Starfox07

I've been lurking on this forum for a long time now, and I've been wanting to get an RX7 for even longer. Today I decided to finally do the deed. So I picked up an all original 1984 RX7 GSL-SE. 105k original miles, original engine, paint, but the interior has been redone (very well) Drove it about 40 miles home with not so much as a stumble, very pleased so far. (Even the cruise control works!) One of the headlights is out, and there are some minor trim pieces missing, and the paint is in the early stages of showing its age, although its completely recoverable (clear coat is still in good shape) I'll have some more pics up tomorrow because my camera is dead. So have I gone insane for buying it?

Kerebrus

iTrader: (30)

judging by your other selection of cars this is probably one of the best decisions you will have ever made in your life, especially because it's a 1st gen

flipside27

congrats! i dont know **** about FBs but a 7 is mos def a 7 yo!

Jeezus

iTrader: (4)

WELCOME to the club!

You will find tons upon tons of information in this forum, along with many helpful people. All we ask in return is use the search button

Upload pics of your new ride asap. We all love new faces here.

Starfox07

Sorry I thought I put them up. Here are some pictures by the previous owner.







I'll get some more when I fix my camera!

Is it ironic that I've been a member of this forum longer than anybody else thats replied? Took me a while to get one!

Jaime Enriquez

Very clean...same color as my first 7...an SE too!.

Enjoy the car. If the engine is stout, just give it a fine tune (meaning proper oil/plug changes).

105K on a rotary could be a year or two until rebuild depending on the previous owners driving/tuning methods. I may start putting away a few buck a month just in case...

A 2nd Gen Direct Fire setup, alone or with an MSD 6A/6AL is a great upgrade, as is a complete Racing Beat Streetport exhaust and intake upgrade....that will give you an extra 10-15+ hp. Keep all the stock parts so it will pass an emission check if they are required in your state.

Welcome and hummmmmmm away!

Starfox07

I'm really wanting to put a 20B in it. I still have a good amount of money left after buying it (like more than the cost of the car ) so I can play around and make repairs as I see fit. I definitely want to do ignition and exhaust, so I will start investigating that as soon as I get everything sorted.

The engine feels like its got many more miles to go, and hopefully that is the case. Although I think I might have an exhaust leak. We'll see.

EDIT: Also, the wheels have become slightly tarnished since that picture was taken and I would like to restore them to that quality. I've used nvrdull on pretty much all the metal I've polished before, but would it work on these wheels as well?

challer2000

Clean 7! Nice find. That 20b conversion will set u back a lot of coin.

Starfox07

Can it be done for less than 5k?

OnlyOnThurs

with you doing ALL the work yourself? Probably not lol

Starfox07

Damn, thats disappointing.

Can always do the T2 swap for cheap!

challer2000

Yeah doing most of the work your self you may be about 15k short.

Starfox07

You can pick up an engine for less than 4k. What else is so expensive. Custom bellhousing and engine mounts?

PercentSevenC

Why, again, would a 20B conversion be $15K? If you run the stock twins non-sequential or go NA, and you're spending more than 7 grand, you're doing it wrong. And that's if you rebuild the motor.

challer2000

I'm sorry that I said to high of a number, but I was thinking more realistic I don’t really know the total cost of a 20b conversion but given that our cars are 20+ years old you really don’t know what’s going to need replacing.
Here is a 20b for 7.6k that’s been checked.
http://www.rx7store.net/product_p/20b%20engine.htm

What about
ECU
Subframe
Fuel system
Exhaust system

Starfox07

I'd be doing an all motor street ported 20b, so I'm not lookin to make big power. Just 250-300hp naturally aspirated. But again, thats next summer at the very earliest.

CHINX74RX2

Nice find!!! Be glad u didnt get it with the UGGHHH burgandy interior!!!LOL!!!

Starfox07

The black was one of the selling points for me.

Is there a stickied thread somewhere with a checklist of sort of "new ownership" maintenance? As in what would you guys do to a car if you had just bought it. I'm new to rotaries, so I want to do it right.

PercentSevenC

That's an already rebuilt and ported engine. A good 20B core can be had for $4K or less easily. Figure another $1500 for a rebuild if you do it yourself.
For the rest:

- ECU: MegaSquirt II, about $350 for everything you need.
- Subframe: Just hack out the middle part of the stock crossmember and flip it around and re-weld it so it'll clear the oil pan. Use a 12A front cover.
- Fuel system: Walbro 255 is $100. Surge tank is around $100 plus shipping from Tweakit, but it's possible to make your own very cheaply. For the surge tank feeder pump, if you run the return to the surge tank you can get away with almost anything. Since he's got a GSL-SE pump already, I'd just use that.
- Exhaust: If he's running it NA, the header is the only tricky part. Other than that, it's just some RB 2.5" thickwall piping and bends, and a couple of universal mufflers of sufficient quality. Shouldn't be very expensive if you can weld.

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

All good points. Some will say go 3" but I'm doing a 20B all motor and I'll use RB thickwall 2.5" pipe. NA rules apply so I want high exhaust gas velocity. No need for a loud exhaust for it to flow plenty for the 300 or so HP I plan to make. Just some straight through mufflers all of the same ID should do me fine.

Starfox07

Is 250hp a realistic goal for a stock port n/a 20b?

EDIT: Is a simple cap/rotor, plugs, leads, oil change, check all fluids type tuneup sufficient? What are some other things to look for?

EDIT2: Is there any considerations while changing the oil? I'm going to do it tomorrow (did a search for oil type) but is there any rotary-specific things I need to think about?

Jeff20B

iTrader: (13)

250 for a stock port NA 20B sounds a little unrealistic. Have you seen the dinky late opening primaries these things have?

Starfox07

No, I'm not very familiar with port design/shape just yet.

Maybe a 13b-rew would be the better choice then? I'd rather not mess around with turbos if I didn't have to.

A street ported 20B could last 50,000 miles couldn't it?

EDIT:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XVrZUJZ-Ws

Thats what I want right there. Street ported 20B...right at what hp I want. I think that would be about perfect for a well balanced first gen. Not too much, but just enough.

Jaime Enriquez

13B-RE Cosmo blocks have the largest ports, stock....bigger than a very large streetport, and they can still be ported out....stick on a modified 48 IDA (minimum) and have a blast. You could get a tad over 200rwhp with this setup....for under 5K easy!

Starfox07

Ah but I love the sound of a 3 rotor! I've decided on it. But for now I'm just going to enjoy my little 100whp 13b.