I am starting to do some work on restoring my 85 SE. Here are a few pictures of the car as it sits now.
I'm going to start by replacing the drive shaft, then exhaust. It's got a terrible leak, and I'm no longer required to run a catalytic converter. Racing beat exhaust is on the way!
Trying to read up on things I can do to make more power. I know the exhaust will make a huge difference. And fixing a fuel delivery problem I've got that's choking the car. Other than suspension, I'm not sure what I will do next. Thoughts or suggestions?

 

I'm going to also replace the flywheel when I do the clutch work. Can anyone comment on the drivability differences between these two models?
RX-7 Flywheel - Lightweight Steel for 83-92 RX-7 Non-Turbo - Racing Beat - the lightweight steel version
and
RX-7 Flywheel - Aluminum for 83-92 RX-7 Non-Turbo - Racing Beat the aluminum version

This car will not be a daily driver, and will be driven exclusively by myself...no real need for wife compatibility here.

 

Can anyone tell me what kind of carb this is? It was on my parts car...a 12a.

 

that's a very nice tender blue SE!! would love to see more pics!!!

the carb appears to be a 79-80 RX-7 carb.

 

Thank you for the info on the carb. I don't think I"m going to need it unless I pick up another GSL.

I will take some more pics and post my progress so far. I'm really excited to finally get started on this project. I've been wanting to do this build for a very long time...

 

Thank you for the compliment on the car too. I'm not sure what the original color is, but the overcoat appears to be a little darker than the original. I've been catching up on your restoration, a really nice car! It's a similar color right?

 

The color looks right. Tender Blue metallic as mazdaverx713b pointed out. I have the same color project car right now so I look forward to your progress.

 

you may just have an respray that was close to the original color. tender blue was available in 84 and 85 and was an amazing color.

my 85 is ocean blue metallic, color code L6. its more of a sea green color rather than a blue. i like it. its one of those odd colors that you don't see often. i've been kinda looking for a tender blue GSL-SE to add to my stable. seeing your car makes me want to add one sooner rather than later.. maybe its time to sell a Corvette...

 

with a GSL-SE i like the steel one, the aluminum is light enough that the idle control system overcompensates. this could probably be fixed with some kind of restrictor/orifice in the idle control vacuum line.

 

Yes, this looks very similar to my car, except your paint is in much better condition. Nice car!

 

ok, I'm getting ready to place an order for the flywheel and coils, and a few other suspension parts. I think I'm going to go with the steel one. Anything else I need to do while I'm in there replacing the flywheel? I think I'm going to hold off on a clutch now as this one doesn't have many miles on it I don't think. Maybe 15K.
I really don't know my way around suspension and what all the parts are called so I'm trying to learn what parts I"m likely to need. I figure starting with new springs to go with my newish shocks are a good start though as the car is sagging on the drivers side pretty bad.

 

As an update, I have the new exhaust on now. I put the Racing Beat 6 port street exhaust system on. I love it. Sounds good, and added power for sure. No exhaust leaking into the cabin is a big plus too.
Going to try a rear hatch strut that I sourced from a pull a part place, but I might need to buy one. Anyone have advice on a good aftermarket strut set for the back glass. I suspect this one will not be strong enough to hold the glass up...and the one with the defrost and wiper power looks pretty specific as far as replacements go.

I'm looking at springs from Racing Beat. These specifically. Spring Set for 79-85 RX-7 - Racing Beat
I have these struts on the car now. They probably have 5K miles on them. Tokico. Tokico HP Strut Cartridge for RX-7 Front 81-85 - Racing Beat

I've replaced the window rubber and glass seals on the outside of the doors.

I need a new carpet set. Product reviews on aftermarket sets welcome. I assuming I can't get the factory set anymore but am going to check.

I understand that pulling the injectors and having them sent off to get balanced is something done. Is this worth doing at this juncture, considering I'm not planning on pulling the engine anytime soon?

I need to order tires. I read that the P6 205/60VR-14's is the stock tire that came on my car. With the coil sagging on the front left, the tire has caught in the fender a couple of times on hard cornering and has damaged the tire. I think getting coils on the car will alleviate the issue, but even still I'm thinking I need to go a size down on the tire. Thoughts on this? And...it seems that Tirerack.com does not carry this tire anymore. P6 205/60VR-14's. hmmm, what to do.

 

I have 195/60 on my factory wheels and they rubbed before and after I lowered the front. They rub on the inner fender, just mkes some noise, doesn't seem to hurt the tires.

 

Hi, I am very curious about your rebuild. Can you post more pics of what you are doing?

 

Oh, and Thanks!!!!

Dave

 

the P6 was a good tire, but it hasn't been available for 20 years. err well it superseded into the P6000 and i'm not sure what happened after that

 

I was only looking at that size because of my fender rubbing issues, and thinking that it might be better to put the stock sized tire on the car for performance?

 

Here are a few more pictures of the car showing my progress.

I've started cleaning the interior. You can see the exhaust is installed on the car now. I've also begun replacing interior parts that I have that are worn, as well as making a list of parts I need to acquire. The carpet in the rear is gone, and the carpet in the cabin is in moderate condition. The glove box lid needs re-attaching to the face. Minor issues.

Still researching coils and tires. Also putting together an order for flywheel and a few other items.

Going to see what parts my local dealer can get this week.

The original owners manual came with the car! Kind of neat.

 

more pics. Do you have to link them to an external site to have them show larger?

 

I'm planning on having the car painted in the next few weeks. Any recommendations on parts I need to get prior to painting that won't fit back easily? Like clips for windshield parts or such?

 

Correct Sir !



The RB exhaust is an excellent choice as well. Also the lightweight flywheel makes it feel alot peppier. Some MSD blaster coils couldnt hurt.

 

Yep, I use Tinypic.com its quick ad easy

 

yep, i'd run the stock size, 205/60/14, not sure what kind of tires are out there in that size though

 

Tirerack.com carries basically nothing in this size.

I did find these on Google. Any comments here? http://www.onlinetires.com/products/...95+89+bsw.html

 

roger that! thx