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Back in the day, these came out after the 81 models hit the streets. That was the 1st year of what we now call FB's and was when the indentation on the rear panel went away. Naturally, back then the general attitude was to have your 79 and /or 80 look like the latest version. The aftermarket responded with these kits to upgrade you older car to look like the newest version from the factory. Today, some still like the kits, while others like to maintain the original rear configuration.
I do like the kit but much prefer the original look due to having to relocate the rear license plate. Neat history lesson on the piece! I learned something new this morning, thank you!
The rear divot is one of the visual defining features of SA cars in the US, and adding that finisher to make it look like an 81+ FB goes against the grain for purists.
Reminds me of the C2 "midyear" Corvettes whereby 1963 split window coupe owners would go to their local body shop and have them cut out the center section of the split window to install a 1964+ single pane rear glass - ruining the original body and devaluing the one-year-only compatibility of their 63 Split Window - all so that it would look a year or two newer.
The SA body was only available in the US for 2 years, making them far more collectible than the 500k+ Tbs which were imported through 1985...
"Defining" for sure. There was a then-well-know styling analysis article in Road & Track:
Wiki: "This series of RX-7 had exposed steel bumpers and a high-mounted indentation-located rear license plate, called by Werner Buhrer of Road & Track magazine a "Baroque depression."
arguing that it was a superfluous design element. Was it coincidental that the FBs (probably well into there re-design updates by then) 'cleaned' up the rear end?
Love it or hate it, as an admitted SA geek, I prefer the layout myself. But perhaps for some on the fence about which version of 1st gen to buy, this might have been the deal-breaker? (others have opinions about the bumper redesign too, but that is for debate on another thread...)
There are styling cues on both the SA and the FB that I like. It's a tough choice and for me it depends on the mood I'm in as to which one I'll drive, the 80 or the 85. Both are visually appealing and I love each one for different reasons.
actually, there is a 3rd version. just a plain red piece without any logos
Actually, there were several options, including custom fonts and phrases (Turbo, 2+2, Mazda Rx-7, etc.)
"Mazda Rx-7", in the corporate style font is my personal favorite. Also, I've always been partial to the center panel. To me, it still maintains a distinct, uniquely SA character, especially with the upper portion left unpainted, like mine.
i think i paid $200 for one, with the even more rare (yet not needed / desirable) top trim piece. if you can find one, MOST of the time it's just the red piece and the top piece is missing. i scored it for a steal for sure and put it on my gf's (at the time) '79 LE with dual webers and a rb bar. car was full of rarities aha
here's the link, for some reason i couldnt sell it for shyt, ended up taking $2k for it. prob worth 6-8k in today's market. hard to find indeeeeed,,, GL !
Even more weird is why Mazda chose to adopt the centre garnish for JDM right hand drive, North America and other export markets (SE Asia), but not Europe / UK / Australia / New Zealand. The latter design provides a best of both worlds, or worst of both worlds, depending on your viewpoint!!
Even more weird is why Mazda chose to adopt the centre garnish for JDM right hand drive, North America and other export markets (SE Asia), but not Europe / UK / Australia / New Zealand. The latter design provides a best of both worlds, or worst of both worlds, depending on your viewpoint!!
Someone at Mazda definitely wanted the license plate below the bumper. Maybe making the cut out for wider plates would make the steel bumper support too thin?
Someone at Mazda definitely wanted the license plate below the bumper. Maybe making the cut out for wider plates would make the steel bumper support too thin?
That could be it. The European plates are definitely wide. The Australian ones aren't however. They are similar size to US licence plates. But I can see why Mazda might have just lumped Australia in with the European design for cost of manufacturing reasons (athough other aspects of the body on the Australia model are the same as the US but different to Euro, eg the front guards/fenders and door mirrors)
Someone at Mazda definitely wanted the license plate below the bumper. Maybe making the cut out for wider plates would make the steel bumper support too thin?
The rear us bumper are made of alloy and fitted with a damper. I think the us law is more special on bumpers then the european and other markets. In germany some states allowed us military people to get a smaller licence plate on their us cars.
12-26-19, 06:03 PM
