Today I purchased a 78 RX-7 and I'd like to know if this model is anything special. It has the passenger side hood prop, rear view mirror only on the driver side and it's a 4-speed manual. VIN: sa220520569.
Just curious. Input would be appreciated.
~Jason

p.s. Check out the pic. It sat in a garage for 8 years, so there was a little smoke once it started!! I'm certain I'll be hollering at you all regarding a few "issues."

 

I'd say it's uncommon to see one in as good of shape as yours appears to be. The wheel are no original to the year though. It's diffinatly something you want to hang on to. I believe most SA's are '79 & '80 models.

 

Keep it as close to original as possible. From what I hear the 78's are kinda rare, especially in good condition and unmolested.

 

You have an early 79 model of which some 11,000 were imported into the USA in the period April-September 1978. Late 79 models had minor improvements and alterations to make them more suitable for the US market.

As CalvinPaul says keep it original. Some 7,000 have been scrapped while many of rest have been modified as being relatively light they are turned into track cars.

In spite of its age it will give you many years of satisfaction. Great buy!

 

looks good from the pic. how much did u get her for?

 

hell mine only has a driver mirror too
someone got a little to close to my passenger side on the highway

 

Looks nice. Take a look at the full date on the door post. it should have a month also. I have two, 11/78 and 9/78 I passed on a 6/78 and now wish I had bought it.

 

Good looking SA! You should be able to find the original steel wheels somewhere.

By all means keep it stock and it's value will rise. There's a pretty red 79 somewhere in my area and it always turns heads: absolutely stock.

B

 

I didn't think they came with these wheels. What wheels were stock? What's a "SA"? I gave $450 for it.
What about the exhaust? DO I need to keep it stock? Looks super expensive!
Thanks for your help.

 

$450. You stole that car from whomever you got it from if it's in as good condition as it looks. Like everyone else has told you try an keep it as stock as possible. Great buy.

 

holy crap.. $450? was the guy drugged? nice job.. looks great

 

At $450 you stole it. Hows the interior? Hows the body?

You've got some bragging rights here.

B

 

The body is prett straight. A couple small dings here and there. It needs a paint job as some areas have faded, but I'd like to just drive it for awhile. The interior is cool! I'm not used to the early model RX-7s and I love the simplicity! I'll need a new dash pad, stereo surround and the lid to the change holder, but that's it. Seats have been reupholstered and are perfect. Door panels and the entire trunk area, (carpet, plastic, trim) is all perfect as well.
The guy owned it since 88 and put a new motor in it at that time. He's had it sitting in his garage for 8 years. A friend I go to church with knows I always drive a different RX-7 and told me about him. Long story short, that was back in Aug, 04 and even though I liked the car as soon as I saw it, I walked away from it because he wanted $800 for it. Called him up last week, offered him $400 and he took $450.
I filled it up with fuel to dilute what's in the tank, (no drain) added some Amsoil PI, squirted a little MMV into the housings and it pretty much fired right up.
I actually temped fate and easily drove it up the road today! I have a couple questions regarding the way the car is running which I'll start a new thread with.
8/78 is what the door post says.
Thank you guys for your imput!

 

As a said in an early post, you have an original 79 model as they changed in September to the late 79 [sometimes called 79 1/2]'

The original wheels were 13" steel with a 15 'spoke' design. If yours has been modified and you want to go original they are very cheap in most junk yards as most of the 78s have been scrapped.

SA22C was the vin number used for the Gen 1. People abbreviate SA22C to SA. However, after two years this was changed to FB in the USA to standardise vin numbers. I have owned Japanese and Australian 85 models which were still plated as SA.

For $450 you really got a great buy.l

 

Exhaust system- the rotary engine exhaust gases are hot with the result the header gets up to 1500 degrees. Cheap exhaust systems do not last long, so if you need a replacement go to a rotary shop for one with adequate specifications.

Your problem is its going to cost nearly as much as you paid for the car at such a bargain price!

 

The cool thing is that because you got the car at such good price, the money you
saved can be spent on parts for your car, and your car will benefit without you
spending more than it's value!

 

I keep seeing people refer to the '78 model...no such thing. The '79's came out in May of 1978, but they were '79 model year. I bought mine on May 25th, 1978. And as stated, those are not the stock wheels...but nice looking car!

Rich

 

Got it! I'll stop calling it a 78. ;-)

 

Hey, nice 78'....Just joking good looking SA had an 80 model but got rid of it now have my 85' and I'm on the hunt for a locals 84' cuz I need a straight body.

Again good looking and keep it for a long long time the price tag'll grow with time.

 

and as far as i know there is no lid for the change holder..

 

I read that there was a 78 model however is was not offered here in America and was extremely low production. Kind of a prototype car. I also read that they were only offered in Yellow. I will see if I can find the website.

 

[QUOTE=PaulFitzwarryne]You have an early 79 model of which some 11,000 were imported into the USA in the period April-September 1978. Late 79 models had minor improvements and alterations to make them more suitable for the US market.

There was no '1978' model. Fifty preproduction models were produced in January-February 78, all in yellow, some of which were used as press cars and their photos were used in magazines. In all Mazda documents they were refered to as 1979 models. There also some eight prototypes built in late 1977 most of them painted red, but their only designation was X605.

The offical launch was 30 March when production cars in various colours were available. Production of export lhd models started in early April with the USA launch on 24 April 1978.

 

That is a very nice car. Take good care of it, since it already has a rebuild performed, you're probably ahead of the game, but after sitting for 8 years, I'd check the following, at a minimum;

1) Plugs, plug wires and rotor - check for rust
2) Hoses, belts - check for age cracking and leakage
3) Coolant - just drain and replace with 50/50 mix. At this age, it's probably still fine, but I wouldn't want it to leach out minerals from the housings
4) Fuel filter - change it before it starts to bog down and you have to post back here about it...

That's about it. The thermostat is remarkable easy to change, but watch the coolant temp to see if you need to replace it. Anything over 1/2 on the gauge is too hot. Great find,

 

^^^^^This is what I love about the forum thanks I appreciate the re-correct!

 

Nice car Jason. Don't want to burst your bubble too much but what you have is the "S" model, which was a stripped-down version of the much-more-popular (and desirable) GS. So you got the 4-speed, no body mouldings, no center console, no intermittent wiper, odd-ball steering-wheel - model. It originally came with steel wheels. The sunroof was not offered on the "S". So it is rare, but I don't think (IMHO) that is necessarily a good thing. They are rare because no one would buy them
The good news is that everything I listed but the sunroof can be retro-fitted to the car if you want to do that - and there are enough "dead" GS SA-models around that you can likely get the parts quite cheaply. Best bet is to try and buy a complete dead car then swap the bits at your leisure. I usually pick up dead SAs for $50-$100. These are super-easy cars to work on for the most part, being so wonderfully simple. Plus you have all the great folks here to help, too.
Enjoy and welcome
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska