2nd Generation Specific (1986-1992) 1986-1992 Discussion including performance modifications and technical support sections.

new owner of a FC, give me your thoughts

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Jan 12, 2004 | 09:17 PM
  #1  
scrapp's Avatar
Thread Starter
89GTUs (38k original mi)
Tenured Member 15 Years
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 678
Likes: 1
From: Houston
new owner of a FC, give me your thoughts

well, ive been registerd on rx7club.com for a while now, rx7s have always been my dream cars, but since i couldint afford one, i bought a miata. now i also just bought a rx7. heres the info on it, sorry ive been a little slow to post it up, got a little to much in the hang of being a lurker so i took this from my post from my regular forum. You can check out some more progress as well as some stuff on my miata if yall care in my info.

ok heres the story on it.
I was driving down a road on westhimer and i found this FC just sitting in a parking lot, looked at it, found the owner, bought it for $100. its been sitting since 94-95, and its a base model 86 FC. from what we can get from the VIN, its prolly one of the first FCs to ever come to the US.
it wasint turning over unless we sprayed ether right in the TB as we cranked it over. we were guessing it was not getting fuel, or the gas was just too damn old, or both. we get it home, start playing with stuff, and what do we find out? the MAS is not even connected, so the ECU wasint even reading it, :smack:
drivers side window is broken, so the interior smelled a little like dookie, so ive been trying to take out the interior and clean it up. no rust is inside the car, and theres very little on the body, the main rust on the car is pieces that can be replaced (sunroof, headlight cover, fender)
also one of the sparkplug holes has been crossthreaded
it will take a little work, but it does run, and just some regular maintnence is required. biggest plans are a T2 swap, cause really, it will just be cheaper in the long run to make this faster then the miata, for now.
oh, and like the owner said. "motor is DAMN good!!!"
now the pics.


Pulling stuff out

What the interior DID look like when we started


A little overview

Hoebag giving me a special JDM indian monkey dance for good luck on the car:thumb:
Old Jan 12, 2004 | 09:19 PM
  #2  
scrapp's Avatar
Thread Starter
89GTUs (38k original mi)
Tenured Member 15 Years
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 678
Likes: 1
From: Houston

Hoebag has a plan on how to remove the carpet...this idea only lasted for 5 mins, and 4 dremel disks


Yea...just a tad bit of work.

Interior is spotless of any kind of rust.

My friend, trying to fix the cross-threaded sparkplug hole.

Improvise!

Anyone wanna buy a Rx7 radio?

The interior as it is now, thanks to scrapp and hoebag co. or reopolsturing.
Old Jan 12, 2004 | 09:20 PM
  #3  
scrapp's Avatar
Thread Starter
89GTUs (38k original mi)
Tenured Member 15 Years
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 678
Likes: 1
From: Houston


The miata mocking its bigger bro, the rx7. he better watch out....



Thats the most rust on the car, just about.

Im amazed that this still stays up on its own


The other major rust on the car.
Old Jan 12, 2004 | 09:21 PM
  #4  
scrapp's Avatar
Thread Starter
89GTUs (38k original mi)
Tenured Member 15 Years
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 678
Likes: 1
From: Houston

God i love that big, centerd tach, cant wait till this thing runs.


The other 2 somewhat major problems on the body.

I need to turn that fan into a electric fan.

Freaking nasty *** 4 lug, dial rims.


Still cant figure out how to take out that dash. i doubt its recoverable.

Wondering what i should do about this, and all the other weather stripping, anyone know a place?
Old Jan 12, 2004 | 09:21 PM
  #5  
scrapp's Avatar
Thread Starter
89GTUs (38k original mi)
Tenured Member 15 Years
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 678
Likes: 1
From: Houston






If yall remember my last post, this is the confeti i was talking about.


Looks like no water was leaked in on the top, this still looks clean!
Old Jan 12, 2004 | 09:22 PM
  #6  
scrapp's Avatar
Thread Starter
89GTUs (38k original mi)
Tenured Member 15 Years
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 678
Likes: 1
From: Houston

Anyone know a radio that will fit in a FC?

The miatas new parking spot, across the lane in my neibors spot. can yall guess which neibor?

Yup thats right, HIM. (only ICCH OGs will remember him:roflmao


After i cleaned it, its much nicer now.
Well thats it for now. its not the best rx7, but im glad to have A rx7 for now. i just need to find some parts (like a whole black interior) shoot me a PM if you can help me out on anything. thanks.
Old Jan 12, 2004 | 09:22 PM
  #7  
scrapp's Avatar
Thread Starter
89GTUs (38k original mi)
Tenured Member 15 Years
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 678
Likes: 1
From: Houston
this is another day when we pulled out the interior.
sorry this was so long

david (turboFC3c) came over, and we decited to take out the rest of the interior, another friend or two were supposed to come over and help drain the liquids in the thing, but they didint call.
we had some real fun taking that stuff out, it was funny. after a while of messing with really delicate plastic, we just snapped it off, stared at the peice in silence real quick, and declared "i won!" haha, yea it was pretty funny.
stupid *** dash. sorry i didint get pics of the time we were doing it, just after pics


oh yea, thats a badass right there.

all the essential electronics


yea, we found some rust not sure how deep it goes

lose weight feel great, hahahah, its ok i had subway

people around my neiborhood are staring to get curious, i now have to lock the doors, LOL lock the doors on a beater, thats sad. oh yea, and i got a new driver side window.
Old Jan 12, 2004 | 09:22 PM
  #8  
86GXL's Avatar
Rotary ≥* Soul
Tenured Member 10 Years
 
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 785
Likes: 0
From: Oregon
Looks like a good start for $100. I have all the rear carpet in perfect condition if you wanna buy it off me. Same color and everything. One of my spark plug holes is crossthreaded to... how did you fix yours??
Old Jan 12, 2004 | 09:31 PM
  #9  
scrapp's Avatar
Thread Starter
89GTUs (38k original mi)
Tenured Member 15 Years
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 678
Likes: 1
From: Houston
the hatch carpet? mine is ok condition also, but im looking for black, or something besides red, i may just color dye that and look for other peices, i hear black interior is hard as crap to find.

we havent fixed it yet, but we are gonna get a helicoil kit, you pretty much shave the sparkplug hole and stick in this threaded sleeve.
Old Jan 12, 2004 | 09:35 PM
  #10  
Full Member
Tenured Member 05 Years
 
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 179
Likes: 0
From: Ohio
That might be one of the worst condition RX-7's I've ever seen.
Old Jan 12, 2004 | 10:03 PM
  #11  
scrapp's Avatar
Thread Starter
89GTUs (38k original mi)
Tenured Member 15 Years
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 678
Likes: 1
From: Houston
Originally posted by Terbowetoo
That might be one of the worst condition RX-7's I've ever seen.
ive seen worse.
Old Jan 12, 2004 | 10:13 PM
  #12  
trainwreck517's Avatar
Rx-hippie
Tenured Member 15 Years
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 2,076
Likes: 0
From: Torrance CA
Seems like you have one nice project going there. Good luck to you.
Old Jan 12, 2004 | 10:33 PM
  #13  
Senior Member
Tenured Member 05 Years
 
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 420
Likes: 0
From: Shelburne,Ontario
you used ether on a rotary?!! Not a wise idea. Ether will kill your motor or significantly shorten its life span.
Old Jan 12, 2004 | 10:36 PM
  #14  
scrapp's Avatar
Thread Starter
89GTUs (38k original mi)
Tenured Member 15 Years
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 678
Likes: 1
From: Houston
Originally posted by Mike86
you used ether on a rotary?!! Not a wise idea. Ether will kill your motor or significantly shorten its life span.
it was one quick shot to see if it was still useable, this motor isint supposed to last me too long, i have a friend whos giving me a free S5 engine.
Old Jan 13, 2004 | 12:44 AM
  #15  
Bio-Weapon's Avatar
Wha?
Tenured Member 10 Years
 
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 584
Likes: 0
From: Niagara Falls, Canada
How could you not afford an FC but you could afford a miata, which is like $25k+? Looks like a good project though.
Old Jan 13, 2004 | 12:50 AM
  #16  
Mephis's Avatar
Senior Member
Tenured Member 05 Years
 
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 653
Likes: 0
From: Morgan County, Indiana
Dude, you have what i wana buy, a junk 5SPD for a cheap price in good running condition, dude Strip the interior, rivit a aluminum dash in, get ya a bigass autometer tach, and oil gauge. get ya a real mazda short shifter, get ya some indrustral white spray paint, and spray it flat white. just take it out race it and have fun dude, dont make it a show car, youll be so much happier with a fast car.
Old Jan 13, 2004 | 08:44 AM
  #17  
scrapp's Avatar
Thread Starter
89GTUs (38k original mi)
Tenured Member 15 Years
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 678
Likes: 1
From: Houston
well i wanted a FD (doesint everyone) but i knew i couldint afford one, let alone how to keep up with one. plus after driving a miata i had to have one. the miata cost 10k. a 95 (special edition if that means much) with 29k miles on it. ive always wanted a FC as well, but nothing could stop me from getting a miata. ive always had a crazy goal to own a miata,FC, and FD at the same time, we will see how i get there.

oh, and so many people have told me what they think i should do, i feel like i didint buy the car at all, they did. i allready know what im going to do with it, and it wont be a show car, but it will be a nice looking FC that focuses more on HP. so not to be rude, but ive gotten tired of everyone going "just leave it looking like **** and use it only for autoX and drift days" sure. im gonna keep a car around for only 1 drift event a year, and spend 30-40$ a weekend to go drive around in a circle for 10mins. ive tried the autox thing, its fun, but i dont have that kinda money to blow every weekend and not get that much seat time.

Last edited by scrapp; Jan 13, 2004 at 08:47 AM.
Old Jan 13, 2004 | 09:01 AM
  #18  
Rxmfn7's Avatar
Do a barrel roll!
Tenured Member 20 Years
iTrader: (4)
 
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 7,529
Likes: 2
From: Lower Burrell, PA
Id try and get my hands on a black or grey interior when you start replacing. IMO the red is just ...well nasty. Doesnt look too bad though, a nice paint job will make a world of difference.

And nice Miata! I was looking at buying one once which appears to be the exact same car you have. It was a 95 M-edition, same color, looked identical. Next to rx-7s, miatas are one of my favorite cars...they just need a rotary
Old Jan 13, 2004 | 09:36 AM
  #19  
chexmix78's Avatar
MENDOZA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tenured Member 20 Years
 
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 235
Likes: 4
From: chicago
wow, thats what i call a project, well keep us posted.
Old Jan 13, 2004 | 09:50 AM
  #20  
Icemark's Avatar
Former Moderator. RIP Icemark.
 
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 25,896
Likes: 24
From: Rohnert Park CA
Originally posted by PumaSquirrel
and its a base model 86 FC. from what we can get from the VIN, its prolly one of the first FCs to ever come to the US.
Not a base model. That is a Luxury coupe.

Base models didn't come with power mirrors, or amplified rear speakers, (and the sunroof was very rare).

Last edited by Icemark; Jan 13, 2004 at 09:56 AM.
Old Jan 13, 2004 | 10:16 AM
  #21  
Full Member
Tenured Member 05 Years
 
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 179
Likes: 0
From: Ohio
Well, you DID ask for opinions, and people gave them. DOnt get pissed when people see an FC that has been beat to hell and say "Hey, that FC has been beat to hell".
Old Jan 13, 2004 | 10:23 AM
  #22  
scrapp's Avatar
Thread Starter
89GTUs (38k original mi)
Tenured Member 15 Years
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 678
Likes: 1
From: Houston
Originally posted by Icemark
Not a base model. That is a Luxury coupe.

Base models didn't come with power mirrors, or amplified rear speakers, (and the sunroof was very rare).
really it is? cool, i guess that explains why i have a aluminum hood and not steel. too bad i didint get power windows as well

and i never got pissed at peoples opinions, im just tired of all the initial D bandwagon freaks, telling me to paint it white and get a red sun sticker, and then the other group of people telling me to leave it as ****, and when i say i dont wanna do that, they get pissed off. sorry that some people cant just start off with a nice turboII, didint mean any disrespect.
Old Jan 13, 2004 | 10:26 AM
  #23  
Icemark's Avatar
Former Moderator. RIP Icemark.
 
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 25,896
Likes: 24
From: Rohnert Park CA
Originally posted by PumaSquirrel
really it is? cool, i guess that explains why i have a aluminum hood and not steel. too bad i didint get power windows as well
Power windows only came on the GXL, Turbos, and Convertibles (and 91 coupes).

Think of the Luxury as a GX (as it is in Canada)... not a GXL. Info on the right middle, just below the Sport picture.



Nice Merlot Miata by the way! That is a pretty rare Miata.

Last edited by Icemark; Jan 13, 2004 at 10:31 AM.
Old Jan 13, 2004 | 10:34 AM
  #24  
scrapp's Avatar
Thread Starter
89GTUs (38k original mi)
Tenured Member 15 Years
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 678
Likes: 1
From: Houston
and gxls were the models with 5 lug wheels and rear seat cubbys, ya? theres a FC in a junk yard by my house that has a lip spoiler like that red one, how much is that worth? he says i can have it for $15. also i wasint able to look, but if it has the lip spoiler, is it safe to say it have the rear cubbys? i think it was also a 4 lug. and what do stock side skirts look like? i saw someone selling some once, but the pic was small, they looked like mine, i dont think those body panels bolt off
also one last annoying question, my front wheels looks unusually high, right? i would expect the shocks to be blown, but uh- down, not up, lol

and thanks on the miata, i like rare things, hehehe. someone offerd me 1.5k for the wheels once.

Last edited by scrapp; Jan 13, 2004 at 10:38 AM.
Old Jan 13, 2004 | 11:05 AM
  #25  
eViLRotor's Avatar
Brother of the Rotary
Tenured Member: 20 Years
iTrader: (2)
 
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 5,781
Likes: 2
From: Arkham Asylum
Originally posted by PumaSquirrel
sorry that some people cant just start off with a nice turboII, didint mean any disrespect.
Dude, I think what you are doing is great!

It takes a lot of work, time and dedication to do what you are doing. And you are going to learn a lot of stuff first hand.

I would never want to undertake a project like that. I'd just spent a lot of $$$ on a car

Good luck



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:32 AM.