Hey Guys, I recently discovered how the rotoary works, and fell in love with the design. Now Im ready to buy, and could do with a little help.
THe model I have been looking at is the 81-83.
I have taken a couple for a test drive so far, and have a few questions.
The one I like the best is Savanna model, with a 12a mild port, 21/2" exaust.
A couple of things I noticed. The oil was a little black. Not heavy and sludgy, just a little black. I know rotaries burn a little oil, but is blackening oil a sign of a problem?
The engine had something akin to a miss. It would idle, but you could feel it lacking a bit in the power. The owner said it was a problem with the spark leads. Does this sound right? Im not buying untill it runs right, but could this be a larger problem?
Is there anything to watch out for in particular with this model?
Is there any way to tell the condition of the seals?
Everything else seemed pretty good on the car.
Thanx in advance for the help.

 

Check under the storage bins if they are in there. Usually rusts. Also check for rust on the underside frame

 

unless the oil was just put in most likely it will be black when looked at.

ummm... things to look for as Bigjim said... check under the storage bins thats a big rust area. if the car has LSD check to see if thats good.

take a general look over the car. make sure nothing is "jimmy" rigged. look for any weld spots around joints of the car that dont look like they should be there. that is a good sign the car was in an accident and was put back together. my friend bought a 240 and didnt notice it was welded back together on the passanger side fender. like it was in a big accident. but it still was not salvage.

 

Yes - all those things and check for smoke on start up. Most smoke a little but if it doesn't clear up within a minute or two, walk away. If the car is high milage, the motor may be on it's last legs and that could be the power lose you may be feeling.
On the other hand, you have not stated the milage or how much they are asking. If they want $200 for it (and yes, I'm being a little sarcastic), you would expect all the things mentioned above andmore. If they want $4000 for it, it should not have any problems including all the above.

 

what's considered 'high mileage'? I'm looking at a 1983 rx7 on ebay with 115k on the tach and the owner claims just a little smoke on startup.

 

mine has 185k and still no smoke.

 

No smoke on mine with 222,000 miles.

I premixed this tank, in addition to my OMP working somewhat...so I'm getting some extra oil. Only smoke on this tank was startup today at 11:30am because it was the first start of the day. Pulls good in high rpms too.

If you get the car, check the OMP (Oil Metering Pump) to see if it's working. If not, you'll need to fix it or premix.

I'm new to RX-7's also...but this board and it's members are very informative, very willing to help with info.

 

rotaries only require oil change every 7k miles. sounds like someone went over that. otherwise it should just read "low". as far as the miss, the carb adjustment is very tedious, so you may want to send it to a pro. as far as any other problems, 1st gen 7s are notorious for electrical problems, so get your work manual ready! i have a 84 gsl, and a 78 savanna. they require constant attention "like an old harley" but with good maintence they've been known to last a very long time.

 

Oil color isn't the best way to determine if it needs changed, but if you do get it, change it so you know when it was changed last. It's common practice to do that on any used car. Oil, filters, radiator fluid, any questionable hoses, etc.

It's hard to tell if it was abused or not because often a car this old will not have only one owner. The little old lady you bought it from could have bought it from a teenager who ragged on it, who bought it from a mid-20's who ragged on it, etc.