Hey guys, my girl might be in the car market soon and shes got a touch of rotor madness. We're dealing with a 6' tall, 21 year old whose car is still owned and titled to her folks for insurance reasons. She can drive a stick (I daresay better than I can) and makes occasional rumblings about wanting a truck. No way no how will she get into a 7 but we may be able to finagle something that appears less sporty. Whats the market like for REPUs, non-7 RX's, and Cosmos in daily driver condition?

By daily driver I'm thinking something thats been maintained and perhaps lightly modified but not so far that it has drivability issues. I am aware of the limitations of these rarer models as far as repairs and parts. I also know that the answer is probably going to be 'not a good daily', but I'd rather ask and be told 'no' than sit around wondering.

Thank you all for your input. I really admire the non RX-7 makes and I love to read this forum for info about them.

 

good luck with that. my buddy mike has a sweet rx3 but, you would need to put it back togather. and if your girl wrecked it she would have to die or something cause its cherry. all i got to say is good luck with that search. maybe a rotary truck would be a good choice. matt22

 

Older rotaries, RX-2,3,4,Cosmo, REPU. Good luck. Most are selling for around (and often more) than their original sticker prices. If you find one at a decent price (or even an indecent price) get it checked out by a rotary mechanic. Not many places will touch them and the older rotaries didn't have as good seals, so you want to make sure it has good compression and no internal oil nor coolant leaks. I wouldn't recommend the RX-3 three for a large person. It didn't have the shoulder nor the leg room of the RX-4 and Cosmo. (The RX-2 had more room than the RX-3, but not quite as much as the RX-4 and Cosmo.) The REPU had a very good cab for 2 people (had a bench seat, but you couldn't work the 4 spd stick with anyone in the middle and everyone's shoulders touched.) The leg room was decent, but the straight seat back (and no way to recline it) would make it uncomfortable for a tall person to spend extended time behind the non-adjustable steering wheel. My 5'9" wide shouldered frame fit quite nicely. My recommendation would be the 2, 4 or Cosmo in 2 door. The front doors were much smaller in the 4 door sedans and it was much harder for a tall person to get in and out. (The 4 also came in a wagon that was really sharp, but it was a 4 door only.) I don't even mention the R-100, as there were very few imported. They were also a different generation of japanese design that did not interchange parts with the later models and had a very cramped interior.I was very impressed in 1969 when I saw my first R-100, but I owned a muscle car back then and gas mileage wasn't a big concern.

 

wow that was very detailed and in depth. Great post dallen.