jining

Well, i have found a black 88 2 seater GXL for sale around my area with 145k miles with one original owner. It is selling for 3k. Seems very clean and has no mods. I am mainly looking into purchasing this car as a daily driver, yet I love the RX7 look so its a big plus.

I am curious on your thoughts of the GXL, as I dont have much experience with RX7s. I am also curious on the potential of this vehicle, and how hard it is to convert to single turbo.

Thanks a lot for your help!!

Ex-Eg-Driver

iTrader: (1)

Comes with LSD and 5 lug. Get it

jining

Should I worry that it has 145k miles? I read the na motors typically only last 150-200k... What are some things I should look for when I test drive it/inspect it.

ericgrau

iTrader: (1)

A buyer's guide from the forum FAQ and/or google will tell you everything you need to check out. At 145k it could be cherry or it could be about to blow. It all depends on how well they took care of it. Also ask them about coolant changes (and get receipts or other records if possible). Most NA motors blow from bad coolant seals from an overheat, rusty cooling system, stuck thermostat, blown hose, etc. The coolant should be green, not rust brown, or else it's been a long time since they last changed their coolant. The distant 2nd after coolant is oil.

jining

From what the add says, he had it maintained at the dealership since he bought it, and the thermostat, hoses and coolant was just changed.

Acesanugal

iTrader: (5)

Find AaronCake's site, and read his N/A FC RX-7 Buying Guide. It kicks ***. Find it. Read it. Use it. Fear it.

arghx

iTrader: (3)

you need a compression test. you can do it yourself or have it taken to the dealer.

jining

Well, I went to test drive it today. It is in great shape, everything works such as sunroof/lights/windows/radio etc. I think I will take it to mazda to have a compression test done later this week before I commit.

One thing I noticed, im not sure if its normal or not, is that the brakes seemed really squishy... is that normal? I probably had to apply quite a bit of pressure to get the car to a complete stop.

jining

any thoughts? Should I pick it up? Gonna be using this as my daily driver... probably not going to mod it unless there some amazing bang for the buck mods I can do for an NA.

Here is the ad:

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/car/539005248.html

I need to pull the trigger on this soon, as there are many people checking it out.

niburu

iTrader: (1)

Have who ever is inspecting the car look at the brakes
they may just need bleeding or it could be a sign of the master cylinder going
they should NOT be squishy

jining

hmm he just had the master cylinder replaced.

Should I have this car taken to the mazda dealer to be inspected before purchasing? Im quite knowledgable when it comes to cars, but rotary is a whole new thing for me

jining

bump

freemanrx7

Try to offer him less?

Gut the first 2 precats if you get the car!!!

1st7

iTrader: (1)

Looks in good shape!!Offer him $2400 and get real GXL rims.......
Bought my '88 GXL off Ebay without driving it but it was what i wanted



And dont T2 it!!
Keep it NA!!

Ex-Eg-Driver

iTrader: (1)

From the ad. It looks great. Seems like he replaced a lot of things. At this price I would have bought it. But yea. Might have to bleed the breaks if they are kinda soft. Other than that if its been maintained well it should last you awhile.

ericgrau

iTrader: (1)

www.kbb.com. $2575 to $3450 depending on condition. Sounds like a decent deal since it's dealer maintained. The engine might even go to 300k+ if you keep it maintained and never overheat it. Brake fluid probably just needs to be bled or flushed.

Just get a buyer's guide and pay a mechanic to inspect it too. If some little thing like the brake cylinder is broken then you take that off the purchase price. If somehow some huge thing is broken then you walk away. After you buy get a Haynes manual and follow the maintenance schedule or else keep taking it to the dealer. But get repairs done elsewhere at a good shop.

jining

comes with a haynes manual

Its an older guy and I think this car was his baby, so I kinda dont have the heart to lowball him. 2750 seems fair to me...

I wish he had the original wheels but he says he hit a huge pothole and had the city of seattle purchase him new wheels... not sure why he picked those ones (american racing... lol)

Oh I also learned the clutch was replaced @ 60k miles.... im going to see if its slipping, check the coolant for fuel smell/gunk and also check for the 3800 rpm hesitation. If everything is a go, ill pick it up.

Thanks for the help fellas

jining

Why is it when I do the KBB it comes to 3100-4070 value?

jining

How many cats are on an FC? What would be the best cost efficient way of eliminating the cats? Do they sell just a testpipe to swap inplace of the exisiting cat?

I saw this full exhaust from racing beat, kinda pricy tho...

http://mazdatrix.com/r-ex86nt.htm

WadeMCarter

You pay for quality.

Ex-Eg-Driver

iTrader: (1)

Buy it already

freemanrx7

Just hollow out the first 2 precats. They are small and not needed. You can't do this though until you buy the car. I would rather buy a highmileage MAINTAINED car then a low mileage sorta maintained car.

Once you buy the car do some more research on this site and then plan on what mods you want to do!!!

pfsantos

iTrader: (1)

Best advice I can give you is compression test it at Mazda. You're not familiar (yet) with the car and you'll get readings for each chamber (2 rotors x 3 chambers each).

The block (housings, etc.) is different on the TII, so it's not a bolt-on type of mod. That's not to say it can't be done. I would not turbo it without rebuilding.

DavidHolmesIII

Bought my 88 GXL in 2003. New motor and trans, perfect exept for a little rust on the bottoms due to 1 year of existance up north. Paid 3,200 and although a little steep for the local person to personmarket here in TN, but actually the exact Kelly Blue Book value. I drove the 7 as a daily driver for the next 4 years adding some 50,000 miles. Only big problems i had were the clutch, replaced twice, (do to my poor choice in an aftermarket clutch), and rear calipers. If taken care of properly it actually made a great daily driver, however its up to you to ensure that the car gets all the care that is required to maintain its reliability. I would do it again if I had the choice. Good luck buddy.

jining

lol.... thank you I realized that