Hi Everyone
I am new to this club and own a 1983 Rx7 which I am trying to make roadworthy. The car has been sorned since 2005 although I did run it up and down my driveway in 2019, when, after replacing the starter motor it ran reasonably well.
I am now semi-retired with more time on my hands and thought I would get the car running properly for road use, however I have encountered a plethora of issues which certainly weren't apparent in 2019. The current headache that I am trying to resolve are a high idling speed and I submitted my first post yesterday regarding individuals/companies competent in overhauling the Nikki 4 barrel carburettor. I have been heartened by the responses received already. So thankyou.
I purchased the car new in 1983 so we have a long history together. I am sure that my wife only married me because of the car (and the number plate, as on one occasion she remarked on the number plate being odd. I wasn't sure how to interpret that comment but you can look at the picture of the car and come to your own conclusion).
In any event in 1983 the car cost £9,500 and beyond my budget but the same model could be purchased in Europe albeit in left hand drive form considerably cheaper. I think Holland had the lowest car prices at that time. There was a lot of cross border purchases by our European friends buying outside their home market and where they weren't hindered by the steering wheel being on the wrong side of the car by purchasing the car in a country outside of their own. In order to stop this cross border trade the car manufacturers were forced to reduce the price differentials across Europe which had a dampening effect on European car prices.
The UK was an outlier in this respect because our cars were primarily RHD so it wasn't possible to buy a car in RHD form in Holland to take advantage of their cheaper prices but only LHD. (The EU eventually put pressure on the car manufacturers to bring UK prices more in line with Europe and allow British people to take advantage of cheaper car prices in Europe by allowing car dealerships overseas to sell RHD at the same/similar prices to LHD). In 1983 however the UK was known as "Treasure Island" by the car manufacturers because we could not take advantage of the price differentials between European countries.
I eventually found a dealer in Belgium who advised me that he could source an Rx7 at Belgian prices but when I got to the dealership he advised me that he could only sell me a RHD car at "diplomatic prices" and which were uncannily similar to the UK list price.
Returning to the UK I thought it unlikely I would ever be able to buy an Rx7 when some three months after my trip to Belgium I saw a small ad in the Sunday Times advertising an unwanted raffle prize of a new Rx7 at a price of £6,500 (the cost of the raffle ticket). The buyer of the ticket had a choice of colour and was required to pick up the car from Mazda Headquarters which in those days was Tunbridge Wells in Kent.
In spite of the Company that was advertising the unwanted raffle prize having a number of enquiries after mine they kept to their word in letting me have the prize as I had been the first person to phone them and that is how I became the owner of an Rx7.
I am new to this club and own a 1983 Rx7 which I am trying to make roadworthy. The car has been sorned since 2005 although I did run it up and down my driveway in 2019, when, after replacing the starter motor it ran reasonably well.
I am now semi-retired with more time on my hands and thought I would get the car running properly for road use, however I have encountered a plethora of issues which certainly weren't apparent in 2019. The current headache that I am trying to resolve are a high idling speed and I submitted my first post yesterday regarding individuals/companies competent in overhauling the Nikki 4 barrel carburettor. I have been heartened by the responses received already. So thankyou.
I purchased the car new in 1983 so we have a long history together. I am sure that my wife only married me because of the car (and the number plate, as on one occasion she remarked on the number plate being odd. I wasn't sure how to interpret that comment but you can look at the picture of the car and come to your own conclusion).
In any event in 1983 the car cost £9,500 and beyond my budget but the same model could be purchased in Europe albeit in left hand drive form considerably cheaper. I think Holland had the lowest car prices at that time. There was a lot of cross border purchases by our European friends buying outside their home market and where they weren't hindered by the steering wheel being on the wrong side of the car by purchasing the car in a country outside of their own. In order to stop this cross border trade the car manufacturers were forced to reduce the price differentials across Europe which had a dampening effect on European car prices.
The UK was an outlier in this respect because our cars were primarily RHD so it wasn't possible to buy a car in RHD form in Holland to take advantage of their cheaper prices but only LHD. (The EU eventually put pressure on the car manufacturers to bring UK prices more in line with Europe and allow British people to take advantage of cheaper car prices in Europe by allowing car dealerships overseas to sell RHD at the same/similar prices to LHD). In 1983 however the UK was known as "Treasure Island" by the car manufacturers because we could not take advantage of the price differentials between European countries.
I eventually found a dealer in Belgium who advised me that he could source an Rx7 at Belgian prices but when I got to the dealership he advised me that he could only sell me a RHD car at "diplomatic prices" and which were uncannily similar to the UK list price.
Returning to the UK I thought it unlikely I would ever be able to buy an Rx7 when some three months after my trip to Belgium I saw a small ad in the Sunday Times advertising an unwanted raffle prize of a new Rx7 at a price of £6,500 (the cost of the raffle ticket). The buyer of the ticket had a choice of colour and was required to pick up the car from Mazda Headquarters which in those days was Tunbridge Wells in Kent.
In spite of the Company that was advertising the unwanted raffle prize having a number of enquiries after mine they kept to their word in letting me have the prize as I had been the first person to phone them and that is how I became the owner of an Rx7.