yeh, my pass front shock is clanking in the tube. i think its probably bad, huh? does anyone have some front shocks they'd sell for the 79-80. i don't have 130 lying around anywhere for new ones.

 

I might be able to get my hands on some used ones. I'll let you know.

 

thanks. i'm trying to get this thing ready for the start of the autox on may 5. anything and everything that can and will has chapped me in the ***.

 

if you would have cought me a week ago, i would have had them for you.. but i just got rid of my parts car..

sorry man.

 

thats cool. i'm always a day late and a dollar short.

 

I have a set of front struts in from a 80 parts car, but I don't know the condition. Might not be any better than what you have now. The ones I took out of my 80 weren't that bad, but I pitched them when I pulled them out of the housings.

On a side note, have you tried classicgarage.com?

Koni Strut for Mazda RX-7 (E.O.) 1978-Oct 1979 Front KO-86-2052Retail price: $198.00classicgarage.com: $22.96
Koni Strut for Mazda RX-7 (E.O.) 11/79-1980 Front KO-86-2124Retail price: $182.00classicgarage.com: $29.96

You will have to check your car's date of manufacture to know which one to get. Probably under $80 after shippingfor new Koni's. Just a thought.

 

thanks guys. does anyone know what all has to be changed to use a 81-83 strut?

 

i want to do the same thing, so that i can use the longer struts... i think that you have to swap everything from the below the strut tower down to the breaks..

 

that will be a pain with the thread difference bs on the brakes between the sa and fb.

 

If you have an '80, then the strut housing from a '81-83 model is a bolt-in. You can also use '84-85 if you get the '84-85 rotors and bearings. (Recommended if you drive the car hard - the '79-83 outer bearings are tiny and frequently go out of adjustment)

If you have a '79, I'm not certain if the calipers will work. Probably will. If not, you'll need calipers from an '80 as they are the same as '81-85 but they have the same hydraulic threads as the '79 so you can use your current flex hoses.

 

Are those prices for real?? Do you have to be part of a club or anything or will they sell at that price to the Joe in the street with a credit card?

 

I have never tried them, as I found my struts in an ebay auction before I ever found their site. Those are the prices they have listed on their website, and no, I don't see anything stating you have to be in a club. Now whether they actually have anything in stock is an entirely different question. Someone would need to call them as I haven't.

 

jeremy's sa is a 79,
the donor parts are coming from a 84 gs

has anyone actually performed this swap?

 

Sure they have!

http://www.mazspeed.com/brakeupgrades.htm

Try to see if the '79 caliper hangers will bolt to the '84 backing plates. They probably will. If not, hunt down some '80 calipers and put them on the '84 hangers. Or, just see if the '79 backing plate (what the caliper hanger bolts to) will swap onto the '84 strut housing.

 

where can i get the adapter for the calipers?

 

adapter? what adapter?

 

from your link - "Don't get '81-'84 calipers as the hose threading is different, although adapters are available."

i have no access or money to buy some 80 calipers. i have 2 weeks till the autox to have this thing up and ready. the easiest and best thing is to use these 84 calipers and buy an adapter for the thread differences. otherwise i'm going to have to cut the line, put on an a fitting of the newer car, and reflare. the last time i tried flaring brake line myself, i was towing the car to a shop to fix all the busted bells that i had hideously done.

 

I don't know where to get them. I've been looking for some time, just all in the wrong places probably

The adapter would be to adapt the flex hose to the hardline, BTW, not the flex hose to the caliper.

Just try to see if the '79 caliper/carrier will bolt on to the '84 setup... I'm pretty sure it will. If not, see if the '79 backing plate will bolt to the '84 strut housing.

 

from the way the site talked the 84 had far better brakes, especially since i have the old slide style. i also realized that the adapter would be for the hardline right after i posted. thats better anyway as i'm sure the 84 flex lines are in better shape. do you know the thread designations of the two?

 

no, i don't, unfortunately.

The '79 calipers WORK... I mean, Ford used that design for about two decades with no problems at all.

 

ast time i pushed the pedal they worked. but if given a chance at a free upgrade, why not?

 

it's not free... you have to locate and buy the adapters

personally i prefer slide-type calipers over floating calipers, floating calipers are more of a pain in the ***, the salt gets in there and makes the calipers lock up, sliding calipers generally don't have that problem.

 

You can get the adapters anywhere that sells hydrolic fittings.....my local napa had them but i rather enjoy reflaring.....i got pretty good at it

 

ok, do you have a part #? i can't just walk in and tell them that i need an sa thread to an fb thread. they'll say i need an fu to hit the door.