I haven't been able to drive my X since last April. Last April. Damn, that's a long time without my
zoom!
Ever since I saw the first Mazda RX7 back in '79 I wanted one. Considered "the poor man's Corvette", it's a hot little 5 speed, two seater with a Wankle Rotary Engine and built for
Zoooooom! I've often wondered if I married my husband out of love, or out of love for his '79 RX7.
His was the first RX7 I ever drove - brushed silver with a black interior - what a smooth ride! When our daughter arrived, the X was replaced with some lackluster gray box on wheels.
It wasn't until 15 years had passed that I decided it was time to get another one. I picked up a bright blue '82 RX7 (still first generation) from eBay for around $600. It was a great driver with a really perky engine but when you buy sight-unseen off eBay and their idea of "a little rust" is vastly different than yours, you have to make some decisions. The doors had rusted through on the opening lower corner (you could pass a wallet through it) so two years later I decided to buy an '85 RX7 that didn't run (cheap, again eBay), but it had perfect doors. Now I had two X's. The daunting task of swapping doors and various other components drove me to buy yet a third X that didn't require repairs.
This X (another '85, again off eBay), I was assured had No rust, ran great and was in spectacular condition - even the paint - for the age of the car. That's the kicker right there,
"for the age of the car". Granted it ran really well, the interior was in great condition and their was no rust, but the paint was much less than spectacular. The car, originally "Stardust Blue", had faded to "road dust gray" and had white-worn clearcoat on all top surfaces. The photos of the car on eBay were calculated - taken at dusk and under bright overhead lights - to hide the paint. I wasn't surprised to find that the seller turned out to be a used car salesmen. Anyway ....
I now had Three RX7's in my small driveway, and my neighbors weren't too pleased. I took the best parts from all three and combined them into the last X and sold the other two. You don't own a 22 year old enthusiast car and ever expect to break even or get back what you put into it when you sell.
So here I am with my faded gray '85 RX7 which ran great (with no rust, and great interior, plus kick*ss stereo) until last April. I pulled out of my driveway, got to the stop at the end of the road and it stalled and wouldn't start. I babied it to my favorite car fix-it shop and they said it's the carb and they don't work on those old things anymore. Because I don't have any idea how to tear apart a carburetor and replace all the floats and other gobblygook, and would rather do my own dental work than take it to the dealer, the car now sits patiently in the drive. I get in it each week to start 'er up (after several cranks and usually jumped) to keep the battery up.
So here I sit still trying to save the cash to get the carb fixed all the while hoping it's
just the carb, after all, it's a 22 year old car and .............
Damn, I miss my
Zooooooom!