funkalicious

I'm looking for some advice/info, and I figured I'd go straight to the source. First off, let's state that I've been a rotary enthusaist for quite some time now, but I've never so much as driven a rotary powered car.

Now for the meat. A friend just informed me that his brother who lives in Florida (I'm in Ohio) has an FB sitting at his parents house (also in Ohio) that he is tired of paying insurance on. He says he is willing to come off of it pretty cheap, since I'm a friend of his brother. It's an '85 GSL-SE. I know that these are fairly rare, and that it has the 13B in it. I also know that it is the fully optioned model (the heavy one), and that it had the most power of the NA FBs (I'd love to find a turbo 12A, but let's see that happen sad.gif ), but aside from that I'm almost clueless about FBs.

The only thing I know specifically about this car is that the sway bar mounts are broken (larger than stock bar installed). Is there any place to source these mounts, or would I have to fabricate my own?

Is there any reason I should avoid this car? Are there any common problems with these? Is the fuel injection system up to par?

TIA.

Pele

iTrader: (28)

You can get sway bay end links and brackets at almost any parts store. As a bonus it comes wiht polyurethane bushings.

I've seen energy suspension brand parts at my local PepBoys.

rxguru

It's not in my best interest to discourage you from buying it. That would not please the RX-7 gods. Buy the car. They're fun. You may want to check stuff like the fuel system and ignition out. But if it runs and its cheap....I say do it. There's plenty of things you can do to it after you purchase it to improve reliability and performance, and since the suspension has obviously had some attention to it, perhaps some other areas of the car have too!

linexrandy

If its been sitting any length of time without being driven, be sure to clean ALL fuel lines and such. Mine sat for 4 years and is just fine now. Drain out old gas. Everyone will agree this is the FIRST thing you should do (besides towing it home!!) I had hell with my '85 GSL-SE because I kept wanting to half *** it. I just drained the gas tank and tried to start it. BIG NO NO! Blow out all fuel lines and replace filters and spark plugs then let 'er rip. These cars are an absolute blast to drive. Pretty quick too. This is my first one and she suprised me when i shifted from 2nd to 3rd @6500 RPM on a wet road and nearly fishtailed into the ditch! Kicked my G.F.'s *** in her '98 eclipse. Of course its pretty slow!! And yes, she knows how to drive! And yes, she was mad!

rxguru

yeah he's got a point there. They really don't like the old gas AT ALL! If it has been sitting for a while you might want to change out the cap and rotor as well. And check the air filter box too, I've seen critters try to make homes in them. You may want to check the car for rust too. The last donor car I stripped had rust holes so big in the rear fender wells that I could fit my fist through it. Then after removing the axel I found that the upper control arm was about to fall off! Glad I didn't drive that one!

rxguru

my pics are the smallest, sorry. But you should get the idea.

funkalicious

Thanks for the tips guys. Keep 'em coming.

JKM

I agree, if it runs halfway decently and it's cheap, GET IT!

I believe it's the most fun of all non-turbo RX-7's. It's pretty quick, fun to drive, and it's got just enough power to do some stupid **** in it

Also, once you get any broke stuff fixed on it (Hey, it is a 21 year old car) it will be pretty damn reliable too, assuming the motor is in good shape.

linexrandy

and it's got just enough power to do some stupid **** in it



Yeah, What he said!!

Oh, and on the rarity part, I live in Abilene TX and havnt seen another 1rst gen since I've had the car (almost 2 months). At least thats when I started paying attention.