My friend Mike has a 86' RX-7 n/a that he has just picked up for free. The bottom seal on the radiator had a big leak and all of the coolant drained out. It overheated in downtown Portland so we towed it back up to Vancouver. He owes me some money so I might just ask him for the car if the overheating didn't do any serious damage. I know the car runs because it fired right up with a bit of smoke at the beginning. I already have a car but an RX-7 would make a great project. What do you guys think.
P.S. my friend probably won't pay me back cash so this might be the best that i can get out of him.

 

Overheating is no good. You can burn up seals, giving you zero compression which means your car wont run. Check compression before buying and fix radiator ASAP!

 

best bet is to send it to me (email for address)
i will send you a portrait of ABRAHAM LINCOLN ... ENGRAVED into copper! Its extremely lifelike and MUST be worth SOMETHING!

 

if it was a white smoke. the engine is most likely blown. try starting the car a few more times at different intervalls. if it becomes hard to start, and especialy if it puffs white smoke, then the coolant seals blew out. that means engine rebuild.

 

If the cooling system will hold coolant, fill it up, start the engine with the radiator cap off and look for bubbles.

If you see the champane bubbles, it's definately blown a coolant seal.