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1979 Spark Yellow Barn Find!
Much earlier this year I was working at the Dayton Auto show. Its a tiny crappy little boring show. When you work auto shows you meet all sorts of different people. Mostly sheeple that buy SUV's and mini-vans. But occasionally you run into a fellow enthusiast. I ran into a gentleman, and I cannot remember how but we started talking cars. He told me about his fathers all original 1967 Firebird convertible. And mostly we talked muscle cars. Then he started talking about his first -new- car he bought in 1978. He told me it was an old Rx-7, so of course I told him about mine, and how many I had owned. I even made mention of how I wouldn't mind having an Rx-7 that early. That's when he started telling me that he is looking to sell the car. But he doesn't want it to go to just anybody. He wants it to go to the 'right' person. Someone who will take care of it, and fix it since it has been sitting in a barn for so long. I gave him the website URL to Ohiorotaries and told him to get on Facebook and stay in touch.
I didn't hear from him, and forgot about the car. I figured it was in really poor shape, and probably too expensive. He didn't tell me much other than it was a '79 he bought in '78 and it was a five speed car. Fast forward to sometime last month and I went to a Cars and Coffee at the Greene in Beavercreek. I took the '81 and was almost immediately approached by a familiar looking gentleman. He started complimenting the car, and talking about his. And for the better part of the conversation I forgot that we had met before. He even started telling me about the car again. Except this time, he said it had been garaged its entire life, was still in a barn, and... It was yellow.... Here we are chatting at Cars and Coffee. http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps6bb8d5d9.jpg This time I got his contact info, and afterwards I wasn't sure if it was worth investigating. I didn't have the funds for another car. Then I drove Wendy's SA, and decided I should at least take a look at the car. So a few weeks after the Cars and Coffee, I called him, and a few days later I went to see the car. The day prior to seeing the car he called me and started telling me everything that was wrong with the car. He repeated over and over about how it wasnt perfect, and it had been driven a lot. And that the mileage showed. I really started to worry about how bad the car was going to be, and he had mentioned he wanted to sell it cheap. I was ready for a car in terrible condition, but hoping for a car in good shape. The last thing I was prepared for, was the condition the car was actually in... It was a wonderful moment when we laid eyes on the car, it was so perfect. The car was off the road a ways, but as I came down the driveway my jaw dropped. I couldnt believe it.... I immediately realized I wasnt going to be able to afford the car... http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...pscb4a782a.jpg He admitted that he had cleaned up the car, despite that I just couldnt get over how nice the body or interior was. http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps46f1e9c3.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...psd4718ee2.jpg I went over the car with a fine tooth comb, the few faults I found were pretty minor. The interior was beautiful... http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps250461e7.jpg In my hurry to leave my house I forgot my tools and jumper cables. Luckily he had some tools, so I stole the battery out of our car and removed the trailing plugs. One rotor sounded a little weak, but after a few cranks it sounded pretty good. I assumed maybe a seal was stuck and cranking free'd it up. http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps68dfc822.jpg I decided against starting the car as I didnt know how bad the gas was, and it was missing a vacuum line. So even if it did start, it wouldnt run well. http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...psbb25162f.jpg Well when it came to talk price, I was very surprised. He wanted to ask 12-1500 and was willing to take $1000. I told him the was was probably worth every penny of 1500. But that I couldnt swing that much money at that point in time. He really wanted the car gone as he was paying to store it where it had sat for the last few years. So before long a deal was struck, and the car was mine! http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps93962846.jpg He was the first owner, he had bought the car in 1978 after finding a dealer that wasnt marking cars up a ridiculous amount over sticker price. The catch was you gave the dealer three color choices, and preferred options, and sat on a waiting list. He waited for six months, his preferred colors being red, blue or yellow. With yellow being the last choice, and a sunroof as one of the options. A few folks turned this car down, as yellow wasnt a popular color. And it was a non-sunroof car. So he almost contemplated passing on the car. But after waiting for so long, he jumped on the car. He went to pick it up at the dealer and it was on the showroom floor roped off. They even let him drive it out of the showroom!! Because of this it has its window sticker, and -lots- of other documentation. It even came with original keys! http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps38803b10.jpg On the flip side of the keychain is an address, to a p.o. box. It also has a random looking number. If you lost your keys and someone found them, they just needed to drop your keys in a mail box. It would be forwarded to the p.o.box and Mazda would mail you your keys back. Pretty sweet! Probably not going to test if it still works though lol Darryl came out in his 4Runner, and helped me get the car home. http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps4bd1fe92.jpg Then I managed to get the car fired up by cleaning the plugs, freshening up the gas, and installing a good battery! It moved under its own power, and I parked it in the garage that first night! http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps7cd81450.jpg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBKy...maXVbWpyRt7fJQ |
Day one of ownership, title the car in my name.... Check, I have consummated the relationship lol Mind you I havent even run the car to operating temp at this point.
Step two, change oil and filter... http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps93fe11ba.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps27faaae4.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...psc289b026.jpg Remove ancient metal framed air filter.... http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps33360c80.jpg Replace with new... http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...pse6f3603c.jpg Change out plugs... Then inspect drums and bleed brakes... http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...pscd5f7f7f.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps3f7d15c0.jpg After this I started the car, didnt pump the gas, didnt use the choke. The car fired right up and settled into a strong 750 rpm idle. It was still smoking out the exhaust, but I let the car warm up. I let it idle at full temp for about 15 minutes. Once I was satisfied that it wasnt going to overheat or otherwise blow up, I took it for a lap around the block. Stopped, checked everything, idled the car longer this time. Went around the block again and opened up the throttle on the steepest part of the drive.... The secondaries opened! It -flew- up that hill! Stopped at the house, and checked everything.... Nothing was acting funky... So I grabbed my gas can, the mower needed gas, and I drove to the gas station! Mind you thats a two mile round trip thereabouts. While there she got filled up, the tires aired up, and then I beat her all the way home. Did a little burnout at a stop sign by accident, and even chirped the tires into third gear. This engine is strong!! I started driving the car around on short trips, and recorded some of it. The coolest thing though, is that the car isnt smoking -AT ALL- after bringing it up to temp and running it to redline under load it is running great. I am so happy, and I cant wait to get back home from working in Indianapolis and buff the car, oh yeah Ill drive it too lol! http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps6c8cd3f3.jpg |
Really nice. You made the deal of the century.
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That's awesome! I'd love to have an SA. That one looks like it's in great shape.
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Hot shit! That is damn good looking car!
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Badass man!!!
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Thanks guys!
I plan on keeping it as original as possible. When I took auto-tech in high school the car I was assigned to was a 1979 Rx-7. Partially because the teacher had never had a reason to let anyone work on it. He knew I owned an Rx-7, and I really wanted to be assigned to that car. I remember thinking how ugly the SA was, and how superior my FB was. It was faded red, with a plaid interior. It even had an aftermarket backseat! The cars glovebox was full of old Pacific ads and magazines, and Mariah magazines. So I kept a lot of those, with permission of course. I loved that car, and it was all original as well. I learned about carbs, and points, and drum brakes with that car. So lots of good memories.... Even did some burnouts in the school parking lot. So when the end of the year was approaching I started hounding my teacher to sell me the car. Unfortunately cars that are donated for educational purposes must be crushed. I did take a memento, the firewall vin plate, I made it into a fridge magnet. Years past, and I began to want an SA, I really wanted the same car color/interior. But when this popped up, and I sat in it... It was like being in a time capsule, both because of how nice the car is, and the memories from high school. It even sounds the same as that car... So yeah, its perfect just the way it is! |
:( Sad the car got crushed.
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Yeah, I tried my best to get it... Nothing I could do...
Anyway, lets talk about some positive things lol Today started with getting the 7's acquainted. Having an S1 and S2 side by side is a cool thing to be able to do! http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps436e9e19.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps05e6bb5e.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps6b3fc051.jpg Then it was time to do a thorough cleaning, the SA having been stored, had some mouse poo in it.... Time to clean the heck out of it! http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps05d99598.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps66a82747.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps8b31c4f1.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...psa4cc0a84.jpg While cleaning the car I made a -very- cool discovery. An unused, full size spare... Its a factory fresh waffle!! http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps5577ffa8.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps3b2482ae.jpg The tires date code says it was made in 1980!! It is still holding air! http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...psf68ed950.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps34059a30.jpg More to come, need to build a factory style exhaust for it, and clean the engine bay. Hopefully my brake master comes in soon, its the only thing keeping me from going for a cruise! |
Nice ride! You scored on this one :biggthumpup:
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Really nice car! I used to not like the spark yellows but they are really starting to grow on
me. That interior is so funky and 80s retro looking. Now you need to get some RWL tires for all those waffles. You should think about replacing all the rubber stuff on it now. That will keep it very reliable in the future. |
Ripped some more of the interior out and scrubbed every inch of it...
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps579ea986.jpg Reassembled it, now it smells like Meguiars natural shine interior spray, and Febreze Wild berries and honey lol http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...psf9a62c61.jpg Then I started buffing the car, the color is coming back! http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps347fbfd1.jpg Got a sweet Ohiorotaries shirt to match the car! http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...psa94ddfbc.jpg And finally tagged the car so it looks like I actually own it lol http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps8f46f468.jpg |
Man that interior is ridiculously nice.
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Hadnt posted this yet, figure I should.
Date code http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps43518d62.jpg Window sticker... http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...psa092aad5.jpg Started buffing... http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps9d5fbc01.jpg Detailed engine bay a bit, http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps680980c8.jpg Finished buffing... http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps3524148d.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps3a42b029.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps8ef5644a.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps4811022e.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps45e65305.jpg Also I was pretty sure I needed oil control rings, and that I had no choice but to rebuild. The car would smoke terribly at start up, even after an hour of sitting. I had warmed the car up, and only driven it a mile or two. So I drove it further than that, and drove the crap out of it. Afterwards I parked it... Next day I started it and..... No smoke... Waited... Nope, dont see anything. Got out of the car, and no smoke! Drove the car for a good twenty minutes, parked it, let it cool off. Started it and BAM! NOTHING! No smoke!! Heres hoping it stays that way! |
Absolutely stunning! So jealous! If I ever get my FC up and running perhaps I'll see it at some meets.
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Awesome find, I'm jealous too! And the window sticker proves you can have a new RX7 for only $8,620 back in the day!!!!
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What a great story, great find and a great price too!
That SA would be worth over $10K in this neck of the woods. |
Great find! You practically stole that car. I would love to have that stock SA to park next to my modded SA.
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And I almost feel bad for offering what I did for the car. I kinda do feel like I stole it lol I had no idea it would turn out this nice when I was finished. |
I would love to see this car in person. What a find. I found a GTUs awhile back in beautiful condition except for the engine was baked. I never buffed the paint out though. Meguires Show car glaze really brought the paint back. It could use a buff out but not yet.
Your interior is spectacular. Your car needs to be made showroom perfect again. Probably wouldn't take much. Wow! |
score score score !!!
that obviously was his baby, you stole it at that price!!! have fun with your time machine |
No pics, but today was kinda a sad day. The car had been backfiring pretty badly since I had gotten it running. It was usually only on decel. The exhaust was falling apart, so I yanked it off to inspect it. Despite not breaking a single bolt taking everything off, its unusable. It is a genuine factory original exhaust, its been with the car its entire life. Well, today I had to remove it, and it isnt going back on. The heat exchanger has holes in it, and it isnt really salvageable. In order to ensure the thermal reactor doesnt overheat and collapse, I removed it. The backfires were on occasion on par with lighting off a cannon. Further inspection revealed the muffler had exploded (Pics soon!)
The car now has a 1985 Exhaust manifold (Modified for SA housings), and a custom exhaust. Its quiet though, which is pretty nice. The new exhaust is loads lighter, and 2 inch versus the inch and 7/8's of the factory system. But the backfiring has been cured, and she is running great. Idling (ROCK SOLID) at 600 rpm! |
Had no choice, the old exhaust had to come off...
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...psb34fd295.jpg A new one went on... http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...psc0aedb54.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps1b6919c1.jpg And I just took it on a short little road trip, about twenty miles one way. Still building up trust, but she is running great so far! http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps37eb0ef5.jpg |
Was yours originally a California car?
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Looks excellent. I bet that thing will run for years and years as is.
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Had a photo-shoot with the car before I left to work all weekend. Drove the car all over locally, used it to run errands, and just to cruise.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps8ff4c17f.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps27c617e9.jpg There is a semi-truck scale behind my house, weighed the car for fun! This is sans thermal reactor exhaust, and a half tank of fuel. http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...psb45e5eb1.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps7048f1eb.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...psc3b4fca3.jpg Pretty pleased with the progress so far, going to pull the engine at some point and clean it. Otherwise not much else to do right now! |
Wow! Great find, that's a beautiful car.
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Found another local Spark Yellow, and inquired.... 02/78, 4-speed, and steelies.... And very rusty... :(
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps60c44824.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps7c66482e.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps3dd844b7.jpg Forgot to check the weather!! lol http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...psa28c1fa0.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps79aab0eb.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps7994de2b.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...psfe7aa17c.jpg |
The other spark yellow has disappeared, assuming the owner came and got the car...
So on the first test drive the secondaries worked, since then, they have not. I am assuming the vacuum diaphragm for the secondaries has failed. On further inspection they were frozen shut, lubed them up and worked them back and forth until they operated smoothly. Then I did the mechanical secondaries mod, and I went out for a drive, MAN does the car feel faster. Feels like what a stock first gen should feel like, and with the open diff it melts the tires off lol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQEA...ature=youtu.be There is a video of some shenanigans... I also put new radiator hoses on, new heater hoses, and a new thermostat. Oh and a new alternator belt to replace the old dry-rotted belt. http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...psb66f5753.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps8fa6ff55.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps48088110.jpg Hoping the weather holds out, I want to keep driving the car as much as I can! |
Upgraded the dash lights to LED's Mostly because even with the dimmer turned all the way up I could barely see any of the gauges.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...psd2737e03.jpg Picture doesnt do them justice, they are brighter in person. Right after my last post of pics the accelerator pump started puking gas everywhere. Thankfully I caught it before it started leaking down to the exhaust, and in my driveway. Ordered a carb rebuild, and started tearing the carb apart and cleaning it. http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...psf38eb258.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...psb861d658.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps77bded01.jpg Figured it was time to freshen up the rats nest since Im keeping it. http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps8aab7356.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps5b03108f.jpg Today the rebuild kit came in and I got the carb together, everything is good so far. Idles perfect, runs great, starts easy. Didnt finish til dark so no pics. However I did find some Hot Wheel Rx-7s that match my car!! http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...psfceffdf6.jpg |
Doing some great work!
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It looks like you got an awesome car, the thing that's even better is you know how to fix it right. Have you ever shown it to the original owner since you cleaned it all up?
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Yeah the SA dash lights are always dim, always have been. I'm thinking about doing LED for
all the interior marker and taillights. Thats a sweet looking ride. Bring it down to DGRR next year please. |
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Decided to take the Spark to Daves Fall meet! For me it was a little over three hours each way. The furthest I had driven the car was about a half hour from home. Mind you, the car had sat for almost ten years before I got it. I had replaced all the rubber other than the old tires, and all of the fluids on top of the carb rebuild. So I figured it was now or never, the car needed to be tested. I took country roads the entire way, 170 miles of long country roads interspersed with small towns. A perfect way to see how the car would do in light traffic, at low speeds, and while cruising on a long trip. It felt a little crazy, but not even two weeks ago I drove my $700 Miata from Ohio to California for Miatas at Laguna Seca Raceway. So this should be easy!
The car ran like a freaking top, so smooth, so nice. It was a great roadtrip! And the meet was worth it! http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...psc6318ec1.jpg Got to park next to an all original 1980 Solar Gold Leather Sport! There was also a Silver '79 there, but it was blocked in up near the garage. Didnt get a photo with it. http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...pscc24a51f.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps98772ae7.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps778afe83.jpg The drive home at night was equally uneventful. Which was a good thing, and now I have a lot more trust in the car. Im really glad I went, and Dave put on a spectacular meet! So it made the trip completely worth it! |
Snuck out in between thunderstorms to take a spin!
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps8f0fc657.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps12f2be16.jpg http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps47f5b31c.jpg |
Someday I want to get up there to Daves Fall meet. Looks like a great turnout too! Its only about 8 hours away from me I think.
All those SAs, yummmm. |
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