I have a few questions for the 1st Gen Owners
 

Hello all.

I am currently a owner of a 2nd Gen RX-7 but I have been looking at 1st Gens a lot and they are growing on me.

I am not familiar with the carb 12A and all of its components. But I do know the 13B somewhat. I was wondering if the 12A was more difficult to work on as to the 13B. I am really looking into getting a 1st Gen.

The 12A is simple to work on. Inside the engine, there are very few minor differences between a 12A and 13B. On the outside, a carb and dizzy are so much simpler than the EFI and computer controlled ignition of the FC/FD.

So what would you say to reliability? Could a 12A make a 6 hour drive?

Im saying this because there is always something wrong with FC's haha.

I drove my car 300 miles, spent the day at a racetrack driving the hell outta it, and drove it back home. Woulda been a long walk, if something had gone wrong.
I'd say that qualifies as reliable.

Hmm..sounds like it would last a cross state drive then.

I still dont know. I am torn in between the two.

The GSLSE provides more torque and 35 more hp.

I drove my gslse 900 miles once and it did fine.

I know the 13B can last...but what about the 12A owners?

I would be getting a GSL.

I have over 180,000 miles on my 12A with the original Nikki Carb. The carb has been rebuilt and its been all but reliable. Less flooding issues than EFI and much simpler to work with in terms of maintenance. I personally love how the secondaries kick in with these carbs. Its alot of fun and sounds quite narley!

oh and i drive about 100 miles a day and its been nothing but reliable

So that circle thing on the top is the air filter correct?

If the 13B is EFI...how does CARB work?

EDIT: just researched on how carbs work :)

what do you mean by carb? Are you asking how carburetors in general work or the California Air Resource Board?

Drove my '80 SA (w 12a) from So Cal to Alaska (almost 5000 mi) - never missed a beat.
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

Holy...thats a crazy ass drive. How long did it take you?

yeah the engines are just as reliable as any other engine if you keep up on maintenance. Just make sure you check out everything else like fluids, suspension, brakes, and such before long trips. But again, I'd trust mine to go across america no problem

Now I just have to decide between body styles :(

I have to S (base models) and have driven a GSL-SE and there's definitely a difference in driver feel. The S feels like a gokart and the GSL-SE's feel more refined. But i love how the S feels and drives. A classic old school sports car. Its definitely fun to give rides

I put 35000 miles on my 12a last year delivering meds around NW Ohio, it never let me down. The car had sat for 10 years prior to my resurrecting her

I have now pulled it but reliability was not an issue.

The 1st gen 12A has been proven to be the longest lasting rotary ever produced, particularly when equipped with the fmoc. Add headers and a free flow exhaust, along with a Sterling or 2 barrel carb, it will easily beat a stock SE.

Basic configurations between the 2 engines is quite similiar, aside from the intake system. In my sig line is a link to the online FSMs and carb manual.

My DD is a 2nd gen, the toy is a 1st gen, which is more nimble, more fun, than the 2nd gen DD, even before I did all the extensive mods and widebody kit. Last line in sig is a link to the 'toy'.

man then i got f----d over when my 84 died. 63,000 original miles and she quit on my driving a 70 mile trip. i got the car from the grandparents who had it my whole life. they promised once i got my license and had it for a year i could have it. they didnt want me having a fast, small, sports car for my first. i got it at 57,000 and at 63,573 she quit on the highway. and never started again. ha funny thing was, i won concert tickets off the radio for free. drove 70 miles to pick them up, broke down on the way home. 190 for the tow,another 150 for the shop to tell me they couldnt find out why it didnt start, and about another hundred in little parts to try and fix it my self. so yea free tickets my ass, cost me about 500 bucks and my first baby. you guys are lucky.

My guess is that if it only had that many original miles then it probably had some fairly long periods of sitting without being driven which can lead to many problems. I'd say it probably isn't luck that the rest of us have very reliable cars. I'd say it's probably the fact that they have more miles on them and are driven more often, so they don't end up with the problems that a car that sits for extended periods will end up having. My suggestion would be (whether it's a rotary or not) if you get a car that you believe may have sat for extended periods without being driven you should go through the entire car and check everything out, and replace anything that you have any reason to think might have a problem before driving it (still a good idea even if it hasn't sat much, since things have a way of going bad over time). And with rotaries, because of the seals inside the engine, there are some things you definitely want to do before driving a car that has sat for a while. I guess it is possible that isn't the case, but just seemed like the most logical answer with a 24 year old car with so few miles on it.

Yeah, well I just got another award for my car at a rotary car show yesterday. Highest Mileage. 212,680 gave me a little over 20K cushion over 2nd place. That kind of mileage doesn't happen, if a car isn't reliable. Of course, the car is about to get it's 3rd set of springs, since the ST springs under it now have sagged to the point of only allowing for ~1" between the suspension and bumpstops.
I prolly would have taken the best 1st gen award again, except I knew it was a lost cause when I saw JB pull in with his widebody GSL-SE. I was glad to see the car again, as it is such a nice car, and I congradulated him on the win, as he pulled in. The highest mileage trophy was a surprise. I was helping to hold them as they were handed out, I knew when I saw it, I had a good shot at keeping it......
For the record, just because the car has over 200K on it, I don't treat it any different. It's driven nearly everyday, autocrossed every chance I get, and run on the racetrack when my budget will allow. Last year, I took the season championship in CSP with it, and I am undefeated so far this year. In fact, so far this year, the only non turbo rotary that has bested my times, has been a BP 20B powered Miata. Not bad, for a 25 year old car, with well over 200K.

I have been a Mazda tech now for 29years years and everytime an Rx8 comes in on a hook I shake my head and tell all the young guys about the good old days of the 12a, dual distributor, carburated 7's. I remember driving them fresh off the transport truck, hearing the fan clutch kick in and opening up the secondaries and flying down the road. Oh well, those were the good old days but if you can get a hold of one do it. They are simple to work on and fun to drive.

I agree with tallbozo...I have an 83 S' it all depends on what you are going to use it for...the S' is the lightest because there are not to many options added, mine doesn't have electric windows, or power steering..only has AC..and of course its a more sturdy chassis because there is no sunroof...you can always swap in a gsl lsd

I couldn't agree more.

BTW, had I known there was going to be an award for highest mileage, I would have installed a starter on my other car (83 GSL), and took it. It's nearing 250K........:icon_tup: