19801980RX-7

This was my first time at a Seven Stock, which was SS10. I was shocked to see only 6 SA's were there. Of that 6, only 3 or 4 of us was from Cali. My feeling is that the SA's (79,80) are the reason Mazda went on to make the 2nd, 3rd and the RX8 generations. I have found out the reason being, Mazda disconinued the production of the Thermal Reactor and the Air Control Valve which are main components that make the SA smog legal in California and other states. (please, if this statement is false, let me know asap) With this said, I feel that Mazda has abondoned the very thing that made the rotory engine such a success for decades running. Nissan is making it a point to keep as many 70 to 73 Z's on the road, why wouldn't Mazda do the same with the SA's????? I love my all stock 1980 SA. I spend as much on restoration as others spend on modifications to there 7's. And I'm being told by experts and the state of California that I'll have to give her up when the next smog cert. is due. That is such BS. It was awesome to meet 3 other SA owners at SS10, one was from AZ with an original spark yellow. He has spent thousands in restoration. Another had a Gem mint condition LS, he is from CA. The third person has a 1980 that took the 1st place award at SS10. All 3 have pics below. There was very minimal interest from the attendees at SS10 on these SA's, the focus was all on the modified 7's. I'd like to see this thread filled with input from other SA owners in strict smog state especially CA. I want to see if other SA owners have the same concerns as I do in saving the SA (stock). I posted pics of just 1st gens from SS10 since most other pics are of modified 3rd gens.


My SA is 3rd one up from the blue one. lol, I forgot to take pics of my own 7.

Siraniko

iTrader: (13)

Most older folks who have been into rotaries for many many years have switched to old school RX's to be smog exempt (or pre-76 to be exact) especially now that rolling 30's is not gonna happen. I, including my close friends, cant drive a stock RX. Well I still have 2 smog legal RX-7's of which the S3 is for junkyard runs (& other things that my DD cant do) while the other is my son's daily driver.

You should have been there earlier as in 7stock9. there were plenty of SA's.

7aull

iTrader: (2)

I was at SS10 too and agree about the lack of SAs present - I was stunned frankly. I am ashamed to admit I missed seeing your LS there too!! Saw the nice white LS you show pics of.
I live in Alaska and only drive my SA seasonally so we have no emissions issues here, tho mine is stock for now anyway. You have the added burden of having additional emissions hardware on your CA SA over the 49 state model, so there are even more doodads you need to keep on top of!
I'm afraid its not just emissions bits that Mazda no longer makes for our SAs - try finding most trim items!! Really, unless the part is shared with the FBs, most SA stuff is dissappearing fast! Certainly I urge SA owners to have a complete set of OEM spare gaskets for the various unique weatherstripping and coolant rubbers (aka hoses). I tried to buy new irons and rotor housings for my SA and finally had to get them from Europe since Mazda USA no longer stocked SA housings. Ironically there were FAR fewer SAs sold in Europe than here, but they had the parts (OK maybe they stil had the parts BECAUSE there were fewer... )
Good luck with your SA - looks great - would love to see some detailed pix - glad you are trying so hard to keep it stock - we're a dying breed!
Stu Aul
80GS
Alaska

19801980RX-7

7aull, did you drive from Alaksa? I'd like to see pics of your SA. But your right, parts are running out, and I know, we'll have to place them in plastic bubbles soon. So I guess what I'll have to do is find a non-running SA with a good ACV and Reactor and hope there's a few years left on them. Then I'll just whip it out for club meets and car shows only. Btw, I actually have a 80 10th anniversary edition. I want to buy that white LS though!

Siraniko

iTrader: (13)

WTF do you think we feel with the old school RX?? You think you're running out of dealer parts, look again. We cant find jack **** period. You better start going to the junkyard and grab all SA parts you can get.

No offense but its just annoying. too much whinning in this thread.

BlackWorksInc

My RX7 passed smog with flyin colors, and all I did was replace the cats. There also has to be some after market thermal reactors to buy and if not, there's a ton of junkyard finds that will work!

So don't get all down about it, just start looking and taking care of the problem.

steve84GS TII

The thermal reactor system,while effective is also prone to collapse with age,as well as the stock heat exchange system rotting away.Seeing as how the SA is the oldest RX-7 around,its not a surprise that so few can pass smog these days,and its unlikely that anyone is going to make an aftermarket exhaust/reactor system for a 28 year old car that was only sold for 2 years.
We in CA may seem to have it tough,but there is lots of wiggle room if your willing to do the job right, and are willing to alter the car from its original guise.Sure,keeping some cars all original is great.....but keeping them on the road and running for all to see,is good too.Adapting the full 81-85 smog control system to the SA is not difficult,and it will not only increase fuel economy,but also eliminate the obscure ignition system of the SA.Rotary exhaust manifolds are FAR lighter than the TR and last a long time.While not all cats can survive behind a rotary,they are easy for an exhaust shop to change,compared to trying to duplicate the exhaust system that came on the SA.

19801980RX-7

Lol, was more pissed off than anything else. Was just still in shock after being told by Mazdatrix that there's nothing anyone can do about the CA smog issue and that CA will retire my 7 at the next smog requirement. Then I find out that the SA RX7's are on DMV's target list of cars to retire. All this after spending over 2k on it. I'm cool now.

But you mentioned earlier that CA reversed the rolling 30. Could that be the rolling 35 was to go into effect 2011? Here's a quote from the DMV website:

Collector Motor Vehicles and Smog Test
Recent legislation provides exemption from portions of the smog test required by Subdivision (f) of Section 44012 of the Health and Safety Code for Collector Motor Vehicles 35 years old or older. This takes effect in 2011 when 1976 model-year vehicles become 35 years old.

19801980RX-7

I asked Mazdatrix if I could go that route with FB cat and they no, it wouldn't work. But you not only say it's possible, but it's not difficult. I'm not against minor alteration as you pointed out about being on the road. She drives about 300 to 500 miles a year and since it never races, this would be the only mod. Can you refer someone that can do this conversion?

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

my SA is the red one in the bottom picture, and its the one with the hood cracked in the 1st pic.

its by far the nicest 1st gen ive ever had, and its really really original, paint, interior, engine even.

it passed smog

it made the 1040mile round trip to sevenstock*

it got 22.6 mpg on that trip, and we did 4000rpms the whole trip.

i'm not really worried about the stock smog equipment, the 81-85 stuff never works, and this one does, it just doesnt seem to be a problem area?

*i stopped at the gym on the way home on monday, and so did it, points....

19801980RX-7

LOL! I remember you...I'm parked right in front of you in the bottom pic. And that's you on the right side of that bottom pic, right?. I almost remember your name even. Lost contact with you there with all the rain and crap. Meant to take pictures of your SA.

Well, I know my TR is bad cause the refinery smell coming out my exhaust is getting worse. And although my 7 just passed smog in July, and I have 2 years to go, I'm not comfortable till I find a solution and know that it will pass in two years. I'm about to put a couple thousand more into it. By mid Oct. it'll have all new shocks/springs and muffler(all OEM).

I think yours has really low mileage right? If so then your TR is still good.

steve84GS TII

I dont see why swapping over to 81-85 smog gear wouldnt be legal or simple.
Swapping 1st gen parts onto another 1st gen is nearly all bolt on stuff,no fab work required.And after your done,itd just require a trip to the referee to have the car certified so it can be smogged as an 81-85.This is basically the same thing I did with my car,first as an 87',then later as a 90'.



It would just be a matter of stripping the SA down to a bareblock,then doing the same to an 81-85 12A,and installing all the smog gear,carb and rats nest onto the SA block.Of course,youd have to also install the 81-85 ECU to control all the solenoids and stuff,but if you do a complete job it should work fine.
The only reason I could see Mazdatrix saying it cant be done,would be if they thought you meant just welding a cat in place of the heat exchanger and calling it a day.That wouldnt work since the air injection,ECU and carb of the SA are tuned for a TR,which requires excess fuel to promote oxidation within the TR.....hence the trailing ignition cutout of the SA,and the subsequent switch to the "lean burn" carburetion on the 81-85's.

DriveFast7

iTrader: (1)

I bet if you put a metal substrate catalytic converter in your exhaust pipe and keep all the stock SA stuff on there it'll pass the sniffer no prob and I doubt they'll know it should not have that cat in there for the visual.

It's my understanding that an auto manuf. only has to make parts for a car for 15 years after it's sold.

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

mike!

are you sure its the TR? theres no moving parts in there, and if it collapses the car is just slow... you should actually have a look at the ACV and stuff.

also mine passed, but they are serious when they say THERMAL reactor, it needs to be HOT. i went around the block, driving hard, to the smog place, it passed the pretest with flying colors, then the smog guy turned it off for 2 minutes while he reset the smog machine, then he started it to do the actual test and it almost failed.

actually you should pull the reactor and acv off and store em away, an 81-85 manifold will bolt right up, and then you need a little connecting pipe, and you're good to go.

RotaryRevn

What exactly do you mean that the car is on the list of car's to retire? I've never heard of this? If the car still passed smog, they couldn't make you get rid of it. Also, worst case scenerio, register it non op and only use it on the track or with one day moving permits. As far as I know, "retireing" a car is totally voluntary.




Collector Motor Vehicles and Smog Test
Recent legislation provides exemption from portions of the smog test required by Subdivision (f) of Section 44012 of the Health and Safety Code for Collector Motor Vehicles 35 years old or older. This takes effect in 2011 when 1976 model-year vehicles become 35 years old.


Also, I will have to look into that collector car exemtion. This is the first I have heard of it but if true, it would be awesome. Do you have a link where you found this information? I tried looking but couldn't find it on Dmv's website.

steve84GS TII

Could be.
The rolling 30 year rule was axed by Arnold quite easily,but theres no reason it cant/wouldnt be changed in the near future.
The retirement policy is totally voluntary......they cant force you to get rid of your car anymore than they could force your old car to smog as clean as a new car.I get retirement offer slips in the mail all the time.It says,"If you want to keep your old car for sentimental or other reasons,please disreagard this notice."

All this crap is designed by pencil pushers and eco-terrorists.They have no regard for enthusiasts,rabid collectors or cars with "cult appeal".....but at the same time,the vast majority of people own newer cars,buy a new car every 10 or so years,and have little to no desire to modifiy their cars the way we do......so the policies make sense in many ways.Not to mention that more and more mechanic shops loathe trying to repair,diagnose and maintain the many nightmare cars built between 76 and 86......mountains of hoses and solenoids,and computor controlled carbs.I dont blame anyone that would retire the average car from this era,if it cant pass smog with relative ease.

19801980RX-7

I'd have to search the DMV site and key word "Subdivision (f) of Section 44012 ". I found it in the DMV archieves. But was sure someone here would know about it but I'll try and get more info on it.

Mazdatrix will anaylze the TR on the 16th of this month, but they suspect my TR is cracked by the clues like; type of odor from exhaust, back fire on exceleration, age/mileage (160k) But the car has plenty power, smooth, starts right up, loves speeds over 65 mph.

7aull

iTrader: (2)

19801980RX-7
Will be pulling my reactor likely next year - 75K miles, seems to be just fine (I think these are really over-built systems) - my point: its yours if you want it, tho shipping will be a bi-otch because it weighs a ton. PM me if interested - and I can fire some pics of my SA at you too if you like
And Wacky - no whining here about OEM parts - just a warning to SA-ers that the parts inventory grows SHORT - I bought trim and rubbers spares in TRIPLICATE back in the late 90s, so I'm sitting pretty, but now even the basic stuff like tail light gaskets are on the Endangered Species List, so I'm Spreading the Word so at least some WON'T be whining when The Day finally arrives...
'Course this whole Fear-and-Loathing thing could be mute if the aftermarket goes the 240Z route - you can get most ANYthing for those buggies now. Go figure.
;p
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska