Lucas Knese

I have looked at and nearly bought this car, but backed out after test drive. Need help deciding if it's worth it or not. It's a 1986 Mazda RX7 with a Mariah mode 6 body kit. Custom red metal flake paint. Exterior is 10/10, perfect. Engine is a 383 stroker, paired with 5 speed, new drilled/slotted disk brakes, wheels/rims. (500 miles on these parts). Interior is red leather. No rust. Now that all sounds great, but here's the issues. Nothing works... Heat, AC, gauges, power steering, stereo, etc. also the owner put the engine and tranny in. So he cut a hole in the center counsel for the shifter being he didn't line it up correct. 3000rpm in fifth is 60mph, needs different gears. Needs complete stereo, and carpet. Makes some clunks when driving, and bogs for split second when stepped on. They cut heater core/AC lines. It's very drafty, not sealed well, and body has 178,000.


So in the end. It looks perfect, engine and tranny are healthy and new, but was done sloppily and lots of things aren't sealed or work. Guy wants $9500. Is it worth it?

clokker

iTrader: (2)

I suppose it depends on whether you like red metalflake paint, your skill level and if you have ten grand.
From personal experience, I know that those last "piddly little details" are the most difficult to complete...there's a reason the builder didn't.
None of it sounds terribly difficult- depending on your expectations and capabilities- but will require probably a few grand on top of the purchase price.

WANKfactor

iTrader: (1)

Im wondering if they half-arsed all that stuff what might be underneath that paint job.

90TII rx7

Id run

valley

iTrader: (1)

The car itself, as a shell and before any mods was likely worth ~1k, max. The body kit and and the work to get a good fit is very expensive and time consuming, as the paint likely was too. Done at an expert body shop that could be 10k alone. If the motor is from, say, summitracing or jegs then that's at least 2k, and the trans likely another 1k+. Depending on whether he used a kit he could be likely have had to cut the tunnel a bit. IIRC the granny's kit requires cutting if you're using a T-5. Rotors, pads, etc., depending could be another ~1k.

This is all assuming that he bought every part new and did minimal work himself. In all likelihood this is far from the case. That the car is only going 60mph, in 5th, at 3k rpm implies that everything was done to minimize cost. He likely found the cheapest compatible trans he could and put it behind the motor. Assuming for a moment that it's a T-5 and that the 383 has the expected power output the trans will simply not last. If he has a buddy with a paint booth or experience the body work could have been done with minimal input for minimal cost. It could also be that the car is only spinning at 1500rpm from the differences between a v8 and i4 tach signals. Either way, it implies he didn't do his research.

Getting A/C working will require some custom parts depending on how you go about it. That's expensive. Getting the heater and gauges working will require going through large portions of the dash wiring as well as whatever wiring he's put in the car. Or even fixing/reinserting wiring that's been removed.

Personally, to me, the car is worth more in parts that complete. I don't care if the body looks good if the rest has been half assed in such a way that there is no way I can give the guy the benefit of the doubt. And for 10k that's a lot of benefit of the doubt.

I don't know your lifestyle and how much time you have to spare, etc., but I would not expect less than half a year of it sitting in your garage as you fix all of those "small" things. Moving and driving is not even half the battle as far as electronics and custom adapters are concerned. It is very time consuming.

Lucas Knese

Bodywork was professionally done, 10k in receipts. Engine was 5k, tranny was completely overhauled for few more k. He claims to have 36k in receipts for it. Body was done right, but installing engine was sloppy. Dyno shows 320rwhp and 380rwtq. Id be willing to stick another 5k into it, because it would be a show car. I'll try to upload some pics. Hope this gives a clearer picture.

clokker

iTrader: (2)

Without pictures and more info, I think it's a bit premature to start throwing the term "half-assed" around.
I know that my Z project has lots of loose ends but it's not because of laziness/lack of knowledge, they just haven't risen to the top of the priority list yet.
I'm assuming his engine is carbed, which means about 50% of his wiring needs serious work anyway and after the stock ECU is deleted, what remains is pretty simple.

I'd ignore the undone stuff for a while and concentrate more on what would be considered "assets".
Is the chassis really a 10/10...perfectly fitting panels, consistent gaps, flawless paint?
How is this "new" engine mounted?
The trans may in fact be ill matched but what of the diff and axles?
Unless they have been seriously upgraded, you're looking at the Ronin 8.8 rear conversion, which gives you strength AND gearing options.
They ain't giving it away though...

Edit: pics appeared as I carved my response

Everyone differs obviously but mechanical stuff doesn't faze me, paint/bodywork does, so I'd weight a good body heavily in the decision.
I'd guess that it'd take between $15-20k to build a properly finished/functional swapped FC...probably couldn't sell it for that but that's what it really costs.
Viewed from that perspective, this could be an excellent value.

valley

iTrader: (1)

It appears as though like you really want to buy the car. From the pictures you've posted it certainly seems like the exterior of things are done up nice enough. The engine bay still makes me wonder. Since you want a show car it seems like you may be able to save some money by taking on another persons project car.

Lucas Knese

I do want to buy it, but after looking to rear ends for it, and all the other crap it needs I decided to pass for now. Thanks for all the input

yr6

iTrader: (1)

I purchased a motor swapped car before. (miata with a 5.0L v8). If your picky its not for you. Something is either rubbing, cheap, cut corners etc. Im picky but have a high level of mechanical ability so i was able to fix everything right. Just takes time and money. Unless it has a load of money in it and was really "done right" . But if thats the case its a high dollar car.

iamchazzi

From the outside it looks nice. However, because it sounds like he did custom interior mods, I would stay away. With the fact that it's a V8 aside, the overall quality sounds bad. If a car is shaky in any way like you say it is, I would run away, no matter if its an RX7 or not.

If the car is in the condition you say it is, it shouldn't be $9500. The engine is bound to be the most expensive part of the car, and you can find V8 swapped RX7s in great condition for 2k less. An RX7 with a 13b(t) will usually still cost less than a V8 and gives the more authentic feel.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend getting the car. If you're going to buy a car, make sure the owner knew what they were doing if/when they made modifications to any interior parts. $9500 is also a little much for an '86...