cbrinega

I have stumbled across an 88 TII that will not start. It only has 46k miles on it total! It has sat for at least 6 months and the owner hasn't been able to fix it (I'm not sure that he tried very hard though.). I think he was the third owner, and he only put 2k miles on it.

The fuel injectors were replaced, and it has an aftermarket exhaust. It is stock otherwise. Also, it is supposed to be in excellent physical condition without any rust. I will be looking at it in person on Saturday (digital camera in hand).

The car will turn over, but will not start. The owner says that it began having trouble being started last summer. He made some comments that it was hard to start after it ran for a while and became hot. He didn't come out and say that it had been overheated, but I think that might be the case.

He wants $3500 for the car as is. I suspect it will need tires and brakes in addition to actually making it run correctly.

Does anyone have ideas for what might be wrong, what to look for, etc?

I have a 1990 GXL, so I am familiar with rotary engines. But I've never dealt with a turbo. Even if I had to have the engine rebuilt, maybe $3k or so would be a fair price for the car. I'm not sure I want to pursue the TII. I really enjoy my GXL and am looking to turn it into a good autocross car. Buying a TII would put those plans on pause for a while...

Thanks in advance.

nonameo

I wouldn't pay more than 1500 with non-running engine.

chrispapas

I got my 87 tII for 500.00 non-running 101k

cbrinega

Anyone else...

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Yea, hard to believe 3 owners 46,000 miles. That's a mere 3500 miles per year. I'd check it very closely. Get vin and call Mazda. They will be able to tell warranty work, mileage etc. The car should be as new with that mileage, which I find very hard to believe. Be cautious!

jacobcartmill

iTrader: (6)

i wouldnt pay more than 2000 bucks for it. what good is a perfect car if that perfect car has a blown engine.

when you go check it out in person:
take the radiator cap off and crank the engine. (standard rotary stuff)
if coolant rushes out or even bubbles up while you're cranking, there is a badly ruptured water seal.
IF YOU GET THE CAR RUNNING SOMEHOW:
take it for a drive and get in the boost a couple times. then come to an immediate stop, put on the parking brake, get out of the car, and look for smoke coming out of the exhaust.
if smoke comes out, there is a blown turbine in the turbo, and the turbo is pretty much totally shot (however it will still boost a little bit)
i paid 3400 for mine and it had 79k miles (ends up odometer was broken and only the 10's roller was working), good paint, good brakes, good turbo (or so i thought at the time) good compression, good trans, etc.

if i were you, i would not buy that *non running* T2 for more than 2500 bucks.
if you two somehow discover that the engine has *zero* compression, dont give him more than 2000 for it no matter how nice the rest of the car is. and chances are, it it blew an apex seal, the turbo is bad too... but if the apex seals are just stuck from sitting for so long, then the turbo should be ok.

good luck friend.

cbrinega

I'll make a list of things to check and take some photos too. I don't intend to make him an offer on Saturday, but if he really wants to get rid of the car quickly then you never know. I can pay him cash for it, and the last time I checked, money talks.

I also wouldn't want to pay so much that it would have been more effective to buy a car from the "For Sale" section of this site. Hopefully the 46k miles is not a false number.

You are right in saying that a perfect car with a crap engine isn't worth much. However, there is some satisfaction in the idea of saving the car from a local car freak who would turn it into a clown car.

Thanks for the advice.

akageals

Well......IF it's PERFECT other than the engine. I might pay $3000.00. Figure $2000.00 for a good rebuild (If you do the removal/install) and for $5000.00 you could practically have a new car. BUT that assumes it's otherwise perfect which is not likely. The aftermarket exhaust gives a clue as to why the motor may be blown (too much boost on stock injectors). Cars with blown engines are difficult to sell. The more I think about it, $3000.00 sounds high. You can't test anything (suspension, brakes, transmission, A/C, Heat, etc. without a running engine). Oh well....my $.02 .

Todd

cbrinega

Testing the other mechanical components of the car was a concern of mine too. A lot of it can only be physically inspected if it doesn't run.

What I can't figure out is why the owner doesn't want to fix it. I guess I'll find out tomorrow morning. I'm getting nervous thinking about it.

P.S. That's a very, very sharp TII you have there akageals.

Josepi

Personally I wouldn't try to get it started.

Instead, take a compression gauge and give it a whirl. If it's just flooded really bad, fake it and say it has bad compression and get the guy to come down...just a thought...kinda evil...but hey!

akageals

Thanks cbreniga but I sold that one. I did look good though. Check out the one I just bought. '89 TII with only 43,000 miles....mint condition. http://members.***.net/toddkageals

I'll have better pics. up tomorrow.

Todd

dr0x

Do a compression test if the cars history turns out good. If the compression is good Id buy it. Chances are its flooded or something I wouldnt try to get it running while he still owns it. The moment you do, price goes up a few grand.

cbrinega

Sorry, I wasn't specific about that. I checked out your pics by looking at your user profile (web link). The low mileage is impressive, and black on black is very appealing.

I'm on here reviewing old information about RX-7 unflooding techniques and such to see what I can do with the T2 I'm looking at tomorrow. I'm checking it out around 10:00 AM. I'll post my "analysis" of it tomorrow along with a few pics.

cbrinega

I was worried about accidentally getting it running and having the price suddenly jump up on me too. The owner was telling me that he could smell gas when he cranked it and that the plugs had been getting fouled out.

...Can't wait till tomorrow...

dr0x

Like I said, if compression is good and there are no bubbles coming from the upper rad hose (while cranking), Id buy it. Just talk to him be like "its got a blown motor, one with a good motor is only worth this much anyways. Its going to cost 2 grand to rebuild" and offer a lower price. Keep bringing up good points and get him to agree with you. He will settle on a lower price

And when you do a compression test either dont say anything, or be like "hm... kind of low" or something along those lines, even if it comes out good.

Btw, like I said. Dont get it running while he still owns it. If you settle on a price, pay him and do all the paper work. Either bring a set of spark plugs or go grab some from a store. Throw those in. Right then and there push start the car, I am about 80% sure it will start up. If it doesnt, the coil pack may be blown or some other easier fix.

cbrinega

Okay, I checked the car out. I didn't take pictures, because it looked pretty messed up from a distance. The owner has some rotary knowledge and he and a mechanic relative did a compression test and lots of other things that he described to me. The engine has good compression, and he knows it. He was also not shy about saying that he would ask a lot more if it was running. After that I made no attempt to get it to start...

Good:
The car has 45.5k miles on it.
The body is in excellent shape (straight, and no rust).
The majority of the interior is in excellent shape also (gray cloth interior - nice seats too).

Bad:
The owner had started sanding off the clear coat to prepare to repaint it (original paint is red).
Some exterior trims were damaged.
The car had been running "a lot of boost" before it started giving him trouble.
The car ran so much boost that it would blow the hose off of the boost sensor.
The radio surround and some other interior trims were missing or broken.
Badly needs new front tires. New rear tires are not great either.

The car had an oversized HKS exhaust on it. It also had an HKS blow-off valve and foam air filter.

I drove my GXL to go see the Turbo II, and I was reminded why I like my car... It actually runs and runs well. I've never driven a Turbo II, so I don't know what I'm missing - except maybe a headache!

Apparently I am the first person to actually show up to see the car in person in the two weeks that it has been for sale. The owner is fairly young, and he sounded like he was just trying to get as much money out of the car as possible. He was willing to take a lower offer, so that is good.

As of right now I don't think that I want to deal with the car. If anyone in the Ohio area is interested, then send me a message. I'll be glad to give you his contact information.

ZachSpazz

I'd be interested in that car if I could pick it up for $1000, but since I'm already dealing with having a blown TII and the possible acquisition of a blown 88 Convertible, I don't need another rotary mess causing grief with my parents.

Where in Ohio is the car located? If it's close to me, I'd like to take a look at it for ***** and giggles. It's funny though, a few months back there was an 88 TII with 46K on it for sale for only $4500. My brother and I took a look at it and the car was immaculate. It literally looked like it rolled off the lot. I wish my brother bought it, but I can only imagine the hell that an 18 year-old kid would put on a TII.

Anyways, if you're ever looking to meet up with other RX-7 guys, we have a decently sized "club" down here, strictly for RX-7 owners. Let me know if you're interested.

dr0x

Dont take his word compression is good. If he ran a lot of boost thru it before it died, chances are its not good

akageals

Yeah...based on your discription, I'd pass on that one. It's a shame someone has f'ed up a TII with only 46K miles.

Todd