donor

ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK

I can't claim a lot of progress so far, but at least I have a donor!

After reading all I could about the pros and cons of different potential donors, I had settled on a short list consisting of the RWD Toyota Celicas (because they seem plentiful in my area, unlike the ideal GTS), the Chevy S-10 that is everywhere I turn, and the RX-7.

The more I learned about the 2nd generation (1986-1991) RX-7, the more I liked it for this project. You just don't see many Generation 1 cars, for one thing, and Generation 3 cars (the current models) are coveted and pricey.

The rotary engine is the outstanding feature, of course. Light at about 250 lbs., powerful at 146 HP (for 1.3 liters!) and easily tuneable to 180-190 HP. High revving and silky smooth. Really noisy, though. My car has a bad exhaust and sounds like a chainsaw. I had been taken in by the old commercials that showed RX-7s going "whoosh". That was because Mazda muffles the bejeepers out of them.

Driving RX-7s, I have been impressed by the smooth rush of power. I can't imagine what one would be like with 1500 less pounds to drag around and can't wait to find out.

The normally-aspirated version is plenty good enough for me, especially at this price.

Here is the car in its native habitat near Lake Mead, NY. I bought it from an ad in TheParts Trader.com. The selling feature of the car was that the engine reputedly has less than 1000 miles on a rebuild.

Check out the wheels on this car. In the driving cold deluge in which I changed that flat tire, I thought the wheels were made of plastic and was a little disappointed. At least they were light.

I found out later that the wheels are Anteras and probably cost about $400 apiece when new. They are 15 X 7.5 and weigh 16 pounds each. Not bad!

Since bringing the car home, I've been very busy with work and haven't much time to do anything but doodle on the computer late at night. I haven't even started the engine. Next week, I'll see if I can get it running well before I shut it down for the build..

Heh, heh. Starting the engine ought to be amusing. Just yesterday, a policeman showed up at my door to inform me of a neighbor's complaint about the unlicensed hulk in my front yard (my garage is full from doing home remodeling and I need to sort it out to make room for the RX-7) and that I had to throw a tarp over it. That same neighbor will be thrilled at the song of an unmuffled Wankel, I'm sure.

Actually, I informed my neighbors of the project, showed them pictures and so forth, and the adjacent ones seemed OK with it. I'll be considerate, I promise.

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3-spoke wheels were a fad once, I have gathered (never having been aware of them before), but they fell out of favor after becoming a symbol of "boy racers". I don't care about that. I think they'll look rather spiffy painted yellow on my Locost. Wheel centers are not to be had, though. Maybe I'll cast some in resin.

The steering column has been stripped so I need to find another. I want a key in the dash with an ignition light and a starter button anyway.

Got to have that button!

I thought I could recover the seats for the Locost, but they don't match. Maybe I can get one at a junkyard.

Not much more to see here, folks, let's move along.

Wait, I think I can use the gauges.

And now, the star of the show. Nice and clean.

You can see that the battery tray is empty, and this caused some problems, especially as my seller was a no-show and his mother wound up helping to close the deal.

So I had to deal with an absent seller, no way to start the car, a flat tire with very peculiar lugs (I had to use a socket to get them off and even that was too thick), no auto parts store for miles, and an incredible freezing rainstorm. To top it off, I got the flu.

I wasn't able to do much with the engine test-wise. I got it started with a borrowed battery and it ran very sweetly, but had an irregular idle. Between the weather and the car's having sat for at least a few weeks, I'm not too worried about that. The clutch had been worked on and needed to be bled, so I couldn't drive the car. No big deal.

The saga of my 1987 Mazda RX-7, formerly a Saturday-night street racer in the Bronx. It looks like a refugee from a Kurt Russell movie. I bought it for $400 and but spent another $500 transporting it home to Cleveland (I had to rent a truck). Still and all, I'm happy with it..