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It's OK for not being a modern car. The fun factor outweighs the shortcomings. I've put 26K miles on it in three years of six days a week use, both commuting and recreational, including a half dozen 800+ mile road trips. It's a 1985 GSL-SE with 164K on it, stock but for the exhaust, and being a thirty-four year old machine, maintenance is crucial to keeping it alive. It's only been out of service several weeks total in the three years for repairs, which I do myself. It's a project car and now that I have most of the major mechanical fixes and restorations done I'll start upgrades for the real fun.
Mine is a daily driver beater. I'm fanatical about checking the underbody undercoating yearly, oil changes, filter changes, battery terminals, and I carry emergency coolant. Wish the a/c was better. I live in hot and humid alabama. That glass hatch back acts like a big ol'greenhouse.
The original engine blew an apex seal at 220K miles. It limped home.
Oh, and I have the battery in a wooden box. The wood is great at absorbing acid. Except for a few switches, the car is oem.
Just watch the coolant temperature gauge, and your car will be bullet proof.
I daily drove mine for the first 8 years and it was fine. The clutch is light so traffic wasn't too big an issue although I rarely had a gridlocked commute.
I got a 2nd car when I started doing track days so I wouldn't have to worry about breaking things. I also got sick of dummies in SUVs and trucks hitting it in parking lots and changing lanes without looking.
It gets far, FAR better gas mileage than my LandCruiser, so I find myself driving it almost every day as long as it's not raining cats and dogs (*I live in the Sonoran desert...). I can go all week on $40 in gas back and forth to work, vs. $80+, and it runs best on low-test fuel. The only downside is that I'm concerned about an idiot in the parking lot at work running into it and causing damage, because my coworkers have no respect for others property. Also, be aware that any accident of any type is a risk to the insurance company totalling it, and then you're down to buying your wrecked -7 back from them to transfer parts to a new(er) roller or project; you'll never get your time & $$$ back on it.
I look at driving the -7 daily as an affirmation of life; I'll only live this once and I've owned and driven a 1st Gen since 1986 - my first car, this VERY car the one I took my drivers test in, and when I get in it feels like putting on a comfortable pair of jeans. Every day I'm driving it is another day of enjoyment, and thumbs-up and waves from other drivers, and I wouldn't trade that for anything. I wouldn't keep this car in the garage, I own it to use it and enjoy it. Every chance I make.
Plus, I drive very defensively, because no airbags, no ABS, no side impact beams - WE DIE LIKE MEN!
Yep! Mine's at ~185,000 miles (I've put about 30k on it over the last five years of ownership). Heavy stop and go traffic is never fun in a manual, but the gearing makes it pretty easy to crawl along and avoid that. I recently installed a sidedraft carb and still haven't had any problems. My MPGs peaked at around 28 (EFI) and 25 (carb'd). I've always made sure to check oil, change it frequently, and premix at every fill up. That being said, it's not any worse to maintain than other cars. It's 35+ years old, so little things need to be replaced here and there, but they haven't been anything that's kept me from driving it. I could definitely be in a newer, safer, or more "reliable" car, but what's the fun in that? Like others said, the biggest danger is everyone else on the road not paying attention to our little cars.
As much as someone that works from home can, I drive my 80 SA all around town. I even take to the main office 2.5 hours away every other month or so. Its that reliable.
Sure its old but so am I. Did I mention this was my 1st car out of college in 83.
My teen bought her '85 3 years back right out of high school and drives it every day. 216K miles. She's really good about checking oil, coolant & tires weekly. She foots all the bills and does much of the mechanic work on it. She just changed radiator, 4-wheel brake job including rotors/bearings, AC blower fan, new battery and has ordered shocks/springs. It's been a good car for her. I do worry about her not having an airbag. I'm thinking she'll end up with another car when she's out of college and this will become her weekend fun car but for now it's doing the job! Here she was changing struts on her previous car, a Mazda Protege. Really proud of her!
I Salute you all!
17 yrs owning my SA in Alaska meant, realistically, it had to be a summer-only driver, which it was (when, you know, it wasn't raining...)
"Ok" heater + RWD + salted roads meant -30F was a no-go. For 7 mo of the year.
Now, 2 yrs into AZ desert living with a non-AC'd RX, she has become my winter driver. yep. Ironic...
Stu A
80GS
AZ
drove mine daily for more than 5 yrs. then decided to get something else to drive every day to keep from putting all those miles on the 7. now it's just a weekend car and every yr to DGRR.
My 80 is my daily which, considering the condition it was in when I picked it up, may not be the best decision. Although I've got to say, all the while slowly repairing, upgrading, and modifying components, my 7 has yet to leave me stranded. Heck, it's been more reliable (not counting the difficulty of starting it in winter - still never to leave me without transportation though) than many of my friend's more modern vehicles. I've rescued many a person with my 7, and I have yet to be on the other end of the stick. Sure, the car really needs some work, like how my transmission is so far gone that I've committed to driving as though syncho's hadn't been invented, but even with all the things needing replacement, I still enjoy it to all ends. Those of you who started with nicer examples, I take envy looking forward to the day I can restore my own, but on my relatively tight budget this car gets me around town and the occasional road trip, and provides me with so many more pleasures than something newer ever could that the downsides are easy to overlook. Being able to work on your own car is, by itself, a joy to appreciate; it's one department where newer vehicles just can't compare.
Being able to work on your own car is, by itself, a joy to appreciate; it's one department where newer vehicles just can't compare.
Hear-hear!
I am NO mechanic but the tinker-toy simplicity of most everything in the RX is def a throw-back from a different time in car ownership.
Well said.
Thank you for all the wonderful replies. I asked b/c I am continually tempted to sell my E46 for a 1st-gen, but it would have to be my daily driver, at least for a while... Really appreciate all the input.
in a past life I daily drove my 81 and 83 when I had them. both had over 150-200k and were reliable enough. At this stage in the game I would highly suggest rebuilding the carburetor if going with a 12a.
i wouldn't suggest an rx7 of any generation to be the ONLY form of transportation. so unless ur 1000 percent confident of being able to solve any issue that may arise with the 7 and have it back up and running withing 24 hrs or live close enough to work to walk, or to get parts, i would suggest having at least a backup vehicle, or friend/relative willing to chauffeur u around for a few days/weeks until u get the 7 going again. there is no advanced warning when compression is lost on one rotor face. had it happen to me but was able to limp it home. or u come out from somewhere and it wont start and have to get it towed home. this happen too but it ended up just being the fuseable link. that's when i decided to get a second vehicle. can even be another rx7.
there is no advanced warning when compression is lost on one rotor face. had it happen to me but was able to limp it home. or u come out from somewhere and it wont start and have to get it towed home.
No risk, no fun
Lost one rotor often is not a problem. Normally you can drive big routes with the other one. Reduced horspower will be the result. Also before compression is lost, the rotary engine will starts more badly, i think.
Rotary engine aren't more bad then piston engines!
You’re right Thomas,have had this happen both ways.
Once on a trip home from the mountains coasting in gear @3 miles downhill,when road leveled out and stepped on gas,right away knew something was wrong,down on power. Had 150 miles to go,was no worse after got home. Swapped in a fresh engine I had that was for another car and rebuilt that one for the other car.
Another time after buzzing around,not really thrashing it,stopped for gas. On cranking for restart you could hear it in the starter and lumpy idle. No warning,that engine had 120k on it and had a hard life,lol.
yeah but once it was shut off it didn't want to restart.
3 gear and push start your car. Fix the throttle on a higher level. Sometimes the higher starting voltage from batteries like the power optima will help.
Maybe I should point out that I have other cars I can drive, as well. For the OP, if this is your only vehicle - that may not be a wise decision unless you know that car inside & out.
There's nothing worse than HAVING to work on your car because you need it to drive to work the next morning...
AAA premier towing has come in handy. Once a rivet broke, and stuck the throttle open. Andother time the starter wouldn't work, Another time, everything went dead. The battery terminal needed cleaning. Twice time the battery went bad. Then once the rotor died. I didn't need to call AAA on that one. The car limped home.
I think I may have slightly over sold the first gen as a daily in my first post, so let me give a little context. Before I bought my 80 I purchased another first gen as a parts car. Ever since (keep in mind I've only had the car for a little over two years, only one of which it's been on the road) I have used many components from that other car, and I can say with absolute certainty that my 80 would not be on the road right now if I hadn't bought the other one too - then again I bought my car out of a field where it sat for 16 years so... it really depends on the vehicle you start with. And you'll have be fine with the fact that there will be some quirks from time to time like others have already said. These cars are just about 40 years old and any vehicle that has been on the road that long (even if it hasn't seen many miles) will have parts that really ought to be replaced, like bushings for example. You'll also have to realise that unlike a more modern vehicle, if something major fails there will likely be more downtime due to local shops not stocking the parts. Now that's not to say that because it's older it is more likely for something to fail, it's just that when looking at a car of this age for a daily, you need to make sure it's been well taken care of - scheduled maintenance, not abused, any major component replacements, etc.
To summarize I'll say this: a first gen can be a fine daily, and a fun one at that, but you'll have to be willing to deal with potentially longer downtimes if something goes wonky, and that you may have to do many things yourself. If you choose to go the first gen route it's also not a bad idea to start amassing some spare parts to help you diagnose/fix anything down the road more quickly. Parts will be harder to find than anything modern on the road, but the usual wear items can be found without much any difficulty, and some of the more niche parts can typically be had from Facebook groups, Ebay, forums, etc. I hope that helped some. Best of luck on your decision.
[QUOTE=There's nothing worse than HAVING to work on your car because you need it to drive to work the next morning...[/QUOTE]
Man, these are true words of wisdom. There really is nothing worse. I have my F150 for daily. That thing will never let me down. Rx7 is literally just for fun. On average the rx is a pig on gas. If you have a heavy foot you'll be burning almost as much as a V8, literally.
07-30-19, 12:53 PM
Really proud of her! 
