New from Colorado USA

[rx-7 chris]

I was recomended to the site by Ian who posted on my car blog. I understand this is a UK forum and I'm in the US.

I own a 1984 RX-7 GSL-SE that I'm in the process of restoring. Here's my blog: http://chrischillino.com

I used to have an '83 RX-7 GSL with a large streetport 12A, RB Holley intake, custom magnaflow exhaust and a ton of other parts. 141whp. I still have the motor. I also own a 1964 Ford Galaxie 500XL 390 and a 1970 Ford F250 390.

I'm thinking about building a 1965 Ford Cortina 2 door and putting my 12A motor into it. I would most likely have the only one in the US with a rotary. It is a very rare car here. I can get the car for very little money from a friend of mine.

I also am a moderator on the http://www.coloradomazdaclub.com/. I'm on RX7 Club quite a bit as well.

[ian65]

Hi Chris,
welcome to the forum!! Don't worry about being in the US, we love reading about other 1st gen owners cars no matter where they live.... there's loads of good info and experience in the US that we can learn and benefit from.
I'd love a GSL-SE..... shame we drive on the other side of the road in the UK and the GSL-SE is lhd only.
I'm sure the other guys will enjoy reading your blog and about your cool 1st gen as much as I have....
Post up some photos if you get chance.... we can then see all the GSL-SE goodies and see what we're missing!
Great to have you onboard bud!

cheers,
Ian

[rx-7 chris]

Here are some pics of the car:

[rx-7 chris]

For anyone who isn't familiar with the GSL-SE:

[spoddy]

welcome chris

more the merrier, i do like the US spec fb's, look so much more modern inside.
nice fb, i do like them in white. looking forward to chatting with you about your fb,
it looks very interesting.

ronnie (spoddy)

[rx-7 chris]

When I first picked up the car a year ago, I wasn't sure if I liked the interior. The S2's have the same interior the UK S2-S3 have. My old car was an S2 and to me they feel much more like a true sports car. This style interior has grown on me, it is much more plush and the plastic quality is very high.

One thing that I didn't say earlier is the GSL-SE what the only RX-7 in the US to get the S3 suspension the the rest of the world got. It is really hard to find this suspension, brakes, and wheels in the US. From what I understand, they made under 1,500 GSL-SE's total in '84 and '85 combined.

My car is almost completely rust free. There is only two small rust holes at the top of the rear wheel wells. Most of the original paint is still on the underside of the car including the suspension. The car does need some body repair in the fromt because the previos owner hit a few things over the years. I'm the third owner of the car.

If anyone has any restoration questions, let me know.

[spoddy]

well the interior looks very plush to me. mazda are renound as the best interior makers for jap cars.
like you say the plastics are very good quality.
after them, your into the germans, BMW, Mercedes and VW etc.

yes parts are getting harder to find. you may have to try parts of europe and see what comes up, ie ebay etc.

i like the radio, the equalisiers lol, looks very tidy, no scratches, previous owners looked after the interior well.
rust spots should be easily fixed as well as any aged paint.

[TOOL]

Welcome. Nice to see a GSL-SE on a UK forum.

I'm interested in comparing this with the JDM S3 12AT I'm breaking.

[codge]

Hi Chris and welcome. We must send a delegation to visit you.

Codge.

[rx-7 chris]

Thanks for the welcome.

A delegation, haha. You just need to get a group to make it to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. It's right in my back yard (30 minutes away) and I've pitted the last two years for the open wheel class. I've always wanted to go to the UK. My wife took a trip as a kid 15 or so years ago.

Spoddy, the interior didn't look this good when I picked up the car. The carpet was saturaged with oil and most of the small plastic trim pieces were cracked. I picked up every new part that is still availible and anything that I needed that I couldn't get new, I bought used on the forums.

I'll post some pictures of what my car looked like when I picked it up.