Newbie2theRotary

Okay so I'm in the market for an Rx-7, I would really like the turbo but I cant afford a turbo flat out. My budget is around 3000 dollars, I know it isn't much but I have narrowed myself down to a few options. I can probably get a decently running N/A but it will obviously have high mileage and I might end up having to rebuild shortly afterwards. I can get a blown turbo rx7 and rebuild the engine if I can get the space to do so, but once I pull the motor I might end up needing to fix a lot more than anticipated and the car might sit for a long time while I scrounge up the cash, of course I could attempt to get a used N/a engine to swap in while I am building up the turbo but would it be worth it? Now there is a chance that I could get a blown turbo and then drop a used turbo engine in it, i have seen one for sale here, but again it brings me back to the same problem as the first option plus I don't know how often those engine go up for sale. My name is Chris by the way for those of you who have missed my intro, and this car is going to be a mainly autocross car. Im just curious what you guys all think...

Jimmy2222

iTrader: (3)

You can get a running T2 for that from what I've seen.

rotary_bünta

iTrader: (3)

^^ agreed. i think you can find some decent t2 s4 for about 3k

20Bforme

for $3k, i think you'd be able to afford a TII

tuscanidream

iTrader: (6)

I bought my t2 for 2000$. Granted it's not in the best condition, a rx7 is hardly ever a daily driver anyways. Keep looking until you find what you want.

Newbie2theRotary

Thanks guys, I will keep looking, I see hardly any tIIs on craigslist but I will keep looking. Is there any other car selling sites that I might have more luck finding a tII

Spirit-RE

iTrader: (25)

You could pick up one with a blown motor and rebuild it for that budget, and have a new motor.


Just look on this site and craigslist for one. Be sure to compression test it though...

Newbie2theRotary

I will keep looking around, I will find something hopefully

RotaryRabbit

I bought a N/A '87 Rx7 for $675 with the full intention of rebuilding the suspension but the engine runs just fine right now. If it's for autocross you'll just want to figure out which class you'll run in and go from there. If you want to compete in stock class, it makes it very affordable to begin with. I would keep your eye out for a car with a decent engine to start with (this is a good time of year for people getting rid of their summer cars) and save up for suspension/dampers.

Newbie2theRotary

Found this car on craigslist, it really cheap though so I doubt it is going to run well. Its got 168000 miles on it also. I'm planning to check compression and trying to check the coolant seals like it says on the aaroncake website. But what do you think http://dayton.craigslist.org/cto/2021274077.html

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

Look at Cars on this forum too.Not just Craigslist.
I myself wouldn't trust a TII coming off of Craigslist,as you don't know WTF could be wrong with it.
At least if anyone who posts One up ON forum here has one for Sale,they will tell you what is UP with it.
check that car out though,,haha,,it's got a good price on it~!

Newbie2theRotary

I havnt seen any near me unfortunately. But I live in Ohio so if you see any let me know

farberio

iTrader: (7)

Whatever you do, be patient and find the right car. Don't be afraid to travel in order to get the car.

LunchboxCritter

iTrader: (9)

Another Option:
Depending on your mechanical abilities you can find an FC rolling chassis for around $500-$1000 (depending on shape), and a TII engine swap for around $2000 (engine, trans, diff, etc.).

If you lack some mechanical skills, and have shallow pockets. I would suggest staying away from 99% of FC's that you'll find in your price range.

thegreenarrow

iTrader: (4)

I bought my 88' vert for $800 drove it all summer(june to august) with few problems. My point is with these cars it seems like you can find alot of them that don't have serious problems the owner just isn't willing to research a little. Be smart, and you can for sure find a turbo for 3k. just might take a little bit longer.

Newbie2theRotary

Okay so the car I went to look at today had been sitting for a little while, had 167k on it, and the compression in the front and rear rotors was 112psi. That seemed good but the car idled at 1000-1500ish, he does have an rtech on it so maybe that why but im not sure. Another problem was when you held the rpm somewhere it would drop off then go back up, a cycle it would repeat around every 5 seconds, what is that about? It did have some trouble getting started but it had sat for a while, Im used to a seemingly bulletproof toyota that had never not started or even acted funny. But anyhow what do you guys think of these problems ive heard the tps goes out kinda often and i was wondering if that might have caused it.

Newbie2theRotary

and the emissions was taken out

texFCturboII

iTrader: (17)

I would check to make sure that the engine was rebuilt, it most likely was but if the guy says that it wasn't then the car is bogus. There is no way an original motor with 167k has exact 112psi on the front and rear rotors.

Other than that it sounds like some regular RX7 electrical issues, possibly the TPS as you mentioned, or a number of other things. If the price is right, and the guy comes clean about compression vs. mileage I would pick it up.

I got mine for 1000 bucks, pretty decent condition, but had bad oil seals. A rebuild later and I've got a new T2 for under 3k....

Newbie2theRotary

is there a way to check oil seals?, now that you mentioned it. The guy was astonished with the numbers too, his FD went out and he just wants to get rid of this one because all he has time for is for fixing the FD. He said he picked up the car in june or something and doesnt know if the engine has been rebuilt or not. For the compression testing tho the tester would only read total pressure so when I go back thursday I will run another test with a different tester to see the pressure on each rotor. And no hes not lying about the compression because I did it myself. One question about performing the test tho I removed ONLY the spark plug i wanted to test, should I have taken both of them out from the front and rear rotor? would that have changed anything? the car is only 1700 and seems okay, but i didnt get a chance to drive it yet.

Newbie2theRotary

yea, looking at all the references i could find I must have done the test wrong, I just let the pressure build up because I didnt have a release valve on the gauge itself, I guess I will have to do it again