We've got babes eating flowers, elephants climbing onto flatbed trucks, Patsy Cline singing, and James Garner!
When you're done here, you might enjoy our favorite Datsun ads, then continue with our top Toyota, Renault, General Motors, British Leyland, Ford/Lincoln/Mercury, Honda, Citroën, AMC/Jeep, Mercedes-Benz/Porsche/BMW, and Chevrolet ads.

1978 GLC	1983 Cosmo Big Run	1988 929
Bongo Multivan	Titan	1989 RX-7
1980 RX-7	1980 Cosmo	1967 Cosmo Sport

Mazda's continued development of the rotary engine will likely spawn a larger displacement version that could provide an RX-7 driver with something not synonymous with the rotary engine and something completely lacking in the 4-door RX-8 — torque. Best Car provided us with their rendition of the new RX-7, betting on Mazda continuing with their current 'Nagare' design theme that's most recently made its way onto the new Mazda3.

Are these rumors any more substantial than any of the other rumors we've seen? We'll put it this way — we'll believe it when we see it.

[via 7tune]

The area in which Tomsk shot these cars is an old stomping ground of mine, from back in my college days. Yes, when my hobbies included siphoning gas from a '68 Mercury whilst clad in a Dark Angel shirt and generally lowering UC Irvine's property values. In fact, this yellow Corolla sure looks like the one my freshman-year girlfriend had Earl Scheib shoot in "Sun Yellow" for $59.95 (seatbelts, tires, tailpipe, and all), if you assume that 20 years of Southern California sunshine might take a fearsome toll on a cheap paint job. We've also got a first-gen RX-7, of the sort that's getting seriously rare on the street these days. Tomsk describes them thus:

This early first-gen RX-7 looks to be a genuine survivor, from the jewel-like wheels to the badge one the rear proudly proclaiming the powerplant as 100% piston-free. Sure, the right front fender has seen a little action, but on the whole, you'd be pretty hard pressed to find a nicer example that doesn't live in a climate-controlled garage.

Aside from a full-tilt-boogie AE86, this Malaise Era Toyota Corolla 2-door is about as far removed from today's Maytag-esque Corolla as a car with the same name can get. Evidence: P*ssy magnet yellow paint, abundance of surfing-related stickers in the windows, and badges that proudly read "Deluxe" and "5 speed."

Well, if you're this crazy Dutchman, you combine the two! This isn't one of those 12-pack-and-welder rotary-swap deals, like you and your hoodlum friends did with that $38 Chevette in your back yard last summer; the Murena is a cramped mid-engine/rear-drive car, and Mazda never made a transaxle assembly for their Wankel. So this guy whipped out the CAD application and designed himself an adapter plate to bolt the Mazda 12A to a Toyota Celica transaxle, which also involved making a custom input shaft, Toyota-Citroën hybrid axles, and many, many other fabricated components. A custom header adds to the fun, and- best of all- the guy built this car at work, where he had to hide the project from customers by lifting it onto a shelf with a forklift and covering it with cardboard. Now that's what we call an engine swap!
[Maztra.nl, thanks to Scroggzilla for the tip]

You can find intra-corporate engine swaps all over the place, but even a 350-powered Chevy Vega or a 4A-GZE-motivated Toyota Starlet is a bit of a snore after you've seen a few. The real engine-swap fun starts happening when you do a mashup involving totally unrelated drivetrain and chassis; that way you get maddening challenging technical hassles and enraged purists thirsting for your heretical blood. It's a lose-lose win-win!

Sure, you can get all manner of potent Nissan powerplants for a 510, but what if you want completely absurd engine revs and all the engine weight behind the front wheels? You could spend crazy downtown money on a wild SR, and then chop a hole in the firewall and move it back… but why not just take a tip from Herr Doktor Wankel and eschew reciprocating mass? That's what the seller of this 1971 Datsun 510 with 1988 RX-7 Turbo engine (go here if the ad disappears) has done, and all you need to do is wrap up damn near everything a few loose ends to get it fully streetworthy! It's got a Frankensteined custom oil pan, some suspension mods, wheel flares, etc. It starts and drives, doesn't have much rust, and the interior is totally stripped ready for restoration. That engine put out 182 horses from the factory, and you'll be able to blow it up get much, much more with the usual turbo tweaks.

182 horsepower in a 2,000-pound car? Why, you might as well be driving a garbage truck powered by a 50cc Honda Cub motor! You need to get the power-to-weight down from 11 pounds per horse to something more stupid sensible, like 500 horsepower in a 1,000-pound car! You get to two pounds per horsepower and you'll have plenty of hill-climbing and passing power, because it's all about the safety! We all know that the cheapest route to 500 horsepower is the good ol' Small-Block Chevrolet V8; you can put together 500 reliable Chevy horses using off-the-shelf parts, no sweat… but what car best suits such an engine? We suggest this 1965 Austin-Healey Sprite (go here if the ad disappears), which is already set up for a small-block Chevy engine. By "set up," we're not sure if that means "Austin engine torn out, space now available for Chevy" or "engine mounts in place, firewall modified," but you'll learn more as you try to negotiate the price down from the $3,000 starting point. It has a "professionally built" chassis and wheel tubs- hey, you need steamroller rubber to propel you into the nearest concrete abutment get all those horses to the pavement- but the planned 4-link rear suspension, she is not finished yet. Does it come with the body and trim parts not shown in the photo? Is there rust? We can't say! Don't worry about that stuff, though, because we can think of plenty of cars with tougher parts availability than the Sprite. Thanks to Radiohound for the tip!

As a member of the new Mega Cheater class, this team started the race beneath the crushing weight of 800 penalty laps. A nice, shiny FC RX-7 for 500 bucks? This lil' orange devil ran a crazy-fast best lap of 1:35.990 and finished 97th… ahead of the other Mega Cheaters.


These guys are serious RX-7 racers who really know what they're doing, and thus it was tough for them to avoid a 20-lap BS penalty. Without it: 8th place; with it: 23rd place.


Here's the 3rd-place car from Arse Freeze '07; this time they got 67th place. Their 1:38.424 best lap speaks for itself, though.


Pitmates to the RotoRevenge and SNOT RAcinG Mazdas, the Old Punks are also Arse Freeze '07 veterans. They finished 8th last year, and 26th this time. 1:36.263 best lap- hey, those old RX-7s are quick!


Everyone loves the bewinged Miata from Altamont, though we suspect it would have been quicker than 1:39.385 without the added weight.


Team Eyesore Racing is a genuine member of LeMons-veteran royalty, with a People's Choice win at LeMons SF '08 and some excellent wheelmen and wheelwomen. The nightmarish-yet-incredibly-cool Ghettocharging setup on their patched-together-from-corpses race car looked like it would blow up for sure on the track, but instead it held together for a 4th-place finish. Not only that, its best lap time of 1:32.692 was second only to the post-Curse Blues Brothers Crown Vic!


Yet another quick RX-7; the Loose Nuts '84 ran a best lap of 1:37.117 and came in 37th place.


Tip for wannabe LeMons racers: when you put a Jackson turbocharging setup on a non-thrashed Miata and don't provide any sort of convincing documentary evidence of how much you paid for that stuff (no, allegedly copy/pasted text from a Craigslist ad doesn't count), you're going to pay big in the BS Inspection. The Dead Smurfs took their punishment like real men, however, and they very kindly let the car-deprived Cheese Eating Surrender Monkeys take some laps in their car.


Hey, it's the former Autoblog racer from LeMons Demolition Derby '07 (aka LeMons SF '07)! Mechanical problems limited this team- made up of fellow Alamedans and pitted right next door to the Black Metal V8olvo at Thunderhill- to a 68th-place finish.

Now, yesterday we saw a 69% Booth Numbah Two recommendation on the $8,995 Chevette, and now we're looking at a car from the same era that's priced at six grand more… yet I suspect we're going to see a little more enthusiasm for the price tag on this pristine example of Wankel history. It's for sale by the original owner. It's a California car, and it was always garaged. The odometer hasn't even hit 2,500 miles yet! It's been bid up to nearly 10 grand by now, but anyone willing to fire a big $15,000 Buy It Now cruise missile right this minute can take it home ASAP. Is it worth it? You decide!

[eBay Motors], thanks to TK for the tip.

Ben Hsu over at Japanese Nostalgic Car found this 1,427-mile 1976 Mazda RX-4 for sale, and he was able to control his bouts of drooling and heart palpitations just long enough to send us the tip. According to the seller, the car ended up in storage as a result of a dealer-versus-buyer dispute 30 years ago, and the buyer's recent death puts it back on the market. Check out the velour! The science-fiction steering wheel! "Japanese air" in the tires! We totally want it, of course, but $18,500? What do you think?
[Japanese Nostalgic Car]

Sure, it was a nightmare to make the Wankel pass America's ever-toughening smog standards (and let's not even mention the complexity of the later RX-7 Turbo's emissions gear), but the power-to-weight of that little engine was nuts. The '85 GSL weighed a mere 2,345 pounds and went pretty well with 101 horses. However, the following year was the debut of the Honda CRX Si, with 91 horses driving just 1,865 pounds. Sure, the Honda had front-wheel-drive, but the Mazda was suddenly looking a bit heavy.


This car's owner must be treating those apex seals right, because I see it on the move frequently. A 23-year-old daily driver with a Wankel!

We dove into the searing flames of Hayabusa Honda 600 Hell a few months back, but the problem with the Hayabusa is that it has pistons. What a Honda 600 really needs is an engine with no reciprocating mass and an even more deadly potential power-to-weight ratio than the Hayabusa (and besides, the Honda 600 came with a motorcycle engine from the factory). That's why we're pleased that EdNiedermeyer found us this 1971 Honda 600 with Mazda 12A rotary engine. The starting bid is $3,500, there are three days to go, and there are no bids yet! The seller, a stickler for the eBay Motors CAPS LOCK tradition, tells us "I GUESS I DON'T HAVE TO EXAGERATE WHEN I'M SAYING THAT THE CAR IS VERY FAST," and we tend to agree. In fact, we'd go a bit further and say that this setup wants to kill you, in one of those wrecks so grisly that the paramedics involved will be required to go on long-term psychological disability leave. It appears that the car has a shortened Mazda RX-2 chassis, plus evidence of quite the junkyard shopping spree, including a spoiler off a Blazer and an Alfa Romeo brake booster. It's been sitting for a long time, it's probably packed with all manner of scary hacks and workarounds, and the engine needs more power... but you'll solve all those problems. A little turbocharging here, a few months of puzzling out wiring and linkages there, and you'll be ready to wail down the highway at three times the top speed of a stock 600!

Converting a front-wheel-drive car to rear-wheel-drive, just so you can Wankel away? Why do that when there's a perfectly good rear-wheel-drive Japanese machine that's not a whole lot heavier than the Honda 600? Yes, the Toyota Starlet, the car with the best fuel economy in America. Once you ditch the pushrod four-banger for a powerplant with no pushrods (or valves, for that matter), you can make quite the impression at the dragstrip if you so choose. And if you've got $3,000 in your pocket ("only cash in person please," in one of those stating-the-obvious moments you often get in car ads), you can have your very own 12A-powered 1982 Toyota Starlet. The seller doesn't indicate whether it runs or not, but that won't matter much to you. You see, that's because you'll need to make this thing street-legal. Roll cage, nitrous, 4.62:1 rear and all! Sure, there will be plenty of work required, but imagine the glory of commuting to work in this howling-mad brute!

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I've been scouring Alameda for a Down On The Street Volvo Bertone for months now, and it's maddening that the only one I can find is in a driveway (dead for years, with a blue tarp over the windows) and thus off-limits to DOTS. Sure, they came with the not-so-great PRV V6, but just look at that reet chopped top! Obviously, an engine transplant is the way to go... and looky what we got here: Why, it's an '81 Volvo Bertone 262C with a Chevy small-block already installed! (Go here if the ad disappears). Sure, it's the not-so-exciting mid-80s IROC Camaro 305, good for something in the neighborhood of 200 horses, mated to the snoresville 700R4 automatic... but that doesn't matter. What matters is that the car is already set up for the ubiquitous small-block Chevy, which means you have engine options sufficient to drive you completely mad. Oh, and speaking of complete madness, this car has a few somewhat troubling issues. First, you can tell from the photographs of the engine compartment, with wires draped higgledy-piggledy, that perhaps the engine swap was not performed with the utmost attention to detail (the seller does allow that the wiring might be a bit funky: "it all works but it looks sloppy." See? It just looks sloppy! Then there's the body and interior, which are probably icky enough for their images to leave a grimy residue on your computer monitor. And are the factory brakes and suspension up to the doubling or quadrupling of horsepower you no doubt have planned?

That Bertone looks like some truly punitive fun, all right, but how can you resist a vintage Mazda? And not just another RX-7; as cool as the classic RX-7 may be, parts obtainment is just too easy! Even RX-3s are too common- but how about the piston-engined version? Yes, a '73 Mazda 808M (go here after the listing gets flagged out of existence as well-deserved punishment for the keyword spam in its headline, hint hint) can be yours for just $1500. It has no engine or transmission, but that's good news. See, it's a crime for an Early Malaise Mazda not to have a rotary engine, so here's your chance to have a who-the-hell-ever-heard-of-it 808 without that pesky reciprocating mass. If you view the additional photos of the car, you'll see that there's some rust, and some missing parts, and a whole bunch of empty spaces where damn-near-impossible-to-find trim pieces once lived. Imagine how you'll feel driving that rotary 808, though, and the years weeks of indescribable agony headaches and tens of thousands hundreds of dollars invested will be worth it!

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2009 MAZDA RX-8: FURTHER EVOLUTION FOR THE ROTARY REVOLUTION

Launched in 2003, the Mazda RX-8 hit the global market with a serious bang. The RX-8 has won more than 50 global awards since its release including 2003 RJC Car of the Year in Japan Australia's Wheels magazine's Car of the Year for 2003, 2003 International Engine of the Year, 2004 Singapore Car of the Year, the 2004 U.S. Best Sports Car and UK Car of the Year 2004. It was also named on Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list for 2004, 2005, and 2006. All together, Mazda has sold nearly 167,000 RX-8s around the world.
For 2009, Mazda will further the evolution of the four-door, four-seater sports coupe, giving RX-8 a refreshed exterior and interior design, enhanced performance and a new R3 sport package for the ultimate driving enthusiast.
Unchanged is the core of the RX-8 - a high-powered, lightweight and perfectly balanced machine powered by the world-renowned twin-rotor RENESIS rotary engine.
"Dating back to the Cosmo Sport released in 1967, every sports car ever developed by Mazda has had the same fundamental mission - to provide car lovers with a vehicle that's fun-to-drive, exciting to look at and easy to own," said Tetsu Nakazawa, Mazda North American Operations' RX-8 vehicle line manager. "The 2009 RX-8 embodies that mission, conveying the unique and distinctive Mazda brand DNA to the fullest."
To enhance the highly successful RX-8, Mazda engineers focused on innovation in three key areas for the 2009 RX-8: styling, performance and packaging. "The enhancements made to RX-8's exterior, interior, packaging and performance takes it to a whole new level of visual and driving excitement," remarked Nakazawa.

STYLING INNOVATION - REFRESHED DESIGN CUES PROVIDE "HIGH-QUALITY" DYNAMISM
RX-8 was designed with an athletically sculpted exterior that provides a sense of originality that's unrivaled in the marketplace today. For 2009, RX-8 receives design enhancements that are meant to freshen the styling and give RX-8 a new look, without impairing the basic design theme. Refinements for the 2009 model year include restyled front and rear bumpers and front fascia; sporty, high quality finish front and rear
headlamps; and larger exhaust pipes (now measuring 90 mm across). The 2009 RX-8 also offers a new five-spoke wheel design featuring a symbolic and sporty design reminiscent of the rotary engine, with different arrangements for each wheel size.
Taut muscular lines give RX-8 the liberating look of an athlete in motion. The muscular styling maintains classic sports car proportions while adding a Zoom-Zoom edge that is unmistakably Mazda.
The RX-8's unique "freestyle" four-door design is proof that a true sports car does not need to sacrifice space or convenience for performance. The advanced design of the rear-hinged rear doors, provides a large door opening, allowing adult-sized passengers to easily enter and exit the vehicle. This design is also advantageous when securing a baby or a small child in the back seat. With a spacious rear seat area providing ample passenger room for four full-size adults, and enough trunk space for a weekend's worth of luggage, this sports car proves its versatility.
The RX-8's exterior styling presents a genuine sports car form, while the interior boasts a comfortable and intelligently designed cabin. Minor enhancements were made for the 2009 RX-8 to provide a simple and functional interior design that supports driving pleasure. The center IP shape was redesigned to give a feeling of dynamic movement, a variable red-zone was added to the tachometer that will rise as the engine comes to operating temperature and a new steering wheel and redesigned front and rear seats are also added.
An extremely low cabin floor allows the seats to be mounted low in the chassis, which, along with a low instrument cluster and hood, allows a low center of gravity and allows outstanding occupant visibility. Mazda designers concentrated on the shape of the front seat backs and the rear seat cushions to ensure adequate rear-seat knee room. Front seat slide-rails are positioned to allow maximum leg room for rear-seat passengers.
The rotary design element is incorporated through the interior of the RX-8 in creative ways, appearing in the seats. The stylish cabin also evokes a sense of luxury and high-end quality. Mazda's design team examined every aspect and component of the interior and has created an elegant, driver-centric atmosphere. Through the use of advanced ergonomic research, Mazda engineers determined that improper seating posture is a major cause of driver fatigue and built in optimum support in the front seats to help offset discomfort. In addition, the color of the RX-8's instrument cluster was developed to reduce eye fatigue and strain.

PERFORMANCE INNOVATION - MORE SPORTS CAR DRIVING PLEASURE
Through-and-through, the RX-8 is a pure sports car that gives the driver an exciting and dynamic experience. For 2009, engineers improved RX-8 body rigidity through the addition of structural reinforcements, by adding a trapezoidal strut tower bar and enhancing the local rigidity of the front suspension tower areas. Also, the rear suspension geometry has been reconfigured for better handling performance and driveshaft rigidity is improved, lowering NVH levels and improving performance.
In addition, the differential gear ratio on manual transmission-equipped cars is lowered from 4.444 to 4.777 for improved off-the-line performance. While minimal, these performance changes give RX-8 increased acceleration and performance, as well as even greater responsiveness to the accelerator pedal - always a rotary-engine and
RX-8 hallmark.
To achieve this sophisticated dynamic, Mazda utilizes the advanced RENESIS (Rotary Engine genesis - or rebirth of the rotary engine) engine. The Mazda RX-8 remains the only mass-produced rotary-powered passenger car in the world. While exhibiting unusually high power output for a naturally aspirated engine, RENESIS outstrips comparable reciprocating engines in terms of acceleration, the feeling of power in reserve and quick response.
The 2009 Mazda RX-8 is available as either a 232-horsepower model fitted with a six-speed manual transmission, or a 212-horsepower model fitted with a six-speed Sport A/T automatic with steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters for a Formula 1-style driving experience.
By turning a triangular rotor in a cocoon-shaped combustion chamber, the
RX-8's rotary engine efficiently performs the four processes of intake, compression, combustion and exhaust. The RENESIS engine is remarkably smooth and high revving — all the way to 9,000 rpm (7,500 rpm on Sport A/T-equipped models) — and offers a smaller engine footprint than traditional internal combustion engines (some 60 percent smaller and lighter than a comparably powered V-6, and 40 percent smaller and lighter than a four-cylinder). In fact, the packaging and styling that define the RX-8 would not have been possible had Mazda engineers chosen a conventional piston engine.
Improving upon 40 years of rotary designs, the RENESIS engine features side intake and exhaust ports with nearly 30 percent more intake port and twice as much exhaust port than its predecessors. The efficiencies gained through shortening intake/exhaust overlapping period and using the larger intake and exhaust ports in delivering world-class performance.
The RX-8's normally aspirated 1.3-liter engine might appear diminutive to the untrained eye when compared to large-displacement V-8s or heavyweight V-10s or V-12s. However, through the incredible efficiencies of a rotary powerplant, an advanced three-stage intake system and an electronic throttle, the RENESIS engine delivers smooth, linear power on a grand scale.
The RX-8 uses an aluminum double-wishbone front suspension, reducing unsprung weight over the use of steel components. By mounting the upper and lower arms on a highly rigid sub-frame, the long arms ensure linear alignment changes throughout the jounce and rebound of the front wheels. All corners are fitted with mono-tube gas-filled shock absorbers designed with large-diameter internal pistons and valving, which offer excellent road feedback and a smooth ride.
An electric rack-and-pinion power-steering system transmits just the right amount of road information back to the driver. Mazda engineers have chosen to pursue their own path by using an electric motor for steering assistance rather than a conventional power-steering pump. The electric motor provides additional assistance at low speeds to ease parking and reduces steering assistance at higher speeds to provide greater road feel, responsiveness and feedback. And, in keeping with the rest of the development on RX-8, it is far lighter and easier to package than a conventional power-steering rack.

PACKIGING INNOVATIONS - ULTIMATE PERFORMANCE RX-8 R3
To cater to the driving-conscious enthusiast, the 2009 RX-8 will offer a new R3 sport package. Providing the very best in rotary-powered motoring, the R3 harkens back to the R1 and R2 packages offered on the mighty third-generation RX-7, and adds a sport-tuned suspension with Bilstein shock absorbers and front suspension crossmembers filled with urethane foam. Filling the crossmembers makes for a smoother ride, minimized NVH and greater suspension control.
On the visual side of the package, a rear spoiler, side sills, fog lights and sporty front bumper are added to give an aggressive appearance, along with 19-inch forged aluminum-alloy wheels with high performance tires. Inside, the R3 adds a 300-watt Bose® audio system with Centerpoint® surround sound and AudioPilot® noise compensation technology, Bluetooth hands-free phone system, front Recaro sport seats with leather side bolsters, leather-wrapped parking brake handle and Mazda advanced keyless entry and start system.
Three other trim levels are also offered including: a Sport trim, a Touring trim (adds HID headlights, fog lamps, auto dimming mirror with Homelink® and 6-disc auto changer on top of the Sport trim features and DSC; add 18-inch wheels, a limited-slip differential, sport-tuned suspension and larger front disc brakes to these items for A/T cars, and Bose® audio system, moonroof, SIRIUS satellite radio are offered as the package option), and a Grand Touring trim (on top of the Touring trim features, adds automatic air conditioner, Bluetooth
hands-free phone system, Bose® audio system auto headlight, rain sensing wiper, power-adjustable driver's seat with lumbar support and memory function, leather seating surfaces — heated front seats— and heated outside mirrors and Mazda Advanced Keyless Entry & Start system. A DVD-driven satellite-navigation unit is available as a stand-alone option and uses a single DVD for mapping the entire United States and portions of Canada. Additionally, a moon roof and SIRIUS satellite radio are offered as an package option.)
All Mazdas come with a roadside assistance program. With a call to a toll-free number, owners can access roadside assistance 24 hours a day, 365 days a year throughout the United States and Canada. In addition, a comprehensive three-year/36,000-mile warranty covers every part on the vehicle except those subject to normal wear. Also, all models receive a five-year/60,000 mile powertrain warranty and a five-year/unlimited-mileage corrosion warranty.

SUPERIOR SAFETY
When designing the RX-8, safety was given as much of a priority as was performance. For Mazda, the safety process incorporates both accident avoidance and accident protection. In effect, this approach to safety means the RX-8 can help the driver avoid various dangers and protect occupants in the unfortunate event of a collision. In rollover tests performed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the RX-8 achieved an impressive five-star rating.
Mazda engineers integrated numerous active and passive safety elements throughout the car. Active safety features, which require input from the driver, include the use of large ABS-equipped disc brakes on all wheels as well as precise steering and suspension systems. Dynamic Stability Control (available on Sport models with Performance package, standard on Touring and Grand Touring) delivers a superior level of handling that can be disabled when driving and road conditions allow safe operation.
Passive systems, or those that take effect automatically without the driver's involvement, also are present throughout the RX-8. Despite the absence of a center B-pillar, the RX-8 has an exceptionally rigid body, accomplished through the use of the vertical pillars built in the rear doors and a series of locking pins, which hold the doors together and bind each door directly into the roof and floor. Integrating the frame components helps dissipate crash energy through the vehicle's structure.
Other standard passive systems on the RX-8 include front airbags, seat-mounted side-impact airbags and side-curtain airbags. Additionally, the front end and engine bay have ample crumple zones, the front seats are designed to reduce whiplash injuries, the brake pedal is designed to break away in the event of a collision of sufficient force to protect feet and legs and all four seating positions are fitted with three-point seatbelts. Even pedestrian protection was considered, as the RX-8 is fitted with Mazda's "shock-cone" hood design that yields more to the impact of a pedestrian onto the hood than a standard design, yet is strong enough to not deform in normal use.

Blame the apex seals, or the (lack of) fuel economy, or the nightmare of trying to get a carbureted rotary to pass California's strict emission regs, but you just don't see these cars any more. And it seemed that they all disappeared overnight.


The design of these cars was beautifully smooth and simple; rather than an exaggerated TR-7-style wedge, Mazda did sort of a "soft wedge" with the first RX-7s. No other car looked quite like it, and it doesn't look particularly dated nearly 30 years later.


I've always liked the factory wheels on these cars. Damn, I've just about talked myself into buying an RX-7 now!


This car has a temporary registration sticker in the window, which probably means it can't be made to run well enough to pass the smog check. It parks very close to the '56 Willys wagon, so maybe it's owned by the same (presumably wrench-adept) owner.

After seeing VintageRacer's 510 in action, we've been keeping our eyes open for good deals on the old Datsuns. Of course, these days forced induction is all the rage, so it's tempting to turbo-ize your vintage Bluebird... but why do all that complicated turbo plumbing yourself when you can buy someone else's hopeless ambitious project 510? Say, this '72 510 with a VG30ET V6 ripped out of a late-80s 300ZX Turbo? And we do mean ripped; judging from the seller's description of the wiring ("a lot of the wires don't do anything"), it sounds like the swapper simply hooked up the hoist to the engine and yanked it right out without bothering to disconnect anything. Another warning sign: whenever you see the phrase "nothing a little welding can't take care of" in a listing, you know the car is a one-way ticket to Hell! The reserve on this auction is only $1700 ("just like last time"), which means that the Fun Per Dollar Quotient on this car has the potential to be even better than its power-to-weight ratio... if you can make it work, that is.

We all know that turbocharging the piss out of an RX-7 is a quick route to a batshit power-to-weight ratio, maybe even better than what you'd get with a VG30ET-powered 510, and this 1991 RX-7convertible with Turbo II engine swap for the chump-change price of just six hundred clams... well, you figure there's gotta be a catch somewhere. Fortunately, the warning signs are clear: First, you get the seller's statement, "I never finished the project because the engine needs a rebuild." Wait, he installed an engine he knew to be bad? Second, it has a new engine computer, which probably means every component that ever moved electrons would likely make a Mazda engineer weep if he could see its current hacked-together state; a junkyard computer swap is often believed to solve problems caused by a hopeless tangle of modified wiring. Third, the seller didn't bother to take the fast-food trash out of the car before shooting the obligatory camera-phone photographs. And, finally, he'll trade it for rims. Five lugs, please. Yet still, picture yourself in full Hoon Mode in this thing after you get it running and jack up the boost- the convertible top makes it that much easier to videotape your adventures!

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