RX-7 no. 33 for sale on eBay
01-05-09, 05:55 PM
#26
Assuming I do get and that is a big assumption at this point I will actually be shipping it via a commercial carrier, however if any of you Colorado Rotary heads want to document it and see it head out I have no problem with that and would be more than happy to let you know the time date info, just like anyone else i would love to see pics of it being loaded.
01-05-09, 09:38 PM
#30
Who got it and correct info
"78 Cosmo Girl" got it, but that is not a big deal since that is my wife. She was the one who did the bidding because dam army server won't let me EBAY
I am very excited about this.
First off, I am very sorry to my fellow rotorheads on this forum I have been very bad. There has been a lot of bad information put out by well intentioned forum members. However I did not want to correct any of that information prior to the end of the auction, after all I did want to try to get it as inexpensive as possible. Rest assured this car will cost me an arm and leg by the time I am done with it but it will not be destroyed.
Rx7 history, though the numerous history books about the Rx7s and rotaries you can find the information I am talking about, it does take some deductive reasoning because mazda does not have very good records that far back.
INFORMATION ALERT all North American Rx7s started with production number SA22C-500001. According to mazda and the sources listed below official production started in MARCH 1978. Also According to the listed sources Mazda produced 50 prototype and 50 pre-production cars. Now here is where it gets sticky Mazda says that they do not know what the vin numbers are or where.
Here comes the conjecture part, I already own SA22C-500088 which has a build date of FEB 1978 (whoa not possible, see picture below) now I will tell you this car is very weird, it has early 78 door panels with a map pocket (not possible) but they have a J-Spec part number and the same door panels were available in Japan on the early cars(and much later us cars but with a US part number) as evidenced by the early 78 sales lit. There are also other little queer things about it. At 7-stock when talking with some of Mazda people the idea was that this car was one of the preproduction cars that were essentially hand built not in the Hiroshima Plant therefore the parts may not match official production cars (official production started in 3/78).
Now another hard fact..... There (previous to the 33 car) was one other car with an earlier serial number however that owner claimed his was produced in 3/78 when it should have been made in 2/78 (see above) I asked him to take a picture of his data plate and post it for verification (i wanted to see if it was 3/78 or 2/78) he would not do so and supposedly that car was sold a good while back.
So where are we on SA22C-500033, NO MATTER WHAT IT IS ULTRA COOL, either it is a pre-production prototype, it is a pre-production car that was hand built, or one of the very first North American Production cars (BTW Rx7s in the other markets used different serial number sequencing I know cause I have a few of those too!)
I KNOW THAT EVERYONE WHO POSTED INFO GAVE THE MOST CORRECT INFO THAT THEY KNEW AT THAT TIME AND BY NO MEANS IS THIS A DIG AGAINST ANY OF THEM I ONLY WANT TO CORRECT THE INFO. IF YOU THINK THIS INFO IS WRONG PLEASE RESEARCH THE SOURCES LISTED.
Sources
*RX-7: Mazda's Rotary Engine Sportscar -Revised 2nd Edition- by Brian Long
*Mazda RX-7 Performance Handbook (Motorbooks Workshop) by Mike Ancas
*Mazda RX-7 Sports Car Color History by John Matras
*Mazda RX-7 1978-91 Gold Portfolio (Paperback) bm R. M. Clarke
*RX-7: The Mazda RX-7: Mazda's Legendary Sports Car, Plus: Racing and Winning - Le Mans and IMSA GTO Championship, 1991 by Jack K. Yamaguchi, John Dinkel, and Koichi Yazaki
*The really cool one is a Japan only one by Koby-san that I can not find the info on right now
*There was also a Japan only one that was included in the set of 1:43 scale rotary engine model set that I got from Racing Beat a few years back that had worldwide production numbers in it which were very helpful
*Additionally this information was sourced through multiple official Mazda parts manuals, microfiches and service bulletins
I am very excited about this.
First off, I am very sorry to my fellow rotorheads on this forum I have been very bad. There has been a lot of bad information put out by well intentioned forum members. However I did not want to correct any of that information prior to the end of the auction, after all I did want to try to get it as inexpensive as possible. Rest assured this car will cost me an arm and leg by the time I am done with it but it will not be destroyed.
Rx7 history, though the numerous history books about the Rx7s and rotaries you can find the information I am talking about, it does take some deductive reasoning because mazda does not have very good records that far back.
INFORMATION ALERT all North American Rx7s started with production number SA22C-500001. According to mazda and the sources listed below official production started in MARCH 1978. Also According to the listed sources Mazda produced 50 prototype and 50 pre-production cars. Now here is where it gets sticky Mazda says that they do not know what the vin numbers are or where.
Here comes the conjecture part, I already own SA22C-500088 which has a build date of FEB 1978 (whoa not possible, see picture below) now I will tell you this car is very weird, it has early 78 door panels with a map pocket (not possible) but they have a J-Spec part number and the same door panels were available in Japan on the early cars(and much later us cars but with a US part number) as evidenced by the early 78 sales lit. There are also other little queer things about it. At 7-stock when talking with some of Mazda people the idea was that this car was one of the preproduction cars that were essentially hand built not in the Hiroshima Plant therefore the parts may not match official production cars (official production started in 3/78).
Now another hard fact..... There (previous to the 33 car) was one other car with an earlier serial number however that owner claimed his was produced in 3/78 when it should have been made in 2/78 (see above) I asked him to take a picture of his data plate and post it for verification (i wanted to see if it was 3/78 or 2/78) he would not do so and supposedly that car was sold a good while back.
So where are we on SA22C-500033, NO MATTER WHAT IT IS ULTRA COOL, either it is a pre-production prototype, it is a pre-production car that was hand built, or one of the very first North American Production cars (BTW Rx7s in the other markets used different serial number sequencing I know cause I have a few of those too!)
I KNOW THAT EVERYONE WHO POSTED INFO GAVE THE MOST CORRECT INFO THAT THEY KNEW AT THAT TIME AND BY NO MEANS IS THIS A DIG AGAINST ANY OF THEM I ONLY WANT TO CORRECT THE INFO. IF YOU THINK THIS INFO IS WRONG PLEASE RESEARCH THE SOURCES LISTED.
Sources
*RX-7: Mazda's Rotary Engine Sportscar -Revised 2nd Edition- by Brian Long
*Mazda RX-7 Performance Handbook (Motorbooks Workshop) by Mike Ancas
*Mazda RX-7 Sports Car Color History by John Matras
*Mazda RX-7 1978-91 Gold Portfolio (Paperback) bm R. M. Clarke
*RX-7: The Mazda RX-7: Mazda's Legendary Sports Car, Plus: Racing and Winning - Le Mans and IMSA GTO Championship, 1991 by Jack K. Yamaguchi, John Dinkel, and Koichi Yazaki
*The really cool one is a Japan only one by Koby-san that I can not find the info on right now
*There was also a Japan only one that was included in the set of 1:43 scale rotary engine model set that I got from Racing Beat a few years back that had worldwide production numbers in it which were very helpful
*Additionally this information was sourced through multiple official Mazda parts manuals, microfiches and service bulletins
01-06-09, 12:02 AM
#31
No distributor? No thanks
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No hard feelings here, man. I just asked the question. As long as someone here with good intentions and a camera ended up with the car, that's fine by me. Giving the specifics you have could only have driven the price higher - no sense in doing that.
01-06-09, 12:33 AM
#32
Thanks for the vote of confidence. Other than the pictures I have yet to see the car in person. I will be starting a new thread detailing this car and what we do to it. The bottom line for her is this I will be trying to preserve as much as I can and get her cleaned and prepped for 7-stock this year. I have not spoken with any of the organizers yet but with this being 2009 and the rx7 starting with 79 model I hope that they are doing an anniversary show aside from the car that Mazda owns (a j-spec one) this is the oldest one i know of and should be one of the prime cars but we will see. If I have my way Glenn Roberts will do the resto on it he is the one who did the cosmo 110s in AZ great guy.
01-06-09, 08:27 AM
#35
Congrats! You got a fantastic deal at just over $1,200 for a low mileage SA in what looks to be excellent restorable condition, and a rare SA at that!
That one even had me tempted, although it would have been the end of my marriage and I had no idea how I'd get it back to GA. (Take a bus up to Denver, drive it back?)
Here's a few reference photos of a mint original 79 owned by Andy, one of the OGTA folk:
That one even had me tempted, although it would have been the end of my marriage and I had no idea how I'd get it back to GA. (Take a bus up to Denver, drive it back?)
Here's a few reference photos of a mint original 79 owned by Andy, one of the OGTA folk:
01-06-09, 10:10 AM
#36
Hard feelings? Never! So long as we all act in good faith and bring our best info to the table, should never be any hard feelings at all. I'd much rather find out I was wrong about some fact, than go on believing the wrong info is right.
Being an engineer by trade, facts are damn near sacred for me.
Echoing the above, really happy to hear that this one got safely into the hands of someone who appreciates its real worth. Wish I could have been a player, but it wasn't in the cards - - like Ray, I'd be lucky to get away sleeping in the garage if I adopted another 4-wheeled kitten just now.
Think for a minute, folks; this car ended up DONATED TO CHARITY. It could have just as easily ended up as scrap, as its generic blue-book (& therefore tax donation) value is almost nil, due to age.
Rotarydude, please, before and after work begins, photograph the living hell out of this car, inside, outside, everywhere, every stage... most of the truly original Mazda 1st-gen tech photos are either lost to history, or copies of copies of copies made on crude 80's repro gear. (You should see my late-run 80 FSM, straight from Mazda - - most of the pictures are almost unuseable.) Go CSI on its ***.
Restored to its original glory, it should easily be worth several times what you paid for it. & it is absolutely a piece of automotive history.
Congrats!
Hey, regarding #88; is that data plate pop-rivetted on the doorframe? That in itself is sort of odd, isnt it? (On the 80's its held to the firewall by two philips screws). Does it also have the serial etched in the firewall, as in later cars?
And the date and serial are debossed (stamped) intead of embossed (raised), which is also differnt from the 80's. Wonder when that changed?
Being an engineer by trade, facts are damn near sacred for me.
Echoing the above, really happy to hear that this one got safely into the hands of someone who appreciates its real worth. Wish I could have been a player, but it wasn't in the cards - - like Ray, I'd be lucky to get away sleeping in the garage if I adopted another 4-wheeled kitten just now.
Think for a minute, folks; this car ended up DONATED TO CHARITY. It could have just as easily ended up as scrap, as its generic blue-book (& therefore tax donation) value is almost nil, due to age.
Rotarydude, please, before and after work begins, photograph the living hell out of this car, inside, outside, everywhere, every stage... most of the truly original Mazda 1st-gen tech photos are either lost to history, or copies of copies of copies made on crude 80's repro gear. (You should see my late-run 80 FSM, straight from Mazda - - most of the pictures are almost unuseable.) Go CSI on its ***.
Restored to its original glory, it should easily be worth several times what you paid for it. & it is absolutely a piece of automotive history.
Congrats!
Hey, regarding #88; is that data plate pop-rivetted on the doorframe? That in itself is sort of odd, isnt it? (On the 80's its held to the firewall by two philips screws). Does it also have the serial etched in the firewall, as in later cars?
And the date and serial are debossed (stamped) intead of embossed (raised), which is also differnt from the 80's. Wonder when that changed?
01-06-09, 05:07 PM
#37
Rotarydude, please, before and after work begins, photograph the living hell out of this car, inside, outside, everywhere, every stage... most of the truly original Mazda 1st-gen tech photos are either lost to history, or copies of copies of copies made on crude 80's repro gear. (You should see my late-run 80 FSM, straight from Mazda - - most of the pictures are almost unuseable.) Go CSI on it...
Congrats!
Hey, regarding #88; is that data plate pop-rivetted on the doorframe? That in itself is sort of odd, isnt it? (On the 80's its held to the firewall by two philips screws). Does it also have the serial etched in the firewall, as in later cars?
And the date and serial are debossed (stamped) intead of embossed (raised), which is also differnt from the 80's. Wonder when that changed?
Congrats!
Hey, regarding #88; is that data plate pop-rivetted on the doorframe? That in itself is sort of odd, isnt it? (On the 80's its held to the firewall by two philips screws). Does it also have the serial etched in the firewall, as in later cars?
And the date and serial are debossed (stamped) intead of embossed (raised), which is also differnt from the 80's. Wonder when that changed?
Regarding #88 it was supposed to be on its way to Glenn for the same thing (well 33 is taking its place right now) You asked about the data plates, here is the poop on all the early Rx7s (till about 8 or 9/78 the drivers door tag was metal and pop riveted in place like the one I posted, then they switched to the door post sticker, all of these cars still have an underhood tag as well that is screwed in place, the vin number is also embedded (stamped) on the firewall, real early cars have it on the drivers (left) side the later ones it is on the passenger (right) next to the screwed in data plate. Additionally if this is not enough there is a vin number data plate riveted to the firewall at the base of the windshield this changed sometime in 78-80 to being riveted to the defroster grill vents.
hope this helps DAVE
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