Garrett

My friend is interested in a FC. He wants to know what to look for and if there are any potential problems he might encounter after buying one. The car in point is an 87 Turbo II with 170 thousand miles on body and a rebuilt engine with 30 to 40 thousand. It is bone stock...

I personally own a FD and understand a lot about the reliability moods and things of that nature. Is the upgrade path specific and are there any crucial upgrades to make right off the bat.

He has around 7 thousand dollars to spend initially so he wanted me to get a valid opinion. Should he get a staged upgrade with every thing installed at once or one thing at a time.

Thanks in advance!

Garrett

Garrett

come on FC prodigies, I know you can give me some advice

or at least let me see what the FC forum is all about, give me a link or what-not

Garrett

Ps reliability mods not moods, a slight oversight

FCdemon

I've only had an FC for a week, but I've had used cars since I was in high school, so I can tell you-- get it in great running condition BEFORE any mods. that is an absolute must. body stuff and wheels, etc can wait, repair the engine and drivetrain FIRST! Also, have him check out http://fc3s-pro.com/ which is a good website for mod advice although it's a bit conservative in my opinion.

Garrett

That site is pretty good...are there any more resources that I might be missing? What are some more sites to help me out?

Garrett

biorotary

in regards to problems after buying, as fcdemon stated above, a used car can come with no problems or tons of problems...just make sure he gets a full tune-up if the previous owner has not done so (and if even if the owner says he'd already done it, just go over things to make sure he wasn't just bsing...)

with upgrades, let me give it to you this way, you say you have an fd...great! now if your fd was 15 years old with 170k and a rebuild 30-40k miles ago, and it's been slightly modded, but nothing major and now you have a little $$ to spend on it, are you going to put all of that $$ into upgrading at once or putting in a little bit at a time?? however you answer that, that's what you should recommend to your friend (not that i would recommed what you would, but he's your friend, and i'm sure he'll trust your judgement after all, you do have an fd...)

RETed

The question is too vague, IMO.&nbsp Do you know how much power he's looking to make?


-Ted

Garrett

That's what I wanted to hear...and is why my question was vague...

In the time I have been researching FCs for my friend I have learned that they are a world away from FDs. I am just now beginning to grasp the issues associated with FCs. For instance the obvious age of the car. That is just beginning to be an issue with FDs, although as owners we would like to think that the FD will stay youthful. I naively thought that there were very little differences. Well I guess my rotary education will take on a new dimension...

I have noticed this forum is a little more laid back than the FD forum. In our forum I would have had to wade through some very sarcastic responses to get what I want and usually they just tell you to go to Rob Robinettes site or something of that nature. I purposely posted it vague to see what kind of feedback I would encounter. On the other forum you would not believe how many rotary undereducated hotshots come on and say, "hey I've rebuilt piston engines and this rotary thing can't be too hard", well that's when the pain comes. So...I want to hear personal opinions that I can't find at any website.

Are there any known weak points about the car, such as in an FD you have to either upgrade your AST or remove it. If you don't, coolant will leak, causing your engine to overheat, thereby blowing your coolant seals, then *poof*, white smoke. Time for a rebuild. And gross inefficiency of the intercooler and radiator for the FD, are there any similarities?

By the way...he is looking for around 400-450 rwh. I think he is interested in a KKK stage I turbo kit. Is it true that this thing has full boost by 3500? That's crazy! How could he make this a streetable car with something in that turbo kits range. Or should he look at maybe the T04 kits? He has already decided to get a Haltech, is this the best ECU for that power. What would be your personal preference and why?

Garrett

RETed

To go through all the little problems the car has will take PAGES of text.&nbsp I do have my website to take care of this - the FC3S-Pro site is mine.

400-450hp to the wheels is nothing to sneeze at.&nbsp You're look, minimally, at a complete tear-down and rebuild of the existing engine.&nbsp The condition of the engine is paramount on having a good building block to make that kinda power.&nbsp All the mods to support that kinda power is detailed on my website also.

There is nothing inherently wrong with the FC turbos, but there are common sense upgrades that are necessary for that kinda power levels, like upgrade radiator, front-mount IC, etc.

I personally think the Shane Racing stuff is a rip.
Lag can be somewhat be controlled by changing turbine A/R.
He's better off going with a T04, if he's on a budget.&nbsp If he has the money, the Ray Hall GT-series BB turbos seem to be the ticket - see Single Turbo section.

The rest of the FC problems are relatively minor and don't really affect the driveabiliby of the car.&nbsp There are tons of electronics and interior "problems" that don't affect daily driving but irritate the hell out of you!



-Ted