The Wankel may very well have been the little engine that couldn’t, but today’s Mazda RX-7 may prove it still has its merits. We’ll have to decide if one of those merits is good value.

Much like Pennywise the clown in Stephen King’s story “IT” I know what scares you. One of those things is of course Pennywise himself, as that is one effed-up kid-eating clown. The other thing that terrifies you is rust. Most of you seem so intent to stay away from the flaky orange stuff that people might easily get you confused with Melania Trump.

The rust on yesterday’s didn’t seem to scare everybody away, and neither did that old Jeep’s price tag, which garnered the rough rider a narrow but decisive 58-percent Nice Price win.

Now, for everyone turned off by the prospect of buying POR15 by the gallon, you’ll all be relieved to learn that today’s is claimed in its ad to be almost completely corrosion-free. In fact it evidences only “one small silver dollar sizespot of corrosion on the inside of the driver door” according to the ad. I know what you’re thinking—that’s how it always begins!

Okay, calm down there Chicken Little, this sweet Mazda has a pretty long way to go before its Swiss cheese. To be honest, it hasn’t gone all that far at all as of yet, presenting only 56,000 miles on the clock. The ad notes that the car has always been garaged during the time that it wasn’t racking up the miles, and the silver paint shows surprisingly well, at least in the pics.

I should also note that the seller seems extremely knowledgable regarding the car, noting—as though it’s a fine wine—that it’s a November ’78 build, and calling out some of the differentiations that make it unique.

The body appears straight and all the trim complete, although the seller notes some stone chips in the nose and the front valance extension has obviously been mixing it up with some parking barriers or something. A pair of cheesy amber lights do hang from the front bumper, but those could easily removed and tossed in the trash so as not to offend future generations. The car comes with five original alloys and I must say that the early RX-7 wheels were some of the best looking in the business.

Moving on to the interior we get much the same impression. The dash looks to be in excellent shape and the seats are said to feature plaid inserts beneath their fauxskin covers. As we all know, plaid is the best. The driver’s seat is claimed to show wear, but we don’t get to see the show in the ad. The rest of the interior looks perfectly serviceable, with unfaded carpet and the factory radio extant.

Mechanically things are a little more iffy, as it seems this car has been sitting dormant for the last decade. The seller has made some moves toward waking up Rip Van Wankel, including replacing the battery and fuel pump along with much of the ignition system. A strut tower brace has also been added, but probably long ago.

According to the ad it presently starts and runs but needs to be trailered home by its buyer as it’s not ready for primetime owing to all the sitting around. I know the feeling, if I spend all day sitting on the couch watching basketball and drinking beer I’m going to be groaning and complaining when I get up too.

There are a number of parts that come along with the car to aid in getting it back on the road. Those include a rebuilt Weber carb for the 12A, some hatch struts, and something called IMSA style large, clear, door wind deflectors. I’d go see the car just to find out what those are.

The world keeps spinning and the seller of this car apparently keeps fiddling with it. He claims that he’ll raise the asking price as he does so, and fixes whatever is wrong with it. Right now he’s asking $4,000, and equally right now, we need to decide if that’s a deal or not.

What do you think, is this freshly awakened RX-7 fairly priced at $4,000? Or, for that much is this little RX not what the doctor ordered?

You decide!

South Chicagoland, IL , or go if the ad disappears.

H/T to BrianD-K58 for the hookup!

Help me out with NPOCP. Click to send a me a fixed-price tip, and remember to include your Kinja handle.