RotorMotorDriver

iTrader: (1)

Ok guys, once again I need your advise, but it IS 1st gen related. Anyway, my Mom told me today that she would drop $2200 to buy me an 85 Toyota Supra automatic in pristine condition with lots of new parts if I sell the 7 . I dont wanna do it cause I love my car too much, but I've got a bad oil leak, a blown coolant seal, bad rear wheel bearings (or something), and some other misc stuff going on. The oil leak would be fixed once I finish the air/oil cooler install (have to get those damn lines), but the coolant seal isint as simple. I sent her an email asking that maybe instead of me dumping the 7, that she give me the money to buy a rebuilt engine for it instead. That way, I would have a warranty and everything, and there wouldnt be anymore problems. Sounds good right? Anyway, I was wondering how you would go about getting a new engine for your car if you were in my boat. As in, where you would go, what options you would get, etc. I want to go with Pineapple, but theyre just over 3 hours away, and a little pricey (or I think they are, need to double check that). I want to get it streetported, but I dont think its in the budget either. Plus, if I had it streetported, then my brand new RB exhaust would be a bottleneck on it cause its for the stock port engine (didnt plan on getting another engine for a while, lol), and I wouldnt have a carb for it. So I think Im stuck with just a stock port rebuild. I can use the engine in my car as a core too. Also, Im not afraid of rebulding an engine myself, but I dont have any good rotor housings or rotors. I have everything else though. If I tear into the engine in the 83 now, then if it has good housings I can use them, but if not, then I have no core, so Id rather not risk it with my luck, lol. So any info would be great. Thanks.

~T.J.

PS - Sorry if this is hard to read, its 2:26 am and Im dead tired...

RotorMotorDriver

iTrader: (1)

Ok, just looked at Pineapples price list, guess they arent as expensive as I remembered, but I am trying to get the best quality for the cheapest price, not easy to do...If I had it done at Pineapple, I could save on the shipping by going to get it myself and stuff cause I have a cousin I could stay with while they build it or whatever. I dont know how the process works...Do you order it, they build it, they give it to you, then take your core? Or do you order it, they take your core, rebuild that, then give it to you? Anyway, the point was I could go down there and stay with him as he lives a short distance (15-20) mins away from them, so I could go down and wait for it to be built, then bring it home myself . Ohhh...I could have it painted too...Cool Although, I shouldnt get ahead of myself, I still need to wait to talk to my Mom and see if shes even drop the cash for a new engine. She originally wanted me to get rid of the 7 cause ive "put so much money into it". Well I broke "the rule" tonight and added up all the reciepts. Ive put about $1300 into it, TOTAL. So, I dont think thats all that bad. Thats including the car, EVERYTHING. Right down to the quarts of oil, lol. Anyway, If I get a new engine, then Id be hovering at $3500 TOTAL. Lets see you go get another 83 RX-7 GSL with 80K on the chasis, and a rebuilt engine with a new rad, starter, clutch, alternator, tires, hoses, full RB exhaust and everything else I have for $3500. I think shes worth it. I just gotta convince my parents...

~T.J.

PS - I got insurance today too!! WooHoo!!

rotary emotions

Get the toyota!
Eh only joking!!! Well, I'd stay with the sevens, but it's really all a matter of budget in this case... A new/rebuilt engine isn't cheap, and you still would have the bad bearings... Maybe new bearings would have been a better investment than a RB? Well, too late for that now.
Just go counting it all out. Maybe someone can sell you a decent used engine? If you can afford, a rebuild with a warranty is of course the best solution, as it'll be easier and saver.

680RWHP12A

have you looked for a used engine? maybe from a wreced car, that would save you$$$$ and you could get other msc. parts you might need! no matter what you do KEEP THE 7!!!!!!!!!!

RotorMotorDriver

iTrader: (1)

Im tired of used engines . I have one in there now, and I need a new one after 2 months of using it, and it was a low mileage engine. I bought a whole parts car just for the engine, lol. I drove the damn thing home...Now the engine dies on me since its in a new car...I just want something thats gonna work, like a rebuilt one. If she doesnt drop the money for it (which I honestly doubt she will), Im still keeping the 7. Even with the blown seals, lol.

~T.J.

PS - I dont even know what it is in the rear end...It may just need new fluid, I dont know. It doesnt sound bad, it just doesnt sound good either, lol

jeremy

iTrader: (1)

question is, is the body worth it? also you aren't just replacing the engine. you mentioned some other problems in there. how much to fix those? i'd sit down and add up everything that you need to do. don't get all worked up over your pineapple engine then have it shoot the seeds out of your pumpkin the first time you get on it. i'm by no means saying get a porky supra. there are always other options. patience danielleson.

Rx7carl

Go to your secret junkyard and get a used motor TJ. Then tear it down and rebuild it. You can get all the help and advice you need here. Getting another used car that old (85 supra) will get you a new set of problems. As a band aid you could do the block seal trick to stop the water leakage, might buy you enough time to do a rebuild on a junkyard motor. Then swap them out, rebuild the other one and sell it.

85RX7GS

iTrader: (1)

I was in a similar situation when my engine blew. Since you've put all this money into the car already, I suggest keeping it and putting a new engine in it...if you can.
Since you've has the 7 for a while, you probably know it fairly well. Even if the Toyota is in excellent shape, you really wouldn't be able to tell the condition of all the parts until you had it for a while.

Simplified: Convince Mom to pay for engine.

lotsacars

Congrats on the insurance! THAT'S a step in the right direction.

Honestly, with such a generous offer, I'd probably count my blessings and take the cheapest route and use the rest to pay off your tickets. The Supra isn't going to do you any good without a license.

That and adding another old car to your life isn't going to fix much; you'll just have another 15-20 year old car to maintain.

Without parting your car out, it doesn't sound like it's worth a whole lot right now (nothing against your car, but how much is something worth with a blown engine?)

Good luck with whatever you chose. Sounds like things may be beginning to turn around for you.

jr69187

there is a guy in neosho missouri called the rotory doctor builds good motors and with warranty and tax a brand new 12a is 1576 and if your lucky he will street port it for you at no charge. he does good work and you can find his number in the regional area for the midwest under missouri rotor shops. i love the motor he built me and with shipping it may still be cheaper than anywhere else plus he does not want the core. he has over 50 first gens. plus he knows about every bolt on any year rx7.

jr

Fennix_sr

check out http://www.revolutionrotary.com/reman.html

not sure if those are the best prices but they might be a good start... if you still have a good core ... BONUS

AdrenalifeRX7

Look for the best deal TJ. **** move to NY. The people around here don't know crap about RX-7's. I bought mine for $2200 and all it needed was an alternator but the bodyshop guy that owned it was "scared" of rotaries and he had thought the apex seals were gone. It was just a defective alternator and that's why it smoked. There wasn't enough juice to light the plugs.

AdrenalifeRX7

Mazdatrix sells the best engines

82transam

iTrader: (18)

ok, i didn't read all the posts here, but here's my advise based on teh title only. Get a set of gaskets, they are like $150, and rebuild it. Voila, fixed oil and coolant leak. Thats what I would do anyway, of course, if you can get the money out of her, do a complete rubuild, apex seals etc.

brownmound

Keep it, fix it, make it happen. Oh, and re-read my recent post about revving the engine to restore the love. You didn't seem to take too kindly to it earlier.

Right on.

RotorMotorDriver

iTrader: (1)

Theres a car at my local yard actually that had a CLEAN engine in it, carb and everythingh. Theres like 210,000 miles on the clock, but the engine is SO AMAZINGLY CLEAN I think its been rebuilt. Even the carb has nothing on it. The car was rear-ended so Im sure thats why its there, not because of the engine. They would only charge me $100 + tax for it if I pulled it, but I dont really want to risk it .

~T.J.

RotorMotorDriver

iTrader: (1)

Oh yeah, and how are Revoloutin Rotary's engines? They seem to have good prices...And prices on rebuild kits. I really want to go with pineapple because I have hear NOTHING but good things about them, and like I said, Im tired of risking it.

~T.J.

Rx7carl

$100? Dam dude, get it, hell if it was rebuilt it might even be ported!

RotorMotorDriver

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, how would I knowif its been rebuilt or not? Just cause its clean? With my luck its probably just a really clean 83 engine with 210K+ miles on it. Plus it has the stock carb on it, I doubt it ported.

~T.J.

Pele

iTrader: (28)

I think your two month old enigne's coolant seal mighta blown because the previous owner overheated it... That's the most common reason coolant seals let go.

Personally, I'd go with the car with the clean engine, specially since it's rear ended.

I've never bought a junk yard enigne myself, but I've put them in other people's cars before, and seeing what people have come out of junk yards with, I can think of a few tips to check before you buy...

Rear ended collisions are usually good for engines. I'd stay away from clean cars or front end collision cars for enignes. (You never know how long the owner drive with a busted radaitor.) Reverse directions for rear engined cars. You never know, the clean cars could just have floded engines though... Test it.

1.) Check the coolant. Smell it... If it's low or smells like gasoline or exhaust, it's a possible blown head gasket. (Water seal on rotories.)

2.) Check the oil. Smell it too. Overheated engine oil smells like burned toast. Water in the oil (Blown head gasket, Unlikely, but possible blown water seal on roatries.) shows up as a slimy white goo. Chunky oil is no good either. Remove the oil filter and check for metal bits.

3.) If the oil and coolant are good, turn the pulley with a socket... Make sure it isn't seized. If it stops, pull the spark plugs and see if that helps. No fluids should come from the spark plug holes.

4.) Check under the car for coolant and oil leaks, if there are any, the previous owner could have let it go without checking the leaks and overheated or run it low on oil. Use rust on the brake rotors or rain in the car as a gauge on how long it's been at the scrap yard. This'll help you gauge the severity of the leak.

5.) Stick your finger in the tail pipe. If it's really thick soot in there, it either burns oil or runs really rich. Hard to tell.

6.) If it's got a battery or you have a jumper pack, hotwire the bitch. That's the best test.

Sterling

It's worth a second looksee. However, I think you're probably right.
You need to use a little "parent psychology" here. See what you need to make your car reliable and safe, and add it all up...minus the engine. For example, you really should do the bearings, right? Toss brakes on the list, too. (These are the things that make Mommys happy. )
Now, take the proposed $2200, and subtract the cost of your list, and $300. That's what you have left to work with engine wise. Now it's up to you to find out your options with that remaining amount of money.

Here's the reasoning: If you can demonstrate that you can make your car reliable, AND safe for even LESS money than your mom was gonna give you for the other crap-mobile (which was probably not that bad of a car...Toyotas tend to drive till they fall apart), then you stand a better chance of convincing her.
The reason I say you should use $1900 as your overall total is because it feels and looks like much more of a difference than 2 grand even. Plus, who YOU kiddin?...You're gonna need to hit her up for 20 bucks here and there more than you thought- That's just the nature of car parts and "doing it yourself".

Good luck, and keep us informed.

jutny

well uh... if you really are gonna get it streetported, sell the RB single exhaust to me... i need one.

that way you dont completely eat the cost of a new exhaust, and help out a fellow rotorhead.

i_piss_on_hondas

Rip apart that motor make shure your rotor housings are not warped or broken and put it back togather... http://www.atkinsrotary.com gasket set for that motor is 89.99 and apex seals for that motor are $250... port the damn thing your self take th rest of the money and turbo the damn thing... YOU WILL BE MUCH HAPPYER...

RacerX7fb

The standard RB exhaust is not that much of a bottleneck. They themselves say that it "typically adds 5% or more horsepower over a Short Primary system on a street ported engine at higher RPMs".
Over the years I have purchased 3 GSL-SEs each under $2200, all of them clean...you might be just as fortunate to find one as well, T.J.
The engine that was recently installed into my car was sold to me by a friend for a measely $100! He's doing a full '90 FC engine swap into his SE. It's worth waiting around sometimes..and good deals can pop up.

RotorMotorDriver

iTrader: (1)

I know where I can get a GSL-SE for under $2K right now, local. I just dont want to get another car, even though an -SE would be nice. Also, I dont want to rip apart my engine thats in there now and then not have a core incase all the chome is flaking or some other stupid **** and I cant use the parts. Id rather just use it for core.

~T.J.