Hi Chaps, newbie here!

[benedunn]

Hello everyone, thought id stop in and say hello - ive been snooping about around here a couple of days now

Im Ben anyway - as it happens i do drive a rotary but its an 8 i know there are a few die hard purists about that would say the 8 isnt a real true breed rotary with its choked up side exhaust ports but i love it non the less

im on the keen look out for FB now tho, i plan on running her along side the 8 so she has planty of time off road for ahem 'titivating' - yes yes ive ogled at the forsale section of course but i wanna keep researching before i jump in and buy 1 .... trouble is im not so good with a welder, i suspect thats going to have to change - also i know its a long shot but deep down i want a black 1 or maybe red both colours are timeless and been only 23 i appreciate but struggle to dream of the silver, green and brown 1s

a bit about me - im an engineer by trade and on the side ive built more than my own fair share on renesis engines someones gotta i guess there falling apart all over the place! none of the owners have a clue anyone of you guys would only have to spend 5 mins over on rx8ownersclub.co.uk before you realised this, there 10 threads of everyone asking for help using seafoam or 'which oil should i use' ... after years its getting a little tiresome

then tho! ive been working of bridgey reni that i hope to have singing a tune within the next month or 2 (well half bridge to be precice ) so i got a little involved on a thread that popped up titled 'bridgeport' ... this thread on the oc has attracted people straight of off google all finding out there is actually no info available because its only been done a small handfull of times - 1 of these chaps tho called himself 'oldschoolrotor' but is keeping stum about who he really is has been a trmendous help and source of plenty of new and refreshing info these last couple of weeks! and is actually who pointed me in the direction of this site and then from here i found EXILE between the two ive well and truely had my eyes opened!!! and im really looking forward to becoming a genuine part of the clubs!!!!

anyway enough waffling - i have a couple of pictures for you to feast your eyes on if ya like

[ian65]

Welcome aboard Ben, glad you've joined us..... the more of us getting involved in the technical side of things like engines etc, the better.... I'm sure plenty of the old school stuff will help you in your experiments with the renesis.
You've come to the right forums.... this one is dedicated to the 1st gen RX7 although obviously there is a lot of crossover with the other old school rotarys and Exile has some of the best rotary guru's in the UK.... years and years of experience of 12a's and 13b's before the RX8 came along so some great info there.

If you bide your time, a good 1st gen will come along.... yeah, the cheapos can be rust laden but there are some good solid rust free cars out there... have a look in the buyers guide section of the forum and there's a small download there on what bodywork woes to look out for.
Keep an eye on the 'spotters corner' thread.... almost every 1st gen in the UK that comes up for sale gets posted on that thread.
And a black 1st gen...... no better colour in my view !!

cheers,
Ian

[benedunn]

Cheers Ian! hat off to with this forum and your friendly posts buddy! you left a message on my hello thread over on exile too

1st noob questions if you dont mind me asking ive been having a rummage about on here n theres plent of mensions of seriese 1-3 are these all rx7 fbs? and whats the differences?

also are they all turbod or was it jsut a select few, ive seen the siver 1 in the projects thread with the orange turbo and pictures of the original leaflet so i gathered they did do them

[Lucky]

'lo. Again, lol

Welcome to the FB forum, and well done again for broadening your rotary horizons Yes, series1 to 3 were all the "FB" style of RX-7, the First Generation (though series 1 cars are also known as SA22 after their chassis code). Yeah, it's confusing enough lol. The differences are varied between trim levels and minor things like that all the way up to different wheel sizes and stud patterns. There's plenty of detail on all the variations in the info sections on here, I suggest a bit of reading cos there's wayyyy too much to squeeze into one post here

Mazda only offered a factory turbo in the Japanese home market towards the end of the model run. In the UK Elford's (a private Mazda dealer enterprise) developed a turbo kit that was high enough quality that Mazda liscensed them to sell as either kits or pre-converted cars with the warranty intact and everything, butthere was never an "official" Mazda turbo RX-7 in the UK. There's also a comprehensive info section on Elford Turbos on the site here, Ian's all-enveloping research and archiving is truly awesome

That's a real whistle-stop answer, hope it encourages you todo some more reading on here. I've lost hours of my life to it lol. Oh, and the only thing about red cars is they tend to have red interiors Just sayin' like

[codge]

Hi There, welcome on board, glad you like the 1st Gens. We love 'em to bits. Easy to work on, real head turners and full of character.

Codge (Dave).

[Steve-A]

Hi Ben.

We consider s1-s3 rx7s to be FB. Technically the s1 is an SA22C chassis code, so you may hear them refereed to as that.

Series 1 is '79 - '80. They are often considered the prettiest FBs. They have a more basic spec than the other FBs, no sunroof windy windows etc. They had a 12a that was rated at 110hp from the factory. They are getting very very rare, that said Tim (captainbizzaro) has just bought a pair check out his thread. They look like this:



Series 2 is '81 - '83. They have got a similar interior to the s1, but with electric windows and a sunroof. They got a new centre plate in the engine, known as the tall port 12a, upping the power to 115hp. Like the s1 they have 13" wheels with a rare 4x110mm PCD. On the exterior they got bigger bumpers and different side trim. Cue picture whoring of my own car....



Series 3 is '84 - '85. The got a new more 80's, less 70's, feeling interior. Theres more velour than the earlier cars They got very minor exterior changes, most notably the vents at the bottom of the front bumper. The engine stayed pretty much the same but it got an oil to water oil cooler ( known as a beehive cooler) rather than the oil to air cooler of the earlier cars. It also gained a bigger radiator to cope with the extra strain on the cooling system.

The big change for s3 was in the running gear. It got bigger more powerful brakes, for which more aftermarket pads are available. It got 14" wheels with a 4x114.3 PCD. 4x114.3 is pretty much THE standard for classic japanese cars so there's plenty of wheels about. Finally it got a different differential. The s3 diff is interchangeable with other more modern cars and much much much easier to find a cheap LSD for.

Ian's black car that you like the look of is an s3.



Thats a bit more detail on the s1 to s3 changes but as Lucky says, just have a read around there's too much to cover properly in one post.

[benedunn]

wow guys you really went all out there for me

as i get to find my way about the forum more ill be sure to soak up as much as i can! you've more than answered all my nagging questions for now tho

that green S1 is stunning

and thanks for the very warm welcome! im gonna like it here

[TOOL]

Welcome aboard mate.

S3 would be your best bet imo. Most plentiful too.
Vented brakes all round, bigger front wheel bearings and easily adapted to run FD 4 pot front brakes.
Diff is 26 spline, not 24 like the earlier cars.
And much much easier to get wheels for.

Great for a first FB but choose what you want. They're all great (except some if the interior colours)

[benedunn]

cheers mate ive been thinking s3 tbf ... i figure if theres more of them itd be easier to a hold of 1 and if bits are easily modifiable for them then thats a bonus ... i really like the s1! its pretty pure but as you say it might not be best place to get to know the fb so maybe when i have a better idea i might be able to do 1 justice


just as an off the cuff question ... what is your honest opinions on the red 1 in the fs section for £950, ie how much work is it needing? could it be done by a noob so to speak?

Ben

[ian65]

the best advice when buying a first gen is to forget about whether it's a series 1, 2 or 3 and just buy the best one you can find at the time based on its condition.......regardless of which series it is...... they are a rare car now in the UK, relatively few come up for sale and out of the ones that do, half of them are parts cars or need mega work doing to them and ££££££'s spending.

Once you get behind the wheel, you won't be able to tell the difference between a s1, s2 or s3... they all drive and handle exactly the same.
Each series has it's own plus and minus but nothing that you won't be able to live with and all 1st gens can be easily improved with just a few mods.