My 1st Gen RX-7

[automatic18]

Hi All
 
Well to introduce myself I am Paul, 31, marine engineer
 
As I mentioned in the other thread, I recently bought this RX-7. Shame I can\'t even drive it in this weather! But the car is in very nice condition for being 26 years old.
 
I don\'t know if anyone has come across it before but I first noticed it on Pistonheads as a guy local to me was selling it as it had been his wife\'s car from pretty much new; have yet to receive the V5 but am hoping to be the 2nd owner! He gave me a bit of info but I have since lost his email address, next I saw it was on eBay in a local dealers so I went and had a look. It was under a foot of snow . Well don\'t know if it was the car itself or the mental strain I\'m under from recent \'girl problems\' but I made an offer and bought it the next day . Have to say the drive home was the most terrifying experience. Partly due to the snow, ice and hail, also due to the last time I drove an RX-7 I\'m ashamed to admit I wrote it off (FD - too fast for me). But it is now safely on my drive. Love the TWR kit.
 
This weather is really not helping. But have had a look round it now and noticed a few small problems. There is something amiss with the starter motor as only about 1 in 10 turns of the key will actually engage the starter with the flywheel, the other times it just spins. Also I have put some fuel in but the gauge is still reading zero, does not blip when the key is turned either.
 
However I love the car, the wheels look great, front spoiler is awesome, hardly any rust, there\'s a metal sunroof fitted and a glass one in the boot (is this standard?), electric windows/mirrors/catches/headlights all working!






 
Ah also the gas struts for the boot lid don\'t stay open. But problems are no big deal, am hoping to get these things sorted out and get to some shows in the summer . Can anyone tell me how many of these TWR ones were actually produced? Surely not many!
 
cheers
 
Paul.

[captainbizzaro]

Hi Paul-welcome to the club, lovely looking FB you have there. The rear struts are a common problem which a few guys on here have had to rectify so I\'m sure they will pop up in due course.

Starter sounds like it\'s not throwing the cog out all the way so may just require popping out and giving a bit of a clean up-I\'d be surprised if it\'s the flywheel up the swanny.

And the glass roof-check out one of the threads in this section mate-you got lucky!:guinness:guinness:guinness

[Ian65]

you\'ve got yourself a very nice car there Paul!

The starter probably just needs a bit of lubrication as Tim says...

The rear hatch struts can be regassed very cheaply....

The fuel gauge problem is most likely the plug where it connects to the sender in the tank... they corrode up and give a bad connection....  the connector plug for the sender can be reached from under the car without dropping the tank. Behind the n/s/r wheel is a black plastic tank shield. reach up between the shield and the tank from under the car and you will feel the wire and then the connector where it plugs onto the sender unit.
Unplug it and then link the 2 wires together in the plug. The gauge should read full with the ignition on, if it does then the connector or the sender is the problem
 Give the connections a bit of a clean up and this should do the trick.... hopefully!

.

[myatt1972]

Thats a great looking car Paul, I have a TWR front bumper and rear spoiler also. Many cars had these retro fitted but not many original TWR\'s about.
If you do need a starter give me a shout Ive got a few in the rotorshed.
Keith...

[syebba]

Welcome Paul,
Looks to be a very nice fb you\'ve picked up,we were drooling over this a while back on another thread.
ta stu

[syebba]

If you\'ve got a glass sunroof,they\'ve been fetching approx £250 on ebay recently!

[Steve-A]

Hi Paul

The car looks great and any little problems will be solved by these knowledgeable gents for sure!

I do like the grey with red stripe interior!

[automatic18]

thanks all from reading the original advert I had a feeling that things were just \'right\' about this car. Am pleased there have been no nasty suprises as yet! Sounds like the few mechanical problems should be easy to fix, car looks easy enough to work on. I\'m gutted I don\'t have the owners email any more as I\'d like to know more about it. Not least to tell him it hasn\'t gone to the scrappage scheme or something like that! Yes the glass sunroof is in that strapped case in the boot. The interior really is like a time warp, apart from a few scuffs on the drivers door card, its mint!

[clive]

Welcome to MRC, sounds like you have found a good one :cheers

[CHC (RIP)]

Welcome Paul - very lucky man.
You have acquired a very nice car and your feedback is confirming what we thought of it a few weeks ago.  It truly looks lovely in the lighter shade of blue together with the TWR kit - wheels look genuinely tidy too and to get a glass sunroof thrown in as well, OMG!
Enjoy - when the weather picks up that is.
:Thumbs-up

[Marcrs]

Welcome
 
Looks like a really nice find...glass sunroof in the boot! lucky bu99er

[David Nock (RIP)]

Looks like a great car Paul, The engine compartment looks like the previous owner cared for it. We first saw it on Pistonheads just a couple of months back.

A lot of fuel guages don\'t work, mine included, but mine\'s the sender in the tank.
I fuel mine constantly with 30 litres at a time and count the mileage so I don\'t run out.

Struts.....Also as above, regassing has been done on here, check out 1st Gen Forum threads. I got new from USA but drawback is the one\'s I got have to be turned round to work and that stops the wiper side being fitted. One working strut is plenty strong enough on its own though.

Starter, should be easy. Drop it off the car, wash the Bendix in clean petrol and dry. Then rub the Bendix with a thick graphite pencil to lube it....(Oil might attract dirt and grime later on).

If glass roof gets too hot for you give me a call.....

Cheers Dave

[gnj37]

Nice looking car hope u enjoy it gary

[automatic18]

Think I\'ll hang on to that roof for now then . There was also a new water pump in a bag in the back.. ok I\'ll stop now. Had another look round the car today, got it started ok, resisted the urge to drive it round. I\'m away at work for the next 3 months now so it will be off the road til march-april. Can\'t wait
 
Paul.

[automatic18]

ah btw thanks for all the advice everyone!