Hi im new to rotarys but not new to automotives. Im 16 years old and i live in southern california.Im planning on going to diesel school after high school. I owned a 89 240sx for a while and sold it due to the the price the buyer wanted and at the time i didnt have a liscence, that thing was pretty slow... Im planning on buy another vehicle next month and my sister said she will not invest any money for me "chopping and hacking up a car" so im like dang that means i wont really have much money for a sr20det swap or a KA-T build.


So in my mind i was trying to figure out another good FR car that has a decent amount of horsepower stock compaired to the 240sx and the only car that comes to mind is a turbo FC. For the prices i seen so far its pretty hard to beat. The only thing is i never worked on rotarys so im basicly on here to study study study. You wont really see me asking questions or making threads, due because the questions i want to know have probably been asked 100 times so there in the archives on here.


For right now, i only have a couple of questions. If your motor needs a rebuild where are good places to find parts for the rebuild, and does anyone in california know a place the specializes in rotary rebuilds. And is the Turbo2 FC a rare find in california because i only seen like one for sale on autotrader, and is 4500 a reasonable range to find a good running turbo 2. By the way, i read all the stickys so far, havent searched the archives yet but i will soon.

 

A torrent of badness is about to land on you from the old folks. I'm only 28, so I'll try to be gentle. Don't get a T2 as your first car, with such a freshly minted license. They are fast and fun yes, but expensive on upkeep, and your insurance will suck. Chances are also high that you will wreck it and hurt yourself and/or others, because you flat out do not have the experience or the judgement to drive a high performance vehicle safely. Even if you've been doing gokarts since you were 8 or something, the street is a different matter. I'd advise an old volvo wagon. They're RWD, not too much power, and built like a tank, so you'll live to see another day when you crash it. Not IF. WHEN. I'm not trying to be a dick, the statistics back it up. Get a whole lot of experience under your belt, do some track schools, and save your pennies, then go for something nice when you're 21, or better yet, 25 and your insurance goes down.

 

Well, If you dont want to go that way....

Take it from me, im sixteen as well and The FC is my second ride. True, its a killer on insurance and a pain to maintain, but Im somehow managing to keep up. I fell in love with the car, and thats all that matters, not statistics...

To answer your questions,
That price seems pretty good if the TII is in good shape, they're kinda hard to find in good shape though. As for rebuilds and such, if your not into doin it yourself, Mariah motorsports in Santa Barbra does some killer stuff. Also look into Pineapple racing, they do rebuilds and port jobs.

 

Hey!!! My first car was a 1987 Volvo 240 Wagon!!! I wrecked it bad, and I'm still here while the car has roof damage. I wouldn't reccomend an FC as your first car, but getting one while you're still young is fine in my opinion. I'm 17 and have owned my FC since last October and have had no accidents what so ever in it. Yes the car is a bit tougher than most to learn and drive well, but improving youself as a driver is key. The car is almost only for the mechanically inclined, so if you think you're up to fixing something every-other weekend, get one. But not as your first car. I'd wait another year or so.

 

Hey, I got my first fc when i barely turned 16, now i've owned 3 and i'm 17 nowand its been a fun car, sure they've all been na but its still fun. I'm in socal as well (Riverside) so if you ever want to meet up or something just hit me up. If you need a rebuild Dave @ rotaryheads will rebuild your motor, he's one of the cheapest priced and best in socal and he's about 1 hour away from you.

-Andrew

 

well i was only 16 with a fresh jr licence and i had a 88 fc not turbo though, i had it for like 3 months and never got into any accidents and believe me i got road rage (i live in north philly). the car was very fun but i needed something faster so i got a turbo mazda mx6, yes is faster than a fc non-turbo. i just turned 17 in june and still havent crashed and i do race alot and do dumb ****. am young what can u expect. and yes fc are hard to maintain and expencive to fix cus not everyone works on them that also one of the reasons i sold it.

 

You should change your name then.....traitor!



j/k man.


My first car was a Renault Alliance...given to me by my dad....had it less than a year...sold it for $500 and bought my first RX-7. Loved it. I never got in an accident with it...some kid ran over it while it was parked on the side of the road....dipshit.

I was lucky...that thing was pretty mint...so I didnt have to repair/replace things often.

Just be careful and dont be stupid and you will be fine.

 

lol im planning on getting another one

 

i really am maybe a turbo one

 

I learned to drive in a S4 NA. I probably should have wrecked it (I swear she is a blessed car because I spun out on highway, and locked up brakes through a redlight and didn't get a scratch on the car) but in the end the car really taught me how to drive, and even if I had wrecked it I probably would have gone a picked up another one. However, three years later that same chassis has a turbo swap and rebuild done by yours truly. And I had never gotten my hands dirty on anything before I bought my 7. That being said, if you get one, be ready to learn to work on it, or be ready to spend a ton of money having someone else do the work. FC's are alot of fun, got for it, just not a turbo.