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

Shows ME to be WRONG...and I stand corrected for I was mistaking my comment for the Leather Sport models....THANK YOU FOR THE CORRECTION !!

Carbs are highly variable across the whole range of 1st gens; California, Federal, and Canada versions, manual versus auto trans versions, and year-to-year variations. Sometimes the only difference is in jetting, other times, whole assemblies and castings differ, as well as many small differences in the cam stacks on the ends of the throttle shafts.

The Carb manual that Sgt Fox has on his website (link in the FAQ) spells most of the differences out.

SAs did not have a shutter valve on the intake. SA engines did not have EGR hole under the intake
Thread on differences with pictures -> https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generation-specific-1979-1985-18/what-benefits-can-i-get-installing-79-manifold-85-a-667620/

excellent :icon_tup: ..... here is the link

http://foxed.ca/rx7manual/manuals/ma...01979-1985.pdf

there is no difference =D

Wow I didn't know the SA came in black stock, I've never seen one of those.

No difference in what? Carbs? There are differences. The very top carb in the picture is an SA carb while the one below it is an FB carb. And like I said the idle speed screws and mixture screws are different

Here's a subtle one:

The rear hatch latch outer plate differs between SA and FB:

SA on left; FB on right. Original SA latch pates have no "RX-7" stensil, and have faceted edges. They are also thinner, and over time, they tend to distort from the pressure of the hatch seals.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...f/c41654ca.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...f/b88905e9.jpg

Maya Gold was an added color available for 1981-1983 model FBs

Sorry for being off topic, but I'd like to know why they used a totally different font for the RX-7 text on the rear hatch "outer plate". Its the same font used on the cargo area retractable cover, but where else is it used?

I noticed the piller panels on the FB I have and the SA don't fit directly
and the sa e-brake handle has no hole in it for a screw to go in and the FB does
the Vents on the rear glass between the quarterpanel and the hatch is longer on an FB than an SA
The shiftknob is a little different not much

The FB's Rear hatch peice still fits on the SA I put one on mine

Shift knobs are definitely different. Also the SA base models had 4-Speed manuals standard with the GS models having the 5-Speed overdrive transmission. The FB's were 5-Speed standard on all models

"waffle" alloys on SA
and "+" type alloys on FB 4x110mm bolt pattern
limited edition for SA had special wheels made by (fill in blank because i forgot the name of that style rim)
leather sport models for SA were the waffle wheels painted gold
limited edition for 1983 had 14" mesh looking wheels
gsl-se for 84-85 years had the 4x114.3mm bolt pattern and different looking alloys (not sure of how many spokes)

Good point!

FB's (known as Series 2 & 3 here in Australia) have a larger dia brake booster. This can only be fitted to a S1 (SA) if you redrill the firewall to accept a FB Pedal Box as the Clutch and Brake Master hole centres are much closer on a SA Pedal Box Assy which is not a good idea... Been there done that!

Once again, you have to consider the SA's feature the course pitch brake pipe threads. One way to work around this if fitting a FB disc rear is to use the whole FB hydraulic system retro fitted to a SA Booster/car. You will how ever need to have a specialist match the plunger depths on a bench for you.

Steering Columns
Don't try to mix and match SA/FB Columns and steering boxes, your ignition lock probably won't fit amongst other issues.

That's all I have time for now :wallbash:

My 80 has a 5-speed, and a sunroof... does that mean it is a GS? No badging to that effect.

According to the parts fiche, my VIN range when equipped as my car is (CA emissions, Sunroof, 12A, 5-Spd was a model number 8348, model/type SA22C-RP. I don't know how that relates to S, RS, GS, etc, though.

Oh, and all SA's are 12A engined, I believe.

and up til 1982 the oil coolers were mounted up front.
starting in 1983 the oil cooler moved right under the oil filter also dub'd "beehive oil cooler"
the gsl-se which had the fuel injected 13B had a front mount oil cooler (fmoc)
someone should chime in about different rotor weights (iirc the S3 had lighter rotors) and other technical information about the differences in the 12A engines since this thread is going so specific as brake line thread pitches haha

SA's started off with breakerpoint ignitions, switched to electronic in the '80 MY, using J105 ignitors on a fender-mounted control box.

FB's started with J109's on the dizzy.

limited edition for SA had special wheels made by (fill in blank because i forgot the name of that style rim)


is the name toyo koyo for the fill in the blank?

You mean "Toyo Kogyo?" That's the actual parent company of Mazda.

found the name of the SA Limited Edition wheels
theyre called Almex YSD made by Yokohama =D

AND to add the early SA model U.S.A had only one mirror and hood prop on the pass. side

Here is a pic of the 79 LE rims

YES

first time I realize 79/80 irons (r5) use 18 tension bolts and 81/85 irons (y) use only 17.

CRAP

I ported a center iron, took me a lot of hours and now I cant use it...


courtesy of xlr8planet

You should have seen my face when I realized that..........

( copied from another thread coutesy bwaits - ReSpeed)

I will try to give a run down:

1) 79-80 Strut housings are longer than 81+
2) 79 had a wedge block style caliper/pad mount. Changed to a somewhat better setup in 80
3) 79-80 have course thread brake lines
4) 79-83 use the same rotor, bearings and caliper bracket.
5) 79-80 did not have a disk brake rear end

You can swap most all of this stuff over. Sometimes only in full assemblies:

1) Calipers from a 81-83 are a direct swap for 79-80, minus the thread pitch
2) Complete front strut/brakes from a 81-83 will swap over, minus the thread pitch
3) Strut/shock inserts for a 81-85 will go into a 79-80 strut housing if you make a spacer.
4) Complete 81-83 disk rear end will swap over to 79-80 cars minus the thread pitch


The thread change can be done by swapping all hard lines with 81-85 parts.
This can also be addressed by having someone supply stainless lines with course pitch at the chassis end and fine pitch at the caliper ends.

-billy