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Old guy. Old car.

I have a 1979 Rx-7 GS. SA22C-505060. I'm the original owner. Pre-ordered the car way before any had been shipped to the US so I got one of the first ones.
This was my first post college junker car replacement so I drove it all through my early adult (formative) years. We had a lot of fun together!

Mid 90's I tore it apart, painted metallic blue inside and out, put in a ported 13B with dual side draft carbs, racing exhaust, etc. What a screamer.

Several overseas jobs caused me to park it. A marriage and instant family caused it to stay that way. I've retired and looking at what I want to do with it now.

Some pics would be nice. Something with that much sentimental value, I'd go and try to make it run again now that you have time

Welcome to the forum!! An early car commands a lot of value if left in its original condition. Shame it was so heavily modified. But, we are here to help you get the car back on the road! Would love to see some pictures of the car and hear about the pre delivery ordering experience!!

Post some pics ! Sounds cool

1979 GS Pictures

Here's a few recent pictures of the car.

Welcome! I don't see pics but maybe it's just me. I'd love to hear more about this story.

I met a first gen owner about 10 years ago that was the original owner of his 79, but he was 85 already at that time. I want to call and check on him but I'm afraid of what I might hear. He came to a couple meets though, surprisingly. He was a great story teller too and just a lot of fun. I don't believe he ordered his, but he bought the first one on the lot if I remember right.

I met another older gentleman and his wife a few years later coming out of the commissary on base as I was going into the BX. Something told me I should talk to him. I asked if they needed help loading groceries in their car and they accepted. We get closer and I see an old Mercury Grand Marquis, "obviously this is their car". Nope, it was the RX-8 R3 behind it. WHAT???!!! He said he had owned a first gen years ago too and used to tear through back country roads and got it up to 120mph before haha. I talked to them for about an hour and he told me about his time as a guard at a POW camp in WWII. Years later I realized they may have had frozen food they should have gotten home and I finally felt like an asshole for holding them up lol.

So I'd like to hear more about your story.

Welcome to the forums. I don't think your pictures took. I'm also an original owner of a 79, which was my first new car purchase. This is a good place to expand your knowledge and find parts and help.

Trying to load photos...test #25

welcome to the forum. nice SA u got there. don't see many of them in blue. then there's that lake cities manifold. don't see too many of them either.

Looks good! I like that color. And it's pretty clean too.

So was your car originally Daytona Blue? Pretty rare 1st year only color. It has a few early production features but does not include a speaker dash. Did the dash get replaced at some time? I thought all the first cars had speaker dash's. Did you also add the passenger door side mirror?

Thanks for the responses. To answer your questions...
The car was originally silver. I figured if I was going to cover up the original paint I might as well go for something "different" from everyone else. And...I really like a metallic blue.
I added the passenger side mirror for safety reasons. I seemed to do a lot of lane changes and needed to be sure the space was clear...quickly.
The original dash has speaker holes. One day a nice clean split appeared in the center of the dash. Looks like it was sliced with a knife. I installed another dash but still have the original should I ever want to repair it. In fact, I have all the original parts. Radio, 12A engine, all the pollution control stuff, etc. that I removed when the 13B was installed. The exhaust is the only thing I threw away.

How I met my RX-7:
I was graduating college in May of '78 and looking for a job. At the time I was driving a 4 door Ford Maverick that had belonged to my Aunt, various cousins, my mother and then me. I think everyone had at least one wreck in it (I had two). I wanted a sports car. Everyone had a Datsun 240Z so that really wasn't appealing. I saw a magazine article about a new car with a rotary coming out of Japan. There was a sketch of what it would look like. No pictures were available. I was hooked. Love at first sight you might say. Unfortunately, quite a few people in Memphis must have read the same article as the shortest waiting list I could find had 40 people on it. I called dealers in other states looking for a shorter list.
In the spring I went to Bossier City, LA for an interview with Schlumberger. The interview seemed to go well and I figured they'd offer me a job....so obviously I could afford a new sports car. :-) There was a Mazda dealer across from the hotel. I was certain that was a sign. The salesman said they would get a few RX-7s but the waiting list was long. I would be #7. Ah, another sign. To get on the waiting list required a $250 deposit...exactly the amount I had to my name. Yet another sign!
There was no "ordering" of a specific color or model. You could request something but there was no guarantee. When a boat load of cars arrived they would be shipped to dealers basically one at a time and spread all across the US. First guy on the list could accept the car or pass it to the next guy on the list. The cars came in three colors. Red, Silver and an awful (my opinion) yellow. The first yellow car that showed up was the only one that people passed on. Someone lower on the list than me took that one home. The next car offered to me was a "loaded" silver GS. I took it! We've been good friends ever since.
As I said in my intro, the car has been asleep for 20 years. I figured I'd revive it when I retired. I didn't anticipate I'd retire to a ranch and just how much there is to do. Now I'm debating what to do with the car. Gravel roads aren't really a great environment for an RX-7. I'm sure someone could give it a better home and take it out for exercise on real pavement but it's really hard to let go of it.
Tough decision.

Clean ride! I like the blue

What a great reflection. From a Maverick to an Rx-7, love it! Our stories have a lot in common. Of course I also liked the Z cars, looked at a TR-7 and some Trans-Am's. I was also immediately smitten with the Rx-7 when I fist saw the magazine ads. My purchase also coincided with a new job. I can confirm that there was no ordering, I just told the dealer I wanted a Red 5 speed with a sunroof and put my deposit down without even knowing what the final price was going to be.

My wait was about 3 months (took delivery in Aug 79). I must have driven the dealer lots every weekend that summer in anticipation. I remember, it was so cool driving around and having people take two or three double takes. It was completely brand new to most people as it didn't really look like any previous Mazda or car for that matter.It did bear a strong resemblance to the Porsche 924. Good times for sure.

If it ran good when you put it away, it should not take that much money to get it going again, mostly elbow grease and time. Flushing the fuel and coolant systems, changing fluids, possibly some brake and carburetor work. As much as you still love her now, getting her back on the road will take you to a whole other
level. That place in time when it was just you two, before life got all complicated. BTW, Happy 40th anniversary!

Know what these are??

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...92c7be8103.jpg

These two punch cards came with my 79 GS. They are identical except that one has the stampings on the back.
Anyone know what they were used for?

I've saw pictures of these punch cards before but have no fist hand knowledge myself. I'm guessing something to do with the cars leaving the factory and arriving in the states or at a dealership. sort of a tracking or confirmation record? Never saw them for my car.

Love the color. Looks really clean both inside and out.

If you decide to sell ericslilred7@yahoo.com

Amazing story!! I love the color and the car appears to have been well cared for!! The punch cards are beautiful!! I have never seen or heard of a set and I have been restoring RX-7's since the late 90's!! Quite an amazing find indeed! Where were they when you discovered them?

I think if you were to sell the car, regret would set in the first time you saw another one on the road. You've cared for it this long and I feel as though when its back up and going properly, you'll fall back in love all over again! I wish we were closer! I would love to see that car in person!!

That is a sweet ride. I hope whatever you decide, keep the car the way you want it and drive it as often as you can!!

Here's a quick update...
Cleared out lots of cobwebs from underneath. Pulled the gas tank to replace all of the gas lines. Tank was clean inside so it just got a good cleaning and paint.
If you've ever wondered, the '79 check valve (mounted above the gas tank) is NLA but the '80 works nicely (Thanks, Ray!). Plastic sure can get brittle after 41 years.
Filled the radiator. Said a few prayers and turned the engine over a few times trying to wake her up gently. About the 5 or 6th effort and she came to life! Amazing!!!
There was almost no smoke even though I'd kept oil in the rotors. Idle was a bit rough but smoothed out after a few minutes. Still has a bit of a 'throb' to the idle but it's only been run 5 minute so far.

Which brings me to the question...now what? How long do you need to idle an engine that's been asleep 20+ years? Certainly don't want to blow anything up at this point as the process so far has gone very smoothly. I'd seen a post discussing waking up an engine and how to run them in the beginning but now I can't find it. Anyone know a good instructional post for reviving a car?

OH BTW...I'd said earlier I didn't know what I was going to do with the car now that I'm moving to a ranch. Working on it certainly revived the relationship. And when the engine fired right up, I knew. Good times coming again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by anyan1 (Post 12358537)

Great car and story. I’m not too far behind you and remember the Mazda yellow. That color was relatively popular in and around Del Mar California. A neighbors mom had a similar yellow Mazda wagon. On occasion her boyfriend would take us to places in it and I am pretty sure that guy was where drifting originated. He was an animal. The mom couldn’t understand why we were always eager to get rides to places in that car with the guy. In retrospect I’m not remembering seatbelts... Anywho, I am very glad to see you plan on enjoying your car. And gravel you say? How about a new evolution for your car?

Good luck with it and please keep the pictures coming. Really enjoy seeing them.

great video, i've see many of them. but the question i've always had is, where does the awd setup come from? what's the donor vehicle?