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A little while ago I’ve picked up a 1980 Mazda RX-7 for my first project car! Pictures are below. I’m super stoked. My goal is to restore it back to (roughly) factory and have it for a fun daily/backroads driver.
The body on the car is in great shape overall, the mechanicals seem solid with some issues and the interior is a bit trashed.
When I first got her, she would bog down going up longer hills or under full power, so I replaced the rear fuel filter. It had more dirt than fuel in it, but that solved the power issue. She puts out solid power (for the factory 100hp ) and runs pretty well. The idle is only a bit rough, but she fires up incredibly quickly.
I’ve also replaced the upper radiator hose to fix a leak and at the same time flushed the coolant and replaced the thermostat.
I had the brakes serviced at a shop, and I’m happy I did. The pedal was really soft, though the brakes did work. Turns out the driver rear brake cylinder had burst. The mechanic had to use a high pressure bleeder to get the old fluid out.
I also changed the oil and replaced the filter, which I’m happy I did since the filter was stamped as from 2014.
Some of the primary issues I’ve discovered and will be working on:
After fire. After almost every shift, unless I’m super careful with the throttle. Sounds like a gunshot, varying from a 22 to a shotgun.
Metal-on-metal sound from the rear end. I thought it was coming from one side, so I had the wheel bearings replaced (at the same time as the brake job) to no avail. My next step will be to visually inspect the differential for wear.
Dash has a few splits in it.
Passenger seat (I suspect was previously the drivers) is trashed. Needs to be re-upholstered.
No power to a bunch of the dash (stereo, cigarette lighter, switch to raise the antenna, etc.)
There’s other smaller, miscellaneous things I need to get to, but those will come with time. My general feel with the car is that while it wasn’t loved, it wasn’t abused either. I’m thinking she should be good once I go through all of the usual maintenance steps (I.e. replacing ALL the fluids).
I’ll post updates here, as well as ask questions as needed. Though I know there’s a ton of existing resources on the forum so I’ll be using that search bar heavily!
Nice pick-up. Good luck with your refurbishment project. Consider making it up to the Westcoast Rotary Sevens' Day, July 7th in Abbotsford, B.C. We'd be happy to see you.
nice find. welcome aboard. we have a tech section for any questions/issues u may have and build section if u wish to show progress of this project. good luck with it.
What a fantastic looking car! Restoring it to its original condition would be the best thing for the car. It looks to have been well kept. did you get any service history on the car and do you know any of the car's history before you bought it?
04-18-18, 02:34 PM
I got an RX-7!
) and runs pretty well. The idle is only a bit rough, but she fires up incredibly quickly.
Sweet
