Hello all,

Ever since autocrossing a first generation RX7 back when they were new (and dominated the SCCA C-Stock class) I've wanted to rally one. Having just purchased the car Arkansan Scott Justus used to outrun me in 2006 at Texas' Rallye de Paris when I was driving a SAAB 900 Turbo, I'll soon have my chance to fulfill a dream.

I've been competing in stage rally since the mid-1970s. I started in rear wheel drive cars but won my national championship titles in the world's first New Beetle rally car (FWD) this millennium. Rear Wheel Drive is where it's at so I'm pumped to own one of the most fun-to-drive RWD rally cars ever built.

Mike Halley

 

What are your thoughts on the the 1st gen RX-7? Have you driven a 2nd gen? I'm looking to purchase a RX-7 soon. I got my eyes on 2 right now. A clean n/a 1st gen with 70k miles or a turbo 2nd gen with 120k miles. I'm leaning more towards the 2nd gen only because I prefer the way they look.

 

For competition purposes I prefer the 1sr Gen cars since they are smaller, lighter and more nimble. According to my SCCA IT and EP rotary road racer friends, the down side to the earliest RX7s is the growing scarcity of 12A engines and critical components. That may well be why I bolt a 13B turbo engine in my rally car in the near future.

M. E. "Mad Mike" Halley

 

Is the 1st gen a pretty cheap way to get into rally? It seems like replacement parts cost may be expensive/hard to find.

 

1st gen stuff is actually very cheap, just hard to find. I picked up my 12A shortblock for $200 and it was in the triple digits for compression, and I also got a transmission for free off craigslist. You just have to really look around a lot, it is out there though.

For the purpose of racing, you'd be better off to go with the 13b though. In these cars you'd be surprised how fast 150hp feels.

 

The 13B turbo I mentioned is being donated by a long time supporter of my rally efforts. He had plans to use it in some kind of project he dreamed up but he has decided he'll never get around to doing it. I wanna get the 12A running just to shake the car down before I decide whether to bolt more HP and torque in it.

 

I'd love to do that.

 

It's been a few years since I introduced myself so let me catch up a little:

The yellow SA now sports a freshly built, street port 13B Turbo II engine mated to an RX8 six-speed transmission and boasts a double pass racing radiator installed at a 45 degree angle, a pair of in-fuel-cell fuel pumps, a whole lot of hours of trial and error to get the FC engine electrics figured out and running in an SA, and several more hard won lessons that has the car ready for exhaust system completion, a shake down and some rallye action!

 

It's been pretty interesting the last couple of years. My rotary involvement (affliction) has gone from one SA rallye car to a total of 8.5 RX7s; four of which are caged and logbooked rallye cars; two are FCs (one a Group 5 championship winning rallye car and an 88 GTU that is getting an engine transplant and will be for sale soon); an 83 GS with a 13B street port engine, Holley 4 barrel carb and Racing Beat manifolds; a couple FB parts cars; the half of an FB that donated a front clip and roof to the GSL-SE rallye car I flipped at this year's Rally in the 100 Acre Wood in Missouri, and one chassis with a 4-link rear suspension that will - one day - become an E-Production/vintage road race car.

So to answer your question, if you have enough capital to start buying up cars from folks who lost interest in their projects you usually are offered a deal like, "I'll sell you the car for X dollars on one condition - you take everything RX7 that is here." I now have all those cars and a large storage room full of spares.

 

I ended up doing exactly that but in Turbo II configuration and have been told it will put a lot more than 150HP to the wheels.

In fact, everything I have with a running engine (six of the 8.5 RX7s I have at the shop) have 13Bs in them!