Havoc

Well at the moment I have a S4 with really really **** paint but a good engine (+ all the bits) good suspension and sound system etc.

so lets say I found a nice S4 Vert with really good paint leather interior but a dead engine.

Do you think it would be worth while just gutting the Vert and putting in my engine (+ all the bits), the suspension, the sound system etc etc then selling my old shell and the dead engine?

Im just curious if its worth it ? because if i want to get my S4 up to scratch it would cost me about 6 Grand.. or I could have a Vert for about 8 Grand and then get about 2 Grand back on bits (like shell, turbo eng from the Vert etc etc...

Still that 6 Grand on my S4 would do one awesome full wide body custom paint job..

hmm.... can't make up my mind

Oh and its Aud dollars (yes Rx7's are expensive here)

OptimusPrime

iTrader: (1)

you could just swap most the panels from the vert over to the other car i guess is another way to go

Havoc

what change a non convertable to a vert ?? surely that would be a massive job then just pulling out the engine and putting into another rx7 ??

Also does a convertable have a lot of natural problems ?? like hood's not working, body not as stiff etc etc ??

any good reasons for why I shouldnt do it ?

Havoc

Also if I payed a shop to do a engine transplant how much would I be looking at ?

how long does it take to pull out and put back in a engine ?

staticguitar313

iTrader: (2)

S4 to S4 swap both n/a or both turbo etc. would be plug and play i would imagine, id keep the coupe and use the good parts off the vert to better your coup, shitty paint requires a refinish, big deal, i'm kinda biased against convertibles, not b/c they are ugly but b/c the weight and misc. other things, plus i dont need a vert to have the roof down but thats me, keep the coupe and make it nice
my .02

PaulFitzwarryne

The best place to ask these questions is on www.ausrotary.com as Australian prices are so different from US.

As a first suggestion if you don't already have a local rotary tuner, ask for quotes from a major shop say Dyson in Queensland, Rotorworx in Melbourne, PAC in Sydney, RX Engineering in Newcastle, Mildrens in Adelaide all have good reputations, but there are several others just as good.

But then you are in Perth so you can judge which is best to ask there.

Gregs

did i read right that your going to pay 8 GRAND for a vert,
iwoundt even imagine a MINT series 5 vert with low miles would be worth 8 grand...

PaulFitzwarryne

Gregs- Australians put more value on the RX than the US. A 88 vert in good condition goes for between A$12-15,000 say US$10-12,000.

Gregs

damn.....

Tofuball

I've got a 'vert and I dont notice any of the problems you've mentioned :p

Just swap the drivetrain into the 'vert, you dont need to swap the suspension.

The amount of time it takes depends on the tools you have avalable and how many time s you've pulled/placed an engine before, and how many buddies you have helping you (I reccomend two)

Terrh

iTrader: (7)

yeah, and in canada verts are worth a FORTUNE!
like, double what TII's are worth for a good S5 vert, there is one at a dealership (or was anyways, haven't been there for a while) for $17,000 (like 14000 US) and another one for 12,000 (like 9000 US)

wthdidusay82

iTrader: (15)

verts are nice but they are also the heaviest fc's there are ...

about cost to swap... u could do most of the work yourself its not really hard to get most of the stuff out , its just depends on how long u feel like waiting to swap it... its not exactly a 1 day project, plan on doin the work for a few weeks - months

it really depends on how much u work on it, if u can work on it everyday for a couple hours it wouldnt take as long but to goto a shop youre just going to get ripped off...but hey if u have the money to spend be my guest

Bukwild

the only reason I have a second gen is because it came in a vert. The hard top second gen does not really have a apeal to me. And I can understand that verts go for more money. Any car with a vert top always has a higher resale value than the coupe version across the board. And yes its a little heavier than the coupe but way more fun with the roof off.

Icemark

well the Aus dollar is about half a US dollar right now right... sorta like the Canadian dollar.

My 88 vert when I picked it up a couple years back went for only $2600 USD.

Icemark

actually the non P package 88 verts are about the same weight (within 50 lbs) of a 88 10thAE, and actually less than a S5 Turbo.

Icemark

I bet my 88 non P package vert with no weight reduction (other than a single exhaust) is considerably lighter than your car with the extra re-enforements that had to be done to cut the roof that way.

Mr. Gadget

I am sick of hearing about how heavy a vert is. Icemark as usual is 100% right on.

Any of you NA weight haters want to line up against my bucket of bolts heavy as hell S5 vert? If you have not owned a vert you have no clue as to their perfomrance. 89 difference in weight - 200 lbs. Whats that in power loss - like one hp max? My 330 lb **** can make that up in skill any day of the week.

Flame away!

Havoc

Well I go have a look at the car tomorrow to see if its worth it, also a really good nic Vert is worth +20G over here... so will see how I go

Thanks for the input

scathcart

Not quite...

77 Aussie dollars is 100 US Dollar.
81 Canadian Dollars is 100 US Dollars.

$12,000-$15,000 Aussie is $9,225-11,560 US.

Icemark

slight jab...

But hey it sounds like I need to export my car to Aus.... I wonder if Left hand drive is worth more in Aus???

Madrx7racer

correct me if I am wrong but the vert with the top up is ALMOST as rigid as a coupe......the swap should be plug and play considering you will go from S4 to S4..........I think you should do it.......take your time and do it right. and take plenty of pics....

now my question is: since it's an Australian Vert there will be no need to change the tranny or rear end because they are TII components right? so all you have to do is pull the engine and reinstall it........

the tip someone gave me when doing my TII swap was to keep everything attached to the motor so you can just plug it all in when the motor is in....