Pour more into the money-pit I have, or cut my losses?
 

Hey guys.

I've got a 1989 RX-7 Turbo II. It's got an LS-swap - a 5.3 truck motor with an LS1 top-end, and I bought it for $3200. The previous owner was a very, very shoddy mechanic, and I am very driven to learn and teach myself how to work on cars, but relatively inexperienced.

The exterior is in okay shape, and the interior is mostly stripped. None of the gauges work. I have bought carpet and a lot of the missing pieces for the interior, though.

I've spent roughly $2300 replacing the entire engine wiring harness and ECU, starter, installing a MAF and a bunch of other things. This work was completed today, and the engine has developed a knock. I'm wondering what my best options are at this point.

I can:

A) sell it as is with all the parts I have

B) replace the engine and sell it with the parts I have

C) replace the engine and keep fixing it

At this point, it's becoming what feels like a never-ending project. I originally bought it because it was something unique, fast, and seemed like an okay deal at the time. I'm having my doubts now though.

What should I do?

Thanks!

It should be relatively easy and quick to see what's causing the knock.
5.3 truck motors are cheap as chips and very easy to work on- depending on the condition of the rest of the car, just swapping in another engine is not a silly move.

Most cars of this vintage, swapped engines or not, are never ending projects.

^ what he said ...

both points are, as the kids say these days, facts!

as i understand it, two of the common attractions mentioned of the V8 swaps are that the engines are supposedly "cheaper" and "easier to fix or replace" once installed. likewise, all project cars are just that ... projects. there will always be something to do - minor or major.

that said, if you're $2300 in and feeling like this, then perhaps it isn't for you. maybe do the proverbial "list" and see where you stand. see if your car fits in with your criteria. if it doesn't, then maybe you should walk away.

i was gong to make a joke about the v8's, but make a list.

what do you want your FC to be like? dream big. what does it look like, what does it cost? how far away are you?

i imagine pretty far, but can you break it into steps?

b) you should really diagnose the knock, it would be bad to sell the car cheap and the next guy tightens the flywheel and has an awesome car

Yeah. Like I had this noise in my truck one time. Didn't do it all the time but when it did it sounded like something spinning and hitting something. Like metal on metal and faint grinding coming from the transmission flywheel area. It was a metal band that clamped the exhaust to a bracket had come loose and slid down the exhaust pipe. Simple fix but it sure sounded like something banging around in the gearbox.

Thanks everyone for your input! The knock is most likely from a spun bearing - I'm going to pull the engine and trans in the next week or two and see for sure what's going on!