Reliving my youth - am I nuts? Flying to Chicago and driving her home..
Hello all!
I'm 35. Married with 2 kids (daughter Christine was just born 5 days ago!) In 1993 I bought an '86 red RX-7 with 171k and drove it until the car needed the engine replaced (overheated). In 1995 I bought another red 86 with 71k on the clock and drove it about 6 months until it too, overheated. Both cards had the dreaded "O ring" problem. Well, I don't know if it's an early mid-life crisis or what, but today I bought a 3rd RX-7! This one is a 1988 red convertible with 58k miles. I'm flying into Chicago Monday to drive it home, which is about 7 hours back. I made the mistake of test driving a couple of RX-7's just to "revisit my youth" and fell in love all over again. Anyway, this forum seems fantastic, and I will let you guys know what happens. It's scary to purchase a car without having driven it first, but I've been told (and seen) the compression test on the rotors has passed and the carfax is clean. It was only $3200 bucks, right? Anyone know what type of wheels and exhaust is on this thing? Here's a link to my "new" car! http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/88-MA...65%3A13|39%3A1 http://i.ebayimg.com/23/!!e3LfIQBmE~...hGgEzg~~_4.JPG http://i.ebayimg.com/23/!!e3Lg6QBGE~...h92h,w~~_4.JPG |
58k Miles... you should be FINE. Good for you! From the link, $3200 looks like a great price. I bet it will run great and get you home no problem. A Great cruiser too considering you're going to have a 7 hour drive home. Drop the top and have at it. :)
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Originally Posted by beefhole
(Post 9366943)
58k Miles... you should be FINE. Good for you! From the link, $3200 looks like a great price. I bet it will run great and get you home no problem. A Great cruiser too considering you're going to have a 7 hour drive home. Drop the top and have at it. :)
Would you: Ditch the wheels and grab some original BBS 15"'s? I feel like a kid again. My main car is a 2004 Lexus LS430, which is smooth as silk, quiet, pretty fast (0-60 5.9 per Lexus - V8) but something about driving that bumpy, low to the ground, noisy Wankel engined 2 seater just does it for me! I think it helps that I'll never be asked to pick up the kids in the new car! Did I mention I test drove a black 88 convertible today and was grinning ear to ear? Unfortunately it needed a clutch and a power steering pump. I never even knew these convertibles were targa topped as well.. Does anyone know if the 88 should have speakers in the headrests? I don't know if that was an option in 88... Shawn |
I can't tell from that angle, but the exhaust looks like my old set of dual Apex'i N1's. They can be pretty loud depending on whether you have a header or not. I believe the '88s have headrest speakers but they often fail.
the convertible will be slow as piss though. you will feel like you are driving an Enzo when you get into your Lex. Ditch the wheels and grab some original BBS 15"'s? |
Originally Posted by arghx
(Post 9367050)
I can't tell from that angle, but the exhaust looks like my old set of dual Apex'i N1's. They can be pretty loud depending on whether you have a header or not. I believe the '88s have headrest speakers but they often fail.
the convertible will be slow as piss though. you will feel like you are driving an Enzo when you get into your Lex. the speedometer may be noticeably off with that wheel and tire combo. Shawn |
Originally Posted by Shield
(Post 9367059)
Thanks for the heads up on the exhaust - I hate loud farter pipes especially on a slow vehicle - I'll be ditching them and putting factory back on...
Shawn Congrats on the new car btw, looks like someone took really good care of it. :icon_tup: |
Originally Posted by Shield
(Post 9366951)
...Does anyone know if the 88 should have speakers in the headrests? I don't know if that was an option in 88...
Shawn headrest speakers were part of the 'premium package' which was ~ a 2200$ upgrade. included in the P package were leather seats and wheel, 3 way stereo, 6 speakers, key/door lock illumination, tilt steering and cruise control. that unit has the base/cloth seats (which appear in great shape) WITHOUT speakers or tilt or the upgraded stereo. notice on the center console, coin slots instead of speaker controls, so it's not wired for them. also the stereo appears aftermarket, but with speakers mounted low behind the seats, that may be better than the headrest speakers. i see the cruise control stalk and a leather wheel so later in 88 they must have included these bits on all of them. the factory air filter/box is gone replace by a open gauze filter in the engine bay, not a good idea, since it will suck HOT air. the air intake is still there but not conected to anything. while the paint looks tired, a careful polishing can bring it back, but don't over do it, the paint is thin on the 88s. i see a little rust on the top studs which may be nothing, but check UNDER the trunk seal/gasket for rust and under the top where it attaches to the body. the mini spare tire SHOULD be behind the seats under the fascia. make sure you have one for the drive home. i'd carry a couple of quarts of oil and a jug of water/coolant too, just in case. while many parts are still available they are pricey, you might be shocked by the price of the oem exhaust, which will go UP if that isn't a 'cat back' system. but hey it's only money... henry |
You asked the question "am I nuts?". The answer is ..heck yes. Your out of your ever loving noodle to buy a car that you've never driven before, and going to drive it all that far back home.
Remember this. The guy selling it to you is a "Used car sales man". I don't care if this is the only car he ever sold in his life, he's a Used Car Salesman".........humor |
Not to rain on your parade or anything, but do you know when the photos were taken? I bought a car last year off a fellow on the forum and the pics he had posted were not current. The car was not nearly in the condition shown on the posted pics. Had he posted current pics I doubt that I would have sent him a $500 deposit and paid what I did for the car.
Unfortunately, I didn't discover that until I had driven 8 hours to pick up the car. I bought the car anyway since that model/year car was difficult to find. Fortunately, I had a trailer to haul it home. I certainly wouldn't have tried to drive it 8 hours on Interstate highways. Perhaps you will be more fortunate. Good luck!! |
Originally Posted by openrx
(Post 9367106)
enjoy the ride!
headrest speakers were part of the 'premium package' which was ~ a 2200$ upgrade. included in the P package were leather seats and wheel, 3 way stereo, 6 speakers, key/door lock illumination, tilt steering and cruise control. that unit has the base/cloth seats (which appear in great shape) WITHOUT speakers or tilt or the upgraded stereo. henry Many things change in 20+ years, good luck with the drive home. I do like the BBS wheels, but finding them may cost more than thery're worth. |
i looked at the pics again. it has some shitty autozone pedals, you should ditch those. the lack of leather is a good thing in the sense that cloth holds up a lot better over time. I think you should pick up the Racing Beat exhaust as well. it's hard to find an original exhaust that isn't rusted and messed up, with ugly tips on the back etc
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Originally Posted by openrx
(Post 9367106)
enjoy the ride!
headrest speakers were part of the 'premium package' which was ~ a 2200$ upgrade. included in the P package were leather seats and wheel, 3 way stereo, 6 speakers, key/door lock illumination, tilt steering and cruise control. that unit has the base/cloth seats (which appear in great shape) WITHOUT speakers or tilt or the upgraded stereo. notice on the center console, coin slots instead of speaker controls, so it's not wired for them. also the stereo appears aftermarket, but with speakers mounted low behind the seats, that may be better than the headrest speakers. i see the cruise control stalk and a leather wheel so later in 88 they must have included these bits on all of them. the factory air filter/box is gone replace by a open gauze filter in the engine bay, not a good idea, since it will suck HOT air. the air intake is still there but not conected to anything. while the paint looks tired, a careful polishing can bring it back, but don't over do it, the paint is thin on the 88s. i see a little rust on the top studs which may be nothing, but check UNDER the trunk seal/gasket for rust and under the top where it attaches to the body. the mini spare tire SHOULD be behind the seats under the fascia. make sure you have one for the drive home. i'd carry a couple of quarts of oil and a jug of water/coolant too, just in case. while many parts are still available they are pricey, you might be shocked by the price of the oem exhaust, which will go UP if that isn't a 'cat back' system. but hey it's only money... henry I will get rid of the aftermarket air intake nonsense - good catch. I will certainly keep an eye on the temp gauge and check the oil about every 100-200 miles as well. Hopefully all will be ok with this car - it's strange as my primary vehicle I could hop it right now and drive 3000 miles on way and not even THINK about checking any fluids except for the gas. Of course it's only 5 years old... |
Originally Posted by arghx
(Post 9367422)
i looked at the pics again. it has some shitty autozone pedals, you should ditch those. the lack of leather is a good thing in the sense that cloth holds up a lot better over time. I think you should pick up the Racing Beat exhaust as well. it's hard to find an original exhaust that isn't rusted and messed up, with ugly tips on the back etc
What's the overall consensus on the wheels/tires? Tread looks ok - not sure if I like those wheels, but I don't hate them. Tires look low profile - do you guys think those are 17"'s? |
Originally Posted by Go48
(Post 9367343)
Not to rain on your parade or anything, but do you know when the photos were taken? I bought a car last year off a fellow on the forum and the pics he had posted were not current. The car was not nearly in the condition shown on the posted pics. Had he posted current pics I doubt that I would have sent him a $500 deposit and paid what I did for the car.
Unfortunately, I didn't discover that until I had driven 8 hours to pick up the car. I bought the car anyway since that model/year car was difficult to find. Fortunately, I had a trailer to haul it home. I certainly wouldn't have tried to drive it 8 hours on Interstate highways. Perhaps you will be more fortunate. Good luck!! http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=160333232541 That auction was from May 8th, so at worst the pictures are 2 months old. |
Originally Posted by Turbonut
(Post 9367379)
You are correct about the convertible option package, but the car advertised HAS crusise control so it must have had that package when new.
I couldn't believe it didn't have cruise though. So bizarre! |
Originally Posted by openrx
(Post 9367106)
with speakers mounted low behind the seats, that may be better than the headrest speakers.
henry Note this picture: http://photos.ebizautos.com/7516/4264293/4264293_46.jpg from this car: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1991-...65%3A10|39%3A1 Are the speakers behind the seats normal in these cars? Shawn |
Originally Posted by Shield
(Post 9367450)
It's confusing to me. I test drove an 88 black vert yesterday. It HAD tilt steering, but NO CRUISE! I didn't even turn on the radio as it was the factory AM/FM/Cassette (yuck) and since the clutch was shot I didn't seriously think about buying it.
I couldn't believe it didn't have cruise though. So bizarre! |
Originally Posted by HAILERS2
(Post 9367311)
You asked the question "am I nuts?". The answer is ..heck yes. Your out of your ever loving noodle to buy a car that you've never driven before, and going to drive it all that far back home.
Remember this. The guy selling it to you is a "Used car sales man". I don't care if this is the only car he ever sold in his life, he's a Used Car Salesman".........humor |
Originally Posted by arghx
(Post 9367422)
i looked at the pics again. it has some shitty autozone pedals, you should ditch those.
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Does anyone know if this is close to the original exhaust muffler?
http://www.napaonline.com/MasterPage...r+-+Quiet+Flow |
welcome back to rotary ownership!! looks like a solid car for the money. i'd get rid of those wheels and put the oem wheels onit and ditch those silly pedal covers. where's worthington?
the muffler that napa offers is an oem design..but the bad thing is that they're not built to take the heat of a rotary and will fail prematurely when compared to am oem one (which will last close to 20 years) or a nice aftermarket from www.racingbeat.com. |
Originally Posted by Turbonut
(Post 9367379)
You are correct about the convertible option package, but the car advertised HAS crusise control so it must have had that package when new.
Many things change in 20+ years... but the door inserts are cloth, like the seats, so someone would have needed to swap seats, door panels and center consoles which is a lot of effort to undo leather. also FINDING the cloth/cloth bits would be a challenge since so few of these came withOUT the premium package, unless it came from a coupe. the presence/absense of key light and tilt wheel will help with the puzzle. this is a later production 88 and i think the option packages changed later in the year. let's assume it really does have cruise, the buyer can confirm this on the trip home. but just because the stalk is there doesn't mean cruise is present. for example the dash on ALL of these cars has an "AC" button but they didn't all come from the factory with AC under the hood... this allowed the dealers to install 'factory air', plug into the wiring and make a little cash on the upgrade. while the auction lists 'cruise control' it also says this is a front wheel drive car with side impact protection... i happen to like the BBS wheels on this model, they look great and work well with the factory suspension... but along with the price and challenge of finding a set, there are NOT very many firm/fast tire options now in 205/60-15.
Originally Posted by Shield
(Post 9367436)
... One thing I'm not sure I understand is the "paint looks tired" comment. To me tired means worn out / faded - I don't think the paint looks faded at all - I think it's actually pretty nice for a 21 year old car...
i think all but 1 or 2 color options included clearcoat which greatly limits fading, it's just that the pigment layer is pretty thin on these so go gently... mazda does still have touch up paint for the 80s paint codes too. i don't think those are factory speaker behind the seats, at least not with the premium package mentioned earlier. but when you unscrew the nobs on that cover (to check the spare) it should be easier to determine. unless there are surprises hidden somewhere, it looks like a very good example of a low mileage, well cared for open air rotary... cheers henry |
Originally Posted by mazdaverx713b
(Post 9367563)
welcome back to rotary ownership!! looks like a solid car for the money. i'd get rid of those wheels and put the oem wheels onit and ditch those silly pedal covers. where's worthington?
the muffler that napa offers is an oem design..but the bad thing is that they're not built to take the heat of a rotary and will fail prematurely when compared to am oem one (which will last close to 20 years) or a nice aftermarket from www.racingbeat.com. Worthington is north of Columbus - I'm about 10 minutes north of the OSU campus. I need to see how loud and annoying the exhaust is before I replace it. I like cars that are fast to be quiet, and cars that aren't (like this one) to be even quieter. Who knows - maybe it'll just be fun to drive as is. Looks like the Autozone foot pedals are cheap to get back to stock. Cheapest set of 4 original BBS rims I've found on ebay after a preliminary search is $275, without tires. I just can't wait until tomorrow - I never got laid like I did when I drove my old Rx-7! Of course things have changed and I'm a faithful husband with kids - but it's nice to go down memory lane. I may NEVER put the top up after tomorrow and only drive it on sunny days. First thing I want to get sorted is the minor paint blemishes, then buy the Eclipse to Ipod control. If the exhaust is really obnoxious then it'll go too. But I'm more concerned initially with overheating, good clutch, and air conditioning. And the motor. |
you won't notice a bit of difference in terms of performance between a loud aftermarket exhaust and a quieter one like the one Racing Beat makes. It's not a fast car, and a louder (compared to other aftermarket) exhaust won't make it faster, but you know that.
When you get the car home you need to check the condition of the rear heater hose, located under the oil filter pedestal. they are very prone to failure. |
^^ Very prone.
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To tell you the truth, replacing the stock exhaust on my vert opened up some horsepower/tq. I have the racing beat street exhaust. I'm uploading a pic of the RB exhaust on my car atm.
Here's my old car: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWqeS24ABTo That's my 87. |
Originally Posted by l4nc3r
(Post 9367740)
To tell you the truth, replacing the stock exhaust on my vert opened up some horsepower/tq. I have the racing beat street exhaust. I'm uploading a pic of the RB exhaust on my car atm.
Here's my old car: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWqeS24ABTo That's my 87. |
Congratulations on the new car. It look great and the interior appears to be very clean. One thing, I would make finding the BBS wheels a priority. Those wheels are super cheap low quality wheels that the tirerack usually sells for snow tires. The BBS are something like 12lbs forged wheels. Can you imagine losing 8+ lbs of rotating weight per corner? The performance increase alone will be more than just about anything else you can reasonably do to the car.
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Im going to disagree on the original wheels, 15" just dont cut it these days, 17" wheel is perfect on the car, 18" look really good too in the right combo
I have heard so many different things about verts over the years, but the only thing that has remained consistant is that they came with everything, the only 2 things that might be different are cloth seats and panels, and no AC, however port or dealer installed AC was really common. Cloth seats are super rate- those appear to be in excellent condition- car looks great for the price. |
Well I'm back. The car was a real POS to be honest with you. It had, at some point, overheated as there was white residue all over the block near where the thermostat was. My other two had the same thing. The stereo only had one speaker working, driver's side left. There were large 14 ga speaker wire all over the passenger floor. The radio bezel was makeshift and basically hanging at the bottom outside the console. The pipes were pretty annoying "ricer" loud, and the car really had very little power. Only once it hit about 5k RPM did it have the slightest amount of punch - the black 88 I drove yesterday wasn't like that. Sure it was slow too, but not as slow as the car I wasted $400 in multiple flights and unfortunately BUS rides to O'Hare airport. Yes, I was about 100 miles from O'Hare, and if I had gone back to the original airport the cheapest flight back tonight was $380 bucks.
So I sucked it up and rode a BUS for 2.5 hours, but kept my $3200 in my wallet. Back to the car. Whomever said the paint was "tired" was spot-on. It was beyond tired - the mirrors were completely some shade of faded orange, and the stratches and fading were 10 times worse in real life. The vehicle did not have tilt, but the cruise worked. The cheap Autozone pedals were awful; because the gas pedal was now twice as wide I kept barely hitting it when I had the clutch engaged and was braking. Did I mention the car was slow? I was showing the salesman how crappy the stereo was when this chick in a Mercury Cougar pulled up beside us and her radio "out blasted" us. Then she got on it at the light and I couldn't even dream of keeping up with her. I did try though. How embarrassing. Somewhere in Ohio my 4.3 liter V8 Lex was laughing at me, as she'd have easily dusted the Cougar. I mean hell, we weren't even "racing" - she just punched her car a little bit and I couldn't keep up. But the car was idling very rough, even after warming up and running for a while. The mirrors shook so bad at a light that I told the salesman 'You had me fly out here for this POS?" Did I mention I rode a bus from Michigan City Indiana to Chicago's O'Hare airport? Also, I hated the fact that it didn't have tilt wheel. Also, the cluster seemed like something was shady, like it had been replaced at some point. Considering the fact that the carfax showed "mileage not reported" the last few times due to the vehicle's age / state of registration, I am starting to strongly think it had way more than 58k miles. Can't prove it though. Under the hood where it met the firewall there was lots of dead leaves - this car had spent some major time being parked NOT in a garage. The paint sucked. So tomorrow I'm going to go test drive two hardtop non turbo RX-7's. Here's the first one, with 63,000 original miles: http://www.goldcomics.com/images/DSCN0949.JPG http://www.goldcomics.com/images/DSCN0955.JPG http://www.goldcomics.com/images/DSCN0985.JPG http://www.goldcomics.com/images/DSCN0986.JPG |
Why not pick up something local or at least from some one with a good Reputation here on the forum
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getta turbo FC3S!!!, not as *cool* as a vert or as fast as an FD, but alot cheaper then both lol.
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it sounds like he doesn't care that much about the speed or modding, and the extra maintenance of a turbo car would just be a burden. Plus finding a good condition turbo car is pretty hard. a stock T2 is still slower than his Lexus anyway.
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sorry to hear that the convertable didnt work out. i like that GXL though. keep us posted on what you decide to do!
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another soon-to-be fc owner in columbus...awesome!
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glad to see your taking your time and thoroughly inspecting each car.
Not sure why your so set on a NA tho, I can understand the vert thing, but a coupe...! lame! I've owned 3 T2s and would never buy a coupe. There are plenty of nice T2s for sale here on any given day. Even 10AEs. Sorry for the ranting. :D Good luck finding the car for you. getta turbo FC3S!!!, not as *cool* as a vert or as fast as an FD, but alot cheaper then both lol. |
NA coupes=lame?
Snob. |
sadly a stock vert is very , very slow. I would get dusted at lights by old ladies in thier buicks and thier camrys. The open road is where the vert shines, you can wind out 3rd gear the whole time on the highway, from about 40mph to about 90mph, really have some fun with it and never even have to look at the gauges because the car will be so reliable.
Once again it shows that pictures dont mean everything, if a forum member was selling that car and you got it home without going to see it you would go bat-shit. People have different opinions of what is "mint" and acceptable. The mileage was probably fugazi and the crappy pedals were probably there because the originals had worn out. |
You guys have my head spinning with all your abbreviations. Vert I get, but NA? FC?
I'm sure all of these cars are slower than my main ride without major mods anyway. It's ok - it's no big deal if it's not super fast or anything, but to not even be able to keep up with a Mercury Cougar from the 90's that really wasn't even racing? Unacceptable! Well guys, I have $4k to spend. I'm going to look at two cars today - the one above with the pics and another one. Both coupe's. I'm in the Columbus area and obviously would drive quite a ways to find a good car. I like the red ones. |
NA= naturally aspirated= non-turbo.
FC is just the series designation...FBs are the original, early RXs, FCs are the second generation and FDs are the 3rd gens. |
Originally Posted by Rob XX 7
(Post 9371789)
sadly a stock vert is very , very slow. I would get dusted at lights by old ladies in thier buicks and thier camrys. The open road is where the vert shines, you can wind out 3rd gear the whole time on the highway, from about 40mph to about 90mph, really have some fun with it and never even have to look at the gauges because the car will be so reliable.
Once again it shows that pictures dont mean everything, if a forum member was selling that car and you got it home without going to see it you would go bat-shit. People have different opinions of what is "mint" and acceptable. The mileage was probably fugazi and the crappy pedals were probably there because the originals had worn out. |
Originally Posted by clokker
(Post 9371802)
NA= naturally aspirated= non-turbo.
FC is just the series designation...FBs are the original, early RXs, FCs are the second generation and FDs are the 3rd gens. |
Originally Posted by Shield
(Post 9371805)
Ah makes sense. I see things like "FBC4, FC5" - what does the 3rd number mean, just year? Ie FC5 = 1990? etc.?
2nd gen RXs- i.e., the FC- are divided into two series. S4 is 1986-88 and S5 is 89-91. |
Get the best of both worlds and find (or commision) a turbo vert.
Lets face it, N/A's are laughably slow, and a vert....:lol: TII's are speed demons but at least they can get out of their own way (and beat mecury cougars lol) There is no "mint" non-turbo thats going to feel like anything other than a brick pulling away from lights. ...sorry. You say that performance isn't what you're after, but if that were really true, why worry about teeny boppers and their cougars (cars, not mothers lol) ? Just open up your search to include TII's and you might find a clean example that will surprise you |
Originally Posted by sharingan 19
(Post 9371811)
There is no "mint" non-turbo thats going to feel like anything other than a brick pulling away from lights. ...sorry.
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Originally Posted by clokker
NA coupes=lame?
Snob. Seriously tho, to each their own. If someone digs coupes, that's cool with me. You can't argue with a clean car. It's just not for me. Even with all the specs and stats that daviddeep found, there is no NA that stands a chance against an equally stock (or mod'd) T2 in any gear. There are few better feelings than a turbo charger spooling up and shooting your car around the road! |
good luck with the search. Hopefully you get one from a rotary enthusiest. Thats where a good rx7 will cost alot because the owner has no reason to get rid of it, where as a cheap rx7 the owner is trying to dump it lol :icon_tup:
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Sorry to hear that the vert was a POS. Like I said in my other post, been there, done that. At least you were smart enough to pass on the car. I'm sure you will find a suitable car.
Ignore the Turbo snobs. I've owned both in the past 5 years, and although the Turbo car has considerably greater performance, the NA, with a few simple mods can be a decent car. Check out what RacingBeat.com has to say about the significant performance gains with their replacement exhaust and intake systems. |
the best part about the NA is that driving it is stress-free compared to a turbo car. if the motor has decent compression and all the hoses etc are good you never worry about blowing it up or overheating it
I enjoyed my old modded 172rwhp nonturbo as much as I enjoy my 400ish rwhp turbo car, just for different reasons. |
Originally Posted by stylEmon
(Post 9371903)
Even with all the specs and stats that daviddeep found, there is no NA that stands a chance against an equally stock (or mod'd) T2 in any gear.
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