Hey guys,

First off, I already searched. Either I'm not using the correct keywords, or I'm just too drowsy and out of my head to actually find what I'm looking for...

Anyway, I'm looking into buying a project FC. Its an '88, N/A, auto.

The seller's looking for $500, but here's the problems:

- sunroof is rusted to hell (no holes, but you can make one if you drop a b-ball on it)
- area AROUND sunroof is somewhat affected
- some rust going on in the top right corner of the rear hatch glass frame metal, and likely rust underneath
- blown engine
- AUTOMATIC

I know, it'll be an expensive job to get the car looking nice, rebuild/swap the engine and transmission and all, but the car is white... I've always wanted an FC in white, and here it is... As far as engine rebuilds go, FC3SPro should have me covered for basic guidelines, the errors and problems along the way would probably be posted here...

I wanted to know, is $500 a 'reasonable' price for this, or should I offer lower. I put up a WTB ad with specific text, even BOLDING the manual transmission part.

This guy came along and offered me the car for $500. He then came back and said "whoops, its automatic". Should I deduct this from his price? What do you think a car like this would be worth?

Lastly, what parts would I need in order to do a complete automatic-to-manual transmission swap? I know its probably been discussed before, but I've google-searched and even searched RX7Club, and all I get are LS1, 13B, SR20, 2JZ, etc., swaps. I'm having a difficult time finding a comprehensive transmission swap FAQ, guide/parts list or walkthrough. Can anyone tell me what's involved, and list the parts I would need? I'm also planning to turbocharge down the road (TII engine probably), and I've heard that N/A and TII drivetrains are different, so what's the work around for that? Can a TII drivetrain work with an N/A engine until a complete TII engine is swapped in?

Thanks in advance for your replies.

 

For reference, there's a black '88 that's manual, runs, is manual, and only has a leaking master cylinder really wrong with it, little to no rust, and it's for sale for $500, and there's another that has a fine engine, but there's a short in the wiring somewhere that causes the fuses to blow for $420. It rather seems like there's a lot wrong with that car to be worth $500, either that or those are some extremely good deals going on in my area (seattle craigs list if you're in the area too)

I don't know a whole lot about auto-manual swap, except you're obviously going to have to do some serious interior work for the shifter, and I think (but don't quote me) that the transmission itself will require some custom fabrication for the mounts.

As for NA-Turbo swap, you generally want the TII drivetrain to go along with the engine (though not required), otherwise your transmission and diff won't last too long with the added power. The best way for this is to get a cheap TII donater car (like one that's been in an accident and has a bent frame), or buy all the parts separately, but that gets really expensive in a hurry.

So imo, if you want a manual, buy a manual. It will save you a lot of money and a lot of headache. As for turbo, swaps are pretty common and help is readily available here, just a matter of finding the parts car for it.

 

it would only be worth it if it was a GXL and that would be to some people, like me,
i am looking for the 3.909 LSD rear end that ONLY comes in the GXL AUTO.
other then that, offer him 200 bux, then walk away.

 

i dont really feel like searching, but doesnt a sunroof only come on the gxl (i could be wrong)

 

You will spend more restoring that rust bucket than if you held out for a little bit and found a cleaner example for 2-4x as much cash. Unless you can do ALL of the work yourself I think you are going to find yourself in over your head.


If there is that much rust than that car probably has a lot more hidden cancer. Just walk away man. There is better for slightly more. You could probably find a popped motor white NA for $1k or less that would be a good project car in much better condition from the outset.

BC

 

I'm fairly certain that the sunroof comes with most models, certainly not limited to the gxl.

 

I just recently bought my first FC and ive had the joy of working on it. I think it could be a good buy the only thing that would wry me is the rust.

 

NO AUTO!!!!!!! AUTO TO MANUAL SWAPS SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!! trust me your better off just finding a manual car.

 

yeah the manual to auto swap is a PITA, your need the tranny the mounts, the crossemember, clutch, flywheel, master/slave clutch cylindars, pedal assembly you'll have to fabricate your own bracket for the tranny.

for $500 bux i'd expect the car to be trashed,

expect to spend between 2-3k on a decent running fc and even then your gonna be spending another 3-5k just replacing **** so it's a safe Daily Driver.

you can't cheap out on these cars and but the generic parts the car will not be happy

 

Well, I told him most of the stuff you guys just told me. I had a Craigslist ad specifically looking for a running, manual RWD car, he gives me RWD only...

As for the engine being blown, he said that his mother brought it home in a tow truck one day... Being automatic, and being driven by his mom, I'd assume that for the most part, it was lady driven... Can't say the same for the engine though...

As for the auto-to-manual swap, I know its difficult, but I'd rather face the difficulties of doing an auto-to-manual swap on an already white FC than buy one that's already manual, and dismantle the thing to its bare chassis and do a full repaint...

If I wanted to go the route of already-running and only bodywork being needed, I'd go look for a 240SX, but there's too much hype going on with those cars nowadays that even old ladies in my area driving automatic 240's get pulled over and harassed...

Besides, I'm taking an automotive service tech. course in college this summer, and it would be nice to have something to tinker with... I'd actually prefer not to tinker with my Protegé since its still in perfect condition minus door dings, and its already running perfectly. I don't want to risk screwing up my DD.

Oh, and here are two pics that he sent me. Can't get new pics for the next little while, as we just had a recent snowstorm here in our part of Canada...





On another note:

I also read about Miata transmissions being swapped in place of an N/A FC's transmission. Whats the deal with that? Is it more expensive/time consuming than a regular auto-to-manual swap using an standard FC transmission? I noticed that the Miata is very popular around here and parts for them are so easy to come buy, and significantly cheaper than FC parts... Would this be an option? Miata trans in an N/A FC?

 

Not even worth it dude...I bought a white one, great condition 5 speed with a blown motor for 300 bucks.

EDIT - My GX has a sunroof.

 

holy **** if the sunroof is rusted that bad just think about the under carriage.theres also rust on the rood and the top of the door.
this car has cancer.

the miata transmission doesn't just drop it, the internals have to be swapped into a FC housing.

.

also it's been repainted, the hatch doesn't come in white stock, it's an s4 painted to look like an s5, and it's a base model because i can see it's go the phone dials on it. really dude you can find a better car than this


even base models came with sunroofs

 

Everyone is right, with that much rust on the top, the rest is going to be an absolute mess.

That combined with auto-manual swap, it's almost certainly going to be cheaper and less work in the long run to get a decent condition manual and paint it if you need to. This car is great to work on, even if not everything you learn in your auto class is applicable due to the rotary engine.

It's ultimately up to you, but don't set yourself on this car and convince yourself that it's what you want. I've made that mistake before. There are a lot better deals out there than this, you just have to be a little patient until you find them. The auto or the rust alone would be a deal breaker for me.

 

New pic:



The guy said that he'd give it away for practically free, but he's got an aftermarket exhaust on it, and he wants to make money on that...

 

wow yeah it's garbage buddy, look how bad the rust is on the corner under the spoiler. not to mention the crazy angle it's sitting at.

it would be a total waste of money

what your wanting to buy is a totally rusted out rx7 with no motor and an automatic transmission???? the chassis is garbage

the only things ok about this car are the hood/fenders/bumper, i'd scrap the rest of it

 

I say don't do it. Simply because it's automatic and AUTOMATICS ARE GAY!!

There, i said it LOL. But still, I'm sure there are plenty of FCs out there, just waiting to be purchased! You just gotta look harder, man!

 

Yeah, I'm likely going to go that route...

If anyone is selling or knows anyone selling a running 5sp FC (coupe only, no verts) or SA/FB for $500-1000 in Ontario, Canada, PM me or post up a link. $500-1000 since I'm looking for a project car, but not something that looks like the one I posted :p

EDIT: Change of plan... Looking for SA/FB now... Had a talk with the 'rents and found out more about my family history... Looking for an SA/FB to restore as a tribute to my grandfather.