The car now has new Mazda lower control arms and ball joints, a new 555 pitman arm, TRW inner and outer tie rods and Mazda adjustable link rods. It steers and handles well for its age. As the car was warming up, a gentleman and his wife who were walking past had a good inspection and offered to buy it!


Tie rods, pitman arms and bushings



After having the lower control arms and ball joints, inner and outer tie rod ends plus pitman arm and adj link rods fitted.

 

These photos were taken at the local club meet yesterday. The vert had been previously to this meet at night and I posted photos.


Car at local club meet.

 

A few photos of the car before and after its 1,000km service after the engine rebuild. The timing was too advanced, so the performance is improved. I have just arranged for it to go back next Tuesday to have the carburetor secondaries modified. Not many workshops do this work now.

1000km service completed after engine rebuild.

 

I had an interesting discussion this morning with a restorer who is a rotary enthusiast who saw a red Gen 1 RX7 convertible at a detailing workshop just around the corner from his own workshop. He believes it has Series 2 or SA wheels which could mean it may be one of the cars converted in the photo I posted of the Convertible Cars Australia workshop in Melbourne. He is going to track down more information from the detailer. It sounds like I may meet the owner at one of the local car shows. It is good to know there are more convertibles still in existence.

This is a photo of the Convertible Cars Australia workshop with Series 2 or SA cars under conversion. The car at the rear is almost certainly a Japanese import vehicle.

 

Here's a photo of a neat Series 3 or FB convertible. With mudflaps fitted it was probably converted when the car was secondhand. Cars converted secondhand or, not sold new as a convertible from a Mazda dealer, require an engineer's report for registration. Reports are just over $2100 USD.


This is a Series 2 convertible modified with a 13bt engine which was for sale in Perth WA many years ago. It is an aftermarket conversion.

 

I took the convertible out for a drive this morning around 8am to miss the heat. The car sat nicely on the speed limit of 90km and the ride was very smooth. I stopped on the way home to take a few photos.

The coupe is much livelier now with the secondaries on the carburetor modified. It was worth the money to have the work done.

I stopped on the way home to take photos of the convertible. Engine is excellent the ride from the suspension is also excellent.

Took this photo from the other side of the road with the engine idling.




Looking west towards the escarpment.

The lines of the convertible are pleasing. I stopped for a coffee and there was interest in the car. The opinion was it is a very cool car. It is a dream to drive, and I can understand why so many were sold in the US.

 

Never seen one of these, ever. How does the 12AT drive? I imagine it has gobs of torque.

 

Hi Mate,

The 12AT is an outstanding engine. There is a lot of torque and the acceleration is excellent. The car is a pleasure to drive and is very reliable. For the purist, it is great maintaining a rarer engine.

 

I beat the sun and humidity this morning by taking breezy out at around 6.30am. I drove out to the Northern Beaches and on the way back stopped for a coffee. This photo was taken at Thirroul outside of the cafe. The car attracts a lot of interest from the public. I saw a Gen 1 RX7 on the back of a tilt tray truck last week pulling into a repair shop so we may see another one on the road locally..

The lines on the old car are remarkable for its 41 years.