Hello from Maryland

[SE Survivor]

DKWW2000,best plug to use in stock FB rotaries from1981-1985 imo is what came in them oe NGK #2329 BR8EQ-14. 12A and 13B. They're what i use in my SE.

[SE Survivor]

KiwiDave, guessing by your screen name, new Zealand?

[spirit r]

spirit r, no offense taken. Will do my best to understand your english. What year/model FB do you have?

LHD Germany Version OEM two Ton silver/ Grey, modern dash, interior Grey,17mm oilpump,vented disc front rear,bigger stabilizer diameter.Moonroof. Built in 1984. 25 years back same as Rogers
http://www.google.de/imgres?imgurl=http ... CCgQrQMwAw I would say nearly same as your GSL SE but 12A engine, no power steering.
British would say Rx7 Serie 3,
German make the different between:
Sa2 and FB

Thank you for comprehension
Thomas

[SE Survivor]

spirit r,has same wheels as my SE. My car is gunmetal gray,no p/steering,which i prefer. Is your 12A carbureted, overseas RX's are a separate breed than what came here. JDM RX's also had different options that were never offered outside Japan, rear seat being first thing that comes to mind. Was your car originally a 12A,do you know what your 5th gear in trans is numerically ?

[ian65]

Hi and welcome to the forum

It's strange that Mazda did different specs for so many different markets and yet in other ways, failed to tailor the RX7 to differing market needs.
A prime example is that UK cars ended up with all the emission control stuff that was installed with the North American market ( the largest 1st gen market) in mind.... the cars were shipped with it in place and Mazda UK were too lazy to take it off, even though it wasn't required in the UK and just sapped the power.We got the rear seats that the US didn't get and the suspension, brakes, wheels etc from the GSL-SE and the JDM 12at but never got the JDM12at engine or the GSL-SE 13b engine or bells and whistles like PAS, cruise or LSD's.
Luckily, most parts/ options can be retrofit so it doesn't take much effort to build the car of your dreams.


.

[SE Survivor]

ian65,thanks for the welcome. I can maybe understand no JDM12at engine, but am confused now about different models sold there. Basically as far as drivetrains in cars sold here,a GS was 12a,manual or auto trans, rear drum brakes and no lsd. GSL was 12a,manual or auto,rear disc brakes and lsd. 84-85 GSL-SE was FI 13B auto or manual,(with different od gearing,taller), cruise control, larger vented discs all around and all to my knowledge got lsd. Trim packages for manual trans SE cars determined whether or not p/steering came with them. Auto trans cars(every i've ever seen/worked on) got p/steering. I remember the salesman at the dealership where i worked telling me when i asked about this that auto trans cars were for girls who couldn't turn the steering wheel at rest or parking lot speeds. He had a point as manual required two hands, in retrospect now sounds chauvanistic, but it was the 1980s. What were model designations in your country, you never got the GSL-SE? Lsd was not an option on any models sold there?

[codge]

We could only have one model in each Series.
Series 1 1978 to 1981 approx
Series 2 1981 to 1984 approx
Series 3 1984 to 1986

The only choice was Colour (from a limited range of about 6 colours for each Series), and also you could also get the Elford Turbo.......modified cars produced by Elford in UK with Mazda's Agreement.

Also there were strict import quotas then, which seriously limited the numbers of 1sr Gen cars sold here.

[SE Survivor]

Never heard of The Elford turbo option before i visited this site. When i started looking at some pics of the cars on here,i assumed an aftermarket tuner built these. Had no idea Mazda was involved with them. In this country it's not uncommon for an aftermarket private company to take brand new untitled cars,mostly muscle cars, and rebuild/refine them with more horsepower,better handling and brake packages and resell them with their name on them, First to mind were Shelby Mustangs which were my kryptonite, having owned/restored several in my younger years. My GSL-SE reminds me most of these cars,without the brutal torque of a big block though. The way the car handles in factory trim is light years ahead of a stock mustang or shelby, though with many suspension modifications they were a formidable foe. Our trans-am racing of the early 70s highlighted cars like this built by Ford,GM, and Dodge. Would love to hear more about this Elford turbo model,#s built, horsepower output,other mods done and cost compared to a "standard" RX-7,

[KiwiDave]

KiwiDave, guessing by your screen name, new Zealand?

Bonus points for you there

My take on option list vs market. Mazda would have been competing very much on price. For instance, the S1 was launched with drum rear brakes, recirculating ball steering and a reasonably ordinary suspension setup in terms of sportscars. Making all of the nice stuff available would have pushed up the price thus making it less attractive. With the export market, factor in the exchange rate vs the yen plus the cost of shipping the cars.
So AC and power steer only got offered where the market demanded it and could justify the price within it's market sector. Four wheel discs had to follow just to keep pace with other manufacturers. By the time 1984 came, the FB was very ordinary and the US was still it's biggest market. So the US got 13B power for the GSL-SE and fuel injection. Japan got a 6 port injected 12a and the experimental 12a turbo to bridge the gap until the FC took over.

[SE Survivor]

KiwiDave,interesting perspective.