And so begins our journey, PK_12A's 1983 RX-7 rejuvination
 

Figured I should start my build thread for my 83' since I've began working on getting it back on the road. I'll start with what back story I know and a few pictures of the car the day I bought it. I had been in the market for either a crotch rocket or older sports car for a while after my 87' Celica got totaled, after my a attempt at purchasing an 86' FJ1200 fell through I started hunting for another bike when I noticed my neighbor had a first gen RX-7 in his drive way and that it was for sale. After thinking about it for a few days I decided to ask him about it, this is how it sat then and the day I took it home,

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...096/headon.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...le8096/RX7.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...e8096/RX72.jpg

He was unsure the entire history but said when he got ahold of it some of the car was in pieces (engine and drive line were still in the car though) and the owners were trying to part it out, took it home and reassembled it and drove it until the clutch began going out (3 months ago) parked it at a friends home and started it once a week until bringing it to his residence. The asking price, $500 and he would sign over the title. Car has 151k on the clock but,
the car is mechanically in great shape. After cleaning and a bit of tweaking the carb a bit (and trowing in some fuel) the car runs great and starts every time i want it to. I'm unsure the trim level that the car is and so is the previous owner (any one able to tell me).All in all the body is in ok shape it's been a desert car all it's life so it has no rust aside from a bit of surface rust the interior however is another story, this is before I cleaned it,
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14.../RX7inside.jpg

It was pretty dirty and needs some work (dash, seats, rear hatch carpet some and, trim pieces) but for the most part is workable.

After a bit of inspection I found this under the hood,
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...96/sticker.jpg
Again not real sure of what this means really (not able to find any shop info).

More to come real soon with more progress.

nice car... looks like a GS, no rear wiper, but it has a sunroof and power mirrors

Nice find man! Good luck with it. Can't wait to see some progress being made on the interior.

very nice!! keep us posted with pics of your progress. looks like it has a grey 84-85 GSL driver's seat in the car.

Thanks for all the compliments guys I appreciate it, I made some progress today before we got some really mean electrical storms so no pics yet but I will get them first thing tomorrow, the interior and windows are completely clean as of today with the help of purple power windex and A LOT of elbow grease. Apparently the interior began life as black and gray, the passenger seat seems to be the original and the drivers side swapped in at some point but, it has manual windows, which for me is excellent because I HATE electric windows (my 94 GMC 4x4 has them and I wish it didn't), electric mirrors (I like this though very handy), it also has cruise so, I'm leaning toward what j9fd3s said, that it is a GS, what would have came with that trim level if I may inquire? The dash is a totally lost cause as it is 100% baked and cracked as is the a pillar trim and center vents (literally fell apart when I tried to clean them) the trim right under the rear windshield/hatch is the same as the dash, baked so interior wise it needs a lot of work but, is doable over time and at this point for that I'm gunna hunt my local bone yard and see what I can come across. I also need to replace the broken headlight/turn signal switch, black dragon wants $499 for one for an 83 /w cruise but only $269 for one for and 84' whats the difference IF any? The plan For the interior is to go custom black with white accents and high back buckets in a sort of 80's style, with a modern sound system. Pics coming tomorrow of the current state of the interior.
I'm thinking of going with a Zoom Performance Products MU Series Clutch kit (http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ZZZ-MU476041/) anyone have any experience with this company? I also discovered that the right rear wheel has a wheel lock on it and, no key does anyone know how to get these off ? Mechanically the car is 100% stock (even the coils) other than new plugs and wires and a new exhaust system, no cat or resonator so it is pretty damn loud. Other than the clutch ALL fluids will be changed out ASAP and a new rad cap will be installed just as a precaution. MORE PICS COMING VERY SOON ! ! :nod:

As promised

driver door
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00278.jpg

passenger door
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00288.jpg

dash
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00280.jpg

seats
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00279.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00287.jpg

rear cargo area
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00281.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00289.jpg

front
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00282.jpg

gauges
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00283.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00285.jpg

my still dirty engine bay which is the next item on the list for a good cleaning
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00286.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00290.jpg

and a few more,

body tags maybe someone can help give me info from them
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00293.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00292.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00291.jpg

and the lock with no key, does anyone have a way to get these off with out the key?
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00294.jpg

any way that's all for now MORE AS I DO MORE ! ! !

Luk clutch is ordered, Summit was going to take to long to get the one I wanted, plus Luk is well known as a good oem replacment in the muscle car scene, found out it needs a new combination switch as the head light switch part is 100% shot and it looks like I may need to source a new radiator if a new cap don't fix the issue which I am hoping it does. Should have the 7 on the road in a few weeks time and parts willing.

This lovely piece of hardware came just before I left for work,
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00299.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00300.jpg
Gonna start hopefully Saturday after getting my truck running (if the parts for IT get here).

The VIN plate says the original paint code was K8 - Tornado Silver, which is a dark metallic silver-grey (same color as my SA)

I know it's been repainted at least once in it's life and it's nice to know I was in the ball park with the color(s) I wanted to paint the car. Thanks DD much appreciated.

Is the light switch broken? or just not working? If it is still in one piece, but failing to work correctly, then check the archives for a thread titled "the end to your headlight headaches".

Nice car, good luck with the restoration. :)







.

I've heard of using those gator grip sockets for removing wheel lugs that you dont have the key for

It's still there but only rotates around e.g. won't operate the lights, and is unfortunately stuck with the parking lights on but I will take a look for that thread and thank you for the help and compliments.

I had read that some where as well may end up doing that if I don't go down to the tire shop and see if they will do it. . .

my interior was identical to yours when i got it and trashed. no door panels and cracked dash. i got the dash cover and painted it, the upolstery(spelling) shop by my house redid the door panels and i did alot of cleaning. painted all the rest of the faded interior pieces back black with interior paint and it looks like new. i just have seat covers for now but about to add some new buckets that will look somewhat like those covers. my car also was that dark silver color before someone painted it black....

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...r/interior.jpg

After seeing what alot of folks here started with, I am relived as it COULD be way worse. I like what you've done ricerockettuner I'm looking to do something similar but in black and white (console center and seat middle sections) but that's not for a while. Priority one is get it on the road again and get the lighting working properly, then interior/stereo, powertrain and suspension mods/upgrades, and paint. I want to tap this stock 12a for as much as I can with out going forced induction, I love n/a sports cars and seeing how much I can do all motor.

My wife took our supercharged Toyota minivan to the tire shop a couple of days ago to have new tires installed. Turned out that we had wheel locks on, but weren't aware of it and didn't get the key from the previous owner. I don't know how the shop did it, but they got them off without too much trouble and with no extra charge. Probably an option to consider....

Other than a new combination switch, registration, and insurance, tires are next on my immediate needs list, they will be ok for the time being till I get the cash to grab a new set but are DEFINITELY needing replacement, so that's good to know and thank you for the info Kentetsu. Thus far every one here has either been a great help or provided enthusiasm boosting encouragement so, thank you.

Took an hour yesterday before the foul weather hit and got a new combination switch from the salvage (wild bill's, great bunch) and got it installed so now my head lights work correctly, unfortunately, just as I got started no the tear down for the clutch a massive rainstorm hit ruining my plan for the weekend (and possibly the rest of the week). Damn my not having a garage (or at least a car port). . . .

Ok so mama nature gave me a break, no rain today so I got most of the way through the tear down for the clutch (took about an hour and a half after work) before my significant other decided working after dark was not feasible so finish tomorrow and get that sucker installed and get this vehicle ready to get back on the road. Progress picks soon to come.

will look forward to the pics!!

here is a way to remove the locks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJUUyjJqk5A

As promised my progress from the last 2 evenings of work and thanks cody for the vid

My parts pile
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00304.jpg

under the car
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00305.jpg

Personally I have NEVER seen a clutch this jacked up, the entire center is cracked almost completely busted out, it's no wonder it wouldn't engage at all
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00307.jpg

Please note the damage luckily the fly wheel was in good shape
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00308.jpg

bad enough a spring came out
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00309.jpg

Tomorrow I get going on reassembly, so far the hardest part was getting the slave cylinder out more to come soon. . .

dang i wish i had pics of my clutch. idk how it didnt hurt the flywheel but i slung all of the material off of the clutch and it completely locked up. and i drove it home starting in 1st gear and shifting without the clutch lol... flywheel was still fine and is in the car now with my custom stage 2 clutch from golden triangle clutch by my house...

Mine was in great shape too (the fly wheel) surprisingly, hopefully I can get it all put back together tonight and road ready. I have yet to drive this car more than 100yds and I am absolutely dieing too take it for a spin even just down the block.

New clutch is in but having issues with getting the tranny re installed it seems that the input shaft will not go into the pilot bearing, any tips or tricks to get it back in?

Hopefully your pilot bearing isn't messed up, mine was pretty bad to the point I had to fight with it to get my trans out.

Tranny came right out, pilot bearing was in good shape, back in is where my issues are.

Trans is back in and the drive train is reassembled but, the clutch is not engaging completely, you can't shift into gear so my question is is this a bad master/slave cylinder or is it just not bled completely?

ROCK AND ROLL ! ! ! The 7 is on the road and ready to go and aside from an exhaust leak it runs beautifully quickest car i have ever owned. Next on the to do list, oil change, diff oil, FULL tune up. This car is sweet :D.

Took the 7 out for a drive today before work some comedy ensued

my boss who is well over 6ft sitting in the drivers seat, I had to take off the sun roof,
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...96/cid_503.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...96/cid_502.jpg
He can fit but the seat has to be leaned WAY back and pushed all the way to the bin.

Now for a question the car will start and idle fine even drive ok but, tends to die after a 4-6k pull if you have to pull up to a stop after (some times it will do this just after a 2-3k cruise down the streeet) it also tends to back fire some, I'm thinking carb needs some cleaner run through a tank of gas and a good drive taken or the carb taken off and cleaned, as well as a full tune up, am I correct or off base?:scratch:

Carb cleaner (can is a buck 50 figured what they hey) a seems to have done it, seems to have been a stuck secondary linkage pouring in to much fuel. Next item TUNE UP.

Tune up next pay day, had to put it off due to loosing my clutch pedal after 5 min of driving and having to replace all of the clutch hydraulic parts and a new flex line from mazdatrix (braided steel line) and it has fixed the problem. next item TUNE UP . . . I hope. . .

Congrats! Nice to have another 7 saved and back on the road! Nicely done!

I certainly hope I don't look that silly in my FB :lol:....and I'm 6'6-7" but at a slightly thinner 290lbs.

I've been meaning to drive like that one day on the highway with a pair of pilots goggles, a leather cap and a long white scarf...

Took the 7 to the car wash and sprayed the engine bay(helped a little still needs a scrub and degrease) and body down and scrubbed the body down which helped A LOT. Picks soon as well as gauges and radiator repair or replacement.

Well my neighbor I bought it from saved it from the scrap yard I saved it from oblivion and I appreciate the encouraging sentiments keeps me going as for now this is a low buck build with reliability taking priority with handling and performance being next (a working radio is in there to) with cosmetics being WAY down the pipe.

That was a funny day that we all still joke about (boss man included).

As for the 7, She got an oil change last Friday (Castrol 25/50 with a K&N filter) and a bath today finally including under the hood, looks a bit better than before engine will need a scrub and soaking in Purple Power to get off all the dirt, yes DIRT, there is very little grease, all in all it's coming along nicely. More to come including cap, rotor, wires, plugs, and, coils repaired rad, temp fix till enough is in the bank for a NEW rad and silicon hoses, aux gauges (including AFR, and EGT) bushings and TIRES( anyone know of any 13" performance tires).

Big project / photo update as well as a halloween special
updates include
Tires
Gauges (with install how to)
new pictures of the inside
and maybe more.

all coming in the morning. . . .

And the update,

Tires, not top of the line but better than the hagared ones it came with,
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00355.jpg

The new gauges installed and ready to go work perfect aswell
the install was strait forward and simple they are Sunpro Style Line
1.5" mechanicals. best part now my temp works :).
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00351.jpg

picked up a better steering column cover at the pick and pull
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00354.jpg

and new shifter boot and some pedal pads
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00352.jpg
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00353.jpg

and my Halloween special suprise. . . . .




The MAZDA JACK-O-LANTERN
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...6/IMG00356.jpg

Enjoy the update.

Next Items on the block are Miata short shifter (my lever came apart), tune up (plugs, wires, cap rotor, and coils), rad and hoses, and new coolant, TIME TO WINTERIZE THE VEHICLES ! ! !

After a long hiatus and snow I'm back at work on the 7, fuel pump is about done and the steering idler arm, until a quick crank revealed a massive oil leak on the left side of the motor (pics in the morning). This is a posibly catostrophic set back however before being parked the car ran fine with NO LEAK and carried great oil pressure so I'm very confused. Best case seems to be the beehive blew a seal worst is I need a new engine for now I hope it's the first.

P.S.
Mech gauge hook up/install soon

Glad to see your back at it. I think you could've done a better job with the gauge install. I used a dremel and cut plexiglass with 3m tape. When I sold the car I removed it and went back to stock. Are sunpro gauges any good?

The install is only a stop gap till I get all the major work finished and I buy a better center section for the dash and they seem to be fairly accurate for mechanical and $30. Took a look for the oil leak seems it may be comming from the be hive and if it is gives me an excuse to swap to a fmoc from the bee hive if it's not from there well looks like it's time to talk my way into a tII swap or carbed 13b set up.

After searching and weighing the options and price points I think I may have a decent cost effective solution to my bee hive leak problem, through a search on summit racing I found this: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/FLX-3951/ it seems to meet the criteria in size a capacity as well as this one: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/FLX-3953/ the later is a bit bigger and rated as a high performance cooler with the former being a standard. Both use a sandwich adapter and come as a kit so my question is are either acceptable for use with a rotary and can I use the sandwich adapter?

Most reading on this forum tells me that you will be encouraged to keep a stock FMOC on there as the mazda ones are far superior than any aftermarket counterpart. I have no experience with it however. Good luck. It looks great so far.

External oil system has been broken down ALL orings under the bee-hive were trashed and made the final decision to go front mount. found a parts car with all of it in good shape not leaking. Replacing the radiator and coolant lines while it's down my hope is to have it going before July so I can enjoy it through summer and fall.

I wish I had gotten a pic of the clutch that came out of my 83. A good 7"-8" section of material was gone. No trace of it at all. Its amazing it didn't slip at all. I did quite a few burnouts the day I got her running and there was no vibrations. Sure surprised the hell out of me. lol. I'm glad the center section wasn't falling apart.

I didn't get any pictures of the disc either. But you weren't kidding. Big chunk missing. :D

Mine had been beat on apparently, the kids who had it tried to drive it without the clutch working and did the damage in the pic, before that all that it may have needed was new clutch hydraulics and a tune up.

Check out the writeup that trochoid did on the second series FMOC

https://www.rx7club.com/1st-gen-archive-71/cooling-oil-how-install-fc-oil-cooler-1st-gen-write-up-pics-478521/

Recently got the time and money to start the fmoc conversion all that's left to get is an oilfilter pedestal and rear banjo bolt all other parts ordered from mazdatrix(orings and washers) and a member here (lines and 2nd gen cooler with "brackets", in the mean time I did a little in interior work,

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...10523-1400.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...10523-1401.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...10523-1401.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y14...10523-1401.jpg

My final goal is to go black and inside also did the rear interior plastics but no pics i hope to do something similar with the seats when I can get better ones and new covers from racingbeat. I hope to have it running soon.