Hello, I am looking at an old first gen rx7 and I need help with a few questions. If anyone could please give me insight, it would be very appreciative. Please and thank you!

1. Carbureted engine, still safe to run premix?

2. Is it safe to turbo? (Draw through set up, thinking about buying higher compression APEX seals (RA, Goopy, Etc.) After the first SEAL goes then thinking about adding those seals then possible turbo)

3. Insurance premium?

4. If I do go premix, keep the oil injector or no?

5. What do you think of a 1st gen rx7? Are they reliable?

 

the oil mixes in the fuel bowl of the carby when running the OMP so I don't see why you cant run premix you will most likely need to change your fuel lines tho.

you don't have to run premix theres plenty of high powered n/a and turbo rotarys getting around still running the factory OMP...the first gen rx7 is reliable in a stock form providing the running gear has been well maintained.

hope that helps you a bit mate.

 

Well, posting the Q "are 1st Gens reliable?" in the 1st gen forum is likely to get a somewhat biased answer. Like: "hellya!"
Honestly, like any car, if you start out with a good one, and learn and pay attention to the needs of a rotary, then you will be fine. LOTS of members here with high-mileage RX's to prove it.
Turbo: can't say. Others will…
Insurance? On a 35 yr old car? Unless you are a serial-killer the rates should be basically "free" since these cars have pretty low value in the market place. Now if you have something special, then I would recommend (assuming you are in US) some specialty insurance company like Hagerty that knows and will cover collector-cars well beyond the value most insurance companies would be willing to go. Make some calls.
Premix: I run my factory OMP WITH premix AND the stock nikki carb. No issues. OMP system works, so why pull it?

Do you HAVE an RX7 - or just looking? If you have, give us details Man! Model? Year? pics?

Welcome.
Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

 

If you're going to premix with a working OMP, use a smaller amount than the usual 1 oz per gallon. On the OEM carb oil is dripped through two little nozzles above the throttle plates.

They're reliable provided you keep up with maintenance, which is super easy on these cars.

Are you saying you're going to rebuild the engine, then once that wears out rebuilding it again with a turbo? Losing a seal generally trashes a rotor housing and 12A ones are getting pretty rare. If you want to go turbo, it'll be simpler to install a 13B from an FC. A higher compression apex seal is only a new one.

 

1. Yes
2. Maybe
3. Low
4. Yes
5. I think they are the best and once gone over replacing every rubber part and wear item are
reliable and easy to maintain.

If you have never owned a rotary before, you should avoid the turbo business at first and just
get it mechanically sound and running well as it is. Drive it for awhile and make sure it works well
for you. Then think about mods you need to do.

BTW, these are 30+ year old cars at this point and you should expect to drop at least 1K on parts
to make it reliable plus the downtime to do all this and your own time to do it. It wont be a DD for
you until you get thru all of that first.

 

Thanks everyone! I do not have an Rx7 yet, I'm looking at one though and I was wondering if it was a wise investment instead of just diving into it and no knowing anything about it. I've heard that upgrading the cooling is a must since rotaries can't really cool down during the exhaust phase. I will have a just-in-case car just in case if the Rx7 doesn't exactly last me long (not trying to say that I'll beat the crap out of it, but you never really know what the previous owner could have done.). I've also heard that a few higher revs are beneficial to a Rotary since it will blow out the carbon build ups (just like on a piston engine). Since my biggest worry is blowing a seal, what could I do to make the seals last longer? I've heard premix helps a lot since it keeps them more lubricated and they don't rub up against the rotor housings as hard.

This isn't too bad for a kid in highschool, now is it?

 

And well since I'm just a teenager I'm of course going to want it louder so it sounds more like a hot rod, so would it hurt to straight pipe it? (FYI emissions do NOT matter where I live)

 

1. yes
2. no
3. yes, should be a small one, its an inexpensive old car
4. yes, keep the metering pump, that way you don't need to premix all the time, or if you forget its not a problem
5. yes, very, find another 30 year old car that just needs minor work to stay on the road.

on a 1st gen the stock cooling system is totally fine, IF it is in good condition. its pretty normal for the radiator to be plugged with crap, and need to be replaced or rodded out

only your ears!

 

Sounds like someone has been feeding you the typical rx7 BS about heat and apex
seals and what not. Most of what you say there is complete and utter BS. The cooling
system works great as long as its maintained, you won't break apex seals unless its
low on oil (very low) or you boost it. Reving it to 6K and above on each drive is
mandatory for fun and health. You should read a lot of the stickies in the 1st gen
section and also the posts as well until you get a good set of info in your head thats
not from un-informed guys you hang out with. Unless they have or have had rotaries
ignore em.

 

Okay thanks for setting me straight on that, haha. So even though these old 12As only put out about 100 hp, are they still zippy enough to enter a corner then rocket out of it? I've heard yes that they're fast enough but I talked to this one guy who was gonna put a 13b in his 1st gen Rx7. I figured since they can rev higher than almost every piston engine out there that they would be a little faster, but I was wondering how you could put out more power from a Rotary other than boosting it, I know that you can do aftermarket ports (street port, bridge port (half and full), j port, etc.)) But I feel like that would be way too complex for my abilities to do. I've tossed around the idea of going to a junkyard and buying a old Rotary motor and tearing it apart and learning all the parts and how to rebuild it just in case if anything were to happen to the car, does that sound like a good idea?

 

there must be a good proportion of the members here that have built their own engines, and i'd say a big chunk of that number it was their first engine.

in 2015, 100hp is actually more than enough, well here anyways. we don't really drive anymore, we just park at stop lights.

however the good news is that the 12A is pretty corked up in stock form, back when we were racing these things the pro7 cars used to do about 112-116 to the wheels, and that is basically a stock engine with an exhaust. add a header and its around 125rwhp. its pretty good when your 100hp at the flywheel car does 125hp at the wheels by replacing the exhaust, and tweaking a bunch of other stuff.

120hp in a 2300lbs car is quite fun, and if you learn how to drive its actually quite fast if there are turns

 

You do know that 1st gen RX-7 SE's have the 13b engine...

 

Yes I know that but the car I was looking at wasn't an SE. This guy took a 13b turbo engine from a FC model.

 

I think I've only seen 1 or 2 SEs around my area for sale and they want an arm and a leg for it.

 

And I get 134 to the wheels with the mods in my sig. Makes the car very fun for sure. All stock motor.

 

Just as a side note, these are old cars and if you buy one you should expect to put some money into it. I bought a project car and and basically rebuilding the entire thing and it gets expensive real quick. Especially if you prefer nice things like I do.

 

being a teen with a sports car, insurance wont be cheap.

and a rotary will NEVER sound like a hot rod.

 

A rotary will sound amazing with a full RB exhaust system.

 

I'm also a teenager and insurance for me is about $100 a month, pretty killer especially with all the other needs the car has.

First gens are super reliable from what I've heard. As long as it wasn't tampered with by the wrong hands.

Don't worry about not knowing anything, you learn a lot if you're willing to keep it alive. A lot of late nights on the Internet in the past year and I pretty much know my car front to back, aside from wiring and carb stuff

Mines straightpiped with an rb header, no power down low but above 4k it gets fun. Sounds awesome at idle and high rpms, but the 2-3k range sound like a mower probably just the damned muffler out back.

Not sure what's wrong with mine but I get beat by my friends '06 base model civic that has like 140hp at the crank and weighs around 2800 lbs. And supposedly mine is streetported.

 

This is too true. I'm a 16 year old that knows nearly nothing about cars and I bought my 7 a month and a half ago. I have learned so much and am currently rebuilding the carburetor and just dropped a new engine in!

 

i had a 1st gen when i was 17, it is a great car to start with, in every way. in the 90's we used to tell people to go to a big open space when its wet and practice sliding it around a little, to get to know the car, but i do realize in 2015 that the police consider this worse than domestic terrorism, so ymmv!

 

Don't exactly have the cash for a RB full exhaust system but I think I'm gonna go with Monza headers then just buy a straight pipe from a body shop and mount it up. Cut the pipe off right before the catalytic converter then weld it up sound good?

 

it will be a bit loud

 

And smelly

 

1. yes. it might be a good idea to use it even if you have a functional MOP (my opinion), since the redundancy insures coverage.

2. yes, but as with most things, the caveat is if done correctly. the goal is to obviously not lose a seal, so you won't have to use those "high compression apex seals". yes, i'm poking a little fun, but research is your friend if you have aspirations (pun, intended) of turbocharging. my most conscientious advice would be put it on the back burner until you have a few years of life with an SA/FB under your belt.

3. have no idea, but my guess is you'd be okay. you'll be mostly paying for the potential damage to others' because (as mentioned above) Rx-7s are worthless to insurance companies.

4. yes. for the opinion/reason i stated in number 1.

5. awesome cars all around. they are very reliable once you've achieved a level of care that is compatible with them. if the car you get is in poor repair, then you'll have an uphill battle on your hands. replacement parts are relatively cheap and being able to work for yourself goes a LONG way in terms of reliability assurance. think of an Rx-7 like a dog ... they respond to care. if you rescue one and treat it right, it can be a faithful friend for it's lifetime. on the other hand, if you abuse one it can run a gamut of levels of payback - anything from shitting in your shoe, to all-out mauling you!