So i've been looking for another RX-7 for awhile and stumbled upon a 88 Turbo II last night. It has a few problems and i'm trying to decide if its even worth the hassle so any insight would be appreciated.

Here's the rundown:
-Engine blew in the late 90's early 2000
-Guy purchased JDM motor and had a shop attempt to install it. Guy says motor is same year as car (i.ei S4 JDM T2 into S4 USDM T2) but i've got a feeling its an S5 motor
-Shop dropped in motor and butchered the wiring harness
-car sat until present day (~12 years)

Is there any change that if i straighten out the harness this car will run? Or has sitting for this long probably ruined seals? I am on a tight budget now and although the price tag on this rig is good, I cannot afford a rebuild. I'm would be willing to take a decent risk because the price is right but if there is no chance it will run then I can't bother with it.

Sorry for text, any input would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Zane

 

Then you cannot afford to take this chance. Since its sat for so long, even if you get one of the hidden gems of a JDM motor that didn't need a rebuild its been sitting long enough that you would need one very soon.

 

This is what I was afraid of. The rest of it doesn't scare me to much but I don't want to get it and immediately drop another 1g in a rebuild. I suppose it was almost too good of a deal to pass up.

 

if you don't have at least $2k on the side then there is no guarantee you will ever get it running. it may even cost more than that..

 

Sitting for 12 years should have been the dead give away that it's not viable in your current financial situation.

 

It's not just the engine that should concern you, both the fuel and brake systems would be highly suspect after napping for twelve years.
Of course there's a chance...there's always a chance, that's how miracle internet stories begin.
Someone is bound to be the lucky one.
Sadly, it's not chance that should concern you, it's probability and the probability is that you'll get fucked.

As a point of reference:
I'm currently bringing back a car that sat for seven years and will spend $1000-1250, without cracking the block open.
Hoses, gaskets, fluids...all that **** mounts up fast and you can't really ignore it.

You can also expect the car to fight you every step of the way.
Machines don't like to just sit, they get cranky and bored and will want a blood sacrifice for the most mundane task.

What you propose is not a trivial task.

 

pffft, i revived my '74 REPU that sat for over 25 years. of course there were larger hurdles, like the rotted out gas tank that are a little tougher to find than an FC fuel tank... and the carb kits which aren't falling out of trees these days.

the floorboard was a flintstone mobile but it ran and drove even with the original hydraulics and clutch that sat forever, after i unsiezed that motor(which incidentally looked fresh after we peeked in the exhaust ports).

 

im local in atlanta and tons of people in atlanta know their ****. its an s4 so its mind numbingly easy to work on those harnesses.

pm me.

 

All that for less then 1g that you didn't have?

 

i don't think "sitting" is the problem, but the messed up harness & such. I've got 2 cars which both sat 7 years, they start up & run fine, have put 1500 miles on one of them, just had to go through & change all of the hoses/ clutch/brake hydraulics, tires, & clean the fuel system.

 

I would not expect the car to run if it's been sitting for 12 years. Of course you can try but there is no guarantee, and yes if you don't have money enough for a rebuild set aside you shouldn't buy a rx-7 that is not in running condition.

Even when buying a rx-7 in running condition, the engine condition is still unknown and you should still always have a engine rebuild fund ready just in case.

 

not sure what that means. i did wind up selling the truck for $1k, running, no title with way more than that in labor invested. still needed a bit of work to really be a reliable roadworthy truck again. in all i had maybe $100 invested into it, traded $700 in labor costs for the truck taken off a customer build in restoring his '77 REPU. in all i was just out my personal time and know i could have gotten more for it but just wanted the shop space back.

new owner already has a turbo bolted to it, had the floor pans repaired and the paint sealed. seat is being made this week.

wouldn't be the first car i have gotten that has sat for over a decade and i spent next to nothing to get back on the road, but those were cars that sat in california. california is a magical state for letting cars rot and then restore them with minimal effort.

 

If this is the car on craigslist in Alpharetta, the guy apparently doesn't answer emails or it would be gone so I wouldn't bother with it.

 

No ****.

Although I don't know the detailed history, my chassis was a California car that moved to CO and is in amazing condition.

 

My S4 has been sitting in a garage for over ten years and I have to completely rebuild everything. The only that wasn't chewed by mice was the shifter boot. The intake and exhaust were filled with nest and there were nuts in my rotor housings.

If you can''t afford a rebuild (my project has surpassed the cost of buying a nice running s4) then you can't afford this car even if its free.

You NEED at a minimum:

New master cylinder (mine was cracked from age)
New gas tank or spend 250 on getting it professionally refinished inside
All new fuel hoses
All new fuel hose clamps
Plus all the rebuild stuff > $1000

 

Wow. Mice are amazing creatures.

 

Yeah but how do they get their nuts stuck in the rotor housings?

 

They have lots of free time, what else have mice to do?

 

Sounds like the set-up for a joke-



Seriously, someone cranked it with a nest in the intake.

 

but did you bust their nuts?