Hi everyone. This is my first post on the forum. My step-mom decided to give me her 1988 RX-7 convertable. She was the original owner and drove it as a daily driver for 13 years with no major problems. It has been sitting in a garage for the past 5 years and it gets out very little. She got sick of fooling with it so she gave it to me. I know very little about these cars or the rotary engine but I am eager to learn! The car is in excellent shape with only 100K and no mechanical problems. It does have some minor wiring and cosmetic issues:

First - the right window sometimes will not go up or down. I have to flick the switch a few times for it to work. The window motors have been replaced. Also the dash lights flicker on and off, mostly off.

Second - The seats have some tears and chunks of foam missing and the carpet is faded, and the top has some small holes in it. The original paint is shiney and looks good overall but it is starting to fade on the trunk.

Other than that there are no problems with the car. So if anyone has suggestions on the wiring and knows where I can get good deal on seats, carpet, top, paint, please let me know. Also please fill me in on what I am getting into as far as specifics on owning and maintaining the RX-7.

Thanks - Goodin

 

#1. Read the FAQ that's stickied at the top of the forum. 9/10ths of your problems are answered there. It's a very useful resource.

Do a full tune-up. Wiring issues are common, though with the help of a lot of work, some electrical know-how, and time, you can fix them all.

The factory service manual can be found at www.cochran-racing.com, and is linked to in the FAQ.

I don't know about fixing seats directly, though many have said local auto upholstry places can do it and do it well. The top tearing is also common. I'm sure someone will tell you where to get a replacement, but I never tried remembering since I have a coupe.

All in all, play nice, treat her well and enjoy!

 

the wiring's easy. Probably just a bd solder or something.
If you're going to play with this car, good seats are always a wise investment.
Have you thought about getting some nice racing seats? They can really add to the look of the car along with being practicul. I prefer sparco, they have some kick *** seats that range in price.

 

^ You do not need aftermarket seats. theyre a waste if youre not doing any sort of racing where you realy get thrown around. instead, buy a pair of used FC seats for cheap and they will be fine. get your car running the way you want first then take care of the cosmetics.

 

Just remember that aftermarkets seats are going to last longer than stock used...and the stock seats are both about thirty pounds each.
Just go with your budget.

 

I just bought an 88 vert about a month ago, but I dont have alot of issues right now.... My problems were power window motors bad, plastics around stereo and a/c controls were broken along with center a/c vents.......luckily I found all those things here on the forum......The only thing I really need to get is the center caps for my stock wheels, when money permits..like they said you can find most anything you want here.........good luck....

 

just get the seats you have now reupholsterd. i had racing seats and they are a hassle to get in and out of every time you drive your car. mabey keep one t use if you ever hit up the track(thats what i do).

 

why would he waste money on something that he wont use? you tell me, smart ***.

 

Because no one uses seats?.....
Or is it that you're just a huge fan of the stock seats?

 

Youre not even making sense.

 

Finding stock seats in good condition is pretty tricky these days.

Best and cheapest bet is get the old ones fixed at an upholstery shop.
Dont blow a bunch of money on aftermarket seats theres no point and the money saved can go towards more beneficial upgrades.

 

That's a great point I didn't even consider, getting them fixed....
sorry, I'll start the hamster running in his wheel now.

 

Aftermarket seats are a pretty big waste if he just got the car.

But, Goodin, if you want to listen to someone with around 150 posts (of useless information), go for it.

Do what Goofy said first, then get back to us.

 

On your power window problem... Icemark from here just helped me with exactly the same thing. On his advice, I took out the driver side switch, took it apart, and cleaned it. It works fine now for the first time in a long time. To do it... take the door panel off first and unplug the harnesses. The switch is held to the arm rest by brass spring clips. Depress them with a screwdriver and it'll pop out from the top side. Take out the 3 philips screws from the bottom carefully and lift off the white plastic piece slowly. There are small contacts in there that can fall out, so be careful. Notice the way the contacts sit in the switch, they go in one way and not the other. Clean the removable contacts as well as the contacts on the switch body, then put it all back together. I've got exactly the same model car as you, and this worked like a charm for me.

 

Newbies helping newbies, no wonder the two gen forum is horrible.

Read the FAQ, read the archives, search function is your friend.

 

Thanks for all your input guys. The car is absolutely 100% original and I plan to keep all upgrades original. No racing or aftermarket seats for me. I believe I will have them re-upholstered.

MY5ABABY - I see that you are from Knoxville. I live in Cookeville but I work in Knoxville. Looks like you know your stuff with the 1000+ posts and all.

Thanks for the useful info on fixing the windows Bobrz. Will try that soon.

I will try and get some pics up here in a few days.

Goodin

 

That is true. but it is obvious that post count does not matter.

 

clean the tracks

nothing much u can do there hahaa

other than that, im fucken jealous of u cuz i want a daily driver caberero fc

 

Depends. USUALLY, lower post count = more stupid. In his case, it's his first account so...... yeah......

 

Or lower post count means you listen more than you talk.

 

calrx7 - what do you mean by 'clean the tracks'?

 

^ There are tracks for the window...