Possible purchase of a FB 1982 GSL
 

Good evening. My first post except my introductory post.
I'm from Italy, and I've been lurking on the forum for some time. I'm educating myself on the RX-7 through some books.
I have two other Italian classic cars and I've finally entered discussions with a seller for a nice 1982 GSL. Wankel engine are fascinating and I like Mazda's outside the box thinking!
GSLs and let alone GSL-SE versions are quite rare in Europe. AFAIK they are all US imports as the EU cars never had the LSDiff. Is this correct?
Are there any differences between a 1982 GSL and later GSL models in terms of horsepower? I mean, is a stock 1982 US version GSL a 114 HP or so 12A motor, or the 105 hp unit?
Thanks in advance

Welcome! I hope your purchase of an RX7 is successful. I know these are rare cars in Europe, since they were quite expensive there when new, and not a lot were sold. These are enjoyable, reliable cars that would be wonderful for touring in your part of the world! I envy the places you can drive it!
If what you have is a genuine "GSL" model, that would indeed suggest it is a North American specification RX7. The RX7 was, simply, the "RX7" in Europe, as they only offered one model. In many ways tho, the European RX7 was a much better-equipped car!
The American RX7s did not have the rear seats, the headlamp washers or the cool rear rubber spoiler the European RX7 has.

But - if it is indeed a GSL, then it WILL have the leather interior and the limited-slip differential (LSD), as well as power windows. I can not find any claim that the European RX7, with all the great equipment it DID have, came with the LSD! Which is surprising. I have several European brochures for the RX7 and they make no mention of an LSD.

In terms horsepower, all the 12As had effectively the same power, there was no difference of note between the various models. GS or GSL were the same. As you note, the GSL-SE came with the larger 13B engine and fuel injection, which gave it more power.

Do carefully check your RX7 for RUST. This is a common problem!! and can be an expensive repair. Notably:
-rain gutters around the sunroof opening (lift up the rubber seal and inspect!)
-rain gutters of the rear glass hatch (lift up the rubber seal and inspect!)
-around the tray the battery sits on
-both rear fenders at the bottoms are very rust prone.
-the mount on the body of the UPPER trailing arm rear suspension should also be carefully inspected !

The you do get your RX7, please post some photos. Drop a note if you have other questions. Lots of experts here...
Best of luck on your hunt-
Stu A
80GS
Arizona, USA

do the advanced search for "rust storage bins" of FB forums and titles only. Where the upper rear trailing attaches to the body is very prone to rust, but can be repaired if not too far gone. Outside of that, these cars are pretty bulletproof against rust unless there are obvious problems.

Thank you everyone for the useful replies. I've received some pictures from the seller: the car is far away and I will only go and check once all the homework is done.
Yes the car is a GSL imported from the USA and as such it comes with LSD and it has red leather interiors with two seats only.
Apart from some scuffs on the black pin stripe, faded side windows frames, and missing rear wiper, the car seems in pretty good shape from the pictures.
However, and this is not what I had hoped for, the DEKRA report papers report it as a 73kw engine - that is, 98 Hp.
This is odd. AFAIK, most 12A FB sold in Europe are rated 115 Hp. Cars from Switzerland are quite often rated 105 Hp because, I understand, of emissions regulations.
This car was sold in Ames, in 1982 and has all GSL option A/C included.
On the selling paper, the 'Hp' field carries no data. The 74 kw is on the Dekra inspection sheet, so maybe the 98 Hp is wheel Hp taken by Dekra in order to fill a void in the papers, for import.
Would explain the value (power at the wheel vs power direct from engine).
So, if you can help: what would the proper nominal engine Hp value be for a 1982 USA GSL? 115Hp?
Thanks!

Thank you everyone for the useful replies. I've received some pictures from the seller: the car is far away and I will only go and check once all the homework is done.
Yes the car is a GSL imported from the USA and as such it comes with LSD and it has red leather interiors with two seats only.
Apart from some scuffs on the black pin stripe, faded side windows frames, and missing rear wiper, the car seems in pretty good shape from the pictures.
However, and this is not what I had hoped for, the DEKRA report papers report it as a 73kw engine - that is, 98 Hp.
This is odd. AFAIK, most 12A FB sold in Europe are rated 115 Hp. Cars from Switzerland are quite often rated 105 Hp because, I understand, of emissions regulations.
This car was sold in Ames, in 1982 and has all GSL option A/C included.
On the selling paper, the 'Hp' field carries no data. The 74 kw is on the Dekra inspection sheet, so maybe the 98 Hp is wheel horsepower taken by Dekra in order to fill a void in the papers, for import.
Would explain the value (power at the wheel vs power direct from engine).
So, if you can help: what would the proper nominal engine Hp value be for a 1982 USA GSL? 115Hp?
Thanks!

North American GSL model was rated at 100 hp. Don't concern yourself too much with the actual hp of this car,some changes in ignition,exhaust and carburetion can easily add 5-15 hp or more.
Are you located in Romania?

Thanks, that's what I needed to know
No, in Italy. Motor Valley :)
https://motorvalley.it/en/

the US car was 100hp, but the EU car, if it is one has a lot of engine differences. i believe it was 110hp, but nobody wrote anything down for the EU cars... its a thermal reactor instead of the catalyst, and the exhaust ports are larger (10 degrees later closing).

Thanks. This answers my question.
I'm going to check two very different cars in the next twenty days.
One is a stock GSL. From the pictures, it looks very nice, except some minor issues. Has A/C and leather interior. The other one is a modified one, 20 km from home, that belongs to a guy who used to rally race with his RX-7. The latter, I understand, is a road car, based on quite a few parts from his racing one. There are pros and cons - pros is obviously the serious tuning, cons are - reliability (reportedly the engine revs at 11.500 RPM, I have two other classic cars and I don't need a money pit!) and the fact that the way the law is in Italy, pretty much ANY modification is illegal :(
Price is more or less the same.

Modifications are in theory unlawful in France too, but as nobody knows those cars, and if it passes emisions and safety controls, you can mod a lot of things.
I replaced the thermal reactor with a racing beat header and Weber 45 DCOE instead of the Nikki carb, and when tuned correctly, I do pass emission checks in France.

Please let us know what you end up getting - and some photos! The stock 12A has modest HP, but is still a delight to drive and tour with. Of course, they are out-powered be all but the most simple new sedans. And the fuel economy is laughable. Still, nothing like them on the road...

Stu A
80GS
AZ, USA

true! this last sevenstock trip was interesting, we had an FD, turbo FC, a PP FB, and a completely stock FB, and on the way back a stock SA. for every leg of the trip the FB got the best mileage. the FD and the SA were basically the next best, then the FC and then the P port. my worst tank was 23mpg, and the best was 27mpg (there is a 4,000 foot downhill...). this is the best mileage i've ever gotten from a 12A car ever, by a lot, and i got my first one in 1995!

the only other thing is that the FD had 3x the power, and working a/c, as a compromise, 1mpg for all that seems fine for a 700+ mile trip

By experience I tend to think that if one owns a classic car, fuel is the least expensive thing. I have two other cars, one of them can do about 15 mpg, the other, about 23mpg, but whenever something breaks for either one, spare part prices are ludicrous - and I can do some work by myself, luckily.
The car we use most in the family to go from point A to point B is a 2004 Prius that can still do 47mpg with 270k miles and new batteries... soon it will be antique as well :D.

The car that I've seen pictures of seems to have a very nice body, except for a decayed pin stripe which has to be removed and faded black roof 'water pipes' (whatever that is called in English...). The black paint is a minor thing but I'm afraid that pin stripe removal may be a pain the neck.
Any suggestions? Is it hard to get rid of the pin stripe?

3M sells a pin stripe removal tool that you use in a drill or dremel to get rid of the old pinstripe. I've seen new ones get installed and they looked OEM.

The faded or missing paint on the window trim and gutters is easy to fix by masking them off, etching with some 0000 steel wool and/or wet sanding with 1000 or so grit, then prime with an etching primer ( the base metal is stainless and needs the primer for the paint to stick) and repaint with a satin black (not gloss unless thats what you like).

Seen the car and bought it!
Pros:
It is indeed a genuine GSL that ended up somehow in Europe with 56k real miles. Body is in real good and straight shape, original paint, matching numbers engine, totally stock, interior is pristine.
A/C, cruise, radio all work well. Both roofs available, 'brand new 'bra' (IMO never used), rear louvers. New 2016 Nexen tyres.
All paperwork of every job made on the car since it was bought is there!

Cons:
There is rust, surprisingly, on the sway bars, and the left suspension side of the rear differential case. We're dealing with that.
Electric rear mirrors work only partly, electric antenna does not - but I can do most electrical stuff on these cars.
Minor signs of corrosion on the rims. This will require polishing. Tyres have suffered from standing in the same position for some time - flat spot.

How does it drive? Well, I'm no rotary expert, but it starts, runs, turns and brakes as expected - all very straight. Revs to 7000 RPM with no issue.
One strange thing though - the engine sounds definitely changes at 4000 RPM, under load. Is this because of the 4 barrels carb?

Congratulations!

At 4000rpm, the secondaries would open in the carburetor (they are vacuum actuated) - and yes, noise changes and it should push stronger.

It all makes sense then: at no load, there's no engine noise change above 4000 RPM - it only happens under serious acceleration --> enough vacuum to open the secondary barrels.

Exactly, it would not work without load.

Sounds like it may have sat in a damp or watery area on t he left side. I would make sure to drain and refill the diff and transmission fluids to make sure no water got into either.

We need pics!

Congratulations! If your only rust complaint is on rear suspension on a 35+ yr old car then you are a lucky man!!! If you are familiar with how these DO rust, then diligence in checking "invisible" areas like:
-under hatch and sunroof weatherstrip
-inside rear bottom corners
-over the rear wheel arches (from inside, requires taillight removal see adequately)
-under battery box

Antenna: unless you are very lucky, the replacement Mast assy is no longer available (NLA). But inexpensive aftermarket complete units exist.

Agree with the Crew here: We.Need.Photos.
!!!!!!

Stu A
80GS
AZ

Here are some pictures, rusty areas included. I didn't take any pictures of the front or sides but the body is absolutely straight and clean.
The sway bars (front and rear) and one part that I can't name in English (where the shock absorber is held) are affected, as well as the left side of the diff casing. There is oil diff leakage that is being taken care of.
On the body I could not see any signs of rust - so there is some cause of concern on some of the mechanics, but the body is sound from what I can see.
I've checked under the spare wheel, it is all right - and it must have been sitting there since ever: the tyre wall writings are engraved in the liner that covers the bottom of the spare tyre dwell!
Rear wiper is there but was removed to install louvers.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...b78c754286.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...bdd04ef094.jpg
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https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...034b09524e.jpg

For here in the states that would be called a rust free car. Even the bottom engine cover has very little corrosion. Nice find.

Good to know, thanks. I'm sorry I don't have more pictures - I just took the ones I needed, and the car sales advertisement was pulled now that I've placed a deposit!
I've been watchfully waiting for a few months, and it's the only GSL that I've seen for sale in Europe. Not unsurprisingly, due to the extra import cost. T
In fact, the seller didn't even advertise it as a GSL, but I noticed the GSL tab on the side pillars....

Some more pictures.
The A pillars were stripped of paint and polished, they will have to be reverted to matt black at a certain point.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...50fc6f1f22.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...bf7f843369.jpg
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