Heyo,

I've been registered here for maybe two years now and may finally be becoming a part of your family. Let's see, currently in my stable is a 1997 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 and a 1999 Kawasaki ZX9R, now I'd like to own a daily driver. If I get this RX-7, I won't be modifying her at all. The only thing she needs is an Air Conditioner and a carb rebuild. The guy said the rebuild costs around $50 from CB Performance in CA. It's got a 13B motor with 30,000 miles on it.

My questions are:

Is this a good buy for under $2,000?
Would the rebuild cost around $50?
Where can I find an A/C system for a decent price?
With no modding, other than maybe for show, is this model reliable with the right maintaining?

Thanks!

 

1. Yes. Assuming the only issues are usual 20 year old car issues. Faded paint, minor trim missing, in need of an oil change and tune up, etc are normal for a car this old.

2. Egh. Bare parts are about that...whaaaait whoa. You say its a GSL-SE?? That should have a fuel injected 13b. So either someone got thier terms mixed up, it is not a GSL-SE, or it has been modified. Those may not be red flags, but you should look twice. I'm going to take a guess that it is either the throttle body that needs the rebuild or the engine has been converted to a carbureted intake. Personally, I would not buy a car that has had that drastic of a change to its intake to use as a daily driver. It is also possible that it got a 12a transplanted into it. 12a's are carbureted, as are 13b's from other RX series cars.

3. Free. You roll the windows down and drive the car like it was meant to be driven. If you must have A/C, you are better off finding a car that has it than retrofitting it to another one. Especially since you want a daily, not a project.

4. Absolutely. The maintenance on an RX-7 is a bit different from a pistion engined car, but no more difficult. The biggest two issues are letting it warm up properly and keeping the oil topped up. The Mazda rotaries drip a bit of oil into the combustion chamber to keep things lubricated.

I'm guessing that with only 30,000 miles the engine has been rebuilt at some point. Since it has survived this far I'm willing to wager that it was rebuilt correctly.

 

If you need A/C check at the dealer for the kit price. I think the guys use to install them in about 3 hours flat rate. You could do it in a weekend easy. Check on one wirh R-134 as opposed to R-12v

 

I ripped my a/c out in about 1/2 an hour, I'm sure I could put it back in in about an hour and a half. Look on e-bay for the a/c components, usually cheap. I had a gsl-se with a carb bout 3 years ago, loved it. Go for it if you can get it under 2 grand.

 

Is you handle Twinsen from the game LBA?

 

gsl-se's dont have carbs to be rebuilt, EFI BABY!!!!

 

Consider this, I got my 85 GSL-SE a year ago. Paint is great, one rust spot. Targa top, one minor dent in the hood. Lights wouldn't go up and down, but I fixed that for $15 in parts from the bone yard. New tires, stereo. $900.
Although mine had 168,000 on it! Big difference from 30,000. IF that is the original milage then yea great deal, but like the others have already pointed out, SE = EFI. If not then changes had to have been made. Consider what the guy used it for. Then go from there. It all boils down to how bad you want the car.

 

but cant se's be swapped to carburated? not saying it is, but i dont see why they couldnt?

 

They most certainly can be. Anyone with a little bit of time can modify a car that is just as reliable as the original. There are also a lot of people that can make mistakes or cut corners to simply finish. The latter is a risk, more for a daily than a project.

As a daily driver, this car will need routine maintenance. Having non-OEM parts makes that difficult both for the DIY mechanic and professional shops. When your daily driver breaks it has to be fixed NOW, if you have to root around for parts that aren't listed in the catalogs or guess at what is on there it takes more time and money.

 

Yeah, but even if it's a reliable mod the car has plumetted in value. Unless of course all original fuel-injection components have been kept and can be swapped back in.

Mint original GSL-SEs command the highest prices. But modded ones can be quicker. The cost of the mods DO NOT = greater appraised value--- you lose on both the modification costs AND the drop in value, but you may gain in the performance department. Your choice as to which is more important.

But the worst is a "ricer" mod: A 12A-powered GSL (carbureted) that some loser has pasted a GSL-SE badge onto the left rear panel above the tail light hoping to snag an unsuspecting su... er, buyer.