Bought Myself My First Ever Sports Car..! All Thanks to The STEEM Network!
While the rain subsided earlier I managed to take a few glamour shots of the newest love interest in my life.. No I'm not talking about some woman..
It's been well over half a decade since I've felt the freedom to be able to just hop in my automobile and cruise to wherever I feel. Nothing quite like the feeling of cruising down the road with the windows down, wind in your hair and nothing but you and the road ahead approaching at whatever speed you chose. I missed the thrill of driving.
Always been a fan of the Japanese import cars and through sheer luck I managed to pick up a piece of history in the form of an early "FB" 1985 RX-7 GSL with 121,xxx kilometers (75,xxx miles) on the odometer for a hell of a bargain at ~1300 STEEM ($3000 CAD).
The original asking price by the previous owner was $3750 but after going with him on a test drive and giving him a crash course in Bitcoin and STEEM when he made out the bill of sale he only asked for $3000..! I'm going to send him an email a bit later today with more information on getting started with crypto-currency. The guy had to be in his early 50's, a certified general accountant and seemed extremely intent on picking my brain.
Featuring the somewhat unconventional Mazda 12A rotary engine creating roughly 100 HP / 107 ft-lbs torque coupled with a 5 speed manual while boasting a vehicle weight of roughly 1000 Kilograms (~2200lbs) this sporty little 2 seater certainly has a bit of jam in comparison to my last set of wheels! Delivering the power to the rear wheels is a limited slip differential in the back end ensuring the little rotary engines power makes it to the pavement.
A Different Type Of Zoom Zoom
The 12A Wankel Rotary Engine is situated behind the front wheels which helps in handling. Mazda marketed this configuration as a "front mid engine" and carried on this design in later RX-7 models. This early 1985 RX-7 GLS variant is the last of the FB or first generation RX-7's before they switched to the more rounded "FC" second generation.
( a well detailed breakdown of the parts of a rotary engine - www.spannerhead.com )
In most conventional consumer vehicle engines the piston slides up and down in a cylinder jacket within the engine applying force to a main shaft internally harnessing the explosive energy from the fuel air combustion into usable energy. The early 1985 RX-7 GSL sported the Mazda 12A Wankel Rotary Engine, which, fun fact, was the first powerplant built outside of north america to finish the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hour race in 1974.
Below is an illustration showing the cycle the 12A rotary engine follows during operation:
( rotary engine gif stolen from giphy.com )
These engines are a bit different to tune for and require a bit more upkeep than your conventional inline 4 or V6/V8 in regards to oil changes and rebuilding of the triangular pistons seals every 80K-150K to ensure optimal performance.
Over the winter I'll be rebuilding the 12A powerplant on this car as the plan is to pick up my landlord's cheap fix'er-upper 1995 dodge neon that needs an alternator, new rad fan and tires to get that running and road worthy for winter.
Keep it Classic or Create a Drift Monster?
It must be said for what I paid for this vehicle it's a damn beauty..! It's still all original drive train, paint and whatnot. However the body does have a few minor dents on it and the vehicle isn't "mint" so I have an internal debate going on currently.. To tune or keep stock?
From what I read these vehicles have incredible potential for tuning if you swap in a newer 13B rotary powerplant and turbocharge the hell out of it.. I do love the look of this car and how clean it is.. If it was ratty on the inside or in worse condition I'd not bat an eye at turning this thing into a drift / tuner car.. But it's in really good shape for an 1985 RX-7 and I'm not likely to find another in this good of condition for such a price.
Thank You For Helping Me Live My Dream!
I've wanted one of these cars since I was a young teenager growing up... Today my dream is a reality and the sole reason this could happen was STEEM and it's users!
Massive thank you to everyone who has believed in me, supported my posts, sponsored my software development, helped me deal with my emotions, praised my posts, voted my witness campaign and ultimately made the STEEM network a place I'm proud to be a part of.
 | VOTE @KLYE FOR WITNESSsteemit.com/~witnesses | |
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Siiiiick whip brah! Haha.
I can tell you that you will love it. I have owned 2 FB's, an FC, an FD, and an RX-8.
Pro-tip: add a little 2-stroke oil to the gas tank JUST in case the oil metering fucks up. A 32-year old oil pump and degraded plastic/rubber bits may not get enough oil to the apex/side/corner seals. In my FC, I raced it hard on a cold engine and blew an apex seal. I rebuilt that engine myself. Fun project, but not fun experience blowing the motor. I think that 1/2oz of 2-stroke oil per gallon should suffice, and it's cheap insurance.
I also did swap a 13B into one of my FB's in the hopes of turning it into a rally car. I got the motor in, but later abandoned the project. You can drift these cars, but the secret sauce is in the right suspension, LSD (differential, not C20H25N3O) and tire setups. The 13B is more powerful, but all rotaries lack torque. You gotta use weight transfer and other factors to nail a DORRIFTUUUUUU!!
Nice acquisition, @klye!!
That is a sweet find. Minty fresh for a car like that. I would gladly pay over 5k for an 80s RX7 in the states. Especially with a working rotary. Love that you were able to fund this with steem power lol.
You should try and keep the exterior and interior as stock as possible but you should totally tune the bad boy. I wouldn't bother plopping another engine in there, you can get much more out of that 12A than you might think. You don't even need to boost it but, I know I probably would...
Remember: boost in, apex seals out.
Going to cruise it over to a buddies shop here later today to let him have a look at it but I think I got lucky finding this vehicle in such condition for what I paid for it.. Pretty damn blessed actually..!
I know you got lucky. Sure your Canadian pesos aren't quite up to par with my freedom bucks but you got a steeeeeaaaaalllllll!
Rock on my man.
~$2250 USD is what it works out to... My dollar appears to be a bit stronger than it was a week ago compare to USD!
I think the guy could tell I was in love with the car.. Been years since I had feels like this towards an inanimate object. +insert purring noises+
Yeah Mr. Trump is a wreck. I wold rather hold Canadian maple bucks.
Haha well I think he knows it is going to a responsible owner. Keep us posted with your car. I think a comic might be warranted, that dolphin one had me geekin.
OMG! I bought a nearly identical year/model RX7 once that had been gutted inside for SCCA racing and then totally clapped out. I bought it in the dark for $300.
I got it running again, but it needed a brake overhaul/replacement including both cylinders, and I decided to bail on the car. I sold it running in my driveway to car rehabbers from a nearby instant hotrod shop that basically chopped cars into new cars and blew them out for quick bucks on craigslist. lol south florida... anyway I digress... I made more profit on that car, at $300 plus $30 in parts flipped for $1500 in three weeks than I usually make LOL.
Good luck with yours, it's very pretty. I'm following you now, to make sure you don't wreck it!
Guys love turning them into race buggies or drift monsters given the great setup the car offers for that sort of thing. Glad to hear you ended up on top with your RX-7 experience. They are certainly a different breed of horseless carriage than the normal!
Somehow, I just went from horse, to different breed, to rotary motor, to rotisserie chicken in my head. I must be hungry! hehe.
Drive it in good health my friend....This is my race care. Had to buy it the old fashion way:/
What is the upper gauge cluster above the AC vents in the middle set up for? NOS?
I had an oil ratio gauge in the middle one but I took it out...Im going swap it out and put a shifting light in its place....NOS would make that turbo push out some serious pounds of boast, but that would only happen a few times before the 4 cylinder engine would blows!
Nice! I bet that car is a ton of fun!
My grandpa built a custom sports car.
Unfortunately now it is stored in the bar in Indiana which is a huge shame. Following you now!
Woow that is really, really cool! Did he build the trailer to go with it?
yeah he built that as well.
Here is a post I did about him 11 months ago. Shows the engine setup...etc.
https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@brianphobos/hi-i-m-brian-i-wanted-to-introduce-post-a-tribute-to-my-grandpa-and-his-custom-built-sports-car
Very, Very cool my friend. Always nice building something with your hands...even better when it is with family:)...UPVOTED
Thanks man!
I like the accents and look of your ride man!
Thanks mate. I did all the body and mechanic work myself... Well actually with my pops. Have to love the all wheel drive and most people don't no the feeling of driving a stick shift car. Way better then an automatic.
bruh... nice interior!
Grats on the new wheels @klye. It doesn't seem too long ago when I first started following your posts and some of your posts were about how broke you were. Now thanks to your work on Steemit, you can afford to buy your dream car. That is truly an inspirational story.
Man.. 2-3 years ago I was a hobo.. A year ago I was camping people's yards for wifi to get work.. Now I just bought one of the cars I've wanted since childhood. This progression or evolution is fast.. Can't wait for this time next year!
@klye this time next year...
Great job @klye ! I'm glad you were able to get the car and thank you for doing a breakdown on it. I'm into cars and I actually into cars but did not realize that the Rotary Engine ever went into production. I actually thought it was a prototype design that never really hit the roads.
Thanks for educating me man!
The Wankel Rotary design was rarely used in production vehicles but the power to weight ratio and the fact the block is no bigger than a milk crate and able to rev up near 7K is scary! The more research I do into these alternate engine types the cooler it gets.. The total moving parts in a rotary engine is TINY compared to a conventional piston engine.
Yeah it is very interesting.
Congrats on your sick ride. This is a piece of history that you will never see on the roads in Europe. Maybe in some garages .
121k km in 30 years? That's like 4k km a year lol. I seriously doubt it but the important thing is that it still has life .
I've never owned a coupe and never will because I'm too altruist and would feel sorry for the ppl that have to sit in the back.
It was owned by an accountant who only drove it in the summer months for the last 7 years. Unsure of the history before that but it seems really well maintained for the year.. It's older than I am and in better shape!
Hahahahha , well get in shape men , what are you waiting for ? Summer is here
Going to have to! The cars got arm strong steering! XD
Very Cool Car. Good Post.
What a cool story and awesome car. I'd keep the exterior stock, but imo its ok to fix it up a little. Crank the engine, breaks, gear and interior. But it looks like a nice car! And very inspirational that its bought by steemit! I hope i can buy a new macbook this year just from steemit. I wont take out any from steemit but rather use my eqvivalent in fiat that ive earned on steemit. Again, congrats!!
Keep posting and working at it and one day you'll be able to buy yourself your dream computer easily!
Thanks man. (I'm going to buy a new one regardless :D , but it would be fun to purchase it from my "new hobby" which is Steemit) 1 Steem = 1 macbook pro? Hehe.
Congrats my man! Good to hear progress stories here on steem! Hopefully one day this can be sufficent enough. Following, hope to hear more good news!
All I can say is it took me countless hours and a million words to get here.. And I'm just getting started!