My first rotary(lots of pics)!!! please check it out!
 

http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/4288/dsc008381tb.jpg
My old car, that got rearended leading to my FC
http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/8690/dsc008669er.jpg
Thats not me in the picture btw. Haha..
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/9279/dsc008729ef.jpg
http://img288.imageshack.us/img288/7333/dsc008700uy.jpg
http://img288.imageshack.us/img288/5268/dsc008713gy.jpg
http://img288.imageshack.us/img288/8417/dsc008764uu.jpg
Well, thats my first rotary. I found it at some used dearlership, he was asking 2500 but I only had 2000 on me, but he let me have it for 2k, its a 1988 with 121k miles on it. Single A'pex exhaust, aerospeed intake filter, short shifter, big'o tach and 2 other little gauges, and new sexy white paint. I realllly like it alot, and way more fun to drive than the civic thats for sure. I did the sleepy eyes just to see what it looked like :) But so far so good, The stupid buzzer is goin nuts, im guessing cuz the oil light is on but my oil is full, im gonna check the coolant just in case, and if that doesnt work im just gonna continue searchin the archived threads till I find something. Tell me what you think of my car please :)

It's nice and clean, but your headlights look broken. :D

Lol thanks, I only did last night just to see it though, they are back to normal now.

Welcome,

The RX-7 is a medium high performance, medium high maintenance, medium high fuel consumption true sports car.
It's best if you can do most of your own maintenance.
Aftermarket new, used, and performance parts are easily available.
Going to a shop for every little thing will get expensive.
Good experienced rotary mechanics are scarce.
The FAQ has way more information.

As with any car you are new to, take it easy as you get used to the handling.
Few cars have a 50/50 front to rear weight balance and rear steer (called DTSS) like an RX-7.
For example if you try a quick lane change at 65 without practicing first at lower speeds, the rear steer will be a big surprise.


Check for any short cut patches the P/O may have left you.
See that all the warning lights come on during the test cycle when you first turn the key.

All the factory manuals are available on-line.
I have a mirror copy at the link in my sig below.
Download & print whatever you need.

Thanks for the info, im sure most of it will become really useful, ill do the test cycle test next time I go out.

Thats a nice ride man congrats

damn ur lucky to find 1 that cheap at a dealer. where i live there a drop-top rx7 for 4999. that guy who owns the dealer must me out of his mind! no one will buy that crap. neways nice 7 mines white also ;)

Cool man congrats it looks to be in pretty good shape.

Any engine bay or interior pics?

- Aaron -

Nice FC. Looks clean! Pretty much the same jump a friend of mine just did. 98 Civic Dx to a blown engine 88 GX. We rebuilt the engine gave him my straight dual and he added suspension and Wolf 3D standalone, if only it ended there. There's now a 13BT a FMIC and a set of cosmo twins sitting in his garage.

I guess i should have told him then that it would never stop.

Anyways i hope you have as much fun working on the car as he did. Good luck!

looks cool

isnt the apexi soposed to exit on the driver's side?

Thanks guys, I thought it was luck lol, Im hoping it doesnt stop either, I plan on getting a 13BT sooner or later, hopefully sooner, I take some interior pics tomorrow afternoon, I just finished putting in a cd/mp3 player in my car, so its got tons of crap in it, so after I clean it up ill take some shots lol. I dont know where teh apexi exits, my first RX7, im pretty sure its not a full catback, 2.1/4 from the cat, then they slapped on the apexi pipe, thats what it looks like to me, all I know is its loud and shoots out fire lol.

I think the wheels are on the wrong way. Looks clean though, I have a 90 that's also white but the body's not as straight as yours. Good find.

That's some nice paint you got there :P And WHO shined those rims?! They look so..good?!?

I dont know the difference between the wheels being the wrong way or anything, lol, I've got alot to learn about the rx-7, my best friend had a TII a year ago but he blew the motor and sold it. Thats what made me love the car. But I did know that car isnt worth 2 grand with a body like that, and running too! I dunno who shined the rims or did the paint, im pretty sure the used dealership I got it from did it all. They had a crap load of second gens, and like 4 3rd gens, and a BEAUTIFUL AE86 hachi(which I also have one of, but in crappy condition, stupid projects)

Hey that's a nice FC! Personally I don't like the lazy eye look. I've been considering cutting the relay wire to the motors that lift the lights in my car so I have to turn both switches to get the lights on AND up instead of making them only come up 1/2 way. I'd check the connections/wire that causes the buzzer happen when you are low on oil. The cooleant has one that connects to the top of the radiator. Whoever owned my car before me replaced the radiator and just grounded the wire. :-\ If your oil light is on but the cooleant one is off and it's buzzing, it's gona be the oil, but you should check the cooleant anyways ;)

I've always been a fan of the dual exhaust, but it seems that the biggest thing that bugged me about it has been fixed on your car! The little arch cut out of the bumper to let the exhaust tip fit. I'd go through and get a good 750 idle, calibrate the tps sensor, and adjust your rich/lean mixture. You might be runnin rich if you are shootin flames in a n/a, but that might be the exhaust work done too.

I'm not the best at picking models, what model is it? It's got 5 lugnuts n/a and a wing... gtu? I've been lookin at the coupes for a while cause they are just so sexy. I'm jealous you found one in good shape. Welcome aboard, I went from a civic (1986 si hatchback) to a 7 too! You'll love that car.

should of done more haggling with the dealer

Well, I took the car back to the dealer today(as planned) becuase they promised me a new brake master cylinder installed which they did do, and I asked them to cehck the oil pressure? sensor, thats right under the oil filter, and that was the problem with the buzzer, allll better now :). I have no idea what model it is, can anyone tell me how I can find out? like a place where i can run the vin. I love the bumper with the single tip, I like it better than dual. And I only did the lazy eyes just to see it, its back to normal now :). Im runnin super rich, I know that for a fact, I just dunno how to change it, oil pressure regulator? Thanks for your comments, I love it too :)

It's got the gxl/gtu stock rims on it but i don't think the gxl came with a wing.

As far as leaning it out:
http://www.teamfc3s.org/info/articles/idle.html has some stuff to look at

It's quite easy to do. Search for doing a tuneup and adjusting the tps sensor.


Hey drop me a line on an instant messenger sometime:
msn: jakorf@hotmail.com
aim/yahoo: jakorporph

He said the car is an 88 making it an S4. The tail lights are from an S5, the trim is not the S4 black trim, and there is a spoiler on it so obviosly the previous owned did a few cosmetic S5 conversions.

So looks like I have me an S4, im gonna take some interior shots a little later, still have to clean it up, and thanks for that link ill look into it.

i am two kinds of happy right now
1- a civic just died
2- a new 7 out in the streets
just dont get this one totaled or will flame you everytime i see you on the forum ,,,lol
good find bro

what he said.

It's a shame how many s4s lost their original tal lights to the s5. I have an s4 and I like the s4 tails just fine. But, to each his own. Beautiful white car man, I love white 7's.

Cheers,
iSP33D-for-J3SUS :bigthumb:

good job man, now its time for a 13bre or 20b swap
keep us updated on the mods

daum man, very nice 7, even with my blown t2 if i saw that for 2500 id have to pick it up.


good luck man as these cars are a horible horible addiction.

nice find bro.... you will think you want something else when you need to replace or get something fixed, but when you drive it, youll think damn i need better tires!

The GXL's did come with a wing, mine did. I have two GXL's.

i see fuego racin in the background and fun spot too! congrats on the car and welcome to the money pit!

Are both of your GXL's S4s? The only spoiler for the S4 were the black rubberized ones. You can of course put an S5 spoiler on your S4, and that's what the previous owner of this car did.
I have a GXL and it came with a wing from the factory, but that's because it's an S5.

Heres an Idea of how scarce and expensive rotory mechanics are.

First had the clutch replace for around $800 with parts and labor.
Secondly my Transmission Rebuild cost me $2100 parts and labor.

This mechanic I expensive but thats what you pay to have someone do it right (Also I've onle been driving it for over a year and put that much into it and I'm probably not done either?)

Mazda Dealers charge an arm and a leg for OEM parts so when something breaks your definately going to break the bank.

They have qouted me $1100 just for shocks and coil springs. I told them no way I'll just go buy some Tein Coilovers if it'll cast that much.

I got interior shotsss
 

Thanks for all your comments :) I think I am addicted already, Is it bad when you drive around so much you burn almost a full tank in a day??? lol. I have no idea what Fuego Racing is, but its magical miday you see not fun spot =p. Close enough though. Well here is some interior shots.

http://img351.imageshack.us/img351/5482/dsc016017mw.jpg
http://img351.imageshack.us/img351/7562/dsc016009im.jpg
http://img351.imageshack.us/img351/7820/dsc015993up.jpg
http://img351.imageshack.us/img351/5923/dsc015988au.jpg
http://img351.imageshack.us/img351/228/dsc015972hg.jpg
http://img351.imageshack.us/img351/2034/dsc015967sr.jpg
http://img351.imageshack.us/img351/9112/dsc015951as.jpg

There they are. Not too bad, few rips on the drivers seats, few stains, and chipped plastic in a few spots

*reminder* Only thing ive done to the car is the cd player deck you see there. And maybe some of the junk thats in the rear hatch, hahaha. =)

Just for the heck of it =)
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/9458/dsc016071qn.jpg

is it just me or who here is starting to think thats not a GXL, wheres the Leather?, wheres your AAS Switch console? and for heaven sakes! Wheres YOUR REAR SEATS!!!

in any case, nice find, and very nice clean ride!

If you're being serious then my GXL came with cloth seats, no rear seats, and maybe AAS was just for the S5? I've never been in an S4 GXL.

rx007racer, you're getting screwed. I paid $1,150 parts and labor for my tranny to be professionally rebuilt. there's nothing different between a rotary's tranny and any piston engine's tranny.

lookin good. I'm sure this has been covered, but keep it filled with oil and coolant, the two main killers of 7's welcome to the club, this place has everything you need to know about them

Do you need a rotary mechanic for any of that. I think you're just quoting dealership prices, which are rediculous.

Those prices do seem a bit high, but my friends father knows rotarys like the back of his hand, he has had rotarys in starlets and 80's corollla, and making the front wheels come of the ground(I wet myself when I first saw it 2 years ago). So hopefully I wont get raped on repairs if he can help me out. Otherwise thanks for the adviise guys =)

My advise learn as much as you can on your own read the fourm board like it's the bible. When it comes to finding a mechanic for the jobs over your head or that you don't have the time for. Shop around and talk to all the rotary shops in your area. There are quite a few good rotary mechanics out there,but not all are right for everyone I came across mine totaly by accident. I have to drive 3 hours to get to his shop but it is worth it for the work and he dosen't rap his customers pocket book. Good luck and welcome to the club on a side note I do belive that is a base model but my dad just bought a s4 that has me asking the same questions wheres the power doors, adjustable suspension, rear wiper, that sort of thing. As for rear seats those where only an option.

those mirrors look S5 to me, and the center console looks just like my 91, the wing too...Are you sure it's an 88? but that is a s4 nose, confusing...I like it , looks just like mine except for the nose, and blue interior. hmm manual windows, might have been a base model with sunroof that's had lots of S5 cosmetics done. but if it's a base, why the alarm controls on the center console? mysterious...

man... I rummage through the forum's archives like everyday. This site is WAY better than a haynes repair manual. This rx-7 addiction might affect my performance in college! lol. Love your car and it will love you back!!

its an s4, no if and buts about it.... Guage cluster is from an s4, interior seats s4, moldings s4, mirrors s4, stereo sorround s4....

Well I have an s4 GXL and that's no s4 GXL (sorry bro)

because the GXL has power windows standard (one of the main reason I got my car)

and my GXL doesn't have leather. But it is the fugly red to I'm kinda happy no leather But mine does have somewhat working AAS (the shock's are shot but the voltage goes down when I change the settings).

oh and FCakezilla welcome. Just play it smart and don't swap for the 13bt because you killed your wankel....like I did.

all in all a nice car but i wood put that tach where it belongs..... in ur civic, in the junkyard hahahaha. and my apex single comes out of the passenger side as well, except mine is 3" and it is a catback so who knows?

Look in the door jamb at the sticker... If it says 185/70/R14 it's an '88 SE with a 5-lug swap... If not it's a GTU... And BTW, the '88 GTU's featured polished wheels... And LSD... Congrats on one of the best FC's ever made! :icon_tup:


The trim was painted, and the spoiler is probably stock because it's an '88 GTU... They didn't make Sport's after '87 and the SE was the only other '88 to have manual windows, but it was 4-lug...

No they didn't...

cool, I ll check that out right now

I have an almost stock 88 GXL, and I have power windows, leather seats, AAS suspension, and no spoiler, and LSD. I dunno if all GXL's came with power windows or not, but yours looks like a GTU to me.......... conrats on the sweet ride, welcome!

Yea all GXL's came with sunroof, LSD, power windows, AAS, rear wiper, etc... Oh and they were the only model to have velour seats... :p: