I was looking into a first gen rx7 and came across one fairly local to me. The guy said he just recently replaced the tranny and it should have only about 1500 miles on the motor. He is sending me more pics tomorrow but I wanted to get some general ideas first. This would also be my first ever rx7.



yes I would be repainting it as well

 

year and model? Price? Mods?

 

1985 the guy just got it a few months ago in a trade and doesnt know too much about it. I wont know the model and what not till i can check it out most likely. I am also not sure about mods. Price i think is in the range of 2k or so.

 

anyone? what would a car like this usually go for? I will get some more pics up tomorrow though.

 

2k isnt that bad if it is a gsl-se. If it isnt, then its kinda pushing the price in my opion. Check on the interior and you might want to try to work him down a 100 or so, but it seems like a farily decent price. I would def. check into it more.

 

The body kit, paint, tires and wheels are worth over 2k, if you had to do it yourself. The rest is just free stuff.

You will get noticed with that color.

 

yes you will, you should get the plates renamed to Kermit.

 

the way i see it, you spend $2000 on an rx-7 and get a bunch of useless crap in the deal. that is a really terrible color.

 

I like the color. allot.

 

If it runs, and you think you'd ever do any of those mods to another car, it'd be a good deal.

From you one and only picture on the thread, it looks like it has aftermarket 'BBS-style' wheels and tires (probably at least a +1 sizing = 15"), a widebody kit, and a repaint which may be an indicator of no body rust. The color is somewhat subjective, but if it runs well, it would be had at a good price at $2000.

Even better if it's a fuel injected 'SE. Take a close look at it,

 

Plus the motor is an unknown. Was it properly broken in? Who built it? What parts were reused? $2,000 is a lot to spend only to have the engine blow a few months later.

 

2k is a great price for a Wide body with the Wheels to match it.

That price is fair even if there is not an engine in it. color is odd, but the paint looks great from the pic.

 

Assuming the widebody was done properly, I agree. This is doubley true for a car that is in good running order, and has no major issues, and only a few very minor issues.
If it runs and drives well, needs little or no work, it would be a good price.
If you just can't stand the color, then the condition of the paint means little, other than limiting the work needed to repaint.

 

Yea I can get over the color for a little while but would eventually wanna change it. He said all the car needs is plugs wires and a distributor. He said it is carbed as well though. I know very little about the 1st gens that is why I am asking you guys. I have really been looking into 2nd gens untill this came up. What kind of power do you guys make with the 1st gens? Are Turbo motor swaps expensive? I should have more pics tonight and will get them all up for you guys.

 

I just got this email from him

it's a 5 spd, waffel rims dual coil no real major mods but the wide body kit i wasn't able to get away long enough to get pics i'll get them to night

 

Being carbed usually indicates a 12a engine, last used in the first gen. In stock form, these make about 100hp & torque, and will get around 20 MPG average. They can be easily modded to over 200hp, while still remaining fairly driver freindly. Header and carb upgrades are bolt-on mods, that really bring these little motors alive. A street port on the engine also makes a huge difference, but requires disassembling the engine.
As for swapping a turbo motor, it can be done, but can be a pricey task.
If the car runs good, the first gen is a blast to drive, even with the stock engine. They may not be the fastest thing on the road, but they do have a high smile per mile rating, for the driver.

 

Wow at 20mpg that seems awful for 100hp. How expensive are header and carb upgrades as well. Also the big thing for me would be getting this as my daily driver and hopefully keeping it alive for 2-3 years untill i finish school. I have a civic now and am trying to sell it for 5k and put the extra money in the bank. I would prob leave it NA then and just try to learn about carb setups. Any other suggestions guys?

 

20mpRg. .. . miles per ROTARY gallon.

One of the downfalls of our purdy little motors is that we don't produce much power for the mileage we're getting. My seven gets about 24 MPG freeway, that's with a modified carb and a 'street port.' It would get a bit of better mileage if I would ever get my Racing Beat exhaust setup from the person I 'lent' it to. . . . I'm starting to give up on that though

 

The 20 MPG I quoted was an average. I get over 25 MPG on the highway with mine. Driving in city traffic, these things tend to do a little worse on fuel, than most other cars. Although, when you consider that they are over 20 years old, the power and fuel economy really isn't that bad, compared to other cars from the time.
As for daily use, treated correctly, it should easily hold up to every day use. The normal stuff that can go wrong on old cars, still applies though. Keeping the maintnence up is vital to extending any cars dependability, and the RX7 is no different.
I have been using mine as a daily driver since I bought it, even though I have a newer truck that gets about the same feul economy. It's just funner to drive the RX7.

 

I might also note that the 7 is actually one of my most reliable cars I've ever owned.

The 323, which is supposed to be a 'get you through life' econobox car, has needed more emergency repairs than the seven, and it's newer! The 96 Plymouth Breeze we had cost more to maintain weekly than the seven (ate more oil!). . . .

When restored and taken care of, 7s are VERY good reliable cars, even useable as daily drivers/beaters.

 

Great... those are exactly my plans to use the car as my daily driver. I may do some minor modifications as in exhaust and header but not too crazy. Just pretty much will be used to get me around. I also am in school so during the school year I will only be driving it on the weekends. Therefore only seeing minimal usage. What kind of mods are cheap and tend to help out gas mileage? I will also be doing a full tune up if I do get this car.

Also the guy recently told me he cant take less than 1500 so if I like it when i go take a look I am going to offer him a little less and see whats up but for 1500 if it is what this guy is saying it seems like a pretty good deal.

 

$1500 for that car is a great deal....specially if its running. Me personally....i love the look of the widebody kit and the color.

 

Does anyone have carfax so they can check out the VIN on this RX7?

JM1FB3316F0910612

 

this is what it said when I put it into carfax but i dont have an account to check out the history

VIN: JM1FB3316F0910612
Year/Make/Model: 1985 MAZDA RX7 12A
Body Style: Coupe
Engine Type: 1.2L ROTARY FI
Manufactured In: JAPAN
Search Results: 20 records found in our database

 

Means it may have been bought and sold a lot of time.

$1500 is a great deal on a car with a widebody already on and painted.