Ok, this summer I want to restore an Rx7. I have one, but it has some pretty bad rust and a big dent.

What I want to know is if it will be effictive for me to restore this car, or if I should find a less rusty GSL-SE to restore.

I would rather not spend a TON of money on body work, and I think this is where this car would need the most work.

What to you guys think??

Heres a pic of the storage bin. they both look the same.

 

another of the sotage bin

 

heres the drivers side rear wheel well. Nice dent and some decent rust holes.

 

and heres an ugly one of the rear drivers side jack point. the other 4 jack points look similar, but this one is the worst

 

Looks familiar

Anyway, a GOOD body shop can cut that out and weld in good metal, mine cost about $150.00 for both sides of the wheel wells. It can also be fiberglassed, but that's not as strong, better to go metal.
Many on the forum have lots of experience with just what you're going through, read and learn. But, depending upon what kind of shape the rest of the car is in (pics?) it just might be worth it, especially if it's a GSL-SE.

 

sorry, i should have posted it in the origonal post, is an 82 GS.

I am not as concerned with the wheel wells, its the bottom of the car near the jack points. there is a rust hole in the structural (sp?) frame-like pice.

another thing about the wheel well, that dent caused a crease in the door jam. the door still works fine, and the crease is barely noticable, but if i do fix this car up i am gonna do it right and fix that crease too. that is gonna cost more, wont it?

 

heres a pic i took last year of the whole car. (its filthy right now, I dont dare take any pics now or someone might kill me for neglect (sp?)

 

another of the whole car

 

I dunno man, I'm normally pretty optimistic when it comes to rust, etc, but that rear end is pretty nasty.... might want to find a cleaner, straighter body if you want to do a good job on a restore....

 

Also, the interior is black (a big plus, i dont like brown or burgndy) and needs new door panels, seats, carpet, and plastic pices that cover the area the rear speakers are at.

 

Thats in pretty rough shape, I got a 83 LE that was almost as bad as that, ended up making it a parts car and junking the shell. If the interior is the only reason you wish to restore it, find another one with better metal and swap interiors. Its your call, if it were me I'd find another.

 

I would suggest driving it until the fenders fall off and find a donor car to put the GSLSE parts in it.

That is what I refer to as replacing "The Big part".

 

I would suggest driving it until the fenders fall off and then find a donor car to put the GSLSE parts in it.

That is what I refer to as replacing "The Big part".

 

I would suggest driving it until the fenders fall off and then find a donor car to put the GSLSE parts in it.

That is what I refer to as replacing "The Big part".

 

I would suggest driving it until the fenders fall off and then find a donor car to put the GSLSE parts in it.

That is what I refer to as replacing "The Big part".

 

I would suggest driving it until the fenders fall off and then find a donor car to put the GSLSE parts in it.

That is what I refer to as replacing "The Big part".

 

lol fiver-post

 

holy ****
that is the nastiest rust on a first gen i have ever seen

 

I've seen much worse, jay got a car for free that somone put a whale tail on with sheet metal srcews.
Large parts of the car missing and falling off.

 

yeah, its pretty bad.

so now i get to start looking for a gsl-se for sale around minnestoa without a ton of rust.

good luck to me!

 

If you're willing to travel, the cars to the far South of you have much less rust if any.

 

I know. I just got done looking through a list of 84-85 rx7s on auto trader. the closest one is ~260 miles away, and it has some rust. I am willing to bet ill be driving >600 miles for a car

ROAD TRIP!!!

 

That's how mine was..... It can be fixed

 

Keep looking, there are nice ones in the MN/IA area.

I looked for quite a while before finding mine in Anoka.

There were a lot in the Des Moines area to look at as well, but that's a longer drive, for sure.

 

is there anywhere you would recomend looking?

I have been looking through auto trader and the for sale section here, is there anything else?