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My name is Josh Fortune. I grew up in Northwest Ohio but now live in Walla Walla Washington where I just completed my B.S. in Automotive Management from Walla Walla University. Not sure where my career will take me long term but for now, I am a ski and snowboard instructor during the winter and lifeguard during the summer. This is also my first year / probationary period as a volunteer firefighter at my local fire department.
I own a 1980 Mazda RX-7 GS. I bought it non-running in 2021 from a friend for $300 bucks. I recently underwent my senior project which was to build a healthy motor for this car. The original motor spun its rear rotor bearing into non-existence - total catastrophic engine failure. I bought a used 12A which must have come out of an FB and used it for the base of my rebuild. Between the two engines, I had no good housings. So, I bought Atkin's 13B housings machined into 12A housings. I just finished the build a couple of weeks ago and I hope to get the engine dropped in the next couple months. I still have the damaged irons and housings from the original motor so I am eager to practice porting. Would love to go large street port with a weber side draft at some point. In the meantime, I am running stock ports and I am going to attempt to strip one of my Nikkis to run without the rat's nest.
One important thing I learned throughout this project is that I still have a lot more to learn! I look forward to learning from you all.
Best,
Josh
Me with much shorter hair in 2021 when I bought the car The fully stacked short block as of a couple weeks ago. "The plan": The look I'm going for with the build eventually. A while ago I took a homework break and made this in Microsoft Paint lol
Welcome to the forum! Glad to see another Ohio (though formerly) resident! Your SA is incredible and the color is pretty rare, being a 1980 only color. The color was not available in 79 but was available in 81 and 82 I believe. You don't see many 80's in that color. How's the interior? Any plans on starting a build thread in the 1st Gen section? Do you know any of the car's history?
Thanks! Yeah, it's gonna be even more fun when I get it running
Originally Posted by mazdaverx713b
Welcome to the forum! Glad to see another Ohio (though formerly) resident! Your SA is incredible and the color is pretty rare, being a 1980 only color. The color was not available in 79 but was available in 81 and 82 I believe. You don't see many 80's in that color. How's the interior? Any plans on starting a build thread in the 1st Gen section? Do you know any of the car's history?
Much appreciated
Wow, another Ohio rotor-head! I'm pumped to see a couple indications of an active rotary community back home. I also noticed there's an "Ohio Rotaries" Social Group with recent activity on the board. Basically all my extended family still resides in the Midwest, plus I have close friends still in Ohio. So, I will definitely be back and I would love to bring the RX-7 out sometime. Though, I am curious if anyone has any particular thoughts on driving a 40 year old rotary cross country... lol.
When I first got this car, I was imagining a color change down the road but others seemed to really like it so I decided I would keep this color. That was a while ago so it's a cool feeling learning it's actually pretty uncommon! It will still need a little respray though, as the exterior needs some TLC. It has dents, paint blemishes, and a little rust (but nothing compared to the rust on Midwest cars...). I'd love to learn how to do the body work myself one day. in fact, I want to make my own over-fenders, front lip, and ducktail spoiler for it eventually.
The interior was dirty but I cleaned it up and it's all there with the exception of the original radio. It's even got A/C (just missing the A/C lines from the compressor to the evaporator because my buddy, the previous owner, was going to do an A/C delete. Other than that, the crudely cut head unit hole, and a random switch on the center console that's wired to - you guessed it - absolutely nothing, it seems to have not been messed with too much. The center console and HVAC vents were brittle and broke is several places so. Maybe, I can buy replacement vents? Not sure if I am going to get a replacement center console - seems fine to me without it. The driver's seat ratcheting part broke so if you put weight on it you just flop all the way backwards.... I want aftermarket seats anyway. I would love to find some information on the board about fixing the moon roof. My dial thing appears to be broken, it just doesn't actually lift the moon roof. But hey, it doesn't leak. That feels pretty lucky. One day, I'd like to make it transparent.
I do plan on doing a build thread but I'm not sure how to make one. I could be wrong but I don't recall seeing guidelines for build threads in the FAQs, rules, and other newbie threads I read through to ensure I learned to become a good citizen of the board. I will get a better idea reading through the other build threads here.
Unfortunately, I don't know a ton about it's history. My buddy bought it out of someone's field. I suspect it sat for about 10 years. I found a taco bell receipt dated 2011. But more indicatively, when I tore down the original engine I noticed it had dark stains in the exact shape of the combustion chamber at the bottom of each iron. I believe this was caused by years of the coolant/oil mixture I discovered pooling in the bottom of each housing. My buddy had it sitting in our dormitory parking lot for a year and never did anything with it so I convinced him to sell it to me.
Im about 20 minutes East of Cedar Point and theres a very active Ohio rotary community within the state and neighboring states. I run the Ohio Rotaries group and have been a member with Ohio Rotaries for more than 20 years and if you request to join on FB, ill approve your request. It's a very large community full of great people. I usually host a meet at my place once per year and in recent years, attendance has tapered off somewhat. This year I'm hoping to have a large meet based on some of the feedback that I've gotten.
As for your SA, it has all the makings of an incredible car. Hearing about its "as found in" condition brings back memories of buying these cars years ago. You just can't find them like that much anymore. I wouod buy 3 or 4 per year and restore them and now theyre extinct for a reasonable price. Kind of sad. Your car is extremely restorable and the classic lines of the SA ate just unmatched for the time period. I love my 1980 RX-7 Leather Sport. It gets a lot of attention when I bring it to shows. You just don't see a lot of these cars anymore.
You can just create a build thread in the 1st Gen Builds section. Much like youve done here, adding info and pictures of your progress. We all love seeing new restorations!
I'm not super active on Facebook but I'd still love to join! I'll put in a request later.
Thank you for your kind words. I'm so pleased to hear I managed to acquire a good platform with which to start - sometimes I wondered. It's awesome having connections to people with your level of experience - especially with my specific vehicle.
Your Leather Sport is very eye-catching! I bet it turns heads when you drive by. I wanna experience the feeling of driving a car like that.
Anyway, I wasn't familiar with the Leather Sport model until now. Very cool!
I'll get around to writing up a build thread in the 1st Gen Builds section then. I've barely ridden in the car (flat towed) but I still feel like I have tons to write about! I have lots of pictures too. My only worry is those with much more experience will call me out on any newbie mistakes I may have made and I'll feel exposed lol. But, I guess that's part of learning so I'll be sure to acknowledge all critiques
The guys here are really supportive of new members and will not embarrass you by calling out mistakes unless you're blatantly being a jack wagon. You'll have nothing to worry about and will receive a lot of support from the guys in the 1st Gen section.
As for the Leather Sport, the Solar Gold paint is really eye catching and people seem to really like it. I took it to a car show and it made it on the front page of the paper thay following Monday. The reporter there really seemed to like the car. I got the car from the original owner back in 2017. I had been servicing the car for the owner from about 2007 until I got it. Previous to that, when I was a little kid, maybe 8 or 9, I remember the car being parked in a Drug Mart parking lot around 1988 or 1989 and I remember walking up to the car and looking at it and just being in love with the car. It was THE car that sparked my interest in RX-7's. It's funny how I ended up with the car. Maybe it was meant to be. I don't drive it as much as I should.
What a special back story. That's so wholesome. Also, whenever I sit in my car I feel the same way that I suspect that kid in your car felt pictured behind the wheel in the newspaper
Your LS is such a time capsule. I'd love to see interior pics. The car overall looks very original!
Just out of curiosity:
- Has it needed any restoration work?
- Are you still running an OMP?
- What's your choice of motor oil (and premix if applicable)?
I'm certain there are several threads regarding these topics already but I was just curious what your personal thoughts were.
Funny story about the kid in the car, the little guy is my son. He's been in love with this car since I brought it home. The reporter thought it was amazing that I was letting my kids play in my car and thought it would make for a neat story. I don't mind if my kids sit in my cars and pretend to drive. That's part of being a kid. They're mostly respectful of the car.
As for restoration work, I know the paint is not original. It was repainted the original color once some time in the 90's. I've just had to replace worn consumable parts. Most recently I replace the entire clutch hydraulic system. The parts are tough to find for a 79-80, so I converted over to 81-85 parts. I bought a new hard line from Mazda and ordered new hydraulic components from Rock Auto. Works perfectly and looks identical to the SA parts.
I do run an OMP and I do not premix. The only modification to the car is a full Racing Beat street port exhaust system. I installed this for the original owner some time around 2013. The original exhaust was falling apart and this was the cheapest and best option so he went with it. I think it sounds great!
As for engine oil, I rum Castrol GTX 20W50. This is a personal choice and I have run this oil in my RX-7's since the late 90's. It's never let me down. I use a Mazda, Wix, Mahle, or Pulolator Pure One oil filter. I try and stick with the Mazda filters if I can. The only downside to the car is that some parts can be difficult to find, especially interior parts. My 85 GS that I converted to a GSL-SE drivetrain is easier to find parts for in many regards. I've been hoarding parts for more than 20 years and I still find myself looking for oddball things. But I wouldn't change a thing. I love these cars!!
The car has the original engine and is just over 120k miles. It's never had a rebuild and I have done a seafoam treatment on it once. The engine has always ran great. My next thing to fix is the intake manifold o-ring replacement. I saw coolant puddling on the housings near the intake manifold the last time I drove it. I have the parts and hope to pull the intake off this weekend and knock it out. It's been a really reliable car over the years and I have the receipt for every replacement part since 1980. Hasn't needed a ton and everything has been a common wear item that I've replaced on other 7's over the years.
Thank you! The early cars are very reliable and they do last a long time if they are properly maintained. You.car will definitely restore nicely. You honestly very rarely ever see them in the color you have.
06-23-23, 01:35 AM
SA22C | Recent Grad | Walla Walla, WA
