Help me decide on a FC!! PLease!!
 

Well, hey everyone, i am proud owner of a '99 Mazda Miata that is soon to turbo'ed. Today I went to a club saftey school and hed a hell of a lot of fun (they drenched the lot in water and let us have fun all day :) ) While there,Ii noticed a club member brought his 2nd car, a '88 Rx-7 Turbo, it was love at first sight. I was talking to his and it turns out that the car is for sale, its a Black '88 Turbo, perfect in and out, with (get this) 34,000 miles on it (!!!!!!:eek: !!!!!!!!) So I started talking price, while he didnt give an exact price, it sounds like he would take around $5,000 for it (he doesn't need the money, he needs the garage space)

So here is the problem, I am a student so I am not rollin' in dough or anything, but I was playin around in my head all day on how I could get this car. If i put the Miata turbo on hold ( I have everything but about $800 of small parts to complete the turbo kit, and then I'll be done) and get this FC?? I guess what I am asking here is, does it aound like I am getting a good deal (that may be a dumb question) and would the '88 turbo serve me good as a daily driver to and from school/work with a few minor mods?

Well thanks in advance to those who reply!

Take care of a rotary, and it will take care of you. Drive it. You will buy it after that. A 1988 TII for $5k is a little expensive, try around $4k for it, but that low mileage, I say go for it!!

I'm with rico dude. Get it!
Charles

I did drive it, it was the 1st time I had driven a turbo rotary, lets just say thats what put the icing on the cake!!

$5K for a black '88 TII w/34K is a very fair price as long as it's in good condition. That guy will have no problem selling that car with a quickness.

You snooze on that and you'll regret it...

NB8CT,

Hey welcome to the forum. The TII is a great platform for making massive HP reliably. I love the"flying miatas", but the TII handles massive HP & torque better.

Is his Turbo II a 10th Aniversary Edition or regular 88 turbo II.

I'd say $5000 if it's in excellent shape and has low engine miles and no minor or major problems.

Running 86-88 turbo IIs can be aquired from $3500-$6500 depending on condition, engine miles, and modifications. The 89-91 Turbo IIs are a bit rarer, make more OEM HP, and are a bit more modern looking.

You can also try to find a "blown" TII for dirt cheap and rebuild yourself.

Also the convertible makes a great platform to convert to a turbo II.

I'm running 225HP/ft-lbs torque on my 1991 TII with just exhaust upgrades. 260hp is obtainable on the stock setup, 350hp with fuel & turbo upgrades, and 450hp with complete stage I, II, III, and IV upgrades.

All of that on the stock drivetrain & transmission :)

And there's always the 3 rotor 20B engine for even more HP/torque.

I say go for it. As long as you take care of the car, which includes spirited driving and many trips to redline, you will be more than happy with it.

I am going to set up a time to go take a look at it again, when I do, are there things that i should look for as big no no's??

As far as condition goes, I couldnt see anything wrong with it, as far as i know it has been garaged the past 11 years (the guy who i may buy it from is the orginal owner, he bought it new off the showroom) So I think in that respect its all good.

Absolutely get it.

I completely love Miatas and would adore having a turbocharged one, but a TII RX-7...mmmm... :)

If you don't end up buying it, can I whack you over the head with a stick? I haven't seen one for sale for that price around here in a couple years. In other words: DO IT!

Just make sure to verify how many miles are the engine, it idles well, boost well, handles well, etc..

Don't be surprised if the wipers only work on medium or the sunroofs a little sticky - both are do it yourself repairs.

-- vaughnc

Yea when I took it for a drive it seemed good, as far as boost, when do the FC get into boost, I'd imagine they are a bit laggy. IIRC I didnt get any boost until around 3 or 4 K, but I could be wrong, to be honest I dont remember exactly.
The nice thing about the guy who is selling it is, he has been in the same miata club that i am in for something like 8-9 years, and everyone knows him and he is a really cool guy, and its not like if I buy it from him I will never see him again.
The only thing that he said was wrong to his knowledge was that the brakes need to be bleed. (It did feel a little squishy).

Another couple of questions:
He had said he was a bit upset that when he bought it in '88 than in '89 the car came with more power, what made the difference in power??
And also, being a Miata owner (thats all i have ever driven, i got it new on my 17th b-day, I'm 19 now :) ) handling matters to me in a big way, so I would imagine that with a set of coilovers or new springs on new shocks that it handles ok?? Maybe thats a dumb question, I have multiple Option2 mags and videos as well as some Drift Tengoku that shows FC's driftin like crazy, ohhhh driftin in my FC, i cant wait!!!

Oh and anyone know a good site that gets real technical about the FC, ie. turbo size (a/r's) and how much boost it runs stock, etc etc?

Thanks!

Well the 87-88 TIIs made 182 HP stock and the 89-91s made 200. This was due to higher compression rotors and more boost. But the 89+ are heavier and that makes up for the power. Handles ok?!? HAHA, these cars handle excellent, thats why most of the people on here have them instead of any other car. They have virtually perfect 50/50 weight distribution. Oh and the stock 87-88s run 5.5 # of boost while the 89-91s run 7.5#.

This site's pretty good on FC info:

http://beyondtheredline.fd3s.net/Spr...secondgen.html

and here's a few sites to get you started:

www.teamfc3s.org
www.fc3s-pro.com
http://www.mazdatrix.com
http://www.racingbeat.com
http://www.fc3s.org/
http://www.rx7.org
www.mariahmotorsports.com
www.mazdadiscountparts.com
http://www.mazdaformance.com/rx7.htm
http://www.victoriabritish.com/rx_cat_page.htm
http://beyondtheredline.fd3s.net/Spr...secondgen.html
http:///
http://www.tripointengineering.com/

Just another quick one, how much $$ will i have to shelll out to get around 350~400 rwhp??

NBECT,

You definitly want to build it up right.

As far as the engine, you can do it cheaper going carborated/distributed but you'll still need turbo upgrades, fuel upgrades, and monitoring guages.

Staying electronic you'd want an aftermarket ECU with datalogging functions, boost controller, etc..

ECU - $900-$1200
turbo - $800 ???
fuel injectors - ???? $250
stronger clutch - $400 ????

I'm not too sure on final pricing. Some more experienced builders might be able to help :)

I've got a TECII on my Miata now, i know that they make a rotary kit also, and I know the program so....
So the stock turbo is good for only about 12psi and about 250hp your saying??

And also, everyone i mention this too outside of this forum tells me that 7's fall apart, I though that was only a big issue with the FDs??

Fall apart? Hmm what do you mean by that? Only things that seem to go wrong are little electric connections.

They'll last if you do proper maintenance (as with any HIGH OUTPUT engine), get gagues if your modding to monitor the engine (air/fuel, exhaust temp, boost, coolant temp), change the oild every 2500 miles, etc..

The OEM turbo can put 12PSI out, but if you want to maintain those levels you might want to upgrade the wheel inside the OEM turbo or upgrade the turbo itself.

I belive the turbo's volume output is why most people upgrade -- to get more volume at the same PSI.

The "falling apart" I refer to are most of my friends, they think that the FCs are just as fragile as the FDs are becuase all of the horror stories that we have heard of the Twins acting up, that and the apex seals.

It seems to me though the FC is built tougher than the FD.

Also, about the turbo stuff we are talking about, How much boost can the 13B withstand?

I jsut bought a 87 tII for $3500 inside is ingreat condition, exterior has a little rust. Car runs fantastic. It has 80,000miles. Did i pay to much? only problem was it liked to flood but i installed a switch and that took care of the problem. I thought i was fair i have already had affers of $4000. Does it sound good to u guys?

The 7sec alcholol dragsters run 25-30 lbs of boost, but that's a very well built motor.

Most people run 8-12 psi daily and 15-20 under racing conditions. Of course again that's a well built system thats designed to increase fuel & air/boost properly :)

You are nuts if you dont jump on that if you dont someone else will and you'll be sorry

I think this is a really good deal for an FC...if you don't want it, I'll take it! :D Seriously, I'm actually looking for a car right now, but the problem is that I live in souther california...hmmm.

What problem, that's FC central ????