Great Story - Located Original Owners of my 79 spark yellow
04-26-09, 07:04 PM
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Great Story - Located Original Owners of my 79 spark yellow
Last week I found and purchased a Spark Yellow 79. I did start a thread on here but didnt want to say much before until it was a said and done deal. I had to wait until yesterday to pay the balance because the owners had the keys and title in storage.
When I went to look at it, I was already slightly discouraged due to it being an AUTO. But hey, it was a Spark Yellow 79 which is the car I wanted another of. My first two cars were SY 79s and what got me into the rotary world 13 years ago.
While faded and needing some TLC, I could tell this car had been well cared for. It is 100% bone stock OEM. While inside I asked the owner what was in an envelope behind the seat, turns out every service record back to when the car was new was in there. It was serviced only by the dealer from early 78 up until 2006 by the original owners.
When the hood was opened, I noticed the prop was on the passenger side, looked at the vin and saw 501140 with a 3/78 production date. Before even starting it I knew I was going to take it. Still has the original radio as well and ZERO rust.
So this morning, I get up and start going through the paperwork. And curiosity finally got the better of me. I started searching the names of the owners here in Las Vegas and while I couldnt get a phone #, I was able to get an address that matched the names on the records over the years. So I do what any rotorhead would and hoped into my truck with some of the original service records and drive to the address which was only about 15 miles away. Knock on the door of this house and an old Asian lady anwers. I ask if Mr. and Mrs. ******* live there and she says yes that was them. I then ask if they used to own a Yellow 1979 rx7, more puzzled she says yes. I just replied that I purchased your old rx7 last week and while going through the records could tell that you and your husband obviously cared very much for the car.
I could go into details about alot of things, but he is retired Airforce and met his wife while stationed in the Pacific. He recieved a promotion in early 78 and with the extra money decided to purchase something he had never owned, a sports car. He said the first time he saw the bright yellow car on the dealership he had to have it. Then proceeded to keep it stored indoors for the next 27 years.
I even had a few questions answered.
Q: Why does it have a passenger mirror, it shouldnt have come with one
A: Your are right, it didnt. But with my wife driving I didnt think it was safe. So I ordered one from the dealer after I saw the later ones had them.
Q: What happened to the original spare? (it is the ALMEX rim I believe)
A: Oh yeah, I forgot all about that. I had to go to TX for the airforce and while there the wheel went into a rut and damaged it. I had to drive all over the place to get a new spare and that was the only wheel I could locate.
Q: When was it repainted and why?
A: My wife was driving one day and someone pulled up beside her and brushed against it. It wasnt too bad, and they drove off. She tried to catch them but they got away. I think that was 1984.
Q: Why did you sell it?
A: When you get old, these cars are not as easy to get in and out of as they once were, arthritis sucks. It just wasnt practical with us being in our 70s.
In truth, they gave it away to someone who needed transportation. That person turned around and sold it for 700 to the people I bought it from a few months later. I didnt want to pry because they seemed dissapointed about that.
As it stands, I am keeping it bone stock. It has 153K miles but he paid mazda 3k for a new motor 60k ago. I said I would be happy to bring it by when I am done with it and my other Spark Yellow that I am working on so they can take it for another cruise. They told me they would love to drive it one last time.
Sorry I dont have pics, trying to find my camera. But I am determined that this man and his wife will see their car restored to how they remember it. The only thing I will most likely do is a clean swap to a 5 speed. Other then that it will remain bone stick including the thermal reactor he paid $813 for in 2001.
When I went to look at it, I was already slightly discouraged due to it being an AUTO. But hey, it was a Spark Yellow 79 which is the car I wanted another of. My first two cars were SY 79s and what got me into the rotary world 13 years ago.
While faded and needing some TLC, I could tell this car had been well cared for. It is 100% bone stock OEM. While inside I asked the owner what was in an envelope behind the seat, turns out every service record back to when the car was new was in there. It was serviced only by the dealer from early 78 up until 2006 by the original owners.
When the hood was opened, I noticed the prop was on the passenger side, looked at the vin and saw 501140 with a 3/78 production date. Before even starting it I knew I was going to take it. Still has the original radio as well and ZERO rust.
So this morning, I get up and start going through the paperwork. And curiosity finally got the better of me. I started searching the names of the owners here in Las Vegas and while I couldnt get a phone #, I was able to get an address that matched the names on the records over the years. So I do what any rotorhead would and hoped into my truck with some of the original service records and drive to the address which was only about 15 miles away. Knock on the door of this house and an old Asian lady anwers. I ask if Mr. and Mrs. ******* live there and she says yes that was them. I then ask if they used to own a Yellow 1979 rx7, more puzzled she says yes. I just replied that I purchased your old rx7 last week and while going through the records could tell that you and your husband obviously cared very much for the car.
I could go into details about alot of things, but he is retired Airforce and met his wife while stationed in the Pacific. He recieved a promotion in early 78 and with the extra money decided to purchase something he had never owned, a sports car. He said the first time he saw the bright yellow car on the dealership he had to have it. Then proceeded to keep it stored indoors for the next 27 years.
I even had a few questions answered.
Q: Why does it have a passenger mirror, it shouldnt have come with one
A: Your are right, it didnt. But with my wife driving I didnt think it was safe. So I ordered one from the dealer after I saw the later ones had them.
Q: What happened to the original spare? (it is the ALMEX rim I believe)
A: Oh yeah, I forgot all about that. I had to go to TX for the airforce and while there the wheel went into a rut and damaged it. I had to drive all over the place to get a new spare and that was the only wheel I could locate.
Q: When was it repainted and why?
A: My wife was driving one day and someone pulled up beside her and brushed against it. It wasnt too bad, and they drove off. She tried to catch them but they got away. I think that was 1984.
Q: Why did you sell it?
A: When you get old, these cars are not as easy to get in and out of as they once were, arthritis sucks. It just wasnt practical with us being in our 70s.
In truth, they gave it away to someone who needed transportation. That person turned around and sold it for 700 to the people I bought it from a few months later. I didnt want to pry because they seemed dissapointed about that.
As it stands, I am keeping it bone stock. It has 153K miles but he paid mazda 3k for a new motor 60k ago. I said I would be happy to bring it by when I am done with it and my other Spark Yellow that I am working on so they can take it for another cruise. They told me they would love to drive it one last time.
Sorry I dont have pics, trying to find my camera. But I am determined that this man and his wife will see their car restored to how they remember it. The only thing I will most likely do is a clean swap to a 5 speed. Other then that it will remain bone stick including the thermal reactor he paid $813 for in 2001.
04-26-09, 07:21 PM
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Wow! That's really a touching story. Kudos to you for tracking them down. Just think of the trip they had down memory lane after you left. It probably took them back to some wonderful days.
It must've felt good to give them a smile huh?
It must've felt good to give them a smile huh?
04-26-09, 08:07 PM
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It felt really cool. I talked with them for over an hour.
What I realized is that while I own it, it will always be Mr. and Mrs ****'s rx7, I am just the caretaker.
I forgot to ask, but want to see if they have photos of it over the years.
What I realized is that while I own it, it will always be Mr. and Mrs ****'s rx7, I am just the caretaker.
I forgot to ask, but want to see if they have photos of it over the years.
04-26-09, 08:25 PM
#6
I have the paperwork like that as well. Even comes with a picture of the lady standing beside it when she bought it. She is local to NC, but about 3 hours away. One of these day's I will try and visit her, give her the old photo back 
Great story!
Great story!
04-26-09, 09:41 PM
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I have all my paperwork as well. Some older lady bought my car. I'm so glad she got a GSL with a 5 speed, but she probably got it because it had leather and a sunroof, and not because it had an LSD and disc brakes.
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04-27-09, 01:47 AM
#9
awesome story!! it woulod reelly be great to get in touch with the original owners of my 7's. i have addresses of some but i just hadnt had the intestinal fortitude to contact anyone. i'll definatly be looking forward to your progress and of the pics when you get them. it would also be neat to see some pics of the receipts.
04-27-09, 03:27 AM
#10
Great story Choop! Really adds to the ownership experience. I found the original owners reg. card in the glove box of my 80GS (bought in San Diego in 06) - found the original lady owner living in Washington State and phoned her. she was tickled to hear her li'l Red sports car was still alive and running. Thru her I got the whole ownership chain. Kinda neat.
Look forward to some detailed pix.
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska
Look forward to some detailed pix.
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska
04-28-09, 07:00 AM
#11
Yes, things like that make the experience of owning old cars so special. They all have a history intertwined with actual people. You are more of of caretaker than an owner and become part of the cars linage and history yourself. Congrauts on your find, I always liked the yellow ones too. They seem a little rarer than other colors.
04-28-09, 11:41 AM
#12
Nice story . Agree its very cool to make contact with other owners . I did the same with the LIMITED . I bought it pretty beat up from a guy selling for a old lady friend of his . He sold as having 86000 km on it , but I didn't really believe it . It had three owners before me . I called the lady to get some paperwork if she had it and she said she loved the car but couldn't handle the manual steering anymore . She lived in the country and must have drove on gravel roads a lot and didn't likely wash it much . The wet muck under the wheels really rotted those parts out and is why I needed to have quite a bit of steel replaced in the wheels wells and rockers etc. .
She said she bought it off a guy with 50,000 km on it . The registration history I searched for showed this second owner only had the car for one year after buying it from the original owner who had a very unique name , italion , something like guiseppe iltalinanini .... anyway , I took a chance a googled the city he was registered in and got one telephone listing for that name. I called the guy and sure enough , it was the origonal owner . He was shocked , happy , and sad all at the same time . He really missed the car and always wished he never sold it . He was sad it was in such bad shape , but glad to know I was going to restore it ...... long story short , he sold the car with 125,000 km on to the second owner (odometer had reset after 99,999 to zero ) , confirming the second owner lied to the old lady and said it had 50 K on it not 150K.
So my suspicions were confirmed , I bought the car with 186,000 km on it , not 86,000. Still a good buy for $900 though.
She said she bought it off a guy with 50,000 km on it . The registration history I searched for showed this second owner only had the car for one year after buying it from the original owner who had a very unique name , italion , something like guiseppe iltalinanini .... anyway , I took a chance a googled the city he was registered in and got one telephone listing for that name. I called the guy and sure enough , it was the origonal owner . He was shocked , happy , and sad all at the same time . He really missed the car and always wished he never sold it . He was sad it was in such bad shape , but glad to know I was going to restore it ...... long story short , he sold the car with 125,000 km on to the second owner (odometer had reset after 99,999 to zero ) , confirming the second owner lied to the old lady and said it had 50 K on it not 150K.
So my suspicions were confirmed , I bought the car with 186,000 km on it , not 86,000. Still a good buy for $900 though.
04-29-09, 09:02 PM
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Update:
Popped a new battery in it on Monday and it fired right up.
The only problem I encountered was that after letting it run for a few minutes, I could see what appeared to be smoke coming up from under the hood on the passenger side. It was getting dark so I couldnt quite make it out or get a good look.
When I came back with my neighbor who would follow me back, I brought a flashlight and was surprised to see coolant puddled on the block where the intake manifold and block meet (not much, but enough). I could see it steaming up from the engine bay down by the exhaust manifold as well. Regardless, it ran smooth so I made the judgement call that we would give it a shot. It made it in without any issues other then that, but could tell it was still burning it off when we got in. After getting it in the garage I could see that the thermostat housing gasket was indeed leaking/seeping onto the engine block. On the bright side, it wasn't doing it yesterday at all when I fired it back up to get a better look in the daylight. It ran cool the entire way and the amount of coolant lost wasnt noticeable with the naked eye.
Fingers crossed, I will try to pass smog tomorrow. Then I get vintage plates and it is smog exempt here on out.
It was a throw back to get to drive it, I forgot how much I missed driving a first gen since my other SA has been stored for 9 years minus a motor.
Yeah Twinkle, that was me last week at Sonic. And yes, that is one VERY clean GSL that you have.
I will try to get pics up soon, but havent had time to finish cleaning it up yet.
Popped a new battery in it on Monday and it fired right up.
The only problem I encountered was that after letting it run for a few minutes, I could see what appeared to be smoke coming up from under the hood on the passenger side. It was getting dark so I couldnt quite make it out or get a good look.
When I came back with my neighbor who would follow me back, I brought a flashlight and was surprised to see coolant puddled on the block where the intake manifold and block meet (not much, but enough). I could see it steaming up from the engine bay down by the exhaust manifold as well. Regardless, it ran smooth so I made the judgement call that we would give it a shot. It made it in without any issues other then that, but could tell it was still burning it off when we got in. After getting it in the garage I could see that the thermostat housing gasket was indeed leaking/seeping onto the engine block. On the bright side, it wasn't doing it yesterday at all when I fired it back up to get a better look in the daylight. It ran cool the entire way and the amount of coolant lost wasnt noticeable with the naked eye.
Fingers crossed, I will try to pass smog tomorrow. Then I get vintage plates and it is smog exempt here on out.
It was a throw back to get to drive it, I forgot how much I missed driving a first gen since my other SA has been stored for 9 years minus a motor.
Yeah Twinkle, that was me last week at Sonic. And yes, that is one VERY clean GSL that you have.
I will try to get pics up soon, but havent had time to finish cleaning it up yet.
04-30-09, 10:35 AM
#20
That's truly a great story. It's amazing how many people are sentimental about cars we've previously owned. A lot of memories get tied to them.
Sadly, I don't have any paperwork for my car prior to buying it. It was sold to me as a one-owner car, but beyond that, I've no prior history. I wish I'd known enough to get and keep a photocopy of the previous title when it was signed over, but I knew nothing about car 'collecting' back then. I was just a guy who needed a car!
Maybe I'l have to try tracking down a DMV record for the previous owner. Not too easy, I'd guess - - California DMV seems to have a hard enough time keeping accurate track of CURRENT owners.
Sadly, I don't have any paperwork for my car prior to buying it. It was sold to me as a one-owner car, but beyond that, I've no prior history. I wish I'd known enough to get and keep a photocopy of the previous title when it was signed over, but I knew nothing about car 'collecting' back then. I was just a guy who needed a car!
Maybe I'l have to try tracking down a DMV record for the previous owner. Not too easy, I'd guess - - California DMV seems to have a hard enough time keeping accurate track of CURRENT owners.
04-30-09, 03:08 PM
#22
Ya, small world alright mazdave lol. Cool choop, it was nice meeting/talking to you! I had the same leak as you when I had the 12a. Just need to replace the o rings and intake gasket, no biggie . I'll try and make it to the meets more oftern, last time was a good turnout. Keep us updated!
. I'll try and make it to the meets more oftern, last time was a good turnout. Keep us updated!
05-04-09, 02:52 AM
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and a few more.
The 7 is now registered after passing smog on Thursday. Custom plates are coming in that will read "EARLY7" in the Nevada 1982 retro style.
The passenger seat is original and almost mint. The driver side obviously has more wear and needs repair.
The paint seems to be coming out and looking more presentable, unfortunately I havent had much time to really work on it.
Sorry, forgot to grab a engine pic.
Overall, not a bad deal for $600.
The 7 is now registered after passing smog on Thursday. Custom plates are coming in that will read "EARLY7" in the Nevada 1982 retro style.
The passenger seat is original and almost mint. The driver side obviously has more wear and needs repair.
The paint seems to be coming out and looking more presentable, unfortunately I havent had much time to really work on it.
Sorry, forgot to grab a engine pic.
Overall, not a bad deal for $600.