I am in the market to buy a 89-90 vert as some of you know and i am still trying to find out as much as i can about the car. I know some stuff what i am interested in is wind noise, roof leaking, power top malfunctioning, insulation(could it be driven in semi cold weather) etc. Anybody with any information about this it would be muchly appreciated?

Thanks
steve

 

Courtesy of Icemarks stickied thread at the top of the 2nd gen page.

What should I look for when buying a 2nd Gen RX-7?
Non Turbo: http://www.aaroncake.net/RX-7/buy1.htm
Turbo: http://www.aaroncake.net/RX-7/buy2.htm
General: http://fc3spro.com/TECH/h2b.html

 

1wind noise minimal 2 leaks nil only if sealing rubbers are bad 3 had no probs so far (70000k) 4insulation has a heater that would heat the world These are my observations with my 89 vert also only gets to 0 degrees C ten to twenty days a year in winter here in Sydney but during those mornings it has no probs warming the inside

 

i love it when it gets cold.....i just put down the windows and turn on the heater, a blast to drive

the convertible top part....mine works, but it leaks

and i dont hear any wind noise, let alone any outside noise unless its some ricer fat cannon

 

oh and let me add that all of my sound deadning and carpet and what not is torn out

 

no worries here, ive had mine since march, leaks, slighly on the passenger side, but i dont really care much about that . wind noise is no different than a hard top, has an excellent heater, AC works effn great too, as far as powet top malfunction, there are some cold solder joints on the control panel that can go to ****, potentially that is, its a very easy fix that take about 5 minutes, so far, i have had no problems with it, just heard about it on higher milage verts. i say go for it, i love my vert, and i much prefer the way it looks to hard tops (my opinion)

 

Wind noise: Top up, no big deal. Top down, who cares?
Roof leaking: No problem.
Malfunctioning: Never happened.
Cold weather: No problem, even in sub-zero weather.

 

I get plenty of wind noise, but that may have something to do with the fact that It never gets driven with the top up.

My dad drove it for 30,000 miles with no complaints of being Too cold.

BTW complaining about things like "my suspention is too stiff, it hurts", or "Im cold", or "my feet are hot" makes you lose all manleness points, and you must surrender your
sports car/roadster licence.

Only a small leak, but only while washing the car (mostly because the car dont get driven in the rain) but a towel laying accross the interior takes care of that.

 

To Attila the Fun.

Where did you get a 2000 RXX-7 (3-rotor convertible)

Pics?

 

Sadly these links contain little to answer the questions that were asked.


Wind noise is pretty much non existant especially if you have an exhaust. Insulation, non issue the interior is smaller than the other rx7s so it heats up MUCH faster. There are forum members with verts in Alaska that drive with the heat on and windows down. After quite some age the roof may leak at the front corners where the targa top connects to the front. Mine leaks in both corners but only when being washed. In rainy weather the water is travelling towards the back of the top and does not come in. Only time the top will ever really malfunction would be due to an electrical short. The top is on the same circuit as the interior lights, clock, radio, alarm all running thru the 7.5 amp room fuse.

 

My top only leaks in the car wash as well, and only when there is a direct high pressure spray right on that spot. I regularly drive around with the top down in the 40s with the heat blasting.

 

With the top latched and closed, the wind noise is very comparible to the coupe (as long as the targa and side seals are in good condition), and as far as heating and cooling the convertible is considerably better than the coupe as the interior area is much smaller.

It is not uncommon for me to drive my vert with the roof down in the middle of winter and just crank the heat up a little. The same can be said for the summer and using the air conditioner. The built in air blocker makes a major difference.

here are some scans of articles on the FC3C:
http://www.mazdamark.com/about_the_fc3c.htm

 

Thanks for the information and the articles. I am looking to get back into RX-7s, and 'vert my be one route I go.

 

I talked to the guy who reapolsterd my seats who ownes the best apolstry shop in my area, and he said that lowering a convertible top below 55*F will cause damage to the thing, anlong with lowering the top while it is still wet and leaving it down more than 24 hours will damage it also.

 

Your guys sucks and is no fun. I leave my top down days on end. But he may be correct I hate to say. I've heard/read 45* is the cutoff point, never heard about lenght of time down problems or the wet thingy. Then again my top needs to be replaced anyways....

 

Yes that is true, you do not want to Raise or Lower the top if the temp is less than 50*F so that you do not make the vinyl top brittle. Of course with a vinyl top there is no concern with the top being wet when lowered. Only if the top is cloth.

But the stock vinyl top can already be down and be fine. Or if you had the car in the garage, chances are it is warmer than 50F.

Mazda just does not recommend the stock vinyl top be moved (raised or lowered) in sub 50*F temps.

if you have a cloth top replacement of course that is not as much of a concern.

 

Built it. Peter Farrell Supercars did the conversion. See

http://www.cris.com/~Asam/20B.html for details.