Rx 7 1982 vs Rx 7 1985 GS
 

Hey I'm thinking about getting another rx 7 fb. I own a rx 7 fb 1982 base model. I'm looking at a 1985 rx 7 GS model. I was wondering about the differences to mine, Thanks for the help.

the 85 will have larger bearings up front and larger axles in the rear.

What was mentioned above, with the addition of a beehive oil cooler on the 85 vs. the front mount oil cooler on the 82. Also, the exhaust systems are different between the 82 and the 85. The interior is completely different between the two cars as well.

As far as features are concerned, the GSL will have a/c and the GS may not. No power windows on the GS, rear drum brakes on the GS, no sunroof on the 85 GS, and no limited slip differential on the GS. Your 82 GSL will have power windows, rear disc brakes, limited slip differential, sunroof, and a/c. Leather seats were optional on the 82 GSL as well, so you may have those. Otherwise, you will have the cloth sport seats with the striping.

In addition to what was said above, the GS may or may not have sunroof. My prior GS had sunroof, rear drums, manual windows, cloth seats, a/c, radio/cassette, and the other standard stuff...

the outside is the same, but lots of differences after that. some years the GS had an optional sunroof and some years it was standard, i don't remember which ones are which
the interior is different, as i'm sure you noticed.

Mechanically there are a bunch of little tweaks, its "the same" but stuff is different
Engine: the 81-82 cars have heavier engine rotors and a lighter flywheel than the 83-85's. 83-85's get a bigger clutch 225mm vs 215mm
Cooling: the 79-85 cars have a short radiator with an oil cooler under it, the 83-85's have a liquid to air, oil cooler setup, the beehive. 84-85 cars will all have the mount for the GSL-SE oil cooler in front of the radiator, 79-83 cars will not
Exhaust: feels the same, smells the same, but is completely different, 84-85 is better.
Suspension: all the arms and links are the same, but the front lower pickup point in the rear is 10mm lower (or higher?) for 84. bearings get bigger in 84 too, as was noted

lots of little things, if you had a new 1982 and a new 1984 next to each other, they probably would feel different, the 84 should feel more polished.
40 years later though, not sure you'd be able to really tell

I believe the 1982 gas tank flap still had the key lock.

The S2 and S3 gas tanks are different as well. I forgot to mention that. The early gas tanks did not have a removable fuel pickup, whereas the later (S3) did. The 79 and 80 gas tanks are entirely different, as the early cars had a full size spare tire compared to the compact spare of the 81-85 model years. The fuel tank also gained capacity from 14.5 gallons in 79-80 to 16.6 gallons from 81-85.

The sunroof was dropped as an option on the GS in 1985. I'm not sure why but it was only available on the GSL and GSL-SE in 85. Previous years it was an option on the GS.