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Hello all ! I recently had a 1985 Rx7 GSL kind of fall in to my lap. Never really looked in to owning an rx7 (was honestly looking for a c5 corvette) until this car came along. I bought it from a customer at my work who has had it sitting in her drive way for 5 years. It only has 65k miles on original motor and body. Interior is in amazing shape for it being an 85 ( No dash cracks). The exterior needs some love as well as the motor. So far I have got the motor to turn over freely with the help of some MMO and time and also replaced the starter. Drained the gas tank of the old fuel which was disgusting and filled with fresh gas. There was no fuel pressure but luckily my pump was working, just had to drop the fuel tank and clean the lines in they tank. I now have fuel, spark, and air but it seems that the carb needs to be gone through as well. Picked up a rebuild kit today from autozone and will tear it down next week after work.
My plans for this car are to make it a weekend toy and cruiser. I honestly want to stick with the 12a since it has lower miles but will not turn away a 13b if the price is right. Thinking of going with a bridgeport from Angel Motorsports, webber 48 ida, exhaust, and other goodies to clean up the engine bay but currently want to just get it running at this point to make sure everything works as intended.
If there are any FAQ or DIY threads you guys recommend reading, let me know.
(sorry if the pics are big. Currently on a 1440 monitor and they are fine for me, can edit if need be)
Welcome!..you got your hands full.
There are vast amounts of info in the 1st Gen sections that can help you achieve your "dream ride".
I always suggest a cup of coffee and a couple hours of free time to scan the threads as they can reveal quite the amount of gold!
When I first started I hit the GEN SPECIFIC Section..and started at the Top...and kept reading..every night..
It's funny I can't tell ya the date sometimes but if you ask me what the bolt size of a Clutch master is..BOOOM!..I can tell ya!
I really like the fully mechanical nature of the 12a. For me, it means that I can understand the car to a greater degree and it has a certain charm - like a ww2 fighter or an old motorcycle. I don't need an exotic slayer (at least not yet). A 13b obviously will have more in the way of parts and tuning options. Between rebuilding, porting a non running 12a, putting a conservatively tuned turbo on it, buying a weber and intake and full rb exhaust all to get you in the reliable 180 whp range... and just slapping in an old 13b... the 13b will be far more cost effective.
The 13b seems the clear choice to me if you want power. My car runs fine so I'm just planning on throwing on a used cheapo header and a non shutter valve intake and maybe play around with cutting up an old nikki. I deleted my choke plate and the hot air valve from the intake and rigged a K&N from a jeep CJ. Mine has a 4.44 rear so it's zippiness comes mainly from that. That's 2-300 in parts and a little labor. I'll have to accept that my car will be topped out in the 120-135 whp range. I don't need to throw $1200 into a weber kit and $800 into RB exhaust just to pick up the last 10hp on the table. Mine already performs more or less to the level of a stock 13b. If I were to throw 2 grand at it I'd probly be better of to go 13b swap and be prepared to spend a little extra getting the bigger engine to run right.
Thanks for the insight. I agree with you on the simplicity of the 12a. I like the look of a stripped down 12a but I would also like a little car I can rip around that has a bit of power. What you said about a 13b being cost effective for power versus a built 12a with Webber, porting, and supporting mods. The biggest part that scares me with a 13b swab is the electrical side. I'm a rookie when it comes to wiring harnesses and diagrams.
I think I may swing by a local rotar shop once I get this running and chat with them about swapping.
Mine has stock carb and stock intake with choke and hot air valve removed with a cheap exhaust and ractive muffler (it's pretty loud) and stock exhaust manifold with 4.44 rear axel no LSD and the timing advanced by ear on the leading side with no change made to the trailing. My coils were swapped for some fireball ignition coils, ac delete, airpump belt is gone but the pump is still on there, tom motorsports racing seats, some crap in the back, spare tire is gone, GS, no power steering or power windows. I get a pretty consistent 7.5 second 0-60 according to my gps. I figure a better intake mani and a header will get me down to 7.0 seconds. From there I have to be more or less satisfied since getting it down to 6 seconds will start costing real money. Keep in mind a Lambo Countach was a 5ish second 0-60 car as was a stock FD.
BTW - You need to get your post count up to 10 in order to post outside the new member section.
thanks for the info man. My goals at the time are to possibly get to 200hp. I know it's doable on a 12a but that seems to be reaching the upper limit of the motor. I don't mind having an na motor, he'll, I almost prefer it as my other car is turbo and it cures that itch.
I want a quick, lightweight, weekend car that I can cruise with my girlfriend that will also get out of its own way. I know if I stick with the 12a, I can do a majority of the work myself in my garage which is nice.
I have a lot of reading to do.
do you have a build thread? I wouldn't mind taking a peak at what you have.
New car, who dis?
! I recently had a 1985 Rx7 GSL kind of fall in to my lap. Never really looked in to owning an rx7 (was honestly looking for a c5 corvette) until this car came along. I bought it from a customer at my work who has had it sitting in her drive way for 5 years. It only has 65k miles on original motor and body. Interior is in amazing shape for it being an 85 ( No dash cracks). The exterior needs some love as well as the motor. So far I have got the motor to turn over freely with the help of some MMO and time and also replaced the starter. Drained the gas tank of the old fuel which was disgusting and filled with fresh gas. There was no fuel pressure but luckily my pump was working, just had to drop the fuel tank and clean the lines in they tank. I now have fuel, spark, and air but it seems that the carb needs to be gone through as well. Picked up a rebuild kit today from autozone and will tear it down next week after work.
