Hey everybody! My name is Samantha, and I've been stalking the forum for a couple weeks now, trying to learn everything I can about rx-7's before I get ready to purchase one.
A '82 cream rx-7 caught my eye a few weeks ago, and I instantly fell in love. The more I began looking into these cars, the more I liked them.

I'm hoping to pick up an '84 rx-7 that I've been looking at for a couple days. I believe it's a 13b, but I should know more when I go to check it out later today.

If I decide to purchase this car, what should I expect? Where should I look to determine major problems? The car has been sitting for a while, and taken care of by people who probably don't know what it is. Do you guys have any advice for a beginner rotary and rx-7 member?

I want to be sure that first time is perfect, and am willing to wait for the right one.

 

Welcome Samantha. If you're new to cars the best bet is to buy one that is still being driven. The one's that have been sitting can be a good buy, but they usually require a little TLC to get them back up to snuff. Check out the for sale sections here. They have a section for the Northwest and you can probably find a good car close to you. Waiting and looking for the right car for you is the smartest thing you can do. I don't remember how many times I haven't followed this advice myself and regretted it. If possible find a car from someone that's into rotaries and that hasn't been too heavily modified. Someone new to rotaries needs to get their feet wet with something close to stock before diving off the modification cliff.

 

Yeah I definitely want to wait for the right one.
And I'm currently just fixing up my car so I can sell it. I live in a town where I could ride my bike everywhere I needed if I ended up for a few weeks without a car. I think it would be cool to get a first gen without the mods just for the pure learning experience of how to put those modifications onto the car. I love tinkering, and learning new things. Once I discovered how amazing these rotary engines are, I was hooked.
I have been checking the sale section from time to time, and in the local craigslist I found a reasonably priced 84 rx7 12a. It has been sitting for a while, but still runs well. Its reasonably clean outside and in.

 

I have a soft spot for the first generation cars myself. The nice part about the first gens is that they're relatively simple compared to the fuel injected cars. It's just a matter of finding what you like and boning up with the Factory Service Manuals (a.k.a. FSM) and getting dirty. You'll get a lot of satisfaction from doing the work yourself. Word of warning though, don't get too far into it if it's your daily driver, unless you have alternate transportation. Nothing ever quite works out the way it's supposed to and always takes at least twice as long as you think it should. It happens to everyone no matter how experienced you are, some kind of mechanics curse I think.