Should I rotary?

Goofing off on CL this weekend I came across this

http://tampa.craigslist.org/hil/cto/4068695928.html

and I'm intrigued. I've never had a rotary before and have never really paid attention. I would probably keep it for a year and put 3k or so miles on it. What do I need to look at to know if the motor is sound or if there is major concern? Where are the rust areas on FB's?

What's the best online group to go learn about them and find experience?

Thanks for the advice. Scare me away or enable me.

I don't really know of things to "listen for" but the baby should "purr like a kitten".

Do you have a compression tester? If so, a compression check is always a good idea. Instructions here: Rotaryresurrection tech

also, Rotaryresurrection has some good tech articles worth reading.

for forum support there's RX7club.com and nopistons.com. I've spent plenty of time on both, but when I sold my last 7 I was partial to rx7club.

good luck man. Be forewarned the rotary tends to be a bit addictive. It was 10 years before I bought another piston powered car

yes, you should. Especially that one! I've never seen an interior like that before.

the FBs like to rust around rear wheel wells and near the rear bin area behind the seats.

Price is high but you pay for condition. If it is truly as described it will be less headache and cost less in the long run.

provided you care for it, I don't see that car losing much value

free rental!

fidelity101 wrote: yes, you should. Especially that one! I've never seen an interior like that before. the FBs like to rust around rear wheel wells and near the rear bin area behind the seats.

To check for rust under bins, look inside wheel well above wheel for signs and remove the bins to check properly, bring a good quality Philips screwdriver to do this, the screws will be tight if never removed before.

Check drainage from sunroof and rear hatch, hint a piece of 1/4 flexible plastic is perfect to run down these drains and clean them out, do it regularly.

Find out if they did a "Rats nest removal", it is a good thing unless you want to restore to original.

Check the oil lines are actually bringing oil into the intake, I usually remove these then premix with 2 stroke 50-1 ratio instead of relying on sump oil.

Is there other mods to the engine and what are they.

Good, Racing Beat exhaust, 2nd gen lead coil swap, carb upgrade.

Easily get 150hp with these few mods.

Check steering for famous "Wander steer" there is some adjustment available but not a lot.

Hard to believe it's been 5 years since I had a car with window cranks and almost 20 since I had a car with a carb.

Suh-weet. I agree the price is a bit high but if it really is rust free in the spots previously mentioned, runs strong with no smoke or overheating then it would probably be worth it. I don't see a sunroof which generally means it's a GS but the ad mentions limited slip which was a GS-L thing. It might be a bit of a hodgepodge.

GSL rear is a very simple swap, GSL-SE means you have to do the front hubs to match.

Not many '82's left in that nice a condition.

Yes. Absolutely yes.

"Duh."

Absolutely :-) !

Rotarycarclub and nopistons are good forums