Bought my 1st rx7
 

Its an 83 5 spd 12a car. About 130k miles. Some redneck bought it because he said if you flip something upside down in the engine bay you can bolt in a 5.0 ford motor. He got so far as to put synthetic 5w30 in it and a fram filter then decided he should buy a mustang. It's rough but for $700 I couldn't pass it up.
12a
Carb was rebuilt very recently. It wont idle no matter how long the car runs and the choke knob just pulls on the throttle cable. Wtf.
Ac/power steering/ smog crap deleted
Radio and headlight wiring all magicly missing.
He claims it has a new clutch.
The exhaust was cut after the manifold and a straight pipe goes down to the muffler. Somehow it isn't loud at all.
It has a new gas tank and fuel lines.
Someones put a really big and loud fuel pump in it with a toggle on/off switch.
New rear brakes and lines all around.
I installed a set of random used cooper tires that are slightly smaller because I cant find any new tires that arent chinese. The tires on the car were dry rotted toyos that probably are older than me.

What brand of oil and weight must I run? All of the threads have conflicting reports.

Is there a common thing that makes these not idle? I was told it idled before it sat for about a month.

Can someone please explain this premix stuff? Seems like everyone has a different view on what should be done to take care of the motor.

Besides never shutting it off before its warmed up and regularly reving it high how do I ensure I dont blow the motor up?

The arm things that hold the rear axle have super rotted out bushings, do I replace those arms or can I get new bushings?

Why cant I get a single part for this car at my local auto parts store?

Are there any options for a header besides Racing beat and the Pace setter ones? The racing beat one is overpriced and the pace setter one flows like crap and isnt exactly bolt in.

Is there anything else I should know about this car/ rotary motors before I try to fix everything broken?

Welcome.A lot of your questions are common so they can be answered at your leisure when you browse the Forum,as the info has been covered so often.
Take the synthetic out and put in a 10w30 or even a 50 weight oil..
The "great Oil Debate" goes on for days too..something that everyone and their dog like to fight about!

Welcome. Mazda states that in the warmer months, the engine should take 20W50 (non synthetic) motor oil and in the cooler months, 10W40 motor oil. What brand you choose is up to you of course. I prefer Castrol GTX.

As far as the idling issue, it could be as simple as a vacuum leak or it could be in need of a carb rebuild. It wouldn't be a bad idea since it probably has not been done in some time, if ever.

Premix has been debated. On a non modified engine, running the original oil metering pump, I run 1/2 of premix per gallon of gas.

The engine can let go at any time, but if its healthy, it should not. Don't beat the piss out of it all the time. Install a good exhaust system, ensure you have the proper oil, perform a quality tune up, replacing the plugs, wires, cap, rotor, belts, hoses, filters etc.

You can buy new bushings for the rear control arms. Energy Suspension sells a kit.

Parts for these cars are hard to come by locally. I use RockAuto for a lot of parts and I also use www.mazdatrix.com and Atkins Rotary - Rx7 | Rx8 | Mazda | Rotary | Engine | Parts

You get what you pay for with Racing Beat. Its literally THE BEST exhaust system money can buy for our cars. I have a full RB streetport exhaust system on my 80 LS and its fantastic! Pacesetter is not the bet brand. I have used their exhaust parts with not so great results.

Anything you should know before you fix it. Well, look at the rear wheel wells. Is there a lot of rust? Rear control arm mounts rotted out where they attach to the floor? No? Then you have a good car to restore. The 1st gens are excellent cars. They're not very fast but they are incredible in their own right. Simply amazing cars that can drain your wallet extremely fast. Good original cars are drying up and will continue to climb in value. Those are teh ones to save and not modify and enjoy as they were intended.