Good morning! We’ve been looking at cars with similar engine types this week, but not today. The engines in today’s cars could not be more different; in fact, about the only thing they have in common is that they both use gasoline as a fuel. Oh, and they’re both made in Japan, I suppose.
But first: Did you ever mis-read a word in a sentence, and it completely changes the meaning in a really funny way? I managed to do that to myself just now, reading yesterday’s headline. For some reason I read it as “One Gallon Of Disappointment Each,” instead of displacement. And, well, looking at those two cars, it kind of fits. The Mustang won, but I get the feeling that the Bonneville minus the rust would have mopped the floor with it.
And no, I’m sorry; I was not aware of a TV show called The White Shadow. In my defense, I was five when it came out. If it didn’t have cool cars, or spaceships, or robots, or magic in it, I simply didn’t care. (Actually, that hasn’t changed much.) So yes, congratulations, you’ve discovered a pop culture blind spot of mine. But let me ask you this: how many of you remember Salvage 1? Yeah, see?
I mentioned yesterday that I liked those old American overhead-valve engines because they’re simple. And compared to the four-cam, variable-valve-timing beast in one of today’s cars, that’s true. But the engine in the other one has, if I’m counting correctly, just three moving parts. Now that’s simple. Let’s check them out.
2003 Infiniti G35 – $3,200
Engine/drivetrain: 3.5 liter dual overhead cam V6, five-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Long Beach, CA
Odometer reading: 159,000 miles
Operational status: “Runs decent”
Some cars end up with undeserved bad reputations. The combination of horsepower, rear-wheel-drive, and heavy depreciation makes for some good inexpensive fun, but as in so many pursuits, a few bad apples can spoil the whole bushel. Infiniti’s rear-wheel-drive G35 is such a car, unfortunately. It’s basically a Nissan 350Z in a fancy outfit, with the same 260 horsepower VQ35DE V6 engine, more than enough for some sideways shenanigans. Combine that with the classic luxury-car problem of values dropping like a stone, and quite a few G35s ended up in the hands of overzealous second and third owners who proceeded to behave badly in them.
Which is too bad, because these are pretty nice cars. This one seems to have lost a chunk of its niceness to rough treatment, unfortunately; there is missing trim and torn upholstery inside, dings and scrapes outside, and a stupid aftermarket exhaust tip. Or at least I hope it’s just a tip, and not one of those awful aftermarket exhausts. Some engines sound great a little louder than stock; the VQ35DE is not one of them.
On the plus side, it sounds like it’s mechanically sound. It has only 159,000 miles on the odometer, which is nothing for one of these engines. They do use some oil, and are prone to leaks, especially from the valve covers, but apart from that they last a long time. The rest of the car should be reliable too; even the modified and abused ones seem to just keep chugging along.
Or, I suppose, you could just lean into the car’s bad reputation and have some antisocial fun with it. But please don’t.
1987 Mazda RX-7 GXL – $2,795
Engine/drivetrain: 1.3 liter twin-rotor Wankel, five-speed manual, RWD
Location: York, PA
Odometer reading: 203,000 miles
Operational status: Not running, no other information given
Mazda’s second-generation RX-7 came out when I was thirteen years old. I remember sneaking the Road & Track issue with its first road test into study hall and hiding it under a notebook, sneaking peeks when the teacher wasn’t looking. I remember sitting in one at the Chicago Auto Show that year, daydreaming about one day owning one. I knew all the specs by heart. I’ve said before that Japanese cars were not on my radar when I was young, but the second-gen Mazda RX-7 was the first one that broke through.
The star of the show here, of course, is the “R” in RX-7: the two-rotor Wankel rotary engine that Mazda championed for so many years, and is now trying to bring back. It’s a simple concept, but it takes a mighty feat of engineering to make it work. Mazda worked at it for years, and produced over two million of them. They have their drawbacks – poor fuel economy and a ravenous appetite for oil among them – but they sound like nothing else, and the smoothness of them is downright eerie. I still haven’t owned an RX-7, but I’ve driven a couple, and it is something every enthusiast should experience.
You won’t be going far in this one, unfortunately – it doesn’t run. It’s for sale from what looks like a tow yard, and I imagine they know nothing about its history. It has a salvage title for an unknown reason, and I don’t know how big a deal that is in Pennsylvania. (It’s a non-issue here in Oregon, as long as your insurance agent is cool with it.)
This is the GXL model, with all sorts of power stuff inside, a sunroof, and those great directional alloy wheels. This car has been sitting for a long time, it looks like – everything is sun-bleached and faded. You can see the color it used to be in the door sills and under the hood. The interior is intact, but fried. And someone has cut holes for 6×9 speakers in the lids of the storage bins in the back. Show of hands: Who else has cut questionable holes for speakers in cars in the past?
Okay, so these aren’t a direct comparison. One runs and the other doesn’t, they’re almost two decades apart, and they’re very different categories of car. But they’re what caught my eye today, so here we are. So what will it be – a fancy V6 Infiniti from the wrong side of the tracks, or a classic Mazda rotary that needs everything?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
Had an FB RX-7 and yes it was smooth and fun to drive, but it was a bit underwhelming. I went with the Mazda on this because the stink on that Infiniti would hang with you forever. No thanks and I don’t want to be one of the “VQ Bois”.
Definitely remember Salvage 1. Can’t go wrong with a cement mixer for a space capsule.
I’m taking the RX-7, and I’m not understanding the arguments for the Infiniti.
I guess the most sensible but still terrible choice is to go for the Infiniti,but at that price maybe the Mazda would hold whatever money you have to throw at it over a few years.
What a terrible set of choices. The first photo of the Infiniti tells you all you need to know and then the next photos get worse. I voted for the RX7. I don’t know why but I did.
I did watch Salvage I. Andy Griffith wants to go to the moon to get all the leftover moon gear. I remember the movie and probably watched some of the series but I don’t think it was on for long. I wonder if the network execs thought “How can we combine Sanford & Son with Space 1999?”
I’d never heard of it, but this is the description on David’s IMBd link:
If I was asked to come up with an idea for a TV drama series, that summary is almost, but not quite, exactly unlike anything that would occur to me. I am trying to picture the network pitch meetings. I can’t imagine they leveraged the attractions of the Iron Chicken in the Clangers.
Further down the IMBd page:
!!!
Almost this exact FC – a 1987 blue GXL – bookended my relationship with second-gen RX-7s. Mom bought it new to replace the ’79 that first brought me home from the hospital, then passed it on to me during a rough patch where I had to use the damn thing as a construction vehicle – yes, you can squeeze 8′ 2x4s in and still close the hatch!
Fun car, amazing handling, but after I’d already owned the S5 NA version with a few extra horses and an 8k redline and another S5 turbo running pre-mix (the oil eating thing is intentional – there’s an oil metering pump that literally injects oil into the fuel like a 2 stroke because otherwise how do you lube the dorito that has zero downtime) that literally shot fireballs when I dropped a gear it was a little meh.
I’d still take another one, and I’m still kicking myself for selling the turbo almost 20 years later…
If I had the money, I would pay for the G35 so I could throw it in the crusher. Rarely does one have such a clear opportunity to make our society a better place.
As for Salvage 1, not only did I watch it as a kid, I have used the logo as my profile pic in certain forums that do not make doing so a chore like The Autopian does.
G35s are treated like Altimas. Do not want.
I’d buy the RX7 and swap in either an Iron Duke or a Predator lawn mower engine.
The G doesn’t move my needle at all and the RX-7 I see a long list of projects that I would never get to. So obviously the Mazda, if nothing else I could get the engine running and put the drivetrain into a 2nd gen Legacy wagon.
Of course we all know it would just sit in the driveway and annoy the neighbors.
Ugh – awful choice. Ultimately, the “non-running” thing sealed it for the Infiniti. It’s possible that there’s something simple wrong with the RX-7, but it seems likely that you could get the Infiniti at least halfway back to respectability for much less. (Note that this goes completely against my normal rule of never buying any used car with lots of stuff hanging from the rear view mirror.)
RX7 because I had drinks at lunchtime
I’m going to carefully ignore the engine and go on vibes: the RX-7 is a handsome car and, if I had the money to burn, would a hell of a lot of fun to shine up. At the end of it, you’d at least have a gorgeous tarpweight, and join the esteemed but not very exclusive “I have an RX-7, it only needs…” club.
The Infiniti gets you farts and stains from farts, with an engine that will never be worth fixing in a car that will never be worth fixing.
So, I’m a rotary guy, but even this one was tough for me. That RX-7 is gone in many aspects. It’s savable, but dang. The engine could be something simple, these things are notorious for flooding and people swear there is something else wrong, but it’s only full of fuel and needs a proper de-flooding procedure. It could obviously also be something more sinister – out of compression or a coolant seal failure, either which needs a rebuild. The interior needs a lot of work, looks like a lot of it can be saved/cleaned, but any new blue interior bits are going to be unobtanium.
Since I have owned FCs my entire adult life, I am going with the RX-7. I am familiar enough with them, that nothing the car throws at me will be a surprise. I know all of the FC pitfalls, and unfortunately, this one will likely have all of them.
Once again I smell vape coming out of my screen. How do you do that? Have you applied for a patent?
My mom, who is in her 80’s, had her G35 stolen when visiting Portland. Tweakers lived in the car for months, filling it with trash and stolen mail, and when she got it back it still looked better than this one.
I only voted for the RX-7 because I am presently sitting in my 2012 G37X at lunch, and already have all the G I need, G.
I’ll take the running Infiniti over the non-running RX-7… which I’m betting “just needs a seal”… an apex seal…
Gotta go G35, that York salvage yard has a big presence on Craigslist on no title, hasn’t run forever, bring a trailer and no history. Do a search they are a bunch of neat vehicles.
Also I did watch Salvage 1 as a kid. Andy Griffith was great as always.
Concur on the RX-7. It still has some potential, whereas the Infiniti’s has been squandered. And I’m guessing anyone who wants a G35 can find a much better one for not a whole lot more money.
That G35 has definitely not led a serene life. It looks like it’s been flogged for its Big Altima Energy every day for at least the past 5 years. This is exactly $2700 overpriced, as this deserves its final call as a Gambler 500 rig.
I want to go with the RX-7, having owned an FC 5-speed. It was a delight when it ran right, but that was always kind of hit and miss. Although I lean towards the RX-7, my actual vote today is “abstain”.
Speaking of which, can we get an actual “abstain” option every day? Might help with “EWWWW-Metrics”
F*** it, I’m going with my heart today. RX7 all the way. I, too, loved the 2nd gen RX7 since it came out, about the same age as you. The local library had a book all about the development of it and I checked that book out and renewed it so many times I lost count. If it were cheaper and even slightly better condition (and with clear title), I would be legitimately interested in this one.
The Rx-7 needs a lot of work, but is worth restoring. This is my favorite Rx-7 body style, and that blue is a nice color!
The Nissan is,-….well it’s a car. With a V6, and no noticeable rust. I guess that torn interior is likely not faded with tint like that, but it likely smells of more than that air freshener.
I think I’ve committed to the Rx-7.
While the Infiniti is immediately usable, I’ll take the FC coupe. I’ve already got an FC convertible and an RX8, so if the engine in this is toast it’d get some small, efficient 4cyl to make a fun, low power commuter with much better fuel economy. Maybe that’d be the plan even if the engine was good, hold onto the rotary to build a 6 port turbo for the convertible
I couldn’t vote on either. The G35 looks beat, driven hard and lived in hard, and I get the feeling that it was a hooned vehicle. The RX-7 just scares me mechanically, because I don’t want to be chasing gremlins forever, especially since it has possibly sat for a long time.
I’m reluctantly going G35. It’s in terrible shape, but it runs. While I actually really like the FC RX-7, this one is too expensive to be a parts car and in too bad of shape to do an engine swap on.
I love the shape of the RX-7, so even if it’s just a driveway sculpture, at least I can enjoy looking at it.
I’m sure it would sit there for a couple years, while I told people I was going to LS swap it. And then I’d sell it for a small loss. Or maybe a big loss. Whatever.
This is really the answer.