I looked at a 1980 RX-7 that belongs to a friend from work. The car has sat for 2 years. It has not been started in a year or so. Today, and on the last time they tried to start it, the engine would turn over, and even catch for a minute, but would not stay running.

I cleaned the plugs and applied dielectric grease to the plug wires on both ends. I looked over the carb, and the choke is working. There is fuel dribbling in (but not squirting) from one of the jets on the main bbl, and barely a drop from the 2nd main bbl (the ones that are choked). The other two jets did not have any fuel activity.

I do not know rotaries very well, and I am very inexperienced with carbs. I suspect a rusty tank and clogged fuel filter, or perhaps a distributer that is out of adjustment. I asked if the car ever backfired, and the owner said that the last time that the car ran, it did backfire until it warmed up.

Any ideas on potential gremlins out there?

 

There are some great write ups in the FAQ section as well as the 1st Gen archive section.

Read those and give it w whirl.