1985 Mazda RX-7 User Reviews

A Fun "classic" At Fair Prices —

I grumble about certain things regarding the 1st gen RX-7, but I still haven't gotten rid of mine (which should tell you something.) It's a fun car to drive and you don't see them every day on the road. They have pretty lines to them. Kind of graceful. One thing I like is that they're not particularly difficult to work on. Don't let the unique engine design fool you...unless you're planning to rebuild the thing it won't make any difference. It has plugs, wires, and a distributor just like other cars. It's a small engine so there's plenty of room to work, which I like. The engine compartment isn't as "packed" as modern cars and contains less electronics. I don't keep mine for performance (by today's standards the stock 12A is a bit sluggish with something like 100 HP) but because it's a cool car to have. I like the first generation (79-85) better because I think the lines are more appealing than the 2nd (albeit the 2nd is faster.) There are guys who do a lot of jiggering to make their cars a lot faster than stock, so if you are into that, it's quite doable. Out of the box, though, they just aren't very fast any more. The best you could do is try to get an 84/ 85 GSL-SE with the 13B engine in it, as that would boost things by about 30%. I prefer the GS trim level, myself. The "S" model had steel wheels, a lesser stereo, and lacked a few other features. And while I would have liked to have the moon roof, the other things in the GSL model I can do without: the leather seats, power windows and locks, and rear wiper on the GSL are just more things to break. The leather usually doesn't hold up very well after all these years. I like to keep things simpler. It uses a lot of gas by today's standards (which is annoying because it's not very fast) but what can you do. I think I get about 16 MPG in the city with the AC on. it's better on the highway. I'm probably at about 25 there. It has a carburetor, which people seem to have forgotten about how to work on, but if you keep the car maintained it's not hard to adjust now and then. The ride is low to the ground (and not very comfortable) but I always feel like I'm going faster than I really am so that makes up for it. This car blows in the snow. I put in in the driveway one day when I was moving some stuff around in the garage and it started to snow. With a couple inches on the ground, I couldn't get it up my angled driveway. On the road it's like a hockey puck. With snow tires and some weight in the back you'd do better, but there are no airbags in this car so if you get hit you're going to feel it. Overall, they were well made by 80's standards and good examples are still fairly easy to find. If you're up for it, get a 1979 and own a real classic. Otherwise, the 85 model year is pretty popular. I know I said that the GS trim was best, but I'd still pick up a GSL-SE if you can find one. Despite the increase in electronics, you'll step up to fuel injection and a bigger engine. Of course, it's all relative. If you're really into speed you'd probably want to look at the turbo-charged second generation or the ultimate prize: third gen.

Primary Use: Commuting to work

This is the 3rd 1st Gen RX7 I have owned and in my opinion the GSL-SE is the best 1st Gen hands down. Only the GSL-SE is fuel injection, has all wheel disc brakes, higher gear ratio transmission, 4/11 third member gears, posi traction, 4x4.5 bolt pattern on 14 wheels, and 50/50 weight ratio. Im a 52 year old ASE Certified mechanic who owns one of these and intend to for quite some time. Weve rebuilt the motor, trans,diff, this car is a drift and track machine yet still street legal retaining original interior and air conditioning.