wreckless

Well I'm thinking of finally taking the plunge and buying a GTUs. Before you ask, yes I want the "s" and no I don't really want a TII. I’d like to keep my 7 N/A. I’m kind of a purest in that way. I’ve been doing some research and have found some things I need clarified; I’m hoping you guys can help.

- There is just the one year of the GTUs, right?

- In the real world, do most GTUs drivers over price their car when trying to sell?

- What is the one foolproof way to tell a fake (something not easily swapped)?

- I’d also like you guys to try to talk me out of it; tell me why I wouldn't want this car. (part of objective buying)

- And this should be fun: top three mods to do first on a GTUs.

Now, you can pick all one or none of these to respond to, the more replies I get the easier my life becomes. And Chris, if you're out there, I wanna hear from you most.

koukifc3s

iTrader: (3)

The GTUs came out in 89 & 90. The 90 are very hard to find tho.

They have the TII 16" wheels from the factory, so you can check the sticker in the door to see what size are the stockies. Make sure it has a 4.3 too

drft_180sx

1. Full dual exhuast from racing beat -> $1200

2. Cold Air Intake -> $150

3. SAFC -> $350 (Or go standalone!!!?!?!)

drft_180sx

^ Of course those are all after maintanence mods!

wozzoom

Don’t think about buying a GTUs…if you can find one, DO IT!

1) Like it was mentioned, the GTUs was produced in 1989 and there were some leftovers for the 1990 model year. I’ve never seen an exact production number for 1990 GTUs, but the general consensus is around 250 in the US. This would make it the rarest 2nd gen ever produced.

2) In the real world, not everybody knows what is special about a GTUs. I bought mine with 80,000 on the odometer for $1800. The original owner had no clue why the car was special.

3) Fake GTUs cars are easy to spot. The inside door sticker is the number one way to tell. If it lists 16” rims as the stock tire size, you’ve got a winner. You will also never see a FACTORY SUN roof in a GTUs. (Some ppl have GTUs cars with aftermarket pop up roofs…SonicRat) My GTUs came with factory A/C, no cruise control, and manual windows. The factory stereo for the GTUs is just the AM/FM radio with no Cassette or CD.

4) Talk you out of it? No way. The GTUs is my favorite NA of all time. Drive some GTU, GXL, and base models then get into a GTUs. You’ll know what makes it special.

Top three mods? Depends on the condition of the car. Shocks and springs would be first on my list if they are stock. Then the exhaust. Followed by an Apexi S-AFC. The AFC will really wake the car up on the top end.

koukifc3s

iTrader: (3)

I would go with suspension first too. It really makes the car feel much better.
Power wise a full tune up is first in order.
After that a free flowing exhaust and cone filter really wake the car up.
If you still have money after that, the S-AFC with tuning can bring out a lil more hp.

13b_drifter

If you found one, take it (if the price is right). As in the above, go with suspension mods first after a full 60K tune-up. After that, it's pretty much dependent on your budget, but a K&N drop-in filter and full exhaust would help with the car's breathing and with your top-end.

Good luck.

Oh, and buy a TII

Andrew.

iTrader: (4)

Heh, I was a GTUs fan like no other, I was going to buy one but naw, 4900 for a car that needed a trans rebuild, no thanks, I have yet to spend that much on my car, heck i've had 2 rx7's and still haven't spent that much, but if you get one for a good price go for it.

-Andrew

JunpoweR

iTrader: (1)

I have a 89 white GTUs for sale
Rebuilt motor
little oil leak from lines to cooler
Rear of interior Stripped
Runs strong.
Hit 15.4 1\4 miles with only mufflers and suspention.
3500


I also have a friend who is selling a white 90 GTUs for 8000 if ur intrested

DelSlow

iTrader: (2)

what kind of mods on the '90?

PHATFC3S

i currently have an 89 GTUs that I was previously trying to sell but no one would give me the $4500 i wanted for it. and it has a decent amount of mods including a very large streetport, safc, and full exhaust from the headers back. I'm trading it to a guy in Indiana for a 95 eclipse gst that i'm selling to a friend of mine for $5500.. but I loved my GTUs and the only reason I'm getting rid of it is because i just picked up an FD. So yea if you can find one..GET IT!! as a matter of fact i believe a friend of mine now has 2 so ill talk to him and see if hes trying to sell one. And the guy im trading mine to might be willing to sell it for the right price. ill post back later with some extra info.

fcturbo2

I have a 89GTUs and 87TII.. I love the way the GTUs handles and accelerates. Now im doing a TII swap because i miss the boost. I got mine for 1500 with stocker wheels and FD wheels and some minor mods that made it more fun to drive. There is one forsale here in Socal now. He wants 8K for it..god i feel so lucky with my GTUs.

flamin-roids

If you are going to replace all the stuff the GTUs was good for then why bother? Just get a GXL. They have the same brakes as the TII and GTUs. Also they have lots of goodies like power everything.

wreckless

Well that's a good point. Those are the points I’m looking for to talk me out of one. the rarity of the car is a turn on, and the purist approach to sports car interpretation is yet another. But I’m left wondering whether a sensible choice would be a GTU or GLX and add mods. I dunno, I have a few months to decide.

To those who are posting GTUs for sale: thanks but I’d rather get one from someone who is clueless, and maybe the same state. Probably asking too much now.

J_J

The price for a GTUs has gone up since 2000. I bought this GTUs back in early 2000:



It only had 100,000 miles and was MINT inside/out. One owner car, clean title, all stock, no accidents.

They're rare cars for sure, but for the price that people charge for them nowadays I'd just go with a T2. The GTUs is a great car if you don't really care about power and just want a rare, reliable NA.

wreckless

well i have a friend with a FD and from that experince i like the sound of reliable... as fun as boost is, i don't think the rotary is a great engine for boost and daily driving+regular abuse.

flamin-roids

Just get a nicely loaded S5 GXL. One with black leather interior. Same motor and brakes amongst other things as the GTUs. And half the price! But N/A's are much more reliable. I know a kid with 210k on the original motor in his '86. Still pulls like none other. Fortunatly it was previously owned by a rotary guru and made sure to change oil every 2000 miles and a good daily beating also.

MelloBoy

can't say anything about most, but i found a high mileage (174k) running pretty damn strong with the usual dings and dents and rough idle on startup w/ rebuilt tranny from tripoint engineering for $1800. Offered $1500 for it and now it's mine as of last night

found it, out of all places, on craigslist lol.



good luck

cbrinega

I purchased a S5 GXL a couple years back and swapped in the GTUs rear end (not for the novice mechanic). The GTUs will likely be lighter because of the lack of power goodies, but if you are that serious about weight you can always remove a lot from the GXL (power options, heavy seats, carpet, insulation, heavy exhaust parts, etc). A properly modified S5 GXL is a lot of fun to drive, and the GXL extras are nice for a daily driver. Mine has 154k miles and runs like a champ (oil changes every 2k to 2.5k miles).

One thought is to price out everything you would want to do to the car before buying one. Also try to factor in the cost of getting the car running in stock condition first unless you can find one that is already in good working order.

FYI, check out this GTUs for inspiration:
https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...3&page=1&pp=15
https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showthread.php?t=270383

Upgrades to come on my car: struts & springs, front and rear strut tower bars, fine tuned fuel delivery

BoostedRex

Hey Wreckless. I know of a '90 GTUs that is going to be up for sale in the next couple of weeks. It's located in SC. Shoot me a PM if you are interested.

Zach

flamin-roids

I love my power options and its nice having A.C. especially having black interior. It looks like you have a lot more mods than mine. Mine was an automatic. Now it has a TII drivetrain minus the rear end.

SonicRaT

iTrader: (6)

There will never be peace for me, *sigh*

My GTUs came with cruise and a cassette player, those appear to be the only differences between our options. An easy way to tell if it's a GTUs (if the sticker by chance is unreadable/etc) is to drive around in 5th gear, the RPM should be about half that of your speed, sort of like this:

60mph = 3000k rpm
80mph = 4000k rpm
40mph = 2000k rpm

And of course, it'll have the limited slip tag on the differential.