i swear ive been over this a million time in my head already, i can just never come to a conclusion.

my N/a engine is tired. has a stuck side seal on the rear rotor, poor compression, and slowly eats coolant. a rebuild would be nice. one, maybe 2 weekends at the most to pull it out, rebuild, delete the necessary crap, reinstall and enjoy. cost would be minimal (which is good, had a kid this year).

but...

the other day, i stumbled upon a S4 TII longblock on a near by craigslist for $200. definatly not the swap i had in mind, but... $200! but would more than likely need a rebuild. doesnt come with the ecu or trans. not really sure how long the engines been sitting. he also mentioned that hes flexable on price and needs this thing gone since he no long has the FB he was gonna put it in.


ive been trying to decide what motor to put in my car for years.... 20b N/a, 13bre, 13brew, 4port 13b N/a, LSx... **** like this drives me nuts. maybe i should just work with what ive got? i dont know. hell... i think just having the car run correctly so i could enjoy it would make me a happy camper.

maybe i just answered my own question...

 

i say try to get a better deal than $200 then rebuild, swap and enjoy. but thats just me.

also rotaryaviation rebuild kits arent as expensive as the other competitors. considering they come with the legendary RA classic seals. http://rotaryaviation.com/overhaul_kits.htm

 

Well, I'll say this, you have to figure out your budget.

You know how the faster you want to go, the more HP you need increases exponentially? It is the same with money. The faster you want to go the more money you need. It's not just more gas, its wider more expensive tires (and rims), better brake pads, clutch, etc etc all other supporting mods. Everything consumable needs replacement more often as well.

It's also not just money, it's time also. I've had NA's and currently own a turbo and naturally the turbo requires more attention. The time and maintenance goes up with hp and complexity.

If it's a daily driver, I wouldn't mess with it. If it's just a fun car, then it's up to you. If you want more than NA you need more time and money. Some people put the car away for a while, save up, slowly work on it, then drive after a while. Then there are the guys that want it all, dump a tonne of money, end up with a car with horrible drivability on the street, works some of the time, needs constant tuning refinement or maybe hasn't even started after 3 years of work and they end up in the RX7club classifieds thread as "PART OUT".

So really spend the time to figure out what you want, and how much time, money and effort you want to put in.

 

grab the motor and save it if its a hard to pass up deal. You still need to get your car rolling on the road so do what it requires first.

Dont forget your rear end is going to need some treatment, LSD etc.. esp when the power level goes up.

 

suppose i should mentioned that im not looking for high HP numbers. a car that would pin you to the seat every time you would go WOT would be fun, but i just dont see it as something i could realistically build in a timely manner.

Im looking to build a car that has drivability and a good fun factor... im not looking to put together a car that will destroy the guy with the Z06 down the street. maybe something like a the 4port N/a ive had in mind of building should be something i should persue.

 

Well, my last NA was one of the most fun I'd had with a car with the usual:
rb header
working 6 ports
custom catback with magnaflow cans
kyb agx shocks/struts
rb springs
safc II for a little bit of tuning
k&n drop-in filter
aftermarket 4 bolt rims off of a 240sx
short shifter

It was real cheap to put together and a tonne of fun, especially in the corners. If you were doing the rebuild, do a mild port, maybe even port match intake manifolds time permiting and you'd have a really fun car. I'd do it all again, but I don't have the room.

 

thats not a bad setup. costly done.

the 4port n/a i had in mind went something like this.

4port block
ITBs
S5 N/a rotors
some porting
rx8 e-shaft (if i can afford it)
racingbeat header



btw. what do you guys think i should offer that guy for the TII block? $150? lower?

 

you dont even know the condition of the rotors or housings, split the keg before buying

 

Nah buy the long block because even if you have a bad housing and rotor you could still sell all the parts and fund your n/a project....

 

exactly... what should i offer?

 

150$ sounds good. What do you know about the engine? Was it running, is it blown, etc..

 

was running when it came out of the donor car and didnt smoke... thats all i was told.

 

buy it
mix/match/rebuild
??????
sell extra parts
PROFIT!

 

Sounds too good to be true. Try the ATF trick on your current motor to unstick your side seal?

 

yes. not really sure if its just stuck... or destroyed.

 

Do it!

rotary boost=teh win.



worse case scenario is the one your expecting; buy it and rebuild it. And then have a turbo motor while having the confidence of a fresh rebuild knowing it will reliably last for years.



If your not looking for huge power, then the super expensive swaps(20b/RE/lsx*meh*) don't make much sense to do. Plus if you decide down the road that you want more power, the S4 13BT can take 400 comfortably.

 

^Actually, no - the worst case scenario is that he buys it, the motor is seized, and everything inside the block is garbage.

Try turning the engine over before you buy it.

 

dont worry... i wouldnt buy an engine before seeing if it spun.

 

the s4 TII long block for 200 sounds like a good deal to me. have it rebuilt and enjoy.

 

at least one other person understands

it can spin fine, that does not mean the housings and rotors are not garbage, then what do you have left to sell off?

You want a motor that will actually run well for a long time then you use acceptable parts in your rebuild, you want to build a motor with duct tape and rubber bands then you use junk

price out just the soft parts for a rebuild- it aint cheap, you go to that expense use good parts

 

i know that... its not like im gonna buy this motor and use the parts no matter what... if it turns out to be garbage, then ive got myself some book ends and a clock or 2.

 

I meant it more for the people who are throwing around a rebuild like you can do it no matter what the condition of the internals are

 

ah... i see.


edit: looks like this deal might fall through now... /sigh

 

ITB's = over $1000 + you will need a standalone ($700+)

RX-8 e-shaft is $100 from atkins if they still sell them.

Offer the guy $100 for the motor and work your price up if he wont take it.

And you said your NOT looking for high hp so rebuild the t2 block if the core is good and run it near stock.