I am interesetd in purchasing an '84/85 GSL or SE. Could any of you advise me as to what I should be looking for, aware of or what the major red flags are that I should run from a perspective buy. I have seen a few via internet ads, but what should I expect to pay for an excellent find, providiing it falls in the criteria you experts give me? I want either a Black car or the Charcoal Gray. The bright colors just aren't me.
Is oil burning normal at start-up? I heard once that it was for the rotary, but what are the real facts? Any for sale I would be interested in looking at as well.
Thanks

 

There are two school of thoughts in purchasing a 7. One, buy a beater and pour tons of money in to fix it up. That is assuming you have the time, ability and the money to do it. Second, buy a mint car and don't worry about it. Of course, that will cost you a pretty penny.
The general concerns in buying a 7 are: The history of the car is very important. Has the car been modified and if so, by who. Are there any documentation on the mods? Service history of the car also is crucial. The owner of the car is equally vital. Does the owner abuse the car? As far as the physical inspection goes, make sure there are no oil leaks. The area to look for oil leaks are by the dowel pins, and oil cooler areas. Look for any rust, esp. behind the storage bins, under the wheel wells. Make sure the car idles well, should be around 800rpm. The shifting should be smoothe, may be a bit notchy(nature of the rx7), that is normal. The oil pressure should be around 30psi at idle and no more than 60psi under load. The volt meter should read around mid 12 - 13.8 volts from idle to under electric load. That's is all I can think of now. I am sure others on this board can fill in what I missed. Goodluck

 

rear wheel bearings like to go, clutches seem to be 40,000 mile items, look for worn tie rod ends, interior is prone to fading and plastic likes to crack. watch for oil leaks on top of the rotor housings by the mazda logo, make sure there aren't any air bubbles flowing through the coolant at 3000-4000rpm's, check coolant condition, make sure it was maintained. clean coolant is essential to the engine's life span, frequent oil changes are a must. ask what type and grade oil has been used. it should be no more than 20W50 or lower than 10W40 for normal engines. race or new engines are different. watch for messed up stereo wiriing, rusty gas tanks, and rust by the lower control arms. bad juju. other than that, there aren't many more worries.

 

yeah i had a similar question too. i kno this guy who is selling 3 of them for 200 ea. one has a good body w a bad carb. and water pump, one has good interior, and the other has other parts to swap onto. i was thinking about getting all 3, fixing one up really nice and then selling the other 2 to the pull-a-part place down the road. i havent seen them but i was wondering if this was a good idea? and i was wondering what the differences between models was too. i havent looked around this site much yet. ill prolly find it around here somewhere lol. thanks tho!

 

Well if you are looking for a GSL, that will have a 12a engine, which had about 100hp or so stock. It will also have a rear lsd(limited slip differential) which is good. The GSL-SE will have the lsd, but it came with a bigger 13b rotary engine, which produced about 135hp stock. The SE was the only 1st gen that came stock with a 13b. Others have been upgraded to later model 13b and turbo model engines. If you are looking to buy the three, I would take everything that people above have said, and also make sure that one of them has a good running engine, unless you want to rebuild and port which will cost more money than the three cars. Good luck with your purchase.

 

I appreciate the help. Any idae of what iI should expect ot pay for a REALLY clean car?

 

no prob on the help. prob about 3K for a clean SE