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I've just bought a 1986 (probably manufactured in 85 but not registered till 86) FB RX7. I used to have a 1981 version many years ago but had to reluctantly sell it. Glad to have one once again. 1986 FB RX7
nice, clean, beautiful. i also think it's pretty cool that the car gets to be classified as an '86. it totally messed my head up when i opened the thread and saw your car.
it's funny after all these years of seeing non-North American cars, i only just noticed that there are no side markers where we have ours. i mean, i've always noted the marker on the fender (wing? ), but i guess my eyes always filled in the rest of it for me.
If I can prove it was built in 85 I can save myself from paying a year's worth of emission charges. Cars that are 40 years or older are exempt, so at the moment I have to wait till 2026.
If I can prove it was built in 85 I can save myself from paying a year's worth of emission charges.
there's a sticker on the driver side door jam. it will have the month/year it was built. for the US market, the 1st gen ended in 85. even though it has the 12a engine, it does have the gsl-se suspension so 4 wheel disc brakes and the 4x114.3 lug pattern.
there's a sticker on the driver side door jam. it will have the month/year it was built.
That sticker is a US requirement, indicating that it met the safety standards for the US, in place at the time of Mfg. Not sure it's a requirement for cars sold new in Europe. Kind of like why that car would be an FB in the US, but a series 3, SA over there.
there's a sticker on the driver side door jam. it will have the month/year it was built. for the US market, the 1st gen ended in 85. even though it has the 12a engine, it does have the gsl-se suspension so 4 wheel disc brakes and the 4x114.3 lug pattern.
No sticker unfortunately. Yeah I'm pretty sure the 1st gen ended in 85 everywhere, which is why I think it was made in 85 but they didn't sell it till 86 and that's what they put on the registration.
The build date doesn't necessarily coincide with the model year of a vehicle. They first began building the Rx-7 in January of 78. It wasn't until March that Mazda officially launched the car. That same month (Mar) they began building export model Rx-7's.
So Japan got models called 78 Savannah's in 78, but the US (and I'm guessing Europe) first official model year was 79, even though some cars made it to overseas countries and were registered in 78.
They manufactured the 1st year cars until July of 79, thats when the factory switched to 1980 production. And on it went. So your car could have been made in 85 but could be an 86 model depending on when it was assembled.
The build date doesn't necessarily coincide with the model year of a vehicle. They first began building the Rx-7 in January of 78. It wasn't until March that Mazda officially launched the car. That same month (Mar) they began building export model Rx-7's.
So Japan got models called 78 Savannah's in 78, but the US (and I'm guessing Europe) first official model year was 79, even though some cars made it to overseas countries and were registered in 78.
They manufactured the 1st year cars until July of 79, thats when the factory switched to 1980 production. And on it went. So your car could have been made in 85 but could be an 86 model depending on when it was assembled.
I guess that makes sense. Thanks for pointing it out
04-04-23, 10:50 AM
