Im fairly new to the Rx7 world, and Im for sure gonna buy one this weekend. Yet I have one problem, I dont know WTF to buy. My 2 choices are the same price, and for you guys that are lucky enough to own turbo's, these are both weak NA's. Ok so here they are:

Car #1--1986 Base model red, body great, without any options, new exhaust and brakes, but 100K. And I have to drive 2 hours to get it.

Car#2--1988 GXL 2+2 burgundy, body also great, fully loaded, power everything and A/C, new clutch, new exhaust, and only 12K on factory rebuilt motor. The sunroof is stuck shut, and it needs the wiper switch. It also floods time to time, but I hear that is a 2nd gerneration trademark. I have to drive 3 hours to get this one.

People are probally wondering why the hell I just wouldnt buy the 88, but I know it's probally alot heavier and I figured the A/C will rob some power, and with all the power options they sound like they will just be more things to break and fix. All I need is a couple good responses to push me in the right direction, but with the 86 having 100K, Im leaning toward the GXL. Hopefully with your help I can do some work to one of these and maybe be able to post some Honda kills. Thanks, and I look forward ignoring the redline.

 

yo I checked autotrader and
with in 150 miles of cleveland OH
theres a TII for sale

"1988 MAZDA RX7, Turbo II, 5-speed, air conditioning, cruise control, tilt wheel, power locks, power windows, power sunroof, power sunroof, CUSTOM wheels, southern CAR, tinted windows, just inspected, very sharp, $4000 or best offer, 724-483-1605."




another Turbo II in your area


1988 MAZDA RX7, rare, turbo, 5 speed, loaded, spoiler, 127000 miles, runs/ looks good, fast, no accidents, new tires, $2995, (734)658-7276 WESTLAND

 

Thanks man, Id like to have a turbo, but with school and everything I cant afford to keep up on it, thats why im gonna choose between those 2 slow NA's. Id kill to have a turbo, but it just cant happen right now, Kent State is stealin all my cash. And if thats your car in the icon, that's some kick *** ****** paint

 

If you want NA performance the 86 base is an excellent choice as it is lighter since it doesn't have all the power stuff and more rigid since it doesn't have the sunroof. It does lack the limited slip diff and bigger 5 lug brakes, but can easily be upgraded. Red cars do get alot more attention though. My first was a red 86 base and my current is 87 blue TII; cops always harrassed me in the red car, and haven't yet looked at the blue car-even though it is usually going alot faster...

 

Yeah, the weight of the 86 is what has me thinkin about it, but ****, I dont want 100,000 miles. I need to make up my mind by Saturday, or I might make the wrong decision

 

well... if you are worried about all the things that could break on the GXL, think about how much more engine work you might have to do and even a possible engine replacement with the 86 base. i'd go with the GXL. can't go wrong with 12k miles. you can always take **** off like the A/C...

GXL ... ALL THE WAY!!!

 

Ditto. You cant go wrong with the GXL. With a newer engine, there should be no choice. You can always remove ****.

 

Yo,


Damn ItsNiceToBurnRice, what's all this:


...these are both weak NA's.

and...


...between those 2 slow NA's.

Why buy a car if you're so down on it? If you already have this mindset, your RX-7 /will/ be "weak" and "slow". I certainly didn't buy my NA RX-7 thinking like that.

If that's your attitude, I'd recommend you NOT getting a NA RX-7. Your first post is going to be, "Just got my NA RX-7, and is it SLOW and WEAK." F*ck that, we need more people passionate about NA rotaries, not people who are dissing it before even driving one.

Save your money for a TII, and get what you obviously want.

KS
1989 GTUs "All Rotor, All the Time."

 

Ok Mr "rarestrx", I am not necessarily looking down on NA rex's, if you must know, to keep 4 of my good friends off my *** I had to write that, because they are pilots of twin turbos. If I thought they were really weak I obviously wouldnt be wasting my time. Im was simply stating I know that TT's are bad as fluck. Sorry, next time Ill talk **** by acting like my car is bad as hell.

 

Yo,


So you have to write apologies for looking at a non-turbo RX-7 because all your friends have twin turbo FD's? Um, I still don't get it.

Did you mean twin turbo, or turbo two? Irregardless, we (NA RX-7's) catch enough **** from the Turbo guys without you having to suck up to them. It looks like you've already experienced the "HP is everything" turbo mentality, or you wouldn't be dissing NA's to appease your friends.

You don't have to "talk **** by acting like my car is bad as hell", just don't act like an NA RX-7 is something to be sorry for.

KS
1989 GTUs "Yeah, that rare one."

 

You mean the N/A is not something to be sorry for?

Soloracer...pilot of a Turbo car and looking for a big enough paddle to disturb the **** with ............

 

if anyone thinks the N/A is "slow" I wouldn't buy it =) Sevens can be a lot of work, and a lot of work for a SLOW car isn't worth it... buy a civic..


I love driving my N/A down the road =) Look at it as Speed per Dollar =) That makes me feel much better when a porsche pulls up next to me =)

 

I think perhaps you should reword your statement. n/a RX-7's are not incredibly powerful, but in the right hands they are not slow.

A buddy of mine has a turbo Neon R/T, it runs 13's in the 1/4 and my convertible runs a 16.4. Yet despite my extreme power (his ~300 to my 160) and weight (his ~2500 to my ~3100) disadvangage I was still able to ride his ***.

If you want to go fast, you need to drive it where it is fast. Yeah, I'm sure you'll be disappointed if you buy an n/a RX-7 and you're serious about drag racing, but if you go to an autocross I'm sure you'll be more than pleased with the car.

 

Here's my thinking on the subject:

Your worried about all the extra's making the car slow on the GXL, your buying an n/a it's not going to be a rocket regardless. If you don't have the money to maintain a turbo then you dont have the money to put mods into the n/a so who cares about speed. I would go with the GXL it has more creature comforts, and lower milage, dont worry about speed and power you wont get it in an n/a with out some mods, then when your ready for speed look for a turbo.

 

ItsNiceToBurnRice,

I would go with the 2nd one with a newly rebuilt engine. The sunroof and wiper motor are an easy fix. The sunroof just needs to be disassembled, cleaned, lubed, and reassembled.

The wiper switch probably just needs a little sauder on some of the electrical joints - and there are plenty of "do it yourself" articles to walk you throug the repair.

I thing the GXL is a great model to choose as the creature comforts make daily driving a joy.

Here's some pics for ya:

 

Superchargerd NA:


I can fly:


Gold Baby:

 

OH NO, IT'S THE VAUGHNC PHOTO ALBUM AGAIN!! Like I couldn't see THAT coming!

 

Yo,



I /like/ Vaughn's picture postin' madness! I just need to send him some pics of my car so he'll include 'em in the mix. *grin* He's also trying to get everyone to upgrade to broadband so they'll be able to load faster. *grin*

KS
1989 GTUs "2800lbs of Rotary Goodness"

 

Dude, get the 88GXL. Only 12k is awsome. I myself have a 88GXL. Mine has 105k on the clock but it runs perfect. The GXL is a friggin BLAST to drive. I've had mine for a little over six months and my only complaint is that my driver side leather seat has some rips. But that's to be expected.

The power moonroof(yes it's a moonroom, NOT sunroof) and other power options makes it a very practical daily driver. Sure the straight line speed isn't super fast from then factory, but it's not slow either. And with my current mods(in sig), it will hold it's own against many other cars.

Also the LSD and bigger brakes should be a good selling point too. My GXL launches very nice and stopping is great. It's still relatively light enough to toss around the local mountain roads with ease.

 

One thing to consider with the GXL however is the flooding issue. It COULD be that the motor wasn't built very well and is causing the flooding problems. I would have the compression checked before buying the car to make sure that you have a good rebuild on your hands. I would MUCH rather have a well running original Mazda engine with 100k miles then a rebuild with weak / cheap seals, and poor compression with 12k miles. Make sure you know what you are getting with this rebuild. Personally I would go with the extra weight and get a GXL. Just try to get your hands on some TII seats for it... those leather GXL seats are a bit slick IMHO.

Anyway, check the compression on the GXL... if it checks out buy it. The problem with the windshield wipers is a common problem and it simply needs new relays soldered into the board. Should cost you ~$20 if you can solder. Also the sunroof should probably be pulled and cleaned out. Worest case you could get a sunroof assembly from a junk yard and put that in...

Good luck,

 

Man I have an 88 GXL and I love my car. Has 129k on it but was rebuilt prolly around that 12k range ago. My sunroof doesn't open, & I have the wiper prpblem too. I don't care about that stuff too much though. I care about the car running and staying running. I would get the GXL. My car flooded once. Thats it. I have a fuel pump kill switch installed by the previous owner I just found out about. Ask to see documentation on the rebuild & see what date it was rebuilt. Could still have a warranty on the engine.

 

Take the '88 !!!

 

A properly running 2nd gen will not hot flood, if a car does hot flood something is WRONG. There are MANY possible reasons why a car can hot flood, one of which is low compression. Personally I think it would suck to find out that the car I just purchased had low compression. I'm not saying that I expect it to have low compression, because I THINK it's probably something else (such as fuel injectors, water temp sensor, etc...) however, it COULD be the motor. Always better safe than sorry IMHO.

BTW- If your car floods when you shut it off before it has warmed up... THAT is normal.

Take care,