OK... even though my preference would be another 1st gen (I love mine) I came across a 2nd gen 90 GSL. The lady said her son busted the transmission and the car had been sitting for months. So the bat was dead and I opened the hood to hook up a bat pack and saw a strut tower brace and K&N cold air intake. Coolant did not look to great. Cranked it about 4 or 5 time and it started.

Smoked BIG time. Went to roll the windows down and they were dead. It had some sort of active suspension buttons in the center arm rest. After it ran for a bit no smoke.

The clutch pedal was to the ground, and the car was in neutral. I figured hydrolics were shot so I pulled up the pedal and pumped it a bit and it sounded like something started to grind???? and the idle droped??? (so I stopped messing with it). The oil pressure seemed to be reading good and the temp stayed good after idling for about 15mins... but I cant drive it of course. The oil looked good and clean. Based upon the size of the mufflers they looked aftermarket but the header looked stock, and there must have been a bad exhaust leak because it was seaping into the cabin and I'm still coughing.

About 143K miles, she wants 1500$

I have a spare trans for a 12a out of my 85. I'm assuming that this 13b can mate up to my old trans if It's in need. The body looked nice... cool mirrors with holes in em... except for some rust at the base trim of the windows and a bit on the sunroof. Once it warmed up it seemed like the engine ran good. Lights, turn signals, wipers, and ac worked.

Would you guys do it (I know I would rather a 1st gen... but) or do you think its a world of hurt??? dont know much about 2nd gens...

 

i know quite a bit about 2nd gens. the "electronic suspension" you were talkin about is called AAS or auto adjusting suspension. the model grade will be a GXL, not a GSL. the transmissions really arent compatable. i would check the hydraulics of the clutch before proceeding into the trans itself. most likely a slave cylinder issue. depending on the shape of the interior and body condition, i'd say that $1500 COULD be reasonable. i'd perform a compression test before committing to a purchase. i really like the 2nd gens. i have an 88 10th Anniversary and i LOVE it. its an incredible machine. my heart lies with the 1st ges 7 though

 

First of all, it's a GXL, not GSL.
$1500 is not a bad price, if the rest of the car is in good, aside from the trans.
Every 2nd gen I've seen, has or had rust on the sunroof and rear hatch. Even my 86 GXL suffers this.

 

It's a reasonable price but upon further inspection you may find other stuff that would drop the price. The 12A trans can bolt up with the proper equipment i.e. clutch, flywheel, counterweights, etc. It would need modification with the mounting though and a driveshaft would need to be made. Better off finding another 13B NA tranny. They aren't quite as fun as the FB's in my opinion but a good RX-7 nonetheless

 

thanks for the info. will proceed with a compression check. I dont know where I got gsl especially with the big letters GXL stairing me in my face. I think this might be god sent because theres a seller for an 88 gtu trans in the for sale section and he is about an hour drive from me. Would the trans from an 88 gtu fit into a 90 gxl?

 

I believe it would drop right in

 

Nothing wrong with an FC, I have one for a DD. I'm always concerned buying an FC with mods from a kid. I have found that too many of them fell into the F&F hype and think the buzzer means shift, everytime, every gear. They are also bad about overheating the engine. The trans may be an indication of care/abuse of the car.

Not ragging on FC owners, just my experience. I happen to like mine quite well. It's reliability and dependability give me more time/money for the widebody.