Samuel A. Falvo II

I'm looking to have the engine in my vehicle replaced. I have about $4000 to spend total. The engine is a naturally aspirated 12A for a 1980 RX-7. The current engine is leaking oil profusely, and is leaking coolant.

I live in Vista, CA. Does anyone know who to contact and how much it is expected to cost? I lack the facilities to rebuild the engine myself, so I have to pay someone else to do the work.

Thanks.

Denny

Howdy, Sam...

Don't know California, but I suggest you send a message to Rotary-MG. He's in California, a real nice guy, and I betcha he can help you out with some good information...

Tip of the 'ol Stetson
Denny, from the corncrib...

Samuel A. Falvo II

Thanks for the tip. I sent him a private message. His profile, though, reports that he hasn't posted anything since first signing up. ?? Not sure what that's about.

Here's hoping he gets the message and responds soon.

Denny

Hang it all,

There's a post from him in this forum section right now!

Denny....

Rotary-MG

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the unsolicited kind words Denny. I'll Paypal the $20 later!

Samuel,
I was just down your way last weekend. Took the kids to SeaWorld and Lego land. Didn't drive the RX.

You're in luck! I'm not sure about what's available in San Diego, but an hour drive north will put you in touch with 2 of the best Rotary shops on this side of the Pacific.

You've left a lot of info off-line, but it sounds like you only want the crate motor, ready to install yourself.

http://www.mazdatrix.com
Just North of Long Beach off the 405 Fwy.
See the level of rebuilds they offer and prices from the website. Call them! They've been very helpful to me.

$4 grand is a huge budget to work with in my eyes. We are not talking about used parts or rebuilds with that kind of money. You could have brand new everything.

But if you are rebuilding, you could easily afford porting and upgrades to the apex seals. There are a lot of options to consider, but begin with what you want the engine for.

They also have 13B 'packages' for you car.

The other is:
http://www.Racingbeat.com
No introduction necessary!
Maybe a few miles closer to you.

Order the catalogs from both shops.

If you want to go on the cheap,
http://www.mazdarecycling.com/
Shipping is something like $50.
I'm sure that a used engine is well under $500.
They also offer rebuilds.

Good luck/Have Fun!

Samuel A. Falvo II

I was down there just a few days ago.

I was really hoping that there'd be someone/someplace closer. Driving an hour just to get the engine fixed runs the risk of the engine dying on the way up. Plus, someone would have to follow me up and then drive me back. Replacing an engine is never an overnight thing, so I'll be out of a car for a whole week.

This is not a convenient time for me right now.

Actually, no. I did state that I'll need to pay someone else to install the engine, as I lack the facilities to do it myself.

I've considered them, and so far, they look like the most reputable. However, they'll consume more than 50% of my resources, and that's just for the engine, not including labor. All roads are leading to MazdaTrix for the time being, unless I can find someplace a little bit less expensive that has a similar reputation.

Know where I can get a brand new body for the RX-7? It needs new fenders, and there is profuse amounts of rusting on the rear of the vehicle at the hatch. Both interior and exterior panels are rusted there. The sunroof also needs replacement. It also needs some serious painting. Basically, I need a whole new car. But at the same time, I don't want to just "ditch" the one I have now... :-) It does run, and runs quite well considering the shape its in.

I really don't understand these folks who consistently say the RX-7 is a high-maintenance car, that's always needing repairs. Mine is still solid (and can take another trip to LA -- I just don't want to if I don't have to for obvious reasons) and quite reliable.

Well, I want the engine to restore the car to "not afraid to drive to San Jose" mode. I've really considered dropping the 12A in place of a 13B (especially since the igniters are 13B igniters, after the original 12A igniters shorted out on me a few years ago!). But there's two sides to this decision:

1. The car is a classic, and if I can find the way, I'd like to restore it to showroom condition. Mondo expensive, but it is something that I can continue to do peace-meal over time as a hobby, so that helps amortize the cost of refurbishing. In this case, I really don't want the 13B because that would take away from its authenticity.

2. Financially speaking, it's overwhelmingly more affordable to just pick up a new RX-7 with good body condition and maintain that. In this case, my current '7 would become more or less a daily driver, and the 13B wouldn't be quite so bad anymore.

What are your opinions of restoring a 1980 RX-7, but with a 13B N/A instead of a 12A?

Wow, I had no idea this place even existed. Depending on the circumstances forthcoming, this may be the way to go, drive on the used/recycled engine for a while, then replace it with a newer engine from MazdaTrix or RacingBeat later in the year...

Thanks for your help. It's really appreciated. If you don't mind, I'd like to keep in touch about this...

riffraff

samuel: i still have not decided if i am going to rebuild my body or not. so , if in a couple weeks, if you are still looking for something, drop me a line. if i decided not to rebuild, i have a perfectly good '79 13b that would be ready to drop in. ( my rex is an '80 also, so you should not have any trouble)..

plus, if could manage the ride up to bakersfield, i know of a rotary god up here who does excelent work...

Rotary-MG

iTrader: (1)

I understand not wanting to crack the engine open to do a rebuild. Who's got micrometers, lathing machine, and the flyswheel puller sitting around?

But pulling the engine requires only some handtools, chain, a 2X4, beer, and a buddy willing to get dirty with you.
ok, so I'm approching this from another angle. I never thought that pulling an engine required 'facilities' per se.

I've pulled the rotary in and out of my MG over a dozen times. Takes me less than 30 min. now. Don't try this at home kids. :p

Samuel,
I know what you are going through. I get very emotionally attached with each car I turn a wrench on. I would like to keep them all on the road, but choices do have to be made. It may be easier for you, but this is never easy for me.

The term 'classic' is usually in the eye of the beholder. If you have that kind of budget, a decent GSLSE is not out of your grasp, and most would agree would be more collectible that an '80. Now a '79 would be more 'desirable' since it was the first year out. But the '85 GSLSE could be the best of the first gens since they worked out a lot of the ancilliary bugs by then, and it's the last built. ok, guys I understand that everything I said above is debatable. And maybe deserving of its own Thread for discussion. For example: the 64 1/2 Mustangs are very collectible, but mechanically worst of the early Mustangs. Yet they are very valuable.

Originality:
I get hammered by the MG Enthusiasts sometimes for cutting into a classic '65 MG Midget to install a rotary. These were mass produced 'disposable' cars at the time of production, but the company isn't around anymore, and there is some racing history with those cars. At a recent British Car Meet, I saw many Hot Rodded Midget's, but the one that stuck out to me and the Judges was the ONE original condition restoration Midget.

How much attention does an Original condition RX7 fetch these days? I sold my all original '85 for only $1000 to a buddy.

My view has been, 'it's your car/time/money' do what you want, not what others would have you do. But please be tasteful? whatever that means? And the golden rule, a car should never LOOK faster than it really is.

There are Rotary specialists down in San Diego. And maybe locally to you. Keep asking around, and maybe pull out the Yellow pages.

If you want to keep in touch, just add me to your buddy list now.

Samuel A. Falvo II

Handtools -- nope. Time to do it -- nope. Place to do it -- nope.

A facility need not be a building. It also includes the resources you mentioned above. Getting a 2x4 isn't hard, but getting another person to help me out is a pain in the rear. I need to coordinate my schedule with his. A chain shouldn't be that hard to get, but then again, I haven't seen a lot of places that sell chain either.

It also hasn't been 50 years since the car was manufactured, and moreover, Mazda is still in business. Those two contribute to the reduced cost of the vehicle. How much does a used FD go for? Around here, it's actually higher than what they originally sold for.

Never, ever would I do *anything* to make the car look faster than it actually is. Although I have an incredibly hard time doing that, because the car's frame itself makes the car look fast just sitting still. I think this also contributes to the car's reduced resale value -- it still looks like it was manufactured yesterday. :P

I have, and even called a few. However, I pretty much get the same response from them: "Why bother? Just get another car." I'm afraid these people just don't "get it." :/

I firmly believe the car is, or will be, a classic in the future. By taking good care of it while most everyone else is being told "get another car instead," I'm hoping to increase the value of the vehicle. Also, there's an issue of just plain inflating the value of the car. I would never sell a car I've spent my time and money refurbishing for just $1000. No way Jose! I'd want no less than $15K for it. And if they don't want to buy it, that's OK too -- I still have my classic.