drittens

I just got my rx-7... wow! ok. Well right now it doesnt have keys, it doesnt have a battery, and it doesnt run.

I dont want to sound stupid but where is the battery suppose to be located.. What cranking amps should the battery have?
Im going to try and post some pics, of it... Im not sure how though. Ill put more up later.
Thanx,
Mary

Elysian

theres where the battery goes, and i think mines like 830 cold crank amps? not sure... u can easily look it up when u go to buy the battery

Overboard

I notice there is no radiator fan.... and something else is missing too, cant quite place it.... I am totally new to rx7's though ... maybe if you don't already know what it is other might point it out for you.....

Elysian

the metal shroud that goes in front of the radiator is missing... there appears to be something on the front of the radiator, maybe its a fan?

drittens

There is a fan shroud, plastic, infront to the rad. The air filter is gone, and the plug wires aren't attached. He siad that he "replaced the timing chain or belt er something" I think he replaced the accesory belts....

dont really know about rx-7s. My aunt gave me the car, and i went and got it yestarday, its been sitting for about 10 years, so yeah.....

Mary

drittens

Heres some more pics...

Elysian

yeah it needs some TLC... but u came to the right place

drittens

heres the front end... can somebody please tell what front clip that is?

and this other pic is to show you the tackiness of a former owner.. dont actually know what he was trying to do, and there is four of them...


yeah it needs a little TLC, but it was a free car. All in all Im happy with it. We just got to get it runnin, but we got to figure out whats wrong with it first.

Mary

Dan_s_young

iTrader: (1)

ok lets see here. The front air dam appears to be wings west. for the record RX7's do not have timing chains... Theres no charcoil canister in the picture as well. Remove the rats nest, replace the missing parts, for the battery get one with a high cold cranking amperature rating because rotarys use a ton of power for starting. If I was to buy a battery again I would go all out and get a optima sealed battery and relocate it to the drivers side storage bin. What are your plans with this car? Daily driver? Auto-xer? You will find this site is a great reference for anything you want to know about your car, a year ago I knew nothing either. And can someone explain to me what the point of the fin out the passenger side of the car? The old owner must have just put that their for looks or something...

BigJim

i think that side vent looks pretty cool and would like something similar. Its a nice little touch

purple82

It's clearly a vent from an early 80s Trans Am. It wouldn't do anything in the empty space behind the fender.

hammmy

Seeing as it's a '79, you might want to think about restoring it to stock form. Oh, and removing the rat's nest is not necessary to getting it running. Reading comprehension and a shop manual are helpful.

Dan_s_young

iTrader: (1)

its not necessary but it helps, so many hideous vacuum leaks and lurk in all the lines...

drittens

Pulled the gas tank, nice and nasty gas....as expected. I have been noticing a little leak coming fromt he center of the car, I got up under there and realized that the stinky-brown-watery-stuff was coming out of the larger catalytic converter thing?(the second on inline ont he exhaust) Is this a cat? I assume it's jsut condensation that sat of a while?

LongDuck

That 'stinky-brown-watery-stuff' probably matches the 'stinky-brown-watery-stuff' in your radiator! My guess would be that the coolant O-rings in the lower intake manifold have gone out which allowed the coolant to leak past these passages and down into the intake, into the exhaust, and out of your 'cat'. Pray that this isn't the case, because if it is, the inside of your rotary chambers are going to be rusty and need some REAL work to get that thing running.

Your best bet would be to remove the exhaust system at the engine, grab a flashlight and look up in there. You'll know right away whether that engine is servicable. If you see gunky, chunky rust in the exhaust manifold and the same inside the engine, you're going to need a rebuild - potentially an engine replacement (junk yard or pick-a-part).

Have a look into it and let us know what you find out. Even replacing an engine is not rocket-science with these cars.


Based on the outside appearance of your car, it is a 79/80 "SA22" - the earliest model of RX-7 imported into the US. These cars have the separate bumpers and upper mounting license plate with light pods. The front fenders are a bit different than 81+ cars, so finding replacements to go back to stock will be a bit more expensive. That's if you want to restore it to factory condition.

If I were you, I'd stick with the customization, clean up the engine bay and get it running. You can enjoy a lot of time with this car with a fresh motor, and the rest of the stuff that I can see (wiring running lights, interior, etc.) will be weekends well spent. Factor in about $500 in parts if you're cheap and can source them locally and you've got a good daily driver. If you wanted to go all out and make this car something really special, you could dump an untold amount of money into it. I'm not sure that'd be a good idea, though.

Let us know what you want to do, and what you find as you go through it. Free cars can't be beaten with a stick!

RustyRotary

iTrader: (2)

What are those holes on the passenger side of the dash? I'm not too familiar with 79/80's. With some fiberglass work and a paint job that car would be pretty slick Oh, and is that a glass sunroof I see?

drittens

I dont know what those holes are...speaker? yes, it has a glass sunroof in good shape! Yep, its a 79. Oh yeah, not going back to stock(I like those side vents quite a bit actually), just going to have fun(maybe old-school import style)! If that is the case(rusty engine, is there anyway to do a quick check to see if the junkyard engines are worth grabbing? We have four 1st gens and one 2nd gen non-turbo...I figured all of the '7s in the yard would be there because the owner diddnt want to buy a new engine when their's cratered....

Also, i did something stupid today....my hood popper's cable is worn out...so I took off both springs to see if the hood would latch at all...it would, so I put the spring attached to the latch that pushes the hood open when you pop te hood...ok, still opened fine, so then I put back on the spring the holds the hood shut, and now I cant get the pull to pull far enough to get the hood open!
Is there anyway to get the hood open? Am I going to have to bend the hood? There arent any good hoods locally(that I have found yet) that the hood isnt locked shut just the same as mine!

RustyRotary

iTrader: (2)

Not the glovebox lol The holes that are above it, and it has what looks like a handle across them.

Can't say I've ever gotten my hood stuck before. Maybe there's a panel or something you can move to access the cable and just pull it with your fingers? Or maybe you raise the front of the car and pop the latch with a rod or something from underneath? Just making wild guesses here

drittens

and also, if yall could point me in the direction of where I could pick up a motor...just incase
I've found mazdarx7engines.com and mazdarotaryengines.com...I was just hoping maybe there was another source, you know, like how you can buy a Silvia motor w/ 40K on it

Elysian

u could always check ebay... or get ahold of some place possibly in texas... i can't remember the name of the shop, but in garland(i know a long long way from amarillo) is a shop that handles all FB and FC stuff for Rotary Performance(aka rx7.com) i've been to the shop, its called something like monster speed or something, but they deal mainly in rotaries, and seemed to be pretty good.. they might be able to help u out, not sure whats around amarillo