits.