Boy, you know them cars catch fire, dontcha?[56k warning]
 

I am now the owner of a 1987 FC NA. It was given to me and the only reason I took it was because the shell itelf was in good condition. I am fully aware of the can of worms that this project will turn out to be but I have high hopes and time and to some extend $$$.

But enough of the words. Let the pictures speak.


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So here it is. As of next week I will be tearing the entire frontend apart and sharting from the bare metal.

Any suggestions? (other than getting something else)

your going to need an entire doner car. and remove all the rust.

fix the rust get rid of the engine and throw a built small block in there lol, what does the GX model come with???

rust is the 1st thing on my list, which luckily only has housed itself in the frontend of the vehicle. the cargoholds behind the seat have none in them. as for GX, it's the base model. so bare minimum which is fine by me. as long as it has a rotary i'm happy.

i have a complete 13B with tranny and extras... pm me.. if thats what you're looking for

pics arnt big enough

With the 4-lug hubs, it's almost not even worth it...


-Ted

Holy hell large pics batman. GLHF with that one.

Resized the pics to 10x7 and as for it being almost not worth it, well it was free.

that's a parts car...

looks like a good canadite for track car to me

Yep, I was thinking the same thing... strip a few parts off and send the rest to the wrecker

parts car, unless you don't value your time in any meaningful way

saaavee iitttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i mean jeesus it was free! remove everything in the bay, paint the bay black, get new fenders, new hood, new windsheild, get a s4 n/a longblock (CHEAP) and wiring harness and slap it in there. really, its not that bad. all the ruined stuff is removable/replaceable.

sell me the a-pillar trim/molding

+1 parts car

Don't wreck that thing. That's a really nice shell. A while back I totaled the shell of an RX-7 while driving in the first rain of the season. It was a moderate speed accident but the car rolled after hitting a guard rail at a bad angle, landing upside down. I sold all the insides for $175, figuring they were as unharmed as I . Too bad you weren't looking back then.

What I mean is find a car from an accident, or find a parts car, or make several trips to various junkyards, etc. Yeah, it's a money pit, but that shell is definately too nice to waste. Worse comes to worse you can sell it or part it out.

NOPR, you read my mind. Thats exactly what I intend to do.

well, you seem to have a lot more going on in your head than most people with 4 posts, so good luck. depending on how much money and skill lever you have you could have lots of easy/cool/decently cheap options.

yes, 4lugs arent the best, i had em, i swapped em. yes n/a drivetrain parts arent the best, i had em, i swapped em. my car was a base model when i got like yours and nows its a whole new car. dont let people discourage you because your car didnt come with hip factory options. that shit is swappable anyways. even if you dont swap to better suspension and dirvetrain, its still a fun car.

you have a nice interior and a nice body except the easily removable and replaceable parts. all of that rust is probably paper thin and a good wire wheel will kick its ass. just start ripping shit out, clean it up, get the body in order then consider engine options.

ANYWAY, one other thing i thought i'd point out is that your heater core is probably furbared. its a big ol hunk of plastic behind the dash that coolant flows through and it looks like yours is leaking or probably melted because there's what appears to be a wet (coolant) stain to the right of your pedals. pull the dash and check that crap out.

its a lot of work, dont get discouraged! the best way to learn the car is rebuild one from the gound up. at the very least you can dissassemble it and learn as much as you can before sending it off. i mean shit, IT WAS FREE!

Listen to NOPR, let him be your Sensei. He's a bro of mine and I vouch for him.

Other than that when I first saw the pics of that monstrous onbscenity the first thought that came to mind was "2jZ-GTE? NO SHIT?!" (quote from FnF) You have a diamond in the rough. Go with it and don't let anything get you down.

BTW, I think you might want to take a look at your gauge cluster. On first gens (my forte) if the speedo gasket thingy goes it'll leak oil. It looks like that might be the case for you. I only know this because Peejay showed me it in his FB earlier this week.

that so a track car, i mean the fire did some good weight loss for you =P

you know i bet that block still might be good actually

SAVE IT! Believe me, you will gain a new knowledge and appreciation of the car if you do everything yourself. The first time you start it up, its a rush of joy. I had a fire in my car, naot near as bad, but I now know way more about it than if someone else fixed it or I got a new car.

how long had that thing been on fire?

:(

This is a monumental project.
 

Part it.

Crush it.

Kick the ass of whoever gave it to you, 'cause it ain't free. Bitch slap anyone who tells you to fix it, because they are spending your money. You can gain experience on an RX7 that hasn't been burned up. Buy a car with a bad interior and a good drivetrain and swap the nice interior. You will pay far less for a nice 7 than you will pay for the parts to fix that on.

Even though a money pit is free, it is still a money pit. This is not an investment, it is a nightmare.


That is a $1500 car MAX if it wasn't burned. On a good day if you're lucky you could even buy it for $1000. You are in way too deep. If you weren't, you would already know this.

If you go down this road, chances are you will never register and drive the thing. Ebay and the FS sections here are full of project cars that are unfinished and the owners try to unload them by telling you how much money they have put into the car. Don't be that person.