I recently got back around to an old rx7 that has been sitting in my dads old shop for over 3 years indoor and about 3 more outside at another shop, it really doesn’t look too bad, has race bucket seats and race switches that I have no clue how to work, I’ve never worked on a rotary so this is a first and would love to just here this thing fire up, has msd boxes as you’ll see in picture, manually cranked it and it only moved about 40 degrees to both sides before stopping, didn’t put much force to not possibly break something but not sure what that means, if I could get y’all’s insight, thanks.

 

welcome to the board.

well, it looks pretty tattered, but in 2024 i would consider it a decent start. it will definitely require some TLC and a thorough going through though.

as far as the engine turning only 40° and stopping, that's definitely not a great sign, but it may not be the end of the world either. you'll have to investigate further. You can try putting some Seafoam down the throttles and let it soak for a day or two and see if make any difference. if not, then you'll probably have to pull the stationary gears and start working your way inward.

 

Welcome to forum

 

So I’ve been up for the past week looking at videos on restoring 12a’s and really what a rotary engine is, but most things are gone or changed so I’m really not sure how much this thing is missing if anything. The first thing I noticed was holes on the top of the engine where the original brought tubes with plugs that had different colors, I don’t recall the name rn, but that’s not there, there an oil filter connected to a 4 way hose connector that says lead and trail but it’s missing two hoses so I’m not sure where that leads too. I can also see the engine was dismounted and painted red and silver so I’m led to believe that it might be bridgeported in some way. I also Researched and saw that the car model came with either a 4 or 5 speed manual so is there any way to check which one without turning on car, I can’t really change gears apart from neutral with the shift gnob.Another thing I saw is the Aluminum Radiator they have and just wanted to verify that flushing and cleaning it well would be fine to keep using it. Wiring doesn’t seem too bad, ignition boxes honestly look brand new, I have not a single clue as to how to work the race switches and I wouldn’t want to mess something up while trying to start the car as well as running it.

 

i believe you are referring to the missing rat's nest. if this is going to remain a race car, then you don't need it.

i didn't see the oil lines you spoke of that were labeled "Lead" and "Trail", but i can say that anything labeled with those terms are going to be ignition-related, not oil. i did see the secondary oil filter next to the distributor, so maybe something got mislabeled???

as far as the switches go, they're not stock so it's anyone's guess. your best bet would be to trace the wiring to wherever they go and see if you can figure it out, or post your findings here and someone else can help you figure it out.

i can't see someone setting up a race car and keeping the 4 speed, but that said, i don't know how to tell the difference between the 4- and the 5-speeds. you can start by taking some photos and using this thread to help you figure out what you've got.
Transmission thread: https://www.rx7club.com/general-rota...guide-1153243/

also, i'm going to move this thread to the Tech section since it's not really an introduction, per se.