Just got a NEW Mazda RX7 | FerrariChat

Just got a NEW Mazda RX7

Discussion in 'General Automotive Discussion' started by LightGuy, Aug 13, 2005.

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  1. LightGuy

    LightGuy Three Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Oct 4, 2004
    39,592
    Texas
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    David
    One of my customers had it stored is his garage since 1994 when he bought it new; Total miles; 70 as delivered, he put on 180 in the last 11 yrs till last week when he went hog wild and piled up another 100, I drove it home after buying it ;15 miles. Grand total= 365 !!! It honestly has the new car smell.
     
  2. 911Fan

    911Fan Formula 3

    Apr 15, 2004
    1,294
    Southern California
    This is the quintessential garage queen which normally means dried out seals and lots of internal corrosion. But who knows what happens inside a Wankel.

    I guess you'll find out!

    Best of luck with it.
     
  3. LightGuy

    LightGuy Three Time F1 World Champ
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    Oct 4, 2004
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    David
    The owner took it in before the sale to check all. The tank was drained, fuel pump replaced, fluids replaced, injectors flushed, even tires changed.Passed inspection ( emisions ) All seems good.
     
  4. GHOSTWHISPER

    GHOSTWHISPER Rookie

    Jul 22, 2004
    44
    Porkland,OR
    Full Name:
    Lorn
    365 Holy ****
     
  5. Auraraptor

    Auraraptor F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Sep 25, 2002
    13,196
    MO
    Keep on top of oil changes as per the manual. Those wankels don't like if you are late even slightly.

    Oh and post pictures!
     
  6. nation

    nation Karting

    Aug 9, 2005
    53
    London, UK
    Full Name:
    GCH
    Great buy. But who buys a car like that and doesn't drive it?? Oh well all the better for you. There's something special about those series 6 RX7s. Enjoy the break in period.

    Oh and yes this thread is useless without pictures :)
     
  7. JBsZ06

    JBsZ06 Formula Junior

    Dec 6, 2003
    761
    Just out of curiosity....

    What did it cost you?

    Nice car. Enjoy

    JB
     
  8. Ershank

    Ershank Formula Junior

    Aug 26, 2004
    376
    Philadelphia
    Full Name:
    Jason Z
    Make sure to find a competant mechanic. Alot of them are terrified of the wankel.
     
  9. Tifosi66

    Tifosi66 Formula 3

    Nov 30, 2004
    1,786
    Jiang Jia Jie
    Full Name:
    Li-Ge
    I take it a series 6 RX-7 is the FD3S ? Wickedly fast car....Enjoy !
     
  10. LightGuy

    LightGuy Three Time F1 World Champ
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    Oct 4, 2004
    39,592
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    David
    I paid a premium, shall we say. There was one on Autotrader I was watching just for grins that was like mine but NEVER registered at a Mazda dealer. They wanted $50,000. It sold but I dont know for how much. If this were a Ferrari, yes I would be apprehensive, But I honestly believe the "garage queen" stuff is overblown. My Dads farm tractor sat for years at a time yet ran like a champ. Comparing a tractor to a RX7 ( or Ferrari for that matter ? ); yes. Fluids, hoses et al dont know or care what machine they are in or on.
    Id love to take and post pics but am Computer challenged: am hosting the next local F1 watching party, hope someone there can show me how.
     
  11. FarmerDave

    FarmerDave F1 World Champ
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    Jul 26, 2004
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    IgnoranteWest
    Hey Dave, I'll be happy to help you out when we come over for the race.

    Pretty cool that the guy stored it as new... did he buy another one at the same time and drive it? Was 94 the last yr for that iteration?
     
  12. michaelCTSC

    michaelCTSC Formula Junior

    Jul 25, 2005
    331
    East Brunswick, NJ
    Full Name:
    Michael Lasko
    1995 was the last year. I worked for Mazda then and we had a bunch of left-overs. I think we delivered our last RX7 in 1997. We were giving them away.
     
  13. Supercarlover

    Supercarlover Formula 3

    Sep 30, 2004
    1,760
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    Joshua B.
    Man, congrats on the car. A great looking car, to say the least. I look forward to seeing it at the next event. :)
     
  14. nation

    nation Karting

    Aug 9, 2005
    53
    London, UK
    Full Name:
    GCH
    ahaha. Good stuff Lightguy :) I was worse than that only a few months ago.

    I think you're right about the cars in storeage thing. Drain the fluids and replace some of the rubber parts and it should be good to go.
     
  15. LightGuy

    LightGuy Three Time F1 World Champ
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    Oct 4, 2004
    39,592
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    David
    Farmer Dave; No the guy bought a Honda driver.
    As for the pics; Thanks, also perhaps you can show me how to get an Avitar Etc.
    Nation;At first, like airplanes, I thought computers were just a fad. Now it looks I have to get with the program. Did I just do a funny ?
    Supercar; See ya soon. Bring your Finnish flag.
     
  16. Dino Martini

    Dino Martini F1 Rookie

    Dec 21, 2004
    4,619
    Calgary Alberta
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    Martin
    Wow that sounds like a sweet car. Have fun with it, post some pictures later
     
  17. Supercarlover

    Supercarlover Formula 3

    Sep 30, 2004
    1,760
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    Joshua B.

    HAHAHA.....well, I don't know about all that. To my second F1 race? Nah....I'll give me a year before I settle down as a fan. Meanwhile, I can play the field. ;-)
     
  18. JBsZ06

    JBsZ06 Formula Junior

    Dec 6, 2003
    761

    I remember they were slooow sellers and were moving at around 25 grand at the end....

    Lots of people bought them yet were somewhat disappointed that it was not bulletproof...

    I always thought it was a great car.

    I don't know what a practically new "old RX7" would be worth.....

    I thought I read someone paid 50 g's...but 22 -24 grand sounds more likely? If that ? I couldn't even guess so as long as your enjoying it....thats all that matters!
     
  19. yasir

    yasir Formula Junior

    Nov 5, 2003
    352
    The irony is no matter how careful you are with these cars you would still need a new engine at around 40K and the good news is the new engine costs only 3-4 g.
    I came very close to buying a perfect/mint,one owner 1994 with 28,000 miles for $12,000 but was told repeatedly by all my friends including the RX-7 buddies that buy it only if you know how to work on them so i passed.The funny part was that the guy told me he always babied the car and i believed him yet the car had a new engine put in 6 months ago.
    I don't mean to talk negative about your car but i hope you know what you got yourself into,beautiful car none the less ?
     
  20. waltk88

    waltk88 Formula Junior

    Jun 10, 2004
    553
    Boulder, CO
    Full Name:
    Walt K
    I owned two FD RX-7s. The first one I bought new in 93 and had 25k trouble free miles. The second one was highly modified and had 117k miles on it when I bought it. The motor only had 10k miles on it, but I blew it while tuning on the dyno. I replaced the motor and sold the RX-7.

    The 13B motor in the FD is very intolerant of lean conditions or overheating. My recommendation is to perform the reliability mods (aluminum air separator tank, upgrade aftermarket radiator, downpipe to replace pre-cat) as soon as possible, and avoid the temptation of squeezing out much more power from the motor.
     
  21. Johnny Bravo

    Johnny Bravo Formula Junior

    Jul 22, 2003
    532
    DC Metro/MD
    Full Name:
    Ben
    Fantastic find! I still miss my FD & wish I hadn't sold it, but for the price the maintence is rather steep. I bought mine from a 30-something female school teacher and it was quite well maintained, but after 15k miles (45k total) the engine gave up the ghost (blew an apex seal on the #2 rotor). Even if maintained properly the design is very sensitive; especially the turbo control system (rats nest of hoses & solenoids under the upper intake manifold). You really should get someone to replace those hoses with silicone ones as the stock rubber ones are crap and will (probably already have) get brittle & eventually crack causing the car to run poorly. As far as replacing the engine if you do have issues it's possible to get a Mazda factory remanufactured engine from the dealer for $2k or less (depending on where you go). With so few miles on yours though I doubt you'll have to worry about that anytime soon.

    As others have mentioned there had been a lot of relatively low-mile cars out there years back with "new engines" which were really a result of Mazda mechanics knowing next to nothing about the cars. So when an owner would bring their FD in with a problem they'd swap out the engine rather than trouble shoot. In reality a reasonably stock FD with the reliability mods others mentioned should be relatively trouble free & TONS of fun. For the money there aren't many cars out there that to this day can provide the dollar/performance ratio that the FD does. Oh, and look around for a good & competent rotary mechanic as they can be invaluable: I think Steve Kan is still in TX and of course the RX7.com guys too.
     
  22. mpolans

    mpolans Formula Junior

    Oct 31, 2004
    427
    When the engine eventually blows, just swap it out for an LS1...or if you can find one at a reasonable price, an LS2.
     
  23. teak360

    teak360 F1 World Champ

    Nov 3, 2003
    10,065
    Boulder, CO
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    Scott
     
  24. Auraraptor

    Auraraptor F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Sep 25, 2002
    13,196
    MO
     
  25. LightGuy

    LightGuy Three Time F1 World Champ
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    Oct 4, 2004
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    David
    I checked on some RX7 boards and a simple fix on engine longevity seems to involve pre mixing 2 stroke motor oil in the gas to lube the apex seals.However the potential cooling problems will have to be addressed.
     

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