MassKid

My son bought this 87 Rx7 that is rotted out in lots of places. The motor runs really nice and just broke 90k bringing it home. Worst case scenario, what is a motor worth?

Regarding the rot, the rear wheel wells are toast and the rocker panels where the front fenders are a mess, the jacking points are gone. Now I know nothing about these cars but looking underneath, I believe the frame is the two long bars that run front to back. I'm thinking I can jack up from there. On my other cars I have with no problem. They look clean. Knowing nothing about an Rx7, is this okay? Also, if just the rockers are rotted, is that structural where the car would be dangerous to drive?

Are there replacement sheet metal panels available or do you need only available through salvage? If salvage, it might make more sense to buy a cleaner roller and use this car as a parts car. My thought is to just get this car street safe and he'll lose interest in a couple years and then sell to someone more knowledgeable in restoring a car like this. It is a cool car, so many odd things about it (pop up lights, pockets in the back seats, plastic battery box. Oh and that rotary thing that makes cool noises.

Thanks.

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

i use the rear subframe to jack the car up, right in front of the rear wheel is a big rubber bushing, use that. or the differential. in the front either the subframe or the tow hooks work.

Mazda has some sheet metal still, but to get quarter panels you'd have to import from Japan, and its probably just not worth the $$. (rear quarter is $750!)

MassKid

Great, thank you.

DR_Knight

iTrader: (23)

You should really post pictures. Then we can judge from there. These cars can really become money pits, but can also lead to your son growing his mechanical skills.

MassKid

I'll post some pictures.

I think what I will have him do is 1st make sure the car is structurally sound with a real mechanic. Next,fix brakes and horn. Next POR15 all the rot/rust underneath. In the rear wheel wells, fiberglass where al the rotted pieces are gone so keep water from causing more damage. Do the same with the front fenders and paint. Car is white so it should blend okay hopefully. We can't fix the front jack points, beyond our level of expertise. Not going to throw a lot of money at this car. Preserve what we have.

If he gets 2-3 years out of it, it will be worth it.

Thanks for your assistance.

Romthirty

It makes me happy to read that you're helping your son out with this and you're immediately looking for information. Some young people get these cars not knowing what they are doing and treat them bad and the car ends up being junk and causing issues. I feel like you're doing the right thing and that makes me happy. Without knowing much about the car, it's hard to say what condition it's really in, pictures would help us ask further questions about specific areas but with that said, If you treat the car right and take care of important things, it should easily last your son a good while. I'd for sure start off with a proper tune up!

Having it looked at by a mechanic is a good idea, but it also turns my stomach a little. If you take it to a generic shop, they may not know about rotaries and diagnose things that aren't accurate, or you take it to a rotary shop that will tell you that everything needs to be replaced and rebuilt, lol. I guess a general mechanic overview would be good to help you point out obvious things that may need replacing. Research is key though! I bet you'll have fun with this car as much as your son will.

As for jack points, yeah, read what the other user said. A lot of people use the traditional jack points on these cars and just smash the body by doing so.

Joglusker

Yup, I use the diff to jack my car. I’d +1 everyone saying to take it to a mechanic but definitely take everything engine related with a grain of salt. We can still diagnose issues from the symptoms though! As for the frame, I’ve heard about people swapping to roadster frame rails with relatively minimal work required. There’s definitely a thread on it here about it.

For the record, I wish my parents would help me fix my FC, so it’s great that you’re here helping him!

MassKid

Romthirty

Aside from that rust stuff, the body is looking real nice and clean. Would love to see some pics of the interior and engine bay.

MassKid

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

so JM1FC3312H0522566 is a Noble White over Blue Sport Package, built 11/4/1986 sold new in Rhode Island 4/7/1987. it has engine 97714 in it.

its too bad about the rust, it looks really nice other than that. the rust does seem confined to the corners, color me optimistic

Romthirty

Just curious, how did you find where it was sold new? That information doesn't come up for mine when I searched my VIN. Did you use Car Fax along with that or something?

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

i sit in front of the Mazda dealer website all day

Hot_Dog

You need to check the condition of the four steel hard lines that run along the inside of the left frame rail. One of those lines (i.e., small line), is for the rear brake hydraulics. The other three lines are fuel lines. The two large lines are for fuel supply (i.e., high pressure) and fuel return (i.e., low pressure), and the remaining small line is for fuel vapor. This brake line is still available from Mazda, but the fuel lines are NLA. The risks are that if the brake line bursts than obviously no rear brakes, and if a fuel ruptures than your car could go up in flames.