Saved a '79 RX7 from an Idaho field
07-25-11, 01:42 AM
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Saved a '79 RX7 from an Idaho field
My name is Roy and I live in Boise Idaho. I've been a life long car junkie. Most of my 4 wheeled adiction has involved Chevy muscle cars and 4x4 trucks but I've also built and modified air cooled VW's, Datsun 510's, 240SX's, E30 BMW's and even a Ford Falcon.
My first exposure to RX7's was in 1985 when my sister asked me to test drive a brand new GSL-SE for her (she didn't know how to drive stick shift yet). I stomped on the gas when I pulled out of the dealer parking lot and lit up the tires as the salesman watched from the curb. That's when I put an RX7 on my 'get this car someday' list.
I recently purchased an RX7 ($400) that has been parked in between a dirt pile and a shed for 7 years. After washing off the layers of dirt, cobwebs and mud, I found a complete and rust free car that was in really good condition. My plan was to pull the dead rotary engine and drivetrain and do a 302 Ford/T5 swap using the kit from grannys speed shop.
Just for the heck of it I replaced the old fuel, installed a battery attempted to start the beast. I was shocked and elated to see the old rotary start and run! I had to leave the choke on to keep the engine running, but the engine and exhaust sounded very healthy and smooth. There was a huge cloud of smoke at first but the exhaust cleared up after a few minutes of running.
I'm going to run the stock 12A for a while at least. With a carb rebuild, new tires and new clutch master and slave cylinders, I should have a running and driving RX7.
My first exposure to RX7's was in 1985 when my sister asked me to test drive a brand new GSL-SE for her (she didn't know how to drive stick shift yet). I stomped on the gas when I pulled out of the dealer parking lot and lit up the tires as the salesman watched from the curb. That's when I put an RX7 on my 'get this car someday' list.
I recently purchased an RX7 ($400) that has been parked in between a dirt pile and a shed for 7 years. After washing off the layers of dirt, cobwebs and mud, I found a complete and rust free car that was in really good condition. My plan was to pull the dead rotary engine and drivetrain and do a 302 Ford/T5 swap using the kit from grannys speed shop.
Just for the heck of it I replaced the old fuel, installed a battery attempted to start the beast. I was shocked and elated to see the old rotary start and run! I had to leave the choke on to keep the engine running, but the engine and exhaust sounded very healthy and smooth. There was a huge cloud of smoke at first but the exhaust cleared up after a few minutes of running.
I'm going to run the stock 12A for a while at least. With a carb rebuild, new tires and new clutch master and slave cylinders, I should have a running and driving RX7.
07-25-11, 03:23 PM
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91&88 Verts Now, 79LE B4
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revived 79
That is great. What color is the car and how many miles on the odometer? I had a charcoal gray limited edition and loved it. I hope you are able to have many years of enjoying the rotary engine. I have a hunch that you might never change away from the 12A.
07-26-11, 11:54 AM
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The car was originally yellow but it now wears a worn out coat of red paint. When I get all of the mechanicals worked out, I'm going to break the car down to the shell and paint it bright silver.
Most of the interior was removed last weekend. Sitting in the sun for so long dried the carpet and cloth so badly that it was turning to plastic dust everytime I touched or breathed on anything. Luckily a local craigslister had a very clean set of 1985 gsl seats for sale cheap so at least I'll have something to sit once I get the car driving.
If I can get the 12A running reliably, I will hold off on doing the V8 swap. The car should be driving after replacing the tires, fuel filter, spark plugs, fluids, clutch master/slave cylinders and then rebuilding the carburetor in the next couple of weeks.
I still can't beleive I got my RX7 for just $400. It was advertised on craigslist at $500 for more than a month by the time I was able to check the car out make and offer. The owner told me that he had dozens of offers over the 7 years it was parked in front of his property but when he was finally willing to let it go nobody seemed to be interested anymore. I was the first person to actually come out and look at the car after the ad was placed.
Being new to the site, I haven't figured out how to post pics yet but I will as soon as I can.
Most of the interior was removed last weekend. Sitting in the sun for so long dried the carpet and cloth so badly that it was turning to plastic dust everytime I touched or breathed on anything. Luckily a local craigslister had a very clean set of 1985 gsl seats for sale cheap so at least I'll have something to sit once I get the car driving.
If I can get the 12A running reliably, I will hold off on doing the V8 swap. The car should be driving after replacing the tires, fuel filter, spark plugs, fluids, clutch master/slave cylinders and then rebuilding the carburetor in the next couple of weeks.
I still can't beleive I got my RX7 for just $400. It was advertised on craigslist at $500 for more than a month by the time I was able to check the car out make and offer. The owner told me that he had dozens of offers over the 7 years it was parked in front of his property but when he was finally willing to let it go nobody seemed to be interested anymore. I was the first person to actually come out and look at the car after the ad was placed.
Being new to the site, I haven't figured out how to post pics yet but I will as soon as I can.
07-26-11, 12:14 PM
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Thank you for the welcome.
Attached is a pic of the car where it had been resting for 7 years. It was parked betweeen a large shed and a dirt pile. After a 90 point turn on flat tires, I had it on a trailer.
Attached is a pic of the car where it had been resting for 7 years. It was parked betweeen a large shed and a dirt pile. After a 90 point turn on flat tires, I had it on a trailer.
Last edited by xcell60st; 07-26-11 at 12:20 PM.
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07-29-11, 03:29 PM
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I bought a running '85 parts car last night. It ran so well that I decided to drive it home instead of renting a trailer. The accelerator pump in the carburetor wasn't squirting so there was a big hesitation off idle but other than that, the engine started easily, idled reliably and had tons of power. Enough power to bark the tires during a 1st to 2nd gear power shift. I had forgotten how awesome rotaries sound at high rpm's.
This car could probably be saved also but the body and interior are very rough, the windshield is cracked and the wiring was completely boogered up by a wannabe electrical engineer. It would take way too much time and money to make everything work again and bring it back into smog compliance. I don't know, maybe I can use this car to do a fuel injected v8 swap. Injected 5.0 Fords are very easy and cheap build and still be smog compliant.
This car could probably be saved also but the body and interior are very rough, the windshield is cracked and the wiring was completely boogered up by a wannabe electrical engineer. It would take way too much time and money to make everything work again and bring it back into smog compliance. I don't know, maybe I can use this car to do a fuel injected v8 swap. Injected 5.0 Fords are very easy and cheap build and still be smog compliant.
Last edited by xcell60st; 07-29-11 at 03:33 PM.
08-08-11, 02:08 PM
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Update
I made some good progress with this project. After a few repairs and what seemed like a lot tuning/fiddling, the car ran well enough for me to drive my RX7 to work last Friday. The engine makes very good power, enough to ignite a one tire fire all the way accross an intersection and beyond. All of the lights and other electricals work now except for the driver's side headlight that doesn't want to retract anymore.
One of my co-workers gave me a set of Sprint wheels with almost new tires for helping him with his '64 Chevy Nova gasser project. I wasn't expecting anything in return so it was like getting a free set of rollers. The wheels came off of his 4-lug Nova(he's converting to five lug 12 bolt rear end and disk brakes). The fit was perfect but I did have to buy hubcentric rings to make sure the wheels were centered on the hubs.
Last weekend I scored a freshly rebuilt GSL_SE limited slip rear end from a local rally racer. Should have that installed next weekend along with front suspension, brake system, 5-speed, drive shaft and electronic ignition distributor from my '85 parts car.
Next on the list of things to do is removal of all emmisions related equipment and getting a really good tune.
One of my co-workers gave me a set of Sprint wheels with almost new tires for helping him with his '64 Chevy Nova gasser project. I wasn't expecting anything in return so it was like getting a free set of rollers. The wheels came off of his 4-lug Nova(he's converting to five lug 12 bolt rear end and disk brakes). The fit was perfect but I did have to buy hubcentric rings to make sure the wheels were centered on the hubs.
Last weekend I scored a freshly rebuilt GSL_SE limited slip rear end from a local rally racer. Should have that installed next weekend along with front suspension, brake system, 5-speed, drive shaft and electronic ignition distributor from my '85 parts car.
Next on the list of things to do is removal of all emmisions related equipment and getting a really good tune.
Last edited by xcell60st; 08-08-11 at 02:11 PM.
08-15-11, 01:06 PM
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This past weekend turned out to be very productive in spite of the fact that it was very hot in the garage and was only able to work on the RX7 for 5-6 hours per day before the heat got to be too much.
I made the assumption that the disk brake/limited slip rear end that I bought was from a GSL-SE but it turned out to be a small bearing unit from a 1981-83 GSL. It would have been nice to have the larger and more common lug bolt circle but at least I now have a limited slip diff and disk brakes. In any case, the rear end installed fairly easily with some wrestling and cussing since I was doing it by myself. The complete front end and brake set-up from my 1985 parts car was installed at the same time. This included the master cylinder and brake lines. All of the hydraulic fittings are finer thread after 1980 so everything had to be switched over. The 1985 brake booster is much larger in diameter than 1979 unit in my car and interfered with the clutch master cylinder. Luckily, the 1985 master cylinder bolted up and functioned with the smaller 1979 booster.
A lot of time spent trying to figure out why the driver's side headlight would not retract. All of the wiring, connections and switches appeared to be in good, working condition. I thought maybe the motor brushes might stuck so I tapped the motor with a hammer and it started to work. Cool!
The plans for this weekend included installing a rear anti-roll bar but I discovered that my 1979 doesn't have any mounts on the frame for the end links. Looks like I'll have to cut them out of the parts car and weld them in.
I haven't been able to test drive the lsd and disk brakes yet due to a leaky slave cylinder. The replacement should arrive today. I'm a little bit concerned about the brake bias changing from drum to disk.
Next on the list is to swap the 4 speed transmission to the 5 speed that's still in my parts car. Then I can relax and enjoy the car for a while before it all gets taken apart for bodywork and paint!
I made the assumption that the disk brake/limited slip rear end that I bought was from a GSL-SE but it turned out to be a small bearing unit from a 1981-83 GSL. It would have been nice to have the larger and more common lug bolt circle but at least I now have a limited slip diff and disk brakes. In any case, the rear end installed fairly easily with some wrestling and cussing since I was doing it by myself. The complete front end and brake set-up from my 1985 parts car was installed at the same time. This included the master cylinder and brake lines. All of the hydraulic fittings are finer thread after 1980 so everything had to be switched over. The 1985 brake booster is much larger in diameter than 1979 unit in my car and interfered with the clutch master cylinder. Luckily, the 1985 master cylinder bolted up and functioned with the smaller 1979 booster.
A lot of time spent trying to figure out why the driver's side headlight would not retract. All of the wiring, connections and switches appeared to be in good, working condition. I thought maybe the motor brushes might stuck so I tapped the motor with a hammer and it started to work. Cool!
The plans for this weekend included installing a rear anti-roll bar but I discovered that my 1979 doesn't have any mounts on the frame for the end links. Looks like I'll have to cut them out of the parts car and weld them in.
I haven't been able to test drive the lsd and disk brakes yet due to a leaky slave cylinder. The replacement should arrive today. I'm a little bit concerned about the brake bias changing from drum to disk.
Next on the list is to swap the 4 speed transmission to the 5 speed that's still in my parts car. Then I can relax and enjoy the car for a while before it all gets taken apart for bodywork and paint!
Last edited by xcell60st; 08-15-11 at 01:26 PM.
08-15-11, 10:53 PM
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This car is a little too nice to butcher with a V8 swap. I really like how it runs, sounds and drives as is so it will stay rotary until I decide to sell it.
There are a few FC's for sale locally that are already busted up or missing parts. I'll probably buy one of those for an LS/T56 swap. With power rack and pinion steering and IRS, the FC's are probably a better V8 drift platform anyway.
I just drove my RX7 a couple hours ago after installing the clutch slave cylinder. The limited slip locks up nice and tight. Makes this car a lot of fun to drift and power slide. I really like how predictable SA RX7's are and how the ample caster allows the steering snap to center when I let the wheel slip in my hands. The brakes were a pleasant suprise. The brake pedal is now very solid. Brake bias is not perfect but its close. The fronts lock up right before the rears.
There are a few FC's for sale locally that are already busted up or missing parts. I'll probably buy one of those for an LS/T56 swap. With power rack and pinion steering and IRS, the FC's are probably a better V8 drift platform anyway.
I just drove my RX7 a couple hours ago after installing the clutch slave cylinder. The limited slip locks up nice and tight. Makes this car a lot of fun to drift and power slide. I really like how predictable SA RX7's are and how the ample caster allows the steering snap to center when I let the wheel slip in my hands. The brakes were a pleasant suprise. The brake pedal is now very solid. Brake bias is not perfect but its close. The fronts lock up right before the rears.
08-23-11, 12:42 AM
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My RX7 was acting up a little bit. The idle speed started wandering from just below 1000 to 1500 and was surging when cruising down the freeway. The timing light showed that the ignition timing was all over the place. The dual point distributor, it's coils and resistors were ripped out and replaced with all of the electronic ignition gear and wiring from my parts car. That took care of the surging but the idle speed was still wandering like crazy.
I put a vacume gauge on the brake booster line and only got around 4 pounds of vacume at idle. Not knowing were to begin to find the massive vacume leak, the decision was made to remove the rat's nest. I also ended up removing the AC solenoid, hot start, and the sub-zero. The air pump and air control valve is still attached but they will be in the trash bin by next week. The vacume reading is now much higher but the idle speed is still wandering a little bit. I'll probably have to rebuild the carburetor to eliminate all of the vacume leaks. The car is running pretty good now so I'll save that project for another weekend.
I put a vacume gauge on the brake booster line and only got around 4 pounds of vacume at idle. Not knowing were to begin to find the massive vacume leak, the decision was made to remove the rat's nest. I also ended up removing the AC solenoid, hot start, and the sub-zero. The air pump and air control valve is still attached but they will be in the trash bin by next week. The vacume reading is now much higher but the idle speed is still wandering a little bit. I'll probably have to rebuild the carburetor to eliminate all of the vacume leaks. The car is running pretty good now so I'll save that project for another weekend.
08-23-11, 06:28 PM
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Excellent find. I saw my 82 at my stepfathers garage. He took it in trade for a $800 dollar beater. The kid traded a 2009 cobalt for it even only months before and took it to 4 garages where no one could get it to act "right". I do body work at the garage and my stepdad didn't know what to do with it. He had it on the lot last summer and stored last winter and this summer he was sick of looking at it because no one could work on it I fixed it and got it running great.......but. I didn't have the money to buy it outright, he was asking 3500, so one day he asked if I had room at my house for it......well yeah that pretty much sold it. 