85rotarypower

Hey all, its been more than 2 years since I sent my 82 GSL to the big scrap yard in the sky and I've been waiting for the day I own a 7 again. Well, today is the day I finally have one in my possession. Well, technically last night I had one, but I got it unloaded from the trailer this morning lol. So anyway, after some research and traveling, I found a worthy car.

I ended up finding a nice 79 RX-7 with only 136xxx KM on it. This car is in excellent shape overall with no real rust that I have found as of yet, and I was thorough when I first looked at the car. The underbody is very clean, same with the exterior body parts. There is some slight damage to the lower valence on the front end, but nothing major. Other items up for replacement that were noticed before buying: tires, seats, hatch area carpet, hatch shocks, door handle trim pieces, possible missing tape player from the radio, all fluids.

I haven't had a chance to look over the mechanicals too much yet, but the car runs and drives and the brakes feel good. Parking brake works and actually holds on a slight slope. According to the previous owner, the car pretty much sat for 6 or 7 years so the fact that these parts all still feel good is impressive. This car actually runs the best out of all the RX-7's I looked at.

Some interesting facts:
-This car was built in August of 78 and was originally purchased in Ottawa on August 15th of 78.
-The SN on this car is 513078, making it the 13078th RX-7 imported to NA as far as I know.
-There are basically no options on this car, lacking the passenger side mirror, rear window wiper, and even the sunroof which is fairly standard it seems.
-Has the light red interior that originally came with plaid seats, seats are unfortunately long gone.

So, without further adieu, here are a few pics.

roarinrotaryrx7

iTrader: (8)

Awesome! What are your plans for it? You gonna keep it stock?

RXeckless

iTrader: (11)

I've rejoined the rotary crowd

You poor bastard, didn't you learn!

IPWinsor

iTrader: (2)

Congrats!

85rotarypower

I'm planning to keep this car mostly stock, until something breaks or blows up lol. If the engine should need rebuilding, streetport and webers here I come. I don't plan to make any changes to the overall appearance though.

RXeckless - I'm too stuborn to learn!

PKock

iTrader: (1)

Hey glad to see what car you chose. I'm sure he will be happy to know its gone to another rotary enthusiast.
PK

Bass

Congrats! Hearing that another rotary has found a home in Grey-Bruce is always good news. The GBR will have to cruise over some time to check it out. When will it be hitting the streets?

85rotarypower

I'm hoping it'll be hitting the streets within in the next couple weeks. So far, all it needs to pass safety are new tires and the ball joint/tie rod dust boots replaced. Asthetically, it needs a new hatch area carpet, different seats, floor mats and a few small trim pieces inside, along with a good wash and wax.

As it is, the car seems to run perfect. Brakes feel excellent and there aren't any knocks or squeeks in the suspension, at least from driving around my yard lol. Hope this holds true when it hits the road.

85rotarypower

Well a little update after a few hours of quality time with the RX-7. Seems my initial thoughts on the car were correct. List of parts that need replacing/repairing for safety inspection:

-4 way flashers don't work
-reverse lights don't work
-replace all dust boots for the ball and socket joints
-replace tires
-replace rear shocks

On the flip side, stuff that doesn't NEED to be replaced/repaired for safety inspection:

-New carpet for hatch area
-Seats need replacing (have a set of black seats from an 88 to put in)
-Couple small trim pieces on the door cards need replacing
-Good wash and wax for the exterior
-Bit of touchup work on the black trim around the exterior glass
-Change all fluids and filters throughout the car (Much needed before any driving due to sitting for so long)

Without boring everyone with little details i like to point out I will say the car has exceeded my expectations. There really is barely a spec of rust on the whole car and it needs very little work mechanically to get it on the road. Very happy with the minimal amount of work I have found needed thus far.

Cosmo77

Wow I dont think I ever used the 4 ways!

85rotarypower

They may never get used, but they are required to work to pass safety inspection unfortunately. I should be able to get it fixed relatively easily though.

JDK

iTrader: (8)

Welcome back!

IAN

iTrader: (3)

Welcome to dark side again

Cosmo77

You'll have to keep me posted on it

85rotarypower

Will do Cosmo77. Working on getting my part orders together for Mazdatrix for the interior parts and Summit Racing for the energy suspension replacement balljoint dust boots and K&N filter.

Tire selection in the size I need is very slim these days. Will probably end up with some el cheapo Motomaster A/W's as they are as good as anything else out there and are cheaper it seems. Anyone have any suggestions for other tires?

bohnert_chris

congrats on the car!! something about SA's make me happy! haha.. as far as tires go, hercules i believe make a 205 60 13 still. Buggy may be able to hook you up?? or if you stick with the 185 70 13 you have more options... you can get uniroyal tigerpaws in that size which are ok and have a sporty looking tread pattern. Both in my opinion are better than motomasters... but I'm no expert on tires...

bohnert_chris

Also last time i checked canadian tire didn't have any matches for a 205 60 13 but desboro tire and hanover honda did... it was through their remington tire distributor.

85rotarypower

I'm planning to stick to the 185/70's on this car for a stock look, and in that size the Motomasters are the best deal going. The Motomaster A/W happens to be the same tire as the Cooper Trendsetter, same tread pattern. I've never had problems with motomaster tires in the past, and for the price I can't find a better deal. I could get a psudo performance tire from hercules at a dealer in owen sound for about $500, but the motomasters are only $300. For me, its hard to justify that kind of price difference on a tire that may perform only a little better.

On another note, most of the parts I need are on the way. New shocks for the rear, energy suspension dust boots for the ball and socket joints, and various interior parts. Having some trouble locating matching carpet for the hatch area though. Will take some time to locate it.

Simple solution for the problem with the hazard lights, fuse was blown. At some point, someone installed a 3 amp fuse, so understandable why it was toast. Will replace with a proper fuse.

85rotarypower

Thanks. I checked out the hercules tires from Desboro tire and nearly passed out when I heard the price for the 205's. Almost $160 each!! This is 3 times the price of the Motomasters, but I doubt its 3 times the tire. I spent less on the 225/60R17's for my Caliber and they are a decent Goodyear tire too. Sorry guys, I just can't justify that much money for a 13" tire, I can get race rubber in that size from tire rack for the same price, without shipping of course.

A little more progress on the car today though. Got the engine oil changed, got a new antenna installed, new wipers, and replaced the hazard light fuse. New shocks should be in tomorrow, tires installed tomorrow, hopefully the dust boots will be here tomorrow as well, but I'm not holding my breath for that lol.

85rotarypower

So I spent the day working on the 79 and actually managed to get it out on the road for a maiden voyage up the road and back. The car drives like its new, no rattles inside and the suspension is nice and quiet. The transmission and diff are silent as well. Engine runs great under cruise and part throttle acceleration. A problem arose when I tried to push the engine a bit though. First most noticable thing is a loud whistling sound from the exhaust when I get over 4000rpm and 1/2-2/3 throttle. Very soon after the whistling starts, the engine stumbles and falls flat on its face. I'm thinking the two are related, and I hate to say it, but i have a feeling a part of the thermal reactor system has failed on this car causing a restriction and the subsequent whistling sound. More evidence of this is very poor emission control performance. This car will cause your eyes to water standing around it for not much more than a few minutes. The whistling could also be potentially caused by part of the muffler coming apart or collapsing. Further investigation is needed, but I may be looking for exhaust parts pretty soon here.

Cosmo77

Two things....that whistle was there from the day I bought it....it was actually fun to modulate it on the highway.

Non-Catalyst system.

Falling flat on its face. Those plugs are not that old, but they have been sitting a really long time.

85rotarypower

Whistle I'm guessing is being caused by the hole I found in the muffler under the heat shield today. Was poking around a bit and the inlet side of the muffler in general is in poor shape. The rest of the exhaust seems alright though. The only time I have experienced a whistle on a car was because of an exhaust leak when I had my 82. I had installed a cheap flexy pipe from canadian tire as a temp fix and it didn't seal properly. Would whistle real loud when I got it over 4000rpm.

As for falling flat on its face, I will check the plugs for fouling, but I don't think they are the problem as I would have issues with it running all throughout the RPM range. This is a problem with the carb I'm thinking, in specific, the secondary side. I will look into it a bit more after the car is safetied.

85rotarypower

Well another update, car will take a little longer than expected to get through safety. Seems Summit Racing dropped the ball and didn't inform me that some of the parts I ordered were not in stock and on backorder actually. I had to email them to find this out. Biggest thing I am waiting on them for is the ball joint and tie rod end dust boots. Without these the car will not pass safety and I don't even feel I should drive it at all.

On another subject, found that the spark plugs are in decent shape. Front rotor is showing a little black on the plugs, suggesting it is running rich. Will rebuild the carb real soon likely just to make sure its good. I also found that the muffler was toast as well. The bottom half of the muffler shell to back plate joint was mostly rusted away. Upon closer inspection, and some badly placed hammer blows, the innards appear to be deformed as well. The baffle plate just ahead of the back plate (inlet side) was convex and out of place. I'm guessing this was caused by a backfire within the center chamber. This is a fairly thick plate, so it must have been quite a backfire.

So, tomorrow a brand new Magnaflow 4x9x18 is going on it. Should sound pretty good I think.

85rotarypower

Well the 79 is road worthy again. New muffler, ball joint and tie rod boots, tires, and rear shocks is all it took. Did a couple other cosmetic things as well on the interior, and I'm in the process of getting new rear carpet. The car goes in for safety inspection next Tuesday when everything will be official.

Still has stumbling issues above 5000rpm. I've determined its not leaning out, so there is something else going on. I have to check the timing and whatnot though, maybe that will tell me something, but I need to get a timing light first lol. I'm leaning toward a fueling issue at this point. Carb rebuild kit on the way.

85rotarypower

So the car is officially legal for the road. Took a bit longer than expected, but its through safety inspection. The mechanic actually commented on how nice the car looked and felt. So watch out for me on the roads. I'll be getting as much seat time in this thing as I can before winter sets in.