Monty Roberts wrote:
Hello Group,
I know that there has to be somebody on here who knows more about this
than I.
I spotted an 85 RX-7 for sale on a local car lot. 5 speed with no odd
sounds. The body is
straight, no rust. 160K miles. It runs, but is hard to start. You have
to pump the throttle like
mad to get it to fire. Keep pumping like mad until it warms up. Then it
will idle although
roughly. My piston engine educated nose tells me the thing is blubbering
rich. When driving the
car it runs rough until you floor it and the rpms get above 5K at which
point it smoothes out,
pulls strongly and hummmmms nicely. The former owner is rumored (if you
can believe the car
salesman) to have put a new motor in it. The block is much cleaner and
has less grease on it than
the rest of the engine compartment and accessories, so there may be some
truth in this. Oil smells
like gas but otherwise looks good. Good oil pressure. No blow by out of
the oil cap or dipstick
tube. Has a new radiator. Keep in mind that I live in a state where
there are no invasive smog
checks, so if need be I can pitch the whole vacuum hose entangled,
computer controlled carb if
need be. Needs a brake job and an alignment. Has good tires. Former
owner had peculiar taste,
right down to the lighted neon shift knob. Will take a bit of
de-accessorizing ;). Needs brakes
and an alignment, has good tires. Asking price is $900. I'm willing to
pay $500. Any educated
opinions/advice out there. What else should I look for, check? Avoid
like the Plague?
Thanks in advance,
Monty
P.S.: This is for a run about car to get a little familiar with the
engine, not for an airplane.
That's strange. I don't recall the 85 exactly. I think that was the
transition year.
Is that a 12A first gen or a 13B second gen?
EFI or carb?
If it is a carb don't pump the gas. Just pull the manual choke knob.
You do know about the manual choke knob don't you? :) The choke knob will
go in automatically after it is warmed up.
Paul Lamar
-Brett & Tiana Campbell wrote:
The "85 rx7 was the last model year for the 1st gens and came in two
flavors: GSL-SE, which used a fuel-injected 135-hp 13-B, and all other
(lesser) models, which used the carbureted 12-A. I've owned three of the
latter, and all required just pulling the manual choke and cranking to
start. Until warmed up,they tend to blow a little white-ish smoke, which
smells a little rich, then clears up. But they should idle smooth, not at
all the way you describe.
If the spark plug deposits are tan or greyish but
not wet, and there's no indication of coolant either on them or under the
oil-filler cap,the engine is probably ok. In that case it may be a
fuel-delivery problem.
If the plugs on one of the rotors are black and wet,
but those for the other rotor look fine, that would explain the rough idle
and pumping like mad--- the apex seals on that rotor have packed it in,
which requires an engine teardown to fix. Run like hell from this dealer,
and when the place closes for the day, go back with a can of yellow spray
paint and paint a big yellow lemon on the hood. (grin) Also, if the apex
seals are toast, when the engine first catches on start-up and until it
reaches higher rpms, it sounds almost like a 4 hp
Briggs&Stratton...lawn-mower engine. Has about the same pick-up coming off
the line too.
As for the brakes, if you're removing the front rotors,
there's a very hard to get at bolt holding the caliper mounting bracket onto
the steering nuckle. You'll need a 14 mm offset box end wrench, and you'll
need to grind off part of the top surface of the box so that it is
chamfered. Otherwise it will barely fit onto the bolt head and then slip off
when you apply pressure. Hope this helps.
If it is a rare GSL SE they are highly valued regardless of the condition
of the engine.
Paul Lamar
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