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buying my first RX7 need help choosing between two
I've been looking at two cars and was wanting some help deciding which one to get. The first one is 1979 engine has been rebuilt with 4000 miles on the engine. It has always been premixed. It has a racing beat exhaust with some work done to the suspension and some new brakes. It does not have working AC, there is a ripped spot on the carpet and one of the seams on the driver seat is busted. It also has a webber carburetor
The other car is 1984 with 80,000 miles on it. It has working AC and a perfect interior. It has a stainless steel exhaust and a 4 barrel holley carburetor. That's the extent of the mods as far as i know. It still has the OMP and is not premixed.
If i got the 1979 how expensive would it be to fix the AC?
How important to you is AC? If it's a deal breaker, that might help sway you. I wouldn't let the absence or presence of AC be the deciding factor. I'd buy the nicer of the cars overall.
And the cost of AC can depend on why it's not functional. If it's just a recharge, that's not a huge cost. If it's a bad ac pump, lines missing, evap or condenser not present, then that might cost you some $$ trying to source those parts.
You're looking at two different beasts (79 vs 84) within the first gen family. Do you have any pics? You didn't mention prices. Are they different sellers? Have any idea if either has been in an accident?
Keep giving us more info and we can give you a more informed answer.
AC isn't the most important thing to me, but i would like to get it fixed eventually because it gets pretty hot down here in the summer.
For more information on the '84 one it's been garage kept for at least months now maybe up to a year or more. The owner is an older man who used to drive it but can't now and wants more room in his garage so i don't know how well it's been cared for mechanically. The guy said he'd sell it for 9500
The 79 one is owned by a rotary enthusiast who got an FC and wants to sell this for someone else to enjoy more. he's done a lot of work to keep it in great shape other than the seat and carpet. He doesn't know what's wrong with the AC said he never bothered trying to fix it because it wasn't important.
currently listed for 11,000
No accidents for either that i know of.
Here's some pictures of the cars 84 84 84 79 79 79
Me too but currently i'm looking for the healthiest car that'll last me longer and be more reliable because this will be my daily driver.
Thats a pipe dream, but you can try doing that and see how it goes. These are 40+ year old cars.
Based on what I see the 84 seems like a better car because its so clean on the inside. The seats have been reupholstered using what looks like RacingBeat kit. Not fond of the holley but you could go back to a nikki. Maybe he has the nikki and intake still? The price is reasonable but I would discount because of the holley. Holley never run quite right, ever.
The 79 has what looks like some performance mods on the suspension and a supposedly rebuilt motor. Seeing as its someone that has recently gone to DGRR, I might believe that, depends on who it is I would guess. No interior shots of the 79 but it sounds a bit rough and SA interior bits are much harder to source than FB ones. That way the 79 is setup I would expect its been run harder over its lifetime than the 84. I think the 79 price is a bit high too.
Thats a pipe dream, but you can try doing that and see how it goes. These are 40+ year old cars.
Based on what I see the 84 seems like a better car because its so clean on the inside. The seats have been reupholstered using what looks like RacingBeat kit. Not fond of the holley but you could go back to a nikki. Maybe he has the nikki and intake still? The price is reasonable but I would discount because of the holley. Holley never run quite right, ever.
The 79 has what looks like some performance mods on the suspension and a supposedly rebuilt motor. Seeing as its someone that has recently gone to DGRR, I might believe that, depends on who it is I would guess. No interior shots of the 79 but it sounds a bit rough and SA interior bits are much harder to source than FB ones. That way the 79 is setup I would expect its been run harder over its lifetime than the 84. I think the 79 price is a bit high too.
Thank you for the info. I've seen the 79 in person and the interior isn't too bad, i'm going to see the 84 on the 12th. The '79 has a webber carb is that know for any issues? I don't think the '79 was driven very hard but i could be wrong. He also made a video with him building the car and rebuilding the motor on youtube so i know he has done that.
I'm going to echo what was said above. Daily driving any car 40 years old is a bad idea. If you have a job you need to reliably get to, you're getting yourself in a bad situation unless you have a bus pass lol.
Buy the 84. Everything on it will be easier to maintain, and from your pictures you'd be starting from an overall better position.
Your statement about this being a daily driver is what leads me to this conclusion. I've owned both an 80LS and 84SE - and, while the SE is a completely different EFI setup, the newer car has been TONS less work to keep running well. I even DD both cars for a few years, and while they both left me stranded - the 84SE was easier to troubleshoot and overall easier to maintain.
As the others have said, if you're experienced working on cars, you could DD a Model-T. If this is your first car, you may be better served with a Corolla or a Camry because getting fired for no-show at work because of your car choices is a bad start to life. Trust us on this,
P.S. - that 79 absolutely HAS been driven hard because nobody does those kinds of mods and then babies it like your grandma...
Thank y'all for the help i've been leaning towards the 84 but still unsure. I will make a post to update y'all on which i get when i make the decision.
If you don't buy the 84, you should mention this site to the seller and let him know about us. I'm sure someone here would be interested, and there aren't that many of these cars still on the road, and in especially good interior shape as that car - it even has the stock radio stack. I'm sure he will come off of his $9,500 price if he knows it's going to an enthusiast. Most old guys (*me, included) have taken good care of these cars because we love them, and knowing that someone else will love it like we did is worth reducing the price. Old guys care less and less about $$$.
Heck, I'd even show him this thread as your thought process and let him see that WE will help you to keep it on the road. Good luck, and let us know what you decide,
The 84 as LongDuck says is the way to go, and I tend to agree with him most times where GSL-SE's are concerned as he's had his five letter longer then me. My 85 GSL-SE was my daily-driver from 1995 when I bought her until I retired from the military and moved to Indy in 2007 and had to deal with winters and potholes. Drove from San Diego to the Bay area, Lake Tahoe and all places in between when I was stationed in California. When I transferred to FL from CA Idrove my RX7 from San Diego to Pensacola, FL in four days with the cruise set a 80 and the A/C on (I was younger then). I have never had a problem, and never been stranded anywhere in the thirty years I've owned it and she's only failed to start once, and that was because the starter ****-the-bed. She's a "weekend-warrior" now but has been driven regularly for the past forty years and has compression numbers that are as good today as were when she was new.
Not only have the seats been recovered, but the door panel tops and rear side panels (black areas). It is cleaner and like you mentioned you need a/c. It appears to be a GS model as it has roll up windows, which means it has rear drum brakes.
Good thing is that it has a sunroof so you can enjoy it with a glass moonroof or the oem metal piece.
I don't think the '79 was driven very hard but i could be wrong.
every Rx7 was driven like it was stolen until it broke, and then it invariably got parked until someone came along and fixed it, and then that was 20+ years ago.
these cars are FUN.
i think either car is going to require you do at least look at everything.
Weber > Holley, although you could change it to something else pretty easily.
getting the AC in the 79 working shouldn't be too bad, it looks to have the same system as the 84
i'm having a mild preference for the 79, but most of it is me liking the older styling. the rest is the rebuilt engine.
Accidents are fairly easy to figure out with these cars, Mazda built the body, painted it, and then put the engine, running gear, and interior in. so the fenders will have sealant to the body, and then there is some rock guard stuff around the whole bottom of the car with a distinct tape line. if one of the cars is missing a section, or the tape line isn't distinct its been worked on. also the panel gaps around the front end were really consistent from the factory.
I would test drive both and see which one of them you like in terms of drive and feel. I just picked up a 1983 a few weeks ago when I was looking specifically for an 84-85 (too much of a great deal to pass up). My uncle has an '85 (along with a 79,80,83,84, and 85 -lol) and I really like the cloth seats and how they hug you down and the way the gauges and center console are setup nicely. My first car was an '84 and my uncle brought up a good point, I have already owned one once and the '83 GSL was like a whole new experience for me since it came with leather seats and a whole dash setup I was not used to. That is the reason he bought a '79 too as he liked the raw and basic setup of it. I personally think the '79 is too basic but to other people like my uncle - that is what makes it great.
every Rx7 was driven like it was stolen until it broke, and then it invariably got parked until someone came along and fixed it, and then that was 20+ years ago.
these cars are FUN.
engines with automatics lived a better life. they never saw red line.
I've found this to be true as well. They shift at like 3,750 RPM. I bought one around 18 years ago for the interior, but it was so nice, I decided to fix it up. I've collected everything to swap in a 5 speed but it runs like a top and have so far have kept it as is just because its different and still keeps it original. Helps to have other 5 speed SA's to get my shifting fix from.
I ended up going with another RX7 from a guy selling it privately it's 1983 with around 190k miles on it. Bought it for 7500 it's had the whole underside of the car redone all the suspension, brakes, everything. Still the original engine and no performance mods. The only thing that doesn't work on it is the high beams but ive figured out the problem and i'm gonna fix it when i get home from a trip i'm going on.
