Hello,

I'm considering purchasing an '88 model RX7. The current owner is saying that the rear rotor is "blown", but that the car can be driven. He is saying that it starts right up, and is driveable but is just weak on power.

The rest of the car seems to be in pretty good shape. So I have a couple of questions:

1. I realize that the car should not be driven in this condition, but could it be driven home (20 miles)

2. How difficult is a rebuild on a rotary engine. If I have the time to take (not in a hurry, I have other transportation) can the engine be successfully rebuilt at home?

3. If the guy is asking under $900 for the car, and the rest of the car seems OK, would it be worth the money to buy and repair?

Thank you for any advice.

 

Most likely

It is not difficult if you have experience rebuilding piston engines, but it may be expensive if certain parts are damaged or worn out. Unfortunately, you will not know what is damaged or worn out until the engine is opened up. You are looking at about $800 to $1,200 for a basic rebuild, plus whatever it costs to replace any other parts. If the engine has been running with broken seals in the blown rotor's path, then that rotor and its housings most likely need replacing.

Online help and rebuild DVDs are available from several sources:

For Free:
http://www.rebuildingrotaryengines.com/
http://www.mazdatrix.com/faq.htm
http://www.rotaryresurrection.com/2ndgen/techmenu.html

For Purchase:
http://www.rotaryaviation.com/Books_videos.htm
http://www.mazdatrix.com/videos.htm
http://atkinsrotary.com/store/catalo...p-1-c-707.html

Also see the FAQ in this section for free downloadable factory service manuals. I also recommend buying a Haynes 86-91 RX-7 manual, which is only about $25.

Normally a non-turbo RX-7 with a blown engine sells for $50 to $500, while a Turbo II may go for $800. Anything out of this price range should have some type of justification for the inflated price. For example, I paid $1,000 for an 88 convertible with a running engine, and it has been running fine for nearly 2 years now and it has completed several 500+ mile road trips.

Whether or not the car is worth your time and money depends on what needs to be fixed. Do you know what else is wrong with the car?

 

Thank you for the quick response.

I haven't gone to see the car yet. I wanted to see what I may be getting into first.

According to the owner (I know, he is trying to sell a car!) The inside is "dirty, but not stained". there is one small dent in the body. There is a small 1" surface rust spot on the sunroof.

He had removed the AC (he has all of the parts. He said he would put everything back together, which I could do except for the re-charge)

He claims that the car can be driven as-is, just that the motor is weak climbing hills. I feel a re-build is required sooner than later.

I am thinking that the car must be a base model. Manual crank windows and manual door locks (which I am ok with both). No power steering.

So, I am trying to decide if the car is worth picking up to work on and repair.

He is asking around $900, and says he is slightly negotiable. Trying to decide whether to pursue, or move on.

I'd like to have one, and would not mind working on it. I just don't want to get taken on the price.

 

Do RX7's have any particular rust area concerns I should look for?

 

Aviator +1 on an informative response.

This is only an opinion. I would not pay $900 for that. This is taking into consideration that it's gonna cost me over $500 to rebuild the motor (at very, very least). It's also hard to say without seeing pics of the car. Depends on how the body really is.

 

Just for clarification, when the engine is running on one rotor, it is BLOWN. Blown meaning bad, no good, inoperant, busted, broken, faulty, disabled, shot, spent, malfunctioning, kaput. If you are under the age of 20, then it is 8ad, NO 900D, suxxorz, teh Ngin got pwn3d. If you are in the military, it is FUBAR. A rebuild is a requirement, not an option.

The manual steering is actually preferred if it is an actual original manual rack. Some car owners use a ghetto method to de-power a power steering rack, which isn't quite as good.

The base model has 4-lug wheels, while the higher-end models have 5-lug wheels. The base model is the least desirable of the models, and therefore carries the lowest resale value. I happen to like this model just fine, but just keep in mind that it should be cheaper than the other models.

It is probably worth taking a look if the car is only 20 miles from your house. However, it sounds more like a $300 car to me. If you take pictures and post them here then others can tell you what they think.

You can also shop for cars in the Classified section of this forum, or in your regional subforum.
https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generation-rx-7-1986-1992-vehicles-108/
https://www.rx7club.com/forumdisplay...prune=-1&f=180

The sun roof almost always has some rust. Other than that these cars are pretty good at battling the weather. Cars that have been driven on salted roads could have any number of underbody parts eaten away, so it is best to take the car to an auto shop for an inspection.

See Aaron Cake's website for tips on buying a used RX-7:
http://aaroncake.net/RX-7/tech1.htm

 

I appreciate the input and advice.

 

you should be able to drive it on the blown rear rotor. some people have even driven cross state and cross country on blown engines. once the damage is done, its done.

 

The car you're looking at is my old car. The motor is.. or at least was.. a genuine Mazda reman as is evident by the blue tag on the front of the motor.

Having traded the car to someone else, and it in turn being sold to the guy (Clint) who owns it now, Clint brought the car over to my house for me to look at and determine his little problem. The rear rotor has zero compression whatsoever, therefore, the motor is - for all intents and purposes - blown. It will run and drive to get you home if you choose to buy it.. But know these:

- The car is a conversion, which I performed. It is over-kill and will not break. However, a few carefully placed rubber isolators or even fabricating a more dampening friendly crossmember setup would be nice.

- The car still retains it's 3.9 LSD rear diff. This is different from the manual cars' 4.10, as a result, even with a healthy motor the car is abnormally slow and has next to no torque.

- Obviously, that motor is not original to the car. I swapped it myself.

- It is a REMARKABLY rust free shell. It's almost scary how clean the chassis is.

- Yes, it's a GXL by factory respects, but I wanted the interior out of that car for my current FC and therefore it received manual windows, base model seats and carpeting, etc.

- The brake booster rod needs to be adjusted... still....

- The transmission is an S5 N/A and has a more than noticeable crunch going into 5th gear. Double clutch it into fifth gear and you'll be alright.. but the transmission whines, and has around 190k on it by now.


For what it is, I say buy it and pop another motor into it... replace that diff with a 4.10 open or LSD, and drive on. I miss ol' Sabine!

 

LOL a $300 car? For a shell that clean, pffffft...

As I said in my last post, the car was originally a GXL and therefore includes the goodies... though the power options are gone interior wise... As for the power steering, it worked fine when I had it.. I can only assume it let go or the guy I traded to yanked out the pump and capped the rack.

Oh ya, the sunroof panel is a wreck.. but the rest of the car is not. It was originally a Florida car. The car itself is clean enough to EAT off of! heh

 

Is that the silver one with all the body dings and the garden hose for the heater core?

 

Dings? I daresay, that car is remarkably clean for a car built in 1988. You'd be hard-pressed to find one that doesn't need a fender or rear quarter work. Unless of course there was body damage incurred after I sold the car. It was damn straight when I sold it.

Garden hose? No honey, just no. When I bought the car originally it had what appeared to be red/orange garden hose from the block to the heater core. After promptly removing it under suspicion and replacing it with the proper hose, it just turned out to be oversized colored coolant hose. Sadly, some previous owner had deformed the heater core nipple and consequently, the proper hose from Mazda leaked at that connection. As a result, I was forced to use what bit of coolant hose I had left in my garage to simply bypass the core. It was quick, it was dirty, but there was no longer a leak and it wasn't leaving me on the side of the road a second time. I simply sold the car before I ended up fixing the problem.

Maybe Austin and/or Clint simply got careless with the car after my ownership. But ask anyone who knew the car when I owned it and they'd tell you that other than the paint, that shell was in rare form.

Debate over.

 

So the dents in the front fender, door, and rocker panel, and the damage to the GXL sticker, all happened after you sold the car?

 

The damage to the lower edge of the door was more or less improved. Where the fender and door meet could also be finessed back into shape if desired.. And when was the last time you saw an RX-7 with no damage to the rocker?

I'm not going to sit here and argue with you any longer. If you're really that concerned about it, why don't you drive down here and we'll go make some rounds with the local FC community? It would shut you up pretty damn quick.

Ciao.

 

So I am thinking what would this car be worth?

Modified.
GXL Electrics taken
Tranny that needs double clutched for 5th gear
New rear diff.
Some body work
Power steering disconnected or broken.
Blown engine
???

 

You could offer Clint $600 :shrug: He may go for it.

As for the 'GXL electrics'.. Consider this a favor to you. Power windows can be a pain to deal with.. Other than that, there aren't really any GXL specific power options. Power mirrors aren't really that special.

Shoot him an offer, get the car, pop another keg in the car, and try to find a good used tranny and 4.10 LSD. You'll be golden.

 

LOL, since you are a noob I guess I should post some of my background. I was in the SE region rotary community from 1988 to 2004. I still know some of the rotary car owners in your state, but now I only get to see them during the annual DGRR event. I will post in the SE forum if I get a chance to visit any of your local rotary events.

Also, since you are relatively new to the RX-7 scene, I would like to point out that the luxury items were the main selling point of the GXL back in 1988. It sounds like this car is missing nearly all of them now.

It is worth maybe $300 unless it still has the BBS vert wheels that are worth at least $200 alone. The 3.90 differential is fine for street driving, and the ghetto-rigged steering rack is also fine for street driving as long as it is properly capped. The body sounds like it is in average shape, but you would need to inspect it to know for sure. The main problems are the blown engine and failing transmission. The condition of the AC is a minus given the heat & humidity of your region.

I think you are better off spending $1,000 to $2,500 on a better car. For example, here is an attached picture of the used 88 convertible that I bought for $1,000. At the time of purchase it had a working engine, working AC, working power mirrors, and all of the other electrical components worked other than the stereo head which was missing. Even if you got that GXL for free it would cost well over $1,000 to get it to the same working level as my $1,000 convertible. Also keep in mind that any old used car will have other minor problems sooner or later, such as worn weather seals, wheel bearings, tires, brakes, fuel lines, bushings, driveshafts and/or halfshafts, etc., so be sure to factor that into your budget.

 

I hardly call five years a noob, sugarplum.

These power features were indeed selling points back in the fresh life of these cars, sure.. And now, these power features are still nice to have - if they are working properly.. and yet a lot of them are well past their younger days and in a state of disrepair due to neglect. I simply will not argue with you on this point.

As for who you are, I believe I know who you are...as I probably know several people that have met you many times or know you personally. I'm pretty sure I spot no less than three of them in your signature.... I'm sorry, what was your point?

It's all cool though, considering the fact that what you say has absolutely no bearing on my personal reputation. And with that said, I bid you farewell.. I am quite simply above any further debate with someone who is ignorant to who they are talking to, or someone that passes judgment on others; such childlike actions. I dare say, you should have that problem looked at by a licensed psychologist.

Have a wonderful day!

 

My 88 GXL had sunburnt paint, but a pretty straight body, and a blown front rotor when I got it for $200. All the electronics worked, though I had to steam clean the interior carpet from having ~200 cigarette butts under the seats.

YMMV

 

hey now kids, fighting over the internet is just like competing in the special olympics, even if you win you still look like a retard...


that being said daculaman im not sure how mechanically inclined you are but for a first rx7 i would say go away from this one. its not how you should start off with an rx7. it'll be more of a headache than fun for you, especially since its summer time. and this is when we like to get out and drive. i say take your money and buy one that needs a lot less work than this one. trust me. it sucks to buy a car and stare at it in the driveway rather than driving it. but this is just my opinion.