A friend and I are going to check out a GTU today, I was wondering what I should look for.
Sorry if I'm not being specific..
I tried to search the forums and couldn't find much.

The car has a motor that needs to be rebuilt from what I understand.
Other than that I don't know much besides that it is a 89 I think..


Any help would be appreciated!


Thanks

 

This depends on what your plans are for the shell. Are you going to gut the interior, replace most of the suspension and build a race car? Do you just want to rebuild the engine and use this as a daily driver?

The most obvious things to look for regardless of your intended purpose would be accident damage and/or rust. Check the wheelwells, floorboards, and frame rail areas for rust. Pull up the interior carpet and look in the driver/passenger footwells especially a sunroof car because these cars sometimes rust from the inside out (my old '90 GTU did).

If your goal is to restore the car to being a daily driver, you'll want to check out stuff like wheel bearings, condition of the electronics, and lots of other things covered quite well in this section's FAQ. I've copied links to some popular and very helpful buyer's guides:

What should I look for when buying a 2nd Gen RX-7?
Non Turbo: http://www.aaroncake.net/RX-7/buy1.htm
Turbo: http://www.aaroncake.net/RX-7/buy2.htm
General: http://fc3spro.com/TECH/h2b.html

Good luck!

 

rust on the underside of the car most importantly on the frame rails

 

What to look for when Buying a Shell??..Make sure there is NO Engine in there!..or else the Guy will charge you for a whole car!..heh.(had to!)..No seriously,check the Areas like Under the Rug behind the Seats,Near the Seat Bolts.the Bin Area.the Under body,the gas tank,the Spare tire well,the Sunroof Molding area,the Hatch,door sills,the Gas tank,and the Brakes..that should give you an Idea..Just because it Has NO motor in it,treat it Like a NEW car Purchase.

 

Thanks guys for the info.
My friend is picking this up tomorrow and he is going to get started on the rebuild as soon as possible.
The car was in excellent condition for how old of a car it is.

I will try to post pics or have him post them once he gets it.

 

hey drew!

 

Make sure you're prepared to deal with a bad core engine, if you aren't already.