Came For The Value, Upgraded To Kart

When that Mercury Zephyr I mentioned some posts back was paid off, I dumped it for a Mazda RX-7.
I wasn't making that many customer visits in my personal car, so the field was open.  Three cars were on my shopping list: the Camaro Z-28, the Toyota Celica Supra, and the Mazda RX-7.

I liked the styling of the Gen 3 Z-28.  But the assembly quality was terrible, pollution controls had made the engine a shadow of its former self, and the Boy Racer graphics were a bridge too far for me.  Also, it was the most expensive of the three.  The Supra was big(ish), fast, refined, and aggressive-looking.  It got good road test reviews.  But it was 25% more expensive than the RX-7.  I had two kids headed for college.  And the new toy would be a daily driver, in winter road salt.

"Gen 1" 6-cylinder Toyota Celica Supra.  150 real horsepower was a lot in 1983.  Manufacturers were still figuring out how to integrate crashworthy bumpers into styling.  Why not add "cafe racer" fender flares to further confuse the lines?

 As for the RX-7, I was charmed by the rotary engine.  A weakness of mine is high revs, smoothly delivered. The assembly quality, fit, and finish of both the Supra and the RX-7 were high.   These decisions often come down to balance-tippers.  The RX-7 had a manual sunroof, standard.  The Supra had an optional electric sunroof.  The RX-7 had that cool-looking, fully-informative gauge package, with a big central, tach, borrowed from the Porsche 911.  It seemed almost as much car as the Supra for less money.

So the RX-7 it was.  If you got the GSL model, everything was standard: a/c, cruise, inside-adjustable mirrors, premium sound, limited-slip.  Econoboxes are marketed that way today, but in 1983 the RX-7 checked a lot of "features" boxes other cars didn't.  My only choice was color.  I went with the nicely-done rip-off of Porsche's metallic Cocoa Brown.  (Most RX-7's were white, blue, red, or black.)

Fully-equiped at $13K out the door.  "Alfa Romeo-quality" rear axle location: trailing arms and a Panhard Rod.  Small and maneuverable, low mass, balanced chassis.  Fun in the twisties.  And classier looks than a Supra.

The rotary engine was happy up to 7000 revs (it ran out of breath above 6000).  It was butter-smooth.  The gearbox was fun: quick throws; low 1st and 2nd ratios to get you rolling.  Steering was quick and direct, but I missed the precise feel of rack-and-pinion.  The brakes were OK.  The Bridgestone 175 X 70 X 13 tires were not grippy.  The glass hatch made the car easy to live with: just throw it in the back.  Overall, it had the feel that Miatas were later celebrated for: an entry-level European sports car done right.  My car made a couple of 2000-mile road trips.  It never let me down and the seals in the rotary engine were fine when I sold it with almost 100,000 miles on the clock.

It got me through drivers' school and a couple of seasons of HSAX.  The important lesson learned was that I was not going to be a club champion in my class: my times were in the middle of the RX-7 bell curve, upgraded wheels and tires notwithstanding.  And I began to get bored with it in street driving.  Lack of power was my main complaint.  

Ten years into the life of the car, I had two kids in college.  My commute was in dense rush hour traffic.  So I got a Ford Escort GT with an automatic transmission.  It was OK basic transportation, but it won't get a blog post.  

 Staging my RX-7 before launching into a HSAX run.  Upgrading to Goodrich T/A's, 15 X 7 Panasports, and Konis made it a handler.  But my times were in the middle of the class's bell-curve.  And it had only 100 horsepower.  What I missed most about the Supra I never owned was those extra 50 ponies.