Hi! I'm a noob and don't own a RX-8. But I've been lurking and reading the forums for the past 2 years. I've become really fascinated with the rotary and reading as much as possible. I currently have a 05 Mazda3 sedan 2.3l which I bought new and love, but would really like to have a rotary powered car. Now I know it would be smarter to get a 8 due to it being newer and has warranty, but I don't want to give up the 3's gas mileage and FWD during the winter.

Anyway, I found a 1987 RX-7 sport non-convertible for sale at $1,800.00. It's claimed to be mechanically perfect and no performance mods has ever been done to it. Only thing it would need is a paint job, but looks don't really matter to me right now, plus it has no dents or anything. My question is would it be smart to purchase something like this? I know the Renesis is cleaner and more reliable, plus has the warranty, but again the only way I could get a 8 is if I trade, which I don't want to do. Basically I want it to get more "hands on" familiar with the rotary and have a fun project car. Now I wouldn't dump a lot of money into mods, probably just suspension and maybe intake and exhaust.

My plan originally was to pay off the 3 in the next year or two and keep it then purchase the newer 8 or whatever their coming out with. But again, I've been kinda rotary obsessed lately....lol! So what do you guys/girls think?

well i just purchased an 85 first gen and an 86 second gen yesterday. I plan on swapping the 13b in the originally 12a first gen car and making a "fast" car out of it so i dont have to abuse my rx8 so much. I plan to bridgeport and do the basic intake and exhaust mods as well and get it to look pretty clean. Not planning on turbo for a while until i can afford the standalone and a good setup. I think you have the right idea though! Once im done with my bridgeported FB i will probably get about 10mpg at best! hahaha... good luck

sounds like a good price if the interior is clean and the drivetrain is strong... paint can be done with about 1k and you have a perfect car!

The only thing is I haven't seen the interior and don't know how many miles are on it yet. Just trying to get a feel though. Aren't the 87 Sports N/A? I would perfer a N/A for my first rotary over a turbo since I'm new to them.

my 2 cents is...if you want the car just to play with the engine and get a feel for rotary's....go for the rx7. Depending on your dealer if you have an rx8 and you do any of the labor on it yourself it could void your warrenty anyways and the rx7 will probably have more things go wrong with it over the next couple years because it is 20 years older...so it will give you a chance to play with your engine.

as for not getting an rx8 because of winter times handling...i have all weather tires on mine during the winter and it handles better than my camry ever did :squint:
hope that was helpful in some way.

Wrong forum....

www.rx7club.com

2nd gen section, read the stickies and faqs.

Wrong forum....

www.rx7club.com

2nd gen section, read the stickies and faqs.

word. if since it a second car i say go for it, its a good car to learn more about rotarys.

Yes, it's an NA model, and yes, I say get it. These cars are so much fun to drive, and great for learning about these machines. as long as the interior doesn't look like some meth head went looking for his next fix in it, you should be OK to get one for that price. OR if you really want to learn about the cars, you can buy a not so great running TII for around that price, and fix it up and enjoy a turbo! :)