If the engine has good compression and is not leaking coolant as the seller says, it sounds worthwhile just for the engine and transmission. Odd damage. The bumper and area around the glass hatch look to be straight. What happened here? Motorcycle ran into the side? Forklift drove into him? Notice how square the impact is. https://elmira.craigslist.org/cto/d/wellsville-1987-mazda-rx7-fc-13b/6805327894.html
It looks like it went sideways into a Pole or tree to me. Also very hard to tell from a compression check on a rotory engine as they really don't have compression. It is repairable, but 1st and 2nd generation RX7's don't seem to have much resale value. I would say it would cost you around $10,000 to $12,000 to repair it. Then you would get around $6000 to $8000 for it. I would say it is a good parts car for a decent price.
Now that you mention it, Jeff, it does look obvious that the car slid into a pole or tree. Don't know why I assumed something or someone ran *into* it. Actually, you can test a rotary for compression, but you have to test all three chambers of the rotation to get a proper idea of the health of the apex seals. It can be done using a standard compression tester, but it's really hard to see the readings because you have to remove the Schrader valve in the compression tester so that you get all three readings (and you have to have good eyesight to see the max on all three). I tried it on my rotary and it's really a pain to do. The Mazda compression testers are crazy-expensive, but I found an affordable one and ordered it last week. Just 'cause I enjoy collecting tools. Here's a good video on rotary compression testing. Ray looks like he's going to fall asleep at the beginning of the video, but he seems to know his stuff.
I remember seeing that when we had a customer's RX-7 convertible tested by a Mazda specialty shop, and it had good readings. Turned out to be a lazy injector causing the poor performance.
