$1500 2nd gen i guess for sale

[Steel]

think i should get it?? i mean, its nothing AWESOME, but i need a CAR, not this stupid ass truck i have now...... like 88 87 model rx-7's, are they good? fun beathers? easy to upgrade?

i really want one of these cars, i LOVE the rotary concept.

[SuperchargedRex]

Yes, they are definitely fun cars. But before you buy it, have a compression check done. If the car's been beaten, it might have bad apex seals which will show up as low compression.

Also, check the exhaust while its running. Black smoke means its running rich, white smoke is coolant, and blue smoke is oil. Rotaries don't take well to overheating, they melt coolant seals and the end result is white smoke. Bad oil seals on the face of the rotors will cause the blue smoke on a normally aspirated model, on the turbo models it can also mean the turbo is leaking.

Here's a link to an '88 shop manual to help answer any of your questions.

They are notorious for flooding if the fuel injectors leak, many guys have gotten great deals on cars that just needed to be unflooded. (Requires pulling the fuse to the pump, pulling the spark plugs out, and cranking it till clear.)

If its an NA with decent compression, you'll really enjoy it. They handle awesome, and performance is decent. If you decide to keep it, there's a path of upgrades that'll easily get a turbo into a 12 second 1/4 mile run.

Give it a good tune up, you'd be amazed how much power is lost by an out of tune motor.

One last thing: remember to check your oil levels as the motor is designed to burn some, up to 1 qt every 1000 miles.

[Steel]

ah, cool! thanks for the advice man!! Im so excited, i almost have enough money.

[SuperchargedRex]

For the USA:
1st gen: '79 - '85 (in '84-'85 the GSL-SE models had the 13B motor, all others had the 12A motor, all were non turbo)
2nd gen: '86 - '91 (split into '86-'88 and '89-'91, later models had a few more hp, from '87-'91 there were both NA and turbo versions)
3rd gen: '93 - '95 (all are twin turbo)

If money is tight, then I highly recommend sticking with a non-turbo car, there's far less that can go wrong with them. Of the non-turbo's, the GTU/GTUs are the rarest, as they have the beefier drivetrain of the turbo, but are the lightest (come with aluminum hood, etc). The Base/Sport/SE models are the lowest level, they are most readily identified by the 14" phone dial rims, all of the others had 15" or 16" rims. All of the cars came with disc brakes at all corners, but the cars with the 14" wheels had single piston calipers, as opposed to 4 piston calipers on the others. Automatics have 3.90 gears, Manuals have 4.10 gears, and the GTUs had 4.30 gears.

Because practically everything came as an option, you'll find base models with sunroofs, power windows and locks, cruise control and rear wipers. Mine is an '88 SE that came with just a sunroof, power steering and air conditioning.

If you check out my website, their are links to forums that will have a ton of info for you. Good luck!!!

[Steel]

ooooook, let's say that this car runs 'merely ok', i.e some internal parts have to be changed out. how easy is it to change the apex seals? like a weekend job sorta thing (assuming i work ~12 hours a day for 2 days)?
im reaaaally liking this car.

[SuperchargedRex]

I've never done it myself, but it requires completely disassembly of the motor. Here's a link to an '88 service manual that will describe the process, you can judge for yourself.

[Steel]

hey, disassembly looks fun, so much as i dont screw up the motor........im all for it!

[Davidov Speed WRC]

I say buy the RX-7 bro! i rode in my friend's 87 turbo GSL(?),
that turbo had a 10 p.s.i boost running, which knocked that rotoray up to 260 HP at the wheels!
Once he gunned it over 3500rpms that baby opened up.

I would say the N/A ones are kick ass cars as well. A 2nd gen RX-7 is hopefully my next car!

[EfiniRX7]

Rebuilding a rotary isn't what I would consider a weekend job. I never got the chance to do it myself, but know many guys who have and it usually requires a lot of time to do it right. You may have to get the side housings lapped to even them out and whatnot. Either way though n/a 2nd gens are great fun cars. SuperchargedRex should know that...well not anymore:sun: I'm actually considering buying a 2nd gen n/a now, but I'm having trouble finding a good one. Good luck and you'll love it once you get it.

[SuperchargedRex]

Originally posted by EfiniRX7
n/a 2nd gens are great fun cars. SuperchargedRex should know that...well not anymore:sun:

The first two years I had my car it was still NA, and I loved the performance and handling. In my opinion, you simply cannot find a car that is so well-rounded in all aspects of performance and reliability. Granted, they don't have mind numbing power, but when you learn to drive it in the 4000-7000rpm range, it is quite impressive. It took me a while to get used to the different style of driving, I'd always been used to piston motors that you shouldn't be driving in that rpm range.