So my grandpa gave me his 1983 Rx7 that had been sitting in his yard in Las Cruces, NM for around 10 years. We got it started down there, but it won't start anymore. So far, we've replaced the fuel and fuel filter, oil and oil filter, air filter, distributor cap, rotor, spark plugs, and spark plug wires. It won't start, even with starter fluid, any ideas?

 

Did it start before or after you changed the leads, distributor cap and rotor? If before....ensure you have the plug wires in the correct places. If it started after you changed everything it might be flooded and you should follow deflooding procedure and see how you get on.

http://www.rx7.com/tech/unflood-sa-carb.html

 

Check for spark at each plug and if it has fuel to the carb.

 

It didn't start before or after they were replaced, and I made sure about a million times that the wires were all connected right. Anyway, I'll try deflooding it. Thanks for the help!

 

All of the plugs spark. Not sure how to check if there's fuel in the carb though...

 

Remove the supply line to the carb, put it in a container and turn the ignition. It should fill pretty fast so be ready to turn it off. Best to use two people. it will explain how to do it.

If you have fuel, try pulling it with another car and pop the clutch. This will build compression faster then the starter can spin. You do need to be skilled at this and be ready to push the clutch back in. The tow vehicle only need to be going about 10 miles an hour. I use my tractor. This can also be done by pushing it down a hill. Just be prepared to pull it back up if it does not start.

Factory Service manuals can be found here: Foxed.ca

 

OK, sorry if this is a stupid question, but the article mentions barrels in the carb. What are these? I just don't want to pour ATF down the wrong hole.

They're the four holes (two small, two big) in the center, right?

 

All 1983 RX-7's have 4 barrels carbs. The two big holes are the primary and small the secondary. You wont hurt anything poring it down any of the barrels but the primary are fine. Looks like you need to do some reading in the service manual. Did you even look at the link I sent?

 

Ok, so I tried pouring ATF down the barrels, no luck. I can't decipher the carb manual well enough to find the fuel supply with any confidence either. Is there a better diagram or something I can use? Thanks for the help!

 

Try this manual http://www.foxed.ca/rx7manual/manual...01979-1985.pdf

Page 1. Page 1 is about two third into the manual after the theory. The image is labeled with the inlet. It's a 1979 carb but in this case that does not matter.

foxed.ca has every manual you will need. The most respected car people I have met are very intuitive and they know that to get the information they need sometimes it takes digging in to this stuff and doing a little research instead of asking question after question. In my opinion, this is the best way to learn.