I'm currently looking a picking up an '87 TII for relatively cheap hopefully. The car has only 60,000 miles on the odo. and has been sitting for the past 4 years according to the current owner. I'm actually not even sure if he ever titled it. But anyway it has sat in a garage for the past 4 years. Tt was a one owner car before him, and it looks really clean as far as the body and interior go. He said that it ran fine when he parked it. He was going to turn it into a project, but that never happened and now he has to get rid of it. Wife's orders or something. heh. However, I'm wondering what could go wrong on the car after sitting for such a long period of time. The only 3 things I can think of are engine, tranny, and lsd. Also, what would be rebuildable? Would I be able to rebuild the motor, or would it be rusted, need a new one, etc? How about any lines, seals, and whatnot? He's selling it as a parts car, but everything still works in it, aside from the motor, which is seized. I figure if I could get it running for relatively cheap, I should go for it eh? What are your thoughts?

 

Do a search for ATF treatment.I've heard stories of people unlocking motors and getting some compression back with this method though I have no personal experience with it.If that won't or doesn't workI think you could rebuild the motor and hopefully reuse most of the parts(rotors,housings e-shaft stationary gears,etc)if no apex seals broke when it seized.there's a few companies out there that sell rebuild kits.

 

That's the problem with rotaries, if you sit them in a garage with no running for a prolonged period of time, it doesn't help at all. I'd suggest driving the car before you bought it. The tranny should be alright just sitting, and same with the LSD. Just might want to check the fluids, make sure they're not chocolate shakes. The engine would probably be the main thing to worry about. Always inspect before you buy.

 

What do you mean when you say the engine is "seized"? Does the motor crank but not turn over? Depending on the answer you can go about it several different ways. If the motor cranks but doesnt start up it may be flooded. Also try and get some fresh gas into the tank when you go check it out if you can. 4 year old gas wont help at all.

 

i was in the same situation you are in, i bought a TII that was just sitting for a few years, i have spent over $20,000cad in getting the car to run properly as well as alll the upgrades. so all in all i have replaced everything in the car except literally the frame and tranny. these were the only things that were good on the car, but than again i only wanted an rx7 with a good frame and body, and thats exactly what i got.
Just didnt think i would have spent over 20k
But it is worth all the hard work and money.

 

Well I can't drive the car, because the car doesn't drive. I will ask him if the motor cranks or not though.

The car is in Iowa, so I can't go look at it right away. He posted a link to his ebay auction in the for sale section on this board. He said he was moving soon though somewhat close to me, and would maybe be able to deliver the car to me at my cost. That's what really interested me. He's selling it on ebay as a parts car currently.

Hmmm well I don't intend to spend anywhere close to $20k on it. That's about $12k or so USD eh? heh. That's one expensive FC.

Thanks for your quick help btw, as always. I'll probably have more info tomorrow, and more questions. heh

 

I bought an 87 TII a few months ago that had been sitting outside (in New Hampshire) under a car cover since 1996. It has 88K on the odo. The car is amazingly rust free and the interior is excellent. The car was parked because it needed exhaust work. I have replaced the complete exhaust system, replaced the starter solenoid, rebuilt the alternator (one of the brush wires was corroded through), replaced all the brake rotors and pads and cleaned up a lot of bits and pieces in the engine compartment.
I did the ATF treatment (only I used MMO) and after a couple of days I was able to rotate the engine by putting a socket on the eccentric shaft pulley bolt. I know that this is not recommended due to the fact that the bolt may be either loostened or torqued to tight but I figured that as long as I was careful it was the best way to but a controlled reversing torque on the engine. The engine runs fine now and I have tested the compression at 105 on the front and 100 on the rear rotor. I hope to have the car on the road in a week or so and then I can sort out any other problems.

It sounds like the car you are looking at could be a good deal if the price is right.

 

RX-7 Rice Eater,
$20,000 cdn on a car that old?? My god. These cars are so not worth that. What makes an old T2 fun is that it's fast and cheep. That's it IMO. Start spending and it'll never stop. That's no fun. And what if a $20000 t2 gets totalled? For 20 grand get an integra, a 3 series, or supercharge an old miata. Then you spend it once. As soon as my T2 starts puking it's gone, then it's a blown miata.

 

Alright well it looks like I'll probably be getting the car. I'll look into the ATF treatment. As I understand, you did not even have to rebuild the engine dad4ever?

 

last year I bought a FB that had sat for 4 to 8 years. the engine 4 and the body 8. I put some Seafoam instead of the ATF in where the spark plugs are. I left it soak over night before I started the care. You will have to drain all fluids. Gas tank, tranny, coolant, oil etc...
I have had only minor problems with mine. And if I didn't have so many other projects I would have overcome them by now. Inspite what some people on this forum say the Rotary and the RX-7 are tough beast.

 

hey kick----

Seems like you haven't owned a 7 for very long......"cheap" is not the word that comes to mind, unless you choose to mickey mouse everything. We drive the only car in the world I have ever heard of that takes about $600 just to replace the stock ignition coils with factory new ones! The only thing that is cheap about the 7 is when you can find parts in the boneyard. I own a 7 because it is different. It isn't really that fast, and it really isn't that cheap. It is possible to get lucky and get one cheap, but they are not that cheap to keep up. If you want cheap get a cibic. oh--and running 15-16 seconds in the quarter doesnt make us fast either....not yet anyway