Rotorhead_Jake

I'm 34 and have owned an Rx-7 since I was about 20. This whole thing started when my brother received a '84 GS for his 16 b-day in 1990 (I got a Ford Escort when I turned 16 three years earlier...not that I'm bitching - I did get a car...but still). Having driven and admired his car (I was driving a low rider Mazda pickup at the time [shame]) I finally bought one not too much later. Pretty soon, I really got involved with the RX-7 scene with the purchase of a 1982. I did a lot of troubleshooting Q/A for a guy with an RX-7 website in Canada (not sure...but I was one of the early Rotorheads) until the volume simply overwhelmed me. I also started rebuilding engines and troubleshooting problems for some extra cash through college - to the point that the local dealer would send me business when they couldn't figure it out. I would rebuild about one a month and rent garages from friends. Meanwhile, I collected performance pieces for the 82 when I could find a deal and after nuking an engine, put in a street ported 12A...tuned header, presilencer, etc. Great freakin ride. After finally graduating college, I decided it was time to move up a notch so I bought a used '88 convertable (Mazda Sunrise red...just like my 82). That car was pretty underpowered but was a great ride. Unfortunately I let the 82 sit too long and the engine carbon locked. The 88 met an utimely end whenl a woman tried to reach a pack of cigarrettes in the floorboard of her car while driving on the opposite side of the freeway. She crossed the median and landed in my lane rolling sideways at me. I managed to mostly avoid her, clipping the underside of her front bumper with my rear bumper but ultimately lost the car to a speedlimit sign on the right side of the road. In addition to some pretty serious left fender damage, the whole car was bannana'd. After a brief fight with an insurance company I ended up with a Nissan truck....but that '82 still sat in the driveway next to the '84 my brother had given me after he lost interest in it (and had been wrecked enough to be mostly worthless). I briefly revived the 82 by transplanting the engine from the 84 but the carbeurator died quickly from the bad gas. I found a remanufacturered carb on the net and put it on the 82...she had never run more smoothly. Then I was stupid and let it sit again....I then got into sailing (heavily - racing very often) and met a guy at our club with a mint 85 GSL-SE. I got to know him and admire his car. 6 months later he says that he wants to sell and I bought it for $2k (and felt pretty bad about it). I now drive the GSL-SE about once a week when the weather is good and keep her tucked away in the garage. The stipulation with the wife is that the other two parts cars must go...and since most of the parts won't work on the SE, that's fine with me. So now I'm in the process of unloading the 82 and the 84 but finally own the RX-7 that I have admired since day one - the GSL-SE.

rotrmotr

Hi everyone! I enjoyed everyone's story so much that I went into my drawer & took out my old photo ablum & scanned some photos of my first true sports car ('85 GSL-SE)

My first car was a red '84 Z28 that I bought right after high school in '89 & was stolen in early '90- (a heartbreaking experience having your first car stolen!) I was heavy into Detroit muscle back then- so I started saving up again for a fox body Mustang. Around the same time a friend of mine had just bought his first car, a '84 GSL-SE, I had no clue about RX7s except that they had rotary engines. I went to see the car the first day he got it- sat in it & was instantly amazed by the quality of the interior & the racy seating- went out for a drive & that was it I WANT ONE!!! forgot about mustangs & started looking for an RX7- 4 months later I found my '85 GSL-SE at RX7 Heaven in Elizabeth, NJ - I can spend hours telling stories of the "tag-team" street & highway racing both my friend & I had with mustangs, camaros & corvettes back then- to see the faces of these guys after I tell them its a rotary with bolt-ons under the hood after they got blown away- like the comercial says "priceless" - till one day coming back from Virginia, my friend got into a terrible accident right behind me on the Manhattan bridge- I saw the whole thing unfold right from my rear view mirror! luckly he & his girlfriend were fine but the SE was destroyed- things were not the same & soon after that I sold my SE. That was 12 years ago & now happily married & a gorgeous 18 month old daughter- I decided to get back to my roots- so I just bought a '79 SA fixer-upper in hopes to relive once again those awesome moments- but this time legally at the track

Yellow '79

i wish i had a story like all of these, but mine starts out much before i was born.
my father had bought a 1979 RX-7 off the showroom in '80 and when through many other sports cars{MGs Capris etc.} and slod those but still kept the 7. fast forward to about 1996 {i was 6 at the time} and my famly was having a tag sale, a man came up to my father and i and asked if we where willing to sell either of the cars that we had{the 7 and a accord} my father said the he would be wiling to sell both of them but the man knew nothing about rotories so he took the honda. fast forwart to 2003. i was now 13 and bord on my summer vacation. i went down to the 7 and started looking around at it. i soon fell in love with it and searched everywhere to find parts for it. not having any money this was point less. i then tryed to "restore" the car. i think i have done more damage then good and feel tarible about it. now that i am coming of age to start driving i immediatly look for a 1 gen 7. with both of my parents agenst me i look every where with no luck. and now that my dad is looking for a new car he offerd me his CR-V{total crap} i refused b/c i wanted a 7. now that my dads 7{hasn't ben used since 1986ish} is "takeing up space" in our yard my dad is treating to give it to a junckyard so the can crush it. i don't know what it is but he hates that car. i am hopeing i some how keep it and either use it for parts for my 1 gen or get it working agian. i am still looking for a cheak 7 and am greatful for this site.

these stroies are great keep them coming!

MattG

iTrader: (2)

Dont let him take that car to the crusher. That is how all of are storys began That is a perfect start. We can help you get it running again! Tell your father you want that car, and start making your own rx7 story!

rbf41182gt

OH MY GOD!!!!

it's a first gen owner in CT!!!! I have no idea where bethany is though. If ya need any help, hit me up. Don't let it go to the crusher!!! Aggg!!

My parents didn't want me to have a sports car either, but i told them that it only has 100hp, which is about half as much as her station wagon, so therefore, it's twice as slow. She doesn't believe me anymore. Yeah, first gens are awesome, good luck with whatever your trying to do to it!

wow, a first gener in ct. rare indeed. the only other one i know of is john64. If there's any more, speak up!!!

sa22crotor

this is soooooo touching, i'm gonna shed a tear for all the fallen mazda people and throw a hellof a burnout cos i love my 7 too.

drozhenbane

Gentlemen,
we have oursleves a young man faced with an important decions, let us all offer him some insight on what is right or what is wrong. I can personally offer my advice to what we can do to help him out, and the best I can say is please dont crush her! She is an original owner, with some serius potential dont let her go! SHOW YOUR SUPPORT LADIES, AND GENTLEMEN! dont let another car goto the crusher especially a one owner 1st gen! Save the 7 my friend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Drozman has spoken!

LokiRx7.1

iTrader: (1)

Wow.... I am touched, I am actually touched. Us first genners are really a caring bunch arent we?

Here goes,
In 1981 My car goes onto the showroom floor, I dont remember his name, but I have the orig bill of sale with the first owners name on it. Well He builds a bridge ported beast of a ***** *****, holley carb RB header rotary engineering exhaust. He has to get rid of it, has a family now, trades it in on something god awful. In comes me, I am looking for a first car. I wanted something powerful yet good looking and decent on gas. I find a dealership Burtons Used Autos They have a 1985 MKII Supra and a 1987 300 ZX turbo. Perfect they were all RWD and 6 cylinders, all very fast (at least to me at the time) and all easily in my price range.
My dad owned a 1983 Porsche 944 and I loved Porsches, So I am walking around the dealership and notice a 1979 El Camino it was beautiful, Cragers new paint 350, the works. well behind it I thought I saw a 944 so I climb over the dirt and weeds and get to it. Its totally overgrown and pathetic, It looked shitty as hell. But I fell in love with it INSTANTLY! So I tell the dealer I want to test drive it. He actually lowered the price on the Supra ( I didnt like the 300ZX too much rust in the T-Tops) but that was because it was behind six cars.
So he moved all the cars and starts it, the supra and 300ZX were stock, so the 7 sounded like sex! it was great! so I bought it and drove it home. I didnt have my license but my dad was with me. The 7 could outrun my buddies grand am with a 3400, but it wasnt enough power. after I had a good job I bought a Camaro IROC-Z but even after sqeezing 500 HP out of it I just didnt have the passion for it. So I sold it, I saved some of the money from the sale and tax returns and totally rebuilt the motor, switched to a Mikuni RB internals RB exhaust. Did some body work, buffed out the paint and it looks new! Its the greatest car I think has ever been produced, it is so alluring. My wife wants one now and she used to not like them that much.


Oh and when I was 16 I had my license suspended when I was caught burning out with no drivers license. I had to pay a reinstatement fee to get my driving priveledges restored, everyone told me to sell the car, and pay my fees. The 7 was booking for 2.5K and I could buy a cheaper car. Instead (since my dad put the car in my name and couldnt force the sale ) I put it into storage and took care of it until I had the money to get a DL so when I turned 18 I was on the road AND SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HAPPY I DIDNT SELL MY RX-7!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wouldve regretted that till the day that I die!!!!

LokiRx7.1

iTrader: (1)

I hope you all get so lucky, my woman supports my hobby. And wants to become a part of it, if only I could find a cheap 7 someone didnt need/want to restore for her..... She also has gasoline in her veins like I do, she loves cars and going fast. Surprisingly although she aspires to be a model/actress she definately likes getting dirty




ALSO here is her website, please sign her guestbook, and include the fact you are from RX7Club.com, her current agent hates rx-7's with a passion. dont worry you wont get her into trouble just me her and the other models (whose links are somewhere on her site) compete to see who gets more hits/guestbook signings. This kind of stuff is a huge self-esteem booster!

www.amandafire.com

BTW she has about 150 pics W/my 7 but her agent wont put them on her website so put RX-7 pics in the request line LOL! it'll drive him nuts!

Hades12

I have owned Several and each one has it own stories but here is the one for my Car, The one I will own Forever if possible.




I got my first 7 in 01 or 02 and enjoyed it but really wanted a 79. I watched the for sale forums for a car near me for almost 2 years. KenA Posted his 79 Street ported car here

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?t=93493

7/02 I wanted it and it was near me, But had no title. At the time I passed on the car for that fact, I knew I would need a title for the car when I moved back to NC. At that time it looked like this





Fire85GSLSE bought the car and took it to Nashville TN, He got a title for it and one year later decided to sale it.

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?t=240679


I knew it was fate that the car was for sale again, Told my wife about it again and she said to jump on it. So I did.

It took a full day road trip to pick it up.
https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generation-specific-1979-1985-18/road-trip-pick-up-my-79-a-245289/

I have sence changed out the interior to black, added a glass sunroof, RB muffler, 2nd gen seats, Got the front end pulled and hung new sheetmetal. Still needs paint, Suspension and Brakes.

rbf41182gt

^^^^^^^^^^^

who doesn't want a 79?

gsterror

My story isn't quite the same as y'alls, and probably more boring, but hey.

It starts in 82, the year me and my car were born.
My car arrived on the Mazda lot in Las Cruces around January. My Uncle bought it up the first of February (GS, black).

My mother dissapeared in August of that year, just two months after 'depositing me' from her womb, as my Uncle puts it
My father couldn't afford to take care of me, and left me with my Uncle for him to raise me. He was cool about it, never told me I was his kid or anything. I grew up riding around in the GS, later a GTUS (also black), and, when there were people with us (usually my friends), a 79 Mustang (just fine for transporting a bunch of kids around, huh?)

In 96 (I was forteen, a year before driver's ed), the GS's motor blew (270,000 miles!)
At the time the car was bone stock, other than a high performance fuel pump and a Yaw carburetor (he bought a few, in case he got other first gens or Yaw stopped selling them. Smart move)
This was devastating, as it was supposed to be my car as soon as I started driver's ed (he taught me how to drive as soon as I could see over the wheel and safely reach the pedals. I never learned auto until my later)

So, a year passed, and we didn't get a new motor. They were just "too expensive." He was a lying bastard

So, he bought me an old Civic sedan, 5-speed. $500.
I had a provisional liscense until I was sixteen, when I went to live with my Father for a year (I often visited him, but never for more than a summer.)
Came back, the ripe old wizened age of seventeen. Full liscense.
My heart stopped when we pulled the GTUS into the driveway. The GS was gone.
When I asked my Uncle, he said he finally got rid of it because of the motor. I was SO pissed at him. He told me to cool off and go for a drive (I kept my car in the backyard.), and tossed me my keys.
I went back. And there she was. Recently washed and waxed. The Civic was gone. Getting mad again, I turned to go back inside. My uncle was standing there smiling, and told me to start it up. My heart beating furiously, I used the key (which I always kept on my keychain) to open the locks. Then I sat down, and put the key in the ignition, my hand all but trembling itself off. I turned, and it started. It was LOUD.

While I was away, my father wired him a little money, and he sold the Civic. This, combined with what he had been saving, allowed him to buy a rebuilt, streetported motor out of another 82 (GSL, though, I think), a racing beat exhaust, and new EVERTHING.

Well, that's my story. I've had the car since then, and take immaculate care of it. Sorry for boring you.

MaxBoost13bRX

I didnt know how to ad the pic back then so here it goes now

skizzle84

Well hot damn, those are some good stories. Here's my simple n00b story.
Don't read if you're caring to hear a short story*
I had grown up with a million different cars running through the family, and honestly I have no idea why. The car was made way back before I was born in 88, and my dad had bought it in the early 90s. It was a 1984 GS model bone stock. I grew being allowed to ride in it sometimes with my dad, and damn I thought that car was fast. Once my mom and dad had divorced the car had been going from side to side for whatever reasons, and I remember my dad actually came over one night and stole it back from my mom. hahaha. I have 2 older brothers, and Kevin, 19 years old now had always had emotional problems. In all honesty, it was because of my dad. A bad influence and role model is what we'll call my dad. Well, Kevin had been in and out of just about every damn detention center or rehab for one thing or another. haha he didn't put up with anyones ****. He finally went into a residential place in the country, and I started going out there to visit him from time to time. I'd often go with my mother, but was so psyched when I went with my dad so we could drive the fb. I remember driving down some semi-curvy country rodes smelling the old interior of the fb and saying, "FASTER DAD!" haha I wish I could have those times all over again. Well, the memories were engraved on times like those, and family problems had later on occured and I didn't see the fb so much. I really missed it. Times changed and the family, excluding my mom started to all visit and spend time together again. The fb still sat there. December 27, 2004 my brother Kevin had gotten in a car accident. I remember talking to him earlier that night, and I remember it was a nice chat. We usually argue and want to kill each other, although we've been through everything together. January 23, Kevin passed away at 19 years old at MCV hospital in RVA. R.I.P. Kev i love you. I began to spend more time with my dad and I was finally of driving age. I begged to buy the Rx but he said it wasn't for sale. FINALLY he told me $1k. I said hell yea and started working 2 jobs throughout the summer for it. On my birthday, he randomly dropped it to $500 and I threw him that cash in hand. It had been sitting there for well over a year, and so we gave it some gas and a jump start and it fired right up!! Since then my dad has moved to Nevada, which is the result of me lurking these forums allllllllll day long and learning as much as I can. Because of the THESE FORUMS!, I've replaced my control arm, sway bar endlinks, misc bolts and nuts, fuel pump, so many filters, bled brakes, oil changes, spark plugs, and soon 2GCDFIS w TT! all on my own except for bleeding brakes basically. only problems now is some wondersteering, tranny fluid needs to be changed, and coolant smoke from the exhuast.

THANK YOU RX7CLUB.COM!
oh, and thanks if you had the patience to read my life story. hahaha. sorry guys, just try to put up with me?

skizzle84

sorry for that hella long post.

82REX

iTrader: (1)

Well, since my car is now running I will post my story. It was about 2003 when I first had the chance to but a 7(1985 gsl, auto) for 100$, but the guy sold it 15 minutes before I called so I missed it(thank god). However, it did make me look into rotary engines, because before I had heard of them but never knew how they worked. Well after I missed that chance I started reading about how the wankel works. I was amazed, I saw a diagram of how it operates and I litterally said "That is the way an engine should work." So the hunt was on again for an RX7. about a year passes and I come across an 89 FC in a mechanics lot. I talk to the guy and he says, "yeah its for sale, $400 cash." I said sure, if it cranked. So we get the key and turn the engine over and... nothing. The fuel pump was dead. But while the hood was popped I noticed something that alarmed me, the temprature sensor was gone. After all my reading I knew overheating meant death, so I walked away from that car. Another year passes and I am still looking for a 7, then I start driving my fiance to work and I notice this old fb sitting in a parking lot. I think, okay, someone has to be a lucky bastard. But after two monthes the car hasn't moved, so I go to the building its parked at and it is empty. So I get the tag number off the car and the VIN and start searching. Through some connections at the police and using CARFAX I find out that car isn't owned by anyone. So I talk to the people who own the building and they say that they had it leased to someone but they went bankrupt and had to give everything they had to the land owners. So I ask if the car is for sale and he says yes, $450 if it doesn't run, $500 if it does. The guy says that the car was moved about once every two monthes but he wasn't sure if it would start. So I take a spare battery and ride down there( I lost my lisence 3 monthes earlier) and see if it it'll run. After about three tires she fires up and idles, roughly. We make the deal and I ride with my mom while my dad dries the b home. We get to a straight away and my father just takes off. After we catch up to him and get home I ask him how fast he was going and he said about 70mph in 3rd gear, and suddenly I want to drive this car soooo badly. But I don't and I start working on it, superficial rust and I change all the fluids and then I take the carb to a shop nearby to have it rebuilt. Well they screw the carb up bad to where NO gas comes out of it. So a few more monthes pass and I rebuld the carb myself and the car will start, but die after about 10 seconds. So I flush the gas tank and have it coated in a rust proof enamel and I reinstall it along with my new Carter fuel pump and Holley FPR. And some where in between all of this my fiance leaves me for no apparent reason. But wednesday Jan 15, 2006 the moment of truth has come, the fuel tank is in, the fuel pump works and the battery was new, so I turn the key and...Bam she fires up instantly. After some tuning of the carb she idle at 1200 RPMs and the secondaries will stick, but she runs and I have now drinen her 9 miles and I am the happiest man on Earth. Sorry for the length, but I had to share that. By the way, it's an 82 GS now with out the rats nest.

rotaries_only

story time

OK well it goes like this.
My dad is really good freinds with the owner of a junkyard and when i was 15 i wnet out there and decided to have a look around. I saw old mustangs, baracuda's, he even had an old lambo with the engine missing and alot of body damage. But something sitting under the shade of a tree caught my eye. A shimmering brown beauty:P no it was very faded but i saw the potential imediatly. I went over to it, looked inside (there was a bottle of vodka in it, damn drunk drivers) and instantly wanted that little 2 seater car. So i went back to the shop about 100 yards away and asked what car it was (never knew that mazda made rx-7's that long ago) and when i heard that it was an rx7 i said :what? ur kidding? i thought 7's were those curvy sports cars :P" and he proceeded to explain alot about it, everything from the often finicky but very fast rotary engine to its headlight switch problem that so many of them had. (This junkyard owner Bert's his name knows everything about everycar in his lot, and thats alot of cars, he will tell you where every single car is too. as for a feirro and he'll tell u where they are even the correct year! its crazy!)

so yeah i was interested he said i could have it, we towed it home, i worked my *** off on it doing body work and tuning it up. now i drive it and everyone asks "wow u can really light up the tires in that. has it got a v6 or v8? i laugh and walk away

ratboy

iTrader: (1)

My first car was a 81 RX7 that served me well for 3 years before it was hit in a hit and run so I fixed it as good as I could and sold it. I decided a civic was a good car and drove that for a year or 2 but still missed the 7. Sometime in '95 I found a black SE local and went to look at it. I made an offer but the seller told me someone already was interested (and they bought it). Kinda bummed out I told my mom the story and the next day she found a similar 85 SE in houston but in tender blue. She bought it and brought it up to austin for me where I have pretty much been driving it in stock form until about a year ago when I found this board. The only thing it still NEEDS is a new paint job which I hope to get on it this year and then start thinking TII swap when the engine goes...

One other thing Ive noticed is the large number of "Erik" and "Eric"s that own first gens. I dont think Ive ever even met another "Erik"... Its kinda like any girl named Bambi or Crystal ends up being a stripper....


--Erik

Yellow '79

bump for more stories

rbf41182gt

how about an update on your situation? did it go to the crusher, or are you restoring it?

Nicholas P.

iTrader: (1)

to tell the truth I had no clue about rx7;s untill my dad bought 2 and my brother got one.

the other one sat at the guys field for a year why my brothers was set up.

I was 14 at the time.

I was still not intristed in Rx7's at all accept my brother had one.

then my dad told me he was going to get the other rx7
(immediatly I started thinking wahoo a car!!)

got there... flat tires dash hanging down doesent start no steering wheel wtf????

the guy brought it to my dads house and we got it up the driveway.

immediately aired up the tires to move it. stayed aired up.

and so the process begun.

We sat there for 2 weeks trying to get it to start over. turns out bad igniter and the spark plug wires were crossed. after that started up but didnt stay running WTF!!!

turns out after pooring gas in the carb day after day that the gas lines were clogged . restricting fuel.

after that it ran fine! bad idle but that cleared up in a week.

changed the seat. put the dash back together put on the steering wheel.

btw this was me and my dad the hole time. but we got it working.

put alotta sweat into this car. but its my fav car since we restored it.

Yellow '79

{cont.}
my dad agreed to let me keep it but i have to do something with it before i go to collage {2.5 yreas so i have some time to try and get it to work! Dont worry my 7 wont go to the crusher. when he said that i think he was mad about several thing and i said somthing about the car so he said the thing about the crusher.
I worked on the car today and it is a long waytill it is road worthy but with alot of money and luck i will have my own 7.
PS my mom dosnt mind one 7 but i tryed the line"my rx7 is lonely and need another for comany" but she didnt by it. to bad

Yellow '79

bump and some new info on my on going story. i talked it over with my father and he said that if i want an rx7 i can buy one but i have to pay for the $3000 a year insurence bill. since he said that i started to look harder for a 7 and found one down the road from my house. is a black 86. its not my first chose but its an rx7. im not 100% sure whats going to happen but wish me luck!

Heath

iTrader: (11)

I've owned my fd since June of 97 but only owned the fb for two years now.
I was maybe 3/4 of a mile from my home and headed to work when I saw a little black fb on the side of the road. I pulled over and left a note under a wiper blade.
"Depending on what is wrong with your car....if you are interested in selling it give me a call"
and of course I left my number.
The next day the car was gone, and a couple days later still no call. Oh well, no dice I thought.
Fast forward 5 days and I'm grocery shopping when I get a call. It was the female who owned the car calling. She had just found the note under her wiper. Figures!
She was driving along the Blue Ridge Parkway and the car began to act up. She turned off the Parkway and only made it as far as where I found it resting on the side of the road....maybe two tenths of a mile.
She had it towed home where it had sat for the last week. I went to check it out the day after her phone call. I could get it to start but not run for more than a few minutes.
I bought the 85gsl for $400 and towed it home hoping I could tinker with the carb and all would be well. Turned out it had a leaking water jacket and once the coolant pressurized the rotor housing got it's fill.
I've been working it over since and now have a homemade 12a pp installed which I'm hoping to have running soon.
Oh, I almost forgot...the girl was a stripper and used the car to commute over one hour back and forth to SC since the clubs are only topless in my part of NC.

josh...just josh

I haven't had my mine real long but I freaking love it! I work part time at an auto parts store when I'm not in class . I took a delivery to an import mechanic and there it was sitting outside. I'm a big import guy (mostly subaru) and I had helped a friend rebuild a 2nd RX7 engine so I knew a little about them. The rotary has always intrigued me and I wanted a new project car that i could autocross too. I went in and asked the guy what he wanted for it and he said that it was a customer's. He said that the car had a blown engine and the guy wanted too much, $500. They laughed when I said I wanted to buy it! I got it from the guy for $300 and trailered it to my parent's farm. After some ATF and some vacuum caps the car runs pretty good. It needs paint and some TLC, I love driving car like crazy. The guy called and asked me how it was going and I told him that I got it idling. He told me that he worked on it forever and couldn't get it to start! Ha!