I was wondering what would be the first thing you guys would do
for increased power. If you have a brand name can you share it?

I have an 86 GXL and love it.I bought it for 1500 canadian.It was under a tarp for two yrs.Body is really good but the engine is probably in need of a rebuild now.Anyway if you guys wanna help me out I would appreciate it.This is my project and can take some time with it.

 

Rebuild can be...expensive.

Get the engine running first, then we can go into making it faster...

I expect you to spend around US$1,000 for a rebuild NA engine, unless you luck out with a nice used engine.



-Ted

 

I would also know that. I have a 88 SE n/a and wondered where I should start.
Could you please indicate the price, performance added and if it's hard to install?
Thanks!

 

Well I'm assuming the engine runs, just not well. Do a search for "atf trick" that should help. you can do alot of tune up stuff at the same time.

Also if someone would like to write up a little something or post a link to the water trick, as I have no experience with it.

There are all sorts of rountine maintance, that would probably do alot of good.

http://k2rd.freeservers.com/FC3S/fc3s.html

http://rx7.freeservers.com/repairhb/tuneup.htm
Very important, tune up stuff

Check your TPS and timing.

I don't have a link available to the 86 field service manual, but you can probably find it on here somewhere.

Once you've got the basics out of the way, you can have fun. Is this car a daily driver, or not? Also, would you be better off saving your money for when something breaks? Buying a new exhaust is nice, but not if your car is sitting in the shop. Daily driver or not, and if you have the loot, most people will probably recomend replacing your exhaust first.

What's the deal with emissions? Do you have to pass 'em, can you get around them, how strict are they, ie is there a visual inspection. The more you can get away with the more power you can free up.

If you can, and most will be able to, get rid of your pre cats as a preventative step. After that what you do with the rest of the emissions and cat back is personal prefernce. Apexi and Racing Beat are good, depending on what you're looking for.

 

I costs more here in Central Florida. We have are some private individuals who will do the work for about $500 parts + $500 labor, but the licensed shops charge about twice that.

I agree with Ted's recommendation. Get the car running first, and then worry about the mods later. Of course, if you need to replace anything, you can usually install a better part. If you check back on this forum, I'm sure that you will get all kinds of info on how to upgrade your failed component.

 

The first two things I did when I got my 1991, was a better clutch and a Weapon R intake. Then, weight reduction! Read up on these cars, a lot of performane stuff can be done at home, and for FREE! Good luck!

 

My car does run and quite well at that.At higher revs it blows blue
but not all the time.Thanks for all the responses.
We have strong emissions tests now .
Its has one rust spot.I have found a guy who has four of these cars. So a rebuild is in the picture forsure.
I love this site .
cudos to you all!


PS. I do use it daily,but I want to not have to.Rotary rocks.

 

Here is a good site which lists problem areas to look for on your car. If you find anything wrong, I'm sure that you will get lots of recommendations on this forum.
http://www.aaroncake.net/

Here are 3 good rotary window shopping sites. (BTW, the first two links are to the same vendor, but their computer guru is too busy wasting his time in NV when he should be doing more important things like fixing the links and posting on this forum).
http://www.k2rd.com/Online_Catalog/FC3S/FC3S-index.htm
http://k2rd.freeservers.com/FC3S/MODS/mods.html
http://www.mazdatrix.com/
http://www.racingbeat.com/