There's one for sale here where I live. I've checked out the exterior and it looks pretty clean especially for its age. There doesn't appear to be any real issues with the body, but I haven't caught up with the guy to check the car out yet. ANything I should know about the first gen?
And what's a decent price to pay? It appears to be bone stock, right down to the wheels.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Friday, October 20, 2006 3:36 PM
Stay away unless you like wasteing money. They have so many prolbems i dont even know where to begin. lol
That bad, huh? Well what kind of issues are we talking about here?
Apex seals going out. umm Fuel lines breaking while driving. carbs sticks cause un wanted revs. all kinds of bizzare stuff
Ken, have you ever actually worked on them?
Johnny, what year is it? if it's an 85 GSL-SE, spend about a grand on it, if she runs reliably. have the seller do a compression test on the motor to check the seals. the reason i specify an 85 GSL-SE? it's got a better motor. any other FB is going to have the 12A motor, which is reliable but annoying to work on...and there are less parts for it. since the 13B was used in every RX7, parts are far more abundant.
body parts, lights, etc are going to be hard to find. interior parts and glass will be even harder to find.
they are fun little cars, however, and i have promised myself i will own another. i miss mine immensely.
R.I.P. Brian St.Germain
you know, i love when people like to criticize others about their behavior,
but turn around and do the same freaking thing months later...
Yes I have worked on them. I have worked on 1 first gen myself. and 6 2nd gens. lol. I hate the Rotary with a passion. Yes they are fun cars while there running. but when stuff starts to go wrong the money pit starts. You can buy something much more relaibale in the same class of car if you want a RWD small car.
If you're worried about reliablility (personally I dont know how good or bad they are) just look for a supra. When you look at 1st/2nd (mainly 2nd gen) gen RX-7's they look a lot like the Supra's.
If you want a good project car then get an RX-7 that doesn't run or barely runs and swap a SBC in it. They make kits and its not as hard as you'd think.
Another good car to look into is an old Datsun 240ZX They were pretty light and quick for their day, as for the supra, if your going to get one, make sure its turbo charged, otherwise you're just gonna be buying (basicly) a V6 mustang with a lot more weight.
agreed a non turboed supra is slow especially the automatics my auto sunfire would stomp all over my buddies
The one, the only, ME.
Rabbit(AKA RedAssassin) wrote:If you're worried about reliablility (personally I dont know how good or bad they are) just look for a supra. When you look at 1st/2nd (mainly 2nd gen) gen RX-7's they look a lot like the Supra's.
If you want a good project car then get an RX-7 that doesn't run or barely runs and swap a SBC in it. They make kits and its not as hard as you'd think.
First Gen RX-7s look nothing like a Supra. Old Datsuns, maybe. An old Jag if you're really drunk and a little hugh. But Supra? Not so much.
Also someone mentioned possibly the Datsuns. I've considered that. My girlfriend's brother has a couple of old 280Zs that I wouldn't mind having one of them but he won't sell them. The upside is he's a mechanic at the local Nissan dealership so if I found one I could get parts at his cost.
With this RX-7, I'm still trying to catch up with the owner to take a look at it. If it runs decent I'd like to buy it and possibly swap a 13B turbo or - if it won't cost me my soul and first born - possibly drop in a 20B. BUt I've heard those swaps can be expensive.
a 20b swap HAS been done...look on nopistons for info. a gentleman here in Baltimore has a 20B-powered FB vert, if i recall. it's a difficult swap, but OMGsoworthit.
R.I.P. Brian St.Germain
you know, i love when people like to criticize others about their behavior,
but turn around and do the same freaking thing months later...
lilbit01 wrote:Ken, have you ever actually worked on them?
Johnny, what year is it? if it's an 85 GSL-SE, spend about a grand on it, if she runs reliably. have the seller do a compression test on the motor to check the seals. the reason i specify an 85 GSL-SE? it's got a better motor. any other FB is going to have the 12A motor, which is reliable but annoying to work on...and there are less parts for it. since the 13B was used in every RX7, parts are far more abundant.
body parts, lights, etc are going to be hard to find. interior parts and glass will be even harder to find.
they are fun little cars, however, and i have promised myself i will own another. i miss mine immensely.
*humps Laura's leg with abandon*
And now for something completely different... Click the Minister.
1st gen RX-7's are solid vehicles, its once you get into the mid to late 90's that you run into TO MANY issues.
My Cav
I give up...
i'm buying a VW those people love trees, so they should love eachother too... "Andy"
ln2johnny wrote:Rabbit(AKA RedAssassin) wrote:If you're worried about reliablility (personally I dont know how good or bad they are) just look for a supra. When you look at 1st/2nd (mainly 2nd gen) gen RX-7's they look a lot like the Supra's.
If you want a good project car then get an RX-7 that doesn't run or barely runs and swap a SBC in it. They make kits and its not as hard as you'd think.
First Gen RX-7s look nothing like a Supra. Old Datsuns, maybe. An old Jag if you're really drunk and a little hugh. But Supra? Not so much.
Also someone mentioned possibly the Datsuns. I've considered that. My girlfriend's brother has a couple of old 280Zs that I wouldn't mind having one of them but he won't sell them. The upside is he's a mechanic at the local Nissan dealership so if I found one I could get parts at his cost.
With this RX-7, I'm still trying to catch up with the owner to take a look at it. If it runs decent I'd like to buy it and possibly swap a 13B turbo or - if it won't cost me my soul and first born - possibly drop in a 20B. BUt I've heard those swaps can be expensive.
I was talking more along the lines of 2nd gens. I thought maybe you were just interested in RX-7's period. The 1st gen just happen to be for sale.
I find the RX-7's like the pic I posted dead sexy. But I agree they seem to have a lot of problems. Seen a few with SBC swaps and thats sweet as hell =P If you look online you'll even see them with 2JZ engine swaps.
Ah I getcha. Yeah the RX-7s interest me in general and I got to thinking about this first gen when I saw it up for sale. If I could get a second gen I'd rather do that because they'er dead sexy. Actually, for a while one of the JBOI guys was looking at selling his, but I couldn't find a buyer for my Cavalier and all my friends have been pushing me to boost the Cavy. I've got most of the parts gathered up but I'm just getting tired of the car.and I feel like no matter what I do, I'm not going to be happy with it. It's in desparate need of body work - the whole underbody is rusting out from all the harsh winters, the damage on the left side from being tagged in a parking lot - it's not worth all the money it'll take to fix it. At the same time, I can't afford a newer car so I've been looking for something older that's still pretty clean, and something I like. So I've been looking for RX-7s and Conquests and yes, older Supras and what not.
As far as the RX-7 goes, admittedly, I'm no rotary guy so I'd have a lot of learning to do but the RX-7 in general has always fascinated me. I'd love to find an older Supra but getting one that hasn't beaten to the 7th level of hell, down the street, and around the block and back - is getting harder and harder. Same with the Conquest. The one I've managed to find was one that belonged to a guy where I grew up - and he had since then let his son drive it and now it's beaten all to hell.
The 1st gen RX-7s are great. A friend of mine had one that he was fixing up. It was great. It didn't have the 13b motor though. So he swapped it in. It was pretty quick, and a really sexy looking car.
Here's one similar, but his didn't have the lip kit, and had the stock 14" rims.
(please excuse the large pic)
(the pics of the cars posted above were a 2nd gen RX7, and a toyota supra)
That's the one. The one I'm looking at has cream colored paint and the funky stock wheels. I'd like to do something like what's in that last pic. With the racing wheels and the lip kit. It doesn't need to be terribly fast for me, a car like that is just a thrill to drive anyway.
if you want a second gen, they're for sale EVERYWHERE...look at www.rx7club.com
R.I.P. Brian St.Germain
Sticks and stones get shot through the telephone
With instant results, we’re both left alone
I'm so torn between the two. I like the look of both, but the first gen is more my style. It has an old school feel to it. If I had a way to compare the two generations it'd be so much easier.
I almost bought an '85 GSL FB. the only thing that kept me from buying it was the rotted out 1/4's behind the wheels (plus it was an automatic). though, I agree with Laura, get a GSL-SE, better brakes, bigger motor, and fuel injection.
And that's where I draw the line on a first gen. I want fuel injection. Obviously if this one I'm looking at is still carb'd, I'm walking away from it. At least if it's got an NA 13B, I can swap in a turbo 13B or add the turbo to it but if it's still carb'd then it's going to suck trying to wire the car.
F-ing double post. What a newb.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Tuesday, October 24, 2006 9:25 PM
Or you can carb a 13B. Voila! Even more fun than the stock FI.
