Inherited a 1982 RX-7, what have I got here?
 

My son's girlfriend needed some cash for school and decided to give up her 1982 RX-7. It was her grandmother's (so rarely driven) and she took it when she started college. She used it as a daily driver, until about a year ago, when she traded it to me for tuition. I've been storing it in my garage, thinking she would come back for it, but it seems she's moved on. Is there a market for these cars? Should I shine it up & put more miles on it myself? (It has only 68,000 miles now) It runs fine, has some minor crunching in on a rear wheer well where she mis-judged a garage door, and the paint is kind of tired-looking. Do nothing & sell, fix it up & sell, fix it up & drive? Take it to a Mazda dealer for a tune-up? (hoses, etc. must be kind of old) It had the original tires on it when she started driving it in 2003. Nice shape inside, some cracking & peeling of the door vinyl. And how do I know if it's a Coupe S, GSL, or Gran Coupe?? It's kind of cute, but I don't know that I would drive it much. I drive a stick & this is an automatic; also not having power steering is something I'd have to get used to. Any wisdom would be appreciated!

Show us pics and we can give you a few estimates. We need to see the interior and engine compartment please. You need to decide if you want to keep it or not. Of course I would say keep it but only if your gonna use it and care for it.

Welcome to the forum. Should definitely buy it from her. Great little sports cars. Post some pics up if you can. S models: roll up windows, no sunroof, rear drum brakes (no lsd) and some other things. GS models: have sunroofs, eletric fuel door opener, roll up windows, rear drums(no lsd) and others. GSL models: automatic windows, sunroof, rear window wiper, lsd rear end, all wheel disc brakes, electric fuel door opener. GSL-SE models: 13b efi engine, different bolt pattern(4x114.3), and all the things the GSL has and different rear end. You can get a manual tranny swapped in pretty easily.

Welcome.

I would keep it, but dont take it to the dealer... they dont usually know much about the 7

It has a sunroof, so it must be a GS. I'll take some pics & post them for you. It's a medium blue; I was thinking of either changing the color (if I end up keeping it) or at least clear-coating it. And if I can't trust a dealer to tune it up, where do I go?? Sheesh!
(Thanks)

Ya, the dealer will also burn a hole in your pocket. Best bet is for you to do the work on it. There are many respectable and well known members in Cali. They can help you out with your car probably. Where are you located? There are also many companies that make parts for our cars there too.

Yea some dealers MAY have a good department, good stock and a great mechanic but they will charge Buku. We can help you trouble shoot the vehicle to see what running condition it's in. Does it smoke? noises? etc. Also if your keeping it change ALL the fluids and get the grease points lubed.

and dont forget the fuel filter!

Many thanks guys! I will take pics of the engine too, but I don't know what's important to shoot -- it's so alien looking. My son replaced the oil filter & gave her the battery out of his old '88 Mustang 5.0 (which doesn't exactly fit the compartment). It's dusty, but sounds nice & rides smooth. I will need some referrals to some local members who might take a look at it. Average cost? Just trying to decide whether I would drive it enough to justify putting time (& $$$) into it. Will put some pics up tonight! (if I can figure out how)

It's a 26 year old vehicle. If your heart is not into it or you worry about practical transportation it's probably not a keeper. The battery being to big not that much of a big deal but if it's high AMP it could fry your fuseable links. So if keeping I would replace that too with something proper.

Sunroof doesn't automatically mean GS. Some S models have sunroofs, but they are dealer-installed and it's easy to tell the difference if you know what you're looking at. GSL models all have sunroofs, too. Post some pics of the dash and the sunroof, and check whether it has rear disc brakes. With that we can tell you for sure.

Also, where in Cali are you? There are some respectable shops down there.

These cars are a lot of fun, and once you drive them for a while it's hard not to become addicted.

What part of California are you in?

I lived in Fairfield CA for 8 months in the summer of 76'.

Ok, home from work & have some pics. Give me a few minutes here.

Regarding the battery: my husband doesn't allow any of our sons' semi-abandoned / project cars stored in the garage to be connected to batts unless somebody is driving them or working on them. So The Mazda's been hooked up for about 30 minutes in the last 18 months, and the oldest kid wants that battery back, too. I'll ask him about the amps. As far as "practical transportation" goes, it ain't. We rescue racing greyhounds, and I can't even imagine trying to smush a couple inside the hatch. Also, in the 60's, my Dad drove a Triumph Spitfire and never went anywhere without a rope in the trunk to drag it home, just in case -- so while driving this car is seriously fun, family tradition says pack a rope and don't go far.

We and the boys and all their works-in-progress live on a long piece of the 15 stretching between Escondido and Riverside, so members who work on this model on a regular basis, and who live in that area, are available to us.

Thanks for the tips! Be right back!

A truck with a camper shell and side vents is best for dogs. I have seen people put rigs on truck so the pet stays in those travel cages. Just in case of accident etc.

drive it once, and you wont want to get rid of it

Pictures, as promised (hope I did this right)

It's not bad at all. This one's hard to appraise uh. If you can get an engine shot just pop the hood and get the whole compartment. Don't need close up.

It looks like $1500-2000 perhaps? It's really clean. If it was me I would keep it.

OMG i wish mine was that nice when i picked it up, i probably wouldnt have completely stripped it.

On a side note how do you attach photos like that or am i retarded

Yea maybe it's worth more than 2k that's really just an open market guess. The car does have no UV damage in the interior that's rare for that old.

It's the same situation one finds oneself in after a wedding: pretty dress you will probably never have a reason to wear again, but really nice memories. Back into the garage? Drive it to the grocery store?

On a side note: my husband transferred the pics from the camera, shrank them using some cpanel voodoo, and stashed them in a folder on my desktop. Simple really. (I have no idea what he did, sorry)

Engine shot too dim. Will try again in the am.

Well you won't have trouble selling it. Did you get a clean title? Automatics are normally worth a little less (on RX7's not every car) but the condition makes up for it.

Yes, I've had the title for a couple of months. She was just so ambivalent about letting it go, the issue of its future never came up. Now I have to make a decision. I've driven it a few times, and enjoyed it. A lot. But...

Oh well. I'll put up the engine pics tomorrow & get an idea what one normally checks for under the hood. The boys always took old cars to a mechanic for a once-over before they bought, but if I can't go to a dealer, I'll have to depend on a checklist or something from you guys. Her grandmother garaged it & kept better maint records than I ever did, so I may use her guy even tho he's all the way down in La Jolla. <sigh>

Thanks again.

If you want to sell it post the pics and whatnot in a For Sale thread on this forum. Chances are it wont last long

68k is really impressive. If you don't want to do the work and are not looking to spend copious amount of money, you should sell it. However, with the 7, preventative maintanence is money well spent. Get out there and redline a couple of times to loosen things up a bit. There has to be some mech out there that know whats going on.
As for a tune up, your son could prob handle it. Distributor rotor, plugs and wires, all your filters, and fluids should all be changed. You can also lube the steering and suspension bushings. So easy a caveman could do it. Take it in to any mechanic to have them flush the auto trans fluid and brakes, and replace the differential oil.