I have a chance to buy a 1990 turbo II with a good body for a great price of 3000 dollars. But (theres always a but) the guy who is selling it dosen't seem to know very much about rx7's and has done a gang of mods to it. He's just had the motor rebuilt and has less than 2000 miles on it, so he says... but wait theres more! he also had the turbo rebuilt and upgraded to a hybrid by BNR and has a catless RB down-pipe and duals. The bad news is he has no fuel controller, no boost controller, no cats, has taken the air pump off (I live in california so I really need that) and the car will stall if you don't warm it up for a few minutes. Should I buy this car and just fix his mess or it just a nightmare waiting to happen?

Thanks for any advice you guys can give

 

I only have 2 words for you...
COMPRESSION TEST!

 

sounds like deal to me if compression and body is in good shape

maybe cold start assist removed (TB mod done) so u have to keep it up with foot until it gets warm ...

u could do fuel mods by yourself, not that bad ....

 

I AGREE. If this checks out, you are okay on the price. It can be done in 30 minutes, so don't skip it. Then take the car out and thrash it, watch for smoke...

 

Without a fuel controller? You may end up limping back on 1 rotor.
Maybe just idle it for 15 minutes after the test drive, then give it short rev. Bad seals will show then also.

 

Neither are needed for the car to be safe. With a full exhaust you should check how must boost it's running. The most important thing with those mods is a fuel pump upgrade. An aftermarket cat is easy to get. Are the rest of the emission controls in place? (air control valve on the side the manifold, solenoids under it) If this bothers you (I'd hate it) then get a spare TB and bolt that on.

 

i feel that 3000 for a S5 Turbo II is an excellent deal. Emmissions stuff can be replaced if it's gone and as far dying before it warms up should be too much of a problem, you live in cali right? it's warm there so there's no such thing as warm up. j/k. i would jump on this deal if i were you.

 

I will definately get the compression check done, I talked to him today and he said that he did a compression check when he first got the motor and it was about 90psi. he said that he was told that compression will build as the motor breaks in. Whats a good comperssion number to look for on a motor? And all of the emmisions stuff is on the car except the air pump and cat. If the compression checks out I think I'll be the happy owner of a s5 turbo

Thanks for the advice, good looking out

 

Perfect compression is 120 on each rotor i believe.