im buying a 79 rx7(from my gf's mom) and its been sitting for a few years, they said it ran when they parked it(i know it needs a fuel pump cus they said it was bad) but can anyone give me some general info on what might need to be replaced? besides tires cus i know they are highly dry-rotted haha, thanks in advance

Cameron

 

I would start with a full tune up, as well was replacing ALL rubber hoses and vacuum lines. The fuel system will no doubt be in the worst shape, so filters should be changed too.

 

ok cool, i figured that would be my main starting point, when i get the car home ill inspect it further and more in depth. im very excited to get this car back up and running. should be a blast to drive!

thanks guys
Cameron

 

do a compression test on the engine too, sometimes when a rotary sits for awhile the seals go bad resulting in low compression meaning you will need to rebuild the engine. also i read that first gens seem to get carbon locked when they sit to so try to turn the eccentric shaft pulley by hand before starting it or it can damage the inside of the engine.

 

http://www.aaroncake.net/rx-7/unstore.htm

 

1. Pour some Seafoam down the carb while rotating it by hand, then let that sit for a few days. This will break down any carbon deposits that might be jamming the apex seals, and get them moving freely again (restore compression).

2. Instructions on fuel pump replacement if you want to make this an upgrade rather than just a replacement (about the same cost). https://www.rx7club.com//showthread.php?t=529605

3. Tires: I like the Sumitomo HTR 200, and you will find them in your size.

Good luck




.

 

ok sweet thanks guys, im picking the car up today and bringin it home, ill def do the seafoam, cus i know the motor was rebuilt a couple thousand miles ago so i dont want to damage it and have to rebuild it again. ill get more pics when its here and i clean all the crap off of it and post em up here.

thanks guys!

 

also those links are very helpful so far, thanks!

 

i got the car home yesterday and inspected it further and noticed it needs a lot more body work due to rust spots, idk what the underside of it looks like yet, ill pull the wheels off and lift it up this weekend to crawl underneath it and see how bad it is. but mechanically it looks good, the lines dont seem to be in too rough of a shape, ill start taking stuff apart this weekend and cleaning everything out and see how everything loks

 

Goodluck with the project, its good to know another RX-7 is going to be back on the road again soon

 

Grab a poking screwdriver, put on some safety glasses and spend some time underneath.

 

Haha I had to do that with my FC. I had to fix at least 4 decent sized rust outs but theyre all fixed up now.

 

got some pics before and after i cleaned it up

and the back of both rear fenders has good rust spots and there are several more decent rust spots, its a fixer upper but im hoping it wont be too much trouble, i really want to hurry up and replace the battery and fuel pump just so i can drive it around the block a few times haha

 

Rocker panels, fenders, inner wheel wells, idler arm area of the frame, rear dog leg areas in front of the wheels. Those are areas I assume are rusted out based on the pictures and description.

 

here are pics of the main rust spots, other than the underside of the hatch area, these are the bad spots. there a few spots here and there on the body but those can be sanded down and fixed that way. but these pics show the trouble areas(note: i pulled off the side strips along the body to inspect the car further so thats whey it looks like a huge rust line down the body. ill replace these with new ones) oh and the car needs a starter also

 

here are some pics of the motor after lots and lots of cleaning, still could use a little more

 

The car doesnt look too bad altough it does have a fair amount of rust on it. Definitely keep poking around for rust outs. I didnt even know about my biggest rust out on my FC until I was dropping the gas tank for cleaning and I noticed a lot of rust where my jack is or the driver side rear wheel well whatever way you want to look at it. When I got done clearing out the area I had at least a 6 inch circle type rust out. It was a bastard to fix but it looks a million times better and my car loves me for it lol.

 

Haha yea the interior is struggling, faded, carpet is ripped and torn from rats nests, and dash is cracked. But how did you fix the rust spots? My dad, who is helping me restore it, said fiberglass, I'm not a bodywork knowledgeable person so I don't really know haha, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

 

I took sheet metal and self tappers after clearing as much of the loose rust out of the rust out as possible and shaped it fit then took fiberglass resin and hardener and smoothed it out over it to cover it up and then hit it with two coats of truck bed coating rhinoliner to be exact (you can use rubber undercoating too). Definitely sounds like you got a project on your hands haha. My FC was in bad shape when I bought it too for $300. I just seen a first gen exactly like yours today that is in mint condition. I want to stop at the house and see if theyll sell it to me haha. This is the second time I seen it sitting at a house around my town

 

Rust on 1st gens hides. Have you checked the inner wheel wells? Poke them with a screwdriver....

 

We havnt don't the "poke" test yet but we will, it'll be monthe before this thing is street worthy, but shouldn't be too long before its running and I can drive it around the neighborhood :-D but I'm favoring the sheet metal and fiber glass idea, I'm not a good welder so ill have to get someone to do that for me. But yes its a very good project and its a good thing my girlfriends mom likes me cus $25 for a complete car is a hell of a deal!!! I'm already pricing suspension bushing/springs/shocks/swaybar kits and what not and other parts such as a battery, starter, and OE replacement parts. As for the motor ill probably get the K&N airfilter/housing kit to open up all 360 degrees of the filter. Maybe modify the carb somewhat, just depends on my budget(college kid with part time job pushing buggies at walmart, so I'm fairly broke haha)

 

Damn 25 bucks is a hell of a good deal haha. They must have wanted that car gone but at least it went to someone whos going to fix it instead of bringing it to the junkyard. My Rx-7was going to be scrapped if I didnt buy it the week I bought it. The fiberglass and sheet metal isnt too hard to do. It was my first time doing it and after the first one or two rust outs I got it done pretty good. Dont forget to coat it with rubber undercoating or truck bed liner. That is going to keep the weather from getting to it again for awhile. I suck at welding too, I had a class on it in high school and I was only good at spot welding haha. Im sure your going to find it takes a lot of money to keep an Rx-7 happy and running. My project FC has drained my wallet every paycheck for the past year but I know when it is done I will have the biggest sense of pride and accomplishment from finishing my first project car all by myself with all of my money. I am not going to give a rats *** what anyone thinks of my FC when it is done. Goodluck with your project, hope it all goes well and you dont run into too much b.s.

 

after seeing the car sin in my driveway while i save up a little money, im finally going to buy something for it this paycheck! probably fuel pump and fpr, and fuel lines, maybe a starter also(funds depending). i really want to get it running and drive it around the block, thatll give me a sense of accomplishment and motivation knowing that i have a good running car(if it is a good running car that is, fingers crossed) but thanks for the encouragement and advice so far guys!

 

Glad to see you're making progress.

Since this is a '79, it will have a points ignition system. For reliability and performance (and simplicity) you will want to swap in a later year distributor. Not something to worry about right now, but you can start keeping your eyes open and just keep it in the back of your head for now.

If you can, I would also advise removing the gas tank and having it boiled/resealed. Most radiator shops offer this service for about 50 bucks or so, and it can save many headaches down the road...

 

Keep at it !!