Restoring my 1983 GS
 

I was given an opportunity to re-acquire a 1983 RX-7 GS that I owned from 1985-1990. It has been under a tree in N California for 20 years and needs a lot of work. I sold it to my Squadron Commander in 1990 (I'm a retired USAF Pilot), I saw him at a reunion luncheon about a month ago and he straight out gave it back to me. October 8th I picked it up and it is currently in my garage. I'm cleaning it up and trying to get an idea of where I'm at on the resto.
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Update:

Got the car home I've been cleaning and repairing it.


The Good:

The Car is amazingly rust free.....very minor surface rust but only in a few areas and no corrosion that I can find on the body, however, the sunroof is very corroded from the inside, probably a total loss. Most electronics work. The aftermarket stereo is shot, that's about all I can find so far. Any ideas on the sunroof panel?


The Bad:

Lots of dirt/mud and some surface rust underneath, I'll clean and spray paint. Differential is leaking out of the pax side and at the drive shaft. Wheels need reconditioning one wheel is clearly bent. Passengers side front quarter panel has a pretty big dent and needs body work. Drivers Rear Tail Light has a hole and moss actually grew in there not sure I can get it out, but it works. Both doors need all weather stripping, and regulators


The Ugly:

The engine was seized an overnight of WD-40 down the intakes freed it up. Now it spins with the starter and builds oil pressure. Clutch is still seized, any advice?

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_n...h2xrrdKKwHJCXchttps://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Wx...AL_eEoDtBeMwHBhttps://lh6.googleusercontent.com/on...7vd58Kf69opvxJhttps://lh4.googleusercontent.com/yx...2dhNSEW4ZWDg5Ehttps://lh3.googleusercontent.com/h6...CmuOJdqZ9LR3cghttps://lh3.googleusercontent.com/wd...fNtd6vlPoOPGQw

Welcome to the Forums, cool story. The engine may be ok, was it healthy before it was parked? Why was it left in the first place, the clutch? I would drain the tank, or seriously consider dropping it to see what the inside looks like and to clean it all out good. Replace the filter and go through the fuel system before running it too much. The major areas that probably need attending are the fuel system, brake system and you mention the clutch being seized.

You can place an ad for a sunroof or check eBay. Inquire for parts from vehicles being parted out. You can also find X rims that have been re finished. Posting this thread is a good way to gain exposure and get advice and help. Looks like it's cleaning up very nice. Gotta love how well cars can survive in California. Leaving this out in the Midwest would mean a whole different story. Congrauts on getting your old girl back!

Thank You for your reply and the advice, from what I've been told it just wouldn't start one day (in 1996-97). I found the starter solenoid wire disconnected on day 1. I did drop the tank and had it professionally reconditioned. I put a new fuel pump on it that I bought from Atkins Rotary (for 79-82, because the 83-85 isn't available took some modification). It is very loud and flooded my secondaries, reading around I think it may be pushing too many PSI into the Carb, however I haven't rebuilt the carb, and I'm hoping to avoid that but after not running for 20+ years I'll probably have to. Is there a better and quieter aftermarket pump I should be considering? I think I'll try to start it on the pump I've got just to see if the engine will run.

Great story sir, I'm glad the car found you again! I would recommend pulling apart the carb, and going through it. After 20 years, it most definitely needs it. I would also recommend replace all the hydraulics for the brake and clutch system, but lets get her running first! Are you getting any spark? I'm guessing she's not getting any fire, and flooding out as a result, and I bet the igniters might have given up as well. Replacement fuel pumps from the auto parts stores fit any series 1st gen, so you should be fine with the the one you have, it probably just mounts a little differently, but I have a known good one laying around I'll send to you for just the price of shipping. If you're wanting to quiet yours down a bit though, you can buy an isolator, or fabricate one from an old radiator hose. I also have a moon roof panel I'll be willing to ship out as well. Keep us updated on your progress though!

Thank you for your advice, I actually got it to start today! It didn't idle very well, probably the Carb like you suggested. Do you have a Mazda 83 fuel pump or an aftermarket? I'm keying on the PSI output because my car flooded, they are saying on the forum that 2.5PSI is the sweet spot for the Nikki. Unfortunately in CA I'm still gonna have to Smog it or I'd go full on aftermarket with a better intake. I am interested in the roof panel, is there any way you could shoot me a picture? My roof panel is rusted from the inside and the panels I've seen so far on ebay seem to have the same problem. I'm gonna put a "1st Start" video up as soon as I get it edited for time and content.

Yessir, I'll snap a few pictures when I get home. The fuel pump is an OEM off my 85 that I recently put a 2nd gen efi engine and fuel system in. The pump was good condition, and worked fine when pulled off. Congratulations on getting her running! I'd get a little $5 spark tester, and test off of the distributor.

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There's an ad on the forums right now, for a 84 W / grey interior. It's in CA and is being offered as "free" Just have to go pick it up.

https://www.rx7club.com/1st-generati...erior-1130981/

Congrats on getting it running. That's a huge step now out of the way.

While you very well may be staring at a rebuild, I would say start simple. Clean it up as best you can, then get a good regulator - I used a Holley 1-4 psi, but there are others out there just as good, maybe even better (just don't get one of those Purolator dial-type regulators :() - and try to get the correct pressure to the carb. Tune as best you can and when the car is actually driving you can try the fine tuning.

Thank You So Much!
 

[QUOTE=Banzai;12309880]There's an ad on the forums right now, for a 84 W / grey interior. It's in CA and is being offered as "free" Just have to go pick it up.

Thank You Banzai! I went to the car today it was only 25 miles from my home and got an unbelievable amount of stuff I needed. The owner, Chuck was so nice I really appreciate him helping me out, and I really appreciate you giving me a heads up and helping with my resto.

Thanks Zandorr! I was able to get what I needed today from a 84 being parted out locally. I appreciate the kind offer, as I go forward I'm sure there will be something else I'll need help finding.

You're welcome, glad it worked out. You didn't take the whole car? It's nice to have spares even if the part you have now is good. Available 1st gen parts have been on a noticeable decline the last 5-10 years. Finds like this one, are rare.

Don't have the room and really wish I did (but gotta keep the wife happy!), and the picture he had posted was not as the car was when I showed up, he had pulled a lot of stuff off and was putting it in storage. However, I got 2 decent rims, 2 complete doors, 2 excellent seats, sunroof, shocks, springs, weather stripping, everything for the brakes attached to the firewall, fuel pump and housing, lots of interior trim, badging, every relay and solenoid I could pull and a ton of fasteners. If I had another day with it I'd pulled the entire interior and updated mine.He offered the engine but it was an automatic with 170k, if I have to go that far I'll probably just rebuild mine, he had an FI 13B, but it wasn't for sale and CA DMV is a pain with engine upgrades.

I should have bought the engine when I had the chance. I called him this morning and he said he decided to keep it! A total newby mistake, I didn't think an Automatic Transmission engine would work in my car, so I didn't make an offer. Well now I know. Thanks for the coaching.

The automatics are programed to shift pretty low in the rev range, the engines normally don't see near the stress or abuse of a manual tranny car where dumping the clutch revving past the buzzer can be fun and addictive. Both transmissions bolt up to the same engine. It takes different flywheels and some other innerchangable parts, but you already have all that with your car. Extra hardware is good too. Never know when you might strip or break or bolt. I'm sure your wife has a couple pair of shoes you don't know about.....

At least it sounds like you still scored. Nice interior trim and parts are almost unobtainium. There isn't much aftermarket OEM style support for these parts and we are left to pick over the bones of cars like this looking for the best "used" parts available. You used to see cars being parted pretty regularly. Now, not so much.

Hey Guys, I'm Looking for a good set of tail lights and front Windshield trim anyone have some they'd like to part with for a reasonable price?

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As of the end of 2018. A long way to go, It is driveable, got some reconditioned rims, new tires and a 1984 interior to replace the molded seats and door panels. Engine works good but the secondaries won't open. Also need to replace bearings in the rear diff, its making a lot of noise right now.

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For posterity the original speedo, quit at 231k, not sure how many miles after that on the car. I need a new gauge cluster.

Hey, my odometer is stopped at 231k, too! :) I have a broken speedometer cable.

My plan is to replace it with a Autometer gauge with magnetic pickup. I want to re-do my stock gauges with fancier ones instead of repairing broken ones and having redundant gauges because I can't trust the stock ones :)

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Finished the engine bay today, I found a really nice air cleaner cover at a Pic n Pull in the SF Bay area.
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Here is the engine bay when I started

Well I tried to SMOG the car today....failed miserably. There is a lot of rattling in the area of the CAT that's new, I'm thinking it disintegrated inside. On the bright side the car is running OKish, a little rough at idle, but I'm thinking that may be connected to the possible CAT failure, but not sure.

Update: The car is Smogged, needed an anti-shutter valve on the carb and 2 new California compliant Cats.....all in all it was not cheap, but the car did really good on the Smog test.
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Wow! Almost new-car numbers!

Well after the car passed smog, and I knew I was not looking at a complete engine overhaul, I decided to take it to the paint shop.

All the trim is coming off for re-conditioning, there are some minor dents to repair and going to paint it the factory color.
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Gonna paint it the factory color
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A little battle damage, but getting fixed up.