I got my car for practically free, and I have spent almost 5k on it right now restoring it.

In my opinion it has been worth every penny. The car is now practically brand new, and will last another 20 years of summer driving. I have enjoyed all the time I have spent restoring the car, and learned alot in the process. It takes a lot of patience, determination and time to do it, but you come out with an awesome car about which you can say "yeah, I built that". It has taken me almost four years (partly because I've not always had the funds to buy parts), and if I had to do it over again, I'd rather spend 4k rebuilding one than spend 4k buying a rebuilt one.

The big problem is that you'll never get the money back. Despite my car being practically mint, I could only get 2k for it at most. You really have to be doing it for yourself. Despite what some people say about 2.5k doing a whole car, there is always something you don't think of that costs you more. On my car I've done:

Racing Beat Springs
KYB Shocks/Struts
Replaced ALL brake components: Discs w/ bearings, calipers, lines, mounting hardware, wheel cylinders, pads, hoses, master cylinder
Flushed gas tank and replaced fuel level sender
New fuel pump, filter and lines
Rebuilt carb, K&N filter
Plugs, wires, cap, rotor, oil and filter, fuel and air filters mentioned above, transmission fluid, rear end fluid, antifreeze
Catalytic Converter,
Clutch Disc, pressure plate and release bearing
Wipers, headlights, side lights
Clutch master and slave cylinders
OMP Rebuild
Starter

And probably a few things I've forgotten. Really it's probably been closer to 3.5-4k of actual parts that I ended up buying. The other thousand has been paperwork (Safety check, insurance, licencing for one year) and a few parts I bought used that I shouldn't have (Starter, master and slave clutch cyl, extra carb) that I ended up replacing with new stuff.

Go for it... but only if the car doesn't have a big rust problem, because you'll spend an extra 2k on body work and paint there if you're restoring it. And for god's sake, don't drive it in winter.

Jon

Edit: Oh.. if he's expecting you to give him money, offer to pay him a year or two's worth of Insurance, Licencing, Plates and his safety checks when he finishes the car. My car started as a non-running car sitting in my driveway and I got it on the condition that "if you can fix it, you can have it". Giving incentive like that helps them work for it on their own. All the parts in this car except the RB Springs I payed with money I had to go out and earn. It's been very rewarding. Shop towels, mechanic's soap and a good toolset are your best friends.

 

i vote no loan.

i gotta leave now, but i say he'll respect it and appreciate it more if he pays his own way on it thru working a job and saving. i know im happier that way.

(im 17, got my car last year after saving the paychecks, anything going in came out of work)

and if he can pay the loan off thru you, he should have the stability to save his money

 

Yeah. Loans from parents shouldn't be done for things like that.

Hell.. I'd offer to buy him a daily driver Civic while he fixes up his 7 rather than give him a loan.

I'm 20, got the car when I was 17ish. I've only put 1000km on it in those years because that's how long it's taken me to get it to the stage where it's "almost perfect" and drivable.

In the meantime my parents have been kind enough to lend me use of their Sunfires.

Kids can earn more money than you think. If you cover their school, room and board at home, then they can save quite a bit.

Before he goes driving it as his daily driver (which he'll probably be tempted to do while he restores it) you should make sure he replaces all the fluids (oil, antifreeze, transmission, rear end) and filters (oil, air, FUEL) as well as the spark plugs, wires, dist cap and rotor. Oh, and the Thermostat. This will prevent alot of problems before they happen. And whatever you do, DO NOT let him drive it with just primer on it as paint. Primer is what paint sticks to. Stuff that sticks to primer can never be properly washed off. Primer should only be on directly proceeding paint or else you'll get imperfections in your paint job.

Jon

 

IMO ... i say have a chit chat with your son .... see what he exactly wants to do with it (all the mods and stuff), because i don't think that he'll be spending that much to restore it unless its in really really bad shape (try to post some pics of the car so that we get a better idea of it) ... i would also agree with the few other guys that said to buy another one that in alot of better condition than the one that he has right now and use this one as a parts car (can never get enough parts on your hands ) I personally bought my car for about 270$US got a parts car for 100$US, and now i'll be spending about 600$ worth of new parts just to replace old rusted parts.
__________________________________________________ ______________

in the end it doesn't mater what kind of car you have i'll either rust away or until you crash it.

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And from working on his car, he can prob learn alot, and in the long run start fixing everyones car in the familly so no more pay to mechanics

 

for my 15th birthday i bought myself my 85' for $600 which was REALLY low looking at the minor problems.......i worked everday from 8am till 6pm at a construction site with my stepdad...i got paid pretty good but didnt have fun for my summer.. i used all the money into the car which was about $1,900 that included RB muffler cat pipe new shocks springs radiator clutch work rearend(i wanted an lsd..lol) and a spray job i did over a weekend with a friend which looks decent.............. besides that its a daily drive car and i havent had any problems except over heating once which i was on my way home to install the new rad.

ps i have done all this work myself except the shocks springs and rear end swap....its in my garage the stuff just came in today

 

these are just the paint and how the front fenders are fixed since they had been in a wreck which alittle bondo sanding and time didnt fix

 

It's good to see that we all can be so helpful except this guy here, though he does make a good point.

I'd be more inclined with those who say to get him something relible and let him earn the money himself for the 7. We don't know your son so we can't asses how responsable he is, but from what I've seen (yes I'm only 24, but..) kids that have to work for their own car take much better car of it and seem to be less likly to do crazy things in it because they're thinking about all of the time, effort, and thier OWN money they put into it.

 

Don't loan him money. Let him get a job and work to put money into his car. Thats what im doing now and let me tell you, its a really rewarding experience. Paying someone else to do the work on his car is a joke as well, mechanics is a learning experience especially with these cars since they are so unique. I also find that these cars are simple to work on and are easy to learn with alot of help from www.rx7club.com Like the others said is it worth it putting 5grand into a 24 year old car? Well that depends is he going to keep it, cherish it and work on it? I know I have and I have had a great time and a great learning experience. The RX-7 has influenced me so much I want to become a mechanic and learn more about automotives.

 

Keep looking because you can get a nice one for less than 1K. I got mine for $600 in good runing conditions. Little brake fix up, and other little things that didn't cost me really nothing to fix.

Here is a picture


You can also check the links on my signature area. Good luck with that!

 

Remember that RX-7s have a very small market compared to other vehicles. What I mean is that many people do not understand the rotary engine (people on this board and some others excluded). This is not ment as an insult but that becuase it was never a mainstream engine choice, few people were exposed to them.

What I am trying to say is that
A) Even a completly restored RX7 does not hold value as much as another vehicle (Musclecars for example)
B) Depending on where you live, your son could auction of his restored RX7 in a collector car auciton (ie Barrett Jackson Auto Auction)
C)Do not let your son just pay someone to restore his car. This takes no effort or mental capacity and I feel that it would really benefit him to do the work himself.

What a man does not earn, he can never appreciate.

 

Don't give him the loan.

Simply put, the money that you'd put into this car, you will never get out of it. Even the 'value' of an early (79 is the initial release model) would be negated by mileage and wear and tear. If you were going to build a 79 for a showcar, you could never drive it.

Having restored my own 84SE (in my signature) to 'daily-driver' status, I can tell you that it won't take $5000 to do that. For this car, he needs to get a job, pay his own insurance (it will be expensive, but he'll drive more carefully if it's HIS cash...), and fix what breaks on it.

It's transportation. Most young drivers don't get the 'rotary bug' for quite some time, so don't pour a lot of money into this car. If it runs, keep it running. Urge him to learn how to work on it himself - it will save SERIOUS money down the road. All of us here - with very few exceptions - learned to work on our cars ourselves, because we couldn't AFFORD to pay someone else to do it.

I'm 33 now and have had a 1st Gen RX-7 since my first car. I speak of which I know.

Good luck, the 79's can be buggy with their double distributor ignition and points and condensors, requiring frequent tuning to run well, but it's a labor of love for any of these cars. HTH,

 

I agree with LongDuck, and that was a good point. I learn how to fix my car from members here that helped me. Man, even ColdBlue provided me with a manual for my car being that is stock. I got to learn a good load of stuff and still learning. Since I spend my cash on this car, I am very careful in how I treat it. I mean is my second girlfriend. So, ya know what I mean with that. Still is hard to get a little cash put into this car but when I do, I really appreaciate it alot. Just time and good patience with this cars pays off alot. =)

I had my share of headache hehe but now I feel all good. =P

 

I really appreciate everyone's input. My son does have a job and is willing to cover what he can now. He even pays his own insurance already. He is just impatient and does not have a place to due any of the messy engine work, so he was choosing to have it done. I have given him the link to this thread (by the way he is already a member) and asked him to review the responses. We also told him that we would be happy to help him with a daily driver if he wants to keep this as a hobby car. In the meantime, he will drive it to work and school.

 

By the way, you all have some beautiful cars!!

 

u don't need a garage to do all kinds of work on the car ... my garage is filled with parts and so on that i can't get a car in there ... i do all my work outside (yes even during the winter, living in canada you ahve to or you're wasting a few months) ... once you get started on them you just want to keep on going on and on (until you run out of money ) a car is just a big puzzle u just have to over come your fears like anything else

 

I think the point was they didnt want there garage converted into a workshop for a engine project... How you stand working outside in the winter is beyond me, my garage is brutal enough over here in Alberta. But I agree moding these cars is really addictive. Its kinda confusing because its basically throwing away money yet in a strange way its so fulfilling

 

yep. well said. anything handed down in a silver platter will eventually be taken for granted for.

though the job your son is working may not have great return than that of a kid w/ a college degree and a professional occupation, it will teach him the value of hard work, humility, and respect

just don't let your son get too caught up w/ the job he has now! school is teh way to go! *cliche alert* but who cares, it's an old adage and it works!

 

hey whats up, im rx7 moms son, i actually just wanted my mom to cosign on a loan for me, whcih is almost the same seeing as it makes her liable, i was turned down on the loan, but my mom and her husband made an offer, if i sell my 7, and broken down camaro, they will help me buy a better car and such, and im considering it,

my mom sent me a few ads for newer 7's for sale, and this was one of then:

> 1991 MAZDA RX-7 Turbo II - $3600 (campbell)
>
>
> JDM motor with extra parts (30k miles on current motor)
> Racing Beat Suspension & Sway bars
> Mazda Speed brakes and calipers
> 6 Puck racing clutch
> 3" exhaust from turbo back
> HKS turbo timer
> pulley kit
> racing steering wheel
> ETC.

and im really considering it, i would have to talk to them about it, but yeah, im considering =/ its hard to give up on my current 7 tho

 

Don't get a turbo II for a first car! Find a nice clean 84-85 (SE if possible) for a first car. Fun, reliable, cheap and easy to work on. Down there you can easily find a nice 1 for $1500 and you're not too far in debt.

 

why not a turbo ii? is there something about them that makes them not as reliable?

and it will have been my third car by now

 

All true. First gens may not be as technologically advanced as 2nd gens, but they're infinitely more fun to drive IMHO. And while 1st gens (even the SE) can be had in pristine shape for between $1500 and $4000 at this point in time, does anybody care to guess what they could be worth in 10 or 15 years if kept in original condition and not riced out?

Here's a hint: Ten years ago a nice early '70s Datsun 240Z (very similar in performance and market niche to the 1st gen 7) could be had for a mere 4K. That same car now is worth over 10K and climbing. True, Japanese sports cars don't appreciate in value as much as American muscle cars do, but we've missed the boat on the nicer examples of '68 Mustangs, Camaros and GTOs. Even fixer-uppers are selling for high prices because people know what they're worth once restored.

Look for well-kept 1st gens to stay cheap for a few more years and then spike in price once fewer of them are available and they become "classics" in the minds of not only enthusiasts but the general population as well. The 1979 (1st year available) and top-of-the-line '84 - '85 GSL-SE will be the most sought-after and command the best prices. You can cash in on this if you're willing to hang on to them for that long and enjoy driving them in the meantime.

 

i do love driving my sa lately though, its been dying maybe once like every 20 times i stop, and when i let it idle, its smooth, and then the rpms drop and the car shakes, and then back up, but like i said maybe once every 20 times i stop, it will die on the rpm drop, i cant really say where the rpm's drop to, because my tach is broken

 

i think it just needs to run a lil more rich, but i havnt checked my spark plugs yet, im just basing this off the sound of my backfires

 

If it idles fine at first and then begins to slowly drop off until it quits, it's likely that the idle mixture is set too rich. But if it's dying out just when you let off the gas, ie: before it can drop to idle at a steady rate you may have a vacuum leak that's causing it to run too lean. A weak spark due to worn plugs may also contribute.

 

Look at this link https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?t=382365

This is just one example of what's out there. People that have kept these cars garraged for the last 20 years are selling them for less than $5k. Unless your son/husband have the expertise to tackle a hobby/project like this, just buy a good one. Freight can be had for as little as $600, even as low as $300.

On the other hand if you have all the time in the world to rebuild the car, can work on it yourself, willing to spend hours searching the internet for cheap parts than it may be ok. You will still need paint & body work by a pro. I do my own on race cars but they don't have to look good up close.
Good luck.