Picked up my new car this morning, a '79 4-speed. Bought it for $800 from the original owner with ~32k on its third engine. Motor is solid, brakes are good, steering is atrocious, the body is in good shape and it's got that refreshing "old car" smell.

I have big plans for this car, namely to be faster around the racetrack and autocross course than my other car, the pesky red one behind it.

I look forward to learning a lot from everyone here!

--Jason

 

Welcome to the world of the First Gen
Sounds like you are going to have a fun project with a fun car.
Just remember the Honda has about 20 years of technology on the 7, but the simplicity of the carb'd first gen is sometimes a nice relief from Electronic gadgetry.
Just do your homework, research parts and always feel free to ask questions, even ones we have answered a hundred time.
And as a newbie, If you really want to learn, we'll help you find the answers.

 

Looks nice, I like the black on 1st gens. I just bought my 85 gs a couple weeks ago, paint on hood is rough, not bad anywhere else. Still trying to decide if I should change the color or just get a nice re-paint of the origonal color, blue.

 

That's an awesome car! Are those steel wheels?

 

Welcome to the forum!

If you have any questions I'm pretty sure someone on here will be able to answer it.

 

Nice car. I think those are steel wheels. If you got ????'s don't be aftraid to ask. Getting a SA to go faster than an S2000 might be a trip. Keep us posted on that. Peace.

 

Allright !! from san diego even,,welcome aboard,,
everything they said ,, it's a different world,, rotory that
is,,hey !! i've got a set of the alloy 1st gen wheels,that
i'll let go pretty cheap,,there in good shape too...and if
you need some help,,and i can help you,,you got it ,.,.

 

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone!

Here's a couple questions to get me started.

First, I've spent some time researching the steering issue. My car has a particularly bad case of "wonder steer", a steering wheel that melts in your hands, in addition to some wobble up in the steering column. How does one get good steering in a first gen? It doesn't have to be great, but I'd like a quicker ratio with no play. It appears a PS unit from 84-85 would fit the bill - any other recommendations? The car is going to be 90% autocross/track use and 10% street use, so I don't really care about low-speed maneuverability.

Second is the rear suspension. On the way home today over some whoop-de-woos (up and down undulations in the freeway, where you get light in your seat) the car was exhibiting a lot of lateral movement in the rear. A friend following behind commented it was moving side to side a lot.
I plan on picking up an 81-83 LSD/disk brake rearend, but I don't think that'll fix things. With a Watts Link there shouldn't be that sort of motion (at least in theory), so I think it probably has be the bushings? I've read on Ground Control's site that spherical rod ends is the only way to fix it, but I was sortof hoping to put that off for a little while. Suggestions on an intermediate fix?

Well, there'll be several more questions coming but those two should do for now. To answer one, yes those are the original steel wheels, complete with the original center caps. I'm thinking of redoing the present grunge/rust finish with some flat black. I think that'd look pretty sweet...

Thanks again everyone!

 

Not sure about steering but bushings are probably your problem with the rear end. Unfortunaly an 81-83 rear won't just drop in. The threads on the brake lines are different. 79/80 had a different thread than 81-85. So you'll have to get different lines with the right threads. Plus the 81-83 rear ends have crappy axels. Get an 84/85 GSL rear. But... there is a problem with that 83-85 have a different u-joint on the rear end an driveshaft so you'll have to switch that as well. Wow that just got really complicated. It's worth it though, go with the 84/85 rear and switch everything to make it work. Good luck.

 

That's cool, I never knew there were different steel wheels. Mine has steel wheels but they look different. Same center caps though. Odd....

 

welcome to the forum...meet me at my house at five for you "welcoming" gift

 

Sounds like fun but I don't think I could make it to Indiana in time...
...
Thanks for the tip on the rear end. I thought I read somewhere that the 84-85 rear had a different bolt battern, or was that just for the Gsl-SEs?

 

Just the SE's, it's 4x114.3mm. all the other models/years are the ultra gay 4x110mm pattern. Hardly any good wheels were/are made for it. Oh well. SE suspension swap is in my future so I don't care (much). I hope some other members respond to this cause I've never actually swapped rear ends yet (plan too) I'm not sure how difficult it will be to put a series 3 rear end in your SA. I know people have done this. anyone got any tips for him? Later

 

yeah,,thats the SE's..i've swaped the rearend in my 7
from drum to disk,,i'm a 82 GS,,i went down to ecology
junkyard here, i took my time,and gathered all the best pieces i could find,,so i don't know if one could put a year
on it, but all came from GSL's, then i put it together thier.
on the side, just to make sure it all went together good,
while i was there,i also grabbed a GSL drive shaft too
and am useing it,,the rearend cost me $ 120.00.
it took one (me) person about 2 hours to remove and
install,,,i even picked out the best bushings from the yard..i was there about 3 hours,,the rearend went right
in, oh,,i always forget,,,get the Ebrake cable thats for disk's too,,i still use the same master cyl. that came in the car,,no problems either..i do notice the LSD,,it makes
more noise then before..and i put new LSD fluid too

 

This may help you some w/the steering issue. It a 'how to' for adjusting the manual steering box unit. Also, new bushings up front will probably help tighten up the steering considerably (don't forget the bushings in the idler arm). I did this to my 79 and the steering is 99% better than it was: https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...threadid=75257

 

Hey,,seen your car (now) in the autotrader, only 2, 1st
gens,,5k for the other car,,they'll never sell it,

 

Okay so today I went down to the junkyards and picked myself up a rearend out of an '85 GSL. It had to have been the best junkyard experience I've ever had, as there were about 7-8 first gens in the first yard I went to, 3 with LSD rears. Too easy! I also got the driveshaft and e-brake cable, all for $150.

So for those that have done this, what special fabrication does it take? Sounds like I'll need to do something about the rear brake line? I got the soft line off the old car, sure it won't bolt up? I did get the driveshaft, but is that going to reach the 4 speed or am I SOL and in need of a 5 speed? At least they're plentiful..

Okay, final question is what sort of abuse can these things take? It's freakin' heavy, especially considering how light the car is. Eventual goal is a sub-2000lb. car with ~250hp - drag race, road race, autocross. Is it up to the task?

Thanks again everyone, my learning has begun!

 

I hate to have to tell you,,but your barking up the wrong
tree, with a 79,,for what,or where your going with your
car,,for what you want,,an 84 or 85 SE is much better
all the way around,,bigger brakes, the suspention,
a 13b, 134 hp,,EFI,,LSD ,,5 speed,, everything is beefier
and more geared for where your going then the 79..
unless you have bags of cash,,,your looking at a lot of work.. if that's what you want to do,,,you may,,you may not,,the SE would take a 13bt no problem,,you'de need
a couple of other things too,,but you get my drift ?
I'm not even sure about the 4speed/driveshaft deal.
and i think the 79 rear is different,,look forward to relocateing holes, and fabricating perche's,,if you go that far,,may as well, fab. the cage (roll) and connect
everything to that,,don't forget,,your in california,
smog laws !!! and rotorys,,,,cal. wins,,rotory,,well you know..i don't want to break your heart,,i'm just being
realistic of the facts.. i think the 79 brake lines have a
different thread pitch then anything 80's on.,

 

79/80 have the same thread pitch.. and i think the rear end is exactly the same too, so a gsl rear end will bolt up with no problem.

and donot write off the sa's that quickly.. granted that a 13b would be benifical, but with the correct porting, you can definatly pull a lot of power out of a little old 12a.

the thing that i would suggest is ditching the four speed and going with a five.

 

I certainly don't have bags of cash lying around, but I do have a rather twisted perspective after having prepared my other car to be nationally competitive in Solo II stock-class autocrossing. My RX cost less than my S2000's front swaybar...

The trick with CA smog laws is to swap in an engine that's newer (no problem with a '79) and keep all the emissions related equipment - ECU, cat, etc. This wouldn't be my first time having done so. Once smogged in that config (thinking 13BT) the real fun can begin. But that's still a ways off. Hoping to have the chassis/suspension sorted by the time the 12A croaks.

The '79 is a better basis for my purposes because it's stiffer and lighter without a sunroof and all the other doo-dahs. Granted, it also means I'm going to be changing just about every mechanical part in the vehicle but hey, it's a project car, that's the fun of it!

Guess I'll find out at install time if the trannys are the same!

 

The 79-80 trannies are different than the 81-85's
the mounting hole for the shifter is off, and the hole will need to be enlarged/moved to fit, as will the shifter console.
The length of the tranny is longer to, which means you can't use a 79 tranny with an 81+ driveshaft.
also for any upgraded coils to work you will need 81+ strut housings.

 

I think im missing whats going on here. But if you get a LSD outta a 81+ car and wanna throw it in a 79/80, i got a big surprise for you Its called brake line pitch. Its different, unless you find adaptors, or get the lines from the other car

 

My '83 GSL cost me $1,200 and my '85 GSL-SE cost me $800. That is one expensive swaybar.

 

Welcom jzr! I have autocrossed since 88'. I started with a 84 gsl in c-stock. I then went to (back then) ASP, then moved to FP in a 79 gs. You are correct if you are wanting to go to a prepared class, the 79 gs is the way to go. 1900lbs. comes really easy! I had a bridge ported 13b with a 700 Holley on it. I never had it dynoed but we were guessing 225-230hp at the rear?? After a couple years of this I went back to CSP with my 84 gsl(13b SE motor with a Dellorto). I am now building this same car for FP. Go to http://members.cardomain.com/7heaven to see my beginings.

Good luck, give me a hollar if you need any suspension "opinions" for autocrossing. I have been there and done that!

 

or reflaring. take the old fittings off the lines put new ones on and reflare them. and then TEST in a safe environment and check for leaks often thereafter.