This latest in our series of makeovers (see Olds Cutlass and Chrysler LeBaron) is true to our purpose: Fix up an older car and return it to daily duty for less than the cost of an already restored model. Our subject this time, however, is a just a bit out of the mainstream.

We wanted a sports car, but one that could be driven even when the twisty narrow roads of New England were slick due to the vagaries of weather. But we also wanted a sports car that was reliable, inexpensive to bring up to snuff and inexpensive to keep that way.

We also wanted a car with a backseat big enough to be used occasionally. So we opted for a 1988 Mazda RX-7 2+2 with a limited-slip differential.

Finding our subject sent us on a search. Since most RX-7s--most sports cars, for that matter--are owned by young men who drive them hard, we were determined to find one that hadn't been abused, wasn't rusted and had obviously led a sheltered life.

Our search ended in the Miami area during a Florida holiday. There we found this RX-7 which was owned by a woman banker from the Cayman Islands who kept it at her apartment in Miami and only used it a few days a month. She was selling because she'd just had a baby and wanted to buy a Volvo station wagon.

Her car had just 27,000 miles on the odometer, had obviously been gently handled and came with everything we wanted. Well, almost. It did have a sunroof, but also wind-up windows and an automatic transmission. We were also hoping for white or silver paint rather than "arrest me red." We bought the car for $4000.

Once home, we discovered a few items that we'd overlooked. The shift lever was falling off, as was the directional-signal stalk. Beneath the fancy custom floor mats the carpets had turned green from mildew and there were cigarette burns in the upholstery that had been thoughtfully hidden under protective seat covers. The right rear brake rotor was heavily scored and squeaking, the tires were dry-rotted, the engine was running very roughly--it wouldn't idle at all--and the elaborate aftermarket burglar alarm system was both draining the battery and sending out false alarms on an hourly basis. There were shopping cart dings down both sides and a cracked lens on the right front. But most annoying of all, there was purple tints on all the windows.

First we silenced the burglar alarm by simply snipping its wires. Next we cleaned up the engine compartment. As you'd expect from a car that spent most of its life sitting, our RX-7 needed new hoses, belts, filters, battery, spark plugs and a complete infusion of fluids. There was nothing wrong with any of the major components, however.

After a day spent working over the engine, it would start and run, but it was still rough and would stall as soon as we touched the throttle. We finally found our way to the air-cleaner housing which, we found had its insides--including the hot-air door--coated a brown goo with the consistency of pine resin. A thorough cleaning with lacquer thinner removed the crud, allowing the engine to idle and run perfectly.

We had the MacPherson struts rebuilt, replaced the chewed-up brake rotor and installed new brake pads. The stock Mazda alloy wheels responded to a quick buffing with aluminum polish, after which we installed new Goodyear Eagle GA M+S tires. The floppy shift lever required nothing more than a replacement bolt. The turn-signal stalk mere tightening of a set screw. To get the car to this like-new mechanical state set us back another $1000.

The cigarette burns on the passenger seat turned out to be discoloration rather than permanent destruction. A good cleaning cleared them up. Same for the greenish tinge on the carpets. An inexpensive set of gray floor mats and a generous application of protectant and the interior was brand-new, too.

Now we were up to the window tints. Getting the tints off the side windows were easy, if time-consuming, enough. It took an afternoon spent nibbling away with a razor blade to remove the film. But the opaque residue beneath required a scrubbing with acetone. The RX-7's huge rear hatch was another story, however. Mazda's rear-window defroster is a network of wires on the interior surface of the glass. Every expert we talked to said, "Forget it. If you try to clean the tint off, you'll destroy the heater wires." We agreed and left that tint alone.

Our local Mazda dealer charged us close to $50 for a replacement turn-signal lens, the only part we needed on the exterior. But what to do about the door dings? And if we're going to repaint the car, why not repaint in a different color? We shopped around, and the best price we could get in our area for a top-quality color change was $4000. So we settled for filling the door dings then respraying both sides of the RX-7 the stock red.

The finally tally, including getting the car up North from Florida, is $6500--appreciably less than market value in our area for a rustfree, low-mileage RX-7. Compared to new sports cars, of course, this is a fabulous bargain. Even a little Miata costs several times what we have in the RX-7. And we'll take on any stock Miata, any place, any time. We know we'll have a good time. Hey, we already did just bringing our RX-7 back up to snuff.

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