I have an '85 SE that is a surprise for my wife. It is completely stripped, prep'ed, and ready to roll into the paint booth. My problem is the header panel was trashed and not worth the time to fix. I found one on EBay which claimed only to have minor rust and scratches, it showed up and was no better, if not worse than my original....still working to resolve that deal. After calling several venders about an aftermarket panel, I am finding no one has them in stock. Mazdatrix wants an outrageous amount, but I assume that might be a factory piece, I haven't called them to see if they have one or not. Aftermarket they go for about $100 plus shipping IF THEY HAVE IT IN STOCK.....so far no one does. I live out in the sticks, so salvage yard is not an option. Any ideas? I have 'till May 9th for the "unveiling" and need to get this done ASAP.

 

I would start off by place a couple WTB ads on here. Put one in the general 1st gen section:

https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generation-rx-7-1979-1985-parts-101/

and put another in the South Regional Section Classifieds

https://www.rx7club.com/south-sale-wanted-classifieds-152/

Maybe you will get lucky and find another rotorhead in your area parting out his car. This is going to be the cheapest solution and probably the best solution. Shipping something like a header panel is not only expensive, but it might also get damaged in transit. Finding a good used one that you can inspect and pickup in person is best.

I'm not really suprised that no one really stocks these. They are not a hot item because people normally just get a good used one (cheaper and easier).

 

we used to sell a lot of these at the dealership, back in the 90's.... if you can still get a new one, i would not be surprised to find that its expensive

 

What is the header panel?

 

its the center section between the headlights.