Here is the ultimate question...

this summer i will be selling my 90 n/a and looking to buy a TURBO II...hopefully a S5.

anyway, should i shell out about 800 bucks and get a non-running TURBO II? then get a rebuild on that engine or have a rebuilt engine shipped in? when finished overall i would probably have about $4,000 in the car but with a BRAND NEW engine...


OR

buy a turbo II in good condition with about 80-90K miles on it for about $3000?? Then I could install the racing beat exhaust system and overall spend about $4,000.

so if you were going to spend 4,000 which route would you take? obviously the first sounds better, but buying a running turbo II in good condition would have a LOT less headaches.

 

If you want peace of mind i would buy a blown TII and have it rebuilt.. 5K is what i have spent so far for parts including EMS and bigger turbo. New housings (5), gasket set, seals, & new bearings cost me around 2.5K.
I just got back from my friend's house to borrow his engine stand for rotaries and his big flywheel wrench. Im ready to do this rebuild and hopefully it turns out OK!..

 

Gotta throw a question back at ya
do you want a project car?
or daily driver (or somthing to geta few miles out of before a rebuild)?

Kinda depends if you have a daily driver,both have their possible problems.

 

Save, and buy an 89+ T2.

I had allready bought my 88T2 and dumped money into that. 2 weeks later a near mint red 90T2 showed up for 6k only 2 miles away from my house.

Patience pays.

 

DO what im doing...Buy a blown turbo for 800. Myne came with new clutch , tires , alternator , Oxy , blitz blowoff valve and S-AFC...The engine thats in thier now was a J-Spec engine they got for 810 bucks and worked perfect..Engine blew at 66k miles due to overboosting.

So 1600 bucks to get my turbo running. And all I need is a used boost controller. Dyno tyme , down pipe and im set for high 13s...

 

add a grand to that for anything unexpected.

2600 bucsk.

 

we call the racingbeat system the apex seal removal tool, you need more fuel to keep up with the 10-13psi of boost it'll give you. i would (and did) pick up a blown t2 and put a motor in it, its down for a month or 2 but you dont have to worry about it after that.

mike

 

I'm in the same boat as you. I picked up an 87 GXL for $250 and was planning to fix it up, but after looking at all the figures I've decided its just not worth it. However, its will be an EXCELLENT parts car for a TII. Thus, I'm going to save a bit find myself a nice TII. Just like you though I'm not sure if I should find a lower mileage TII or a blown one. Tough to say, but if you're willing to put in a motor a j-spec from http://www.fc3s.org would probably be best. If you decide to go that way just be sure to do a compression test as soon as you get the engine, before you install it.

 

Or you could do like I did. I bought a running 10AE for $800. It had 148k miles on it so figured the engine was about to go. I pulled the engine out and tore it apart only to find that the engine looks brand new on the inside. All I have to do is street port it buy a bigger turbo and put it back in the car. Yee Haa!!!

 

I'm with stinkfist. You can be lucky and get a really sweet TII for a steal. Got my S4 TII for $2250 with rebuilt engine and full suspension. Why so cheap? The owner didn't know a damn thing about it.

If you go with buying a blown one, then be ready to not be able to drive it for awhile. When I rebuilt my friend's GXL, it took a lot of time and patience. But it is the best way to go if you have a limited amount of money.

- Kevin

 

well, I'm considering the same question. However, the TII i'm looking at is $3200. OR I could buy an N/A rex for MUCH less and then turbo it. It's a delima. I think i'm going to opt for the TII..... It's also gotta be a daily driver... to and from school.

 

SilverT2 ,

is that red TII still up for sale... syracuse is not too far from kingston ontario

 

This is the real question here, what do you want???

 

sure buy the blown motor one,,i can help ya put it in

 

The blown motor T2 is fine if you can do some of your own work. I bought a 90 T2 for $1500 with a bad engine (lost compression in the rear rotor--which is fairly common around 100k) The body is still in beautiful shape, but it has been in my garage more in the last 4 years that I have owned it than on the road. Of course, most of that time I was saving to buy stuff. The engine I got was a Mazda reman for around $3000 installed. The turbo went last May and I let it sit until August. That was $1200. Last October, I replaced a stuck front caliper which was another $400. Be prepared to do some work to it. Just remember that if the car has miles on it, things will break or wear out over time. If you want a good economical, reliable daily driver that will not cost a lot of money, buy a 323 or Protege too. You can pick up a good one for around $800-$1500.

 

alright i guess if i can find a turbo II project car then i will go that route, but if i can only find a turbo II in good condition then i will do that.

 

why not just drop the TII engine in the NA about the same price range