Im looking to buy a vert and throw in a T2 and bodykit and paint. How much do you guys think it will cost to do all that and get the car to push over 400HP. And who are the best engine and paint guys in FL.

 

It'll cost a lot.
How much will depend on your "throwing" skills.

 

It will cost around $10,000 if you want to do it right.

 

at least $10,000

 

$10,000 that doesnt seem to bad. Would i be better off just buying a already Modded T2 and maybe then putting a kit on it and some nice paint. I dont have too have a vert. I do want 400+HP though.

 

I'd say that's a wee bit optimistic.

-Purchase price of car
-Purchase price of T2 engine, transmission, diff and ancillaries
-Purchase price of body kit/wheels/tires
-Labor to rebuild engine and tune to get to 400HP
-Labor for bodywork/paint

Hell's bells, $20k would be cutting it close.

 

I do not want to spend 20K thats for sure. Maybe ill just look for one already modded. Like I said it doesn't have to be a vert. Im sure i can find a 400HP T2 way cheaper then 20k...lol

 

There was a clean S5 coupe up here that was pushing that much for around 6 or 7k... It ended up getting parted out.

 

Oh man that sucks, thats easily in my price range. I've been searching and cant find nothing i want. It seems there isnt anything good out there now. Maybe i should buy a NA and do a swap..lol. I dont know what to do.

 

buying the wrong modified T2 can cost more than buying a good stock one

 

All too true. Sometimes starting with a stock car is the best way to go.

 

+1 on this. it's much easier to deal with stock stuff then someone else's fuckup. especially wiring.

 

Thats all tru i guess. I guess im going to have look good to find one not messed up. How much power can i get out of a stock T2 if i just upgrade the turbo?

 

If you just upgrade the turbo and do nothing to the fuel & ECU, about 0 horsepower. The engine will run lean and blow up with anything larger than stock. That being said, power potential is pretty much unlimited depending on turbo size.

 

The price will depend on the condition of the car and the quality of the engine build. For example, you could start with a $1K RX-7 that has ripped seats, broken interior parts, beat-up suspension, etc., or you could start with a very nice $6K RX-7 in good working condition. For the engine, you could go the cheap route and hope to get a working J-Spec engine for $1,200, add on a few cheapie fuel mods and Rtek chip, a BNR turbo upgrade, and a few ghetto mods and make 400HP, or you could have a professional shop build a quality street-ported engine, install a nice GT40R turbo and name-brand wastegate, new stainless steel exhaust, standalone EMS, new top-notch fuel system, etc. There is a pretty big price difference in body kits, too, with full kits running around $5-10K, and budget front lip/sideskirt/spoiler kits running about $1,500. In general, I would go with the $20K estimate stated earlier in the thread, although you could well exceed $50K for a competitive show car or race car. The earlier $10K estimates are not realistic.

The best rotary engine guy in FL is Mike VanSteenburg, without a doubt. Fortunately for you his shop probably a 30-minute drive from your location, and his prices are very reasonable.
http://iscracing.net/

I don't know about paint... probably someplace in Orlando, but I warn you that "the best" is going to cost somewhere around $10-25K. Most of my friends who have nice paint jobs on their import street cars spent around $15-16K, and the hot rod owners that I know spent about $20K on their custom paint. A friend of mine wanted to repaint his 2Gen RX-7 in a nice pearl, and the best estimate he found in Florida was $8K, but unfortunately I don't remember which place... somewhere in the St. Petersburg area though.

I would recommend the opposite... find a car that some other sucker blew his life savings on body and paint, and then install your own drivetrain. It is pretty easy to tell if the body and paint was worked properly if it has some miles on it.

It may not be so bad to buy a used 400hp car if you have a good mechanic rebuild the engine and check the wiring, fuel system, and cooling system. You could save a lot of money if the previous owner installed a nice suspension, clutch/flywheel, rebuilt transmission and LSD, etc.

 

Get a V8 in and it will be cheaper to tune to 400hp.

 

IMO you should start out with a stock car and build it yourself. Then that way you can say you did everything. there are somethings that you wont be able to do but atleast as much of the work as possible you did yourself and youll have more pride in it. Plus it will (in most cases)save you some money. And for the things your not too sure about you always have rx7club.com for help. Ive built a few cars and also bought one already modded and i took more pride in the ones i built. just my 2cents

 

i just noticed your in Lakeland thats not too far from where im at.

 

if you dont do your own work, which it sounds like you dont. try 30k in labor alone for a good looking car.

and im just askin but.......... if you had this much money to spend, wouldn't you already know, or have some idea how to spend it.

 

Never said i had that much money to spend, just wanted to know some prices out there from people perspectives that have already done it so i could have a idea what i could expect to spend giving the route i choose to go. Which yet i have no idea.

 

Ya man not to far from you. Maybe you can help...lol.

 

ya no prob. i dont mind helpin out. i still say buy a stockish tII and build from there

 

Obviously you have never done it before.

 

stop hatin' guys. I was in his position not too long ago... Bought a cheap T2, paint flaking off, turned out to have bad oil seals. And maybe if i had know how much work it was going to be as a first car, pulling and rebuilding the motor and such, i would have opted for something else. But like FloRotory said, you do take a lot more pride in learning for yourself and building it up on your own. And the moderators and guys on the forums have always been there to help, and without them, I wouldnt have been able to finish my own T2 rebuild. Don't discourage each other based on different levels of experience.

...What you should ask yourself is how much time and effort are you willing to put into the car to build it up? If youre looking for a 400hp car right out of the box, you can go ahead and buy someones finished product. But with all those mods for 400hp, it would help to know the car your driving (from inside out, front to back) just in case something goes wrong or you need to do more work on it...especially if youre going to let a mechanic do the work. In my opinion, the only way to truly know the car youre driving is to do the work yourself. If somebody offered to trade my self-built 250+hp T2 for a 400+hp rx7 that someone else built, i wouldnt do it. And you naturally take more pride in it after you put the sweat blood and tears in. But again, Its just my view on things. Its really a question of how much time-vs.-money you are willing to spend, and whats more important to you?

good luck

 

Just make sure you do your research first, so you don't end up blowing it up. Take it to a GOOD tuner for a proper dyno tune.