Hi there. I've always admired RX-7s, and always quietly wanted one. Yesterday I drove by one on the street that's for sale. It's an '85 with somewhere around 130,000 miles on it. The owner says that mechanically it's sound, and I'm inclined to believe him. He only wants $1200, and has hinted that he'd come down. That's all terrific, but the big red flag is the surface rust. In particular, the right rear wheel well is in pretty bad shape. I know from unpleasant experience that no amount of bondo is ever going to fix that so that it looks good and stays fixed.

My question for you all is: is it worth it? It might be fun to drive for a season, but in terms of doing body work and paint, is it going to be a hugely expensive proposition to make this thing look pretty? If it weren't for the rust, I'd be over there right now for a test drive. As it is, I'm thinking that the rust is a deal-breaker.

 

If its just surface rust, thats a fairly easy fix, if its deeper in the wheelwell and wheelhouse, its a little more work to fix. Without pics its hard to tell how bad it is. 99% of rust problems can be fixed by any competant body shop. You are correct, bondo will not fix rust, it will simply cover it up and let it get worse....

 

My opinion? For <1k, you might as well give it a shot. If it's really ok mechanically, you can have a nice year finding out if the car is for you. If the rust turns out to be more than the "surface rust" that you've described, you can always dump it without a significant loss. OTOH, if it's mechanically ok, and the rust doesn't turn out to be too bad, this could turn out to be a pretty good deal for a project car.

 

Thanks, guys. If a new member is permitted, I'll post some pictures here in a few days. The right rear wheel well is definitely not just "surface rust." It's rusted through, and in one or two places, there's not a lot of solid metal left to work with. There's rust on every wheel well, but, for the most part, I feel as if I could deal with the rest of it. The right rear, though, is very troubling. I do like the idea, though, of driving it for a season and making my mind up later. Thanks again.

 

The wheel wells are very common rust areas on the 1st gen. Look closely at the area on the frame where the rear end link mounts up, as well as the inner wheel well itself. You'll likely not find much left of the inner wheel well tub area and if the mount is starting to rust out, you're in for a larger repair.

Posting picturs of the area would help.

Any area that is rusted right through signals far more rust in surrounding areas.