1983 Mazda rx-7 GSL

[87 Turbo II]

About time this section was created. Thanks QD. On to the car.

A bit of history (it is an old school section)

It's a 1983 GSL with an engine swap from a 1984 GSL-SE. The fuel injected 13B from the SE model makes 135 hp compaired to the Nikki carbureted 12As 105bhp. The swap has kept a carburetor-based setup for simplicity (don't have ot change fuel tank,fuel pump, add an ECU, wiring harness, install sensors such as the O2 sensor, crank angle, etc.etc.). The carburetor of choice is a Dellorto DHLA 48, a highly sought after Itallian racing carburetor used on vintage racing motorcycles and other high revving low displacement motors. The response is a hair slower than a comparable webber, at the expense of being an overall smoother, better carb(they've often been referred to as improved Webber knockoffs). The intake manifold is a piece sold by Racing Beat, used to mount this wonderful carburetor to the 6 port lower intake manifold to retain usage of the 2 axillary ports. The car also has a Racing Beat Road Race header, which is the 2 into 2 header, bolted to a high flow 2.25 inch collector(2 into 2 with external collector flows MUCH better than RB's 2 into 1 header) that is welded to a 2.25 inch straight pipe where it finishes off with a Racing Beat Powerpulse muffler. The engine bay has been gutted of many unnecessary items including the air pump, rat's nest, etc. etc. making the stock 2280 pounds, likely an estimated 2200. Power is estimated at 130 to 150 to the wheels which is GREAT for the weight class, especially considering this car rolled off the showroom floor with 105 to the CRANK.

Wheels are some no brand meshies(simulated 2-piece) wrapped in 205/50R/13 Sumitomo HTR 200s

Pics before wheels and a pic with the wheels:





















Any questions feel free to ask.

Update! 03/07/2009 New interior panels and seats:


Update! 10/05/2009
Setup as it sits now:

-6 Port 13B swap
-Dellorto DHLA 48 (basically two 48mm throttle bodies and old fashioned carbureted fuel delivery)
-Holley Blue electric fuel pump
-Holley 1-4.5 psi fuel pressure regulator
-Re-Speed fuel pressure gauge
-Zipties on the 5th and 6th ports to keep them open (lol ghetto)
-Racing Beat Header feeding a straight pipe and an RB muffler, no cats
-removed AC, Air pump, and Cats
-2GDFIS--2nd Gen Direct Fire Ignition system (hotter spark/more accurate ignition timing)

End result, roughly 180 whp (in theory if I'd pay to have it jet-tuned on a duno rather than butt-dyno jet tuning) in a 2100 pound package.

[TheGrillMan]

no bay shots?

[87 Turbo II]

no bay shots?

The day I bought it before I fixed a TON of crap, put a Mazda oil filter in it, and gave it a K&N filter good enough? It has since had a lot of vacuum stuff redone, and the wiring harness redone. Also,a few things removed.

[quickdodge®]

Is this YOUR car??? This is a work of art. Later, QD.

[87 Turbo II]

Yeah it's mine. It still needs suspension and a steering box replacement, then it's done.

[Elbow]

Nice, I like it, nice mods.

[OneSlow5pt0]

love ur car man,

[DVSRX-7]

can u make me sum block off plates? pllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssssssssssss sssssssssssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee lol... loving ur car.. lets trade?.. oh and by the way i love ur rims...

[87 Turbo II]

can u make me sum block off plates? pllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssssssssssss sssssssssssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee lol... loving ur car.. lets trade?.. oh and by the way i love ur rims...

What makes you think I can make the plates? Order them from pineapple racing, they're not that expensive. Thanks for the compliments and I've been meaning to tell you to stop writing in lazy chat speak, fragmented sentences, and phrases lacking punctuation. You're making us look bad in the rotary vs LS1 thread, as well as the GTR vs. Porsche thread.

P.S., no trade, if I ever own another FC, it has to be another Turbo II to excite me. the N/As just don't put put enough power for their weight.

[87 Turbo II]

Nice, I like it, nice mods.

Thanks, the modding will continue.

love ur car man,

Thank you, it gets the job done, and it's pretty quick for an FB, quite a sleeper, almost makes me wish I was dumb enough to street race so I could see how surprised ricers look.

[Big_Dave]

That's a clean FB. Those cars look good in white, especially with those black meshies. That single D'ellorto is an awesome set up. Reliable and makes great power. Keep up the fine work.

[Farrow2005]

Damn i miss my 79, look real good man. real good.

[Revmaynard]

Thanks, the modding will continue.

Thank you, it gets the job done, and it's pretty quick for an FB, quite a sleeper, almost makes me wish I was dumb enough to street race so I could see how surprised ricers look.

We don't want you ruining something else nice! Haha jk If the lug pattern wasn't so odd I'd steal your rims.

[87 Turbo II]

We don't want you ruining something else nice! Haha jk If the lug pattern wasn't so odd I'd steal your rims.

Haha, it's ok, I drive this car carefully. Also those rims were SUCH perfect choices and definitely worth the wait for the long ass time I was looking for them.

Thanks all for the complimetns, and I love the Dellorto carb.

[RGRacing]

can u make me sum block off plates? pllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssssssssssss sssssssssssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee lol... loving ur car.. lets trade?.. oh and by the way i love ur rims...

We have some or can make some more.

[VooDooXII]

Wasn't there a body style that came even before this one? It had two separate tail lights...it looked really nice from the back though it had a very simple shape. The front end was the same as the FB, but I don't know if it had a different code.

Either way, nice car! Haha these things are so tiny.

[87 Turbo II]

The front, rear and front fenders as well as the trim were different. Those had the Chassis Code SA22-C and they were sold in late 78 as a 79 model also sold the next year. Those are referred to as SAs or Series 1 Rx-7. 81 through 83 marked the FB chassis, with revised front a rear bumpers, taillights, fenders, and trim. The interrior was also redone, and a few mechanical things like the option for disc brakes, and a lighter weight bellhousing with a more rearward shifter were added. Buyers could opt for a GSL package that added an LSD and vented front disc brakes with solid rears. This is the Series 2. In 84 and 85 the option for a fuel injected 13B was offered in the model GSL-SE. This model had 4 wheel vented disc brakes, and a 2 cm lower suspension as well as hubs with a 4X114.3 bolt pattern (as apposed to the awkward 4x110) with 4 by 6 inch wheels. These changes gave the Series 3 Rx-7 GSL-Se a skidpad rating of .87g, which is higher than the Turbo II FC. Only changes for the non SE models was an interior update, as well as gill like slits in the front fascia. All of the aforementioned Rx-7s are still considered first generations.

Series 1:




Series 2:



Series 3:

[VooDooXII]

That was the type I was referring to. Thanks for the info!

[RGRacing]

The front, rear and front fenders as well as the trim were different. Those had the Chassis Code SA22-C and they were sold in late 78 as a 79 model also sold the next year. Those are referred to as SAs or Series 1 Rx-7. 81 through 83 marked the FB chassis, with revised front a rear bumpers, taillights, fenders, and trim. The interrior was also redone, and a few mechanical things like the option for disc brakes, and a lighter weight bellhousing with a more rearward shifter were added. Buyers could opt for a GSL package that added an LSD and vented front disc brakes with solid rears. This is the Series 2. In 84 and 85 the option for a fuel injected 13B was offered in the model GSL-SE. This model had 4 wheel vented disc brakes, and a 2 cm lower suspension as well as hubs with a 4X144.s bolt pattern (as apposed to the awkward 4x110) with 4 by 6 inch wheels. These changes gave the Series 3 Rx-7 GSL-Se a skidpad rating of .87g, which is higher than the Turbo II FC. Only changes for the non SE models was an interior update, as well as gill like slits in the front fascia. All of the aforementioned Rx-7s are still considered first generations.

Series 1:




Series 2:



Series 3:

The correct GSL-SE Lug pattern 4X114.3 not 4x144

[87 Turbo II]

haha indeed, I was being rushed to go eat when I typed that. I meant 4X114.3

[Oz10]

Clean car man. keep up the good work!

[fawk_you]

damnit, wished I had gotton the 85 when I had the chance. Very nice.

[87 Turbo II]

Update! New interior panels and seats:

[Gorilla Eg!]

almost had a 91 convertable for my first car... instead i got a 94 celica st 1.6l...shoulda got that rx-7 lol

[87 Turbo II]

almost had a 91 convertable for my first car... instead i got a 94 celica st 1.6l...shoulda got that rx-7 lol

Haha that 7 would have been nice, but if it makes you feel better, the 91 convertible was the heaviest Rx-7 ever produced (across all three generations) so you didn't miss out on too much, but I highly recommend owning something rotary powered once in your life.

[Gorilla Eg!]

im just hesitant bec i heard numerous times that dont last but like 30-60k miles before u gotta tear em down

[87 Turbo II]

No one told my car that. It's got 238 thousand miles and it's only on its second engine. The first engine never went bad either, it's a swap from a 12A to a 13B for more power. The swap has around 110k miles guesstimated. It's all about how well the car was taken care of, some people don't know they burn oil, so they don't add it, and that'll kill them, some people don't warm them up, they just go redlining down the street after startup, that's pretty bad too (just 30 seconds to a minute of idle every time you do a cold start is all you need) and lastly, a redline a day, keeps the carbon buildup on the apex seals away!

If you are skeptical, but curious enough to give it a shot, look around for a super cheap first gen (a running one can be had for less than $1k bucks). Play around with it. they're the most reliable ones, and if you aren't happy, you didn't spend a lot of money, and you can sell it again.

[hadouken]

im getting a 1988 turbo II
any useful info you could spot me?
=]

[87 Turbo II]

im getting a 1988 turbo II
any useful info you could spot me?
=]

see post above yours and add to cool it down for a min or two after driving before you shut it off to let cool oil flow through the turbo.

also when you get it, I suggest a full tuneup, new spark plugs, oil change, belts, transmission and diff oil, flush the coolant system, just the usual with any car. Check the brake pads. It may cost a bit for the whole tune-up, but you have to realize you have no way of knowing when that stuff was last done, and you'll only have to do all of it at once, well, just once, then you can change over to servicing one thing at a time. Also, when you change the plugs, keep the old set in the glove box with a sparkplug socket so that you can put them back in if you ever flood the car and soak the plugs in gasoline, then you can pull over, put the old ones back in, drive it home, then put the newer ones back in after drying them and the old ones go back in the glove box.

On your test drive of the car, try and pay close attention to what the vehicle does under WOT @ 3800 RPM, if it hesitates, you'll need to pull the injectors and have them professionally cleaned (3800 RPM is when the car's secondary injectors kick in to keep up with the airflow at higher RPM).

[sirkus]

Very Nice man! I've always had a thing for those 1st gens. I just bought me another RX-7 Friday! 90 Convertible black on black

[gottraction?]

very nice fb man. we will have to meet up one day. id like to see how my fb would fair when my exhaust cutout is done

[87 Turbo II]

very nice fb man. we will have to meet up one day. id like to see how my fb would fair when my exhaust cutout is done

yeah man. What's done to your FB?

[bamfJDMchic]

i cant wait until my boyfriend n i get our 2nd gen rx7 runnin - shit's gonna be sweeeet

[puregroove]

haha indeed, I was being rushed to go eat when I typed that. I meant 4X114.3

ah, we are in the same boat, then. I am quite the wheel monger.

[Andy.S]

Love the first gen rx7. I have an 81 but no pictures at the time... Not running yet, but will be soon.

[87 Turbo II]

Love the first gen rx7. I have an 81 but no pictures at the time... Not running yet, but will be soon.

I'd love to see it sometime.

[gottraction?]

85gsl-se stock port. getting some goodies sitting in the garage this weekend. it will be intake, no rats nest,2cnd gen upper,lower manifolds,tb, 2GCDFIS and electric exhaust cut out on some flat black 15 inch oz wheels. I will try to post pics after im done!

[87 Turbo II]

Yeah that sounds interesting, I'm trying to hook up 2GDFI myself but the coil I bought was bad. I'd like to see how the stock fuel injection with FC manifolds fairs against the dellorto carb when both are on stock ports.

[Gilgamesh]

you know your rx7 is still in CSP right?

you can up date and back date motors. and the intake is free. so carbs are ok

[87 Turbo II]

How do I know if my car fits under the "some cars are able to update/backdate engines?

"Street Modified – The top of the “street” categories, Street Modified allows
anything from Stock, Street Touring, and Street Prepared and just about any
engine and drivetrain configuration as long as the engine manufacturer matches
the body manufacturer (see Solo Rules for details). Four-seaters (BMW, Corolla,
Civic, Integra, Neon, Supra, Talon, VW, etc.) run in SM and two-seat sports cars
(Corvette, CRX, M Roadster, Miata, RX-7, MR2, etc.) compete in SSM. Carbonfiber
hoods, cams, turbo/supercharger kits, etc are welcome, too."

CSP
The original SCCA® “street” category, Street Prepared allows
any carburetor/fuel injection system and any ignition system. Turbo/supercharger
hardware has to remain standard, but aftermarket boost control
systems/programs and intercoolers are allowed. Exhaust manifolds and systems
are free. Emission controls are not required for competition, but no internal
engine or transmission modifications are allowed beyond factory specs (no cams,
hi-comp pistons, ported heads, etc). Some cars are able to update/backdate
components like engines, brakes, etc (See Solo Rules for details and specifics).
There are no limits on wheels sizes or DOT tires; racing springs and shocks are
the norm.