1st Generation Specific (1979-1985) 1979-1985 Discussion including performance modifications and technical support sections

Original survivor :) Picked me up a jewel of a 7.

Old May 6, 2012 | 10:11 AM
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IN Original survivor :) Picked me up a jewel of a 7.

I picked this car up from a local girl (well 80 miles away). She babied this car and pampered it, its whole life.. Was a difficult buy. She was very picky about who bought it.

All original, never abused or modified. 43,000 miles. Runs great and starts great. Has a little sticky spot in the carb, so needs an accelerator pump diaphragm but I'm happy.

Would like to find new rear carpet for the car, its in pretty bad shape. Ordered new inside handle cups for the doors. I have to put the protective outside molding door trim back on the diver's door. Windshield wipers are out of time, stop in wrong place on windshield. Passenger window power switch a bit flaky. Drivers seat shows a bit of wear from sliding in and out. A few small hail dents here and there but I'm extremely happy. DAMN SHAME ITS AN AUTOMATIC, that's the only thing I HATE about this car. Auto in this car SUCKS!

Check out the pics and let me know what you think....
Attached Thumbnails Original survivor :) Picked me up a jewel of a 7.-img_0374.jpg   Original survivor :) Picked me up a jewel of a 7.-img_0378.jpg   Original survivor :) Picked me up a jewel of a 7.-img_0375.jpg  
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Old May 6, 2012 | 10:47 AM
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From: https://www2.mazda.com/en/100th/
wow that's very nice! most of that electrical stuff is solved by cleaning, its been sitting too long....

i do have 2 of the last 3 rear carpets for 84-85 i wonder if it matches?
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Old May 6, 2012 | 10:53 AM
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Nice!

That is one Nice car, it seems like the last week has been good to people buying FB's.

These guys have carpet sets:
http://www.auto-interior.com/Mazda10...gwodr1f4zw#RX7

So do these guys:
http://www.blackdragonauto.com/icata...t.aspx?Page=76

I've used Black Dragon before for a complete electric window repair kit and they are great, they even have the window channel felt which is why electric windows are slow or seem stuck.
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Old May 6, 2012 | 11:07 AM
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its better to have a low mileage automatic because some grandma probably drove it and never crashed it or abused it. great find.
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Old May 6, 2012 | 04:39 PM
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Originally Posted by j9fd3s
wow that's very nice! most of that electrical stuff is solved by cleaning, its been sitting too long....

i do have 2 of the last 3 rear carpets for 84-85 i wonder if it matches?
84-85 carpet is actually the same.. Only difference I can recall is the notch cut out where the pin switch went in the rear storage bin for the light in there. 81-83 didnt have lights in the bin. Youd never see the notch with bin installed...

carpet used? new? how much?

@ others: Id like to stay away from universal aftermarket makers of carpet TOO MANY ill fitting nightmares. Black Dragon is EXPENSIVE!!! lol

Thanks for the comments! Much appreciated!
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Old May 6, 2012 | 06:26 PM
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Don't go with the Black Dragon carpets! Saw one last night,didn't match at all.
Nice find.
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Old May 6, 2012 | 07:57 PM
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Another nice one!
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Old May 6, 2012 | 10:08 PM
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Originally Posted by cfamilyfix
Another nice one!
I need some red carpet - LOL ... The AC still WORKS!!! I tried it today and guess what the cassette worked too... Dropped an adpater in and I was Iphoning
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Old May 7, 2012 | 11:01 AM
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From: https://www2.mazda.com/en/100th/
Originally Posted by MIKE-P-28
carpet used? new? how much?
mine are new in the bag, never been unrolled or seen sunlight. they were not cheap though :/
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Old May 7, 2012 | 11:19 AM
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Originally Posted by j9fd3s
mine are new in the bag, never been unrolled or seen sunlight. they were not cheap though :/
Define not cheap? Lol
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Old May 7, 2012 | 11:43 AM
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Originally Posted by MIKE-P-28
Windshield wipers are out of time, stop in wrong place on windshield.
That usually happens when the wiper arms are removed and then reinstalled incorrectly.

Pretty old thing. Shame about the auto-trans, but from a rarity standpoint, that makes it more rare. Weren't that many built with auto.

Looks to be still on original rubber, too.
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Old May 7, 2012 | 06:26 PM
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Man, that thing is an exact duplicate of my 83. Some color, gsl, and everything! Yours just has half the miles, and mines a manual! I love mine, I'm sure yours will be fantastic as well.

One question, toy or DD?
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Old May 7, 2012 | 11:03 PM
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beautiful car!! if you look closely, it looks like the car has the original Bridgestone Stel Belted 70 series tires on the front!!! EPIC win! a manual trans swap is not out of the question i hope. i've done the swap with perfect results and if you are interested i can assist you in finding the parts you need. we'll need more pics of the 83 though!
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Old May 8, 2012 | 05:41 AM
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Wow she looks to be in real nice condition. Excellent find, a little bit of time fixing the couple small problems its got and you have an excellent RX-7 there. About the auto trans though, I know virtually nothing about it besides the fact that its a 3 speed unit. If Mazda had used a 4 speed OD auto, it might be worth keeping as it would probably make an excellent daily driver, but with the 3 speed its probably best just to dump it and put a proper 5 speed in. Too bad your so far away since I have an extra 82 5 speed trans that I would let go real cheap since I just don't want it sitting around anymore.
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Old May 8, 2012 | 06:17 AM
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5 speed swaps are pretty straight foward and not that difficult or expensive. You can even ship a tranny across the country for $75 or so. I agree that an automatic does cut down on the fun factor of these cars but I would not say it sucks. I bought an automatic with the intention of slapping in a manual, but it runs so well, I'm keeping it the way it is. I can even get a chirp out of the tires while flooring it into 2nd. I also have a manual I can drive though too. If the auto was my only one, I might think different.

BTW, if anyone has an automatic center interior shift console for an SA, let me know. Mine has a small spot of spooge on it that refuses to clean off. I'm looking for a nicer one. FB auto console's are different than the SA's.
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Old May 8, 2012 | 08:31 AM
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Originally Posted by mazdaverx713b
beautiful car!! if you look closely, it looks like the car has the original Bridgestone Stel Belted 70 series tires on the front!!! EPIC win! a manual trans swap is not out of the question i hope. i've done the swap with perfect results and if you are interested i can assist you in finding the parts you need. we'll need more pics of the 83 though!
I wondered that... I thought those tires have got to be original or at least dealer replaced. All 4 tires do match. The clearcoat on the wheels is cracked all to hell.

Anyway, i ordered a few things from Mazda that were actually still available...

Dome light lense for $33 bucks, right hand rear tail light lense $239!!! , 2 inside door handle trims... Door panels are going to a trim shop and since no one has a carpet, I guess I'll pull the carpet and take it up there too, maybe they can make something up. Need to pull the dash and rear quarter trims and respray them. Bit faded..

Was thinking of maybe an auto from a S5 car? 1989 up? Shouldn't be too bad, custom driveshaft maybe? But if I go through that much trouble might as well do a 5 speed but I guess seriously I'm not ever taking it on a long trip or racing it.

Would you tint the windows or leave it? What to do about the clear coat on the wheels? Powder coat?
Attached Thumbnails Original survivor :) Picked me up a jewel of a 7.-100_1728.jpg   Original survivor :) Picked me up a jewel of a 7.-100_1729.jpg   Original survivor :) Picked me up a jewel of a 7.-100_1730.jpg   Original survivor :) Picked me up a jewel of a 7.-100_1731.jpg   Original survivor :) Picked me up a jewel of a 7.-100_1734.jpg  

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Old May 8, 2012 | 11:41 AM
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There have been a few threads about restoring wheels. Costs more in elbow greese than dollars. Carpets can be re-dyed. Most dealerships can put you in touch with someone who comes around to service their used cars on such matters. Or, decent oem used carpets will turn up over time as cars get parted or parts sold.
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Old May 8, 2012 | 11:56 AM
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From: https://www2.mazda.com/en/100th/
Originally Posted by Banzai
There have been a few threads about restoring wheels. Costs more in elbow greese than dollars. Carpets can be re-dyed. Most dealerships can put you in touch with someone who comes around to service their used cars on such matters. Or, decent oem used carpets will turn up over time as cars get parted or parts sold.
i just PM'ed him on a new carpet...
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Old May 10, 2012 | 04:15 AM
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Originally Posted by j9fd3s
i just PM'ed him on a new carpet...
And I'll take it! I need it badly...

The front windshield wipers are more than just 'off' a little. It's hard to explain... Shouldn't be hard to find a wiper rack used.
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Old May 12, 2012 | 11:48 PM
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Nice ride!


I have an 85 of the same color but the clear coat is peeling off. Great DD but just not that fuel efficient.

Is it easy to swap an auto tranny to stick? I was under the impression that the rear housing of the engine was different.
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Old May 13, 2012 | 11:19 AM
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From: https://www2.mazda.com/en/100th/
Originally Posted by Speeder165
Nice ride!


I have an 85 of the same color but the clear coat is peeling off. Great DD but just not that fuel efficient.

Is it easy to swap an auto tranny to stick? I was under the impression that the rear housing of the engine was different.
rear housing is the same on a 12A auto vs stick
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Old May 13, 2012 | 02:34 PM
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An auto is ideal if u go turbo
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Old May 13, 2012 | 07:28 PM
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Not doing turbo on a rotary again. No support in this part of the country. If I ever seek high horsepower again, I'll V8 swap it.. This car and all the ones I have are staying rotary...

I've tore a lot of 7's down in my life, did some pretty crazy stuff, from sunroofs in non sunroof car. Cosmo 13b single turbos etc etc. But I really want this car a stick, BUT I just dont know if I can tear apart something so beautiful. If I had all the parts no body would be able to tell. I know, but wow... 43,000 miles.
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Old May 13, 2012 | 10:19 PM
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I recently picked up an 85 auto...and although its for the wife to "play cars" with...I kinda like the automatic...prob because I have others that are manual. Either way you got a gem of a 7.
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Old May 14, 2012 | 07:05 AM
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Originally Posted by MIKE-P-28
Not doing turbo on a rotary again. No support in this part of the country. If I ever seek high horsepower again, I'll V8 swap it.. This car and all the ones I have are staying rotary...

Never dealt with them, but have heard lots of good from them.


http://www.banzai-racing.com/
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