​​​​​​Thank you for the advice . I am unsure as to whether to fit them or stick with the OEM arms. They are really well made and I had hoped Racing Beat would continue to make them.

 

Its an easy way to get the desired camber without messing with the struts and strut mounts.

 

Thanks. I had plans to buy a 7 with a ported engine with other period mods and fit the Racing Beat control arms. With the Coupe and convertible those plans have now changed.

 

Good news, the oil pressure is all good (standard). A screenshot of the oil pressure gauge as the car underwent testing is provided. The radiator, oil cooler and new oil lines are now refitted/fitted.

A screenshot of the oil pressure gauge as car underwent test.

 

Stock rear muffler fitted with twin outlets.


This car was for sale many years ago in Australia. The wheels interest me and I am not sure what they are - a variant of the Mazda rotor wheels or Delta brand?

 

These are the repairs that have been done to the car while at the workshop. Hopefully car will be back next week.

Compression testing - very good
Oil pressure - very good
Rebuild of radiator
Oil cooler flushed
New oil lines
New oil pressure sensor, oil filter, oil etc
New rear muffler with stock twin outlets
New Mazda fuel sender
Twin pulley replaced by single pulley. Terrible squealing occurred when the old belts were out of synch.

 

Parts arrived from both the US and South Australia. I've noticed parts for the first generation RX7s are harder to locate. With the RX2s, it was a matter of obtaining them from a museum.

TRW Stabiliser bar bushings from Sparks Surplus, Teas.

TRW Stabiliser bar bushings from Sparks Surplus, Texas

Mazda air vent control buttons from South Australia. Two will replace those on Breezy which are very worn.

Mazda RX7 Series 3 pedal pads from South Australia.

 

The Enkei catalogue for 1984 includes the Shuriken wheels on the vert. The Limited Compe Rally and Cross Fever Racing are nice wheels,

 

Such a good thread, lots of vintage goodies I had no idea ever existed.

 

Thanks mate. A few weeks ago there was a set of Enkei Shurikens for sale on Bangkok, Thailand Facebook.

 

Breezy returned from the workshop today and it was great to be able to drive the car with confidence in its mechanicals. The engine has torque down low and the car is lively for 40 years. The 12A Turbo idles louder with the new muffler but it is a very pleasing rotary sound. The handling of the car is what you would expect with new OEM parts, it is soft compared to the harsh ride when I first drove the car. The steering is as good as a first generation RX7 can be. The next task is the soft top and to check the integrity of the mechanism.


Back from the workshop

 

Lookin sweet down under.

 

Thank you.

 

Sunburnt, Windchilled, Topless and Turbo'd

It was around 27 degrees, humidity close to 90% so we took the vert for a drive. The car is idling for 10 min warm up and sat on 100km on our local distributor which is the speed limit. The ride is very smooth and the blow off valve is amusing.

My sons believe Breezy should gate crash an MX5 or Miata Roadster meet, passing herself off as a Miata Roadster Marque 4.5.

Idling away on warm up.

 

The Coupe will be completed in 2 to 3 weeks and has travelled similar mileage to Breezy, around 129,000 kms. I stored the car for 12 years when higher priorities needed attention ie children and mortgage. The car has been in the workshop and has created interest among local rotary enthusiasts. 😁 When I went to visit the car back in late Nov/Dec last year, that is when the workshop owner rolled out Breezy and offered it for sale. The previous owner arranged for it to be sold through the workshop. The purchase of Breezy was unexpected but speaking with the workshop owner yesterday he said to me I got a great deal. 😁

The following work has or is being undertaken -

12A engine rebuild
machined down 13b housings - 2 sets of 12A NOS housings were available but at $2500 USD for each set I preferred the 13b machined down option at $1250 USD including machining.
lightened rotors and rotating gear
lightened flywheel
gearbox rebuild
rebuilt brake master cylinder
PWR radiator
PWR oil cooler
brake rebuild
Extractors and sports exhaust - no dump pipe but OEM twin tips. Do US 7 owners have a fascination with dump pipes?

Modified Nikki carburettor with venturis and jets to be done locally.

I am also planning on a suspension and steering upgrade with the local firm that upgraded Breezy. Taking a 45-year-old car in for a steering and suspension upgrade is not that simple because the parts need to be available. This is the plan for the Coupe with parts from my spares box -

new pitman arm - 555 brand
new inner and outer tie rods - 555 brand
new link adjusting rods - Mazda
new lower control arms and ball joints - Mazda

The car had a new idler arm around 12 years ago and has done minimal mileage since then. It also has near new koni yellow shocks and Lovells springs at standard height. I plan to fit the 14 x 6 Watanabe wheels and performance tyres (choice is limited due to size).

I will post photos when the car returns.

Tie rods, sway bar bushings, link rods and lower control arms.

Lower control arms I purchased at a really good price from a good bloke in Western Australia who had stopped his ground up rebuild of a Series 1 RX7 at least 5 years ago. They were always meant for the coupe whereas the items for the vert came from Sparks surplus in Texas.

 

It is 20 degrees with a southerly wind so a good day to take Breezy for a drive. The car attracts a lot of admiring glances from the public. It is rare to see a first generation RX7 on the road these days.

 

My son came across this photo of a Gen 1 convertible in Japan. Hopefully it is restored. How many convertible Gen 1s remain in the US?


Pacific Avatar or Global Coach?

 

Usual conversions (Pacific Avatar etc) use a 626 sedan trunk lid for the conversion. That looks like a lot of bondo involved in that conversion.

As to the # in the states, hard to say. I've seen one I think so far.

 

Thanks for the reply. I've seen that boot lid conversion previously. Hopefully there are a few convertibles in garages around the US!

 

The Watanabe 14 x 6 wheels for the Coupe. The shop rang this morning and asked me to pick up the tyres I had purchased for them. I have the centre caps and will order the wheel bolts.

New standard height front King Springs purchased from another RX7 owner. I have new rears and they are the equivalent of the Pedders on the convertible.

 

My son had an interesting text exchange with the son of the first owner of the car. He recalls having to take the car back to Mazda in Adelaide twice to have warranty repairs to the mechanism which attaches the soft top to the windscreen. He is looking for a photograph he has of the car whist in his family's ownership.

 

This is the road test article by Kevin Smith on the Pacific Avatar model. With a 13B turbo engine the car was $45,000 USD.

 

Without the top the Lotus Elan inspiration becomes much more obvious. I really like your 626 boot lid far more than the other conversions solutions. Very pretty car.

 

Thank you for the positive feedback. The car is a very good-looking vehicle and attracts a lot of attention. The last convertible for sale in Australia after mine was a yellow Convertible Cars Australia vehicle sold without engine. It was one of the aftermarket examples of which there may have been 8 to 10, in yellow or red.

 

Car at workshop for adjustment of the idle and new top pulley.