I'm looking at an 82 rx7 that's been sitting for 12 years mostly indoors. According to the owner it was running when put away. The car is aesthetically beautiful, save for a little surface rust. It only has about 50,000 miles on it.

If I were to buy this car, would I be risking having serious problems with the internal parts of the engine due to lack of use? Are there any key signs that I can observe or test for prior to buying the car that would identify problems? I'm new here so sorry for my ignorance....but thanks.

 

Aaron's Homepage has info on how to bring a car out of storage.

 

let me give you some advice from my personal experience with buying a car thats been in storage. this was actually taken at the storage locker with the PO son lol


this is my 85 GSL that i bought two years ago that was in storage for 15 years. from the original owner. my buddy in the local RX club trailered it to the meet that night, and delivered it to my house and we fired it up. threw some oil down the carb, some fresh gas and she started right up.

that being said, the gas tank was TOAST, filled with rust and corrosion, the pump was dead, the lines were nearly unusable so i didnt use them. anything fuel related was rebuilt replaced, that was the biggest hurtle that led to the car being in my parents driveway for the 1st year or so. next up was the hydraulics, anything rubber was toasted, leaking or locked up. clutch, brakes you name it.

I would highly recommend inspecting the tank and fuel as they are more than likely perished, your bushings will be toast and the brakes will most likely lock up soon after that if they havent started leaking already. anything hydraulic will need to be serviced. not right away but before actually driving the car. so plan for that.

other than that its the same old **** as with any old car. lol as far as motor goes i have no info into that, my motor was fine, it spun freely, and fired right up. so... other than checking that it spins, and pouring some oil down the carb i didnt have to do much in that department, but good luck and post some pictures.

 

Well the engine should be fine, just some of the internal rubber seals could have gone bad from lack of lubrication from sitting.

Watch for smoke, it shouldn't smoke at all after its warmed up and when you're revving it up.

White smoke = bad coolant seals (burning coolant)

black smoke = oil control rings ( burning oil that gets past the oil control rings)

Of the two, the one that would be less detremental to the engine would be bad oil control rings, it will just increase oil consumption.

Bad coolant seals will eventually get worse, and cause your engine to consume more coolant than you can replace it with, as well as eventually causing it to put a hole inside your engine on the housing the leak is on.

 

love them fb's gl with the car

 

Also Put some oil down the carb and spin the motor by hand at first, then let it sit for a bit. This helps lube up the seals and what not before you crank it . Also, Rotor Venom is right, if there was any fuel left in the tank at all, it will turn into an alien substance bent on destroying all carbs, so don't let it anywhere near your engine! There is also a a screen at the end of the fuel pick-up line in the tank that will be rusted solid, you'll want to fix this first and save some head scratching later.

 

for sure check the tank and fuel pump sitting that long it surely will be rusted if it was put up with fuel in it

 

Hopefully not too personal, but how much did it cost after you bought it to fix it up to running condition? (replacing the gas tank and whatnot)

 

no not to personal, ill be glad to help, i have parts numbers as well for most of the stuff i ordered online if youd like that as well.

got a spare tank form a friend, , got a carter pump, holley FPR, rebuilt the carburator. fuel level sender and i was set.
fuel pump -$60
Holley FRP-$20
Fuel Gauge-$15
Carb rebuild-$20 labor + $20 for kit
Fuel tank- $100
Fuel level sender -$20
in total about $250,

but my fuel tank wasent salvageable. that was alot of it,

honestly local guys from the RX7 club really helped me out, rebuilding my carb, and finding me a tank. considering the age of our cars, thats not alot for replacing the entire fuel system, hell some modern cars fuel pumps cost almost what i spent alone.

 

I would say dont even think about starting it with old gas. drain the tank add fresh fuel, especially if it a fuel injected car.

 

thats a sound theory as to not "spoil" the carburetor, with poison, BUT my opinion is that its already sat for 12 years... its going to need to be rebuilt so why care?

secondly fill the bowls and spray in starting fluid it will run for a minute or so and then die, which will tell you where you can go from there, and the poison gas wont reach the carb by the time it dies.

and thirdly fuel filter are down to like thousands of microns, they wont let to many "chunks" in if any, the filter will clog and cause the car to die way before it lets "poison in to ruin the carb. so,.... either way dont worry about it.

 

good points, there's always the risk the tanks not drained, the motor wasn't turned over..... lots of work, but usually worth it!

 

good find on the rx7 though. there getting harder to find

 

Better check how much it'll cost to register it. You may be forced to pay way more than you think if that car hasn't been registered in over a decade.

 

o yeah, the main hassle with it being not registered for so long, it probably dropped off the DMV system and you have to get it certified by a sheriff or Highway patrol. Definitely check with dmv first to save yourself a huge headache from registering it