85rotarypower

Hey guys and gals. So I finally got myself back into the world of rotary engined cars. I ended up finding myself a real nice 79 base model (think its the S trim level). The car is all original, with the exception of an aftermarket oil cooler. Very excited to get this car on the road and start enjoying it.

So, a little overview of the car. It is a base model 79, as I mentioned, with very few options, the only one I think is the 5 speed trans. This car is SN 513084, and according to my research this makes it the 13084th 79 built. Aesthetically, the car isn't perfect. There are stone chips that are showing a bit of rust on the bumper and front valence, and the lower air dam is slightly damaged due to a slight mishap with a set of steel ramps when the last owner had it. The interior has slightly deteriorated over time, no surprise, but mostly its still there and in good shape, not much to be replaced.

The warranty papers were originally signed on the 15th of August, 1978 and since then it has had 4 owners, one of which was a Mazda dealer out of Barrie, Ontario for 2 years. Previous owner bought it in 96 then put it in storage about 8-10 years ago, where it sat mostly dormant. The car has never seen winter, which is most likely completely true as the underbody and suspension components are nearly rust free. Overall, the car was very well kept and mechanically is in amazing condition.

Very little work is needed on my part to get it on the road. A set of new tires and the ball joint/tie rod end boots replaced and it'll pass a safety inspection with flying colours. As for aesthetics, the interior needs a new hatch area carpet, new door handle trim, and the trim pieces around the locks. Exterior needs a good wash and wax, black trim pieces touched up, and the wheels refinished.

Overall I am very happy with the purchase and the price I paid. I really can't wait to get on the road with this car and enjoy some stock 7 fun, for a while. I think a RB exhaust will come at some point, but beyond that, I probably won't change the car much. So, here are a few pics of the car to show just how nice it is.

85rotarypower

and a few more pics. The last pic there is showing the one spot on the exhaust that is in need of a bit of repair, I think. I know basically nothing about the thermal reactor that is on these engines, so does anyone know what that tube does?

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

nice find! id be thrilled to have a nice white SA like that. my last one was red, but its the nicest and most fun Rx7 i've had.

i don't know what that pipe does, but the FSM (www.foxed.ca) has a good explanation.

i didn't look too close but 4 spoke steering wheel and side moldings = GS, at least in the US

the best thing about the SA is that it's the most fun, just stock. so get it running and just enjoy!

85rotarypower

Thanks for the correction on the trim level of the car. Since I owned a FB before, I don't know much about the SA's as far as options and whatnot. I will have to check out the FSM on the thermal reactor and how it works. Thanks.

I plan to get it on the road and just enjoy it. It seems to be the most raw form of a RX-7 there is with few creature comforts. Out of all the cars I looked at, this was my favorite, and I didn't even get to drive it since it was unplated. Something about the car just seemed right. The GSL-SE I looked at seemed too moderized for my liking and the others I looked at were not in good enough shape for the asking price.

jbn7474

Seems like your car is in decent shape. I have an 85 gs and its stock other than a header, presilencer, and turbo muffler. I rebuilt the nikki with mechanical secondaries and got the rest of the car up to snuff mechanically and it runs decent. Not the fastest thing on the road, but it revs good and can keep up with traffic. The best place is on the backroads taking corners and shift down to get the rpms. I had it up to 110 on the highway a couple of times and it handled good and didnt shake. I think I will save up for a holley 465 or sterling if he ever produces them again for a little more power, other than that it will stay pretty much the way it is. Enjoy yours with many long miles of zoom zoom driving.

7aull

iTrader: (2)

Welcome 85RP (might want to update your Forum name!)-

Nice to have another SA-er in the Fold here. Your mystery tube on the exhaust-to-thermal reactor allows cool/fresh air to circulate around the reactor I believe. Whole reactor system was sort of a pre-catalyst device for burning the exhaust emissions.

Looks like you have rescued an early production Survivor, what with the RH hood prop (hold over from Japanese model) and the non-map pocket door panels. 2-tone interior is a neat feature lost on later SAs. Nice you have a bit of the car's history too.
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

i happen to like the 79-83 interior, its more traditional sports car. in fact the reason the SA is better is just because it IS more traditional sports car, the wheels, interior, etc etc

my old neighbor is a sculpture teacher, and he's got a badass 10ae, but we talked SA vs FB, and we agree with you actually, the FB IS too modernized, it looks more dated than the SA

85rotarypower

Well parts are on order to get this car on the road. Getting some tires that hopefully closely match what was originally on the car in terms of grip, I hope. Being everything is stock, I want to feel what the car would have felt like from the factory back in 78, or close to it. Unfortunately, the door latch handle on the inside of the car will be black instead of the proper brown trim since the brown one has been discontinued.

I am having a hard time locating a supplier for the cargo area carpet though. Seems nobody makes a precut carpet in the dark brown I need for this car. Thinking I might have to get some bulk automotive carpet in as close a match I can and just cut a new carpet myself. Anyone have any suggestions?

7aull, my username is quite ironic actually, considering I never owned an 85. When I joined the forums in 03, I was looking at an 85 GSL-SE and was very close to closing the deal on it, hence the username. The deal fell through and 2 months later I got my 82.

7aull

iTrader: (2)

Door latch: you mean the big pull handle arm rest OR the cover around the door opener?
trim covers FS NOW on bay by Aussie seller. You'll need to allow your ebay search to receive international sellers (advanced options)

Carpet: try blackdragonauto.com or mazdatrix - both used to sell carpet sets. Otherwise again ebay has them regularly...
brown is a bit rarer so they can be harder to find.
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

85rotarypower

7aull, unfortunately black dragon auto does not offer the brown carpets, and they are overly expensive. Mazdatrix no longer offers carpet sets it seems, only floor mats. I can get a wide range of colours for the carpet at rockauto.com, but no brown. I'm also a little hesitant about ordering carpet off ebay, and the internet in general, to begin with due to the inability to see the product and confirm a colour match before ordering. The only carpets I would truely trust are an OEM Mazda set which are no longer available, or so it seems. So I'll have to find a supplier for OEM style automotive carpet and see if I can get a matching carpet in bulk and cut it myself. Probably cheaper that way anyway.

A little update on the car. Rear shocks have arrived and were installed. Ended up with KYB OE replacements. They were about the same price as OEM Mazda units, so I was alright with that, and I know KYB produces a nice product.

New original size tires have also been installed on the original cleaned up waffles, look real nice besides the one scratch the shop put in one wheel by being stupid and forgetting to remove a weight before removing the old tire. Weight travelled around the wheel a short distance before being removed. I gave the shop a pretty hard time about that even though it was not very noticeable. They got the "Do you know how expensive these wheels are to replace!!!?" speech lol.

So, now i just have to repair the one pipe coming off the thermal reactor, install the new fuel filter, air filter, thermostat with coolant change, and required dust boots when they get here, along with the interior parts. Other things not so high on the list, replace squeeky air pump with a pump I have here and hope the stiff engine fan aka "tornado fan" clears up, or find a replacement for that. Anyone know if a 2nd gen clutch fan will fit properly, even just the clutch part?

One other thing I have noticed. After changing the engine oil and making sure other things were alright, I let the engine run for a while to see if any problems would develop when it gets warmed up. One problem did appear. Seems the thermal reactor is not doing its job, or some part of the system closely related to the thermal reactor is not working right. I'm getting the eye watering fumes that only a 7 without emissions controls can produce. I'm thinking the squeeking air pump may not actually be pumping air, in which case I think I could end up melting the thermal reactor if I try to drive the car in this condition. I'll have to look into it a bit more. Everything seems to work fine besides. I can hear the anti-afterburn solenoid switching when it should along with cold and warm start stuff working.

twinkletoes

iTrader: (17)

Oooo!!!! White SA!!!

Looking pretty good man!!

I'm right there with you on trying to find matching carpets. I've been looking for replacement rear brown carpets for awhile for my 83 GSL. Just the "plushness" of my rear cargo carpet isnt there.

85rotarypower

Thanks twinkletoes. I'll let you know if I find a supplier for some bulk carpet in the same colour since die cut carpets are clearly not available in this colour anymore.

Seems the plot thickens with this whole thermal reactor not working properly problem. I got the car out for its maiden voyage of sorts today, basically a trip up the road and back. Living out in the middle of nowhere as I do, thats basically a 2-3km trip lol. Anyway, there is definitely something not quite right with the car. Part throttle and cruise are smooth as can be, but if I try to get on it a bit and accelerate past 4000rpm, the engine just kinda sputters a bit. It will climb above 4000 if i don't put too much throttle into it, but if I try to go 3/4 or more, it just falls flat on its face. Accompanying this problem is a very distinct whistling sound from the exhaust, indicating a possible restriction. I'm really starting to think that the thermal reactor's poor emission reduction performance combined with this whistling sound is kinda indicating a partially collapsed heat exchanger, the part that looks like a catalytic converter. I did replace the air pump today with a known working unit and there was no change in how the exhaust smelled, or felt on the eyes.

I will look into the problem more when I get the car safety inspection done and the proper plate sticker on it instead of the temp sticker.

85rotarypower

Alright, did some poking around today to figure out the exhaust whistle and found my muffler has a big hole in it under the heat shield. So, it looks like my whistling sound is not related to the lack of power. I am not ruling out that the exhaust has something to do with the lack of power though. So I'll add another thing to the list of things to replace for safety inspection. I'll probably just put a magnaflow in place of the original since they are far cheaper.

85Gen1

looking at your pics i will say its a carburated 7.. have u pulled that apart and looked at the jest to see if they are bocked? nice looking car very clean!

85rotarypower

I haven't dug into the carb much and that is probably something I should do actually. I confirmed fuel flow rate, pressure and float bowl levels today, along with checking a bunch of the emission stuff for proper function. All seems alright so far. Getting plenty of fuel to the carb at the proper pressure and float bowls show halfway up the sight glass. So this leads me to a possible problem within the carb, likely with the secondaries. Carb rebuild, here I come.

85Gen1

ya if it were mine i would. its just good maintainence. if the car has 136xxx miles on it then the carb does aswell. i ordered mine from atkins rotary. was like 75 bucks not too bad. comes with all the gaskets the and orings. they shipped it fast!

85rotarypower

Rebuild kit will be ordered sometime this week likely.

Definitely found the source of the exhaust whistle. I took the muffler off and cut back the heat shield a bit to find that the lower half of the muffler around the back plate has mostly rusted away. A few hits with a hammer yielded a wide opening into the muffler innards, where I found more damage, but of a different nature. The baffle plate just ahead of the rear plate is damaged from pressure of some sort, likely a bad backfire within the middle chamber. The baffle plate is a convex shape now and clearly out of place. Needless to say, the muffler wasn't going to last much longer. One bad backfire at the wrong time would have sent muffler pieces scattered across the road. Brand new Magnaflow is on order now.

85rotarypower

Well I got everything replaced to get the car on the road. Didn't take much, new muffler, ball joint boots, rear shocks and tires. Fluids and filters changed as well. Car is officially road worthy.

On that note, I have started looking into the stumbling issues at high RPM. Only thing I know so far is that its not leaning out. Spark plugs on the front rotor are blackened where the rear rotor are a nice golden brown. In my experience, this means the front rotor is running too rich, likely an issue within the carb, which I have yet to rebuild. Anybody else have any ideas?