Just got an RX-7 for my 19th b-day
 

Hey just signed up for this forum. Well as the title says I just got a 1990 RX-7 GTU. The seller says it is vapor locked and needs an engine... well he obviously doesnt know anything I suspect he means carbon locked because nobody would say it needs an engine if it was vapor locked. I payed 600 for the car thinking it may need an engine but if its carbon locked I may be lucky enough to get it running again. If I do have to put an engine in it I was wondering what it took to do a turbo II swap and if it was worth if only for the 40 more hp and the fact that i can say i have a twin turbo. I also was wondering if anyone knows how much i should pay for an engine i keep seeing them for 1800 bux on ebay and 2500 for turbo II with transmission. Well I cant pay that but i can sell my 94 civic for 1600 to help get an engine. Also I dont like the headlights but i love the nissan 300z headlights and was wondering if there were any aftermarket lights like the 300 z ones i could put in the rx7. Anything you might want to share for a first time owner of a rx-7 would be good. Just for you guys to know my dad knows more than enough about the rotary engine. He actually bought a rx-3 at one point just to see how the engine works (long time ago). I have access to a full mechanic shop that my dad owns so nothing is out of the question if that helps. Here is the ebay link to the car i bought http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...2246647&rd=1,1
thanks
Nick

best advice i can give you is to keep your civic. you are going to be needing it more and more now that you have an Fc.

The TII may have ''only'' 40hp more than the N/A but it has a lot more potential. And TII's AREN'T twin turbo. A decent turbo engine can be found for well under 2k. And if you are talking about the Z32 headlights then RE-Amemiya makes something somewhat similar but I highly doubt you could optain one if you cant afford a new engine. As for general info check the FAQ or be prepare to get flamed.

let me be the first to say, welcome to the forums. anyways, alot of people are gonna tell you to search for this question, but your new so maybe you'll be lucky. imo though, if your going to use the fc as a daily driver or just run bolt on mods and not much else, keep it n/a, although the tII has alot more potential, swapping your n/a into a tII is going to cost alot. it'll be cheaper if you just went and buy a tII. but the 40 hp gain from the turbo is only assuming your gonna keep the stock turbo on there, most people will swap out to a bigger turbo. if it were me though, turbo it haha

Welcome to the forum but honestly I have a bad feeling this thread is going to get flamed real quick. You just want to make sure you do at least some basic research before you ask questions that are too broad. Things like saying it would be twin turbo and the like...its just asking for flames. Either way good luck with the new car, and follow "Iluvmy86"s advice. You are going to need a daily driver.

Wow 4 already saying I am gonna get flamed oops. I dont need my civic because I have plenty of other cars I can borrow from my parents like my moms maxima that she no longer drives because of her miata or our extra jeep or ranger or... still more. So dont worry about that. Also I live a block from my mechanic shop and its all down hill i can roll there if i have to. I guess I kinda new i was gonna get flamed with this and i tried to stay somewhat specific but it didnt come out that way at all. I am still hoping i will just be able to get it running and mabey rebuild the engine.. yah its complicated because of all the special machining it needs and the fact that it is totaly differant from any normal 4 cycle engine. Last of all i said twin turbo because i got fed bad info on ebay lol (what a surprise). I did wonder how you would only get 40hp from 2 turbos lol. I think I am gonna go n/a because it will have a few less problems. You guys have already been a little help full so thanks.

if you haven't driven a RWD car before it's gonna need some getting used to. Your rear will slide out if you go over some bumps. but the FC is SUPER FUN to drive... just don't be reckless and floor it on turns

Well, it sounds like you have your head screwed on well enough to know you are probably going to need a rebuild... and you have a shop... and you have reliable daily drivers...

You have all of the pre-requisites of an RX-7 owner. If you have money, thats a major plus. :)

If it is carbon locked, do a search... it *CAN* be pretty easy to un-lock. The shitty part is that after you unlock it.. your engine will probably be on its last legs. I would start saving for a rebuilt engine. *OR* if you want to learn in a hurry. You could do some more research and do the rebuild yourself.

http://www.atkinsrotary.com. order their rebuild video.. its super easy if you have a good attention to detail. Not so easy if you have to tear it down after you made a mistake or forgot an o-ring.

To avoid flaming, follow the below guide.

https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...hmentid=208534

You can say you have a twin turbo now, it wouldn't make it any more true than if you swapped in a Turbo II motor. The T2 motor is NOT a twin turbo. The car was called a Turbo II because in Japan, the 1st gen had an available turbo motor, hence this one is the second turbo RX-7. As far as swapping the motor, information is ALL OVER this forum. The search button will show you the way.

You'd be better off buying a 300z then. Headlight conversion should be the least of your concerns until you get the car drivable.

With 138K miles more than likely it's flooded or something else, you don't see many engines carbon locking at 138k unless perhaps someone ran 93 octane in it.

The car looks decent cosmetically, you got a decent deal especially if you can make it run again.

I do intend to rebuld this motor IF it runs. If it will not run I believe it may be a good idea to get a rebuilt motor. I had done about 6 hours of research before I joined here but I did not look over this forum before I asked. I am sorry for that so you can stop all the "yah what he said" things. I already mentioned that read on ebay that it was a twin turbo and that i was not surprised that someone on ebay was wrong gosh. Also my dad is a semi expert on rx-7's because he used to work on them all the time. Rebuilding it will not be a problem for me at all.

Look at it from our point of view: We get questions and comments like yours almost daily... They've been happening since before you joined, and will continue long after you've left. Once you're knowledgable, your patience will run short, just like ours does. If you want help, don't get snotty. Before you hit "submit new thread", try the search button. There are probably 60k threads in this section, your question has probably been answered multiple times. We're not being dicks, we're saving you time, aggravation, and flaming.

that was probubly for a 3rd gen.... i know where youre coming from...im 17 and ive had my 7 for about a year and a half.... unfortuately the guy i bought it from told me it had been rebuilt even though it hadnt.....now i am in the prrocess of saving up for a rebuild but dont worry it will be one amazing piece of machinery once your done and running


welcome to the dark side

Firstly, welcome to the boards. I think they do this "flameage on your first post" thing to see if you'll actually stick around or not. (It's like hazing or something.) :-P

Secondly, I envy that black interior.

Thirdly, as they already told you, the FC never had stock twins. The FD did. (3rd Gen.)

Fourthly, you should be able to find different headlights if you'll search around for "flush headlights" or "sleek headlights". I personally love the stock popups but as they say, to each his own.

Again, welcome, and good luck getting her running.

Cheers,
Cody

i might advise against buying a rebuilt motor. you may not get what you are expecting. If you are confident in your old man's abilities, just use what's usable from your old motor and get new parts from there.

Welcome abaord, good luck with the 7.

Carbon locking used to be a very common problem. Mazda came out with a tool that fits into where the starter goes and gave instructions to put ATF in the "cylinder" and let it sit for like an hour then turn the engine backwards with the tool. I said cylinder i know thats not right i cant remember what its called on a rotary. My dad was the one that told me that because he used to have to do it quite frequently. He says it happens if the car sits too long and that if you know its going to sit for a while start it up and get some ATF and take a vacuum line and let the line suck some oil in until the engine dies. I believe this car has been sitting for a while because he is only selling it because his mom is selling her house where the car is sitting at and he doesnt have room at his house to park it. But he did say that the engine locked up before he parked it and that it was the reason he parked it. Thank you iSP33D-for-J3SUS for the tip on the headlights. This is what i was thinking of http://www.undergroundautosports.com/gallery/300z_b.jpg I have a shop near me that specializes in rx-7's only so I think if i need an engine or parts i am going to go straight to them because they will most likely have anything i need in stock. Ball park what should i pay for a professionally rebuilt engine i dont want to pay too much. I may put my civic up on ebay soon and I am going to see if i can get 1900 for it becasue kbb says thats what it is worth. I would like to be able to use some of that for a sound system and some for tires but i think the engine is going to use all of that money up. To wiL87 my current job requires that i drive cars.. in some cases they are mercedes and bmw and in others they are saturns and hyndais I have driven tons of rwd's and some awd's too. yes I am used to driving fwd but I know how to handle a rwd just fine. I have messed around with my moms miata doing donuts and such rwd is just plain fun. Dont think i have anything else to say.

its called a rotor...

i know the rotor is called a rotor but i mean the i guess the combustion chamber not the actual rotor... besides if you compare a rotor to anything it would be to a piston

There's your answer :) And welcome!