$100 79' project car
 

i got a project car i paid $100 for
having trouble uploading pics
once i get the pics working i will post them(that is the car in my sigy and avi though)
I am working on restoring my 79' and would gladly accept any help mainly need parts. i want to restore to factory specs i need seats(current seats r out of an 85', stock rims, carpet, dash, and other interior parts that commonly need replacement.
right now i still need to check the motor right now i dont know much about rotory motors but im learning.

Any amount paid for an RX-7 is always worth it.

Good luck, though! Keep us updated!!

+10000000000

I`ve seen people pay much more for rx-7`s that where in way rougher shape. Nice find, even if the motor is dead. :bigthumb:

nice find

Looks good to me! Keep us updated!

Great to see another SA pop up on the site!:icon_tup:

i like your sig good stuff

Really depends on cost of getting the car to where you want it vs paying for the SA that is already "there". If you have the up-front $$, paying $3-4K for a clean, ready-to-go-SA will save you BIG time in the long run! The big killer is cost of de-rusting and repainting! Never mind the cost of an engine... If you can do these things yourself, then your OK, but if a shop has to do it, a better car will cost you less. And the problem with well-beaten (thus: beater) cars is there is usually so MUCH stuff that needs done - can be like death-by-a-thousand-cuts. A nice low mileage (60K+) RX that's lead a good life usually means most everything: trim, body, paint, mechanicals - are pretty much ready to go.

I don't like to sh!t on anyones' dream, but I was there myself with my first SA. New Paint (also red like yours) and body work (engine was rebuilt) was going to set me back $3500! Bought a sweet ebay 80SA with 64K miles, excellent paint, etc for $4K

PLUS: I could put in the key and start driving it TODAY - not 3 years from now (maybe) by the time I got all of the original one together to my liking. STILL have the first one sitting in yard "undergoing" s-l-o-o-o-w restoration ;p

Either way - welcome and we look forward to hearing your adventures.
'Luck
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

Another thought too-
based on your pics, looks to be a base "S" model (now, don't get pissed at me Rich!). Are you going to kick yourself for investing a lot of time and effort in a non-sunroofed (VERY nice feature to have!!), non-5-speed, Non-alloy wheeled (etc. etc) car. Probably the least desirable RX7 made (IMHO) - unless your a Track Star looking for a light racing body. If you truly want an SA RX7, hunt down a GS model!!
What you DO have is an excellent PARTS car, very handy for any RX7 owner - I have 3+ boxed away in my garage!
Stu Aull
Alaska

^i think sunroofs are over rated

nice car, worth restoring imo, obviously much cheaper if you do everything yourself

hey stu , stop bragging and tell me those Limited Edition parts you have hidden in that parts warehouse of yours :rlaugh:

nice to you back form the sunny south

sorry about the thread jack ..... welcome to another SA`owner , mine was (is) a fixer-upper , but don't regret it , it smokes in the morning and various electircal things need fixing ,but i drive it around and never left me stranded.

"hey stu , stop bragging and tell me those Limited Edition parts you have hidden in that parts warehouse of yours "

Yeah, but you have the WHOLE LTD CAR - lucky bastid :D
I'll reserve any opinions about whether Crosen91 should restore the car till I see more pix ;)
Just want to point out possible alternatives, maybe step back and think it thru a bit. Still LOTS of clean SAs out there if you are patient. Frankly would LOVE to see another restored SA on the street!
Either way, lots of great folks here to help out-
Stu Aull
80GS
(with various 79 Ltd bits kicking around)
Alaska

Easy way to tell if it's an S or a GS. S model is 4 Speed manual, GS is 5 Speed manual. Hey Stu, I own two S models and love them to death. Purely simple. Who needs all that heavy accesory crap! Although I do have AC because I hate driving in the heat and I love driving LOL

HA! Like to think of a sunroof as "adding Lightness" (to misquote Colin Chapman) - bet the extra cog in the tranny and missing roof panel make it lighter than yer S with the ac bits!!
;)
Stu

cool fiend ill give you 100.01 for it call me im just joken :)

I dunno Stu, 2350 as she sits. IIRC the GS was 2450 or in the neighborhood. The 5 Speed trans is a decent amount heavier than the 4 Speed box. The roof on the sunroof models is strengthened to not flex so who knows how much weight difference that could be vs a non sunroof model. Sunroofs are nice but windows work just fine and so does the AC!! Ha

fix it fix it fix it

i got the car as a project/starter
and 7 aull i dont give a rats ass about sun roofs there a luxuary and they are not needed in any car, i dont need the alloy wheels, and im perfectly happy with my 4-speed.
im restoring it to factory specs minus the paint and interior color

Ok, that's quite nice. If you have some $$$, fisrt thing to do, I would try to get it running. Then, I would try to get it to be drivable. After that, the fun stuff would begin, like doing a DIY paintjob (check the $30 paintjob thread) Rebuilding the motor, doing the brakes, suspension, and making the car solid.

Truth be told, I almost bought a $200 non running FB just now, but what I'm really after is a GTU's FC in as good condition as possible.

if you check his profile you'd see he is only sixteen looks to me like he's doing it right he bought a beat up rx7 and is trying to fix it so it's not smashed teaching himself how to work on theese cars so that when he has the money for a nice one he knows how to work on it not scew it up and if your trying to restore theese for money your not a true 7 fan and in a losing buisness you can't sell them for what you have invested give the kid a brake try just helping for a change not beating him down I thought that was what this site was for

Go for it Crosen, read up on her and don't be guided by others opinions, do it your way and when its done you'll have a beautiful sports car that YOU restored.

Lots of info and gurus in here, read and search often.

Oh, hell yeah man, I hear ya!

PS: Well, I'm "only 17" myself! :p

But then again, I have been around cars since I was six or seven, and know my mig welder from my torque wrench, so I guess It's not a very good comparison.... but I bet the guy's got potential!

The trick is, that even when you think you know a lot, you still really dont! I learn new stuff all the time, and having a passion, it helps get stuff done! Anyway, I will be rooting for you dude, so good luck!

Some more tips:

After it's drivable, and you have it registered, and insured, you can try to do some simple stuff. I bet you WILL need new tires, brake rotors/pads, brake lines, and fluid, as well as needing to flush out the old transmission juice in there.

Here is where you can have some fun: Even through the bolt pattern IS kind of whacky, if you research into it, you could find some good used wheels, and get some sportier tires from tire rack. Call around to all the "Wheel and tire" shops in town, to get the best estimate for tire mount and balance. The best I got was $50, if I bring my own tires in (tirerack.com is your friend, trust me!)

Some of the shops tried to rip me off selling me firestone tires + install for $470... Which is $#!@!!!

You probably need to save as much $$$ as possible, so tires like Sumimoto HTR200 should work for you for the time being. (The 205/60 HR size comes in at $49, and that's the biggest size for 14" rims, so yours will most likely be cheaper! =])

As for brakes, you could get EBC pads, and some Stainless Steel braided lines, since the current ones will most likely need replacement anyways. Then, go for Ford brake fluid. (Search on this, there is this one specific one that is as good as Motul for 1/3 the price)

The rotors, you might get lucky with, and only need to resurface. If your school has an auto-tech program, they will likely have a rotor grinding machine. Ask the shop teacher if he can help you!

Don’t skimp on your brakes, because the engine makes you go fast, but brakes make you live!

Anyway, that should help, but just search around, and check the 1st gen section often for help, a lot of the guys here are goldmines as far as info goes!

Asterisk thanks for the help
its needed

No problem! =]

yeah that sounds good. google for stuff in you area thats what i did with my S13

good news!!
i poured ATF in the motor a little while back and i turned the motor over by hand today and it came out the spark plug holes RED and no chunks, so when the car was parked its compression was good.i plan on putting in new battery cables in tomorrow and fixing valance and passenger fender.

:patriot: I'd like thank everybody for the help and advice to my son I've been working on cars all my life but this is the fist rotory i've delt with mostly work on 60's and 70's
muscle cars my fist one was a 1966 old's 442 had to sell it to get custudy of my son now its gotten posable to start working on project cars again so he wanted
an rx7 like his cusin and grandfather this one is what we found he fell in love with it at fist sight so we suprized him with it on x-mas he will need lots of advice I can help with the wrench turning but he's doing most the work thank you guy's

well i crawled all over it and amazingly theres no rust
and that makes me and my dad think its been turned over once, dont know if the odomiter works, but that just from the exterior, the interior looks like it been used as a garbage dump
me and my dad think that for being a 79 112,000 miles is not to bad. what do u guys think?

Thats so nice you did not find rust good luck my man post pix of the porses.

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

k heres sum pics
and we got the electrical working(7 cuts in 1 battey cable,dont know why) fixed the fender(still needs mud), and valance(minnor repairs still needed) tried to start (battery is dead), head light motors no quesstion WORK, so do the head lights
but any ways YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IT WORKS!!!!!kinda, at least the electrical

befor pics
 

what it looked like before me and my dad started work

after pics
 

the last pic is of the driver fender before my dad fixed it with a hammer,water pump pliers, 8 in extension:fingersx: .and the pic before that is after he fixed it

we charged the battery turned the key and she turned over freely no grinding
tomorrow will sart removing the gas tank to clean it out then its on to trying to
start her up and see what really needs to be done it was parked and left for a
reason we just don't know why we got it after it was sold as a parts car

Thanks for the update guys. You definitely have some work ahead of you guys. If you haven't already, visit Blackdragonauto.com, they will have probably everything you need albeit some will be uber expensive. I'm really interested to see how this turns out

update
 

i took out the gas tank and cleaned it, put it back in and put some gas in tried to start it but the igniton is screwed have to use a screw driver(tumblers were removed before i got it) it striped when i tried and now it just spins i have an igniton out of an 81' but it needs a key but i will b posting pics very often now (1-2 times a week) still open for advice.
i am looking for an entire exhaut (from the thermal reactor to the muffler).
i now have to fix the winsheild to some SOB/:asshole: tossed a rock and chipped it
entire rear drivers side light are a no-go.
fuel pump works,probly need new spark plugs

It looks like you have some work ahead but I think it was a good deal at that price. If you can get that motor running without a rebuild then you will have definitely made a steal! Also learning and working with your dad on the car will bring with it a lot of good times and a lifetime of memories for you. Good luck with it!

You may want to check out the for sale/want to buy sections on the site. Also it looks like you knew about the ATF treatment so maybe you have searched through some of the threads. There is a ton of info here, including the FAQ for new members, where to download your FSM, how to check for compression on a rotary, great sources for oem and performance parts, common mods, etc.,etc.

Are you interested in getting a full replacement exhaust or were you guys looking for an aftermarket performance system? Deinitely browse the Classified section and don't be afraid to post up something you're looking for in there, someone is bound to have it. I look forward to these updates and see the progress

which ever route is cheaper... for now at least
im a little tight on funds

heres sum new pics. my dad realy need to get another RX-7 she is starting to look lonely

come along very well...beside the ignition what parts are you looking for for your SA

matching door panels, seats, carpet, dash but i have an 81' that will fit, exhaust(from the thermal reactor to the rear bumper) the place i got it from fired the machanic because he was stealing parts and he cut out everything from the engine back. im lucky he got fired when he did or i wouldnt have an oil cooler or radiator.

To continue what I was saying in the registry thread. UH The vehicle was stolen at some point? It looks like the dent puller treatment.

actually i think the FC was the least desirable :crackup:

4/78!!! Another early SA will be ressurected

Well hey if you need to fix that ignition later. Buy a switch for the fuel pump to cut it off and keep the switch hidden. El Cheapo security quick fix. Since yours can be started with a flat head.

no the car wasnt stolen it was owned by a police officer still has the sticker from
his law enforcement club talked to the woman we got it from his kid lost the keys
so they poped the tumblers to get it home but found out the hole ignition switch is shot platic peice in the back of it is snaped so it just turns wont engage the starter after we change that I will be installing an electrical kill switch plus an alarm so even if they by pass the alarm no electricity car no go

oh and firebird thats the reason we are trying to keep it as stock as posible and will be replaceing anything we have had to use from later 7's as we find them
just because this car is part of history and has been driven hard and not taken care of now she needs a good life

Right on. I'm sure someone will have a thermal reactor exhaust system left over from a performance system swap