zzzoomx3

i went and looked at the car this afternoon - its an 87 RX7 N/A. my buddy who went with has owned an RX before and he said it was missing when i held the rpm at 3000 - but i couldnt really hear anything - it sounded like there may be a slight fluctuation, but nothing major and the rpm needle didnt go up and down. it drove fine, sounded fine, you could barely hear the motor running. i'm used to piston engines and how they sound when they miss or are out of tune. so i'm kinda taking my buddy's word on the engine missing - how bad would it sound if it were missing? how can i tell? i've never owned a rotary before -but have always had mazda cars (7 of them)

all in all the car is decent shape and would make a perfect candidate for a racer - the body is straight and the paint near perfect. its lowered, has rims and exhaust, the cons are the differential mount needs to be replaced and the clutch needs to be replaced (but it does drive). he already bought a clutch for it - so i dont have to buy one. he's asking 1000$ -

i already have a car down that needs an engine and cant really take on another major project car - we are going back tomorrow to lift the car up and check out the subframe and undercarriage as well as take a closer look at the motor.

any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

j0rd4n

if the car sounds and drives fine, i don't think it's "missing," at least in the sense i'm thinking. you would def notice a dif in drivability if it were missing. just as a comparison, one time i accidentally mixed leading and trailing spark plugs (brand new), and it drove like a slug.

diff mount is easy enough to replace, and i think only costs like $30 for the comp or racing mount from mazdatrix

edit: how many miles, and what kind of racing are you doing? most likely, if you want to race it, you're going to have to rebuild it (not that it's a huge job, since you say you have some piston engine experience) or risk real permanent damage, so add another $800-1k in a rebuild kit

zzzoomx3

right on - thank you - but in what sense are you thinking? like i said i'm clueless when it comes to rotaries.

the miles are a debatable issue - the odometer shows 200+ yikes! - but he said the previous owner changed out the gauge pod. so i have no idea really on the miles. as far as racing it - i dont know yet - if i do get it - i will be using it as a daily until i get my mx3 klze swap done - then i will just have to see what i wanna do with the rx - but i know there will be a lot in involved. if i do race it - i'll just slam a twin turbo jdm in it.

ericgrau

iTrader: (1)

Check buyer's guides in forum faq and/or google to make sure it doesn't have any major problems. Look at it again with the guide. $1000 is very low if it's good, but it makes me wonder.

zzzoomx3

1200 is the blue book for fair condition - which is about where its at aside from the major items i already know about - i've been researching it all night - before i posted this.

j0rd4n

The problem you say could be cause by bad ground connections. Possibly fuel injectors, but I'd say nay to that if you say it drives well.

$1000 is pretty good considered what you've said has been done to the car. But keep in mind that it *will* still somehow be a vacuum to your wallet in some sense.

zzzoomx3

any used car is - but it sure beats a car payment every month. i agree that 1000 is a good price - from all my research and from what i've seen of the car. i just need to convince my buddy that the motor isnt missing - cause i really dont hear a fluctuation like he says he did - i just dont know enough about a rotary to argue with him - if the car was missing - even just a little - wouldnt it be really noticeable??

ericgrau

iTrader: (1)

If it was missing, wouldn't you just need new spark plugs? I've never heard of anyone here complain about that before. Anyhoo the engine tests in a buyer's guide should cover all the possible problems. If those are good then the engine is good and any "missing"/etc. can be fixed with spark plugs or better ECU connections or etc. Cheap. If it has poor compression or a leaky coolant seal OTOH, then you have bigger things to worry about than the missing.

zzzoomx3

like i said - i don know ANYTHING about rotary engines. so i wouldnt know what it sounds like when its missing or what would cause it. thats why i'm asking you guys. as far as leaking - i didnt see any leaks or oil on the undercarriage. and it drove way to good and sounded like a new motor - to me - to make me believe it had bad compression. but my friend insists that it was missing when i held the accelerator at 3000 rpm - i dont get it.