New FB projects - Devon

[RB6102]

Hi everyone, my name is Rob and I have just bought two RX7s. I got them from a guy who in turn got them from an elderly gentleman that lived at Powderham Castle gatehouse. It would appear these are the two remaining from what was a small collection of these cars!

Unfortunately the weather has not been kind over the years. The silver one is fairly solid having been garaged but the red one has some very exteme localised rust. Both are now garaged so shouldn't be getting an worse.

I've spent the last week getting them home and sorting through everything but did mange to get some photos along the way and in their new homes!

[ian65]

Hi Rob
Welcome to the forum
Seems like the DevonMassive are corning the market in project cars at the moment ...What are your plans for them?

Ian

[DKWW2000]

Hi Rob,
Welcome to the Forum, looks like you got your work sorted for the near future, I also live in Devon (just outside Newton)
& like all the other Forum members glad to help. Are you new to rotaries?
If you live near I will be at the Killerton Classic show on the 15 May with my FB, Weather permitting & for the 1st time I managed to get into Powderham in July
regards Pete

[RB6102]

Thanks for the warm welcome!

I plan to get the silver one on the road again soon as I can. It's sorned at the moment but it starts and drives fine. Clearly it needs a fair amount of tlc but I hope with the the welding done and the panels actually bolted rather than placed on it can become a road legal restoration.

The red car was actually going to be scrapped and I was going to get the parts off it as part of the deal but in the end I couldn't bear to see it go that way! When you get past the section that's completely rotted away at the base of the window, and the front frame rails that are non existent from the ARB mount forwards, the rest of the car is surprisingly solid with corrosion only in the usual areas. Very strange but either way I made some space for it my shed so at least it won't get worse.

I'm based in Honiton Pete and yes I will try to make it to Killerton. If you have any recommendations for a garage that are familiar with rx7s / rotaries then that would be great.

I'm new to rotary engines but keen to learn. When we moved the car I made sure we ran it for a while rather than stop starting with everything cold. Any suggestions on what to look for would be useful. It builds up oil pressure to approx 60psi when warming up, not knowing otherwise this seemed good to me. There's no real history to say what has been done recently so I assume an oil change as a minimum would be wise.

[DKWW2000]

Honiton is near, I understand you got some "Spares" with it as well

I do not know any garages locally that I would trust with a Rotary, but they are simple enough to maintain, use Castrol GTX or a good quality Mineral oil, but looking at your Garage it smacks of someone who knows there way around a car, it is only the engine that is different (easier to maintain), the car is typically 70/80s technology. Ensure the cooling system is in good condition & use a quality antifreeze/deionised water because of the different materials. Everything you need to know you can find on the Forum

It would be great to meet at Killerton, by then you will have lots of questions, you will recognise me easily, I will be with the FB

[RB6102]

Thanks for the help, much appreciated. I'm going to have a read through the forums now..

Yes the car came with spares. Many of them are the parts to put the red one back together but there's lots of boxes of parts I think some belonging to the other cars that were scrapped: bumpers, rear glass, sunroof panel, gearbox, various bits of interior trim, a couple of rotors, a crank, stationary gears, end plate, distributors, carbs, manifolds, air filter housings, and a complete Elford setup.

I don't know what happened with the rear window drain and gutter on the red car but it's a good thing I have the silver one as a template to make up the repair panel!

[TOOL]

Post pics of what you've got and we can ID them for you.

[RB6102]

I haven't made it yet to the shed where the majority of the spares are kept but as soon as I do I'll get a load of pics..

In the meantime, I've been working on the silver car only to find the wings have no chance of bolting up to the front bumper or lower valance. They fit perfectly with the door and bonnet but not at the front. Would these be for an earlier model? Interestingly they are both different from one another too with side indicators in front or behind the wheel? It's a real shame because they are both very solid.

[ian65]

US spec series 1 wings with the holes for side marker lights, these will fit UK series 1 cars [1979-1981] but not the later S2 or S3 with the plastic bumpers and bigger front valance unless you are fitting an aftermarket front bumper/valance or a bodykit which would hide the lower front edge of the wing

[RB6102]

OK thanks. Well I want to stick with the more modern look so I guess I'll be on the lookout for a couple more replacements. I've read around the subject on this forum and it sounds like some panels are still available in the USA so I will try there too.