grandgarson

Hi everyone. I just got a 1980 RX7 about a month ago. I've wanted one of these since I was in high school, and 15 years later it ended up being the best deal on a car when I needed one. Now after driving it I'm kicking myself for not going out of my way to find one sooner.

It's defiantly not the nicest 1st gen around, but considering I got it for $750 I'd say it's pretty nice. As you can see from the pictures it's actually a fairly clean car.

It had just rained before I took the pics so I couldn't get a decent pic of the driver side because there was too much glare. Also, from the pics you can't really see that it really does need new paint. And no, you're eyes are not playing tricks on you, my apartment number really is 666.

So far the idea I have for the car is to paint it a dark metallic blue with black trim and tint the windows, so it will have a pretty solid black and blue theme. I plan on redoing the interior with black and blue as well. Here is the vinyl that I plan to use. I plan on using the Classic Black and the Racy Blue. When I get the vinyl to redo the seats I plan to get extra so that I can use it on some of the trim in the car as well (door panels, dash inserts, ect). I am somewhat thinking about using some of the Classic Black to wrap some of the exterior trim, but that will depend on how durable the vinyl is. I'll have to play around with some of it when I get it and see how durable it is when glued solidly to something (my hope is that with the right glue it will strengthen the vinyl). I have my doubts, but I hope it will work as it would be really nice to have it all match perfectly instead of buying parts here and there that somewhat match.

Though I have been getting things like this together as ideas for things to do, there are some other things I will need to do first like new brakes, and probably a new exhaust in a while since I don't think the person that had it before me knew to put an exhaust designed for high temp on it. When I got it he told me that he had put new glasspack mufflers on it, but at the time I didn't know to ask if the exhaust parts were designed for high temp or not. Also, I don't have a lot of money to spend on it so it will be done piece by piece as I get the money to do it.

With that said, any ideas are greatly appreciated. I'm sure there are a lot of ideas out there for things to do that I've never thought of and it's always nice to have a few different ideas on how to do each little part and use the one that I think will work the best with the rest of the car. Also, here's a link to a thread that I started for an idea that I plan on doing for the gauges.

I'll be adding more pics as I take them, and will keep this thread updated as to where I'm at in the process. I plan to get a pretty solid number of pictures before I really start changing things and continue to take pics as I go to show a true progression of the fix up.

workinprogress80

your horn button is upside down....

grandgarson

THINGS TO DO LIST

First on list

- Fix brakes (the brakes aren't really a big problem right now, but the pedal is a little weak and the last thing I want is to neglect them and have them go out. I know it needs new rear brake shoes and I'm guessing the rear cylinders need replaced as well, as when I stop, if I sit at a light for a while my food does go down on the pedal a little. Also, like many older cars, the parking brake defiantly needs adjusted.)

- Replace gas shocks on the hatch (not a necessity, but it's a pain using a pole to hold up the hatch)

- Get new key made (The only key for the car has a few teeth broken off on it. It works in the ignition, most of the time, but won't lock or unlock the doors. There's a pic below of the key and if you're interested here's a link to the site I got the keychain from. Can't tell from my pic, but it really is a pretty cool key chain. I just hope getting a new key made will fix the problem as the driver's side door lock doesn't look so great. Might swap the driver and passenger side locks if the driver side has issues.)

- New clutch & throwout bearing (The clutch doesn't feel bad, but you can defiantly hear the throwout bearing if you take it out of gear and take your foot off the clutch, so I figure just to avoid having to deal with the clutch later on I'll just get both replaced when I get the money together instead of just getting the cheap part done)

- New exhaust (I don't plan on porting the engine, but I do plan on upgrading the exhaust and intake to let it breath a little better and bring out a little more power. Any suggestions as I don't know a whole lot on this subject. I suspect that I will need to replace the exhaust since I don't think the exhaust that is on it was meant to be installed on a car with a rotary engine and I'm guessing that it will ultimately fail under the heat.)

- Fix driver's side window (I haven't taken the door panel off yet to see what's going on, but I'm guessing that the clip that holds the window to the assembly is either broken or not connected right. Below is a picture of what happens when I roll up the window. As you can see it doesn't stay on the window track and catches before it rolls up. It's easy to get to roll up by using my right hand to push the glass back into the track from around the front of the window frame. If someone knows for sure what the problem is I would greatly appreciate knowing as that will surely save me a lot of time from tearing it apart, figuring out what's wrong and then getting what I need to fix it and then tearing it apart again.)

- Replace door & window seals (the rubber seals around the driver's door are almost completely deteriorated and need to be replaced. The window seals need replaced as well, and you can hear the window rattle some when you close the doors).

Next on list

- Reupholster seats (they're not bad with the seat covers that are on them, but once I get the rest of the car in solid working order I'll start making it pretty).

- Redo carpeting (again the carpet isn't bad, but I plan on redoing it all and putting down some nice sound/heat dampening material. Also, I will be redoing the section in the back around the tail lights. Right now when you put it in reverse the reverse lights shine through the interior in the car.)

- Door panels (The door panels are too bad, but the driver's side has some patches on the top where you can see it has been repaired. Also, I may install power windows and locks, and if I do that I'll redo the door panels to accommodate that. I'll also be lining the doors with the sound/heat dampening material.)

- Fix up dash (Right now the dash has a dash cap that was never installed correctly so it's basically just sitting on the dash. Also, the center consul that houses the stereo has been cut up to put the extra gauges in. I plan to either put the gauges somewhere else and restore the center consul or redo that section to look right.)

- Gauges (I plan to redo the gauges to all match. This includes the stock gauges and the after market gauges. They will all be blue with black numbers and backlit. I also plan to use the same materials to make a light up gear shift to match and make all of the other things in the car that light up match. Like the ring around the cigarette lighter, which is not the stock lighter. It is a small BMW style lighter that I custom made out of a few lighters several years ago and have liked it so well that I've removed it from each vehicle I've sold before I've sold it.)

grandgarson

lol, yea, I know. I noticed that the day I got it when I was driving it home. When I noticed it I reached down to turn it and it honked the horn and I felt like an idiot, as I was in the middle of town surrounded by traffic. Since then it really hadn't crossed my mind again until you mentioned it. Thanks for the reminder. I need to remember to get that turned around one of these days. I'm guessing that I'll probably have to take it off and remount it in the correct orientation since when I tried twisting it, it just honked the horn. I'll probably do it when I finally get around to lining the steering wheel up correctly. When the wheels are straight the steering wheel is cocked to the right some.

blwfly

iTrader: (4)

awsome looks promising.

paganizondadude

iTrader: (1)

I have basically the same car. Mine is blue though.

1980REX

front mount oil cooler, thats not the original engine, maybe you'll luck out and the fm mite still be there. awsome find man... good luck finding part there hard to find for an 80 (i've got one). Black Dragon Auto has alot of stuff free catalog too.

paganizondadude

iTrader: (1)

That is an awesome website!!!

grandgarson

I'm not surprised if it's not the original engine. All I know about the engine is that it was rebuilt about 50,000 miles ago, and it is a 12a. As far as my knowledge of rotary engines goes, if you asked me this time last month I wouldn't have been able to even tell you how they were different from other engines. Once I decided I was going to buy this car I started researching, and know a fair amount of general things, but not to the point where I can look at it and say oh, this is different or that is different from what it should be for that car. I did stumble across Black Dragon a couple of weeks ago and have the catalog on the way.

One thing that I have been looking into, and maybe someone here can help me with this, is whether it would be a bad idea to switch out the oils in the car with Royal Purple oils. I know that Mazda has said not to use synthetic oil, but from what I've found online it seems like the issue was with early synthetics not burning cleanly and not being able to properly lubricate the seals right. From what I've read it sounds like those things are no longer an issue with some of the newer synthetic oils, and that it would actually help things run cooler.

I've read the usual FAQs that recommend not using synthetics, and I've read the FAQ on Royal Purple's website, and found some other sites supporting using Royal Purple in rotary engines, so what I'm hoping is to hear from anyone who has any first hand knowledge in this matter. Good or bad. Also, I'm thinking that even if I don't end up using it in the engine, I'll probably still use it in the transmission and rear end, unless there is a reason I shouldn't use it there.

FirebirdSlayer666

iTrader: (3)

An SA cluster with S2 speedometer/odometer? That's a first for me. Also looks to be a late S2/S3 engine. It does look very clean. Don't let some of these guys tell you any different, finding parts isn't hard at all. You just have to not be lazy and post a thread in the for sale section asking for parts. I like the apartment number by the way

7aull

iTrader: (2)

Welcome- Lots of great help and info here.
Can't speak for those who use synth oil in their engines here, but a lot of folks on the Forum seem to like Castrol GTX, as long as you are faithful about 3000mi oil changes. I use synth oil in all my vehicles' engines EXCEPT the '7. As to synth in diff and tranny, Redline is very popular too and I and a lot of folks here use that. Royal Purple also popular.

As to where to put your $$ first into your SA (what we call the 79, 80 RX7s), I would consider basic mechanical stuff first before the financial hit on a paint and interior refurb. Unless you KNOW the car has had recent service, I would suggest a thorough engine cooling overhaul:
-pull and chem flush the rad, new hoses including HEATER hoses(!! these fail and take motors with them!!), thermostat. Rotaries are bullet proof but demand a top-condition cooling system. More so than boingers do.
-Your idea to drain and change engine/tranny/diff is a good one
-CHANGE YOUR FUEL FILTER!! its in front of driver's rear wheel. $3 item - should be done yearly.
-flush brake lines and cylinders - this stuff is supposed to be changed every 3 years - most cars its DECADES old. The fluid's moisture content is rusting your brakes system right now! Clutch fluid too-
-door weatherstrip: great idea. Excellent time to pull door panels anyway and sound-insulate them if you want to. I used Second Skin products: http://www.secondskinaudio.com/
I think they superior to the over-hyped DynaMat stuff, but read for your self. Likewise there WILL be rust issues in the doors, especially along the bottoms, so be prepared to do some cleaning up there. POR15 makes excellent rust-inhibitor products. Have done all this stuff in my car and happy to post you some pics of my adventures if interested. PM me.
Window had only 2 adjustment bolts once panel is off so re-aligning window should be easy unless something is broken (there is a nylon guide piece that can break). Lube window mechanism while you have it exposed...
-your taillight gaskets are SHOT, BTW Replace ASAP and eliminate a big water and exhaust leak area.
-if your brave enough to pull your battery and its SHELF: big rust area there: POR15 to the rescue again.
-replacement console radio panels: ebay has these for sale from time-to-time. Members here may have parts cars they are stripping too.

Oregon is major RX7 territory so keep an eye out for a PARTS CAR. Try to stick with the 79, 80 since much of the trim is unique to these cars. Later models will not yield nearly as many usable parts. I have managed to find 4 here in Alaska so there should be prime pickin's down there.

Finally - ANYTHING that has been done and talked about on the Forum is likely in the Archive section - so check that out too.

enjoy!
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

grandgarson

Yea, I fell in love with it on the drive home from Grants Pass where I bought it. I stopped by the store that I work on my way home and I think a part of me forgot to make a copy of my schedule for the week on purpose so that I would have to drive back after I got home. After that drive, I pretty much decided it wasn't just another car to get me around for a while it was defiantly something I was going to be fixing up.

grandgarson

I agree and do plan to go through the entire car, and most of that stuff I see as going through it and replace a hose here flush out some liquids there, and I've already replace a couple of hoses under the hood that looked like they'd seen better days. And that is also why I have the brakes listed as the first thing on the list. My plan is to get enough Ford brake fluid (even though I would never own a Ford, I guess they make a damn fine brake fluid) to completely flush the brake system and have that done when I get the brakes done. For the most part the things to do list that I put up there was pertaining to the things that were either going to cost me a lot of time to get done or a lot of money to get done. Though the paint and interior won't cost me too much money since I'll be doing it all myself (well, once I get a sewing machine to do the interior with. lol)

Thanks for the helpful tips, especially the one about the fuel filter. That always seems to be something I never think about in cars I've owned unless it has problems or I see it and start to think about how long it's been since it's been changed (most of the cars I've owned had inline fuel filters under the hood). I'll have to take a look at that site since I haven't really put much thought into what material I'm going to go with for the sound/heat dampening.

glewsRx

iTrader: (1)

I completely agree with everything stu said. Get in there and clean clean clean. Change your fluids for pete's sake!
And don't forget to call you're mom and tell her you love her.

grandgarson

Why would I want to worry about it still being there if it wouldn't be for this engine? Does it work better than the type that is under the oil filter?

From what I've found, it looks like the engine must be from an 83 or newer 1st gen, also it looks like when the new engine was put in they put the speedometer from the other car in it too. Not sure if that means that it's got the newer transmission in it as well (don't know if the gear for the cable would be different), or if it was just that it had the 85mph speedometer and was swapped out for the 130mph.

Today was a nice day, so I took some more pics. In these you can really see what I was talking about with it needing paint.

Kentetsu

Best places for:

Performance parts and some stock parts: www.re-speed.com

Stock parts: www.rockauto.com

And yes, clean everything. It costs almost nothing, but will improve the value and enjoyment of your car instantly.

7aull

iTrader: (2)

Yah, 80 came with ultra-lame 85mph speedo. One of the first things I did was swap in an instrument cluster out of a 79 (120mph) - same unit, same style, easy swap - certainly more "original" looking than the 83 guage. As to tranny: if the shifter comes up thru the stock hole in the floor, its a 79/80 gearbox - 81+ the shifter is set back further, requires chopping the tunnel, console to fit... ugh.
Paint - hmm, could that just be the CLEAR coat that's looking so crappy?? Might be surprised what a professional polishing via a detail shop might do! If you drop by a reputable shop, the guys might take a buffer to it on the spot and see if the paint under neath will "pop"... worth a shot.
oook! - someone tacked on an 81+ bumper to your ride.... THAT would be the first thing to revert...
Looks to be a worthy project.
best of luck!
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

grandgarson

I assumed that was the reason that they swapped the speedometer, and it made sense that they used the newer one since I'm guessing that they had a parts car that was newer. Seems like all the parts that don't match are at least fairly consistent. Must be the original transmission. No mod on that part of the center console, thank god, since someone butchered the other part putting in after market gauges. Below you'll see a before and after picture showing what it looked like when I got it and how I've temporarily made it look at least a little better. The gauges where screwed directly into the console with L brackets.
Also, I eliminated the AMP gauge that wasn't hooked up anyway. You can see the holes from the screws next to the switches and the cigarette lighter. I'm thinking seeing if I can find an original center piece and then move those gauges up into the cluster when I redo the gauges, but I'll have to see how things go once I get into the cluster (not something I'm going to be doing any time soon, but am planning things like that out so that I know where I'm headed with all the different parts).

Not really worth the effort, since I really don't like the color. It's not bad enough that I have to worry about rust, so I'm just going to stick with my original plan of slowly going through the body and smoothing out any dings, then when I get the time I'll repaint it.

Yea, and it's not the only problem with the bumper. The paint match is good, but the prep work was just garbage. It must have been a real mess, cause you can just glance at it and see the low spots in the surface. They did a decent job of getting it to work on the passenger side, but the driver's side looks horrible where the bumper meets the fender. Still haven't had a chance to go out and take a look at what all that guy has for parts cars, but I'm hoping that he has an SA with at least a bumper that I can work with.

pottsfab

Nice ride man

7aull

iTrader: (2)

ebay has those console panels every few months. Needless to say, the 79-80's are unique. Available in black and gray (and I see you have both ) A bumper will likely need to come locally. You'll likely need the mounting brackets too.
Unless you are a genius with plastic you'll never get non-OEM gauges into the main cluster - its all housed in one unit, tho its easy to disassemble to swap out OEM components. All the wiring is routed to a single printed circuit on the back of the cluster housing, so adding/deleting wiring is, well, challenging, to be kind...
Get your self:
-factory service manual - ebay $10-$25, again, model yr specific
-factory wiring diagram - "
(the Haynes manual will do till you find these)
-go on line and link up with the downloadable PDF files of the 79-80 (its combined) Factory Parts Manual - NOW you can see all the bits, what you need and how they all go together - _invaluable_!!! Check the archive. If you can't find them, PM me and I can email you my copies...
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

grandgarson

Yea, that's what I expected to find. Most cars of that age are the same as far as having the basic board for the wiring to the cluster. I've already addressed this a little bit on another thread specifically about the gauges. The plastic part of it will be no problem what soever. I've worked on dash clusters before and never had a problem with that. It's always the board that makes things a little tricky. I've put non OEM gauges into the cluster of many vehicles with that same style of cluster before.

As far as the consul goes, I plan on wrapping a lot of the inserts in the dash with a carbon fiber style vinyl, so I'll probably just make a replacement pocket like the one that was there, since it will be covered by the vinyl. I figure I can do that easily enough with fiberglass.

I may know someone that has a bumper for it. It's just a matter of getting a chance to see what year cars he has.

I've already downloaded the factory service manual and the parts manual (the place I downloaded them from had the parts manuals listed as two different files, one for 79 and one for 80, but it may have been the same thing for both downloads). I just haven't had a chance yet to really look through them. I also downloaded the newer 1st gen manuals since this car obviously has several things in it from an FB.

paganizondadude

iTrader: (1)

Where did u download them from?

grandgarson

I don't remember where I downloaded it from, but it ended up it was the same file, it just had two different links to it and the download manager that I have just automatically renamed the second file so it didn't overwrite the first one.

djessence

u caan get fsm in the link in my sig

grandgarson

Finally got around to taking the door panel off today. The person I got it from had completely misaligned the window. He even drilled a new hole for the bolt that holds the front window guide. Looks like the front guide had gotten a little bent from years of use and all I had to do was bend it back and then adjust all the bolts back to where they had originally been (you could clearly see where they originally were). The funny part about this is that when I got the car from him he even made the comment that he just couldn't figure out the windows on the car and that he had tried many times to get it to work right. lol