1986 RX-7 Base (Silver)
1986 RX-7 GXL (Purple)


















Sadly, I now have 7 cars in 5 parking spots, so one of these has to go. Which one should I sell and which one would be the better turbo swap candidate?

Silver car:
Pros
60k-ish original miles.
Good, running condition.
New radiator, rear wheel bearings, battery, and brakes all around.
Lighter
Good, original paint, except for rust spots.
My first RX-7.

Cons
Worse body condition, bad rust on front quarter panels and some underneath.
Needs a transmission, two tires, and maybe a driveshaft.
No LSD or 4 piston calipers, and taking them off the purple car would likely mean I would have to send the purple car to the crusher

Purple Car
Pros
Already has limited slip, 4 piston brakes, electric fan...lol
Good aftermarket paint
Better interior (although both are semi gutted)
Body has less rust problems
Engine is already out for turbo swap.
8x wheels with 6x good tires
Engine bay clean and painted black

Cons
Brake lines are completely dry, may need new seals all around?
Heavier
No idea what condition the auto adjusting suspension is in.
or the rear end
or the transmission
or the brakes
Unknown mileage, cluster says 140k something.


I've got my own ideas but I want to see what you guys think.

 

Well......the Barney 7 at least HAS a floor. So thats a good place to start

But honestly, neither is a real cream puff.

I'd swap the working drivetrain and engine bits into the Barney car and go from there.

 

That base is hit, strip it and scrap it.

That way you can drive around Barney while you save up for a turbo swap.

 

that's an awfully blue purple... :P

 

Yeah, keep Barney!

 

sell both and buy a nice S5

 

The rust probably isn't as bad as it looks...it's only on the body panels, the chassis itself is in pretty good shape. However, the front two quarter panels are completely rusted through on the bottom.

How do I fix that? How do I fix the rust on the purple car? Cut it out, replace it with sheet metal, bondo it flat and get it repainted?

How about that sacrificial anode stuff? Anyone try that?



I would feel a little guilty stripping down and scrapping a perfectly running car...I'm sure I could sell it for $1000, maybe $1200 as-is.

 

I can't believe how much rust is on that.... I'm so thankful I live on the west coast. I'd scrap them both and start over.

 

The GXL for sure man... it's got 5-lugs and seems to be in a little better condition.

 

I'm sure that once you remove the carpet you'll be left with many surprises, rust is always worse than it looks.

Many Rx7s far nicer than either of yours have met their ultimate demise at my hands. Stop looking at it like "My" car and start looking at it as "A" car. A car thats worth more in parts than a whole.

 

NO carpet Semi gutted, remember?

I doubt I could get $1200 out of parts off a base model.

 

I doubt you can get 1200 for the car as a whole.

Look, if this is such a big sentimental issue for you, why did you ask the board members for help in the first place?

 

Neither. Sell both and by a turbo. Just kidding... I'd keep the silver one.

 

the gxl
power windows
alot more features.
thats why i got a gxl for the features

 

i say part out both cars and buy a s5, the lsd isnt going to be strong enough for a turbo and after you fix all the problems with the outside rust and paint it then buy all the stuff needed for a turbo swap you would be cheaper to have bought a turbo. unless you have hidden assests (best friend does bodywork for free...) you also can find good shells that are already for a turbo swap for less than 1000

 

Id go with the purple.

 

Let me mention my goals, I'd like some advice...maybe that will change a vote for some of you, I dunno.

I'm in college, probably have about 2 years to go...I can't spend a whole ton of money on this. I'm trying to work with "a track car I can drive on the street".

I want to go turbo, stock at first, and gradually upgrade to a bigger turbo and hit around 250WHP. I want something I can beat on a bit without blowing it up. I really don't care what the interior looks like.

Some people are telling me to part both out...is the GXL not even good enough to hold a turbo engine? Why everyone telling me to get an S5? I know they're overall nicer, but I think an S4 turbo engine is going to be easier to find and also cheaper, while still accomplishing what I want.

I don't see how I could make money parting them out, either.

 

All good reasons to keep the car, esspecially if you want "a track car to drive on the street". Lighter obviously for performance, and running at the momment which is always a plus. Drive it around until you have absolutely everything you need to swap in the turbo. Besides, who doesn't miss their first 7 after its gone?

Any other ideas about what happens to cars after they've served their usefulness? I can only assume that after a car in a junk yard has been completely stripped they crush it, but I haven't seen it in person so I don know for sure. Sorry, haha, just being an ***. keep the base, end of post!

 

I heart Rx7's so i say you keep both of em.

 

My advice stays the same. Sure a S5 is great but then you have 2 bunged up 7s to sell. You'd be lucky to get say, a grand for both. That leaves you with enough money for a bunged up S5 and not much else. You'd probably be better off throwing in the towel and moving on until you actually have some jack in that scenario.

Gut everything of worth out of the base. I.E.: Tranny, Doors, Fenders, Hood, Bumpers, Glass, Tail lights, Headlight assy's, interior switches, Ecu, etc, etc......
Put the nice running engine into the barney-mobile and drive it around for awhile. Sell what you don't need. This is the most cost effective scenario I can think of.

 

The silver base car has some fairly serious rust in some important structural areas. It looks actually worse than my old '90 GTU which is now on the way to the crusher. Once you get enough rust below the door sill areas in the floors, what is going to hold you in under the stresses of track use if you should venture off course or, God forbid, hit something? It's not worth the risk.

If you want to keep it, you at least need to look at cutting out that stuff and welding in some fresh sheetmetal. No pop rivets/Bondo patching will make that strong enough that I'd want to take it on a track.

I agree with the general consensus which seems to be transfer all the good parts to Barney and go from there, or sell both cars and get something new. As an S4 proponent, I say just buy the best RX-7 you can find, whether it's S4 or S5. There aren't enough healthy 7s in the Midwest/East to be too choosy.

 

Keep the blue i mean "purple" GXL.

 

Keep the purple one; the rust on the silver one is going to be very difficult and expensive to repair, whereas the purple one can become a solid body much more easily. The purple one is prettier. You'll get more money for a running base than you would for a engine-less GXL.

 

^^^HAHAHA hell yes...


But I would keep the blue/purple one because less rust and its a more unique color.

 

So, assuming I keep barney....

should I

A) Strip the silver car, move the N/A parts into it, and keep everything of value off of it? (destroying a running car?)

or

B) Sell the silver car as a solidly running beater for maybe a grand or so and use that money towards a turbo engine, and random parts to get the blurple car back on the road?