Help me identify what RX7 I have!
08-14-18, 07:42 PM
#30
There are a couple of things you can look at to tell if this body is really a 1980 or 1981-1985. One is that the 1980 does not have a hole on the passenger side fire wall for wires. Having the 13B, You do have the wire harness going through the firewall on the passenger side, but someone might have cut a hole. It would be easy to tell if this is a factory hole or one someone cut. The other is the shifter hole on the trans tunnel. On the 1981-1985 the shifter is about 4 or 5 inches further back from the 1979-1980. If this is a 1980 body, they would need to cut the shift opening some. The other is to look at the metal for the taillights on the inside where the jack is. They would have had to graft on the metal to put in they 1981-1985 style tail lights.
08-14-18, 09:01 PM
#31
Damn, it did start!
the ribs on the strut mounts are from a 84-85.
08-14-18, 09:16 PM
#32
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The previous owner told me when he got the car the previous owner had hit something on the front. He had another RX-7 So he used the fenders. But from what you guys are saying maybe he also swapped transmission's and engines, then badged it?
08-14-18, 11:52 PM
#33
Damn, it did start!
No, he cut the VIN and production plate form an 1980 and attempted to graft it onto a GSLSE chassis. He also replaced the fenders front bumper and hood. Which adds to the illusion that the title is correct. This is a real mess. You are driving a car that legally isn't what it says it is. I wish I could give you advice other than consult with an attorney.
08-15-18, 11:46 AM
#34
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you can see on the passenger side where they cut the body to use the 1980 inner fenders... the radiator, and headlight motors are 1980 as well, everything behind that is GSL-SE, except the vin.
in the drivers door jamb, there should be a sticker with the vin, and built date and such.
in the drivers door jamb, there should be a sticker with the vin, and built date and such.
08-15-18, 04:37 PM
#35
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you can see on the passenger side where they cut the body to use the 1980 inner fenders... the radiator, and headlight motors are 1980 as well, everything behind that is GSL-SE, except the vin.
in the drivers door jamb, there should be a sticker with the vin, and built date and such.
in the drivers door jamb, there should be a sticker with the vin, and built date and such.
08-15-18, 06:01 PM
#36
Yep, stopped by and looked at it. It's a nice little run around car! Can see that just forward of the drivers side strut tower there's a vertical weld seam where the front fender inner structure was replaced. Probably more weld seams beneath the battery tray and inside the wheel well. Checked the depth of the spare tire well and it's definitely not SA. The top of the inner fender at the strut tower on the drivers side has been worked and hammered as you can see in the pics. It has a front mount oil cooler, and SA front body work, including the rubber front spoiler. The passenger side inner fender structure looked intact with factory seams.
Not sure why the PO would have changed the VIN to the SA VIN tho, but it's titled and plated now, so....
Not sure why the PO would have changed the VIN to the SA VIN tho, but it's titled and plated now, so....
08-17-18, 05:29 AM
#39
The trim level will not always appear on the title. If its in fact titled as a 1980 then there are some serious legal issues that could result. The car was born an 84 or 85 GSL-SE and the title should reflect a 1984 or 1985 model year. The original vin number is clearly still stamped into the firewall next to that plate that was installed. That plate is from a 1979 model year RX-7, so if the car is in fact titled as a 1980, wearing a partial 1979 vin that has been affixed to the firewall of an 84 or 85, then I would in fact return that car to the seller or part it out and try to recover some of the money spent on purchasing it. If anything with the insurance company or the police are involved, there could be some serious legal issues.
08-17-18, 06:59 AM
#40
The trim level will not always appear on the title. If its in fact titled as a 1980 then there are some serious legal issues that could result. The car was born an 84 or 85 GSL-SE and the title should reflect a 1984 or 1985 model year. The original vin number is clearly still stamped into the firewall next to that plate that was installed. That plate is from a 1979 model year RX-7, so if the car is in fact titled as a 1980, wearing a partial 1979 vin that has been affixed to the firewall of an 84 or 85, then I would in fact return that car to the seller or part it out and try to recover some of the money spent on purchasing it. If anything with the insurance company or the police are involved, there could be some serious legal issues.
IIRC, the VIN that is stamped into the metal matched the VIN on the plate next to it. I did point out that, at least on my 79 (not sure about 80), that the stamped VIN is on the drivers side fire wall. There also is no ID tag you would expect to see in the drivers door jamb. The VIN plate on the dash is the SA VIN plate and you can clearly see that it doesn't belong on that dashboard (the tag is shorter than the 17 character FB VIN tag).
I agree Dave that he should seek legal advice, which I think he's doing. I told him the only reasons I can think that the PO might have swapped VINs are that 1) the GSL-SE was a stolen car, 2) the PO bought a smacked up GSL-SE from a junkyard with no title (by law car titles in VA are stricken from the records and sent to DMV when a car goes to a junkyard), 3) the PO bought it from someone who had lost the title (so the PO didn't receive a title when he purchased it), or 4) the PO lost the title himself. In any of those cases the PO would have had to have swapped the VIN from an 80 to which he had a title so that he could title the GSL-SE.
He has antique plates on it now which do not require annual inspectionn, but again, he could have trouble selling it down the line. Parting out is a good idea too.
08-17-18, 11:04 AM
#41
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it may not have been THE p.o., but certainly A p.o.
08-18-18, 11:17 AM
#42
Good point. Nathan told me that the guy he purchased it from made the modifications on the front end, so I'm assuming that the most previous PO is the one that switched the VINs, but at this point I'm not sure if that guy was at all honest with this young man. I hope he gets some direction from his lawyer and gets his money back.
08-21-18, 05:48 AM
#43
I'm glad that he's seeking legal advice. The car was clearly altered and he could not only lose the car to impound and ultimately the crusher, but could also spend some time behind bars. I would definitely get the advice of an attorney on the matter to see what he can do as he was definitely scammed. The police can definitely get involved and if they can prove taht the previous owner altered the vin, there the previous owner will face some serious legal issues.
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