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Greetings,
A 1980 Rx-7 LS model has recently come into my possession. The car is black with brown leather seats, 5 speed, factory air, AM/FM and cassette player. The car has roughly 27,000 miles on it and appears to have been garaged since new. It has original manuals and even original floor mats. Everything works. The car runs great. I replaced the tires as they were horribly flat-spotted having been in a storage unit for 10 years. The fuel was drained prior to storage. I had all fluids changed and new master and slave clutch cylinders replaced. I like the car and would like to drive it but I feel I am not the right owner for this car.
I have looked to see if a car like this one has been sold and I cannot find anything even close. Can anyone offer some insight on how to value this vehicle? I will post some photos, but it looks essentially new.
Welcome to a fellow Leather Sport owner! You have a 1 of 2500 car and these days there are FAR less than that original number left surviving. The LS was produced in Aurora White, Brilliant Black, and Solar Gold. All cars were based on the GS trim level and all had Solar Gold painted waffle wheels. Its speculated that there were 1000 made in white, 1000 made in black and 500 in gold. These days I see far less BB models. These cars are very rare by RX-7 standards. I would love to see pictures of the car.
Shame you didnt save the original Bridgestone Steel Belted 70's with raised white letters. Having those would add quite a bit of value, even is they were just sold with the car should you decide to sell it. It would be difficult to value to car as there is not a huge seller's market for the car. Here are a couple pictures of my one owner Solar Gold LS:
Thanks for sharing. A few pre-cleanup pictures below. I will take some better ones this weekend. Still dusty from storage Dirty interior from storage, window was down. This is the only defect. I do not know what the name of that part is or where to even begin looking for it.
Wow!!! That appears to be a very well taken care of example!! The car is absolutely beautiful!! Will look forward to seeing additional pictures!!
As far as the door pull' screw cover, you can post a want to buy ad here in the forum in the 1st gen classifieds section. I wish I had one just to send your way but I don't. It's a part that's no longer available new from Mazda so unfortunately you will have to get a used one. Either way though, you have a beautiful example!
Brooks, welcome to the forums. You have what we call one of a few different "special model" SA's. As Dave said, the 80 LS was produced in limited (2500) numbers. Back then Mazda would take a standard model GS, and jazz a few thousand up a little with paint, wheels and cosmetic packages to create these special models. Other limited SA models include the 79 Limited and 1980 10th anniversary edition. They did it again in 83 with another special edition. Yours looks to be in very good, above average condition. At least cosmetically. Besides the broken trim cap on the door pull, looks like your rear antenna has been replaced too. Like the caps, the retractable antenna's also have a tendency to fail over time. Do you still have both B-pillar badges?
The 80 LS's were all built from a standard GS model platform, with a 5 speed and sunroof. From here, they all came with the same brown leather interior as a special upgrade. Other unique features included the power mirrors, leather covered steering wheel and shift ****, gold colored waffle wheels, special raised white letter Bridgestone tires and those B-pillar badges. Treat any of these parts with special care as they are what make the car unique, compared to a standard S or GS model off the production line. As Dave said, 1000 units of each came finished in Aurora White and Brilliant Black, with 500 in Solar Gold.
Values of 1st Gen's (79-85 model yr) have been on a slow, steady rise. Very early production cars (built in 78) that have low VIN's and these special model editions, normally are valued a little higher than a standard car. Opinions will vary a lot, Hagerty does publish a value "guide" that includes 1st Gen's. Some exceptional condition cars have reached mid teens this past year, but those are not your average cars. Actual value will depend on mechanical and cosmetic condition, along with what the market will pay. General interest in JDM cars has increased lately, and this added interest has helped drive values higher. Without knowing any specifics on your car, just the couple pictures, I'd say yours could be worth something in the $4 to $6K range as is. You're right, owning an older collector vehicle isn't for everyone. These cars are pretty reliable but things can go wrong or fail suddenly. It helps to have a certain amount enthusiasm and mechanical ability to keep them going and dependable. A few are still daily drivers, but most are now a days, kept as a second, fun type of car toy. They aren't exactly investment grade type of vehicles, but many like to believe that could change down the road.
That was very well said Banzai!! My LS is a summer cruiser only. It is garaged 10p percent of the time and covered with a custom California car cover while it's in the garage. My car is not perfect by any means but I feel as though it hold not only monetary value but sentimental value. I have memories of this car as a child and I truly believe it is what drew me to RX-7's as a child. I was fortunate enough to befriend the owner as an adult and had serviced the car for the owner for 13 years. He gave me the car as a gift, knowing I would treat his baby that he bought off the showroom floor, with the same care and attention that he would.
Thank you very much for the great history of the LS.
Both LS pillar badges are present and in perfect condition. You are correct about the antenna. I am seeking a replacement as the current mount is very sharp with the antenna removed I am afraid it will puncture the new custom cover I just received. My expectations on the antenna are low but I have hope of finding a semi-operational candidate for repair. A friend of mine runs a Mazda dealership and has pledged to help me in any way possible. The pinstripes are gone too but one of my clients owns a paint shop and said he will put them back like new. The rear window supports are pretty much finished too. I think the car needs some white lettered tires, the plain black tires are just boring. As to the broken bits (door handle screw cover, antenna), I am planning a trip to some local junkyards this weekend (ironically, my wife is excited about these visits).
On a side note, my family calls this car "Magic Beans" because I received from a client in exchange for handling her brother's estate.
The pinstriping was a dealer add on and there was a special pin stripe kit for the LS that was. $75 dollar option. If the pinstripes are gone or possibly were never there I'm not sure I would add them. The original LS pin striping was more of a decal that extended from the B-pillars down to the doors and across the top of each door, nearly touching the fender. I will upload some pictures of the car and post them for reference.
Thank you very much for the compliment George!! Those pictures were taken the day of the largest car show in my area. I took the LS over my 63 Ford Falcon at the request of my oldest son, whom you can see posing the car in the pictures above. A reporter came by as my sons were playing in the car at the end of the show and was so taken back by the car that he asked if he could write a small blurb about the car and my boys and publish it in the paper. Turns out we made the front page!
That LS is truly is amazing condition!! Its absolutely beautiful in every regard! You are very lucky to have the car as it's a very well taken care of example! Its ine to hang into and enjoy. Any idea why it had been stored for so long unused?
Did you trouble shoot what failed on your antenna? Normally, the nylon cord that extends / retracts the mast becomes brittle and breaks. You can still hear the motor run when depressing the switch, just no movement. The car does look in very good shape overall. How does it run and idle? Have you done a compression check? Somewhere in the 105-120 range is considered good. Below 90, not so much. With 27K miles I'd bet the compression is fine. Did you get it from the original owner or family and did they confirm the mileage? That is the original, OEM spare. I'd clean up the chalky residue and put on a non-silicone protectant. The steering wheel, seats and shift **** would probably benefit from some leather conditioner too.
The old antenna is long gone.
As to the engine, at idle, I cannot feel or hear the engine. In fact, I keep thinking it died. I did not do a compression check.
In the spring I plant to have a full and comprehensive detailing done at a shop down the street that does exotic cars. I will get the interior, undercarriage, exterior and engine bay detailed. Of course, all leather to be nourished.
I did not get the car from the original owner. I will run a VIN history at work tomorrow and see how many owners this car has had over the years. I suspect not many.
That LS is truly is amazing condition!! Its absolutely beautiful in every regard! You are very lucky to have the car as it's a very well taken care of example! Its ine to hang into and enjoy. Any idea why it had been stored for so long unused?
This is one of around 30 cars in a collection I am trying to track down. I am dealing with Jaguar XKEs, Land Rovers, Datsun 2xx, Toyota Landcruisers, Porsches, and Mazdas. The LS is one of 5 Mazdas. They have all been sitting for at least 20-10 years in storage rooms across Long Island. I cannot reveal more than that for now. At the moment I have a nearly new 64' land rover to get rid of.
bt
Last edited by Brooks Taylor; 11-19-19 at 06:58 AM.
Sounds like you found an amazing collection and I wish you the best in acquiring more of the cars! You'll have to let us k ow how you fare with the other cars!
I will run a VIN history at work tomorrow and see how many owners this car has had over the years. I suspect not many.bt
This car being a 1980 model is considered a 1st Gen Rx-7, which are often referred to as Series 1's or "SA's" due to the VINs all beginning with SA22C. Except that in the North American market, there is a twist. In 1981, the NHTSA mandated that VIN's for all vehicles sold in North America be standardized and had to be 17 digits in length. So for 1981, Mazda created a new 17 character VIN structure for vehicles destine to the USD market to include "FB" in the prefix, replacing the "SA" VIN's that were only 11 digits in length.
In a nutshell, while the rest of the world got "SA" 1st gen's thru 1985, the US got both SA's and FB's we call 1st Gen's. This isn't important except that you can't search an older, 11 digit SA VIN in the current system. It only takes vehicles manufactured in 81 or later with 17 digits. Without the original paperwork and / or paper trail, there is no way to trace the cars history or know what the original engine number for the car was.
11-11-19, 02:49 PM
New Member - Long Island
