Been contemplating buying an rx7 for a dd for ahwile now. 89-91 with rear seats. I hust cant seem to find another car that the wife and I agree on that fits the bill. Fairly lightweight. Rwd. Rear seats. Not a chevy. I wish she didnt hate corollas so much.
The rear seats won't hold a miniature Chihuahua, let alone a child. Fox Mustang would be far more usable.
In reply to Javelin:
+1
Mine came with rear seats and I can honestly say it was for just holding your briefcase because you were japanese businessmen in the 80s driving it. Or a child seat because obviously their legs did not touch the floor.
but no you're not crazy, its a great car :) Holding out for a 2+2 rx7 is a bit crazy though.
Need 4 seats. Have to find one and check it out. I sit fairly far forward. She hates mustangs as well. Lol
I've had two, first and second generation. Liked them both. Very different from each other. As I recall, sitting in the rear seat of the second generation was like sitting down in a bucket. The 2nd generation one was a remarkably good driving car. No idea why the car got so panned in reviews and such.
Quite the contrary! It would be crazy to NOT want an RX-7!
Not sure about the 2+2 though. The rear seats in a BMW 3-series would be far more liveable.
I used to daily drive a 1987 RX-7 N/A. If you're going to buy one, buy the nicest you can find. Change the oil every 3,000 miles religiously. Wankel rotary engines burn oil on purpose to keep the apex seals lubricated. Expect piss poor gas mileage (I could usually muster 20-21mpg with a lot of highway driving, and it will be much worse with a turbo. At least with a N/A you can use regular gas). I would also consider lining the transmission tunnel with some sort of heat shielding as it generates a lot of heat in the driver's compartment. Of course, you can avoid a lot of these issues with a boinger swap of some sort.
All that being said, I loved that FC. It never broke down or even hiccuped the entire two years or so I had it. The FC is more of a tourer than the elemental SA or near-supercar FD, but it still handles well and has a huge aftermarket to make it even better.
Mine had the storage bins, but even when I moved the seat forward there wasn't much room. I'm only 5' 7" but it helps to remember the FC was made with Japanese folks in mind. One other thing to note is that the sunroof eats a lot of headroom. I needed to open the sunroof part way to fit inside with a helmet on.
If you need four seats, none of the 2+2 sports cars will work. The 280Z, 300ZX, RX-7, and 944 all have tiny little useless seats solely for insurance purposes. Car seats won't fit, either.
Look towards cars designed for actual rear seats. Camaro, Mustang, E36, etc.
A guy in my neighborhood has a pristine (and I mean PRISTINE) RX-7 GSL-SE. So small, so clean, so neat. I think really clean early examples could be collector cars soon.
If Japanese, from the eighties, RWD and useable back seats are the parameters, isn't a Star-Quest the answer? I wouldn't put adults back there, but young kids do fit, as do up to 3 skinny teenage girls. (speaking from personal experience circa 1990)
Ive got the wife to deal with. She is the major choice killer. While I could deal with the lack of reliabilty of the mitsu, she doesnt like them. Doesnt have to be 80s. Just cheapish.
With the price of the RX-8's dropping, they're almost in the same realm of a pristine FC. RX-8's do have a useable back seat.
Javelin wrote: If you need four seats, none of the 2+2 sports cars will work. The 280Z, 300ZX, RX-7, and 944 all have tiny little useless seats solely for insurance purposes. Car seats won't fit, either. Look towards cars designed for actual rear seats. Camaro, Mustang, E36, etc.
300ZX rear seats arent quite as useless as say an SC430. I doubt a car seat would work but in high school I spent plenty of time riding around in the back seat of a buddies 300ZX. Cramped for an adult but fine for children. I do have no experience with an RX7 or 944 but wouldnt be surprised if those are smaller seats.
In no way trying to dissuade you from rotary goodness, but does not an S14 240sx fit the bill as well?
If you want a completely useless backseat, clearly you're missing the obvious choice, a 944! 
So we still haven't had a real answer to the rear seat question. Why does it need to have back seats? If it's just to say that it has back seats then that's fine. If someone is actually supposed to sit back there on occasion they better be small. Under 5'2'' small.
clutchsmoke wrote: So we still haven't had a real answer to the rear seat question. Why does it need to have back seats? If it's just to say that it has back seats then that's fine. If someone is actually supposed to sit back there on occasion they better be small. Under 5'2'' small.
And possibly without any legs whatsoever!
Ive got 2 kids, and they like to drive fast. 944 costs too much to fix. I wouldnt mind a 240, but they are hard to find in good shape and woefully overpriced. Rx8 would be perfect, except for the car payment. Trying to keep it under 3k. Preferably 2k.
So do the kids actually have to fit in the backseat?
4 and 6. And yes
My 8 year old would ride in the backseat of the FC and SA RX-7s that I had and have.
A 3rd gen Supra may fit the bill----if you can find a decent one. They aren't light, but they have livable back seats for kids, are fast enough to be fun (in turbo form) and are great highway mile-eaters.
I guess it all depends on if your wife likes them or not.......you may want to narrow it down to a list of which cars your wife finds acceptable, and go from there.
1988RedT2 wrote: Quite the contrary! It would be crazy to NOT want an RX-7!
^^^^^^^ This.
I've always liked the styling and everything, but never liked the idea of a rotary for daily duty.
When I sat in an FC with rear seats, the headrest was nearly touching the seatback.
The rear seats are mainly there so you can insure it as a 2+2 instead of a two seater, as I understand things. I think a 944's rear seat is more practical. And you can probably find a clean 944 a lot more easily than a clean Series 5 RX-7. S5s did not sell very well at all because they were freakin' expensive for what you got.
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