PART 1/4
Howdy again fellas! This will be a documentation on my progress and discoveries of my newly acquired FC RX7 imported from Japan. So about the car, I do not want to boast about it being an infini model since it appears to lack the bucket seats usually found with the model as well as no Infini badge on the back. I'll post pics to show what I mean. However, everything else about this car screams Infini. I'll let y'all be the judge!
FEATURES
Disclaimer: I'm no professional, so some of these features already come with original s5 models.
-Aluminum hood (I tossed a neodymium magnet I had laying around and it slid right off. Noticeably lighter when lifting it.)



-Factory Shade Green (Code GU)



-Factory strut bar



-Passenger foot bar





-Driver knee cushions




-Factory BBS 16" mesh wheels w/ Infini center caps




-Pirelli tires



-Front lip and fog lights

 

PART 2/4
-Free flowing exhaust system by Mazda Speed



-Momo racing steering wheel



-Copper tinted windows



-Infini badge (Not present)



-Factory bucket seats (Not present)
If I'm missing anything let me know!
Flaws
With age comes worn out parts, and she has lots of it.
To start, the paint on the car is obviously past its prime. Thankfully it doesn't look like it's gone down to bare metal. It also looks to me like someone tried to paint over it...




Bushings are literally slipping out in some places... Makes me not want to drive it till who knows when I'm able to get to replacing them.





The hatch window is sadly flaking off. Is that the tint by chance? I may have to remove it and apply a new one - which likely won't look the same.

 

PART 3/4
Seats are torn.



Suspension components have been rusting badly - again, I'm not entirely sure if this is detrimental and requires a new suspension, or just a cleanup.




Driver side window switch is, uhh... Nonfunctional



Dashboard and console are torn or cracked.






Looks like mold inside the neck of my wiper fluid reservoir? Yikes.



She also doesn't brake as well as I would hope. Maybe flushing the brake system and getting some of the rust off the rotors could help. Cold starts are a struggle as well.
And these are all problems I can easily spot. I still have to check for potential engine problems like compression, spark plugs, fuel filter, to name a few.
What's Been Done
Since I got a hold of the car, I changed some things about the car.
-I replaced some cracked interior pieces, nothing big.
-I replaced the weather strips for the windows and rear hatch. Had to break off the rubber since it refused to bend but we got the job done.
-The shifter had a lot of play. We bought a short shifter kit from Mazdatrix as well as the bushings for it. Come to find out, the shifter did not have a bottom bushing at all - either it wore down to nothing, or wasn't installed at all. Now it's a lot more precise and easy to change gears in. Also brought it it up some, really like how it looks now.
-New shifter boot too



-With how hot my state gets, we threw out the plastic radiator for a Koyorad single-pass radiator. With how much thicker it was, we had to modify the intake a bit. New hoses and factory thermostat while we were at it.

 

PART 4/4
What's this ominous green switch do? Not like it matters, it's stuck in that position and won't budge.



Plans
As I've said before, I don't want to turn this car into a hardcore track-only race car. I believe this car deserves some upgrades and a refresh overall to replace those old ones, but I want to keep it simple. Small but effective mods that improve performance without sacrificing comfort and convenience. Like new shocks and springs, for example. Or an improved braking system. It would be my dream to take this restoration to the extreme (strip the car down to its frame for repaint, rust-proof elsewhere, brand new oem parts, sand-blast and repaint components that are reusable or with little wear, etc.), but that's financial suicide for me. For now, baby steps. Basic maintenance, basic refresh. Maybe find someone who can fix those seats.
-Buy proper tools to start
-Strip and repaint rear subframe components
-Replace bushings front and rear
-Replace other rubber components for new ones
-Brake conversion kit front and rear(?)
-DTSS delete(?)
-New exhaust(?)
-Air pump delete(?)
-ECU flash(?)
I'll post with updates whenever I've got time and money. I'm still gauging what my next step forward will be, so don't expect consistent updates. Thanks for you time!

 

Awesome start to things!
The thing i have to keep reminding myself, these cars are 35+ years old now. Every bit of the car is going to feel/show that age, so as long as you temper your expectations on what is possible it will be a fun journey.

One thing to note about that missing shift bushing. Those have a tendency to degrade/break and fall into the transmission. There's the small chance it might do damage, so do yourself a favor and change out the fluid to see if any chunks of it drop out.

 

I think you're dealing with the genuine article as well. Nice find! Good luck with the restoration and thank you for posting here on RX7CLUB.

 

Good deal! Thanks guys. I'll add a siphon and gear oil to the list. I've replaced it when adding the bushing but the siphon at the shop wasn't doing a good job and I did not find any bits of the old bushing because of it. Thanks for that

 

Hey, any updates to your project?