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I am the original owner of a 1980 Black RX7 .. first one sold by our local dealership when they picked up the Mazda Franchise. The '79 and '80 RX7's are actually referred to as SA (based on the serial number). The FB refers to RX7's from 1981-1985. Just a small detail for reference .. however there are some differences.
The recirculating ball steering system in our first generation RX7's is most definitely a week point. If I recall, it was an existing system that Mazda had in a parts bin from other Mazdas from back in the day.
For drifting, you may want to consider installing electronic power assisted steering. Adding an EPS system involves installing an electric motor to provide assistance to the steering column. This will eliminate the need for a hydraulic pump, leading to a cleaner engine bay without decreasing horsepower.
Several club members have also opted to upgrade their original steering system with a rack and pinion system. Do a search on this message board for posts from MTheoryInc (Scott). Seniorchief (another member on this forum) has an excellent write up on his experience with the rack and pinion kit.
You don't need power steering so much as you need faster steering. My nutso '84 has less than 1.5 turns from lock to lock, I never have to take my hands off the wheel!
That said, that SA (ahem) looks really clean and you might be better served to sell it while the values are still high and buy a more drift friendly chassis. Clean SAs are getting north of $20k and they are only worth that much if they aren't modified. The chassis also needs a LOT of work to be predictable and controllable, you could probably have bought a JDM FC or S13 by the time you are done engineering it.
Just wondering if any of your FBs came with Power steering? The rare SA22 12A turbo(Japan only) actually comes with P/S it's also electronic controlled(it drops the P/S off at about 100km/ph. It's the only one I know of with factory P/S(here's 2 of the factory 12a/t I have worked on here in Australia(imports from Japan) none of the Aus delivered SA22s come with P/S(all first gen S1-3 78-85) are SA22 in Australia and Japan)
in North America Power Steering was an option on the GSL and GSL-SE models in 1984-1985
if one had all the parts, it would bolt into any 1st gen, i think.
That said, that SA (ahem) looks really clean and you might be better served to sell it while the values are still high and buy a more drift friendly chassis. Clean SAs are getting north of $20k and they are only worth that much if they aren't modified. The chassis also needs a LOT of work to be predictable and controllable, you could probably have bought a JDM FC or S13 by the time you are done engineering it.
in North America Power Steering was an option on the GSL and GSL-SE models in 1984-1985
if one had all the parts, it would bolt into any 1st gen, i think.
Everything should BOLT in to any 1st gen, assuming that the Series 3 column bolts into a S1/2 dash and the S1/2 parts can bolt on. The box mounts the same and it uses the same center link. I ripped the manual box out of my '84 and put my '85's power box in it as soon as I could. (Box only, the pump was dead and had been for a long time)
The power steering was speed-dependent variable assist, and if you wanted that to work you would need to also wire it in. I do not know if all S1/S2 instrument clusters had the VSS output that the power steering controller needed.
My '84 was the only GSL that I had ever seen with manual steering. I half think that people only bought GSLs for the power steering option, as they were all zero option cars save for P/S. I also THINK (but not certain) that ordering P/S also automatically got you air conditioning, since the power steering pump mounted where the port-install compressor did.
My '84 was the only GSL that I had ever seen with manual steering. I half think that people only bought GSLs for the power steering option, as they were all zero option cars save for P/S. I also THINK (but not certain) that ordering P/S also automatically got you air conditioning, since the power steering pump mounted where the port-install compressor did.
i think that is right, PS = Factory AC 100% of the time
there seem to be regional differences though, it was kind of rare to see a GSL with PS out here*
GSL-SE's were like 50/50, and usually either PS or Leather, it was a little uncommon to see both, or neither, although ive seen and owned both
now its just rare to see an Rx7 at all, i think ive seen about 3 this year, which is on par with an Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider
Everything should BOLT in to any 1st gen, assuming that the Series 3 column bolts into a S1/2 dash and the S1/2 parts can bolt on. The box mounts the same and it uses the same center link.
I used an S3 column for the MTheory rack kit on my S2 and the only mod needed was to drill a hole in the side for the tang that the combination switch clips to. S3 columns have it on top.
mazda rx-7 fb 1980 power steering
