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I've inherited my uncle's 1979 RX-7, which he purchased new and only drove 52,000 miles. The vehicle appears new. I believe I have the original battery!'
I want to carefully service this vehicle, so would like any advice on how to, say, clean the battery without disturbing any rare marking?!
The concourse people, if there are such people , would go nuts over this car. I just don't want to screw it up!
Yes, some pics of the outside, inside and under hood would be helpful. I highly doubt a 45 year old battery would still be functional, with or w/o the original markings. From the factory I believe they came with a Yuasa brand battery. The old individual cell, lead acid type. When is the last time the car has ran or been on the road?
Here are some pictures of the interior. The dash appears new, as does the instrument cluster and the climate controls. I believe those are original keys. The cigar lighter has never been used.
Thank you for sharing the pictures!! The battery with the blue top is original! Incredible that it wasnt tossed! The keys are original as is the keychain. I have the same keys and keychain that came with my 1980 LS, whichbI got from the original owner. Your 79 is an early production, lacking the right side mirror. What's the build date? The car appears to be mostly all original which is Incredible for the age. The radiator cap and the negative terminal are not original. Many normal wear and tune-up items are acceptable to replace. The tall Fram oil filter is very old. Very cool car, thank you very much for sharing!
Per site rules, I've move this discussion to the Gen I section , under the name "Dr. Schweitzer's RX-7"
Isn't it exciting that these well preserved vehicles exist!
I'm a Buick restorer of 40 years, and the Buick community would go nuts over any 45+ year old Buick in this condition. That's why I asked my uncle if I could have it, to be sure it ends up in the right hands. I'm the reason why the original battery wasn't tossed!!
I agree, that Hitachi battery could very well be the original. Certainly is period correct. The car is a GS model, one built in 1978. Should have an aluminum door tag on the drivers door jam that shows the month and year of Mfg. Could be an early built car (Mar-Jun) as the yellow coolant label under the hood was moved to the overflow bottle later that year. Other early features (beside the single door mirror) include the dual stripe dash / door trim, the center dash vents, RH hood prop and plaid seat inserts.
How is the drivers seat condition? The car should have a separate snap in wind deflector when the roof is removed. The shift **** looks replaced too. It should be a 5 speed that looks like one of these below.
The car looks very restorable with most all the original parts still there. The big problem is, it does not take too long before your costs to restore overtake what its worth when you're done. You basically work for free or next to nothing normally. Looks like this car was sold new out of Bruce Mc Grath in Cedar Rapids Iowa.
, would go nuts over this car. I just don't want to screw it up!
