Hi all,

I just joined because I wanted to get som opinions from some of you all about your thoughts on what I would like to do. I currently own 2 mazdas a 2003.5 Mazdaspeed Protege and a 02.5 Mazda P5. I have wanted an FC for a long time now and I recently ran into a possible opportunity. I might be able to pick up a 86 GXL rolling chasis for an awesome price (pics below). I want to make this an auto-x car more than a street driven car.

Now I have not owned a rotary before but have decent mechanical skills. Would I be digging myself into a huge hole by purchasing this and finding an engine to put in it myself?

What sort of things should I be looking at if I do decide to take a look at this car?

Thanks in advance...

 

If you're looking to build up the car to your liking (meaning, replacing lots of suspension, etc.), then I'd say it's a good start. Of course, you'd want to make sure there's no major damage.

As far as finding an engine, it depends on your budget. There are quite a few places where you can buy a rebuilt motor, to your specs if you want. If you want to buy a high-mileage motor and rebuild, I would think that takes more dedication, time, and learning.

The FC was my first car, I had very little prior mechanical knowledge, and I've found it quite easy to work on (though I haven't rebuilt an engine yet).

Where in FL are you?

 

Thanks for the info

I just want to make sure I wouldnt be banging my head into the wall later because I cant find this or that you know?

Im in Largo FL (Tampabay area)

 

well good luck....and if you decide to pick it up start herehttp://aaroncake.net/RX-7/

welcome to the dark side

 

awesome link thanks. If anyone else has any other advice or suggestions please let me know

 

another question as far as the engine. Should I stick w/ an S4 or will there any problem getting an S5 engine into the car?

If the S5 is possible, is there anything I should know about?

 

If you are looking to build an auto-x car the RX7 are great cars. As far as the car you are looking at is concerned it looks like its been pretty much picked apart. Unless you are getting it for free or pretty close to that you may be better off buying something more in one piece. I would think you could find a running car for less than $2k and build it up from there. By fixing the one you have you could spend $2k very quickly just getting it back together never mind running. If you do decide to go with the car you're looking at see if you can find a knowedgable person to look it over with you and make sure the really important stuff is there. Most of what you would need is fairly easy to get but there are some things that are a pain to find and re-install, like wiring harnesses, a 5-speed if it was originally an automatic, etc. I just started building my car back in October and had zero rotary experience and have found it to be fairly easy to work on. There are some rotary quirks but between this forum and others out there therre are lots of places to get help. Good luck.

 

Stick with the S4, there are some changes with mounting if I remember. Ive swapped engines on these 4 times now and there are a few things to watch, but its not too bad. I found its best to have a good lift and take it all out at once. There are plenty of FCs out there, and many have bad engines when they go up for sale. I dont think I would buy the one pictured, There are so many FCs out there that I would look for a more complete example. I think this one will nickel and dime you quite a bit. I bought my second FC (an 88 SE) that suposedly had a bad engine for $200. It looked almost perfect and all it really needed was new spark plugs. Things like that dont happen everyday, but there are some better opportunities out there.

 

this is the description of it:

its under $200

 

It's worth it.

 

I would but it. Are you planning on keeping it n/a or are wanting to go turbo?

 

get it ....under 200...you could part it out and make more than that

 

Nope, the engines mount in the same. But there's a bunch of other peripheral things that are different between them (oil metering system, intake, auxiliary port activation, other stuff).

 

I will be staying N/A

 

Maybe it was a transmission difference then. I think I remember Ben Marr having that problem too.

 

Oh well lol nevermind....he sold it to someone else yesterday

The search will go on! Thanks guys.

 

Sorry about the loss. On the plus side, there's a 2nd Gen For Sale section here.

 

Here's the buyer's guide I used. I got a very nice running '7 with it. Also lookup "fuel pulsation dampener", as the guide below doesn't cover it.
http://www.rx7.voodoobox.net/infofaq/bguide/bguide.html

There's also a nice buyer's guide on aaroncake's site, plus some other info.

Reliability topics to lookup: OEM thermostat, overheating, OMP (intentionally burns oil)
Upgrading quirks to lookup: DTSS, VDI, glass pack exhausts, 5th and 6th ports
Engine rebuilding topics to lookup: rebuilding (duh), street port, rotor balancing

I think the rest is the same as any other car. Though I'm probably forgetting something.