So I want to buy an RX-7...

[ucMP3]

Just to throw in some (possibly) helpful info. I bought my 1990 GTUs for $2700 in 2005; I worked him down from $4k over the course of like 6 weeks. He was finally about to leave for vacation and caved. lol. I'm trying to remember correctly but I believe it had about 100k miles at the time of purchase, but had an engine swap done at roughly 80k miles (the new motor had 35k when installed). So motor had 55k on it, no leaks, seals were good. All electronics worked well, and it had some crappy HU with a tiny little 3 inch video screen. 6 disk cd/dvd player and 2 12 inch kicker subs in a custom box with a decent amp. I sold the HU and 6 disk right after I bought it. It did have the typical fc rust/bubbling around the rear wheel wells, but all in all was in pretty good shape. Floor boards had no rust issues and the interior was in good shape. Only complaint was the driver seat was pretty well "broken in" lol.

I loved that car, and the GTUs is like stated earlier, the best N/A fc Mazda ever made. It comes with factory lsd (the same one in the tII's if I'm not mistaken) as well as 4 wheel disc brakes. And it's lighter than the gtu and gxl models. This is due to no sunroof, no A/C, no cruise, no power anything except steering. lol I would have actually liked it more if they didn't have power steering either. I also like the stock rims on the GTUs a lot more than most of the other's I've seen. So no amenities, but you're not looking for a daily driver right?

I know you will love your fc when you get it, Good luck man!

 

[Shadow102]

I loved that car, and the GTUs is like stated earlier, the best N/A fc Mazda ever made. It comes with factory lsd (the same one in the tII's if I'm not mistaken) as well as 4 wheel disc brakes. And it's lighter than the gtu and gxl models. This is due to no sunroof, no A/C, no cruise, no power anything except steering. lol I would have actually liked it more if they didn't have power steering either. I also like the stock rims on the GTUs a lot more than most of the other's I've seen. So no amenities, but you're not looking for a daily driver right?

I know you will love your fc when you get it, Good luck man!

GTUs had the 4.3 ratio viscous limited slip in it, and whereas the turbo's do have a viscous limited slip the similaritys end there. Turbos all had a 4.1 ratio and had 8" rear ends. The turbo driveline is a totally different animal from the na driveline

To the OP your best bet is to find a chassis sans the sunroof in the series you prefer. From there all the interior pieces are interchangable (ie manual windows) and that extra 100lbs can be removed in places.

 

[SpooledupRacing]

yeah but he is looking to buy and drive... IMO

If you looking for "your car" Just sit back and start looking.. no hurry to jump into something and in 6mo go.. "I wish I would have waited for the car I really wanted"

they are out there.. if u dont mind to drive for the are it will be worth the wait..

I also think u should NOT part out your pro and instead relax, and while u find "your car" sell your pro as is for top dollar..

I see to many people rush into things and regret it..

 

[ucMP3]

Thx for the clarification.

 

[magnumP5]

Yep, I'm in no great hurry but I'd rather get rid of my P5 sooner than later - I might try to change my mind. It would be nice if there was a clean '89-'91 GTU somewhere near me sans sun roof, power steering, etc. I'd have no problem switching over the brakes and rear diff and right there it would essentially be a stripped down GXL from what I understand. From what I understand both GTUs and GXLs don't have ABS, which is great, one less thing to worry about. Lastly, if I stick with an '89 there won't be any airbags either. Just do away with the rat's nest and that'd be about as stripped down as I'd go.

Also, '89 GXLs didn't come with ABS right? From what I read, they don't but the seller says it does. Hmm...

 

[ucMP3]

Here's a link with the factory specs for every year of the 2nd gens.
http://rotarygod.com/index.php?title=Mazda_Rotary_Engine_Wiki

 

[Shadow102]

Yep, I'm in no great hurry but I'd rather get rid of my P5 sooner than later - I might try to change my mind. It would be nice if there was a clean '89-'91 GTU somewhere near me sans sun roof, power steering, etc. I'd have no problem switching over the brakes and rear diff and right there it would essentially be a stripped down GXL from what I understand. From what I understand both GTUs and GXLs don't have ABS, which is great, one less thing to worry about. Lastly, if I stick with an '89 there won't be any airbags either. Just do away with the rat's nest and that'd be about as stripped down as I'd go.

Also, '89 GXLs didn't come with ABS right? From what I read, they don't but the seller says it does. Hmm...

I know dave is going to disagree with me here but get one with power steering and depower the rack (the correct way, there is a write up on flyin miata) you get a faster ratio and its easier to find parts for. Air bag is also a non issue akaik only the 90-91 verts had the airbag. Plus that's an easy removal as well. Abs is also a straight forward removal however I believe its a rare option to come across in the na cars.

 

[SpooledupRacing]

I know dave is going to disagree with me here but get one with power steering and depower the rack.

LOL.. I can't disagree more.. Manual steering is the way to go.. IMO BREAKING your power steering in order to have "like" manual steering is just crazy.. I guess if your cars power steering is bad and it is cheaper to "de-power" it then to buy a manual rack or fix it then ok.. but IMO why fix (or change) something that works fine..

If the car has power steering that works and does not leak.. leave it alone..

If you can buy a manual rack car.. do it.. IMO you get alto better feel on the road with a manual rack then a "de-powered" rack which essentially will eventually fail/sieze/lock up.

 

[magnumP5]

Here's a link with the factory specs for every year of the 2nd gens.
http://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?t=642372

Haha, way ahead of you there. I've read that and FAQ backward and forward probably 5 times!

I know dave is going to disagree with me here but get one with power steering and depower the rack (the correct way, there is a write up on flyin miata) you get a faster ratio and its easier to find parts for. Air bag is also a non issue akaik only the 90-91 verts had the airbag. Plus that's an easy removal as well. Abs is also a straight forward removal however I believe its a rare option to come across in the na cars.

Ah, I'll have to look into that as it appears none of the S5 are completely manual steering (GTUs have engine speed-related assist while GXLs and turbos have vehicle speed).

 

[SpooledupRacing]

Ah, I'll have to look into that as it appears none of the S5 are completely manual steering (GTUs have engine speed-related assist while GXLs and turbos have vehicle speed).

Another Pro for S4's and a CON for S5's

 

[Shadow102]

LOL.. I can't disagree more.. Manual steering is the way to go.. IMO BREAKING your power steering in order to have "like" manual steering is just crazy.. I guess if your cars power steering is bad and it is cheaper to "de-power" it then to buy a manual rack or fix it then ok.. but IMO why fix (or change) something that works fine..

If the car has power steering that works and does not leak.. leave it alone..

If you can buy a manual rack car.. do it.. IMO you get alto better feel on the road with a manual rack then a "de-powered" rack which essentially will eventually fail/sieze/lock up.

Lol I know we had this discusion over in my build thread. I just don't know why you wouldn't want the best of both worlds you get a faster steering ratio with the ps rack and you get the feel of a manual rack. With the internal seal and gearing greased up there is no difference between the ps and manual rack other than ratio.

 

[SpooledupRacing]

except the p/s rack will either need to be torn down to "maintain" or eventually sieze up..
and the feeling is not exactly the same.. the "de-powered" p/s rack will still be a bit tougher then the manual rack.. especially at low speeds and turning sharply

 

[magnumP5]

So I've determined there are currently no decent GTU's for sale in this country, at least not currently. There are only two I could find, one with a TII swap and the other is the one I looked at yesterday. While it was far from perfect I have no doubt it has potential. I'm just going to hold off for a bit and see if I can't find a better one. I tried calling about the GXL in NoVA several times to no avail today. Either the guy is not accepting calls from OH or he simply isn't available. The listing has been posted for over a month though... All things considered a GLX wouldn't be too bad. I'd more than likely be ripping out the AAS, which is a shame really and the only other thing I'd have to live with is the sunroof, which was an option so not all of them had it. Just keep looking...

 

[lil_red_wagon]

here are the specs on that s4 tII.

Turbo Back Racing Beat exhaust system
Ported Wastegate
Greddy Turbo Timer
67k miles
sunrise red/grey
and for $4k, you get an extra 0 mile streetported motor built by atkins. i would give you a grand for the motor if you did decide to come down for it.

 

[SpooledupRacing]

WOW.. killer deal... Not to fond of Atkins builds but hell nice deal on the car!

 

[magnumP5]

here are the specs on that s4 tII.

Turbo Back Racing Beat exhaust system
Ported Wastegate
Greddy Turbo Timer
67k miles
sunrise red/grey
and for $4k, you get an extra 0 mile streetported motor built by atkins. i would give you a grand for the motor if you did decide to come down for it.

I'll seriously have to consider this. My only issue is driving a new (to me, anyway) car 1000 miles right after purchasing it. The streetport is damn a good deal though!

I've been doing a lot more reading on RX-7 club and the more I read the less I am considering the black GTU. From what I gather the 'rats nest' removal is kind of pointless on S5's - especially if you want to keep cold start driveability. For the time being I would be keeping the ACV and air pump to drive the 5th/6th ports and no matter what I would not be removing the BAC and/or thermowax. It just doesn't appear worth it. Maybe down the line it would be neat to rig the 5th/6th ports to open electrically so I could change it when I wanted and remove the ACV and air pump to get rid of a little drain on the engine.

 

[SpooledupRacing]

yeah rats nest wont hurt start up but removal of thermowax, outer butterflys, can do that..

I removed the cold stat assist (good thing to do actually) and the bac with no issues..

the cold start assist only pumps coolant into the intake to warm the apex seals when u crank the car over.. honestly its not needed and wont hurt startup cold or hot.

 

[magnumP5]

yeah rats nest wont hurt start up but removal of thermowax, outer butterflys, can do that..

I removed the cold stat assist (good thing to do actually) and the bac with no issues..

the cold start assist only pumps coolant into the intake to warm the apex seals when u crank the car over.. honestly its not needed and wont hurt startup cold or hot.

So what exactly is the "rats nest" then? I thought the ACV, air pump, BAC and stuff were a major component of it so if I wanted to keep those I really wouldn't be removing anything. The problem at RX7Club is that there are so many n00b threads asking about this you can't find the original. Once you find something remotely useful all the picture links are dead and it's from someone who removed everything.

 

[SpooledupRacing]

rats nest is just that a nest of metal lines that route under the plenum to connect like 10 different hoses.. (vac hoses)

many can be capped off on the intake
it is all about emissions
the air pump is a BIG HOSE that goes directly to the intake that u will leave.. the rats nest is for smaller vac hoses that feed the other solinoids etc u dont need.

all u do is run the the couple hoses u need form the source to a place on the intake (so u have a couple CLEAN vac hoses) and not that big rats nest laying there.

here is a pic of your rats nest (looks like on a 3rd gen 13B REW) but would be similiar

 

[SpooledupRacing]

another pic of the nest