My SA is Famous!
 

Well, that may be exaggerating a bit...but, I came to find out today..completely by accident... that the 1980 GS that I picked up last week was featured in a book. The book is called Sport Car Colored History Mazda RX-7. I picked up the book in the late 90's and have read it many times. I decided to pick it up today and noticed that the SA in the first spread looked an awful lot like the SA that I picked up recently. Here's how I came to believe that its the same car:

Here is the picture in question that appears twice in the book. Once in a centerfold and once in the section talking about the 1980 model year:

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And a close up of the front:

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Note the sagging left headlight and the slightly raised right headlight. Same as the car in the pic:

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Scratch on the front bumper in the same location as well as the front plate bracket:

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In the pic you can see a spot of missing paint by the left front tire. Same spot is missing in my car but it has now turned to rust:

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Proof that my car came from Virginia. Same state that car in the pic is from:

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Pin striping can be seen with the top stripe once longer than the bottom as indicated in the pic:

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Mud flaps secured with three screws. Identical to the pic:

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Remnants of the inspection stickers that can be seen on the windshield in the pic:

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The book the car was featured in:

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These are all indicators to me that the car in the book is the car I have in my driveway.

lmao! ok now you HAVE to restore the thing. that is really cool though

Pic of my car and a pic of the car in the book for direct comparison:

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dude it has the same tires on it!

You are spot on!!! Those are the SAME tires!!! Good eye!!!!!

That's awesome!

Also, isn't it possible to match a plate to vin? You could get a guaranteed match then.

Grats, Dave! Nice find!

That is a cool car sir. then the fact that its been featured in a magazine makes it a plus.

Nice Dave - welcome Back ;)

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

Sometimes, its a small world. Neat turn of events. You should see about getting that same ROTR PWR plate back on her again Dave. In my opinion, the book now becomes a permanente part or accessoary of the car. I guess now you will need to decide to either leave the age scars as proof or turn her clock back by making her match the pictures again. The stories to cars become more important as they get older. Sometimes, those histories actually make the vehicles more desireable and valuable. It certinly won't hurt the value of this SA.

I had my doubts about this car before, but now you have to fix it up. You should try and keep all
the original paint as possible. Shouldn't be too hard for you to research the plate to vin match I would
think :) I have that same book and many others. Very cool discovery. I think it will give the car some
provenance that could increase its value some. Might be a keeper for you.

The plan now is to restore the car and keep it. I will definitely keep the book to show with the car during shows and the RX-7 meets that I host here at my place. I will attempt to get the same plate but on a historical plate. Might cost some money but if its available I'll get it. I can try and research the plate and match it to the VIN. I have to do things the proper way though as abuse of my power can land me fired, lol. But I'm sure a records request to Virginia just for a confirmation of a VIN would be possible. The book cites the owner's name. I was thinking of maybe attempting to contact her and find out more about the car.

Mechanically the car is pretty sound. Feels like the front brake rotors are warped. I feel a slight vibration in the brake pedal under braking. Engine runs amazing, trans shifts perfectly with no grinding or noise, rear end is great. Just some minor leaks to address really. Front cover, rear bearing seal. No big deal there. Just body work really. Most of the original paint is shot. Its cracking everywhere and there is clear coat missing on most of the roof and I guess under the plasti dip that's covering the hood. I polished the car yesterday and it looks great from 10 feet and at dusk lol

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Thats a great idea. I found the address and name of the original owner of one of my cars, first sold in CA. I sent a letter requesting info, pictures, any old paperwork (like the window sticker) or just a memory or story involving the car. Unfortunately, the letter was returned as undeliverable and no forwarding address. Still, it would be worth the effort for you to try.

i started out a tad skeptical, but i must admit, you've turned me (the AVSs did it for me :)). you should follow up with any lead to the car's history and if it all checks out and this really is the same car, then i think you should do a thorough photo journal of where the car stands now, and then restore it.

by the way, i have that same book. however, it and a whole bunch of Rotary literature and memorabilia seems to have been misplaced. i keep meaning to spend a day or weekend and going through my stuff until i find it all.

I was a bit skeptical as well but the evidence was compounding. I had to post it and see what you guys here thought.

I will keep a journal of all receipts and pictures and I have started a thread in the builds section about the car as well. I do plan to restore it. The first thing I need to find are the correct seats. May have to buy the covers from Racing Beat and reupholster them. As long as the car stays original..or as original as it can. It already has a disc brake rear end, Tokico blue's, and some blue springs that seem tightly wound as non original parts. As long as those really cannot be seen then I'm ok with leaving them and consider them an upgrade.

Awesome story, you definitely have to restore it now. I agree about getting the plate

I'll look into getting a historical plate that is customized. I know they are available and I Think it would be worth the extra cost!

Now all you need is a GF that is in a magazine..heh,heh.

WE all can try to compare her to the pics..(teehee!)..closely...!

good find Bro!!

That would be nice...but my wife wouldn't allow me to post those type of pics of her haha. She's pretty wild, hence us having 5 kids, but sharing her bent over a car with some camel toe poking out would probably be a no go.

My Ex had a whole camel..lol!