Johnny Boost

First off i bought a 83 GSL back last december from my ex girl friend... i haven't done much with it till now. I put on a trailer and took it to a rotary specialist shop. The guy's been working on RX-7s for Mazda since 79. I had him do a compression test on it and I have bad compression in my front rotor (4.3:1) so I'm scrapping my plans on building up the 12a in it.

here are two of my options...

1) He has a very nice 79 SA with a 13b swaped in with a Holly 4 barrel beautiful charcoal black paint job and he talked the lady selling it from $2800 down to $2000 He says it's a great car and a screamer... only thing it needs is new tires.

2) He has a 88 2nd Gen GTU for sale. The guy selling it bought it NEW from the guy rotary expert i've been dealing with. He swaped a new 13b into it years ago after the last one got jacked up. the new 13b has 80,000 - 90,000 miles on it. he's asking $2400 for it...

I'm looking for a car I can build and try to keep it semi reliable (even for a 7)

So I told him I'd call him back this next monday and curious what you guys thought was the best deal?

This kinda subject makes it hard for a search... I am, however doing a lot of research on the 2nd gen GTU and the 79.

Thanks for your insight.

Oh and currently I'm driving a 1991 MR2 Turbo but that is costing loads of money in the insurance department. Anyone want to buy a MR2 in Northern CO?

OnlyOnThurs

SA all the way!

mar3

iTrader: (8)

'79 SA with the transplant, hands down. Lower weight, better front-to-rear balance ratio and it doesn't look like a poor man's Porsche. Also, it doesn't have to undergo a sniffer test in any state, plus it's $400 cheaper and more "mechanical" in nature like a hot rod, in and out.

Rx-7Doctor

iTrader: (13)

2 totally different automobiles.
The Sa is the vehicle that is going to go up in value. Good Sa's are getting harder to find.

If it was a Gtu-S that would be a different story.
Everything depends on what you like as far as looks and as well as what the car feels to you when you drive it. It does not matter what we like or think because we are not the one that is going to drive it.

Do you have emission testing in your area?
The Sa is an easier car to work on and less complicated than the FC.

Re-Speed.com

iTrader: (3)

As far as S4's go the GTU was the NA car to have. It was the S5's that the GTU was base and the GTUs was the one to have.

-billy

876portturbo

iTrader: (4)

sa with a 13b and a 4 bbl holley, that sounds fun

steve84GS TII

Yep.
If I had to choose another RX to have,it would be the S5 GTUs.
All the performance goodies of the TII,without the weight of luxury items.Turn the wick up on that zingy N/A 13B and youve got a great streetcar.

And dont just pick the older car because it MIGHT not have to be smogged.CA dropped the 25 year rolling smog exemption a while back,and the rest of the country is steadily adopting CA smog laws.The EFI controlled FC will be a lot easier to smog than the older thermal reactor equipped,carbed SA your looking at......if it even has any remnents of a smog control system left.

dbragg

iTrader: (7)

the SA will be LOTS more fun to drive. the GTUs is nice, i was looking to get one a while back, but quickly decided to stay with first gens.

first gens are cheaper to maintain, more fun, the guys in our section are nicer and more helpful, and SAs are just ******* hotness!

if you want something to store away for value, get the GTUs. if you want a fun DD, get the SA. the GTUs would be fun also, but not as quick or cheap/easy to maintain.

RX7KENN

I love first gens, and they are cheaper to maintain.
but owned both 1st and 2nd gen cars and (now saving for an FD)

The first gen had to be cheaper/ a lil funner.

the second gens have a cleaner look to them.
and can be built to be even funner then the first gen.

BUT i do agree people in the 1st gen section are more imformative.
the 2nd gen section of this forum is like down sydrome.
way to many newb teens and ****.

rxguru

I've had eight 1st gens, four 2nd gens, and just got my first FD, and look at the section of this forum I still frequent......I had to start an account on nopistons.com to get advise with my FD cause there's too much badattude here.

As for your situation, the 1st gen is a go-kart with a windshield....man I miss my SE...my wallet misses it even more

BlackWorksInc

Go for the 1st Gen, I got mine from my stepdad before it got sold; an 82' with Tokico Suspension goodies and some other toys. Though its a pain in the *** esspeciallys ince likeever crack head worked on the car, so when I am fixing something it tends to be more work that orginally planned. (i.e. routing an after-market alarm system by bypassing teh fusible links, so when the relay blew out I couldn't get the damn thing to start and took me two weeks to find out why!). But as much trouble as I get, it is a great, purely mechanical car... plus its fun to feel what it was like to drive a 80's classic sports car.

Johnny Boost

Welll thanks for the HUGE ammount of response back.

I live in CO. They just got rid of all emissions in CO... something about the brown cloud over denver going away.... HA.

Well I have yet to see the SA but it belongs to a Female Judge in Fort Collins who's taken great care of it.

The GTU looks clean and what not.

I have yet to drive either one. I'll keep you all informed on what I'm doing with this whole thing... Thanks again for the imput!

Kentetsu

You should probably consider the possibility that your current motor might not even be bad. After sitting for extended periods, the apex seals can stick, causing reduced compression.

If I were you, I'd soak it in Seafoam and MMO for a few days, then check it again. You never know....

glewsRx

iTrader: (1)

^+1
MMmmmmmmmm SA. I want donut.

Kentetsu

You know, call me a skeptic if you want to, but whenever I hear somebody say they need a new motor for their RX7 I always have to question it.

Now, if this had been referring to a 3rd gen on the other hand....

orion84gsl

iTrader: (5)

Why ditch a car so quickly. Even if the seal is gone, a rebuild isnt THAT expensive and youll have a completely fresh motor that only you will drive, instead of 80-90K Miles on a motor. Besides, don't you want to build the car yourself. I would never buy a pre-built car. Thats half the fun.