Reunited with my long lost RX-7
06-11-07, 08:28 AM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Reunited with my long lost RX-7
In 2001, just before I graduated from college, my '83 stopped running. The local shop quoted me a price several thousand dollars more than I could afford. I was graduating, getting commissioned into the Navy, getting married, and moving from Maryland to California all within a month and made the tough decision to donate the car to charity.
It was a tough decision only in that my grandfather bought the car new and I had been playing in and "driving" this car since I was 5 years old. He drove it up until he was paralyzed by a Staph infection in the 90's and sold the car to my dad in '95 with 30k miles on it. The one condition of the sale was that if my grandpa ever walked again, my dad had to sell it back. My dad drove it for a couple years and gave it to me as a present in 1999.
Back to the story... it turns out that the auto shop did not donate it as I had requested, but sold the car for the engine. The car traded hands several times (if any board member had contact with it I would love to hear your story. '83 with TX plates and a Naval Academy Sticker. It was located in Maryland). My dad got a call one evening that someone wanted to restore the rx and was hoping for information on the title. He gave them my number. I talked with the new owner and was able to buy the car back for $600. (It did seem a little funny to buy a car when the title was already in my name, but it was the fair and right thing to do). I drove down to MD picked up a uhaul trailer and towed the rx back to RI where I am currently stationed.
It will be a labor of love getting the car going again. As this is my first restoration, thanks in advance to all of you who are willing to help me on this journey.
Attached are pictures of where it was found, the purchase (I'm on the right), my son playing in the car, and it's new home.
It was a tough decision only in that my grandfather bought the car new and I had been playing in and "driving" this car since I was 5 years old. He drove it up until he was paralyzed by a Staph infection in the 90's and sold the car to my dad in '95 with 30k miles on it. The one condition of the sale was that if my grandpa ever walked again, my dad had to sell it back. My dad drove it for a couple years and gave it to me as a present in 1999.
Back to the story... it turns out that the auto shop did not donate it as I had requested, but sold the car for the engine. The car traded hands several times (if any board member had contact with it I would love to hear your story. '83 with TX plates and a Naval Academy Sticker. It was located in Maryland). My dad got a call one evening that someone wanted to restore the rx and was hoping for information on the title. He gave them my number. I talked with the new owner and was able to buy the car back for $600. (It did seem a little funny to buy a car when the title was already in my name, but it was the fair and right thing to do). I drove down to MD picked up a uhaul trailer and towed the rx back to RI where I am currently stationed.
It will be a labor of love getting the car going again. As this is my first restoration, thanks in advance to all of you who are willing to help me on this journey.
Attached are pictures of where it was found, the purchase (I'm on the right), my son playing in the car, and it's new home.
06-11-07, 10:31 AM
#7
Rotary Freak
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The 7 is pretty easy to restore. Parts are usually available from a Pick 'n Pull nearby, or mazdatrix.com, or guys here on the forum.
Is grandpa still around to see it?
Is grandpa still around to see it?
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06-11-07, 10:36 AM
#8
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Thanks for the comments... The body is in remarkably good condition. Most of the ancillaries (starter, alternator, carb, ...) and the transmission were in the back when I picked up the car so I'm still in the process of pulling it back together to see what's really wrong with it. The engine has carbon buildup but is not locked. I'm in talks with another member about just buying another running 12a w/ tranny to do a swap and get back on the road. The swap along with all of the other recommendations from the resurrection thread in the FAQ.
06-11-07, 01:44 PM
#9
The Rotorheaded Geek
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Hey that is an awesome story, glad that you have the car back. I am in the area a few times a month normally in my 7 or the 8, send me a PM some time and I would gladly meet up with you. I restored my '83 LE and may still have some extra parts lying around.
06-11-07, 04:53 PM
#12
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Know never let it go again that cars was meant to be yours.
Before you do anything to it just ask in the forum and someone will help you on your 7.
Start visiting your local yunk yards and grab whatever you see that is in good shape.Good luck and great story.
Before you do anything to it just ask in the forum and someone will help you on your 7.
Start visiting your local yunk yards and grab whatever you see that is in good shape.Good luck and great story.
06-11-07, 09:12 PM
#19
Junior Member
Thread Starter
All day every day my son asks "Can we go fix the Mazda?" I'm trying to involve him as much as possible, but at 3yrs there's not much he can do. But we have a lot of fun playing 
Unfortunately my grandfather didn't live long enough to see the car come back. He died in 2004. When I told my grandma that I was going to get the car bac she cried.
I'm very grateful for the offers of help. I plan on posting most of my questions in separate threads, but if there is anyone around newport who is willing to swing by and help look the situation over I'd appreciate it. I called all the salvage yards in the phone book this morning, but no luck finding one with a rx. Thanks to those forum members who have already offered access to their parts cars, I can guarantee we'll be in touch.
Right now I'm most nervous about just getting things back together to see what works and what doesn't. I'm also really thinking about doing the gsl rear swap before redoing the brakes. The other issue is everything between the stock exhaust manifold and the muffler is gone. Starting next year I won't have to worry about emissions tests, but I still need to figure out what I should put in its place. I'm hoping to build it back for a daily driver.
Comments and thoughts are always appreciated.
Unfortunately my grandfather didn't live long enough to see the car come back. He died in 2004. When I told my grandma that I was going to get the car bac she cried.
I'm very grateful for the offers of help. I plan on posting most of my questions in separate threads, but if there is anyone around newport who is willing to swing by and help look the situation over I'd appreciate it. I called all the salvage yards in the phone book this morning, but no luck finding one with a rx. Thanks to those forum members who have already offered access to their parts cars, I can guarantee we'll be in touch.
Right now I'm most nervous about just getting things back together to see what works and what doesn't. I'm also really thinking about doing the gsl rear swap before redoing the brakes. The other issue is everything between the stock exhaust manifold and the muffler is gone. Starting next year I won't have to worry about emissions tests, but I still need to figure out what I should put in its place. I'm hoping to build it back for a daily driver.
Comments and thoughts are always appreciated.
06-11-07, 11:06 PM
#22
Zoom Zoom Boom!
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Cool story. I ran into my first RX7 not too long ago after a few years. I always regretted selling that car. Unfortunately, it went through a few owners and it was no longer cherry. 
I was thinking about buying it back but there was a dent on the rear quarter panel and it had a lot of issues.
I was thinking about buying it back but there was a dent on the rear quarter panel and it had a lot of issues.
06-12-07, 12:10 AM
#25
B-RAD from G-ville
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