Hello All, I'm new here. Yesterday I bought this 79 at a salvage auction and have only seen these 2 pics of the car. It's got some collision damage and it's an automatic.Did these cars still perform well with the auto, or did the rotary lose too much of it's shine due to being equiped with an auto ? I don't even know if it runs yet but the tranny thing is what's burning in my head, go figure. $43.00 Canadian

 

I would ask for my money back. Just kidding. I think. Welcome anyway. The auto's of couse did loose some performance. Looking for nastalgia or peformance???

 

i don't know about automatics, but my 79 gs with an exhaust seems pretty darn hot to me. Always room for improvement though

The manual rx8 has about 30 more horsepower than the automatic one, but i don't know if thats an engine detune thing, or if it's a driveline thing. Get it running if it's not already, and find out!

 

Ive seen worse! Pretty good buy for 43 canadian! If I may say so myself

 

enjoy what you've got, move into a stick when you get the opportunity, you'll love the rotary but you'll love it with stick even more.

 

$43.00..not too shabby..but I think it may be flooded!..after the tune-up(cost..approx$6500),it should run like new!..playin with ya..good luck and welcome to rotary..

 

Sweet ride man. She looks like my baby when I first got her. Cept I got it for free.
She'll need some love and attention and will run your pockets for a bit but it'll be worth it in the end.

I also had an automatic but I converted to stick along with my new engine. All it takes is a bit of time, a hacksaw,a new shifter surround, and some patience and she'll be fine.

Happy Hunting and welcome to the forums

 

The manual RX-8 uses a 6 port motor,and the automatic uses a 4 port motor.That is where the differences are.I think Mazd aplans on using a five or six speed auto pretty soon here in the US,and then the automatics will probably get the same motor as the manual.I think the lower output 4 port was used because the 4 speed autos were not up to the task of the higher redline 6 port motor with more horsepower.The funny thing is the auto cars have 5 more lb ft of torque than the manuals.Go figure.

Chris
former 04 base 6 speed Nordic green mica RX-8 owner

 

After you get the basics taken care of you could consider a 3000 rpm stall converter and a shift kit. It will make a huge difference in the launch. Your 1979 should have the 3 speed JATCO trans.
Dennis L. Cote

 

My '79 was also an auto. I converted it to a 5 speed, but will hang onto the original tranny since they only imported like 120 '79's with the auto...

 

Its not that the auto wasnt up to the power... because if it wasnt the bigger torque numbers would kill it. Its that spinning a torque converter at 9k is FAST for a torque converter. Sorry to hijack. But I do think a 9k RPM auto would be kinda cool.

Good find though! Convert to a 5 speed... a bit fustrating but not impossible.