1987 n\a gas tank question
 

In the process of replacing the fuel pump on my 1987 n\a rx7, while attaching the wires, one of the brass posts that connects the interior wire (inside the tank) of the fuel pump to the outer wiring in the car, broke off. I took the funny plastic connector off, and took it to the parts store- no luck at all, hadn't ever seen anything like it. I dont want to buy a whole new tank and bracket assembly, any ideas on this guys?

You don't need a new tank, but you will need a new fuel pump flange if you don't want to fab something up (which it sounds like you don't).

You can get one from Mazda. You may need to order the entire assembly complete with fuel pump and level sender though.

Well I did end up fabbing something up, because I am running out of good weather to work on the car (no garage). I took a brass bolt, insulated it where it goes through the tank with a plastic tube and epoxy, and put two pieces of fuel line on either end, and bolted it down tight, added another nut on each end to connect the wires. Problem now is, pump wont run, so I dont know if its my makeshift fix, or another problem with the car. Assuming my fix did work, what else could it be to cause the pump not to run?

Your fix will leak in a matter of weeks, just so you are aware.

The fuel pump only runs while the car is running. To force it to run without the engine running, jumper the yellow test connector at the passenger shock tower and set the key to "IGN". The pump will now run continuously. If it doesn't, then you'll have to check for 12V at the appropriate wires (uh, I think the blue wire off hand).