mazdaboy28

well guys this is my first post. I need your opinions on this. I found a RX7 in a driveway less than a block away from my house. I went to the door and the elderly lady gave me a phone # where i could talk to her son. I called and he laid down all the info. Its a 1990 Mazda RX7 (base model) It has a non-turbo motor and 5 speed tranny. The car was garaged all its life and never winter driven. The car has sat for about 2 maybe 3 years now cause he ran out of garage space so it parked it outside. The clutch has just over 30 000 kilometers on it. Car and engine have 177000 on it. The paint job was 4 months old when he stopped driving it and is worth over 2 grand. The body in MINT!!!! no rust at all!! Paint is absolutley perfect! The interior could be mint after a good cleaning. The rims are starting to surface rust but nothing a day of tlc can fix. Right now the car is siting under the cover. He said that the car shifted perfect when he parked it. Heres the problem. I guess how he laid it down for me is that the engine has a problem. I guess the seal between the coolant housing blew and the pressure from the first seal blowing caused the 2nd seal to blow. He said he lost all the compression in the motor. He told me that the seals are like 120 bucks to replace but involves pulling the engine . I figure give it a good rebuild and throw it back into the car. Now he says he knows a guy who can rebuild it for 600 bucks plus the 120 part. He told me that he will sell me the car for 1500 bucks canadian obo. I plan to offer him 1200. He said he will throw in the cd player and all the parts he has for it, not including the parts to fix but including the car cover. Is this worth it to buy as a project car and slowly fix up?? How much does a rebuild on a non turbo rotary usually cost?? if his "guy" cant rebuild it. Basically the car is mint besides the engine problem. Any opinions would be great. This will be my first RX7 so plz tell me if you think this is a good deal. For all americans, this would be about a 700-800 dollar car in the states. Is it worth it ???? SHould i buy>?? Thanx

SpeedFreak03

Well if everything (especially tranny) is in good shape then its an awesome deal...but hold on. When coolant seals fail, if the engine sits for a while, water will seep into the engine and slowly rust the rotors and housings, which will make your rebuild expensive. That's why the best thing to do is at least let the engine idle everyday for a good 10-20 minutes when your coolant seals fail, until you can get it rebuilt (usually the car is driveable tho so maybe his apex seals failed too). But I would pay $800 for a nice rolling chassis, even without a motor (if it is as nice as you say ). Good luck with the new ride (if you buy it) and welcome to the forum!