Mega List of differences of the SA from the FB
 

I know a lot of you have a soft spot for SA's whether you own one or not . Hoped we could start a thread to hold all the differences of the 79-80 SA's to help find the right parts to keep these things alive and on the road. It always seems there is some little difference someone has found out the hard way. Would be good to know in one place what compatibilities there are between the parts .


to get it started , Courtesy of teddyrx2 about the threads on the oil pan bolts in a recent thread today that made me think this might be a good thread to build over time . see how it goes , any difference you know of stick it here .


1979 & 1980 had different thread pitchies...Not only for the oil pan but also for the brake calipers the the, the calipers themself, all the hard line brake lines. Master brake clutch, the master clutch cylinder, clutch cylinder line "hard" & "rubber" line, clutch slave cylinder, and all the hard line brake lines in the front of the engine bay...

1981-1985 including the 13b gsl-se all had the same thread pitch for all the parts listed above...

Bumpers!

Hah, I was first to say it.

1979 Sunroof hardware is not compatible with later years. http://www.blackdragonauto.com/icata...l.aspx?page=16

SAs use different front struts. But you can swap in the whole assembly from the FBs to allow for use of FB struts in an SA. Just remember the FB brakes use a different thread pitch as mentioned above.

sun / moon roof latches front and rear


( beat me by a minute !)

Oil pan bolt thread pitch and diamer is the SAME!!! Length my be different which depends on whether 'load spreaders' are present.

SA had thermal reactor exhaust; FB's started using cats & a normal cast iron manifold. This affects much of the piping to the right of the engine, the rats nest, wiring harness, and the carb.

SA's had the charcoal canister in the lid of the air cleaner; FB's went to separate canister.

Transmission shifter position moves further to the rear in the FB's; FB trans will not fit an SA without cutting the tunnel and console.

Shifter is different between SA & FB, also.

SA's had white on black guages.

Body-side moulding changed (narrow in-the-groove for SA; Wide below-the-groove for FB)

license plate location...

SAs dead center between the lights
FBs beloew the bumber and we got the nice smooth black cover between the lights

also the lights are completely different in the rear....and because of the front bumpers being different so are the front bumper lights too.

Brakes were different on SA's, they used wedge style.

Different clutch slave cylinder on SAs

Also '79 SA's used points, '80 and later used electronic ignition.

more electrical stuff ...... the 79 SA has an external voltage regulator to the alternator

Diff and axles are different. Bigger in FB's (not sure of exact size).

pic attached

I'd actually like to see a thread listing differences between American and UK/Australian models :)

For example, in Australia, the number plate is located between the tail lights - the rear bumper does not have the indentation for the number plate.

Not all of 'em... later 80's have non-wedge brakes. :eek:

Ive only had early production SA's :(/:)

I'm not sure that's true Jeff. If you see my thread about the oil pan bolts where I have an SA front cover and S3 FB irons/rotor housings, I found the bolts that fit, and they are definitely coarser thread. The FB bolts stripped themselves in those holes, but the other ones worked fine. I'll see if I can snap pictures later this evening

Jon

brake booster

VIN #s :lol:

SA was only available in white, black, or Gold I believe (Gold was limited in #s too I believe - 500 or so)

License plate was between the tailights instead of in the bumper like on the FB

SA was also available in silver and red. That is the only two colors they show in the 1979 sales brochure I have. The red was called Sunrise Red. Not sure about the silver. The brochure says, "The Mazda rx-7 comes in a handsome assortment of sporty colors. However some colors may not be available in all areas."

^^^Wow that is totally off. I think you mean the LS SA's were only available in those colors. SA's had many colors. The wheels and lug bolts were different, SA's had longer lug bolts. Carbs are different, SA carbs had all 4 barrell bores about the same size with different mixture/idle speed screws. The SA's don't have storage bins behind the seats. The SA's had different interior switches for the headlights, wipers, and high beams. The SA front side marker lenses are also thinner than the FB's are. Can anyone confirm this for me? My 79 SA doesn't have a rear sway bar. It's a base model. Did SA's not come with sways in the rear or just optional, or just GS models? My 83 base has a rear sway bar. Also the headlight motors are different from SA's to FB's. SA's don't have rear sidemarkers due to the taillight design. Also my 79 base doesn't have rear speakers, only front. It's got the Clarion radio with no cassette. It's all stamped like it should have speakers but there's nothing, no wiring or anything. Front fenders are different due to the different bumpers as well as the front valance. That's all I can think of at the moment

EDIT: The SA's came in Sunrise red, Tornado Silver Metallic, Sunbeam Silver, Spark Yellow, Daytona Blue, Black, Formula White....I think that's it but there may be a few more

^^^Tornado silver metallic is in truth a dark grey; see my sig.

My 80 S model has front and rear sway bars, and had rear speakers (since upgraded). It originally had clarion am/fm, no cassette (had a "handy storage bucket" in the dash instead). No external amplifiers.

Yeah I know Tornado silver is a grey, but that's the name of the paint form Mazda. I hate not having any back speakers

the 79 LE stock clarion am/fm/cassette has a 25 watt external amp under the seat

sa's have different rear lights, bumper, and rear side mirror plastic pieces.
also different seat brackets (lever)
hehe i have a sa now !!!

any more you can add on the carb differences ? or intake