There's a nice convertible back home in Northern Wisconsin, that appears to be selling reasonable. I don't recall the year, but it appears to be in great shape with 73,xxx miles for $6500.

Now, I don't want to get caught with a money pit, just because I've been enamored with the drop-top RX-7 since I saw the magazine articles when it first came out.

So what advice would you have for me? What should I look out for? What are common problems that I need to be aware of? What type of lifespan should I be able to expect from a well maintained RX-7 of this vintage?

Any advice would be appreciated, and I apologize for being rude and not searching out my own answer in the archives!

 

what year??? 88, 89, 90, 91???

anyway with the 'vert the biggest thing too look for is a bent sub-frame on the front or rear suspension. Impossible to fix correctly on the 'verts.

Everything else is standard FC things that generally can be fixed or replaced. There are a couple of sites that list what to look for.

 

no brainer things are a leaky top. That will ruin your interior Tears in the top. The top motors work, VERY expensive to fix. If it is important to you, check the plastic pieces that are specific to convertables. Like trunk lining. You would have a hard time tracking down replacement pieces.

Good luck
Steve

 

Ok... The 'vert is just a coupe without a roof from a mechanical perspective. Check what these guys have told you, and look at the other threads about what to check when buying an RX-7.

$6500 would be REALLY high for an 88, not bad for a really CHERRY 89+.

Brad

 

Is this a 5 speed or automatic convertible? I'd HIGHLY recommend the 5 speed as the auto transmission sucks all your HP and doesn't perform as well.

Other than this, get the mazda dealership to pull the compression numbers - to verify if the previous owner took care of the car.

Make sure the top goes up & down, pull the "hardtop" off and check it, check for discoloration behind the seats (water leaks), etc..

As usual if your seriously thinking of buying one your looking at, after the compresion test results are good spend 3 hours minimum looking over the car opening stuff, looking for rust, checking for undercar body damage, frame integrity, bodyseam consistency, paintjob, etc.. Wouldn't hurt to pull the car information from www.lemoncheck.com as well.

Just like any car the previous owner's maintenance and driving can really extend or shorten the drivetrain's lifespan. Records are always good.

A few pictures:

 

 

I like the top-of-the-dash gauge panel pn that third one. Custom, I assume?

Ren

 

I believe knighsports sells that one.

 

Who made the rear wing on the Red TII vert? Nicely done, by the way.

Also, regarding the Yellow Vert, I'm not a big fan of yellow, but that one is VERY well done.

Good job on both.

 

Seems like it's from an acura, but I could be wrong

 

So, I doubt it's aftermarket. But, it fits the body lines well.

 

A lot of aftermarket wings nowadays have built-in LED third brake lights.

Ren

 

BTW, thanks for the info on the gauge pod, Vaughn.

Ren

 

I called the dealer, just to see if they know the answers to some of the questions on Thursday, and the car's been sold! Oh well, gotta look some more!

Thanks a million!