Captian Insano

Hey everyone,

Im fairly new the the forum, but not a complete noob you could say... alright so maybe I am, deal with it lol. I have a great chance to get a 1983 seven, which is my dream car (not quite, my real dream car is an '02 A-Spec Spirirt R, but I think eventually upgrading to any third gen would be nice). He wants 1700 for it, but its not worth that much, its in pretty good shape, but not THAT good of shape. Were gonna take it for a test drive, and if it has good compression and such then Im gonna offer 1000, but I wont pay more then 1300 for it. Its silver, has a few scratches here and there, some body work has been done on the real wheel wells, but nothing to bad. So anyway, theres a very good chance Im gonna get it, which leads me to tonights questions lol. Also, anything done to the car will NOT be immediate, this will be for future reference because the cars gonna soak up pretty much next months money supply. My budget for this car will be on a need-to-get basis, until I have enough for the parts and etc. I will need.

Well start off with the body first I guess:

The body on this car is in pretty decent shape actually, I was surprised, theres really no visible rust at all on the outside, the inner shell is another question I cant really answer. A couple trim peices are off, but they are there, and I can put them back on. Also, like mentioned, both rear wheel arches were obviusly worked on, bondo-ed then spray painted, but Im not to worried about it though, and the front end was obviusly run into a fence post or something and popped out, its not that bad, a little cracked, but again, Im not worried about it.

1) I was looking at the Mariah Mode One wide body kit. I love it, and want to get it. Could anyone with experience with it give me there comments on it?

2) I live up in Canada, so if anyone could point me out to where I could buy this kit from out here it would be cool, Im not worried about shipping.

3) What type of spoilers are out there for the car other then the usual that I see, theres nothing wrong with them, I just want something different if I can get it.

Next up is the engine:

Like I also mentioned also, we are going to take the car out to see if it has good compression. My dad started it up and it did idle a little weird, but it was only the second time it had been started in a while and the carb needs a little adjusting. The guy also said he had a spare carb, no idea what make or modell, but there is a spare. Also, my hp goal is not set, somewhere above around 200 would be awesome, and anywhere above 250 would be amazing.

1) Probly the most annoying and most asked question out there lol... should I go n/a or turbo? I know that going either way takes some skills I dont have yet, I cant port, and I cant weld yet, eventually I will be able to though. How much does it cost to have either done?

2) If I were to go turbo, what's a cheap and fast spooling turbo to use? I dont really care if it comes out of a junker car, as long as it works really. And what kind of exhaust/carb mods need to be done to get it to work? Even if anyone could point my to a link where this is covered in depth that would be so awesome.

3)If I go n/a, whats the first few things I should do to get some more power? Things like cold air, or stuff like that, anything would be awesome to know.

Third, the suspension:

I dont know what the suspension is like on the car, we kinda just bounced it around a little and it seemed okay? haha.

1) What are some upgrades I should look at for the future? Are there any coilover kits for this car?

2) How about the steering? Is something like the RE Speed Stage 2 Suspension and Steering upgrade worth the money?

Brakes and Wheels:

Again, dont know anything about the brakes really, just know their there, and they work. The wheels are stock, as are the tires, definitly needs a new set too.

1) What kind of brake kits are there for these cars? Is there RE Speed the best one out there?

2) What are your suggestions for the tires? I will be getting the Mariah Mode One kit eventually, so any suggestions there either?

Exhaust?:

The exhaust sounds pretty good, doesnt have a beater sound to it. I thnk its in half decent shape anyway. Theres apperantly a extra exhuast too, but I dont have any info on it.

1) What kits are out there? Any help is so greatly appreciated.

2) I want something that sounds nice and hearty, but I dont need F1 effects lol. Hows my choices there?

Lastly, Interior:

The interior in this thing isnt all too bad, the seats are toast, Ill be finding some sort of temporary fix for that no matter what. The rear hatch compartments have peices of wood with 6x9's in them, there junk and will be replaced. The roof liner has some cracks and tears in it, but its not falling apart. The dash is pretty good, the leather wannabe stuff or whatever has a few splits in it.

1) What should I do about the roof liner and other bits that have splits and stuff in them? Can I get replacments easily?

2) What seats would you suggest? I like the Bride Zeta 2's but dont know how much they are or if it would be hard to install.

3) In the far future, what kind of roll cages are there if any that I could get installed in there?

I think thats about it lol, sorry if its too long for some people, but I wanna be indepth so I can get the answers I need lol. Any help at all is grealy appreciated and I want this to happen so anything at all would he a help. Thanks!

Justin

Jaime Enriquez

I assuming you're talking Canadian $$'s If it doesn't idle right or sound clean, it will need some work or a new motor. Do a compression test before you buy the car. You can use a standard piston tester, just unscrew and remove the needle thingy where you insert the tester into the plug hole. Put it in the lower hole, leave the top plug in and crank....you should get over 90 psi cold. 100+ is better. If you get low readings....don't bother, it will need a rebuild. Check the Archives and FAQ's for carb help.

Stay N/A unless you pick up a GSL-SE. Making an old carb'ed car turbocharged will need lots of fuel work, like pumps and large fuel line. Turbo rotaries, unless setup by someone who REALLY knows what they're doing, can be an expensive road.

A good streetport motor, 13B if you plan to upgrade, with an Weber IDA carb will give you plenty of power and be lots of fun, especially for your first rotary. This will run you around 2500-3500 depending on parts and mods. MSD and 2nd Gen direct fire help on the spark side and improve mileage a bit. Stock SE plugs or B9evg's (NGK) New wires, cap and rotor.

Exhaust is a no-brainer....for that motor, the RB full ST exhaust will be the best, and allow you to mod later and not change it. Its both loud enough and quiet enough when need be.

Suspension: Decide what you want....stiff and track-like or streetable. Either aftermarket shocks (Illumina's Konis,) and springs or full RE-Speed coilovers.

Interior: Mazdatrix has just about everything, carpets and plastic bits....go junkyard hunting, you may get lucky. Autopower has bolt in and weld in cages, or you can go custom.

Kentetsu

I'm only going to touch on the suspension question.....

Racing Beat makes good stuff if you're on a budget and just want something a little more sporty than stock.

If you want to go all out, and do it right, then definitely go with Respeed. First rate all around. Check out my videos when you get time...

What are your goals for the car? You want to race, or just fool around and look cool? That will make a difference in the direction you want to go.

More than anything else, just read on this forum. Run some searches. There is a wealth of information here if you take the time to do a little searching. Good luck with your potential purchase...

.

DivinDriver

iTrader: (15)

I'll wish you luck and leave you with this small piece of advice; learn how it's supposed to work, and how to make it work that way, before you start changing it.

speedracer_not

Insano,
If you live in Canada, the 1st mod you should do is fix the damn rust on the rear wheel wells. Except in addition to welding, use galvanizedl bolts.

Really rings my dingy seeing the 12 shiney galvanized bolt heads poking though the wheel well sheet metal from the outside contrasted by the black undercoating.

RRRRR Road Warrior!!!! RRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!

Captian Insano

Hey,

Thank you all for the tips, Ill use them once I get the car, and greatly appreciate the help.

Jaime Enruquez:
Yes, that is 1700 canadian, although right now its about the same price still I beleive. Thanks for the tip on checking compression, our way was gonna be a bit simpler (just drive it around and see how it handles really haha) but Ill defintly do that too. Do you know how much a compression gauge is? Also thank you for all the other tips, they are very helpful. I did consider doing a 13b swap, how much does it cost on average (even if its in american currency, it'll give me an idea anyway) to do the swap? Can I just get a '85 GSL-SE front end and swap it in? I know its a bit more complicated then that but would that be the gist of it? Or would I have to find a motor and tranny, and then an ecu, and then build custom mounts and all?

Kentetsu:
Thanks for the suspension help. Does RB make replacement coilovers or is theirs a conversion kit like RE Speeds? Also, the car will be made for the street mostly, there arnt any tracks near where I live, but racing performance is always good too lol, I just want something that will show all the posers around here what a real car is, not just a pontiac sunfire (not that theres anything wrong with them) with some no name racing seats and duck taped on hood scoops from a truck is "ballin".

DivinDriver
That truly is some great advice, thank you. Although this will be MY first rx, my dad owned a '85 GSL that was very lightly modded, and a family freind actaully used to be a mazda mechanic, and knows rotarys very well, so I wont be alone on this.

speedracer_not:
yeah, I live in BC, so I get 40 degrees in both summer and snow usually lol. I plan on doing that right away. Can you explain the galvanized bolt fix, I think I might understand, but if you could explain it in more depth a little, that would be awesome.

Thanks for all the tips guys, they are so helpful, and if it were legal for me to buy a round down there (its 19 in BC, and 18 almost everywhere else), it would be done lol.

Justin

orion84gsl

iTrader: (5)

The 13B is close to a direct bolt in. You would need the stock SE ECU or a stand alone, and the crossmember needs some work, since its a slightly longer engine. Also the SE fuel pump or aftermarket equivalent. There's more stuff I'm sure, but I'm a 12A carby guy so do some searching and you'll find exactly what is involved.

Racing beat only makes a spring and anti roll bar kit. It is not a coilover like RE-Speed, just a stock style replacement. But considering the cost and the fact that I, along with some others are considering swapping them out for RE bits, you might as well save a little longer and go straight to RE-Speed.

And just in case your not sure, the inner fender well rust can be found by pulling your storage bins. You'll see the spot where the floor and wheel well come together. If that's really bad you'll need to have it cut out and weld in some thicker metal. Use POR-15 on it afterwards to keep it from rusting. The reason for this is the lower control arms on the rear axle bolt to a bracket that is mounted to that area. Bad rust means your running the risk of it pulling itself apart or pushing through the floor. I have some on my drivers side but it has a patch welded on to keep the rust from spreading and keep it all together until I get around to getting all the body work done that I want. Check out my cardomain page in my sig. I have a couple pictures of it on one of the pages there. I think the galvanized bolt idea is more cosmetic than anything else. Good welds should stand up very well on their own. It would look kind of cool though.

Good luck to you.

Captian Insano

Hey,

Thanks for the help orion84gsl, thats some real great stuff to know, especailly the bit about the inner wheel well rust. It doesnt actually have the storage bins anymore, they were taking out and and the previous owner put plywood for mounts for speakers, but either way they come out. Thanks for the help guys, keep it coming if you have anythign at all. Also, does anyone have any info on the body kit or the brakes? I know RE Speed makes the conversion kit but I would just like to know if there are other options out there. Thanks!

Justin

Kentetsu

There are other options available as far as springs go. Most, however, will actually raise your car up rather than lowering it as they claim. Do a little reading, there are many threads on the pros and cons of each approach...

bad 83

iTrader: (3)

As far as you HP goals, you might be able to sqeeze about 130-135 out of a well worn 12A staying N/A. To get over the 200 mark, you will need to go turbo. I personally run a blowthrough 12A in my 83 GSL. It might be putting close to 230-250 at 15 psi. My 80 SA has a N/A HalfBridge maybe pushing 170. If you go 13BT, you can climb over the 200 mark easy. The best bet would be to look for S5 turbo engine. There are some good write ups in the archives to go 12A turbo, or swapping in a 13B turbo. Just something to think over. Anyway, good luck

Captian Insano

Hey,

Im not to worried about lowering the car, where I live I cant really lower it to much more then stock because we have really rough roads alot of the time, and dirt roads somtimes. Thanks bad 83, thats good stuff to know.

Justin

speedracer_not

Insano,
I used 12 galvanized bolts to hold the 1/8 mind steel plate before taking it to a welding shop. The bolts helped hold the fitted piece of sheet metal in place while welding.

The shiney bolt heads in the wheel well look so >>>Road Warrior<<< Better than a rear airplane wing

From your 1st post, it sounds like the rusty rear wheel well problems have been addressed.

Captian Insano

Hey,

Ohhhh, now I see, I thought something completly else haha, alight thanks for the tip. So does anyone have any input on the body kit and brakes?

Justin