hey evryone.... im not used to being in the first gen thread..... i have a 91 t2, anyways,....... i just picked up a 1979 rx-7 for $100 w/ no motor...... car is in perfect condition, the interior is in really good shape, no dings, no dents.... needs paint..... anyways the production date is 10/78..... is this rare???? is this one of the very first rx7s???? im asking because i bought it to turn it into a drag car...which means the car is getting gutted and cut up in the name of lightness.... but if this car has any rareness or "historic" value, then i will choose another car to "drag"... please help me

 

are ya in redlands cali?

 

nah, they probably started the 79 model production on 78. Usual.

 

i think you could could buy them in the summer of '78 as a 79 model, so they were probably making them in the beginning of '78 or late '77

 

They started production in fall of 78 I believe. But either way, 79's are VERY rare. I have never seen one in person, and I have only seen a few online. Don't, I repeat, DON'T turn that car into a drag car if the body and interior are in perfect condition. I would rather see you go out and buy an 84 or 85. They are more popular and IMO are a better platform for drag racing.

 

yeah, redlands california...... well, im in san bernardino now.... but it is only like 5 minutes away

 

10/78 is an Early Year car and will most likely have the hood prop on the passenger side. My 79 is an 11/78 and has the odd hood. It is a bit rare even for a 79. Please do not distroy it. Took me a 1 1/2 to find a 79 to buy.

 

Does it happen to only have the one mirror?

April of 78 is when Production began on the RX 7

 

I live in Echo Parque near East Los. The SA's is a very good candidate for a drag car but they are very rare which makes it worth keeping (as long as it is in good shape and orig condition as you mentioned. Get a FB instead-too many in www.recycler.com.

 

my buddy got his 79 from the origional owner bout a year ago for 700 bux, in immaculate shape, it had a mazda rebuilt engine in it, and runs great... i've seen quite a few 79's, i wouldn't call them rare...

 

In my area, it is rare.

 

there seam to be alot in the WA area, I have seen 5 or 6 for sale there in the last year. Maybe they came off the boat there.

 

Well, I'm most likely biased because, in my area, any RX is rare. You see more Porsche 944's and muscle cars in my area than any kinda RX. But when you do see an RX-7 in my area, they are normally in immaculate condition (with the exception of mine). I've only seen mabey one 79 for sale in my area. So really any rx is rare to me.

 

so from what im gathering, the car isnt really "rare"..... its more rare in certain locations, but not others....1st gen rx's are everywhere down here (if you go to pick a part where i live, there are usually like 10-15 just sitting there) (there was even one w/ a wierd looking 13b in it, dont know if it was stock, or custom.... im a laman when it comes to 1st gens) i just didnt want to cut up something that one of you guys might want to have to restore.... im not like that.....so if there are no objections, a drag car it shall become....

 

well I've seen quite a few 79's in the junkyard here (I check door frames to see if theres any good stuff) and I know for a fact I've seen some production yrs. '78. Must not be THAT rare/valuable. I'd say go ahead and rip 'er up. It doesn't have an engine anyway which leaves you that far ahead. Thats of course my opinion b/c I'm partial to FB's. The front bumper and rear license plate/tailight combo just never really looked as cool IMO as the later.

 

do you have the blue plates? if you do, I would like to buy from ya since this is going to be a drag car. pm me if ur interested. thanks

 

any 1st gen is petty rare in my area.. i have seen maybe 8 and i know there is a couple others so lets say 10-15 1st gen's in my city? i have around 800 000 people in the city so you can do the math

 

A good example was SS6 last year, there were only a handful say less than 10 SA (thats including my bros). Even at LA junkyards, I hardly see them and we're running out of FB's too. Majority of the RX-7 are FC's

 

and fc is better then not having any rx7's at all! lmao but thats to bad... the fb's are priceless

 

I can't say it enough, our cars are becoming endagered. Seeing a lot in a junkyard IS NOT a good thing

 

i think the sa's are cool if you find one in good condition, my dads is one of the early ones with only the drivers side rear view mirror and the prop on the hood and on the passenger side...its cool i think and i wouldn't destroy it if the car is in good shape, get an s2, they are worthless, lol (i own one)

 

Hey Vipers, if you DO decide to strip it down, could you put the good interior bits on ebay or ThePartsTrader.com so the pieces can go to good homes??
Stu Aull
Alaska
80GS

 

depending on where you are these cars are becoming more rare. In europe for example the RX-7's are less common then ANY production porsche (including 911 turbo etc), if that's saying something. One of the reasons why there are hardly any S1 SA's left (we kept the "SA" tag just untill 83, the FB was 84-85 only, yet the S2 81-83 SA is just the same as your S2 FB) overhere is the salt and weather during winters. As a results all of them simply rot away, and very few are left. The later models were a bit better protected, and therefor a few more are left.

 

sorry.... the plates are the new white ones..... it was registered until march 04', which is crazy considering the insane smog laws here in california..... did you just want the blue plates off of a rx7, or any blue plates????? blue license plates are still pretty common... id be more than happy to get one for you

 

any blue plates will do. I need 2 sets. 1 for the rx-3 and 1 for rx-7. then will work something out since I have to my cars re-registered under the blue plates

thanks