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My rotary adventure began when I bought a '74 RX-4 back in 1980. A red car with white interior, missing one headlight and front left fender for only $1,000. It had probably 50k miles at the time. My friend, driving my RX-4, was about to blow through a stop sign when I warned him that there was a police car coming. So, he attempts to make a quick right to avoid the officer and slides the car into the curb. The impact pulls the strut tower, and the wheel ends up under the car. A few days later, I found an RX-4 wagon with a blown motor for $500. A quick swap of the motors and I am back in business. While I did enjoy the wagon, it wasn't long before I picked up a beautiful blue RX-4 coupe again with the white interior. Then there was the Rotary pick up and even an engine swap from an RX-3 into my MG Midget. Eventually, my rotary obsession was replaced with a string of 15 or so Alfa Romeos. But now I have come back.
I recently picked up a clean 1979 RX-7, which I found in Wisconsin. Surprisingly little rust. The stranger (seller) I met on Craigslist assured me the car was up to a 2,800 mile road trip and I took his word for it. My dad and I drove the car out to the Oregon coast and then down to Los Angeles. Other than a need to re-adjust the points, the car ran flawlessly.
When I was a kid working for an auto parts store, they sent me to the Sta-Lube warehouse to make a pick-up. When I got there, the doors were open, but nobody was there. As I wandered around looking for the shipping clerk, I stumbled upon the 1979 Racing Beat Land Speed Record RX-7. I was so excited. I remember opening up the hood and checking out the engine and snooping all around that car. Too bad we didn't have cell phone cameras back then. I have had a poster of that car in my garage for 20 years.
When I bought this car, the intention was to make it into a replica of the Bonneville car. But now that it is home, I am torn. This car is a very early production (May 1978) and very original. Should I sacrifice this survivor to play out my dream or just enjoy it for the magnificent car that it is?
Coincidently, I did once own a GMC motorhome like this one. I may need to find another one.
If you plan on substantially changing and altering the car to more closely match the LSR version, I'd probably start with a car that already been modified or is in need of more restoration. Also, if its a more desirable color combo (Sonic Bronze car w/plaid interior or Spark Yellow w/2tone brown) I wouldn't want to change it. We should see some pics of this preserved classic.
She came with later wheels. I found and cleaned up a set of correct wheels This is the wheel center that I am missing. Correct wheels installed Went to SevenStock for the first time! Note the long morning shadows. Again, note the long afternoon shadows at SevenStock. What a great show.
Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your new RX-7!! If it were my car, I would keep it and preserve it. Drive that particular car and enjoy it, as it appears to be in excellent condition overall. I would purchased a car that's been run down and modified already. The one you have is, in my opinion, too nice if a car to modify like that. It really is a nice car and an RX-7 enthusiast would be proud to own it.
Has the car been repainted? It looks off a little, not recognizable as anything available from the factory. The red plaid interior was used with both Sonic Bronze and Aurora White exteriors. Any better shots of the car overall and under the hood?
Not sure what happened, but your shots of the car at seven stock and the exterior were not showing up when I last visited this thread. I can now see that the car is Aurora White, with the red plaid interior. I'd have to say that his color combination is exceedingly rare. I think I've only ever saw 4 or 5 cars with this combination in the last 40 years.
It's your car and you can do with it as you want, but I wouldn't change or modify this one into a tribute to something else. I believe it will retain most of its value if refurbished back to stock form. Here is a link to the nicest one I know of in this combination.
From your pictures, your car is definitely a great candidate that could become a super nice restoration. The interior is probably the biggest challenge as there just isn't anyone offering good, OEM style replacement options. Overall, the car is all there and rust free. The engine bay is also pretty tidy without a lot of rust proofing goo to clean off.
The car that sold on Bat is a bit of an outlier. By that, I mean there were conditions that came together to create kind of a perfect storm and the car went for a surprising amount of money. The winning buyer owns a museum and wanted a white 1st gen to go with his white Cosmo. The car also has subsequently been sold again and I doubt would bring the same money if re listed again on BaT.
But this does not change the fact that the white / red plaid combination is likely the rarest combination offered. White cars were also offered with all black, wine and white & black / plaid interiors. Probably more combinations than any other 1st year exterior colors.
There is another member here currently searching for a solution to repair his red / plaid seats:
I would consider commissioning a batch of the correct fabric if there were three or four others to go into it with me.
This assumes that I decide to keep the car original. Your comments are well received and I do respect how rare original first gen 7’s are becoming. I looked at the SA/FB Owner’s Registry thread and see that my car falls in as about the 15th oldest car registered. There is no way to tell how many of those are original or even if they are still on the road. But I didn’t buy the car to restore and then store. I bought it to drive. At this point, I am keeping it stock while I look for a better candidate for the Bonneville replica or possibly a ‘74 RX-4.
