FRFC3S

iTrader: (24)

Hi I'm Andrew. I've been prowling the forums for awhile since I gained an interest in RX7s. Well I looked at an 87 Turbo and this is how it went:

I had f1 run the carfax for me in the VIN check forum. It was originally from CA, got in an accident in NY, and is now in MA. It's had 3 owners before. It failed emmissions last year and has been garaged ever since.

As soon as the guy opened the garage door I noticed it had 89-91 taillights. One thing off the list that I was going to do.

For wheels, it had these: <img src="http://www.export-auto-parts.com/PartImages/193/8BF3-37-600.jpg">

The mufflers were rusted to **** but I couldn't get under the car to see the rest of the system.

It had a few dents, one above the rear driver's wheelwell, one on the bumper/half on the hatch, and one on the driver's quarter. He said he got rearended into another person, which would explain it. The dent above the wheelwell kinda looks like the car got pinched a bit.

The interior of the car was nice and stock. He installed some kind of "Fuel Kill System" to prevent it from flooding or something like that. He kept saying "Mazda RX7 never pass inspection" and "body is aluminum and very light!"

The paint on the outside was an excellent coat of black and the interior was a nice smoke grey. I did not check the lights and whatnot because I was more interested in if the car ran.

Tried to turn, wouldn't turn. Jumped it, it turned. It stalled a couple times and than eventually stayed running if you gave it some gas. It had a rough idle, like 800-1500 every few seconds. The normal blue smoke billowed out the back but for the next few minutes whenever you hit the gas tons of white smoke came out the mufflers and from under the engine. I couldn't hear the turbo spooling up when I revved it. The car eventually stalled out and fuel and smoke leaked out the mufflers for the next 5 minutes. I turned around and noticed we had smoked up the entire neighborhood and cars were going like 2 mph.

Here's my questions:
1. Anybody know if it's cheaper to get aftermarket exhaust than to replace a T2 exhaust system? The T2 mufflers are huge and look expensive to replace.

2. Are those the correct wheels?

3. Should I have been able to hear the turbo spool up? I never got to drive the car because it seemed too dangerous. When does the turbo kick in? Is the BOV very vocal or is it quiet? Can you hear it from the interior while driving? If not, can you do something to the BOV to be able to hear it? That noise is like sex .

4. I couldn't get under the car because it was in a garage with 3 inches of space around the car, lol. It had a bunch of steel stock beams under the car too so I couldn't get under it. Does it have LSD?

5. The hatch was lopsided and didn't close all the way. Will the hatch from my 90 GTU (same color) fit on it?

6. Does it sound like anything majorly mechanical is wrong with it? He told me that RX7s never pass inspection. I'm guessing his doesn't because it leaks fuel so that probably got into the emission test or something. Do I need an aftermarket fuel controller or should this thing be passing with some minor replacement parts?

7. It's originally a CA car and has only been in New England for 2 years. Does 1,500 sound fair for this car or am I getting majorly ripped? What is the estimated cost to make this puppy run smooth? Should I try to talk him down and use this as a parts car or what? I really liked it but I don't want a piece of ****.

Thanks for all your help guys! I look forward to seeing you all at some meets in NY, NJ, Maryland, etc as soon as I get one!

Mutaku

did the white smoke smell sweet? was it cold out??

White smoke usually means coolant seals. The hard starting gives the impression of low compression. Leaks fuel thats a danger sign right there.

If I where you I would look for another car because this one seems like more trouble than its worth. Too many little things build up.

Get a compression test before even looking more into this car.

My5ABaby

iTrader: (7)

1. You probably can't even get direct stock parts. Just go with aftermarket stuff.

2. Yes.

4. Found in the FAQ. I'd post it up here, but it's best you go find the info yourself and read the rest of the FAQ while you're at it.

5. They're the same size. I don't think anything will have to be switched out.

6. It passed stock (new, and until recently) so it should pass if you restore it a bit. You'll probably need new cats. That is unless you need a new engine (the white smoke doesn't sound good).

FRFC3S

iTrader: (24)

It was raining. Maybe 40-50oF out. I read the faq for my 90 GTU and I completely forgot to read it for the 87 TII, sorry! I can't exactly smell very good because I have a deviated septum. So let's assume either situation. Where can I find information on a compression test? I don't remember that being in the faq. Does this seem like a stinker or is it revivable if bought at the right price?

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

Sounds like the car is in poor condition. You're going to be putting a lot of labour and money (maybe even a new engine...flooding and smoke in combination are not good signs) into getting it road worthy. Failing inspection is a bad sign. No car should fail inspection unless it is in poor condition.

Maybe offer $500 if he delivers it to your place?

foreignracer

iTrader: (2)

Hey, I called about this one too. This guy does not seem too knowledgeable about Rx7's at all. I had a hard time talking to him. Anyway, to help with the questions:
The car is very light. I proved that 15 years ago when I hydroplaned mine into a guard rail in the rain. Rx7's do pass emissions tests. It is up to the testing person to set it up right. I do think that you will have a problem passing Mass inspections due to the fact that I hear they are much more strict. If you get a address in NH, I know a shop that will pass it here for a small fee.

One thing to remember when starting it is that it has not run in a long time. So you are going to see smoke and lots of crap happening when starting. One possible cause of this is OLD gas. Depending how long the gas has been sitting, it could really cause it to run shitty. As previous thread writers have said though, this could be a bad Apex seal also. The only way to tell is to get a specialized rotary compression tool (hard to find) and test the two rotors.

On the BOV, they are quite on any stock car which this one is. My 3rd gen is quite as well. I prefer them that way since it makes it more of a sleeper.

One thing to remember also is that this was a Cali car, which means it might have Cali emissions crap on it. I am not sure when they started doing this, but this could very likely be a candidate.

Alright, IMO, I would look at picking this car up for maybe $500 and making it a project car. I think that it may be more work that you really want to put in. I think that replacing the hatch may not fix your problem either, it may have been caused by his accident and thus be a twisted body. Anyway, if your up for the work, there is potential in the car. Good Luck and keep us informed.

PS....if I had room in my garage next to my 93, I would already have put it there for a nice big project car and completely restore it to stock. Huge BOV's are for Ricers! Keep it discrete....