Just purchased a 1985 GSL-SE. I have had several friends with 1st Gen RX-7s and have always loved the car but never was able to pull the trigger on one myself.

I finally pulled the trigger on E-bay. Wife isn't happy but she is never happy with any of my auto purchases. I tend to run American Iron from the 60's (own a 65 Fairlane and a 62 Thunderbird) but have always had a soft spot for the little rotarys.

I plan on asking a lot of questions. I am not used to engines with all those wires and tubes running all over them .

 

glad to have you on board read the FAQ and stickys they help alot the search button up there on the left does wonders as well. welcom to the board and read those first they will probably answer alot of your questions.

 

congrats always nice to see another SE owner

post some pix

 

Thanks.

Mine looks identical to yours. I will bet yours is in better shape right now but I plan on correcting my deficiencies. She isn't bad for a car that essentially sat for four years, she runs well, stops ok (brakes are being done this weekend), shifts fine and gets suprisingly good gas mileage.

Trying to get a shop manual as well as the standard Hayne's stuff.

What are the most common problems on these cars, ie what should I look for to fail on these birds? I mean I can tell you what goes wrong on a 65 Fairlane Sports Coupe but a 1st Gen RX7 I don't have a clue.

 

Welcome to the club fellow Rotorhead!

Hope you enjoy your stay !

karis

 

i don't think so...mine has body damage that hopefully will be corrected soon...



Well...since it sat for 4 years I do the following:

A. Change the fluids
1. Oil
2. Tranny
3. Coolant
4. Differential
5. Fuel
B. Change the spark plugs, cap & rotor, and plug wires
C. Do as much as you can on the brakes
1. New rotors (if needed)
2. New pads
3. New stainless steel brake lines
4. Check the condition of your master cyl, replace if needed
D. Run premix until you can confirm that your OMP works and not leaking
1. Use MMO for premixing
2. Check your oil level each time you visit a gas station you know its working if the oil level drops a little at a time.
3. Check the front of the engine where the OMP is located and make sure it's not leaking.
E. Change all your hoses
1. Upper & lower rad hoses
2. Coolant hoses near your firewall
3. Under your dynamic chamber <--only if you are really paranoid

You also want to check for vacuum leaks and such...do a search to see how...

Check for rust under the storage bin...!!!

At this point you can start improving the performance and handling by replacing the suspension, new springs, shocks, struts, tie rods, bushings...performance can be gained with a new intake and exhaust setup...

You can do alot with these cars...and you'll be very happy with the ride once the old stuff gets replaced with the new...good luck...have fun and post some pix...

 

Welcome,

This is a great place for info. The people are nice with no huge egos. Everyone is willing to help, but most would like you to use the search feature first. Hope you enjoy your seven like we all have.

 

Mine has its share of dings. It is original paint too and is a PNW car so it isn't rusty but has some rust showing at the numerous ding holes where rocks have hit the paint. I figure by the time I am done she will look like a white and gray primer heffer. I will then have to convince the significant other that painting the thing is important. She is not easily convinced. The last 'Just a driver' was my Fairlane and I have put close to 12 grand into it. I can imagine her reaction if I fiddle with this 'just a driver' too much.

I've already done A.

B is being done this weekend. Rear brakes look OK, fronts look fairly worn. SS Brakelines are a good idea as well, might make for another weekend project. Hopefully it will go easier than the Fairlane job I did. Of course that was a disc conversion as well as all new lines. That was a lot of Oh that doesn't fit fun.

C. MMO, right, will go to Shucks on the way home and get some.

D. Hoses look good, may just change them for the snot of it.


Thanks for the info. I plan on using the search feature for specific problems. I figure someone could give me the quick look for this right away stuff, especially on the GSL-SEs. They are slightly different birds so I assume that they have some problems not seen on the 12A cars.

 

glad to see theres another white se owner here