First Turbo II in North America?
 

Hello guys, I have an 87 TII that I believe may in fact be the first TII to ever be sold in North America or the US. The original sales contract dates back to 07/20/1986. I have tried to verify this for a while now, but it has proven to be fruitless. I have also contacted Mazda headquarters in Irvine, but all I have got from them is that the 86 TII was the first turbo to be sold in North America. Given that the 86 TII was only kept in Japan it is clear that Mazda does not know what they are talking about. I know that my RX-7 was not the first TII to be manufactured, my question is whether or not my RX-7 was the first TII to be sold in North America or the US. I have run out of ideas, I am hoping that the RX-7 community can help me out. Thank you in advance for your assistance.

goto the dealer, they might know

thats tight an 86 turbo?? lets see pics, door seal and firewall, and everything else :)

LOL... Mazda headquarters doesn't refer to them by year of sale, but rather by the manufacture date... So there are really alot of "86" TII's in the USA... I wouldn't get too excited about it... :)

What is your VIN?


-Ted

my old TII was manufactured in 86.

its all in the VIN.

my 87tii was made in 86 too.

The 86's were sold as 87's.

I actually have been doing some research on this because I didn't believe that there were any 86 model year Turbos, but...there were a couple Hundred Turbos sold as 86 model year.

The first 10 or so of these were supposed to be GT models brought in for publicity. The GT are unique in that they did not have rear wipers, power windows, or power mirrors, but other than that equipped simular to any other of the later 87 Turbos. All the US car mags of the time that wrote pre-release articles on the Turbo, had those articles based on their experience with a GT.

The VINs for 86 Turbos will be like this: JM1FC3328G01XXXXX with the last 5 digits being the actual car number. If the VIN has a 1 following the 33, it was originally a non turbo that has been converted. The production date on an actual 86 Turbo was also on or before 12/85. If the VIN has a H or later letter in the 10th digit location, it is not a 86, but rather a 87 or later.

As a note, even the 87 model year Turbos were available with production dates as early as 2/86, so a car sold in 7/86 would hardly be the first (and with the demand at the time it would be doubtful that that any built 2/86 would take 5 months to be shipped over and sold).

where can i check the VINs of my car online id like to know more about them, when they where made etc.

13b4me and icemark make good points, and I do realize that many of the 87 TIIs were manufactured in 86, in fact many TIIs sold as 87s were manufactured in 85 and 86, there is no argument there as far as I am concerned. However, according to Mariah MS, and many other RX-7 specialists that I have spoken to say that not a single of these TII's whether maufactured in 85, 86, or early 87 were made avaliable until June or July of 86. I have also finally been able to track down the original owner of this 7, as I am the second owner, he was able to provide me with an additional piece of documentation that dates back to Feb. of 86, apparently he had left a deposit for the TII in February. In either case you guys are making valid points, and all this about being the first TII sold in NA or US is just a guess at this point and I am really interested in the history of it just because I am a rotor head just like the rest of you, lol.

Thanks Mark... That's some interesting info... :)

I think I actually saw an RX-7 "GT" awhile back! No wait... That was just a GXL with a Mustang GT emblem on the back... :hah:

I'd have to double check at home, but as I recall Turbos went first on sale in March of 86.

and you still have not posted either VIN or Production date.

The GT was designated by a sticker on the side where the TurboII was on later models, or the GXL was on the GXL models.

I have actually seen one with that sticker somewhere... The whole Mustang emblem thing was just a crack on the local rednecks... ;)

*edit*

In fact, if I remember correctly, the top of the G connected with the top of the T... I thought it was just a sticker the guy put on it, but now that I think about it, it looked as good as factory... Wish I knew then what I know now... :)

BTW see if you can find a pic of the sticker and verify the whole G connecting with the T thing... I'm quite intrigued now... lol

I wouldn't be surprised. Most of the 86 models were supposed to have been shipped to dealers in the south.

I have only seen one, a sunrise red one in LA about 18 years ago.

the GT looked like this: Minus the "- R":

http://corksport.com/store/image/a5b...GT-R_Decal.gif

Wow I got a swapped Base model... Maybe I could make a GT clone... :)

Did they come with sunroofs? Because mine's got one...

Mine was made in 86 as an 87 MY. I believe it was manufactured in April or May... I can't recall exactly though. Mark, if I post my VIN can you find out anything about it?

Might not wanna just "post" the vin... Better send a PM... lol

Turbos were on sale in n. america in 3/86 as 87 models.

Yeah, sorry. I wouldn't just blindly post my VIN.

Thanks to all for your inputs.

I have a couple posted on my Registry page...
I have even seen one with my own eyes.
Yes, it's a "G" VIN code, and I went over the car with a fine-toothed comb just to make sure it wasn't some turbo conversion.

The thing was real.

Background on that FC was that is was purchased in Cali or close vicinity.
It was one of the first purchased in the country.
The car was shipped over to Hawaii from a previous owner.

I think being paranoid about the VIN is a bit too much...
The cars are not that desirable, counter to what most FC owners would think.

If anything, drop the last 6 digits of the VIN, cause that's the serial number.

My FC3S Turbo Registry page is here:
http://fc3spro.com/reg.html

According to Mazda, the first VIN serial number was: 130378


-Ted

Is this just a pic released to the press then?

That was the GT-Limited, which was a home market vehicle... Not for us... lol