Newbies on Surrey Hants borders UK

[rustyrescue]

Hi, my daughter wanted an RX7 and we have gone joint on an 83. We are plenty used to classic cars but a rotary is a new venture for me though her boyfriend does run an Fd.
So we have an 83 car, which has been long term stored other than being mot's 2 years ago and doing 2 miles since!
It is virtually rust free and really very original/unmessed with.
It starts hot and cold...better hot, and drives/runs albeit needing work. The carb I think being the culprit.....idling anything from 1500 to 4000 rpm
It will need new coolant hoses as they are original and pretty hard plus it seems the viscous coupling makes a shocking racket, I think.
Parts I realise are scarce in the UK,
I think a carb kit would be good, a set of cooling hoses and I suspect ditch the fan for an electric one? unless I am advised its a no no. If it has electric can I fit a big enough push fan so it is hidden in the front?
Any guidance with what we should do and where to source carb kit and hoses.
I will let he join and place a picture

[Casey]

Hi and welcome. Your car sounds excellent - "rust free" is very rare on these cars in the UK. Have you lifted the rear seats and taken a look at the rear suspension mounting area, as that's usually one of the first places to go?

We love pictures, so please post some up, and what part of the UK are you located?

A good place for lots of spares is "Rockauto", based in the USA. Even with the shipping costs, if you buy a few parts together, they are a lot cheaper than in Europe. Be very careful to check the parts are correct for a UK spec car though - many are identical. https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/maz ... r2,1192261

Electric fan is a good move. Many options here, but here is how I did it on my Series 2 (should be the same as yours).
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2989&start=127

It's been tested in hot summer conditions and worked fine, keeping temp gauge in lower half of range.

I bought a carb rebuild kit off Rockauto too, price about £25 from memory. Check, but this should be correct (Nikki 4 barrel):

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.ph ... 50&jsn=467

Another UK source for parts that I've found helpful is: https://www.mazdarotaryparts.com/

Looking forward to some updates

[KiwiDave]

It's great to see another S1 getting some love.

Find yourself a Haynes manual. There are some good tuturials on setting up the carb. There is a mixture screw and an idle speed screw so it's not too complex.

It has a semi auto choke setup controlled by a temp sensor and vacuum which is meant to hold the choke out until the coolant reaches a certain temperature. It's also elexctrically activated. The whole sytem is prone to failure and really, it's not strictly necessary as many classic car owners will be familiar with the old clothes peg trick to holding the choke in a desired position until warm.

If you have an idle speed of the range that you describe, then something is clearly not working properly. There may be a sticking throttle cable or a linkage. Or more likely, you'll need to find a baseline adjustment for mixture and idle.

Basic service items are a must. Spark plugs, ignition leads, dizzy cap and arm. Don't cheap out on these. And regular oil changes are essential This is the life blood of a rotary engine.

There is lots of help available here ... looking forward to seeing progress on your car.

[rustyrescue]

Thanks for great help so far, I have haynes manual as of today and a 79 year factory one.
The electric fan is a way to go then.
The car is an 83 series 2, correct all round I think though it has a single tailpipe?? thought they were twin.
It has correct red stripe seats too............

[KiwiDave]

Yes, S2 it is, blame my bad keyboard input skills Twin tailpipes from factory. Single pipe could be a Janspeed system or simply an aftermarket rear box.

Factory replacements in period were horrendously expensive. It was common to replace the entire system and liberate a few horsepower in the process. Most popular (as far as I am aware) were the Janspeed and Double S Systems.

Post up a picture of your exhaust manifold and we can probably work it out from there.

[myatt1972]

Welcome to the forum, sounds like you have dropped on a decent car. Pics please

[spirit r]

Welcome and hope you will enjoy!
here another option.

https://www.mazdatrix.com/product/fan-clutch-12a-81-83/

20210204_181814.jpg (75.77 KiB) Viewed 12772 times

[marksport]

Welcome aboard.

[rustyrescue]

I did see the viscous coupling in USA, but at that price plus VAT, plus carraige, etc I think leccy fan it would be. It has improved a little with running so may just sort with a little more running.
To the carb...........the choke is bit of a joke now I understand what it does, manual pull on with a cable then it should auto pull of..it does not. I think it would be better all around to disable the auto off functions and leave it as cable operated if I can. Auto chokes of the 80's were notorious and in the day manual conversion kits available for many!
It seems there are all sorts of other nasty little auto things on it to

[ian65]

Hi,
welcome to the forum

the sources for parts that the other guys have posted up are good, especially Rockauto. Forget the viscous fan....they are the work of satan!...... put an electric fan on it, it'll take some load off the engine and be much more reliable.