I'm looking to buy a 1st gen Rx-7, and I was wondering what would be considered a fair price for a clean running FB. I found one that was clean and has 73000 original miles for 900; it seems like a good deal to me. Is there anything in particular I should look out for before I take a look at it.

 

as long as its not rotted out in the quater panels i would steal it

 

yeah, bad paint, rusty body or bad motor could = money pit. Mileage is great IF it isn't because (1) the speedo has spun around once or (2) the car has sat for years.
Rust spots:
-rear behind wheels, and if its really bad, it will start working its way up around the arches above the wheel - run away!! Frankly I personally have NEVER seen any RX7 without _some_ bubbling around the bottom rears. The trick is to figure out how bad it is. replacement panel pieces now available from UK.
-water (and therefore, rust) can collect under the interior rear storage bins behind the seats. rust here destroys major frame components, etc so inspect closely.

engine:
- coolant leaks into oilways signals a rebuild. This is most apparent on a COLD START (so be wary if you arrive to look at the car and the engine is warmed up). A sitting car with this leak will have coolant slowly (as in, overnight) leak into the combustion chambers, so that on cold start, there is a lot of WHITE-ish smoke with a distinct sweet/coolant smell.
-check visually the block to see an overt signs of oil leaks. Esp around the block on either side of the oil filler neck. These is a common seal failure here where the housings meet. This does NOT have to be terminal. Mine has done it - a BIT - for years. But if its excessive....
-drive it. Obvious. Watch for BLUE smoke on hard acceleration. Rotaries ALWAYS smoke blue a LITTLE, since they burn oil directly by a pump metering oil into the combustion chamber, esp on start up. Just don't confuse with WHITE coolant-type.
-finally - spend $100 and have a mazda dealer run an engine compression test to tell health of inside of motor. Special tool; reg compr tester won't work.
Having said all this, $900 is a steal if its solid...

Keep us posted. great forum here, lots of info and help-

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

 

I spoke to the owner again and he said the car had sat for a few years and he recently started driving it again. He sounded like an older guy; he said he was the second owner and that he had to wd40 the engine a bit to get it running, and it works fine. He said it puffs a bit of blue smoke and thats it. The Tachometer stopped working when he was driving on a bumpy road? Is that an easy fix I'm nervous to drive the car without a tach.

 

some years run off the trailing plugs. what year is the RX your talking about. If its the trailing plugs. replace plugs, cap and rotor, plug wires. if it still not fixed check coils, and ignitor

 

Tachs on 1st-gens run off the coil signal, not the plugs.

Tach connection is usually just a push-on connector at the coil, and can get knocked off.

Could be a simple loose connection, could be more complicated.

 

Sounds like a good deal. Any updates on this car? Also, I'm sure you can get accurate compression readings with a normal piston engine compression tester. You just have to take out the schrader valve and watch the bumps with a quick eye. That is how Jose from Jose's Rotary in Shreveport LA showed me how to do it.

 

I asked him to check under the wheel wells, and in the bins behind the seats. He said that the paint was still there on the wheel wells and that the bins were dry without mold, and didnt have any smell to them so hopefully no rust problems. The car is an 82 I'm going to see about making the 10 hour drive there and back on this friday to go pick it up; I talked him down to 750. I'm not sure how to do a compression check is there a way to tell if the car is doing well by just driving it or will it mask compression problems after it heats up? I'm super excited to rejoin the REX community after leaving my FC behind. Once I get the car I'm thinking Tune up, oil change and replacing the suspension bushing. Any other advice?

 

If the rust isn't bad then you won't see it under the wheel wells. I have never had a 7 without rust under the bins. It is a bad spot for those cars where two pieces of metal touch against each other but are only held together with tac welds. It is easy for water to rest between these two pieces of metal. The inside piece of sheet metal is the thinnest and the first to rust through. It is easily found after removing the rear bins.

I just got done cutting out the rust out on my '85 GSL-SE. It wasn't too bad but this car was very well taken care of. All I had to do was cut out the rust with a dremel and grinder. Then I primed all the bare metal. Now I just have to weld in another piece of sheet metal. This is a very easy repair unless there is a lot of rust. If you can't see it from behind the wheel then it might not be too bad.

Like the others have said, if it isn't rusted up this price is a steal. If the body is in great shape then it is worth it even with a bad engine. Just listen to the car run first then drive it. if it runs good then don't worry about checking the compression. You can do that later. A regular compression tester will work. First make sure the car is warm. Then all you do is pull the leading plugs and check the compression there. Take out the schrader valve for the test. Also disconnect the fusible link for the ignition so the car doesn't try and start. Have one person turn the engine over and hold the gas down while another person watches the compression tester. You are looking for even bumps on the tester. I forget what the compression on the 12a is supposed to be. Probably around 90 psi or so. The FSM should say for sure. If you have two low bumps and one high then that indicates a bad apex seal. If you have one low bump and two high bumps that indicates a bad side seal. The front and rear rotars should have similar compression rates.

For more information read the FAQ section. That one section will be your best source of information. I have been driving these cars for 11 years and I still read from the FAQ section. There are many many upgrades for these cars there. A lot of them don't cost anything. There is also a lot of great advice there. Good luck with the car and great find.

 

I bought the car I'm going to start a new thread about my restoration thanks for the advice.

 

Well, it goes without saying that we need to see some pictures of the car. Congrates by the way.