Any car guys here? Quarantine talk.

#82
My last car sports cars were Mazda RX7's. I don't know if it is properly called a muscle car but had decent acceleration, top speed of well over 130mph (that I could personally verify as I didn't want to exceed that to find out) and had perfect 50-50 wheel weight distribution due to the fact that the rotary engine was so small at 80 CU in (not a typo!)— imagine something slightly bigger than a basketball. Had 2 rotors each with 3 chambers,(so equivalent of 6 cylinders) all of which would fire each rpm. No not really a two cycle engine as there was separate intake w/compression, firing with the equivalent of a down stoke, and the equivalent of an exhaust stroke.

The 5 speed manual transmission took some getting used to as there was not the torque drop off typical of cylinder engines that indicated it was time to shift. Red line on tach was 7000-8000 rpm but was told that cold safely go higher as engine had no valves (thus no camshaft), no crankshaft and no oil splash sump. Since the engine was so small the majority of the transmission was under the dashboard so you had more room in the cabin .

Also, when I 1st got the car I would sometimes reengage the starter while the engine was running as it was so smooth that the only indication that it was running was the tach. Not kidding, I think the heater/air conditioner fan induced more noise/vibration than the engine.

Another down side is no trunk, was a 2 seater with a rear deck. Had some interesting sessions in that car where the girl would ride me CG with her head sticking out the sunroof. Obviously this limited time of day/locations where such could occur. As they say "where's there a will, there's a way"

Major disadvantage was engine life as you needed to replace rotor seats (equivalent to piston rings) at around 70K mi. They didn't tell you that in the manual but I had 2 of them and had to do that and knew of other with same experience. Luckily they just replaced the whole engine short block with another rebuilt - a couple of hour job.
Nice rare car. Hard to find now days and if you do a 1993 will cost over 30k
 
#85
Very very pricey, even for rust buckets . I aquired my 72 Satellite from a friend who owed money and was gonna get evicted. It was cool.

The Javelin was only around for 6 years (2 seater AMX only 3). And it won the Trans Am Racing series 3 times in that short period. They’re still affordable. They turn heads everywhere. And most importantly , they’re super rare . I’m the only AMC guy in the parking lot. And if there’s another, we talk AMC.

I’d rather be the guy that sticks out in the crowd (when it comes to muscle cars).
Nice. They were fast w 401? Pure stock drags had some nice ones at Musclepalooza
 
#87
My last car sports cars were Mazda RX7's. I don't know if it is properly called a muscle car but had decent acceleration, top speed of well over 130mph (that I could personally verify as I didn't want to exceed that to find out) and had perfect 50-50 wheel weight distribution due to the fact that the rotary engine was so small at 80 CU in (not a typo!)— imagine something slightly bigger than a basketball. Had 2 rotors each with 3 chambers,(so equivalent of 6 cylinders) all of which would fire each rpm. No not really a two cycle engine as there was separate intake w/compression, firing with the equivalent of a down stoke, and the equivalent of an exhaust stroke.

The 5 speed manual transmission took some getting used to as there was not the torque drop off typical of cylinder engines that indicated it was time to shift. Red line on tach was 7000-8000 rpm but was told that cold safely go higher as engine had no valves (thus no camshaft), no crankshaft and no oil splash sump. Since the engine was so small the majority of the transmission was under the dashboard so you had more room in the cabin .

Also, when I 1st got the car I would sometimes reengage the starter while the engine was running as it was so smooth that the only indication that it was running was the tach. Not kidding, I think the heater/air conditioner fan induced more noise/vibration than the engine.

Another down side is no trunk, was a 2 seater with a rear deck. Had some interesting sessions in that car where the girl would ride me CG with her head sticking out the sunroof. Obviously this limited time of day/locations where such could occur. As they say "where's there a will, there's a way"

Major disadvantage was engine life as you needed to replace rotor seats (equivalent to piston rings) at around 70K mi. They didn't tell you that in the manual but I had 2 of them and had to do that and knew of other with same experience. Luckily they just replaced the whole engine short block with another rebuilt - a couple of hour job.
Great little car was the RX-7. But would never EVER be considered a muscle car
 
#88
Look on the BAT auctions. Plenty RX7 for sale
The last new RX7's were made in late 1980's so these are old cars — at least 30 years old. RX8 was redesigned radically and I didn't like the changes.
The 1978-80 RX7's had terrible gas mileage (like 16 mpg for a 2700 lb standard shift car) and oil usage. The 81 (that I had) had both a body redesign and major improvements in gas and oil consumption. The 87 model(that I had after I sold my 81) l had more body redesign (more cabin room and again an increase in mileage and virtually no oil consumption)

I stopped driving lose types of cars as they really have no place on metro ny roads.
 
#89
The last new RX7's were made in late 1980's so these are old cars — at least 30 years old. RX8 was redesigned radically and I didn't like the changes.
The 1978-80 RX7's had terrible gas mileage (like 16 mpg for a 2700 lb standard shift car) and oil usage. The 81 (that I had) had both a body redesign and major improvements in gas and oil consumption. The 87 model(that I had after I sold my 81) l had more body redesign (more cabin room and again an increase in mileage and virtually no oil consumption)

I stopped driving lose types of cars as they really have no place on metro ny roads.
2002 was the last RX7.
 
#91
There a kit for the RZ7. You can put a 5.0 mustang engine in it along with the front suspension and rear along with some body panels.
Saw on a Stacey David show. I think on espn.
 
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