Hello,

I am new here but I came across an 85 rx7 on facebook and threw the guy a message asking if he is interested in trading for my 92 base eclipse. He was very interested. Now I would love to get into rotaries and I really love the look of the fb rx7s. His facebook listing says he has swapped the original 12a out for a low miles one, he has pictures and records. He also put a new tranny in and a “stage 3” clutch, I have no idea what that means lol. The body has 195k on it. My eclipse is the base model meaning no cruise control, power windows, 4g37 and 111k on it and it’s a 92, one year after those oh so amazing pop up headlights. However, it is in pretty good condition when it comes to the interior and overall performance/maintenance aspect. I have been doing a ton of research on wha to look for when checking out the car and all that but I just wanted to consult people with some real experience so I came here. If anyone has some things they want to share with me about what to look for please do so. The only reason i’m a little skeptical is because he seems very down to do the trade although the rx7 is worth a substantial bit more money.

 

Assuming the engine is running as it should, esp after a build, then all else working, your biggest issue could be rust. I am not saying RX7s are rust buckets, but like any 1980s car, the rust protection is modest, esp depending where the RX 'grew up'.
Areas to check:
-behind rear wheel wells
-top of rear wheel opening rim
-open hatch and check drain channel. If debris has been allowed to collect (say, in storage) and plug the 2 drain hole, you can get rust here. Lift up the bottom corners of the weather seal too.
-sunroof (if equipped) - same problem under the weather seal. This is easy to lift up and check metal. 4 drain plugs here and they need to be open
-engine comp at battery tray, under it. Usually just surface rust if any

Nice first Gen RX7s are on the rise in value, so a good one will arguably be money well spent in ownership. Like your Mitsu, trim bits will be hard to find, but virtually all the mechanicals, weather seals, etc. are available - except the engine block-components. These are now NLA. So you do want to be sure the engine is sound. Compression check requires a special tester, which your mazda dealer will have, or a local rotary shop, if you are lucky enough to have one.

'Luck. This is a great forum with lots of expertise. Post a few pics if you get it!
Stu A
80GS
AZ

 

Really check for rust, if there's a lot of newish undercoating, I'd find another one. Pull one of the rear storage bins, preferably the driver side. Also you need to do a long test drive, get everything up to operating temperature.

 

sometimes people will do a full restore and remove the old undercoating, clean things up and inspect for rust and fix any issues if needed. Just by sure there is a solid documentation.