Hi all I am new to building rotarys or Honda’s and was wondering which would be a better area to pursue. I did a ton of research on rotarys and I know about things like premixing and want to get into building a 12a fuel injected fb. But on the other hand I work at a honda dealership and riding in a 400hp turbo civic made me question my idea of what to buy the budget in general is about 3k and I don’t care how much work I have to do to either. Does anybody have experience with both and or like to weigh in?

 

Buy a Miata. Endless parts and upgrade availability. FB is the polar opposite for parts availability.

 

I know the handling is what the Miata gets praised for but I would take a coupe or hatchback with no aftermarket over a Miata even with a hardtop miatas just don’t do it for me and I’ve been looking for a good project for 7 months and decided between those 2

 

Well it was one of the choices in your poll, and seemed the best to me. I don't know anything about Hondas except I used to hunt them in my GTI in the 90's, and the new ones are real ugly. 1st gen RX7 is tricky to get parts for and not a fast car. Even the fast ones aren't fast cars. But they're a lot of fun.
What do you want the car for, and do you have more money or time?

 

I have a decent mix of both and I’m looking for a great like canyon cruising car but I put the miata as a joke because that’s all I’ve ever been told is to buy a mitata.

 

Buy whatever comes up at the right time for the right price then instead of asking complete strangers what tickles your personal preferences.

 

Under $5k *** you're not gonna touch a Civic in a strait line. But you might loose them in the turns, and you'll have loads more fun doing it.

If you don't like a carb just get a Civic. Toss in the towel. You already work at Honda.


*** You might hold your ground if you sink $10k into a first gen.

 

Most guys use Racing Beat RX7 mufflers. If you want a giant fart can the Civic might be the way to go.

 

Since your work is at a Honda dealership, the last thing you want to see on your time off would be a Honda. The rx-7 was hot stuff in its day, and that day was a long long time ago. If you are looking for a go kart motorcycle feel, then get the rx-7. A miata is fun but it is very small and impractical. Can't haul 8 foot 2 by 4's in a miata.

 

I never thought about the honda thing. Very good point Honda’s aren’t my main interest currently and I’ve always wanted that little 80s go kart car but I won’t buy a Miata even though they are highly reccomended

 

I don’t **** talk or really race much this would mainly be an autocross/canyon car that I don’t intend to build for beating anything. Carbs are really just fine with me but I’d end up saving the money in the long run for a Holley dominator kit for my 12a

 

They got canyons in WI? LOL A 12A EFI would be a waste of effort, just get a 85+ 13B and there you go.

 

If you want a definite "go Kart" feel the First Gen Toyota MR2 is your Ticket ...I own a 1986 MR2 and ABSOLUTELY LOVE it !!!! Its literally like driving a RollerCoaster on the Street !

 

there is a reason for that...

all three choices are good ones i think. the Rx7 is a nice car to drive, and its a lot of fun, but in a diver connected to the experience way, like an older (British) sports car, so fun is not related to speed like it is in a newer car. it does have a race pedigree, Mazda raced it successfully, basically everywhere. plus its cool to have an 80's car right now.

the civic is kind of neat, and there is (or was?) a kaleidoscope of aftermarket for it, its almost the 57 chevy or 65 mustang of its generation. i'm not sure the civic can do everything at once, but i've seen 900hp drag cars (rebuild every 15 minutes of run time), and fast road race cars (real time raced Acura integras, and so did my friends and I). the big downside to the Honda is that you're starting with a commuter box, and the chassis is much weaker than the Mazda's. a fast road race car will pull welds out of the body and things start tearing. engines used to be cheap, but they have becomes expensive to build, and the K series makes lots of power, but in a roadrace car they blow up all the time, its so bad the factory can't keep them together.

the miata, it kind of does both, you're connected to the experience, and you can make it fast. my DD is a miata, and its 2100lbs with no diver and a full tank of gas, plus its got a good suspension. the worst part is the crap engine, its more expensive to build than the honda, and it makes half the power...

 

I don't care for Miata's either! But the one fundamental you can't escape with a Civic is FWD! If you really want to drive you need RWD and a limited slip diff!

 

Okay, you don't want a miata. I get it. Whenever someone drives a miata to work we all tease him, and ask him if his girlfriend (or mom) knows he borrowed it.
-But-
-Miatas beat similarly prepped FB's and RX8's and are generally regarded as the best bang-for-buck entry into organized racing.
But you have to like the car you own.
So, how much money can you spend now. And how much do you plan/hope to put into it in the next couple years? How much work do you (reasonably) expect to do yourself, and how much (good) experience do your buddies have? Will this be your daily or a project?

An RX-7 is a labor of love, as they are all antiques at this point and parts are (generally) hard to find. And as simple as the motors are in theory (70% fewer internal parts), most mechanics will look at them like they were UFO's.

As this is an RX-7 specific forum. Don't expect too much FWD econo-box hunda love, although you did get some. I do like the looks of 93-ish hatchback civics (hatchbacks only), but I wouldn't consider one as a sports car. Yes they can go hella fast in a straight line if drag prepped. So can a ford Pinto. Or a Yugo. So what, it's not a sports car.

So I would suggest you get the bestest, newest, coolest sports-i-est car you can comfortably afford. Maybe it will be a tricked out Honda. How about a Subie? My Forester XT would eat my RX in almost any kind of race, but isn't as fun to drive. 80's vettes are fast, cheap and hella easy to get parts for and work on. Heck, you can put a 2.2L air cooled VW crate motor into a $1000 beetle and pull wheelies on Main St every Friday night.

 

My advice on such a low budget is simply enter your maximum budget, manual transmision (unless yr mom is ghey) and lowest mileage as your filters and see what comes up.
Once you have reliable cheap transport you can now **** around fixing up bullshit on whatever project car you want.

 

Wait, I missed something.... When did his mom go gay? And why can't her kid drive a stick?? Is it because she doesn't like a stick in her hand? Is this an Aussie thing???

Caleb I don't care what your mom does. But I think you should get the best little RWD stick car you can find. FWD will definitely turn you gay though.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

 

Hey no judgement here either lol. Ive turned my mom gey heaps of times.

 

I test drove a miata in 2005, right after I put a rebuilt engine in my rx-7. The dealership offered a free meal coupon at some upscale restaurant if I did the test drive.

I left the dealership in my rx-7 all giddy that it was the right decision to drop $2000 on the rebuilt engine. The miata felt slow. It handled better. My rx-7 felt smooth and refined.

 

If you stay N/A with the 7 they typically stay together pretty well. Other than the rotary engine FB's are pretty rock solid daily driver cars.

2.2 VW motor? $$$$$$$$$$$$$

Now a 1776 with some good carbs will keep up with an N/A FB any day.

 

We are giving this guy so much good advice, ... is he still here? Did he leave us for the hunda forum??

The MIATA Forum???

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

 

I kinda disagree about fwd not being a sportscar. On trackdays i have been to, civics and Peugeot 205's really punch above their weight. I mean, really quick.
They may not give the same transcendental thrill of driving a well balanced rwd on its back wheels, and steering from the rear and asll that, dont worry, i get it, but i wouldnt brush off a compact fwd as a proper sports car the are fun in other ways, and undeniably handy.

 

there was a tread on here where the dude was an SAE trained mechanic and all that nonsense, and then the problem with his 12A turned out to be a vacuum leak between the carb and the manifold he said something about how he changes 3 of those a day on a chevy.

its an interesting point, and i think people are bad at diagnosing stuff in general, and then with mechanics there are a lot of parts changers. the problem was the same for both cars, but dude could only figure it out for one of them.

 

the last Honda my friend and i built has the in class lap record at Sonoma and was about two tenths of a second off at Thunderhill, the Honda can be very quick. and K motor in a Civic is downright fast, they will do 240hp at the wheels and its ~2200lbs? its totally unreliable as a race car, but its fast.

the irony though is that this car,


was more expensive to build than the white and red thing, and about 4x more than the black one...



the Honda lasted 1 day too....