Shortly after buying my second RX-7 I decided to delve into re-painting the whole car.  In hindsight it didn’t really need it, but I was young and full of ambition.  Consequently I was in WAY over my head.  Needless to say the car remained in a primered state for way too long.

During this primered state, driving down Briggsmore avenue, I spotted an RX-7 on the corner at Oakdale road.  A common spot at the time for people to park their cars for sale.  I stopped to look at it, a 1990 Black on black GXL model.  Up until this point I had only owned 87’s.  For the second generation of the RX-7’s they had two iterations.  86-88 were considered S4’s, with a visual and mechanical upgrade implemented for the 89-91 model years known as the S5. So for me, this 90, had the appeal of the S5 which I had never owned before.  The car had just over 200k miles, it was a 5spd and a GXL which is a fully loaded model of the naturally aspirated cars.  The price was a glorious $900. The GXL model came equipped with better wheels, spoiler, sunroof, adjustable suspension, leather seats, power windows, A/C, and P/S.  The S5 also has better tail lights bumpers and mirrors compared to the S4 model.

So now, with my first wrecked car, my primered second car, and now a third RX-7 all parked at my (parents) house.

Well the reason for the $900 price tag is that on occasion this car smoked like a freight train when it was cold.  As it turns out, it was the results of failing water seals.  It magically still passed smog, but I only drove it a handful of times due to the intermittent smoke and a starter issue.  I can’t remember why or when the decision was made to sell the car, but I really wish I hadn’t.  I should have kept it, rebuilt the motor, and drove it another 200k miles. It was so fun to drive and felt much faster than my S4 did.  To this day, I still wish I could have an S5 again. Though recently I’ve really been jonesin’ for an S5 convertible, which makes me laugh, because I used to hate convertibles!  Guess some things grow on you with age.

Some finished pictures after painting my 2nd car.  Turned out really nice thanks to the help of my Uncle Randy who was experienced with painting cars.  I had some help with the prep work from my friends, Matt and Jeff.  Shortly after the paint job was done I decided to sell the car and start the hunt for an FD (93-95 RX-7)