well since this thread was such a big hit i decided to do a poll on wich most people prefer,

PLEASE BEFORE YOU VOTE LOOK AT THE PICTURES


here is the thread with the pictures

 

i would go with keeping the lines (minus bumper strips) and get rid of those pesky door locks... that is what i am planing on doing when ever i can afford to get the body work done.

 

Shave everything!!! GO BALD DAMMIT!!! How sweet do 7 looks without ANY lines or handles at all eh?

Oh yea I like it BALD BABY!!!!!!
High WOW factor here peope!!

 

I'm beginning to wonder about the "stodgy" factor of the members here...I mean, leave it totally stock looking?! C'mon! Puh-lease!! (Look at the poll results...)

 

yellow jacket: i agree with you that no locks or handles definatly looks good.. only problem is that i donot want to add the extra weight of door popers.. 50lbs is a lot of weight. if i knew of a nother way, i would probably be there with you

 

If you plan to shave the body lines for sure, let me know, there are a couple things you'll want to watch out for

 

I still have a set of the rubber door bumper guards that go along the side of the car.

They are used but are in decent condition, and the price is right. Free! I have no idea what these cost new, so maybe it's not even worth it.

They go in the trash if I don't get a PM before tomorrow night.

Mike

 

Free is a damn good price for those. If I needed/wanted them, I'd take them. I've seen just the rear piece (under the gas tank) going for between 5 and 15 dollars.

 

damn i always throw mine away,
ah well,i know next time

 

I just want to shave my locks so people quit taking a screw driver to the damn things and breaking in. Its way to easy to get in.

 

You can get in with a screwdriver without doing any physical damage to the door whatsoever. 1st-gen security SUCKS and I highly recommend that everyone get a good alarm/immoblizer.

 

Precisely why I did this...



Unfortunately, I did this after losing an amp and a headunit....



..... ps. totally stock with the bumper strips?? How lame is that? Don't use the poll results to guide your decision, kilah!!

 

White Trash had the front bumper strip removed. Well. saying "had it removed" is too strong of a term... basically it started falling off, so I pulled on it and it fell the rest of the way off.

 

The Poll Results??

Don't be so surprised - after all, this is not a mod's forum, it's a 1st gen forum! I could be that a lot of 1st gen owners like the stock look. After all, in the opinion of some (see poll), the 1st gen has a classic look, hell, it is a classic, and they may want to keep it that way. Performance mods would be a diff story and another opinion.

 

If that's the case, then where the heck are all these threads and replies coming from looking for new wheels and gauge faces? All of you fiends need to take the time to vote in this poll! Stock look is not bad but the bumper strips have got to go...it's a real dated look like fake "woody" panels on a station wagon or monster cladding on a mid-90's Pontiac GP!! Big ol' strips...

 

mar3
I guess I didn't do a very good job of getting my point across. The "dated" look, good or bad, is what the car is in it's original form. There are a lot of car owners who spend a ton of money on their car to keep the original stock look. Granted, this is more so with the typical "classic" or "antique" car owner , however, many may feel the 1st gen has acheived that status or is not far from reaching that benchmark - we're not talking mid 90's Pontiac's here!. There's nothing wrong with mod's - I've done a few myself as have others on this forum as you have pointed out - it may be that you see fewer posts from the "stock" guys because their cars are running good and they have less to discuss, ie; NO MODS. Looks like they finally got a chance to post on a topic that interests them - and they did!

 

A stock look is great for cars that reflect their period of build. You can tell by looking at them when they were built and the state of the car industry at the time. That's why you shouldn't alter Duesenbergs, Hemi Darts, Tri-Power GTOs, Daytona Superbirds, XKEs or even mid-70's Ford Cosworth Vegas! A 1980 RX-7 will never attain that kind of status. It's a hard thing to hear but true. Proof? A 1980 Pontiac Trans-Am will fetch $1200 in rough shape. They are selling locally in the paper at $2500 for good runners. 1985 GSL-SE with the leather interior ran in the paper 3 weeks and didn't sell at $2200. The guy wouldn't take $1500 for it and wanted to wait for better offers. When he pulled the ad, I called again. Still had it, still wouldn't take the $1500. That's all it's worth. If he had taken off the bumpers and shaved the key locks, I might have offered $1800... Most RX-7s still sell in the $400-$1300 range and that high-end price is for runners that can pass inspection with rebuilt engines...

 

My point is that the RX-7 look transcends keeping it stock. Simple little image tricks will make the damn thing pass for a baby Ferrari. The look of an RX-7 is ageless which is a rare trick. You do a dishonor to keep it dated with those gawdawful big bumper strips...at least, ditch those for the thin versions!!

 

I respect your opinion but remember the term "never say never" - you have absolutely no way of knowing the status or value of this car down the road - (and neither do I.... that is why I said it "May" become.....). Your comparisms are the extreme (Duesenbergs???) - I wasn't making that type of comparism - actually I wasn't comparing to any car, I was comparing how people feel about a car. Some people want to leave their cars stock for respect of the car and / or the erra - I wasn't reading any more into than that. BTW, the stock look is great for almost any car if the owner likes the look and wants to maintain it. Resale's a different story - who's gets what they put into a car?? Value has nothing to do with the decision to remain/maintain stock - that decision can be made solely on your love of the original design. The 1st gen may not be a classic yet, but it may one day and neither you nor I have anyway of knowing that today

 

Open market prices and the general level of how many of the cars are actually being saved are very good indicators...doesn't look good so far...

 

One of my Chevy luv pickup, had shaved door handles. We made them, where the doors would open, when you turn the key, and unlocked it, it would pop open(like using the handle) But the only propblem with that is that, andyone, can use a screwdriver to open the damn doors.........

Laterz, Andrew

 

I think it depends on the color of your car. Some colors like max7's orange looks phat without the lines, while others like sunrise red (mine) look good with the lines. I dunno just my $.02. Peace

 

I know "phat" is a rice word, don't bother pointing that out to me.

 

I think the stock bumper strips are awesome, especially on a silver 7 like mine...

 

I shaved everything but the locks and handles.