Hello and advice needed----1st gen track car

[ske]

hi All!

been meaning to post this for a while
after much thinking and research, it seems to me these cars are seriously underrated/overlooked as classics..

i have owned a number of classics, and i like unusual cars. I have a ginetta , and have owned pontiac, marcos, alpine-renault, skylines and others.

Ive been thinking of a cheapish (less than 10k) classic , rwd, decent looking, nice power, that wil be good for track and occasional drift

The 1st gen RX7 ticks the boxes..  it also has one of the most accomplished race histories of any production car, as im sure u guys will know

so my plan:  to make a track car which i can use for occasional drifting, either to look like the \'78 Racing Beat Bonneville car, or maybe to look like a Bathurst racer...

Engine wise, ill prob stick with the original and go for some street or wilder porting, with suitable carb (aiming for 200+ hp)

any thoughts on this??  is it easy to get parts?  i wil want a good LSD and suspension set up. and i would need a good garage to do most of the work!
thanks for any advice,,   sk

[ske]

any thoughts on my project ideas?  i know its early days as im still looking to sourse a car, and have to sell my pontiac firebird

[shaunwil]

There are some mental 1st gens. Atomic Rex is building one for his customer at the minute and Pip Gardner (WGT) has raced them for years and has one in the build with his son.

They are very cool cars and can be very good for racing !

Shaun

[Steve-A]

If you want a garage to do the work for you, then i recommend investigating the various specialists and woking out who can offer you the best package, it\'s kinda a personal decision.

Regarding the car itself...

Standard parts are easily available secondhand and for very little money. Mazda still carry a surprising amount of parts to buy new. Upgraded parts are not so easy to come by in the uk. There are plenty of suppliers in the US, Australia and NZ, but obviously with taxes and shipping getting that parts over can be pricey. The other option is to have bespoke parts modified/created for the car.

It\'s worth investigating which base car you\'d like to start with. There are 3 \'series\' within the 1st gen rx7. The series 1 cars, roughly \'79-\'81, are lightest and available with no sunroof, but some come with rear drum brakes and the stock engine is a few HP down on the other series.

The series 2, \'81-\'83, has a fraction more weight than the s1, a number of cosmetic changes such as spoiler and different bumpers, and a few more luxuries. The series 2 all have disk brakes and have 115hp standard. The wheels on s1 and s2 cars use a 4x110mm PCD, which is unheard of outside old Mazdas.  

The series 3, \'84-\'86, has few external revisions, but underneath see\'s the biggest changes. It has larger brakes, more easily upgraded, larger tougher wheel bearings, the rear diff is different which allows easy fitting of mx5 LSDs  (much much much much more common than the lsds that fit the earlier cars) and a more normal 4x114.3 PCD for the wheels, making much easier to fit after market wheels. The interior is changed and feels more 80\'s and less 70\'s.

So there\'s plenty to think about. Probably best to pop into the 1st gen specific forum on here, have a poke around some of the builds in there and get a feel for which car is best for you.

[dthebuk]

sounds like a great idea. Its vary rare to see a 1st gen getting properly abused!

with regards to drifting. Porting a 12 a block may give you power but it wont give you any extra torque which i can imagine wont make it too easy to drift.

Also i understand the the 13b\'s don\'t take too much work to put in. I think you can use part of the 12a engine with the 13b as the 12a has the mounts on it. I really dont know the ins and outs, maybe someone on here could shed some light.

good luck!

[shaunwil]

Yep you use the 12a cover, slot the mounting bracket. Fit a GSLE sump to the motor and fit in place with the original Dizzy (or T2 pickup). Can even bolt up to original gearbox

Not too bad a job to do !

Shaun

[ske]

thanks for the info guys

i really like how the 1st gen cars look, there\'s one that i used to often see around the brentford area in London used as a daily driver.

However, the 2nd gen cars seem they would be better dynamically, with their rack and pinion, IRS, etc..  What are the differences in handling between the 1st and 2nd gen. Probably in terms acheiving what i want, it would make more sense to start with a fc, but i love how the earlier cars look, and the fact they were the first of the Rx7s

I wonder if the steering on the first gen tends to be heavy ? and maybe a steering rack swap over to rack and pinion would be a good mod anyway.

I have spent the last 2 years having my \'63 ginetta G4 rebuilt, and its great to end up with a car that is the way u want it.. i will post some pics of my ginetta race car. I think a rx7 project would be a great build, and it seems we are spoilt for potential specialists that may be able to help..

[ske]

my G4  



the car was rebuilt from a total wreck, by the original Walklett family that founded Ginetta cars

[Ray]

If you are interested in a 2nd gen, I\'ve got a race car in my garage that had been neglected and has been part restored, it\'s a project I\'ll never finish

Also, I\'d sell my RX-4 track car for the right money

However, if you want to start from scratch first gen\'s are great. The steering is fine for racing, but may be a bit cumbersome for drifting. The required modifications are well known and there\'s still a good supply of donor parts. The hardest item to come by as already suggested would be the LSD, so from that point of view, a series 3 would be the easiest to source a diff for, personally I\'d look for a sportage diff, it depends if you want a clutch type or viscous type.

I\'ve got the the rx7 competition preparation and service manual at http://classicmazda.co.uk/comp.manual.pdf , which may give you some ideas.

PS I love your G4, it looks fantastic :InLove

Regards

Ray

[ske]

thanks for the info, its the sort of knowledgable advice i need! and thanks for the link to the competition manual.

Steve,,  i spent too much time at work today looking at your build thread... amazing work and skill to bring the car up to where it is now. Gives me some inspiration for what im planning (despite the fact most of the work will not be done by me)

i saw a Group B rally car for sale that has mazda 323 steering rack fitted, sounds like an interesting mod.

also just received \'sports car color history - Mazda Rx7\' by J.Matras from amazon.  looks like a nice book, with lots of nice inspiration pics of race cars

I notice many variations regarding body/kits and arches, and i wonder if anywhere in Uk makes these.. and due to my love of fibreglass, i wondered if fibreglass replacement panels exist, to add lightness maybe wings/bonnet etc..

[re japi]

Ray, that link was great!

Steering rack should be changed, original isnt so good. If its old, steering loses sharpnes.

Gearbox, clutch and chassis are good. Diff is difficult to find.

Ya, lots of bodykits. Car in my avatar, almost all bodypanels are fibreclass. Its from US,Mazdatrix i think.

Good luck with your project.