comet909

Well, I've looked at a few RX-7's. My budget is relatively low. I'm partial to the first gens and more specifically a GSL-SE. As you probably know, its hard to come across a good one for a good price. Well I picked up on a nice one on CL. $1400.

Interior is in good shape. The exterior needs a little work. There's a few spots of rust where the paint is bubbling some here and there. Mostly touch up work. Nothings rusted thru. Needs a tail light cover and new bumper covers. But in general the body is solid. Paint still has a shine to it. Not faded or dull anywhere. 115,000 miles.

It started up really easy (Cold conditions about 45 degrees). Only thing that turned me off a little was the fact that there was some smoking when we started it up. Now it had been sitting for a few days, and we had just gotten a few days of rain, it was also surging. After a few minutes the smoking went from kinda heavy (not too bad really). To pretty light (hardly noticable.) It was hard to tell what the hue of the smoke was cause it was starting to get a dark. But it seemed to be white. I know by my research that this might mean burning antifreeze. Also when the dude popped the hood he checked and noticed that the antifreeze was a little low. He added some, I watched and he didn't add much. A cup or two. I smelled the smoke and it smelled like nothing, defanitely no sweet smell from antifreeze.

I took her for a test drive. Fun. Handled well. Once I got used to driving it it seemed to accelerate very well. Engine reved strong. Fast and fun. When I got back after about 15 minutes of driving there was no smoking. Not even a hint of it. Turned it off for a couple of minutes and it started up just fine.

Now I know I should have checked for bubbles in the radiator and I'll defanitely do that before I totally finalize the deal. But I agreed with the guy that the price was fair and I made arrangements to pick it up.

Another thing I noticed was that I did smell somethig sweet while driving it. I figured it to be a heater core going out. I've smelled while inside a car before.

While the smoking thing does/did concern me a little. It didn't smell sweet. It went away. Started easy enough. Drove well. I'm leaning towards going thru with it. I know its my life/my money/my project, should I ignore my concerns and trust my instincts and go thru with it?

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

seems pretty normal on the smoking issue to me. if the 7 sits they can some on cold start, especially the SE with the EGI. fuel tends to puddle after shut down as the injectors are older and tend to leak a smidge. as long as the engine isnt consuming coolant, you dont see the bubbles in the radiator with the engine running or the engine isnt overheating, i'd say that aspect of the engine is fine. i would think $1400 is a bit high considering the amount of body work it may need..i'd like to see some pics.

OneRotor

iTrader: (3)

did you get any pictures of the car?

The smoking sounds like it's just condensation in the exhaust if it went away after the car warmed up and you took it for a drive. If it had smoked consistantly the entire drive, i'd be worried.

Rogue_Wulff

With the cool weather, the "Smoke" could have been nothing more than steam from condensation in the exhaust. If the car has the stock converters under it, they will cause the exhaust to steam until they get fully heated up.
This seems more likely than coolant being burned, since you stated their was no sweet smell.
It could have been oil smoke, as rotaries are prone to smoking a little on startup, especially after sitting for a few days.
Only way to really tell, would be checking it out when there is plenty of daylight.

jones75240

iTrader: (1)

Meh, my 83 GSL will put out some white smoke on cold starts after setting for a day or longer. Doesnt last long, once warmed up to operating temp it subsides.

I get a bit of a burning type smell from mine due to the dowel pin oil leak (at least i believe this is why) that emits the oil around the "12A" stamp (that runs over side onto engine) and that oil gets heated up by engine/components and emits a smell. Not a terribly noticeable smell but a smell nonetheless. Just a thought.

If it pulls strong, idles smoothe throughout, temp levels stay stable even after driving session and the engine bay isnt in shambles....i would say BUY IT! LOL Sounds like good deal. If u get it post pics, GL

comet909

Well, thanks for all the responses guys. I appreciate it. I'm not too worried about the body work. Yeah, it needs some work but its nothing big. Patches of surface rust. Underneath was pretty solid no rust on the frame or flooring. Realistically speaking a car that doesn't need that stuff won't fit in my budget. And its pretty rare to even see one in my area. Not to say I didn't try to talk the guy down a little. That's always a must when your buying anything.

84rtaryrcket

im not sure about the smoke and the smell your smelling but for me, mine smokeswhen i start it up and u can hear the rear rotor is filled with fluid, u can hear it clear out, and when i drive i got the sweet smell, i know my coolant seals are gone, rebuild is coming but moneys tight with being a student and blah blah, but spring time shes getting paint and im yanking the motor out before snow flies. the last thing i need in to mess up my housings over the winter. but then again i paid 800 for mine with no rust with 105k the sad part is the motor was rebuilt at around 82k but the car sat a few years since rebuild paper work is in hand so its not a fluke. good luck