Mazda RX 7 opinions please

[Oh Haha]

Ok, so my FIL has this 84 RX7 he bought a couple of years ago to putz around in. I think he has driven it about 100 miles total since then. He now wants to sell it. It is in excellent shape with just 100,000 miles on it. It's never been in snow, blah, blah, blah.
I checked Kelly Blue Book and it looks like it is worth about $2500.00. Do these cars run for lots of miles like our 911's? I am trying to help him with a selling price. Any thoughts or opinions would be helpful.
Thanks,

[Porschephile944]

Some seem to eat apex seals at around 120k miles. Not sure which models or years do this though. Might be somthing to be concered about if your buying it.

[Oh Haha]

Uh, what the heck is an apex seal? In the engine?

[Porschephile944]

Originally posted by Porschephile944
Some seem to eat apex seals at around 120k miles. Not sure which models or years do this though. Might be somthing to be concered about if your buying it.

They form a tight seal between combustion chambers on a rotary engine. It would be like a piston ring that functions as a head gasket.

[stomachmonkey]

They are a friggin blast to drive.

Take it. You'll love it.

[Dantilla]

Take it for a test drive. Fun and cheap. The only semi-drawbacks are that the rotary engine uses more gas than you would expect from 1.3 litres, and if you have emmission testing in your area, you pretty much have to leave the engine stock, or be guarenteed to fail emmissions.

I also like that it won't attract the attention the Porsche does.

[artplumber]

Best ones (after the fuel rail et al recalls were fixed) were the gen 3 cars.

Edit: regular engine rebuilds but do well if maintained.

[Oh Haha]

Originally posted by stomachmonkey
They are a friggin blast to drive.

Take it. You'll love it.

It's not something I want, even to beat the crap out of. I was just wanting to give my FIL a little bit of knowledge for any sellers that have questions. If you of you guys are interested, send me a PM.

[Dixie]

Saw a '91 FD at the track yesterday. It was impressively quick. Sounded great too. Both facts had a lot to do with the Chevy LS1 engine swapped into it.

[Jims5543]

Originally posted by Capt. Carrera
Saw a '91 FD at the track yesterday. It was impressively quick. Sounded great too. Both facts had a lot to do with the Chevy LS1 engine swapped into it.

FD's were made from 93 on, actually 95 was the last year in the USA and many of the 95's (maybe all of them) are leftover 94's. Not many were sold.

FC's were made from 86-92 and FB's were made from 1978 till 1985. The engine in your FIL's car is a 1.1 liter not a 1.3 the only FB's (or 1st gen) RX-7's to get the 1.3 liter engine were the GXL-SE models. Very sought after cars.

An Apex seal is sort of like a ring on a piston. It seals off the triangle points of a rotor. It is the apex point of the rotor hence the name. It is subject to a lot of friction, especially when the engine is revving to 9K RPM. The centrifugal force at those RPM's is amazing.

Apex seals only go if the car has been abused and not maintained. If it has had frequent oil changes and was not overheated that engine will last well over 200K miles.

My brothers non-turbo RX-7 had 170K miles on it and the engine was never opened. A co-worker had a 1988 Turbo RX-7 with 250K miles on it before the engine gave up. He had modified the boost level on it and that led to its demise.

If you FIL's car is stock and really clean it should be worth a decent amount.

Any other info you need feel free to ask, I do not know much about Porsche but I am a total Rotorhead.

[Oh Haha]

Cool. I'll let him know about the engine.
Thanks Jim.

[Jims5543]

Find out if he has a GSL-SE they are worth more than a standard 84.

[}{arlequin]

if it's non-turbo than i'd keep it. those are great cars. same handling AND more reliable than a 944

[kach22i]

Originally posted by Oh Haha
It's never been in snow

Good, because they like to rust.

My sister had one, mixed stories.

Looks like this?

[Oh Haha]

Kach22,
Yup, only in red. It is a GSL-LE.
You interested? I'll make you a swinging deal!!!!

[Jims5543]

If it is a GSL-SE yes I am very interested. PM me your swinging deal.

[Sarc]

I miss my 85 GSL-SE. Such a nice car. Hopefully I'll get an FD sometime soon....

[kach22i]

Originally posted by Oh Haha
Kach22,
Yup, only in red. It is a GSL-LE.
You interested? I'll make you a swinging deal!!!!

I have too many toys and not enough room as it is.

Last year for about a week a flat black one was parked across from my house. I used to just look at it as I walked past it, sometimes pausing. Still a looker even with a little rust and a spray can paint job.

[Reg]

My Dad has a GSL SE. Great car with surprising torque for the engine size. Not great if you are 6 feet or taller. Oh, did i mention heavy steering?