Ok, well, I don't have the car in my possession till next Tuesday. But I went to check the car out, and IMO, it seems like an awesome deal.

I live in Canada, and I'm paying $400 for it, plus I'm paying him $150 to tow it on a flatbed 150 KM's away (seemed quite reasonable). That's CDN, so around 400 total US.

Now, if you scroll down to the bottom, I posted some pictures I got, of it. As you can see, the engine is out. His brother was planning on rebuilding it, but the mor he got into it, the more he realized he can't do it. So the engine is apart, and inside the car in the trunk space. Also you'll notice the body is in pretty decent condition other than the front bumper, the hood, and the 2 spots that had body work done (the passenger door, and front fender). Of course this isn't going to be a show car or anything... Also the interior is in VERY good condition.

I wasn't sure what year it was... but is this true:
The 8th or 9th number in the VIN is the second number of the year of the car?? I believe the 8th number was a 5, and the 9th number was a 1... that tells me it's got to be a 91 then correct? I know they didn't make the 2nd gen. till 86, so.... Are there any visual queues that anyone can pick up on, that could tell what year it's from? It's not a big issue right now. Once I get the paper work, I'll know forsure.

Now the 2nd big issue... I'm not sure what you guys think about doing the... Small Block Chevy 350 conversion to them... I'm sure a lot believe the Rotary engine should never leave the RX7, but please don't abuse me for believing the 350 swap is a good idea...LOL

If it's a big issue, please let me know, and I'll never speak of it again, but if there are some RX7'ers on here who've done the swap themselves, I'd be happy to hear from you.

Anyways, I was basically thrilled to hear how strong the rear end is in the RX7... that was a big concern, as I plan on putting MAD power through this thing

Anyway, a big hello goes out to all. And any info. you'd like to give me about the car, I'd appreciate. Thanks!

 

Its actually a 86-88 ;P series 4.

I thought the rearend was rather weak unless it was a turbo?

 

Well, I had emailed Granny's Speed Shop about the rear end, and I was told that the 2nd Gen RX7 rear end (type unspecified) can take 475 - 500 HP from a SBC (I say SBC, because, when launching with a low revving torquey engine, you put MUCH less stress than when launching with the rotary engine simply because the shock on the drivetrain is so much less... think about it... dumping at 9,000+ RPM Vs Dumping at 4,000)

 

I'd assume that the turbo rear end is quite a bit stronger.
Also, the 350 swap has most likely been done before but most people around here dont really talk about such monstrosities
You can bring it up if u wish..but just remember to put ur flame-proof suit on first.

 

The taillights (square for s4 86-88, round for s5 89-91) and rub strips (black for s4, color matched for s5) let us know yours is an s4.

Good luck on getting her up and running, regardless of your choice of powerplant. I would do a few searches on v8 conversions first- some have been quite dissappointed after the initial launch factor glee wears off. I have heard handling is compromised due to the radical change in weight dist.

My .02

 

Is Manitoba really friendly??

 

"Is Manitoba really friendly??"

LOL... where I live it is ... the biggest city in my Province (which is winnipeg (about 200KM away) Pop. of about 650,000) IS NOT, hehe.

 

Well, like everybody has said, its a S4 (86-88)

It's also a N/A - so your rear end isnt good for anything over 200 HP (Im pretty sure Im correct on this, correct me if Im wrong)

Good find, and good price too

since it already has the motor out, and the condition of the transmission and rest of the drivetrain is un-known, and since most here don't like the horror of a 350 converstion, why don't you consider a TII swap? Most would say to sell your N/A and buy a TII, but since you have a good chassis, and you got it for cheap, I'd go with a turbo II conversion, if you're looking for power.

Search on the forum for N/A to Turbo II converstion, and you'll have plenty to read I know that "Aaron Cake" did a TII conversion, so if the thread is by him, it may have some usefull information. I have not read the thread(s) personally, but Im sure they'res some good info there somewhere.


Oh, and next time, might want to think about shrinking your photos down a tad bit - My browser is flipping out (im on 1024X768) THOSE THINGS ARE HUGE!

 

Sometimes cheap is not necessarily cheap, I think you could find a better starter car for a little more money and you'd be way ahead. I seriously would not pay anything for it, believe me you'd be doing the guy a favor just to haul it. Having started from a similar spot pick up a clean car with a blown motor. Just an opinion.

 

Exactly. It will be hell trying to figure out how to put that sucker back together. I could do it (although it would be a pain in the ***), but I have been driving nothing but s4 rx-7's for the past 4+ years. I would stay away from that sucker.

 

"It will be hell trying to figure out how to put that sucker back together."

K, I'm just wondering... what's so difficult about putting it back together... are you talking about putting in another rotary engine, or taking into consideration the fact that I'd be putting in an SBC.

And the bottom line is, I'm not doing a rotary, if you're trying to convince me... sorry I've got a 350 on a stand, (with 380 HP / 400 Ft.lbs) waiting to be bolted in.

And can someone please CONFIRM that that rear end is only good for 200 HP please?


"I think you could find a better starter car for a little more money and you'd be way ahead. "

I'm just wondering why you say this... really, I'd appreciate to know what is so bad about it! (keeping in mind the engine swap...)

 

The car's got lots of potential. Prove all these suckers wrong, drop in that mullet motor, and give it a go! I've attempted this conversion with a buddy... and he lost his job before we could finish it. But we did end up mounting the engine and... "pursuading" the firewall to fit the engine... with a 20 pound sledge Then again, we used a 5.0L ford, not an SBC

 

Hmm... this is interesting.

Go here:

Stock N/A Rear


And scroll down to the very bottom message:

"11.15 @ 120.... not the best, but MY best so far.... not for long though

Stock N/A rear with 4.11's and Nitto's...."

Notice, he's running 11.15 with a STOCK N/A REAR... Seems to me that you'd need bit more than 200 HP to be running 11.15s...

 

This is where you want to go:

http://www.torquecentral.com/

Rx7 guys who like speed, regardless of engine.
They should be of more help since a much higher % of them are putting down hp numbers like you're expecting. Good luck with the install.


EDIT: I guess I should've clicked on the previous poster's link.