Hello to all...
recently purchased my first rx7 and have spent the better part of the last two weeks worth of free time trying to absorb as much of the guidance on this site as possible. ive always had a love of cars, customizing, restoring, etc. but have never actually had the time or means to do so until recently. i plan on doing as much of the work as i possibly can myself but it will be a "learn as i go" experience as i have almost zero mechanical know how as of two weeks ago so any suggestions / advice along the way would be greatly appreciated. hopefully ill be able to rely on the collective expertise of the community to guide me through the process.
now about the car!! its an 87 sunrise red NA 5 spd. there should be photos attached below. she is obviously in need of some cosmetic work but overall not too bad for a $600 car. seems to run ok but will need an exhaust and rear brakes to pass safety. engine was supposedly rebuilt 30,000 kms ago but of course no documentation to support this so im not really relying on that to be the case.
my plans for the car... will be a daily "fair weather" driver and weekend cruiser, no plans to race / track the car though i will be doing some moderate upgrades as items need replacing. i do have a little interior fabrication experience and access to a digital router so i'd like to do some fun stuff on the inside but mostly i'd like a clean, smooth, modestly performing sports car, with a few extras!
thanks in advance to everyone for their input... REALLY looking forward to the journey!

 

here are some photos detailing a bit of the work that needs done.... i intended on taking pictures as soon as i got the car but i just couldnt wait to start! there was a very large nasty dent just behind the drivers door which i made an attempt at pulling. i think it went ok, the basic contour is back. still a ways to go with it but its a start. other than that, this is basically the condition it was purchased in.

 

and some of the items that ive already sourced. apparently this is a full exhaust system off of a previous moderators car... the header is custom built (???) by previous owner, rb mid pipe and dynomax catback. also on the way is a mazdatrix short shifter and a few interior bits (passenger side dash grill, shifter boot and bushings, dome lens).

 

Cool. Welcome to the Club.

 

welcome bro!
exhaust looks great
whats the plan for the car
racecar or DD

 

Looks good, nice find.

The bonus in having the base trim model is that it is the lightest. The biggest advantage to RX-7's in general is that they are great to work on. You'll be fine. The downside is that RX7's that came with 4 bolt hubs came with single piston front brakes and non vented rotors in the rear, while 5 bolt cars came with 4 piston front and vented rear brakes. Also, you have an open diff.

If you do look at picking up a parts car like you were mentioning earlier, you may consider looking for a gxl. Search 5 bolt conversion. You can get the 5 bolt hubs, better brakes and LSD.

As for your current situation, I'm pretty sure I bought rebuilt rear calipers in town, can't remember where as it was years ago. Probably the easiest option for you. I have to admit though, on both of my old NA's the rear brakes were a pain in the ***. One would sieze, the ebrake would get stuck, etc. Probably related to me driving them all year round.

A lot of people end up changing the shocks/springs due to age. I can definitely recommend racing beat springs with kyb agx shocks. Many have also used tokico shocks/struts also as a slightly cheaper option.

For not too much cash, you can have a quick and very well handling car = fun.

 

oooo sunrise red!



Good luck with the project.

Oh and also, teh seven will make you a mechanic lol.

 

Welcome to the world of rotary!

If u have a gf and she says " its me or the RX-7" Choose the 7.

Trust me.

 

ha ha! actually the gf is now the wife and she's surprisingly quite supportive of the whole project!
thanks for the advice flash, was actually leaning toward doing exactly that (5 bolt conversion) since i have to take it all apart anyways. just need to source some parts but i think ive got a line on that.
as far as updates, cleaned up the exhaust today so its now ready install. went to pickup the short shifter on sunday and ended up walking away with the shifter, a new o2 sensor, ngk wires and a mazdatrix strut tower brace so everything is coming along nicely.

 

its good to hav ur spouse support u it makes working on ur FC way easier. but not a bad start on the ur new rx7, what else you plan on doing to it.?

 

That's very cool the wife is cool with ur project!

I pulled my 5 lug conversion last weekend. I wanna do poly bushings before I put it all on.. My buddy gave me the whole 5 lug set up and rims. Can't beat free.. Just had to pull em myself.