Pictures : 1979 IMSA GTU Akai RX-7
#1
Pictures : 1979 IMSA GTU Akai RX-7
An ex co-worker of mine (retired now) and I struck up a conversation after he found out I loved RX-7's. I've come to find out that he used to work on the Mazda IMSA GTU crew when the Akai RX-7 was running the 24 & 12 hour endurance races back in the 80's. I picked his brain as much as possible and he also told me that he was storing a car for a friend. "Wilma" 1 of 3 1979 Akai RX-7's built for the Daytona 24 hour race! I was so excited! I went over to his place earlier today and took some pictures and picked his brain some more.
I wanted to share. I'm going to spend some more time there and take some suspension geometry readings to be able to recreate what I can on my track car. Even though it had been sitting for a while, it was BEAUTIFUL! He's been storing it for a while, so I want to see if I can get me hands on it from the owner. It would be a great car to take to the Walter Mitty. I'll take some more pictures later and post more. Hope you Enjoy.
I wanted to share. I'm going to spend some more time there and take some suspension geometry readings to be able to recreate what I can on my track car. Even though it had been sitting for a while, it was BEAUTIFUL! He's been storing it for a while, so I want to see if I can get me hands on it from the owner. It would be a great car to take to the Walter Mitty. I'll take some more pictures later and post more. Hope you Enjoy.
#3
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i don't know if its just me..but it looks like the oil cooler..is the white cylinder..on the right side of the bay..it is hooked up right where that oil filter block plate would go
#5
I'm talking about the oil COOLER that Mazda set up for their racecars:
https://www.rx7club.com/showpost.php...4&postcount=14
BTW LEGOKCEN: thanks for the track decal. Looks great!
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#10
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Very nice find, Kim is right buy it if you can, nice little piece of history. A few weekends and you can get it cleaned up and ready to run.
I don't see the oil cooler lines at all. Could it be a dry sump system?
Looking forward to more pics on your next visit.
I don't see the oil cooler lines at all. Could it be a dry sump system?
Looking forward to more pics on your next visit.
#11
Old Rotary Dog
-bill
#13
I'm going to go back there next week. We're going to air up the tires, pull her out in the open and put her on jack stands to get a closer look at everything. I'm going to try to get the track car setup as close to some of this as possible. I'll answer all the questions you have. Let me know if there is anything specific you need. The owner has another 12A PP which was a backup motor from the same era. I'm going to try to get my hands on that too. It's got 12 hours on it.
Phoenix7, I'm glad you liked everything, let me know if you need anything else
Phoenix7, I'm glad you liked everything, let me know if you need anything else
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i looked and the records are WAY imcomplete, but it looks like there was an rx7 #60 that didnt make it to the 1980 daytona 24 hours, other than that i dont see any record of a #60 rx7, with that paint scheme.
possible repaint? someones spare car?
i did find this though, RB about to eat vette
http://www.racingsportscars.com/phot...11-25-0004.jpg
possible repaint? someones spare car?
i did find this though, RB about to eat vette
http://www.racingsportscars.com/phot...11-25-0004.jpg
#25
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Found this on another site not the same car but maybe an evolution in 83
http://i.pbase.com/g3/61/35561/2/24622388.7.jpg
http://i.pbase.com/g3/61/35561/2/24622388.7.jpg