Hi,
In terms of RX-7s and rotory engines, I'm a complete n00b. I'm a BMW guy and have done alot of work to my car, but never touched an RX-7 or Mazda before.

My girlfriend wants an RX-7, but she's not the mechanic type (yet). I'm trying to teach her stuff here and there, but I'd be the one working on her car most of the time. She's in the process of finding a cheap 90+ FC non-turbo, so while she's on the search, I can do research on what is needed to fix it up to tip top shape.

I did some searches and read the FAQ that was sticky'ed up top so I have some information now. Are there any points, experiences, or FYIs I should know about a 90+ FC?

I did some quick estimates and came up with the following costs for fixing up an old FC, let me know if they are accurate and if I need to add anything.

Engine rebuild: $2000 to $2500
Transmission, flywheel, clutch, & misc driveline: $1500
Suspension: $1000 to $1500
Interior: $500
Misc (cooling, brakes, hoses, AC, paint, etc): $1200


Thanks!

-Robert

 

Make sure you compression check whatever car you look at!!!

 

Bah do what I did, find a nonturbo that has already had the engine rebuilt and the body is pretty clean. You'll pay a premium for it but then you can focus your money on a paint job, upgrading suspension, and fixing the little bullshit stuff.

 

Would it matter if I'm buying one just to have the engine rebuilt? From what I've read so far here and from hear say, 150k-ish rotory engines need a rebuild anyways. I'd rather have the car completely rebuilt at once then to have the car fixed up with an okay performing engine.

Is $2k the price of a stock spec rebuild? What kind of stages or options are available for rotory rebuilds? With my M52 inline 6, I can do just about anything from forged pistons to titanium springs and valves.

-Robert

 

Shoot man, my N/A went 212,000 before it went.

 

u can get some suspention for waayyy cheaper some agx's for like 420ish and some springs used could be great! hell there were some cuscos for sale here 550! ur buget is really over shot and thats the best way to do it id say budget for that much and ur gunna be in the green! good luck! maybe buget in more fo misc tranny stuff as if u wanted a new tranny and clutch is 600ish and the flywheels are like 400 ish...so i mean tahts cuttin it close....

 

Nice! How many miles were on it when you bought your car? I know alot of it has to do with maintainence.

-Robert

 

I tend to always overbudget for things :-D You'll always find lil things here and there while you're in there.

What kind of coilovers are out there for the FC? I checked the usual brands I look at and they don't offer anything for the FC.

-Robert

 

tien makes suspentions, cusco makes some, kei office (hard to find and pricey) kyb makes 8 way struts...and u can get springs and stuff for it...(cheap a great way to go for auto-x and street) JIC magic makes some of the good stuff too! id strongly suggest strut spring combo and get all new urithane bushings!

 

Forgot to look at Tien for coilovers. Thanks! Tien recently got into the BMW aftermarket sector and have heard great things about them

How is the electrical system in the FC? Any electrical gremlins in certain systems? Would it be a good idea to replace the entire wiring harness on the car?

Any weak points in the frame that might ripe out from too much abuse?

Any bushings or ball joints that wear more then others?

What's a good one stop shop place to buy parts for an FC? Are there any detailed parts catalogs or repair manuals/diagrams?

-Robert

 

Some quick answers.... first it's a 15 year old car... so most likely most or all of your bushings are worn out.. just replace them all at once.. fairly cheap.. next electrical problems tend to revolve around the interior... usually (all 5 of my fc's) have 1 wiper mode cause the variables all went kaput. The idiot cluster also tends to go out. engine wise... remember old car... wireing harnes may be brittle... could be VERY brittle. Just be carefull with it.. and add new ground points... keep wire on hand in case the harness breaks when working with it. Get rid of the dtss while you're replacing your bushings.
Other than that make sure you do a compression test CORRECTLY rotorys have a special way to test them. My non turbo fc has 255000 miles on it and still runs strong and I beat the **** out of it... my t2 has 105000 miles and still runs strong... my friend had a t2 that had 30000 miles on a rebuild and it blew up (not his fault, lady he bought it from was stupid) it's all how you maintain them but non turbos tend to last along time.

Theres mazdatrix.com and racing beat and a few other good places to get everything you need.

 

speedmachineperformance and even hopupracing sells parts and they are nice people!

 

ddts? sorry, I'm still trying to get use to the acronyms used for RX-7s :-D

Would I be able to buy a new or aftermarket wiring harness? I'd rather not have to deal with brittle wiring harnesses.

-Robert

 

I got 170K running strong on a TII.

 

It was in my family since it was brand new in 87.

 

yea you can get a new wireing harness... don't know where though... and dtss is a rx7 term... in it's basics... its a bushing system that kinda acts like a rear steer system... I think it actually adds and subtracts toe at the rear wheels... most of the time the bushings are worn out and it kinda makes it sloppy if you eliminate it you'll have better feel.. but it's kinda a nice system if it's working properly and you know when it's gonna kick in... if you don't know it'll feel like your tail is stepping out (like a drift) but it's actually helping you turn.

 

I'll probably replace the DTSS bushings with new ones if they aren't too expensive and hard to find. I'm sure these cars are pretty well engineered so why de-engineer them if it only takes a little work to fix it up the way it should be.

While on the topic of engineering, where there anything features or parts of the FC that were just engineered poorly or bad?