Hello, I am a first time poster in this forum, please be gentle.

I have the opportunity to pick up an 81 RX-7 that has had a professional '86 turbo II swap done and a bunch of other work on suspension etc. Then it sat for about 4 years. I am expecting some rust and all that comes with a dormant car, but are there any potential hazards I should be on the lookout for based on the specific car and the engine package? I am fairly unfamiliar with this car. Any suggestions at all would be appreciated.

For the record, I fully expect that this car will take at least a year or two and several grand to get back into shape, so I am not too worried about that, but I just want to be an informed shopper.

 

Check under the storage bends...if you see rust you see DOOM! Try to avoid a car if it has rust. If it does make sure it is on something you can get a new one of.

 

Before you even try to start it the first time, change all the fluids, oil, coolant, flush the fuel system, change the fuel filter and add fresh gas. Premium for the TII engine.

Pull the plugs, check/replace, same for plug wires. Be prepared for vacuum leaks.

Before you drive it, change the tranny and diff fluids and flush the brakes and clutch systems.

If the car doesn't have a boost gauge, get one. Then find out what size the exhaust pipe is, if it is larger than what the stock TII came with, you will need an fcd and the wategate ported. These issues should have been addressed if it was a truely professional install.

Find out every detail you can from the PO as far as mods done to the engine, exhaust, turbo, injectors and fuel system.

 

Yea,thats a substantial project car to take on without any prior knowledge of turbo rotaries or RX-7s in general.Ive seen some SCARY engine swaps and wiring jobs,so be scrutinous of it.....especially if someone went through the trouble of having the swap done,then didnt even bother to drive/sell/complete the thing.Get the full story,learn up here by reading all the archived info,and if you do decide to buy it,post up as many pictures as you can and we'll be able to tell you exactly what youve got and what you need.

 

dont scare him away from this deal, there can be rust but you gotta stop it as soon as possible and it can still be bad and can be fixed if done right. All depends on actually how bad it is. but i couldnt see a guy dropping a TII in it if it was rusty to ****

 

I wan't trying to scare him away, I just don't want him to do what I did buying my 1st 7. If the rust is to bad the car really wont last long unless you have a lot of time and money to spend on it. I mean if he has rust on the fenders or something, that can be replaced. Mine was on the roof and hatch which is nearly impossible to replace unless my car got on overhauled. I should have ellaberated(spelling?).