I bought my 83 GSL about 10 years ago with a Racing Beat DeLorto carb already installed. I've only driven it about 7 summers since then (April - October). So the mileage is good (~145K). The body is in pretty good shape too except for some minor spot-rust.

I took it into an RX-7 mechanic today and he said the oil leak I had was minor -- but would require a rebuild to fix (it's near the top of the engine). And the DeLorto wasn't doing the greatest. That would explain the fact that after being warm, the car takes 8-10 seconds to restart. It can flood easily too.

Is it worth throwing money into this thing? I'm not poor, but it almost seems that throwing $3-5-K CAD into it would be better than breaking down and buying something new or semi-new.

Anyone have suggestions for a carb-replacement? Is it worth it? Or should I just sell the thing and save up for an RX-8?

I'm not a do-it-yourselfer when it comes to vehicles, so that's out. But I'd say I have about $3-5K CAD to throw around for engine and paint.

Thanks.

 

Buy the RX8..... Donate the 83 to me..Ill take care of it

 

It depends. Does your GSL have lim. slip and rear discs? If you want to stick with a first gen you pretty much nailed it if you do have these options. Also a holley 456 cfm from racing beat would be nice to have if you have problems starting it. Don't ditch it if you like first gens.

 

Hell,

I'm planning to put 3-5k Canadian into a 1st gen GS that *doesn't* run... if I had your car, I'd definitely choose to put my money into the Rx7 instead of selling it and buying something else.

They're great cars, and yours doesn't sound too bad. Driven often enough to prevent the problems from letting it sit, but not over-driven to cause problems with 300,000 km engines. Hell, you might be able to get your Dellorto rebuilt for cheaper than buying a new carb, check into that.

My Vote: Keep it. Rear discs and LSD, a dellorto that can probably be rebuilt... if you rebuild the engine, it's like 1300, it's worth the extra 250 to get it ported while the guy's in there... if you put 3-5 into her, you'll love yourself for it.

Jon

 

yea put $$ into it. who cares what its worth in $$ value. They are sweet cars and are well worth it

 

Yeah, and considering what you can get for 3-5k in a used car, or how much longer your rex will last with that money in it - it's worth it. Think about it... if you pay 3-5k for a used car, you'd need to put at least that much back into it over the next few years to keep it running good.

Just put it in your Rex and you'll be well on your way...

Beautiful Cars And if you take care of them, They'll take care of you.

Jon

 

Thanks for the feedback! I really don't know if it has rear discs and LSD actually -- I'm a bit of a car retard. About all I can do is change the plugs and oil.

Anyway, I really do love 1st gens. I was one of those kids who had a Hot Wheels racing track and always picked the cars that looked like RX-7 1st gens (even though I had no idea what they were).

When I talked to the guys a RX-7 specialties in Calgary, they said there was no way they could get parts for that carb. And suggested that if I wanted to get a new carb to surf the Racing Beat website for one. Any feedback on that?

My Q to you guys: is it worth it to get a street port then? And then get a RB Holley if I can't get a DeLorto rebuild (I think the Holley needs a header for a 1983?)

What about paint? Should I get all the engine work done before the paint or does it really matter? Honestly, the paint looks good now, but the parts the original owner put on the car are starting to fade differently than the rest of the vehicle. So it looks "uneven".

Anyway, thanks for the feedback. Helps a lot.

--Lit

 

And don't get rid of the Dell'orto. They are the best street-application carb available for the rotary.

Sounds like you might have a little vapor-lock with the hard starting. Make sure the fuel lines are insulated from the exhaust, and tune the carb right, and you won't be sorry.

 

You can get a rebuild kit for the Dellorto at www.cbperformance.com It's not that hard to rebuild.

Make sure you get the Master rebuild kit when you order.

 

There is a book by Des Hammill that has step by step (more or less) instructions on how to rebuild side-draft carbs. Its called "How To Build & Power Tune Weber & Dellorto DCOE & DHLA Carburetors". I used that and te CB kit and it wasn't too hard. Also, check out www.gruntled.com/Dellorto/ for information specific to rotary applications.

Conway

 

unless someone before you changed the rear end (highly unlikely) you have LSD and rear disks, as all GSL's came standard with those.

 

Thought I'd just follow up on this, since I'm a less frequent visitor.

I bought an RX-8 last month. But I'm also keeping the 7.

If anyone wants some comparisons I'd be happy to elaborate (if you were thinking of getting an 8).