Just got my 1979 RX7 last week and thought I had gotten a deal at $2,400 tax and everything.

Turns out I need a carburetor, and according to my mechanic he can't use a re-built one due to the base being damaged and needs to install a new one. Priced at $1,300

Well, thats life I guess...

 

You can probably find guys around here selling working condition used ones for 1-200...

you can get a webber or holley setup for around half of what your mechanic is saying for OEM replacement.

 

okay.. Go to the want to buy 1st gen forum theres multiple people who sell aftermarket/stock intakes. Just gotta look. If u want a holly setup you cna go to Radingbeat.com and they sell whole setups plug and play (ish). You will have to do fuel delivery mods and such to feed the carb but other than that it would coast you way less than 1k to get a new carb. My suggestion figure out whats wrong with the carb damage wise and see if the guys over at team sr can fix it for you. (there the only ppl doing rebuilds/nikki mods for $ right now)

Other than that for 2400$ i hope it was in fantastic shape. Any details on the car? Color any mods you know of ETC.

 

Thanks guys I will check it out

 

ouch i would say find another intake and carb yourself save your self a ton of money
i do have a stock intake if you wanna buy that off me, and i got an extra stock 4 barrel nikki that needs a rebuild--on a side note there is a ton of information on this site so there basically is no need to go to mechanic all the old farts on here are helping me --no offense--

 

I would say find another mechanic. For that much money you could get a new
intake manifold and carb setup (holley, weber, dell etc) that will work out of the
box and have funds leftover.

Start reading the FAQs and searching on here. I'm sure the issue isn't complex as
your mechanic makes it sound.

 

Really sad to tell you that you have more than likely over paid, If that 7 is stock. If modded take it back to the owner and see if he can fix.

 

Depends on how clean it is. I could definitely see paying that for a clean, original '79. Not like it's difficult or expensive (unless you take it to a shop, apparently) to pick up a replacement Nikki if that's all it needs.

 

Junkyard Nikki = 50.00
Rebuild Kit = 30.00
Various cleaners = 10.00

Total savings compared to having your "mechanic" do it for you = $1,210.00

Oh, and find yourself a new mechanic. Or, better yet, take all the money you just saved and buy a repair manual and a good set of tools.



.

 

There's a very strong rotary community in Georgia... well represented here in the forum by Ray Green and his OGTA crew, among others.

Meet up with your local rotorheads, you'll be amazed what parts & help you may be offered.

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...highlight=OGTA

You've come to the right place.

 

Whooaaa that mechanic is crazy! You can find stock carburetors at Pull-a-Part every now and then. I snagged my last one for about 30 bucks. I think there are 3 around Atlanta, so you might be able to find one there. I picked an '83 just this weekend at the one in Knoxville, and it still had the carb on it. They're not that hard to rebuild, either. So no worries.

You pretty much have to be your own mechanics with these things, unless you're lucky enough to find one that knows rotaries. It's been my experience that many of the people on this forum know farrrr more about these cars than any mechanic I've talked to.

 

Search the southeast thread to see local mechanics people recommend. I personally would buy a known working carb, a manual, and some tools, fix it urself and save some $.

 

What he is pricing you is a correct price for a Mazda factory Nikki carb plus labor. If you don't feel comfortable doing your own work, ask the mechanic if he would rebuild a used carb if you found one or if he could get one. It would be far cheaper than a factory new carb if one is even available.

 

Find a new mechanic.

 

Nice. Housecalls? I'm in.

 

I'd at least let her use the driveway, gentleman that I am.

 

Works on cars, still can't make good sandwich :/

 

sorry to burst everyones bubble but it looks like shes got armpit hair lol

 

meh

 

Unfortunately, you can't really take old cars (1st Gens qualify for this) to the corner repair shop. Most all of the mechanics who worked on Rx's back in the day are now in the twlight of their careers. Modern mechanics are more part changers than traditional greese monkeys.

Dealerships train their mechanics by sending them to factory training, where now a days it's all computer diagnosis and part replacement. Less and less things are actually rebuilt and more and more are just replaced. There's more money in it for the manufacturer and Jane & Joe blow customer get a quicker turnaround in this age of I want it my way and I want it NOW!

Seriously, it's just hard to find a mechanic knowledgable and experienced on these cars. They make money by volume when what you want, is someone who will work with care, pay attention to the details and go the extra mile to do it right. Thats why you need to grab some tools and do your research. The friends you make and experiences along the way are a major part of owning an older car. The cars themselves are the glue, binding everyone together.

 

IMO if you want to play with/drive cool old somewhat obscure cars you need to be either rich and pay someone else or be your own mechanic and make a hobby out of it. There's no middle ground. When I say rich, I mean willing to drop a grand every time the car hiccups because that's what it cost to have other people fix old weird cars. Doing it yourself with resources like this place is pretty inexpensive but time consuming. I spend most evenings tinkering on my daily driver and now our '82 RX-7. I enjoy it, it's pretty cheap for parts and keeps me out of trouble.....mostly.
So, lots of money or lots of time, you decide but if you choose neither, sell the car.

 

In these days of $100+ hourly billing rates for mechanic work, it doesn't take long to run up a fancy repair bill.

I first started working on cars when I was a kid because they interested me; when I got my first one, I worked on it myself whenever possible because I didn't have two nickels to rub together.

I realistically could afford now to pay for most repairs on any of the cars I'm responsible for, but DIY has become an ingrained habit, part of my personal philosophy - - and the money I save lets me do more with less. And frankly I trust my own work more - - having seen some of the poor work done to friends cars by their trustworthy mechanics.

Nowadays I find myself fixing stuff that I could sometimes more easily replace, strictly for the sport in it.

I expect many others around here are somewhere on a similar path.

 

Sounds too expensive. I will buy the car from you for $1500...

In all reality you should be able to do it much cheaper. I think you bought the car I was going to go up to Atlanta for last weekend. Looked like a good buy.

 

Yep, I always try to repair a bit rather than replace. It's fun and interesting and can save you a ton of money. Sometimes not worth it. On my X1/9 I researched the headaches in rebuillding a rear brake caliper (due to very pesky parking brake linkage) and opted to replace it for $30 instead. Starters, solenoids, electrical switches, fuel level sending units, master cylinders, all that stuff can be rebuilt and improved upon for pennies on the dollar (or free) if you do it yourself. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with your carb that can't be replaced or fixed for a few dollars IF you do it yourself.

 

Not to mention the fact that a carb rebuild isnt brain surgery, and is actually very relaxing. But that might be due to all the cleaners involved . Point is, even if you dont know how to do it, do it anyway. You could buy 10 nikki carbs and 10 rebuild kits, screw up 9, get one right, and still be under what he was going to charge you.