80' gas tank options---and 80' speedo options
 

im about to pull the gas tank in my 80 SA and ive been trying to think of options incase the tank needs replacing. i thought about a fuel cell but seeings how a good one runs me about $600 its too much for right now. id like to just have a newer gas tank so i could have a drain plug, but i dont know what all is involved with the swap. i know of people putting SE tanks into an SA, but wouldnt the tanks be different from a carb'ed car and a fuel injected one? any help is greatly appreciated.


also, my speedo registers 85...this bugs me. esspecially since my neighbors 79 registers 120 or 130. i know i can put an S% cluster in my SA with some modifying, but is it possible to put the speedo from an SA that registers 120 or 130 and it work properly?

Not sure on the gas tank but yes the 1979 speedo fits right into the 1980. You can swap the whole instrument cluster or swap out just the speedo. No mods required.

The gauges from 1981 to 1983 will work but they illuminate amber not green.

The later tanks dont really fit right but can be put in. You can get a tank cleaned, Eastwood has a kit to do it your self. Or pick up a used tank.

thanks guys.

so if i get a cluster from an 81-83 itll be exactly like my current cluster and a direct bolt in and it illuminates amber?

The gauages are different, SA has volts in the tach, And no Oil Pressure. So far as an easy bolt in, I have no clue.

Pins do not coordinate for the entire cluster switch. A guy tried it and shorted his dash wiring. I had to pull the dash and replace the harness. Took me 12 hours!! It causes a short if you try to install the entire guage cluster in from an 81-83 into a 79-80.. What you want is a 79 cluster. 79 Rx-7 generally had the 120. Strait drop in. Same green color. Do you want me to check in my shop? I probably have some 120 79s around.

or do what i did: cut out the stow spare well and install a jeep YJ tank...


its plastic (HDPE actually)

please do so and let me know. thanks

:) :) :)

You wouldnt happen to have any '83 clusters, eh ;)
I could use a higher speedo, as I have an '81. But I do love the look on the ricers faces when I put the smackdown on there 4 banger, and then they see me 85 MPH speedo :) :) lol, and the civics speedo goes to 120, but it can only do 95! :rlaugh: (this being my DD) I dont understand it!! the slow car has a higher speedo than the fast car..... oh well, but yeah if you have an '83 cluster layin around let me know!

Aws140 and LokiRx7:

I will check for both setups tomorrow (Sat). I'm off work and will be in the shop working on a turbo project anyways. I will pm you both tomorrow night to let you know what I find.

I installed a gsl-se tank in my SA. I had to sut the spare tire well out around 2 inched. I had a local sheetmetal shop make me a new bottom and welded it in place.. works good..

gonzz. was it basically a bolt and go other than the sheet metal work?

It was pretty easy. the fuel lines on the -se tank are larger also. I just bought a reducer fitting. Still using the holley pump till i yank the drivetrain for the TII swap in a few weeks

Aws140 - as long as your gas tank is not rusted out you can clean it yourself.

Take the straps off,
there is some bolts to take off
Most important thing is to remember the fuel lines. I used the 1 hash, 2 hashes, 3 hashes to mark the lines or use three different markers.

Also remember to take off the filler tube hose


Might help to have a friend, it makes the job easier. Slowly drop the tank

Take the sending unit off and I believe there is another cover also.

drain old gas


I used a combination of oven cleaner, carb cleaner, Castrol degreaser, a toilet brush, a stick with a rag, and did this about two to three times. Put the magic potion I created, scrubbed, rinse, looked, did it again, it's very easy.


For the tubes which are usually clogged I used an extra speedometer cable, cut the head off and used it as a snake. It went through all the holes and you can actually see the crud coming out and dropping in the tank.

Then re-rinse, dry it out with a compressor.

No compressor? Use a vacuum in the blow mode and stick it in the tank, works wonders.


I have cleaned about 5 tanks and never had any issues. My crudiest tank came from a 79 sitting since 1993 and I cleaned the old coffee looking crud and it is working like a champ.


Jerry

wow!!!
 

I cant belive you didnt know that about your spedo, why it does that tells me 2 things first its american and second your an idiot, in 1980 the federal government mandated that spedometers could not exceed 85 mph this did not last long and was replaced the next year. your speedomotor is what i consider to be a rare object considering that they only had it that year, i have kept myne on my 1980 12a sa22c rx-7 anneversry x edition as a keepsake of the good old days, also it is much more convient to have a lower speedomoter like that because it is eaisier to tell how fast you are going, once you get into the big numbers its hard to tell when you are going the slow speeds!!!! and with your gas tank i would take the guys advaice above me and just have it cleaned or repaired because a whole new setup will be a mess, and the 81-85 spedo might not work quite right i would go with the 1979 model one personally if you really wanted to change it.

It gets old haveing the needle pointed at the floor all the time.

man, arent you just full of joy. i knew the reason it said 85 was due to the government. that doesnt matter. i dont care if it was a leprechaun who said they had to register 85mh, i dont want it to register just 85 mph. im glad you kept your for a keeps sake. since youre so cool maybe i should keep mine too so i can be just like you. you keep yours so you can see the lower MPH and ill switch mine so itll register more than 85, sound good?

im sorry if im being a dick, but dont call me an idiot just because i dont want my car to register 85. dont post if you have nothing positive to add.

JEsus loves you!!!!

Hey AWS140- I'm with you. Mile-after-mile of having a speedo just buried at 85 is a complete drag. Couldn't get a 79 cluster in quick enough!! Happy to walk you thru the swap off-list if you are unsure. Easy to do once you know the tricks. Easiest way by far is to swap the complete cluster, though you _could_ do just the speedo if you wanted to tear the whole cluster apart (but why??)
As to the fuel tank, might also want to look at POR15s fuel tank refinish kit (por15.com). Since there is no drain in the 79-80 tanks (thank you Mazda), you will find that the tank is _really_ difficult to manuoever down out of the car with remaining fuel sloshing back and forth! It takes two people so you don't end up bouncing the tank off the pavement!! You will want to buy a gasket for the fuel sender, BTW
With the tank out (assuming you want to keep your RX for a while), its a good time to get up around the tank area and clean up any rust issues (again, POR15 has some great rust products)
cheers
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

7aull--thanks. i found a solution for the cluster. i think im just going to drop my tank and clean it and as i believe it to be in good condition and then clean it with po15 most likely. thanks to all for their helpful advise

BULLSHIT!!! 81-83 cluster will work fine with the matching 81-83 tranny speedo gear. Some of the gauges wont work due to wiring issues but it will work.

thats why i said might, sorry if i offended you i did not mean to and i realized iut was rather harsh what i said after i read my bad i will read before posting now, the reason why i value it so much is because the cops in my town are quite anal and it is alot eaiser to make sure to obey when they got me on radar, also i live about 20 yards from the police station, jail, and court :) lucky me, luckily i dont spend much time by my house tho hhehehehehheh and why i care so much is because my car gets pulled over everytime it goes out luckly they have never cought me ..... ahh... "testing my spedomoter" or something like that.