brent_strong

iTrader: (2)

So, I have a nice FD that I don't plan on driving in the nasty New York winters. A local guy is selling what seems to be a pretty solid '85 RX-7 for under $1k - right where I want to be for a winter car.

Tell me though, am I insane to consider this? The car is a carbed 12a, not a GL-SE 13b version or anything. I've heard the carbed cars tend to start hard in the cold and generally wouldn't like the winter.

I know that anything is possible, there are probably some members on here that have driven their FB year-round for 20 years without a hiccup, but I'm more interested in planning for the bad or worst case scenario, since they tend to happen more often than the best-case!

If I did get the car, I'd plan on doing the carb simplification and deleting most/all of the emissions equipment and basically simplifying the car down to the bare necessities.

Jeezus

iTrader: (4)

Check the wheel wells, if they have rust then don't bother. Also, I wouldnt drive the RX through the winter, I would rather drive the FD, they have better rustproofability

brent_strong

iTrader: (2)

I'm not so worried about rust on the 1g. If it rusts, it rusts...chances are, being from this area, its already got some significant rust. As long as it's structurally sound, I'm happy.

Kentetsu

Probably the worst car I've ever driven in snow. Not sure how much you get where you are, but in Michigan we can get quite a bit sometimes. The car is way too light to get any traction, and if the snow is deep the car gets tossed around a lot. I did it for a couple of weeks, and knew I was taking my life into my own hands every time, and that was on stock suspension. I probably couldn't even get her rolling with the race setup on there.

brent_strong

iTrader: (2)

Hahaha, thanks for the input! No problems with the engine starting each morning for you though?

SunRedRX7

Get some studded or winter tires and you'll be fine. When I had my 85 with the stock 12a and carb didn't have any starting problems in the winter. Just make sure to give it a little more time to warm up and use a 10W-30 instead of 20W-50 for easier cold turnover.

The previous owner of my 85 drove it every winter, so it was already developing rot, so don't think I ruined a perfectly good car. My 79 hasn't seen rain let alone snow since at least 96 according to the previous owner.

82transam

iTrader: (18)

The car I'm currently restoring was my daily driver for about 5 years including winters, and with the proper tires goes just fine. I never got stuck once, and NJ winters can be just as bad as you guys up in NY. As for starting it fired up with no issued even on sub-zero mornings. I now have two FB's, both of which I've extensively restored (undoing all those winter drives) so I don't plan on using them in snow again to avoid rust.

FirebirdSlayer666

iTrader: (3)

I've driven mine for 2 winters and have never once had a problem, bone stock with all year tires. If the magnetic choke still stays on it's own you'll be set. Mine never has. For the first winter I sat in the car, holding the choke until it warmed up which sucked. I finally smartened up and started wrapping a rag around the choke to keep it out. Worked like a charm LOL. If you actually know how to drive in snow, you will do just fine

SunRedRX7

The trick to getting the choke pull to stay out is to grab a quarter or other coin depending how far you want it pulled out and wedge it between the choke **** and the dash.

Dan_s_young

iTrader: (1)

Theres a bunch of guys around here that ice race them, and they do excellent. But for a car thats not going to have studded tires, I wouldn't recommend it. Back end tends to slide out extremely easy.

warwickben

iTrader: (1)

only frist gen guys would say that lol

Kylv

I drove my '83 all through the winter in Michigan. Started right up every time. Tossed a couple 40 pound bags of water softener salt in the back and didn't have any traction issues either.

brent_strong

iTrader: (2)

Sounds like it might be a good idea! I've always driven RWD cars in the winter, so I'm not really worried about handling as much as the reliability. Sounds like both are more than acceptable.

It looks like it'll come down to a 1st gen MR2 or an FB for a winter car.

Yeah, I know...I'm a bit crazy. :-p

FirebirdSlayer666

iTrader: (3)

When I bought the car the owner was having carb problems and when he rebuilt it he put a manual choke on for whatever reason. My dad and I put the stock choke back on but I didn't know at the time it was supposed to be magnetic so I never addressed it. Rag worked great. It's officially off the road though waiting for a rebuild so I'll be trecking through the snow in an FC this year! LOL

elwood

iTrader: (1)

The secret to driving in the winter is skinny snow tires. Check out the rally racers (one of whom is a friend of mine). They run tires that look like they belong on a dirt bike. Any car with the right tires will handle OK, and the FB is pretty good -- near 50/50. On the flip side, even an SUV will handle poorly in the snow if you run aggressive performance tires.

I too, live in Michigan -- used to live in Connecticut. Snowfall is about the same, but snow removal isn't. They don't plow my subdivision for a few days after a heavy snow, which leads to the big problem that an FB can't overcome -- ground clearance. If you get more than about 6 inches, you probably won't be able to make it because the car will become a snowplow. For me, a truck is kinda nice in the winter -- even a 2wd.

Dan_s_young

iTrader: (1)

I should share my experience since I didn't really talk about it before. With my 185 winter tires (don't even remember the brand), I remember the back end easily sliding out on slight acceleration. One time I remember from 60 I started sliding sideways from light acceleration, luckily it's easy to correct by laying off the throttle fast enough and it straightens up.

Simpily put it's not really meant to be a winter vehicle, so I would only use it as a last resort. I have gone to a 4WD GMC 1500 now and winter is now a BLAST, sit back and watch everyone else get stuck and you can drive with no worries.

FC_Fan21

Just to let you know 1st gen mr2s are worse in the snow than the fb. I had my 85 parked all winter and drove my '80 rx7 because the mr2 wouldnt go anywhere. THe fb is a fun car to drive in the snow as long as you are carefull

FC_Fan21

And the watersoftener salt dose help alot.

brent_strong

iTrader: (2)

Yeah, I know mostly what to expect driving in the winter (after being in the Buffalo/lake effect snow area my whole life) and I definitely know the MR2 is going to be worse than the FB, but my driving is minimal and mostly by choice, so it's not a big deal if I don't feel comfortable going out.

Sounds like a mechanically sound FB would suit me fine.

aussiesmg

iTrader: (1)

It depends upon how hilly your area is if it is flat like my area it is no problem and LSD rocks in the snow, but you may have trouble if you have to start on an incline,

Anthrax Mike

My MR2 went just about anywhere on cruddy cobra gt tires, I once spent an entire evening finding snowed filled parking lots to wheel it through. Meanwhile it once took me 45 minutes to get up a slightly inclined driveway in my 85' rx. The rear tires were closed to cooked.

To me all this means, is buy a thousand dollor winter car and then spend about half that much on a nice set of snow tires.

whitelightning83

get a truck with a heater!

brent_strong

iTrader: (2)

Exactly. I've rocked all kinds of different cars in the winter. The only thing that made one noticeably better or worse than the others was TIRES. Nokian Hakkas are my #1 choice...

kgray

Double check the availability of tires in 185/70 13 or 155/80 13...

brent_strong

iTrader: (2)

Ahh...yeah, good idea! I'm sure my friend who works wholesale tires can at least find some decent snows in that size though. Still plenty of tercels, civics and **** running 13s I bet.