1980 Mazda RX-7

1980 Mazda RX-7 Coupe By the late 1970s, cheap sports cars were a dying breed. The quirky roadsters of the 1950s and '60s were struggling to adapt to a new era of safety and emissions standards they were never designed to meet, saddled with lowered compression, stopgap emissions systems, and hastily tacked on 5 mph impact bumpers that did nothing for aesthetics or weight. The Datsun 240Z was a brief shining light earlier in the decade, but by 1978, it had morphed into the overweight, decidedly less focused 280ZX. When the first series SA RX-7 named for the first two letters of its VIN tag arrived on the scene in 1978 as a '79 model, it was an instant success. MotorTrend, April 2013  For consignment, a 1980 Mazda RX-7 coupe showing 76,888 miles, but the true miles are unknown. First Gen RX-7's have seen an uptick in interest in recent years and we're thrilled to have this well maintained version of a now uncommon car here in the showroom of Classic Auto Mall.   Exterior Sixteen colors were available in the U.S. market for Rx-7's in 1980, and this one wears a single stage application of Stardust Blue Metallic, paint code U2 for those keeping score. The somewhat revolutionary shape of the RX looks great in any color and especially light blue, where the beginnings of a wedge shape finishing with a descending hatchback behind a straight C-pillar, and above narrow fenders. The windshield rakes back dramatically thus keeping overall height low, along with the center of gravity. Hidden headlights are augmented here by added fog lights while the tail light hug the back corners, split wide outside the license plate box and underscored by a body colored bumper with black trim in a relatively early example of monochromatic design. 13-inch wheels carry 185/70R13 tires, visually enhanced by the black molding that runs the midline of the car at a time when side molding was fairly standard. Our scan of the exterior yielded no notes regarding imperfections.   Interior Plenty of thrills, but generally no frills describes most interiors of the 80's, and this one mostly follows suit with simple black vinyl door panels with polished trim and stitch patterned inserts, window crank and even some storage in the carpeted kick panel. Attractive and welcoming black bucket seats include vinyl borders around a cloth insert and other than a tear in the driver's lower, they are in great shape. Up front, the simple 4 spoke sport steering wheel frames the instrument cluster, three gauges relaying seven bits of information with a row of idiot lights below. In true sports car fashion, the tachometer is front and center. Gray plastic frames the center stack where we have a Clarion AM/FM/Cassette player below it, numerous toggle switches, and the A/C panel up top. This stack cascades down to the center console where the black booted shifter resides along with a change holder for those dreaded tollgate receptacles, and all is clean. Low pile black carpet covers the floor and a black vinyl headliner is up above with a decorative stitched design that runs north to south. The carpeted hatch floor is open and clean and is flanked by molded plastic walls that house integrated speakers.  Drivetrain We find clean conditions under the hood and a 1146cc rotary engine with 103 horsepower and a Nikki 4-barrel carburetor. A 5-speed manual transmission sends power a short distance to the rear axle housing 3.909 gears. Power brakes are onboard with discs in front and drums in the back.  Undercarriage General patina, some surface rust, and oil noted on the pans and rear differential are the general conditions on the otherwise clean underside. The unique exhaust system runs in tandem, utilizing the central tunnel for some of the journey and terminating with a stock style muffler giving way to dual chrome tips. Suspension consists of coil springs up front and a 4 link with coil springs in back.   Drive-Ability The rotary engine delivers a spirite