I have an '84 RX-7 GSL I've owned since '86, but is no longer a runner. In fact, it's been stored on my driveway for a couple of years now. On the good side, as you might be able to see from the picture, the bodywork is in excellent shape. No rust, no major dents, no cracks in the glass, interior is in good shape, etc. The car could use a repaint, but that could wait for a while longer.

On the bad side, the engine blew out the front housing gasket, and the coolant and oil rapidly leak out. So I figure that at a minimum I'll need to get a rebuilt engine. On top of this, the entire exhaust system is shot, and will need replacement. Also needing repair and/or replacement: engine hoses, brakes, tires, clutch, and battery. I don't have the time or access to a garage to do any of the work myself, and since I live in Ottawa, I expect I'd have to take the car to Toronto or Montreal to have a specialist work on it. BTW, the car's mileage is 205,000 km.

Now, here's a question for all you other RX-7 owners out there: if this was YOUR car, would you:
a) have the car reconditioned, and put it back on the road?
b) sell it as a project car or parts car for whatever you could get?
c) store it for ten years as a post-retirement project car?
or
d) send it to the junkyard?

 

fixer up or sell it to someone who will, definitely do not junk it.

 

Fixing it will cost you over 5-10k.

For under 5k you can buy a nice FB. Just sell it to someone for parts.

 

You should likely just give it to me. I'll take it off your hands lol.
PK

 

why arent they ever in alberta

 

I choose (a), come on, don't junk it!!

 

That's a really clean looking FB, so no way you should junk it - mechanical problems can all be fixed, but a straight, rust-free body is hard to come by, and body rot can be very expensive, or virtually impossible to repair. If you don't keep the car yourself, sell it to a fellow 7 enthusiast - someone out there will have a rust-rotted/bent car or collection of parts, and they'll be only too happy to spend hours transplanting it's guts into a healthy body.

If you have neither space or inclination to fix the car up yourself, you are looking at a lot more money than finding a comparable running car would be worth, as 2Fierce points out. However, there's no reason to ship the car away for most of the work, as apart from the engine, an RX-7 is pretty much like any other car to do suspension work, exhaust, brakes, and so on. If you can't find someone in Ottawa to do the engine rebuild, it's not hard nor terribly expensive to ship out your engine for a rebuild somewhere else.

As far as keeping it 10 years for a retirement project, the question is will you be any better able to do or afford the work at that point? And if the car is stored outside, even a good car cover will not completely keep the effects of weather and time at bay, so more work is likely to be needed after another 10 years of sitting.

 

If it was my car, I'd make it my project car and just start working on it. That's how my first one got on the road, it needed almost everything (though I got lucky with the engine).

She's an incredibly clean looking car. A good body is the hardest part to find. As far as I'm concerned, everything else is secondary and easy to deal with.

I live in Aylmer, and did mine over the course of 4 years in my drive way as time and money permitted. It *is* possible, and if you need any help with it I'd love to lend a hand. I enjoy working on these cars (I actually own two right now and am considering picking up a shell for a third, they're addictive!) and would hate to see that one go to waste.

Feel free to PM me if you decide you need a hand. What they say is definitely true though, it'll probably be about $5k when you've got it running, but the thing is to start small. Do a little bit here and there and before you know it, you'll have a running car and you won't have noticed the $5k because it came off in $100 chunks here and there.

Jon

Edit: If you want to check out my second 7, I documented the insanely "budget" build I've been doing on it. My main car has been the subject of much more care, attention, time, effort, and money, but this second one was just a fun build without spending much. I hope to have it running this spring.

https://www.rx7club.com/build-threads-293/project-keiko-helping-friend-770163/

 

I'd love to have that car seeing how I have all the parts in my garage to get it running right now, but alas they are never in Alberta. If it helps I have enough cars to start a junkyard so you could just send it my way.

 

The shell looks great. I would go with "A"

 

"why arent they ever in alberta :wallbash"

I thought most folks in the West had pickup trucks instead of small sports cars. My son lives in Regina, and has a gigantic Dodge Ram QuadCab Magnum V8 extended box truck. I think he needs a big vehicle to avoid disappearing into one of those notorious Saskatchewan potholes...

 

Thanks for the suggestions, folks. I'm starting to look around for an RX-8 or MX-5 to replace the '84 RX-7. If I can find something decent at an affordable price, then it's likely I'll sell the RX-7. I was pleasantly surprised how many people contacted me, and expressed an interest in buying the car. I was concerned no one in the area would want the RX-7 in its current non-running condition.

If I can't find an RX-8 or MX-5, then Plan B is to fix up the RX-7 in stages. At that stage, I'll probably need some help in extracting the engine from the car, and shipping it out for a rebuild.

One thing's for sure: the car can't stay on my driveway much longer, or it will deteriorate beyond the point of repair. I'll either have to sell it this year, or get it running again.

 

Almost forgot to add this...

One of my colleagues at work also has a non-running RX-7. He bought it used a number of years ago before he was married. I think it's an '83, and I honestly don't know the condition of the bodywork, although I seem to remember it was pretty clean.

Anyways, he started having problems where the engine would start up OK, and then conk out. (Probably fuel system or electrical system issues.) He ended up parking the RX-7 in his garage, where it's been sitting for the last few years. His wife wants the space in the garage back, so he's finally agreed to get rid of the car. He told me he's going to call a junkyard in the spring, and have it towed away.

Is anyone interested in this car? My colleague lives in Barrhaven, south of Ottawa. If you are, let me know, and I can put you in touch with him.

P.S. Before anyone asks... Yes, I did consider taking the engine from his car, and putting it in mine. But I figure if I do go to the trouble of an engine swap, I might as well get a rebuilt engine.