1984 Rx-7 Gsl-se 100k Mi - Rust Free - Nice on 2040-cars

With much regret, I am placing my 1984 RX-7 GSL-SE up for auction. I kept it in excellent working order for 21 years. I am the second owner. As I was preparing to give it to a family member as a gift, I discovered an internal engine coolant leak that will require some time and effort to repair.

Here are the specifics on this vehicle:

The body is in very good shape with no dents with the exception of a very few "parking lot dings" so small that they are difficult to photograph. The paint is original and glossy. If you look very closely, you will see some hazing on the passenger side of the hood.

There is no rust through or plastic filler on the body. Oddly, there is a small area of bubbling on the lower side of each door. I am not sure why, but they have not changed significantly since I bought the car in 1993.

It has a transparent, tinted sunroof. The original steel one comes with the car if you wish.

I had the windows professionally tinted when I moved to South Carolina. Although I housed it in a garage, I wanted to protect the interior, especially the rugs, from sun damage. An additional benefit was it improved the looks a lot, at least to my eye.

The wheels are original and look very nice. I power cleaned and freshened them up two years ago. The tires have less than 500 miles on them. I replaced them a few months ago.

All glass is good. There is a small (1/2 in diameter) star blemish in the windshield, probably from a small rock strike that occurred before I bought the car. It is low in the center out of normal field of view. It has not changed in 21 years so it's safe to assume that it shouldn't grow.

All lights work as they should. The headlights go up and down quickly and smoothly.

Both power side windows also go up and down quickly and smoothly.

The interior is in fine condition. No one has ever smoked in this car. The dash and vinyl surfaces look very nice. About 10 years ago, I freshened up some areas with matching burgundy dye and they still look nearly new.

The leather seats are in surprisingly good condition with only one small split about 1 1/2 inches long in the driver's seat bottom, as seen in one of the photos. I repaired it with a patch applied underneath and, so far, it has held up well.

The carpet in the rear cargo area faded and became brittle about 15 years ago. I replaced it with a new factory one from a Mazda dealer. It still looks great. (That was the reason for tinting the windows.)

The rest of the original carpets stayed red and still look good.

The steering wheel began to show its age about 5 years ago so I recovered it with a leather "Wheel Skin." This leather cover installs right over the original and laces up the inside. These are not the cheap, laced covers so often seen on older cars.

All the gauges work as they should. Several years ago, a wire from one of the "door not closed" buttons shorted out causing the buzzer to constantly sound. At the time, I didn't have time to troubleshoot and repair it so I pulled the fuse for it. That also disabled the "headlights on", "key in the ignition", "seatbelt not fastened", and "coolant low" buzzers. I just monitored the temp gauge carefully and enjoyed not being annoyed by all those other buzzers.

The heater, AC, and vent systems work fine. The control panel for them sometimes causes problems on some RX-7s, but this one still works - possibly because I used to cycle the switches occasionally just to exercise them and keep them free.

Before discussing the engine, let me quickly describe other items under the hood. The original under-radiator oil cooler was replaced 14 years and 30,000 miles ago and is still dry. The alternator was replaced about 3 years ago and the battery shows a 2010 installation date. It still charges and holds a charge fine so should be good for a while longer.

Three things do not work. The cruise control is one. I believe it is due to a plastic vacuum connector breaking due to age. I didn't need it, so capped off the line and never bothered to fix it. The radio and power antenna also are inoperable.

There are no external fluid leaks on the car.

And now we get to the engine. Until a few months ago, I was confident that I had a solid, strong engine with no issues. It started, idled, and ran smoothly. It accelerated with its usual power. Then, after a 2-3 month period in storage, a huge white cloud of "smoke" appeared on startup. Of course, it wasn't the usual puff of oil smoke common on older RX-7s, but was due to coolant in a combustion chamber. Most owner's of RX-7s recognize this as a very bad symptom. After the engine warmed up normally, the cloud dissipated as I expected.

I drove it routinely for a week on short trips without the white cloud ever appearing again. Although it required a small amount of coolant to be added occasionally, the engine started and ran fine with completely normal temperature.

Before driving the car on an extended trip, I noticed that the coolant overflow tank level was higher than normal. Placing the tube from the cap of the reservoir in a glass of water, I saw a steady stream of bubbles from the end of it. It appears that there is a leak in an O-ring between rotor housings that is allowing combustion gases to escape into the coolant system.

Assuming this is a correct diagnosis, the engine needs a major repair and probably a rebuild. Ten years ago, I would have considered doing it myself. At 72 years old, it appears to be a monumental project and not one I care to undertake.

The engine still starts, idles, and runs OK, but I would not drive it far until this problem is dealt with.

Options to eliminate this problem are: repair/rebuild this engine, replace it with another good Wankel or replace it with a piston engine. There are kits available to install Ford or Chevy V8s into an RX-7 without cutting the hood. As an RX-7 fan, I hate to think about that last option, but it's better than using a car that is as nice as this just for parts.

So, with this car, you would be getting a solid body, very good cosmetics, most accessories working well, but with an engine with an issue that needs to be addressed.

A factory Shop Manual is included in this auction. I will also add a copy of the book Mazda RX-7: The First Generation that I wrote several years ago. The car in the cover photo is this car up for auction.

Sorry for such a long writeup, but I have bought 5 cars on ebay (sight unseen) and wish all sellers would have been as thorough in their descriptions as I have been. I hope you can inspect this car in person. I think that, if you see it, you will bid on it!

If you have questions or need more photos, please contact me by ebay message or call 843-384-0545.

A $300 deposit is needed within 48 hours of the auction close and the rest by certified check, direct bank deposit or cash in person within 7 days.

The usual auction cautions apply - the car is sold as-is with no warranty or guarantee, it is for sale locally so the auction may end early, and I will help your shipper but the cost of shipping is your responsibility.