If you had to choose would it be a 85 or 82 gsl?
 

mileage about the same 82 has 100k 85 has 140. Thanks

82 with 85 rear end and 83 speedo. You can thank me later.

The 84-85 strut/spindles would be nice too ;). Ide say go w/ the 82, that's what I did

but why the 82 cause its carb?

Both will be carb unless the 85 is a GSL-SE. I like the early interior better. 85 rear end will be much better, and there were a few different color options. Pick whichever one drives/looks better, not enough difference worth noting unless the 85 is the GSL-SE w/13B...

If the condition of both were the same, I'd take the '85 for the rear end, front suspension, and lighter rotors. I do like the S2 interior better (with the '83 dash), but it's not a big deal to me. Only real disadvantage of the S3 is the beehive oil cooler, but that's easily dealt with.

But honestly there's not a huge difference, so just pick the one that's in better shape. None of what I mentioned above matters if you plan on leaving it stock. And if you don't, a GSL-SE would be a better base to build from anyway.

I personally like the interior of the 85's better.

I'd take the '82. Better rear suspension geometry, lighter/stronger rearend (the series 3 rearend sucks!), and I have a very strong feeling that the Series 2 shell itself is lighter than Series 3.

Plus the S2 interior is loads better than S3, by my taste. The S3 marked the RX-7's decline into luxobargedom, it feels like a 280ZX in there (in a bad way).

Note: I have had two S3 GSLs and one S1. The S1 is still, by far, my favorite RX-7. The S2 is just an S1 with a crappy shifter position and amber gauges instead of green, as well as a catalyst emissions system instead of the thermal reactor.

All things being equal as far as condition,price,etc, my personal choice would be the 82...based on the fact that I prefer the 82's interior over the 85's and also the 82 has 40,000 fewer miles on it...

Assuming both are 12A cars, and in about the same physical condition & price, I'd go for the 82.
Not only does it have lower miles, but it came with a real oil cooler. The 83-85 12A's "beehive" oil heater will cook the seals, causing massive oil leaks.
On the other hand, if the 85 is actually a GSL-SE, that would be a great find. And the one to go with.

I'm partial to my '85... I like the interior more. And it's not *quite* as old. But when given the choice, the mileage would probably do it for me. An FB with 100k real miles on it is hard to find these days. I'd have to see and drive both cars in person to really choose though.

I had an 85 GS and I currently have an 82 GSL. I love my GSL. The interior feels better.

i've had both, and i think all things being equal i like the 82 dash better.

couldnt of said it better myself

I am really surprised at how many people prefer the S2 dash over the S3 Interior.

The S2 Gauges are front-lit, and has a fuzzy orange glow at night,
and the gauges are kinda hard to read.

The S3 Gauges are back-lit only, and gives it a much more modern appearance.

Even the FC's (S4) went to both back-lit and front-lit., and don't
appear as nice as the S3.

To me; the S3, with an all original dash/radio/AC controls at night looks like a fighter cockpit. I love that the dashes don't crack,
and even appreciate the faux stitching on them.

Plus on the GSL models, the S3 driver seats have more adjustments and better materials.

I can appreciate both, but in order, my preference would be:

• S3 Grey Interior
• S2 Tan Interior
• S3 Brown Interior
• S2 Black Interior
• S3 Burgandy Interior
• S2 Burgandy Interior

My preference is strictly the S3 GSLSE! I've owned a couple 83's, a 84 GS and have to say no first gen compares to a dialed in GSLSE

you have good points. the 84-85 gauges are better lit, and the interior DOES look great at night.

however in the daytime the 79-83 looks like a sports car!
go sit in an alfa, or fiat, or other classic sports car. the early Rx7 dash has the right vibe

I like the interior styling of the S2 but the quality of the S3. The S3 seats are way better than the S2.

Anyone that thinks S3 dashes don't crack, is welcome to take a look at the dash in my 84 SE. It was so badly cracked, the previous owner bought a replacement dash from a car being parted out, but never got around to installing it.
The cover is not only cracked, but was actually peeling up. I ripped most of that off just prior to running the rallycross nationals, since I wanted it out of the way. I swapped out the seat for a very low mounted race seat, my co-driver is well over 6ft tall, and even I couldn't fit inside the car with a helmet on without cocking my head off to the side.
No, I haven't gotten around to swapping the dash either........

Other than straight up abuse - I have never seen one cracked from normal wear and tear. Lets see pics.

A friend of mine had an '85 grey interior car with very bad dash. It was actually peeling up from the windshield back.

Pics will have to wait. Not only is my camera out of order, but the car is stored elsewhere, though I do need to swap out the tires/wheels. Silverstone rallye tyres really ought to be stored inside........

Pretty sure it's just sun damage. The car has been in the south all it's life, the lack of rust is pretty much enough to prove that, along with the lack of remaining paint......

I totally agree with Directfreak, the 84/85 GSL's are way better. He' got the color wrong though, red is way nicer than gray for the interior finish.

But seriously, with the newer models you've got that classic dash layout and state of the art Clarion sound system. You had to be alive back in 1984 to appreciate how much that sound meant before computers and the internet.

Here's what I'm talking about

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/h...DSCF1167-1.jpg

And on top of that you've got the performance upgrades mentioned earlier AND there are way more parts available.

i had one like 10 years ago that was in really bad shape from the sun, it is rare though.

I like the S2 interior better because it has more curves, not a lot of the "too 80's" blockyness of the S3, and I prefer a center tachometer in a sports car. The backlit gauges are better, but red on black is harder to read than orange on black.