Yea, VIN is 518618. Need to add my name to the registry.

Looks like this is a Wine/Red interior as the other option is Brown/Beige which it a really light tan i believe.

That is an amazing find sir! She looks beautiful. Good luck and ENJOY.

RC-
While its easy to get seduced by details on all the shiny bits, there are some important basics you might want to consider investing time and $ in first. There are some time-bombs awaiting in these 34 yr old cars!
Some thoughts: (forgive the obvious…)
REPLACE:
-all hoses: coolant, heater. The long heater hose running across the rear of the engine and down under the oil filter gets softened over time from oil and fails, usually taking the 12A with it.
-Fluids: obv I know. Many of us run RedLine in Tranny and Diff. Castrol GTX 10-30 is popular here, tho there is lots of argument about synth oils.
-fuel filter: yearly - under rear in front of driver rear tire
RUBBER stuff:
-SA oil cooler has unique rubber mounts - still available ! - these will be failing on your car. In for the long Haul? by 2 sets.
-Taillight gaskets: these will be dead, awaiting your annoyance when you wash your Beloved and wonder why there is water in the spare wheel-well or rear fender compartments. Still available, your old ones will disintegrate as you attempt to pull the light assemblies. HINT: apply thin smudge of axle grease to BOTH sides of new gasket, and the will seal better AND slide right off any time you need to pull the taillights.
-feeling flush? ALL your weatherstripping will be going South. Annoyingly only Mazda makes most of these. Hatch seal, sunroof, doors (various)
-generically, ANY rubber/gasket you can think of should have a spare. I literally went thru the parts catalogue (available as a PDF here on the forum!) and ordered 2 of ever rubber, gasket, seal, joint, suspension hangers, transmission mount rubbers…. its quite a List! - that I could find. Note the SA uses a LOT of unique bits that are NOT interchangeable with the 81-85 FB cars.
-3 different rubber boots on your tranny shifter will be split…I think 2 are still available
RUST:
-under battery tray (easy to remove)
-inside bottom of outer door skins (might just be surface, worth sanding off and POR15-ing - my go-to rust-stopper)
-sunroof seal LIP (lift off seal) & - check to be sure the 4 DRAINS are free of debris and flowing water correctly! Fronts drain out down A-pillar to fr wheel-well; rears exit the B-pillar rear vent.
-hatch seal: inspect bottom (lift seal) rim. water collects here! Clear debris from 2 (or 3 in VERY early SAs!) drain holes on bottom channel. And be sure the attached rubber hoses are connected (!!) inside the hatch AND correctly route out under the rear bumper
-rear quarter panels: BIG rust area. even my SoCali-for-Life SA had some pretty serious surface, rust, esp on passenger side where antenna resides. (see pic) Taillights must come out to inspect and clean up.
-rubber-ised brake / clutch hoses will be dead-or-dying to. Nice SSteel kits available.
LUBE:
-headlight motor actuation-rod pivot points. 2 rods per light. The un-replaceable nylon pivot on each end of each rod WILL fail if not cleaned and lubed regularly (I do it once a year). Rods are pricey!!!
-wiper transmission joints too. Same deal. HINT: assy removal- you must park wipers in UP position. Easy to remove.

Finally
-get the OE Parts manual PDF that is posted here somewhere.
-get the OE 79 Service Manual: $25+ all the time on eBay


*whew*
;D
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

You can also see some pics of what this area looked like on my 79 from NY that wasn't so well taken care of. Look on pages 15 and 16 of my build thread. Doubt yours will look so bad, but gives perspective.

oh my god i want your seats! haha!

indeed. sympathies to my NE rotary bros...
:)
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

Stu, thank you so much for that detailed list! Yes, many if not ALL of the items mentioned are on my list to either check or replace. At a minimum, I hope to purchase one of each to have as spares. I've already placed orders with Mazdatrix and Atkins Rotary to replace a few of the internal pieces that are sun damaged and beginning to get crispy. Also need to get a hold of a Mazda shop manual for '79.

every manual we know about is here Foxed.ca - Mazda RX-7 Manuals

i actually have found a couple more that i need to scan, maybe a cold dark day this winter

Yup, mine has 3 holes! :)

One thing I noticed today (took it to DMV for registration) is that my passenger side headlight does one up, down, then up cycle when turning on the headlamps. Drivers side stays up the entire time. Something maybe need lubrication or motors possibly getting tired?

RC-
your SA checks off the Early production wish-list I think:
-right side hood prop
-non-pocket door panels
-no pass. dr mirror
-3 (!!) drains in hatch? never seen that in person.
Did I miss your serial number? plse post if you haven't

Lights:
have to say I have not heard THAT issue before. Sounds more electric to me. I wonder if there is a relay in the motor assembly (?) and it is acting up? Somebody here knows. mechanically, they only cycle one way up, then one way down, so I am trying to imagine how it could be the mechanics of the linkage. If the head-scratching continues, it might be worth finding a replacement motor and swap it in (if so, bear in mind SA motor is diff from FB, tho they should both be interchangeable)

stu aull
80GS
Alaska

He listed his VIN at the top of this page as 518618. A 9/78 build.

I've had simillar headlight issues in the past. The fix always seemed to trace back to the relay clamped alonside the motor. The rectangle shaped unit under the rubber cover. I'd look for coorosion in the electrical connector that plugs into it first. If that is clean and in good condition, I'd pop off the metal cover and look at the contacts inside (like a set of points).

I've run some fine emery paper or a emery (nail) board across them, maybe give em a squirt of WD-40 and try it. You can test it with the cover off just attached by the electrical harness. That normally fixes those kinds of issues. If not, I also have some spare headlight motors / assemblies to swap in replacement relays.

That is -the- car I worked on in my high school shop class. Well, not that exact car, but it was Sonic Bronze with those exact seats. I already owned an FB when I started shop class, and begged my instructor to assign me to the '79 as soon as I saw it. The car had just sat in the yard for several years, nobody wanting anything to do with it, it didnt even start. I learned how to do disc and drum brakes, set points, and many, many other things. I deleted its rats nest courtesy of a write-up by Rx7Carl, and even got the car running and driving. The paint was faded, but it wasnt rusty, and the interior was mint, even had a Pacific 2+2 style rear seat that matched the front seats perfectly in color, even the plaid inserts.

Back then I hated it, it was to me, inferior to the FB. It had an ugly back side, no spoiler, ugly waffles, ugly mirrors, and I hated the interior. But it was better than the sea of Cavaliers and Dakotas we worked on otherwise. Funny how nostalgia works.... I still have the FB, but eventually I started pining for an SA, and everything I hated, is what I now love most about my SA. I really wanted a sonic bronze with plaid interior, I ended up settling for a spark yellow lol Not a bad compromise though!

Love, love, love the car man! Super clean!

EDIT ::

REALLY jealous that you have a stock radio!!! Dont get rid of it.... But... If you do, Ill buy the stock cassette deck, and trade you a radio bezel thats been cut for a CD player for your stock one :) lol

Wow, thanks for the compliments and your story. I ran into a guy today at Scottsdale Cars and Coffee who said he had a spark yellow with plaid back in the day and traded a guy with stock black seats since he hated the plaid. I know it's not for everyone, but it was the feature that drew me to the "SAVANNA" and this car in particular.

Post event, I stopped by the Honda dealership where my son works to show it off to the guys in the shop. Everyone loved it and was impressed by the overall condition. We put the car on their lift to check out the overall condition of the undercarriage. Most of the underside is in decent condition, but a few areas of corrosion have me concerned and will need to be addressed fairly soon. Mainly, a leaky Master Cylinder has caused considerable surface corrosion on the drivers side frame rail (just forward of the firewall), and secondly, the fuel and brake lines were heavily corroded just past the firewall bend. Any recommendations you guys can give me for clean up and repair would be greatly appreciated. I'm thinking the fuel and brake lines are bad enough that replacement might be the best option. Let me know what you think...

And finally the front brake rotors are so badly rusted and pitted that it's apparent the brake pad is only making "partial" contact with the rotor. Should I just get these turned or just get new ones? Again, ideas are welcome!

Ok, first off... for Stu... my rare 3 drain hole rear hatch (hopefully I'm understanding him correctly) and this truly is something unique ;)

http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/v...psc94e62c8.jpg

Now, on to the rust issues.... The rear hatch has a "Rusty Jones" sticker in the side window. Needless to say, the company went out of business, 'cause "Rusty" was asleep on the job :)

Attachment 635994

Attachment 635995

Attachment 635996

Attachment 635997

Then, my main areas of concern. Master Cylinder and area surrounding it and just underneath...

Attachment 635998

Attachment 635999

Attachment 636000

...and Finally, my brake and fuel lines...

Attachment 636001

Also thinking a complete new set of OEM bushings might be in order!

That's not rust its Patina ;)


Probably find a nice set of lines at Ecology Auto wrecking off the buckeye curve.

+1; relay, contacts, or the 'position encoder' disk needs cleaning up.

Here is a parts list we came up with of stuff the car needs, most are now discontinued from Mazda unfortunately

-NLA- = No longer available from Mazda



D-Code “Key No.”, Part Name, Part Number

“51721” “Rx7” side emblem 8871-51-721 -On order-

“51164” Tail light gasket RR 8871-51-153 -On order-

“51164” Tail light gasket LR 8871-51-163 -On order-

“51141” Tail light screw washers 8871-51-147 12qty -NLA-

“51161” Tail light lens RL 8871-51-151 -NLA-

“62610” Rear hatch shock 8871-62-210A 2qty -NLA- s/n SA22C 500001-559739

”58760” Door weather seal L 8871-58-760 -On order-

”58760” Door weather seal R 8871-59-760 -On order-

“52518” Hood rod holder 8871-52-518 -On order-

“66941” Antenna pole 8869-66-941 -NLA-

“66930” Antenna Assembly 8869-66-940B -NLA-

“15205” Radiator cap 8871-15-205 -On order- s/n SA22C507593-

“58303B” Door pull cup Wine 8531-58-303-11 2qty -NLA- But found

“58321C” Inner door handle Wine 8531-58-330A-11 2qty -NLA-

“58370” Window crank lever Wine 8037-58-580A-11 2qty -NLA-

“58585A” Window crank lever cap Wine 8037-58-585-11 2qty -NLA-

“69890” Trim trunk carpet Wine 8871-68-891B-81 -NLA-

“68695” Trunk Carpet Mat Wine 8871-68-695-81 -NLA-

“68695” Trunk Carpet Mat Wine 8871-68-695A-81 -NLA-


the 3 belts A/C belt is NLA but the other 2 were available

:)
Welcome to The Dark (er) Side of keeping our vintage SAs on the road: parts, esp trim. Oy!
Some thoughts:
-carpets might still be available (aftermarket) thru places like BlackDragon. And at prices f-a-r cheaper than the OE carpets ever were.
-taillight lenses on ebay all the time, $25-and-up
-window crank handles and door-opening-lever cups actually show up NEW on ebay now. They "look" to be the wine color but they might be brown…? worth checking out. Even if off-color, worth buying and re-color to match. Cheap too.
-hatch struts: be glad the OEs are not avai - $$$ - ebay again (or prob your local auto parts store): $35-ish each

Rust: actually, am impressed with how clean the _chassis_ is underneath! So 'Rusty' did you some good. Brake lines, fuel lines can be made, there are companies that will do that. Exhaust might be on the way out? These are pretty heavy-duty systems, but…
Might want to pop the cover under there off the fuel pump too, and see how that is fairing...
Yeah - failing brake master did you no favors. Suspect mostly surface rust tho. Mine needed replacing when I got my SA too. Bit the bullet and pulled the whole Brake Booster too, so I could repaint it and get at the rust damage on the firewall. POR15 is your friend here.
Will recommend this: Brake Master: buy the OE unit! $$ but I went thru TWO aftermarket "rebuilds"(?) and all the time-wasting ag to get this right. Was a b!tch. Think these are still available. This will be an excellent time to replace the rubber-hose fr.brake line with some nice Stainless units.

Brakes: 79-83-ish rotors are the same and avai on (yes) ebay cheap ($75 pair?). If your calipers are too far gone Mazdatrix sells rebuilt ones @ $75 ea.
Don't forget to have a look at the rr drums! SA rr brakes are NOT self-adjusting so you will need to do that at least.

Thanks for 3-drain pic!

Stu Aull
80 GS
Alaska

Yea, this is how it starts. You're searching for a few replacement parts and before you know it your an SA horder, picking over the best of the scraps you can find. Mechanical bits like brake shoes, clutches and water pumps are available through normal suppliers but OEM trim and body parts are another story. Sometimes you need to be creative. Wine seems prone to sun fading especially the window cranks for some reason. I'd look at just painting them to match. If the carpet is still in decent shape can be re dyed, ect...Parts are out there, but it takes time and patients like a treasure hunt.

Thanks Eric. Yea, Tripple 7s and I work together, so we're slowly working the parts "WISH" list! :)

Thanks again Stu for the detailed direction!

Banzai.... thanks! A treasure hunt indeed!!! Yea, planning to try some spray paint combos to duplicate the "wine" red. My door release levers are wine red, non-chrome, probably another "feature" of early cars. Thanks for the tips on brakes!

A few new goodies arrived from Mazda yesterday via Ray Crowe. Thanks Ray, and thanks to Eric (Tripple 7s) for the assist! Here's just hint of what was in the box :)

Attachment 635450

Attachment 635451

The treasure hunt has officially begun!

Very nice, take care of her. They ain't building anymore.

That's a super clean SA, congrats man.

Steve.

Steve, thanks. Yea, I feel fortunate to have found her. A few new pics of the door panels and interior.

Attachment 635346

Attachment 635347

Attachment 635348

Attachment 635349

Would also like to find a replacement piece for the rear hatch latch cover in wine red. If anyone out there has one in VG condition, please PM me with details. Thx

Attachment 635350

nice-nice-nice-!
Those 2-tone interiors are a 78-79 yr-only feature and yours is Exceptional! Door strip on the door panels is pretty delicate and yours look to be almost perfect. You have (like you haven't figured THIS out by now?) a really well-preserved car. Needless to say you will have to be pretty diligent about UV protection in your part of the world.
The rear hatch trim panel is unique to the 78-79 (early) SAs and is pretty near impossible to find in even YOUR SAs condition. I think (and Banzai can step in here with better detail) a light sanding to remove the scratches on the latch cover and a color-respray is going to be your best option. I will leave it to others to suggest how/where you get a rattle-can color match, but I am pretty sure it is doable. Am guessing the interior rear quarter panel covers have faded some too, so an over-all respray should match up nicely, even if it was slightly off the OE color of the drivers compartment...

Trim hunt aside, I will (again?) urge you to seriously get rubber trim and gaskets ordered up, esp the odd stuff like FMOC (oil cooler) rubber mounts,etc. as this stuff is all going to be shot and failing.

Stu Aull
80 GS
Alaska /Sedona

Hey Stu, thanks again. Yes, the doors are in VERY nice condition. Last week I received a box from Ray Crowe at Malloy Mazda that included a new radiator cap (yes, Mazda still makes it), my hood rod clip, both drivers and passenger side door seals, an extra side emblem, and a few other goodies. Since my window cranks were faded, I got new ones in wine red from Atkins and changed out the knob with my non-chrome stock one, which was in perfect condition. Also got some paint and resprayed my non-chrome door latches, which were also badly faded. Those came out pretty close on color, so I'll use the same color matching technique on my rear hatch cover. Suprisingly the rear panels show little signs of fade, but the rear hatch carpet is faded badly. May look at pulling that to see if an upholstery shop can dye it back close to the same color. Once that's done, I'll be pretty happy with the interior. Then, we'll start on the exterior, but that's a ways down the road.

Appreciate the support and recommendations!

P.S. What did the OEM floor mats look like in '79?