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Of course you are correct that Mazda began producing and even exporting the Rx-7 in 1978. Cars began hitting the shores in the US, mid year, but Mazda marketed them as 79 models. So in the US, 79 is recognized as the official 1st model year, even though there are cars here that are registered and titled as 78's.
and that first wave of 78s that came to the US for the 79 year model still had the pass side hood prop. i had one, can't really remember but i think it had a 5/78 on the door tag.
Don't mean to hijack a thread but does anyone know what all the progressive model changes to the SA are and when they occured? (Passenger side hood prop, passenger side VIN, no passenger side mirror etc.)
There were way too many small detail changes for anyone to know or document them all. Plus, Mazda was building cars for different market requirements / country regulations all over the world, all at the same time. I followed these cars since their introduction and still learn new things about them all the time.
Bear in mind, they began assembling cars in Jan of 78, but these were JDM versions for their own home market, in preparation for their intended March introduction. For the US, I’ve come to class the 1st year cars into 3 rough groups.
Early build cars : Feb - Jun 78 Interesting note here, it’s widely reported that Mazda began export production in Mar 78 with the 50000 numbered cars, however I believe they assembled some prototypes beginning in Feb. As evidence, here by the door tag to S/N 500033.
Cars built in this period had the RH hood prop, that folded and stowed in the underside of the bonnet, same as the JDM cars did. The S/N was stamped on LH side of the engine bay fire wall and the door tag was aluminum. They only came with drivers side door mirrors, had the “always on” A/C switch without the center on/off push button. The center dash vents were a different configuration, with a round disk to adjust them. The dash had the perforations for a speaker, but no actual speaker mounted. The dash / door trim was a dual thin silver stripe, the door cards for both S and GS models were the same, flat design, with out any map pockets. Standard seat covers were “red dots” with either a white plaid or red paid seat insert as an upgraded alternate.
S models came standard with a 4 speed, 2 spoke steering wheel, steel wheels, Bridgestone RD-203, 165HR-13 tires, just an ash tray between the seats (no center console) and no exterior body moldings. They all came with the red dot seat covers. The actual A/C was installed after the car was in the country and could be had on both S and GS cars as an add-on by the selling dealers.
GS models added the 5 speed as standard with the 3 sp automatic as an option. The 4 spoke steering wheel came standard, as did Aluminum waffle wheels, wider Bridgestone RD-106, 185-70HR-13 tires, exterior body moldings, a dead pedal foot rest, full center console, intermittent wiper setting, day / night setting rear view mirror, electric remote rear hatch release button, sunshade windshield band and rear stabilizer bar. GS’s could come with both the red dot or plaid seat inserts and was also available with a body colored sunroof panel.
Mid Production cars, built between July 78 and Dec 78. During this time, the hood prop was modified to fold and be stowed in the fender instead of to the bonnet but remained on the RH side. Not sure if any of these made it to the states, you usually see these in cars sold in Europe I believe. I believe the passenger side door mirror was incorporated late in this period too. Some cars began receiving solid dashes w/o the speaker perforations.
Late Production cars, built between Jan and Jun 79, were the final configuration of the 1st model year. The push button A/C switch was incorporated w/S/N 540387, the center dash vents were changed to the flimsy design that tends to break, the HVAC ***** went from a push on style to smaller ones that used a screw from the bottom.
By this time, the hood props for US cars was moved to the LH side and all folded and stowed on the inner fender. The S/N stamping was moved to the RH side of the engine bay fire wall and the door tag was now a decal.Some cars still were getting speaker dashes as they must have been using them up. I believe only certain JDM models actually had a speaker installed in the dash. Also during this time, the dash / door trim was changed to a single, solid chrome strip instead of the dual silver stripes. The door card design changed too, plus GS cars also had the map pockets incorporated at the bottom while S models were still the plain flat cards. The plaid seat covers were phased out as an upgraded option to the red dots and replaced with velour inserts, which would become the standard seat insert for 1980.
The 1st “special model RX-7, the 79 Limited was produced during this time as well, with a special grey / blue interior, upgraded stereo w/power amp and 4 speakers. They all had a sunroof and A/C and wore Beat Black paint with a special, 2 color, tapered pin stripes and raised white letter Bridgestone tires mounted on unique stylized version of aluminum waffle wheels.
This isn’t everything as they also made some changes in construction and under the skin. I’ve probably missed some things as like I said, there were several small detail changes never really published or well documented.
the parts catalog has all the info in it. it is big and complex, and you need to figure out how to read it.
and its only for the US and Canada, Europe and Japan may or may not be the same.
also the SA22 was a HUGE surprise hit. in one of the road test articles they mention Mazda wanted to make something like 3000 a month for Japan and like 1500 a month for the US, but they end up making 5000+ a month for the US, so you might see some oddball early cars as they were just trying to get them out the door as fast as possible, which is something that hasn't happened since
There were way too many small detail changes for anyone to know or document them all.
Nevertheless it seems you've got most of the substantial information and even with approximate dates. Thank you so much for taking the time to give such a articulate and detailed reply!
Banzai's descriptions are very helpful and closely describe my recently acquired SA project as an "early" SA, GS model.
It has VIN number 523919, the hood brace on the right side and in the hood, LH stamped vin number, aluminum door tag, driver's side only door mirror, speaker holes in the dash, center vents with the adjusting disks, dual chrome stripes on the door cards, no map pockets and red plaid insert seats, all characteristics of Bonzai's "early" SAs.
But my manufacture date of October 1978 doesn't match up with Banzai's manufacture dates between February and June 1978 for "early" SAs.
Everything matches up but the manufacturer date, so does my SA still count as an "early" SA?
I'd say your car has all the characteristics of an early build Ray. It even has the push on type HVAC ***** and A/C button with out the center push button. The S/N checks out as a 10/78 built car and in reality, little differs btw my interpretation of early and mid production cars. Have to say, I've never saw a paint code decal mounted on the firewall, next to the plaque.
Thanks Bonzai and J9, I can now claim it's an early SA with authority.
And yes, it will be painted back to the original sonic bronze metallic. The idea is to make it look as much like original stock as possible, although I doubt I will ever find a way to reproduce those plaid seats. For now I'll be recovering the original ones with some brown vinyl racing beat covers.
But mechanically it will be track ready. My guess is it was a track car in a former life, it's already had the front struts and rear drums replaced by later GSL big bearing front struts and an LSD disk rear end.
Plus racing beat springs, tokico blue shocks, braided stainless brake lines and a racing beat front sway bar, all stuff I would have done but don't have to.
I'll focus on the paint and building a street ported 12A that's been sitting on my shelf for year, which will be mated to a full racing beat street port exhaust system (which cost more than 3x what I paid for the car). And I'll add a set of 15" Panasports, should look great.
Let us know what you find out Ray. Its good to have options. Jackpot in Japan offered their Kizami cloth, a reproduction plaid of the white and yellow versions but I don't think they did the red.
Thank You Banzai, That is the best description of the early car differences i have ever seen, and as a owner of a early car i love the info. The only difference I have that was not noted between my early car and my later one is my emergency brake handle is smooth, my later 79 is textured. Have you seen this before?
That's a great old photo. Wish I had some of my own, but back then pictures were something you took on Holidays and vacation.
I have noticed that difference btw hand brake handles. You may be right, guess I always thought it was due to different part vendors, but it is a thing. I too have cars with both styles and it does seem the later ones all have a grain texture.
Who knows, these cars never cease to entertain me.
Another difference I have noticed is coincidently shown in your two pics. The early car has no light on the ashtray, The later car has one. My two 79s are the same.
I have a friend with a 79 626 (along with his Rx-7s) I was surprised by how much of the 626 interior is identical to the Rx-7. I believe that some of the early Rx-7 pieces that change during the first year are left over 626 parts, The 626s had the two spoke steering wheel, and the original heater control *****, among other things.
The ashtray from my 79 doesn't have the light (upper pic) and the ashtray in a console from an 80 has the light (middle pic).
However the ashtray in my 83 LE doesn't have the light (bottom pic).
Therefore it appears the ashtray light is model-specific, not year-specific. Maybe the S, GS and LE didn't have the light and the GSL did?
I contacted seatsco.com about recovering the plaid seats and am still waiting for them to get back to me, the guy who did the ones on their website will send a quote.
My smooth handle pic was from a car also built in 10/78 Ray. Was that about when the change took place or did they get slightly different handles from different part vendors? As far as the convenience light in the ash tray, I know early cars did not have them. Also, I think it was an trim level thing. I've noticed them on later GS cars. The S models only had the stand alone ashtray, with out the full armrest / stowage compartment and I don't recall any having lights. Not sure if they were still a thing on the redesigned FB's.
I know a friend who found a pair of NOS red plaid covers from a dealership in Texas years ago. It was the late "master of unobtainium" Stu Aull, who told him about them. 1 year later and I sure do miss his contributions here.
Here's a truckload of plaid for your drooling pleasure. A couple of my latest projects.
My smooth handle pic was from a car also built in 10/78 Ray. Was that about when the change took place or did they get slightly different handles from different part vendors? As far as the convenience light in the ash tray, I know early cars did not have them. Also, I think it was an trim level thing. I've noticed them on later GS cars. The S models only had the stand alone ashtray, with out the full armrest / stowage compartment and I don't recall any having lights. Not sure if they were still a thing on the redesigned FB's.
I know a friend who found a pair of NOS red plaid covers from a dealership in Texas years ago. It was the late "master of unobtainium" Stu Aull, who told him about them. 1 year later and I sure do miss his contributions here.
Here's a truckload of plaid for your drooling pleasure. A couple of my latest projects.
Did you have these recovered? If so, please let me know the shop. My 3/78 RX-7 seat fabric is ripped from age.
Did you have these recovered? If so, please let me know the shop. My 3/78 RX-7 seat fabric is ripped from age.
I got the reproduction fabric from Jackpot Garage, I posted a link to them, previously in this thread. I got both the GT (White) and Limited (tan) versions a few years ago. Visually, they are a dead on match, however they are not actually a woven material like the originals, more of a printed pattern. I've heard that SMS fabrics out of the pacific northwest can reproduce just about anything if you have a sample. Takes time (and some money) however. I got some stuff from them for a 79 Limited 10-12 years back.
05-23-24, 08:40 AM
