First Timer - 85' RXX-7 GSLSE
05-28-10, 09:59 PM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Bristol, Indiana
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
First Timer - 85' RXX-7 GSLSE
Hello everyone, My name is Rich and I am sorry for what will be a long post, but I think this is relevant to why I am here.
I just acquired my new (used) RX7, this is the second time I have owned an RX7...so I will quickly start at the beginning (trust me this will be somewhat interesting to read).
I was in high school, my dad had lost a big wager on a game of "horse", he was a far better basketball player than I was, so when I won the game, didn't feel too bad...the bet, if I won I got a new BMW 320is, if he won I raked the yard...so it goes without saying he was confident he would win.
Well, one thing my father is not is a welcher on bets...he did buy me the BMW which I wasn't particularly pleased with...it ran terrible for a new car and I took it back the same day we bought it and walked away from it.
Later we agreed on a 1982 Mazda RX7 GSL...Tornado Silver every option except leather interior and the automatic...this was my dream car and I kept it for 114,000 miles before relinquishing it to one of our customers who seemed to love it more than me. It was pretty much just sitting in one of our garages at that time and not getting driven much...so I parted with it.
While I had this car a friend of mine in college drove it several times and loved the free-revving rotary motor. He was a small block Chevy guy so this was quite a change from his choice in low end torquey engines.
When the 3rd generation RX7 came out he had to have one, so he purchased a 1993 red RX7...put on some nice mods like the Peter Farrel turbo and exhaust, custom wheels and upgraded the stereo...I fell in love with that car.
Later he sold it and I think really regretted it...he eventually bought a 1994 red RX7 on ebay with a blown motor...sent it down to Hinsen SuperCars (hope that's not too much of a sin against the rotary purists) and had it modified with an LS1, this car was an automatic...not my choice, but actually proved to be a great idea. He flared the fender front and rear...custom wheels out of Japan that took about 8 months to deliver, $5K in new stereo equipment and a paint job that took another 6 months to complete...all in all she came out nice.
Hinson never dyno-ed the car and it ran super rich...the shift points on the tranny were way off and we later found that the throttle only had about 2/3's of it's travel because of an installation mistake...needless to say the car underperformed but nonetheless was still impressive if only from an aesthetic standpoint.
He took it up to Detroit for a tuner to dial in...not sure of their name, but talented people who work on a lot of Z06's...they brought out another 100 horsepower and thought they had worked out the shiftpoint issues...but actually made them a bit worse.
My friend never got the opportunity to take it back...he was involved in a one car accident on a country road and passed away a week ago from the injuries...he was one of my best friends...he will be missed dearly. As you may have guessed the car was totaled in the accident...I believe he swerved to miss a dear and the car spun around hitting a tree square in the rear of the car.
I visited him the weekend before his death and spent the day with him and another dear friend of ours...we just goofed off like old times, ate some lunch and just enjoyed the warm sunny day taking our time everywhere we went. When I left he asked me to purchase a 1985 Mazda RX7 GSLSE that he had...it was unbelievably in near mint condition. He knew I loved my old 7 and he really wanted me to have this one. I'll post some images of the RX7's once I have clearance.
I bought the car from him and took it home that day...not realizing that days later he would be gone forever...never forgotten, but gone from his earthly existance. I'll cherish this car and it will be a constant reminder of my great friend that was always there for me for over 25 years...through the good, the bad and the ugly.
From time to time I might tell a little story about him, I'll make it relevant to the RX7 so as to not bore anyone, but I thought I had to tell this story, because it's how I came to own another RX7...one that will always be a bit different than my first, but in someways the same...a free-revving rotary powered blast from my past!
Godspeed to my friend John, may he find eternal peace and tranquility!
I just acquired my new (used) RX7, this is the second time I have owned an RX7...so I will quickly start at the beginning (trust me this will be somewhat interesting to read).
I was in high school, my dad had lost a big wager on a game of "horse", he was a far better basketball player than I was, so when I won the game, didn't feel too bad...the bet, if I won I got a new BMW 320is, if he won I raked the yard...so it goes without saying he was confident he would win.
Well, one thing my father is not is a welcher on bets...he did buy me the BMW which I wasn't particularly pleased with...it ran terrible for a new car and I took it back the same day we bought it and walked away from it.
Later we agreed on a 1982 Mazda RX7 GSL...Tornado Silver every option except leather interior and the automatic...this was my dream car and I kept it for 114,000 miles before relinquishing it to one of our customers who seemed to love it more than me. It was pretty much just sitting in one of our garages at that time and not getting driven much...so I parted with it.
While I had this car a friend of mine in college drove it several times and loved the free-revving rotary motor. He was a small block Chevy guy so this was quite a change from his choice in low end torquey engines.
When the 3rd generation RX7 came out he had to have one, so he purchased a 1993 red RX7...put on some nice mods like the Peter Farrel turbo and exhaust, custom wheels and upgraded the stereo...I fell in love with that car.
Later he sold it and I think really regretted it...he eventually bought a 1994 red RX7 on ebay with a blown motor...sent it down to Hinsen SuperCars (hope that's not too much of a sin against the rotary purists) and had it modified with an LS1, this car was an automatic...not my choice, but actually proved to be a great idea. He flared the fender front and rear...custom wheels out of Japan that took about 8 months to deliver, $5K in new stereo equipment and a paint job that took another 6 months to complete...all in all she came out nice.
Hinson never dyno-ed the car and it ran super rich...the shift points on the tranny were way off and we later found that the throttle only had about 2/3's of it's travel because of an installation mistake...needless to say the car underperformed but nonetheless was still impressive if only from an aesthetic standpoint.
He took it up to Detroit for a tuner to dial in...not sure of their name, but talented people who work on a lot of Z06's...they brought out another 100 horsepower and thought they had worked out the shiftpoint issues...but actually made them a bit worse.
My friend never got the opportunity to take it back...he was involved in a one car accident on a country road and passed away a week ago from the injuries...he was one of my best friends...he will be missed dearly. As you may have guessed the car was totaled in the accident...I believe he swerved to miss a dear and the car spun around hitting a tree square in the rear of the car.
I visited him the weekend before his death and spent the day with him and another dear friend of ours...we just goofed off like old times, ate some lunch and just enjoyed the warm sunny day taking our time everywhere we went. When I left he asked me to purchase a 1985 Mazda RX7 GSLSE that he had...it was unbelievably in near mint condition. He knew I loved my old 7 and he really wanted me to have this one. I'll post some images of the RX7's once I have clearance.
I bought the car from him and took it home that day...not realizing that days later he would be gone forever...never forgotten, but gone from his earthly existance. I'll cherish this car and it will be a constant reminder of my great friend that was always there for me for over 25 years...through the good, the bad and the ugly.
From time to time I might tell a little story about him, I'll make it relevant to the RX7 so as to not bore anyone, but I thought I had to tell this story, because it's how I came to own another RX7...one that will always be a bit different than my first, but in someways the same...a free-revving rotary powered blast from my past!
Godspeed to my friend John, may he find eternal peace and tranquility!
05-28-10, 10:37 PM
#4
Administrator
iTrader: (8)
Join Date: Nov 1998
Location: So. Arlington, TX!!!
Posts: 12,974
Likes: 0
Received 59 Likes
on
36 Posts
Well, I don't even know how to really respond beyond giving my condolences to your loss, Rich. Thanks for registering and hopefully the website can be an outlet for you from time to time to clear some air or inner turmoil.
Mario III
Mario III
05-28-10, 11:28 PM
#5
Customizer
iTrader: (4)
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Chagrin Falls, OH
Posts: 333
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Damn, sorry for the loss. Welcome back to the world of the rotary and welcome to the board. I'm in Fairport Harbor. Would love to see that car if you are ever in this part of town.
05-29-10, 11:25 AM
#6
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Bristol, Indiana
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks for the kind words. My friend lived in Bowling Green, Ohio and the accident happened in Monroe, MI in the early am hours of May 20th.
I'm excited to get back into the rotary scene, I remember when I got my first RX-7 how much I loved the flared body kits...like the IMSA kit you could buy, some of the Mazda literature in 82 showed a really cool looking RX7 with a white paint job and NASA space shuttle like graphics...I wanted that kit so bad. I was thinking about doing that to this car sometime down the road, but may leave this one factory as it is in such great condition. The only real issues are the carpet is faded...not sure if I can get a carpet kit, the door panels have some faded carpet at the bottom...the carpet is in great condition, just faded, so I might try to pull it all out and dye it black or dark gray.
There are some small carpet pieces in the car I believe are supposed to cover the seat belt installation bolts...I might try dying them first to see if it looks OK, then move on to the other parts. The seats are in fairly good shape, but I was thinking about having them redone too so it looks factory new...any ideas if someone carries aftermarket factory style replacements? Would prefer to stay with the cloth interior.
Thanks and again, I appreciate the thoughts regarding my friend. I tried to load a few images of the car my friend crashed...he loved the car and really enjoyed working on it. Not sure if they will post or not but worth a shot!
I'm excited to get back into the rotary scene, I remember when I got my first RX-7 how much I loved the flared body kits...like the IMSA kit you could buy, some of the Mazda literature in 82 showed a really cool looking RX7 with a white paint job and NASA space shuttle like graphics...I wanted that kit so bad. I was thinking about doing that to this car sometime down the road, but may leave this one factory as it is in such great condition. The only real issues are the carpet is faded...not sure if I can get a carpet kit, the door panels have some faded carpet at the bottom...the carpet is in great condition, just faded, so I might try to pull it all out and dye it black or dark gray.
There are some small carpet pieces in the car I believe are supposed to cover the seat belt installation bolts...I might try dying them first to see if it looks OK, then move on to the other parts. The seats are in fairly good shape, but I was thinking about having them redone too so it looks factory new...any ideas if someone carries aftermarket factory style replacements? Would prefer to stay with the cloth interior.
Thanks and again, I appreciate the thoughts regarding my friend. I tried to load a few images of the car my friend crashed...he loved the car and really enjoyed working on it. Not sure if they will post or not but worth a shot!
