1979 RX7 Limited
08/03/2004
Pictures above are of our 1979 RX7 Limited, Racey. We purchased the car in 1992, drove it from 1992-1997 when we put her in storage while overseas. We transported her from California to Virginia in 1999 and she has been patiently awaiting our attention since then.
Saturday, July 31, 2004
Today the rebuild began and I am pleased to report that things look better than I had dreamed they would. Though she is in desperate need of a bath and some long awaited TLC, the engine and mechanics see to be in pretty good shape considering. The oil looks good, no water or gunk, and the engine will turn by hand though the compression is so good it is quite difficult. The carburetor is quite clean and the throttle assembly seems to work fine. A new battery and the starter will crank, the lights all work and the headlights even pop-up and down. We are quite pleased and can't wait to turn her over and see what happens. Trying to moisten up the seals before attempting that so we'll update in a week or so.
Sunday, August 1, 2004
Day 2 - Removed wheels and checked brakes. They were rusted tight, but seem to work fine after breaking them loose. Rear needs drums and shoes just from prior use. Front will need to be turned and new pads, but other than that looks fine. Clutch Master and Slave Cylinders are good, Brake Master Cylinder is good. Removed Wheels to get new tires and decided to clean the rims before getting the tires. We cleaned the rims with toilet cleaner (Click on the wheel picture above to see before and after shots.) and they look great. After yesterdays Marvel Mystery Oil treatment and the free movement of the engine we removed the leading, bottom, spark plugs and pushed the carbon and MMO out of the engine through those holes by spinning the engine backwards by hand. The compression seems good still and we are so encouraged we are hard pressed to wait until next week to try turning her over.
Couldn't wait! Waited until dark to try to conceal some of the smoke we knew would come if we could actually get her to run. Reconnected the ignition wires and turned the key. Less than 10 seconds later with no gas pedal and a little choke she sputtered to life. Not only did she turn over, but continued to idle steadily without any coaxing. Gave her a little gas and that long awaited purr resonated around the yard. I can't believe it was that easy, and we waited 7 long years to even try.
Monday, August 2, 2004
Ordered new tires, spark plugs, wires, coils and a K&N air filter today.
Started her up again tonight. It's funny how some things just come back to you. I got in, pulled the choke out a bit, turned the key and gave her a touch of gas and she zoomed to life. Choke cut off in a few and she settled into a nice little purr. Darn tires probably won't be in until next week, so I'll be dreaming until then.
Friday, August 6, 2004
Today we gave Racey a good cleaning, inside and out. Even degreased the engine bay. New tires, BFG Radial T/A's 195-60-R13's, are installed. Installed new coils and NGK plugs. Installed new K&N air filter. New oil, coolant, tranny and differential fluids go in in the morning. Email questions and comments too: Raceyrx7
We took her for a spin around the block and she ran great. Pulled good through about 5500 RPM's before having a little drop off in power. A carb rebuild is in the near future. Also, she needs breaks which will be done next week. We did notice before shutting her off that all the dummy lights where on and the tach was reading volts instead of RPM's like when you first turn on the key before starting the engine. We'll have to track that down tomorrow , also.
Zoom, zoom!
