Madrx7racer

sounds like you have a solid head on your shoulders and this could be a nice car for you......You will need to learn to work onyour own car though.....having a mechanic do it will end up being expensive, especially if they are not too familiar with it.....

My5ABaby

iTrader: (7)

It's a 16 year old car. Sure, it's going to take money to keep it running. But... no more than any other car of that age. I knew nothing about cars before I bought mine and have managed to keep it running (kinda ) due to it's simplicity.

I looked under the hood of my dads Miata the other day and spent 5 minutes finding the damn slave cylinder. Couldn't they just mount the ******* thing on top of the transmission?

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

Keep in mind that if you are driving the car in the winter, it WILL RUST AGGRESSIVLY. Going to need rust protection applied every fall, and you'll have to keep the underside clean and as free from salt as you can.

I used to drive my RX-7s in the winter (never had a problem with traction, control or any of those other things that other people seem to complain about ) but had to stop when I saw what it was doing to the body. If you really want to drive an RX-7 in the winter, find one that is already pre-rusted as a beater. That's what I did several years ago and it worked out well...

MattB

I drove my 87 TII in the winter with dunlop graspic tires. It really wasnt uncontrollable or unpredictable at all. As long as you keep easy on the throttle, and keep it out of the torque band...

I drove 10 miles to school, and 20 miles to work every day...and then back of course.

It really isnt a terrible winter car at all.

epp_b

If I'm seriously considering buying this car, I will ask him if he knows the history of it. I certainly don't intend to buy a cheap one -- any really cheap car that age will have problems, I'm sure (my first car was a 94 Pontiac Sunbird with 260KMs for $2,000 and I spent about as much on repairs as I did buying the car!). He's asking $4,000 CAD, which is about $3,550 USD.

Well, the only thing I really have to be concerned about then is the previous maintenence of the car, I'm not one to modify cars at all.

I've heard that a lot on these forums...does an RX-7 tend to rust more than other cars of the same age? Why? I only expose any car I have to salt a few (say, 3 to 5) times a winter; they only use dirt where I live, not salt. And I clean my car probably twice a week in winter as well.

Icemark

Probably less rust than many cars of equal age.

The problem with any older car, is that the paint and rust protection that was on the car when new, and since become pitted and damaged from things like rocks, stones, deer carcases, curses from bad drivers, accidents, careless jack placement, scratches from mechanics etc. Anything that exposes the metal to the elements.

From the factory, the S4 models (86-88 model years RX-7) even had a rubberized undercoat runing the length of the lower body, under the paint to prevent lower body rust.

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

The 2nd gen is likely no worse then any car of that vintage. The 1st gens on the other hand will rust if you look at them the wrong way.

Mainly it's a concern because its very unlikely the previous owner took decent care of the car so it will have been exposed to the elements for a long time. With age, seams start to seperate a little and water (and dirt/salt!) gets trapped and starts to rust them out. If you intend to keep the car in good shape, I say don't drive it in the winter. This goes for any car, unless it is made of stainless or aluminum.

epp_b

This one's a 1990, so it is a 2nd generation model.

I will have to consider that. Thanks.

aznpoopy

all i have to add is

if you are not a mechanic now, you will be one after a year or two of owning this car.

Robbo9

+2... Buy it. They're fun. I love my GXL more than any other car I've driven..and it's not really ungodly fast. They are just fun to drive.

arghx

iTrader: (3)

yeah, trial by fire basically. It's awesome though, b/c owning an Rx-7 has made me into a do-it-yourselfer, or at least much moreso than I was before

monkhommey

i dont get you guys who complain about the snow.. ive hade 3 sevens: 87base 88gxl 91vert. and every one has seen the snow.. and i love it.. well the vert is goin to be garaged this next winter tho.. its nice and i dont want n e one to hit it.. heres what u do .. go find a snowy parking lot and slide around all day and get used to how it handles.. they are very predictable even with crappy tires and no lsd.. i drove my first 7 50 miles 3 times in a blizard.. the last time i was pushing snow over the hood.. plus its just damn fun! i guess if you live in around hills its a little more of a problem..just be safe and dont be stupid.. ol and be prepared these things have wiring problems.. and your probably goin to have to replace the clutch or brake master cylinder.. ive had to do that to all 3 of mine.. peace

epp_b

I don't think there's a flatter place on Earth than where I live, so that's not a problem

ErixHvn

Duuude. Inspect the RX7 you have in mind and then post your findings to the forum. Price, Condition( mechanical and body), Model, options/upgrades. Someone would help you evaluate this RX, Usually.

But then again I'm biased for getting one. I've had my '86 (sport) since '91 and the only thing that I've had major issues w/ mine was the tranny. Twice. But then again....

First time was blowing a Mustang 5.0 GT away in the mountains up above Los Angeles (Angeles Crest HWY). Missed a gear during downhill downshift. Blew a bearing, 4th gear IIRC. Still took the Mustang to the cleaners in the twisities up and downhill. Priceless.

Never had any traction problems when there was snow on the ground. Just get the right tires for the season.

And also have had to rebuild and replace clutch slave cyl. twice. But then also my RX has 140+ Miles and still had 99-102 psi compression last time I checked.

Sideways7

iTrader: (7)

Mine actually lasted 215k miles on the original motor before it finally succomed(sp?) to a coolant seal leak. Mine was taken excellent care of, so the only stuff I had to replace was routine items like brakes.
I've never been in snow with my 7. Well, I've never actually even seen snow except on vacation, but I can tell you its not bad in the wet. Maybe my car is different from some peoples, but it is super controllable even in a massive downpour. As monk said, take it to a parking lot and get familiar with its handling. FWIW, my friends mom who grew up in minnisota had to take her car and drive it around an ice rink as part of her driving test.
Anyway, you seem to be very responsible and genuinely interested in taking good care of the car. I think that you would do very well getting an rx-7.

epp_b

Sorry, I guess I didn't give enough details before. I have looked at the car already (granted, without the prior knowledge that I've since gained from helpful forum members here ) and these were my findings...

GENERAL:
It is a 1990 Mazda RX-7 (don't know the exact trim level) with 150,000 KMs (that's kilometers, not miles; 150k KMs = about 93k miles). I'm ashamed to admit that I don't remember what tht tires are like (how worn the tread is), but I do remember that there is absolutely no rust in the wheel wells. There are no modifications to anything so far as I can tell -- I'm pretty sure that it's all stock parts, so I needn't worry about someone having upgraded the crap out of it and ripping the snot out of it

EXTERIOR:
There is a little chip in the front left, a molding panel on the left side is missing, there is a little bit of rust on the rear-left quarter panel, the power mirrors don't work, the front-left indicator light cover is missing; BUT, the seller says he will fix all that included in the price of $4,000 Canadian.

ELECTRICS AND GIZMOS:
Like I just mentioned the power mirrors don't work (he said that will be fixed before selling), the cruise control DOES work, the A/C does NOT work but it, apparently, just needs to be refilled (I think that's common in 150ish KM cars, especially with imports...my dad's '00 Nissan Maxima with nearly 150,000 KMs and in immaculate condition needed it's A/C refilled just recently).

INTERIOR:
"Very clean" sums up the interior. No rips in the cloths and materials, nor scratches on the plastics. It has the usual minor wear that any 16-year-old car with 150k KMs will, such as the gear **** has loosened from the lever and moves around a bit, but there are no major interior problems at all. It has roll down windows and manual locks, and I always like to see things like that as "one less thing to break". The face-plate on the aftermarket stereo was stolen, but I couldn't care less about even having a stereo (I prefer the sound-track from under the hood!). I'd probably end up taking the stereo out completely.

MECHNICAL:
I obviously don't know much of what to look for, but I covered the basics. No gearbox grinding from worn synchros, no sudden loss of power from the engine at any RPMs (it revs like it's running on double-cream all the way to 8,000 RPM! ... gotta love how it's able to hold the power on for so long!), no brake pulling or alignment problems, the clutch feels tight and together, the turn-in and steering is perfect; to drive, it feels very tight. I looked under the hood... "yup, it's a wankel rotory engine...that's about all I know". Not that this necessarily means much, but the engine looked clean with no acid washing -- meaning, it is NOT a car imported from eastern Canada where they have a have a wet climate and use car-eating amounts of salt. Whatever belts it had appeared to be free of heavy wear, it sounded good and idled smoothly. The seller says that he changed the oil every 3,000 KMs (although, he's only had the car for a few months, I'd have to ask him about previous maintenence).

The car is safetied, but he wasn't able to tell me, at the time, what it needed to pass a safety (he couldn't find the safety papers in his "papers and forms box"...one of those types ). He did tell me that it had only one of the three catalytic converters that it normally has (<- is that accurate?), so could that be indicitive of an impending exhaust problem? (I know exhaust problems can become costly)

Anything else that you need to know that I may have forgotten here?

There's a big church parking lot right by my intersection -- open for testing just about every day but Sunday

ErixHvn

I like the foodie reference of running on double cream. Was that under load or just free rev? Sounds like a creampuff.

Sideways7

iTrader: (7)

Well, if he's the type with a papers and forms box, then it most likely was taken good care of. If it only has one of the orignial 3 cats, then that is usually a good thing. Off the top of my head I thought that only s4's had 3 cats, that the s5's had 1 main and 1 pre-cat, but I could be wrong. Anyway, they are basically there to help cold-start emmisions and tend to clog with age. Most likely, the stock ones were clogged and they were replaced with a single aftermarket cat. The part thats expensive with exhaust is the cat-backs and the labor. Since these cars use only bolts to secure the exhuast system and no welds, it is very easy to do yourself in the driveway or garage. The most you're looking at is maybe 150 USD or so for a good new cat, but that most likely wont be needed since it sounds like its been replaced in the not to distant past. From what you have described, it sounds like a good deal, especially if he's going to fix the problems you mentioned.
One more thing to look for is white smoke when started from a cold start. This could indicate possible coolant seal problems. Also ask him if he has to add coolant much.

I forgot to add this earlier, but Icemark is 100% correct about the cooling "problems." Assuming the stock system is intact and functioning properly, it should have no problems in any weather. Mine has sat in traffic where the road surface was well in excess of 120F with no problems.

epp_b

Well, I can't take credit for it I stole it from Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear where he was referring to the RX-8.

Full throttle in first and second -- all the way to 60 MPH / 100 KPH ... not that I abuse a car on a test drive, but I obviously want to make sure there are no engine problems. My dad's car blew a MAF sensor and had a problem at around 4,500 RPM where it suddenly lost half the power. A second one blew a few weeks later (on warranty this time) and it wouldn't rev above 2,000 RPM period!.

This is unrelated, but I'll say that I really like the two-stage throttle in the RX-7, makes moderate driving in town very easy and controllable.

epp_b

Well, like I said, he's only owned it for a few months; I neglected to ask him, at the time, if he had any prior service records.

rxsevensport

You mentioned cold start smoking. When I start my car lately it jumps to about 3000 rpm until the fan kicks in (bout 20 seconds) then the idle comes back down to around 1500 before settling at about 800 when it is warmed up. My question is if I let it warm up on its own and sit at about 3000 it will start blowing white smoke (not heavy). However, if I blip the throttle after I start and before it revs high it will idle lower (bout 1500 until warmed up and there is no smoke.

Maybe it's cuz my motor has over 200.000 miles and its "tired"?

comments?

ericgrau

iTrader: (1)

I was gonna say some things but people already said them. So I'll just say everything said so far is great info. I just have a couple things to add.

First, the RX-7 gets a bad maintenance reputation from the FD a.k.a. 3rd-generation a.k.a. '93-'95 RX-7. That's what your friends heard about. FDs are also much more expensive and ridiculously fast. The 2nd-generation a.k.a. FC will give you no trouble if you get one in good shape. http://www.rx7.voodoobox.net/ has an excellent buyer's guide in the FAQ. I used it myself. It does fail to mention the fuel pulsation dampener. If it leaks onto the exhaust manifold it will start an engine fire. Check for fuel leaks above the exhaust manifold (passenger side of engine) and/or fuel smell. I paid a mechanic $350 to fix. Very dangerous if you don't fix it. As with any car, getting a mechanic to check it out before you buy would be great. If you get a non-turbo RX-7 in good shape and do basic maintenance (mostly fluids, which you said you can do), you'll be fine. The Haynes manual is great for basic maintenance, among other things.

Salt: As a minimum precaution you can simply rinse off the underbody at least once a month (You said you do it twice a week? Even better). An underbody coating is great too.

A/C: I believe it takes R12 (Freon), unless they switched it by 1990. R134a will eventually destroy your A/C and won't cool as well. Since Freon production is now banned, (old or recycled) Freon is ridiculously expensive. Fortunately for you in Canada they have HC12 (propane-butane substitute) to replace it. Sure it's flammable, but so is R134a.

epp_b

I like to keep my cars as clean as possible in winter.

Interesting to know. I live about 10 KMs from the U.S., where it's not illegal to just fill up your A/C

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

Salt gets into every crack and crevice in the body and stays there for YEARS. A rinse doesn't help very much in this case.

If you want to preserve the car, just don't drive it in the winter.

gtr06

Does salt eat away at new cars the same way or do new cars have better protection?