I am considering picking up an 83.gsl with low miles. It is an auto which is why the price is right I imagine but my thought was so a Manual swap and the car suddenly becomes much better. So what do you guys think the parts for the swap I have already located for a reasonable cost but is it worth the trouble.

 

Yes, it is.

 

Yes, Yes it is.

 

You should commenserate with Oaky8, he is in the middle of doing this exact swap.

 

Nice quick replies this is an active community.
It Seems like a fairly straightforward swap and I think the car would be somewhat more valuable so that when I decide to move onto something else I would come out financially.
You guys tell me what would a low mileage car like this be worth once it was a manual?
What should I be looking for when I go get this thing? Obviously rust is easy to spot and this car should be without those issues.
What about the engine ? Is there some issues that may be associated with the lack of use on the rotary?

 

Engine...

Check compression, minimum of 80 PSI requires rebuild ASAP. Check for ease of starting, you should be able to start it without the choke, 2 pumps of the gas pedal and turn the key, pull the choke to idle at 2000 RPM until warm. Engine idling should be between 750 - 900 RPM, 1000 RPM tops. Check for air bubbles in the coolant reservoir. Check for steam and oil smoke from the exhaust. Check quality of the gasoline, oil, and coolant. Check hose condition.

Body...

Common rust will be located under the storage bins inside the car. The same rust spots can be spotted in the rear wheel wells holding the rear suspension to the frame. Check behind the rear wheel wells. Check the engine compartment around the shock towers on both sides, behind the brake and heater piping is common, the frame rail under the brake reservoir is also common. Check under the spare tire as well. The paint on all 1st gens is a tough single stage which responds quite well to a clay bar, compound and wax. Youd be surprised how many finishes can be brought back from the dead. If it has a sunroof do a thorough rust inspection.

Interior...

Just do a visual of whats missing, broken etc. Common replacement items every new owner will buy are things such as door handle cups, floor mats, new carpet. The chrome will tend to flake on any chromed interior surface. Check the door cards for water damage and vinyl splits.

If it has the original tires thats a plus I supposed from a collectors stand point, but never drive on them.

 

Automatics can be good cars. Normally, they were purchased by more mature buyers and driven less agressively since they are set up to short shift and the motors are revved less. Manual cars do trade for more money in general mostly because they are more desireable. If you buy it for a good price you could probablly convert it and be able to recoupe the cost, but its not like a manual would automatically add 2-3K to whatever you buy it for. 81 and 82 flywheels should be the same.

 

This is my concern. Sure it is a low mileage car but it is an auto which I am guessing no one really wants but I may be wrong. I may be able to find a very nice manual car for not a lot more cash but who knows. The car I am looking at is a good price though so I think in the end I will be happy with the low mileage purchase. I may just leave it an auto who knows I might like it.

 

I see what you mean. Looking around I see some low mileage 1st gens with some fairly high prices. Not sure anyone is buying them but any classic car with less than 40k miles on it has some value. I think it will be 2-3 k more valuable with the manual and the parts are relatively cheap. Some work involved for sure.

 

Buying a less desireable automatic or even an S model w/a 4speed would maybe be a way to get into a nicer condition car at a more affordable price point. You're right, the cost to change it to a 5 speed is not overly expensive. The key to me is, the cars overall condition and mileage. Buy a nice unmolested example to begin with and polish up any rough edges. Then keep it maintained in good condition and you will have a desireable car. Converting it to a 5 speed will only make it better.

 

Mike P in the Evansville, IN area has a super clean automatic with around 40K miles on it. He has all the parts to make the manual conversion to go with it. I don't recall what he was asking for it, but it would be another car to consider if you don't mind heading a short distance south.

 

Buy it! Buy it now.

I'd be tempted to leave it auto for like, a year or so, just to see how it drives. I'm sure it's slower than the stick model but I bet it shifts nice and smoothly with the low miles.

 

I picked the car up today. Very nice car runs and drives like a car with 35k miles should.

Leaving it as an auto has occurred to me. Odd that Mazda designed the auto to short shift so badly even with the pedal down it shifts well short of redline unless you manually shift it.

 

Nice find. It's certainly worth driving with the auto for awhile to see how you like it, a friend of mine has one and he really prefers it for the around town daily driving he does.

And I'm not so sure that automatics are "less valuable" than standards. People who know 1st gens recognize that unmolested automatics are usually among the best examples out there, clean, well kept and not abused.

Give it a year, if you still want to go with the swap this will give you plenty of time to learn how it's done and gather parts.

 

Sensible advice. And I do agree that "value" is opinion based. There are those who would seek out an automatic and even pay more for one (it was the top -o- the line, most expensive version when new) it's just that the vast majority like the manual which is more in keeping with the spirt of a sports car. The automatics kind of get passed over a lot and end up trading for less.

My 80 is an automatic, which I originally bought for parts. Problem was, is ran so nice that I couldn't break it up, so I ended up throwing a little time and money at it to make it 100% again. I do also have a manual car, so I can always get my downshifting fix, I just have to remember that when in the automatic, the center pedal is NOT the clutch!

I 2nd your "nice score", I think you will come to really like the car even if it doesn't completely satisfy your primal desire for speed. You can always catch the disease and buy another already with a manual....

 

Beautiful. It's even the right colour.

 

I agree cool color. Anyone no the name and code of the color?

 

U2: Stardust Blue Metallic clearcoat.

 

I did this swap a few years ago and did a write up with pics. Feel free to contact me with any questions:

https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...-begun-783169/

 

Just got it a few weeks back. Need more power n

 

Tell you what ats_t3rm1nator, start a new thread with your purchase in the non tech section and show us your car.

 

Thanks mazdaverx713b I already found your very useful post thanks for taking the time.

It seems pretty straight forward a few inconsistency's about what fits and what doesn't but I will sort that out as I go.

More pics from the ad

 

I could not find anything about Mike P or this car. Is it posted somewhere?

 

RX7Club.com - View Profile: MIKE-P-28

I don't know that he has posted the car for sale anywhere as of yet. I picked up some parts from him and while I was there, he showed the car to me and was looking to sell.

Congrats on the purchase. Since you are from the Chicago area, keep an eye out for a 1980 in sunrise red with the SE suspension swap and dual downdraft RE carb setup. That was my first RX-7. Sold it to a guy from up that way and through bad luck, the car got lost due to an impound. I continue to hope that it didn't get crushed. If you ever see one matching that, let me know. Sure do miss that thing.

 

Wow, I love the seats with the red stripe. Very nice.