Back From The Grave
 

Hello fellow 7 enthusiasts. The other day, something happened that I never thought would happen. Somebody gave me an Rx7, just for being enthusiastic about them. I was driving from Kelowna to my old hometown of Creston for the weekend and I spotted something in the corner if my eye, a tarped car with a very recognizable (to me/us) front end. I didn't think too much of it, but I was a bit curious. On my way home, I stopped in and checked it out, peeked under the tarp and there she was, just as I thought. I passed through a few more times through the year and it never moved, so I figured I would try to contact the owner, so I wrote a note and layed it at the door (this was a storage property, I could easily tell nobody lived there). A week later I got a call saying he would sell it to me. After a few failed attempts to meet up and look at it (and me slowly pissing my car fund away) he called me and said he would give it to me for free, and how handy that my dad was passing through the next day, so he brought the trailer, met up with the man and brought me a '79 Targa 7. It has been under that tarp since 1992, but is in surprisingly good condition for that length of time. So begins my journey to restoring an Rx7. I am still fairly new to rotarys and cars in general, but I think this is a good way to learn. I plan to rebuild the 12A with a streetport for now, and maybe do a swap later. At the moment, the engine is seized, battery is dead, and I don't even have a key for it. Jumped the battery and most things worked; headlights pop up, analog clock works, hatch release mattress a noise, but doesn't open. Not many plans other than that so far, but I got to work pulling the interior apart. I got stuck pulling the driver side dash apart, trying to get the panel with the choke and hatch release off, ran out of time for the day, but will hopefully get some time tomorrow. I will try to figure out how to get pictures on here from my phone, so you can see it. Tips and suggestions welcome (except for swapping in any pistons).

Cool story bro.

Look up 74 spec ports. You'll love it.

Can't find anything like that, could I get a link?

Sure. https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati.../#post11914693 You should read the whole thread but play close attention to my posts and the ones by j9fd3s and diabolical1.

http://imgur.com/b0s3kHj http://imgur.com/xqtyBBz http://imgur.com/92JTjy6 http://imgur.com/7q4TPcL http://imgur.com/Kvqj7GB http://imgur.com/r2ORIgX http://imgur.com/pasMzAW aired up the tires, so it's sitting level. http://imgur.com/c1crca0

Edit: Why am I only getting these boxes?

Because imgur sucks. Upload the pics directly to the forum.

very cool story

How do I do that? Sorry, apparently I suck at the internet.
It's not too long and boring? I was having second thoughts about posting the whole thing :s

WOW you can't beat a free car !!

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...810d013f9b.jpg


Finally home


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...f4cae33934.jpg


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...701813a15e.jpg


I think I like the newer tail lights more :/


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...1894768ce8.jpg


Radioless unfortunately


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...2c22bd5fbb.jpg


Quite rusty underneath. Tried to spin the engine by hand, but no go, safe to say she's carbon locked


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...74d3c807bc.jpg


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...10852a1ea6.jpg


Which band is the original one? 1 piece or 3 piece?


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...2952432309.jpg


Seats are nearly perfect


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...bfc24100c2.jpg


Can't get the choke/hatch release panel off, or the column piece over the signal, help?


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...5068591192.jpg


Can I install rear seats? It looks like I should be able to.


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...a55b6de01c.jpg


I have the rear pulled apart more than in this picture. My plan is to get the whole shell sand-blasted and painted, (noob question) is there any guide on what to do to prep it?

I'm wondering if the seats where recovered at some point. Most I've seen with the two tone red had plaid seats.

I'm not sure, but I can't imagine they would have been, cause it was only 13 years old when it was stored, and it's been under a tarp since.

nice project. looks to be in pretty good shape overall, too.

totally believable, too. i remember those Oakley stickers like it was yesterday. :nod:

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...05a1f94155.jpg


Finally started to get the engine ready to pull, I'm new to carburetors, so this should be fun.


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...a88cfd6776.jpg


Took the wheel off, I was very surprised to see it has lug studs, thought that was a Euro thing.


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...de1f222309.jpg


Got the fan and shroud off, I'm gonna wait until I move into my new place before I get too much further, it doesn't have a garage, but at least I will have a place to put my parts and rebuild my engine, so I will continue on the 15th or so of June. Stay tuned, and I would love some beginners advice to restoring a car/taking an engine out,.. tips, tricks, fun facts, anything helps, people. Thanks

OMG SOOOOOOOO Jealous of the interior. That's my favorite dark tanish color. I'm getting that color on my eventual SA build (if I ever finish the turbo car).

Super awesome project car! :icon_tup:

What brake caliper is that?

Uh, I'm not sure, what are my options?

'79 calipers are the wedge type.

And what are those?



So, I'm kinda having a thought of seeing if I can get this sa running, and if I can, then I'm gonna turbo swap my fc first, then restore this one. From what you can see, does it look doable? Using the decarbonizing method

Its worth a try. The three piece targa band that says Mazda on the side instead of Targa 7 was the original.

I would try to free the engine with MMO and Seafom and go from there. This car is restorable. I've restored worse. I think you'll be just fine. I won't be cheap however.

Bummer, I was hoping I had the original band :( but oh well. I was planning on using atf, as it is the most available, is there any reason I shouldn't use atf? I'm prepared to pay the price for a restoration, whether it takes a year or 5 years :p

ATF is a bad idea. Its bad for the soft seals.

need a swimming pool of wd40 to soak that in ;)

What? The whole car? Haha

well you could take out the interior first ... most of it looks good ;)