New Car for me

[CodeRedR51]

I posted this in the RX-7 Club thread, but seemed to get no lookers. Is the Mazda club dead? Anyways...

1988 Mazda RX7 SE, 90k original miles, runs great.

 

[ferrari_chris]

Looks good. As original as they come! 👍

Interior looks to be in good condition too.

Will that dented sill be hard to fix?

And what's the engine like? These things tend to come complete with smoke-screen after a while.

 

[YSSMAN]

Shes a nice one, I'll give you that. Looks like shes weathered the last 17 years pretty well, a feat not all RX-7s can attest two. I love the multi-colored seats, classic '80s style!

...I just hope you aren't going to go all "Fast and Furious" on her, she looks good the way she is...

 

[SRV2LOW4ME]

Pretty cool, and it seems to be in good condition (aside from the dent). Hows the shops around there for rotary engines? I know around here, the closest shop is almost an hour away, anyone else won't work on them.

Nice find though, and hopefully if ya take care of her, she won't go the way of so many other RX7's of her time. 👍

 

[Kylehnat]

I love that generation of the RX-7 👍

 

[Jay]

Looks great, real clean except for that dented sill which would annoy the hell out of me if I owned a clean RX7 like that.

Have fun with it.

Hows the shops around there for rotary engines? I know around here, the closest shop is almost an hour away, anyone else won't work on them.

Really? Around here you can take your rotary to any shop, its just another engine. (there are rotary specialists aswell)

 

[ND4SPD]

Nice ride! Not bad mileage wise for its age. I'm looking for one of those for my first car. Non turbo like yours.

 

[YSSMAN]

Really? Around here you can take your rotary to any shop, its just another engine. (there are rotary specialists aswell)

Here in the 'States, not only is the RX-7 somewhat rare, similarly the repairs on the car are about as foreign as anything can get. Which is strange, because the idea of a rotary engine isnt all to hard to grasp. Here in the US atleast, they are pretty notorious for having engine trouble (or atleast that is the case in Michigan [cant help having Detroit only three hours away])...

Most Mazda dealers would be happy to fix anything that goes wrong with almost any generation of RX-7, but you will probably get a better deal finding an import-specialist who knows the car pretty well. Unfortunately, around here most of the import-specialists go for the German or British brands, but they could probably handle a Japanese car...

 

[Wolfe]

That's a really nice FC. Great find. 👍

Speaking of working on rotaries...my uncle is a mechanic. He said that back in the days of the RX3, he figured out how to rebuild a blown rotary, but it took him three nights and hours of tedious work, and decided that buying a brand-new engine was the better way to go. He and a friend of his would buy used/junked RX3's with ruined engines and replace them, selling them for a profit. In the 80's, my uncle found an FC with a blown motor, but the engine was twice as expensive, so he plopped another RX3 engine into it and sold it.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Thanks for the comments guys.

I think I may be the 2nd owner. Car has been in Denver Colorado all it's life until now, but it's only moving 240 miles away. She's having some idle trouble right now, something I'm trying to track down. Goes away after driving for about an hour though. I'm not worried about the rotary engine thing, I've had one before and know how they work. Any major repairs I am confident I can do.

Oh, and YSSMAN, no 2F2F here. The only body mods getting done are a complete turbo II conversion, then it's getting some 16" wheels, coilovers, intake and full exhaust. That's about it until the Turbo II engine swap.

 

[Master_Yoda]

Love them RX-7's! In fact that is what i want as my first car, but probally switch for some BBS rims. Either that or a 300ZX (popular here)

 

[blargonator]

a buddy of mine used to have a 87 TII, the thing was beautiful and he barely knew anything about it. he "wrecked" it one day and i was going to buy it for 1,500 and it just needed a new front bumper and hood, but a buddy of mine did the worst thing possible......he bought it from under me......now he is pretty much ricing it out. it needs a new exhaust (whole thing, has quite a few leaks) so he bought 4" tips X- O

sorry if i seem sour......i just sold my MKII golf GTI 16v and i miss owning a driveable car (stupid 924)

best of luck with that, it looks amazing!

 

[lmracer]

very cool. i am envious. how does the drivetrain feel? does it need any work?

you should do a minor engine rebuild. its not hard on a wankel. just do a gasket set, and replace the apex seals. it would feel brand new

 

[YSSMAN]

Ahhh the 924, one of the strangest Porsches to ever live. My neighbor has a white one, I forget the year... It is hard not to laugh sometimes when he tries to drive it fast...

 

[Wolfe]

Man, how come the 924 never gets any love...

So what if it's a front-engined Porsche? So what if it carried a watercooled VW inline-four? It handles well, its good (IMO) looks had many copycats, and it led to the late, great 944.

YSSMAN -- as long as your neighbor doesn't think it's a kick-ass drag racer, and as long as he doesn't just drive like a moron, what's wrong with him enjoying his car?

 

[blargonator]

im just a little sour, i threw about $500 in parts at the friggin' thing still is not working properly. i drove it but it would not break 30mph at WOT so we have to figure something out and at the moment there is no gas in it and it needs a new fuel filter.
i'm sure it will be loads of fun though, i had enough fun in my now gone 89 civic hatch (std.) which barely ran and probably made 60hp on a good day <8- D and that was not even meant to be fun.

sorry about hijacking the thread, but back on topic! does the SE have a open diff.?

 

[GT4_Rule]

I love that generation of RX-7s! Looks better than ever 👍 I love rotarys too, you are so lucky you found that car...its rare here....

 

[Jim Prower]

Nice FC! I think they're my favorite generation of RX-7.

and yours also happens to be the "Right Color," If you catch my...*chuckles*...Drift.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Yeah, unfortunately it has the open diff. I'll be doing more time trial driving than drifting. So it doesn't bother me that much.

 

[Jay]

Yeah, unfortunately it has the open diff. I'll be doing more time trial driving than drifting. So it doesn't bother me that much.

You wouldn't want big one wheeler peelers when on throttle exiting a corner, especially after the turbo swap you plan on.

 

[ferrari_chris]

... one wheeler peelers ...

👍

 

[YSSMAN]

^^^ We call those "Peg-Leg Burnouts" up here...

 

[Pupik]

Looks great, real clean except for that dented sill which would annoy the hell out of me if I owned a clean RX7 like that.

Ah, but it's on the passenger side, so only half as annoying!

That's one of the cleanest 18-year-old car interiors I've ever seen. Only 90K miles...not a bad find! Does it run nicely?

 

[Duke]

White exterior / blue interior! Is there any more classic color combo for a Japanese car from that era?

It's definitely a very clean car for its age. Enjoy it well!

 

[CodeRedR51]

Ah, but it's on the passenger side, so only half as annoying!

That's one of the cleanest 18-year-old car interiors I've ever seen. Only 90K miles...not a bad find! Does it run nicely?

Runs great. Had some issue that needed taken care of when I got it, but they are now taken care of. Even had a scare the other night after trying to leave school. Car wouldn't start for nobody. Thought it was the fuel pump, but turned out to be something really stupid. In the interior shot above, between the two seats there is an orange security light. Next to it there is a black switch. Turns out that the switch is a "fuel pump cutoff switch. I had accidently hit it somehow and killed the power to the fuel pump, so the car wouldn't start.

White exterior / blue interior! Is there any more classic color combo for a Japanese car from that era?

It's definitely a very clean car for its age. Enjoy it well!

Actually, alot of Mazda's from the 80s had red interior. I'm glad this one isn't. And yes, I will enjoy the car. Just driving it around town is a blast. Can't wait to get on the track.👍

 

[GT4_Rule]

Hey, thats a neat idea! "Fuel Pump Cutoff Switch" scare some car thieves or friends

 

[Leonidae]

Nice FC! I think they're my favorite generation of RX-7.

and yours also happens to be the "Right Color," If you catch my...*chuckles*...Drift.

hmm.. I think I can see a Red suns coming up..

 

[CodeRedR51]

hmm.. I think I can see a Red suns coming up..

Umm no. I love Initial D, but I wouldn't go that far.

 

[Leonidae]

which is good. keep it stock.. that way the car will keep it's price better.