magnumP5's SA Log Thread

magnumP5

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'86 RX-7 Base, '79 RX-7 GS
I purchased this clean 1979 RX-7 GS from a gentleman in Nebraska and had it shipped to me in Virginia earlier this month. I finally got it running correctly and cleaned up so it's time to start a thread. According to the VIN this is S/N 2944 and it was built in March 1978. It currently has ~26,400 miles on it.

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Overall, I'd rank the car an 8/10. There are a couple scratches and dings and there's some discoloration on the hood where it appears something was spilled on it. There's minimal rust underneath. The interior is immaculate aside from some loose carpet in the hatch area. Hopefully with a little work I'll get this back up to a 9/10. The plan is to keep this completely stock and hold onto it for a long time.

I'll update this thread as I work on the car.
 
What I've done so far (8/1/16):
-Fixed the driver's side window (popped out of its channel)
-Titled and registered in VA
-Charged the battery
-Replaced the alternator
-Replaced the steering column top bushing
-Washed the exterior
-Changed the engine oil and oil filter
-Flushed the brake fluid

The last record I have of the brake fluid being changed was from 1988. If that's true it's no surprise the fluid looked like this:

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A new fuel filter, Redline MT-90, Redline 75W90, OEM thermostat and gasket, and spark plugs have been ordered and I've got 3 gal of 50/50 coolant sitting in the garage. I'm basically completely the car's 25,000 mile maintenance at this point. I definitely need to check out the ignition timing and carburetor fuel/air mixture since the idle is a little rough. Still, it starts cold with the choke 9/10 times on the first try.
 
Looks nice! I love seeing them being returned to the road...

The first ones in the states that were sent out to all of the dealers were this special "Spark Yellow" color...

The first ones also have a speaker and speaker grill holes above the glove box, and the hood prop rod for the hood is on the opposite side...
 
Looks nice! I love seeing them being returned to the road...

The first ones in the states that were sent out to all of the dealers were this special "Spark Yellow" color...

The first ones also have a speaker and speaker grill holes above the glove box, and the hood prop rod for the hood is on the opposite side...

I know it's an early build due to the date (March 1978) and it not having a passenger's side mirror. It does have the speaker grille above the glove box but I haven't confirmed there's a speaker in there. If by "other side" you mean the hood prop is on our (U.S.) passenger's side then mine has that too, and it's a little annoying. I have the maintenance records back to 1982 along with some of the original paperwork. The owner's manual has something about #1 of 90 scribbled in the dealership information section, but I don't know if that means anything. This one also has a weird A/C system. It looks like it's aftermarket but it's fairly well integrated and I have records indicating its existence on the car as early as 1982. It's weird because it automatically kicks on whenever the blower motor is switched on and set to "vent" or "max A/C" making it an A/C or nothing kind of deal when it comes to cooling the cabin.

I'll grab some pictures of the interior when I finally get a chance to clean it out. It's IMMACULATE!
 
Can't wait for more pictures!!

My dad got his early one in 5/78, it was White, but also one of the first shipped to US. When I was young, I can remember watching him gap points, clean spark plugs, helping him bleed the brakes, or installing new shocks and struts... Lots of great memories, and some Mazda brainwashing surely must have occurred at this time as well.
(smash)
 
I got the differential and transmission oil changed this past weekend with Redline 75W90 and MT-90, respectively. Oddly enough the differential oil looked pretty good but something had definitely leaked back there at some point. The transmission oil was definitely oil but by no means bad. I also went ahead and replaced the fuel filter and spark plugs. Overall the car seems to running pretty well with a few misfires here and there at idle. I assume the timing is a little off and the points are a little worn and I'll get to those eventually. That's really the last bit of regular maintenance I need to perform along with a coolant flush, and I'll be replacing the thermostat too.

I've come to accept that the car stinks; literally. I suspected something is wrong with the exhaust and further inspection proved me right. While really not in bad overall shape the exhaust does have some cracks in it so I assume the emissions equipment isn't 100%. Obviously parts are NLA so I'm stuck between finding some used pipes or just replacing everything with an aftermarket system. I really want to keep this thing 100% original but at some point that's no longer going to be possible, right?
 
Hopefully found a low(er) mileage stock exhaust in better shape than mine. Won't know until it arrives but I got it for cheap. Went to adjust the points gaps and found the distributor rotor and cap are in rough shape so I ordered a bunch of parts to rebuild it along with some new spark plug wires. Still need to do the coolant flush and refill. I also replaced the rear window struts so the thing will stop falling on my head at random times. Getting near the end of my planned maintenance for this year.
 
Spent a couple nights last week playing with the ignition system. I replaced the distributor points, rotor and cap, 3 of the 4 condensers (Parts List was wrong) and the spark plug wires. Got the timing set, which was a bit of a chore but will become easier/faster with experience. After setting the timing I adjusted the idle fuel mixture and idle speed per some guidelines I found online and the car seems to run a little bit smoother. Decided to snap a couple pictures of the interior as it sits now. Still needs a good cleaning.

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About a month ago I initiated an effort to revitalize the exhaust system. The insulation on the front pipe between the thermal reactor and the heat exchanger had started to disintegrate and I was afraid the underlying metal had rusted through considering how badly the car smelled. That didn't turn out to be the case but once I got the pipe off the car I found the weld at the fresh air pipe joint had failed. In the end I replaced the front pipe, a bunch of gaskets, the exhaust hangers, and a bunch of fasteners. The car still runs and smells the same as it did before but at least I know there aren't any leaks.

Back before the exhaust adventure I drained, flushed, and refilled the coolant and replaced the thermostat. Based on the color of the coolant it looked like the previous owner had used nearly 100% anti-freeze! I went with a pre-mixed 50/50 blend as recommended by Mazda.

There's not much more I plan on doing this year. I just want to give it a good cleaning now that the mechanical work is complete. I'm still tracking down an ignition stumble, which may be related to the non-OEM parts I used to rebuild the distributor, but the car starts and drives fine.
 
I fixed the ignition stumble a while back. It turned out to be the aftermarket points. I swapped the original, OEM ones back in and the idle was smooth after resetting the timing and idle speed. That was it for 2016. This year I cleaned the antenna switch so the antenna actually goes down as well as up because you have to raise and lower it independently of the radio. My Winter project is revitalizing the rear privacy cover. The thing is made like an old tent and the previous owner had bent the aluminum support rods and snapped the elastic cables over the years. It's nothing some bungee cord and aluminum tubing from McMaster can't fix. 2017 is going to be all suspension and steering starting with the latter. I also need to figure out why the parking brake is sticking...
 

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