Ajai Ajayi

so the price for fd’s has been shooting up lately, and i planned on getting one this year which i have now regretted since they are expensive. But now instead id like to buy a shell with a transmission preferably and build it myself. I’m no expert, so i was just wondering what’s a realistic precise range to build one to make a reliable 400-450hp with a semi pp and a single turbo. I have also been considering 20b swapping it but that might be just a little out of my price range but still an option. i’d also semi pp the 20b and i know that would require a lot more fab work increasing the total price, i have a list of stuff that id like to get but i can’t help to think that i’m missing things.

tomsn16

iTrader: (283)

Big time project
Assuming you find a decent roller that always needs some or "lots" of parts and you want to wrap that very expensive engine bay with a fully restored FD:
10K roller
10K Black interior
10K Exterior trim and paint
20K Engine bay...450 RWHP
You do most of the labor
$50K

fendamonky

iTrader: (6)

From a shell, I'd say you could easily expect a final cost of at least $30k (or more) for a shop to build it. I'm in the process of doing a restomod build on mine (starting with a complete car) and I'm currently at $67k, with another 20-30 to go I'd guess. I'm going full custom and high-end motorsports parts though, so it could be done for significantly cheaper using lower tier and mass produced parts.

May I ask why you're going PP for only 400-450whp? Those numbers are pretty achievable on stock ports with appropriate fuel, cooling, and turbo selections.

DaleClark

iTrader: (55)

First off, the days of saving money by building a piecemeal or roller car are over. You are going to be hard pressed to find a NICE car that just simply has no engine in it.

Better bet is to buy a running and driving car that maybe is an incomplete project. Not tuned, not sorted, partially through a build, etc. Big points if you can get a car that actually runs and drives that you can test drive.

The killer on any project car is the "pull everything out, upgrade everything, put back together, good times" mentality. I've seen over and over again, people get a project car, pull everything out, start in on stuff, then lose interest when it gets hard and tedious, they can't find parts, parts are too expensive, they sat on the project for 2 years and can't remember how things go together or lose critical small parts, then it gets parted out and the shell goes to the junkyard.

All that said, the best approach to a project car is a RUNNING car you can KEEP RUNNING and do in stages. Don't try and do EVERYTHING while you are in there.

It's also hard to say "I'm going to get a car and do x" - the car needs to tell you what it needs. Lots of times cars need boring stuff - new tires, brakes that aren't rusted shut, gas tank, rust/body repair, interior plastics, etc.

Going back to the porting, there's a reason there's a port called Street Port. It's for the street. Bridge and peripheral should be called "track use only ports" - can you drive them on the street? Yes. They are CRAZY annoying to drive on the street. If you aren't building a dedicated track car, you don't need a crazy port job. Not only will the car idle like crap, be on-off to drive, be impossible in any stop and go situation, but engine life many times is compromised.

400-450 is a good top end power range for a street car. Much more than that and you just shred transmissions and differentials and you have ZERO traction on the street. These cars don't have traction control - if you make 500 hp in a car that weighs 2700 pounds you're just going to convert tires to smoke.

Dale

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

its not really apples to apples, but if you sent your Miata to Mazda they will restore it for 4,942,000 Yen, which is like $45k today. they don't do the Rx7's, but if you're really looking to build the whole car, its a reasonable estimate

https://www.mazda.co.jp/carlife/classicmazda/na/

ZE Power MX6

iTrader: (157)

^ That's pretty cool, assuming the car you send them has to be in decent condition?

To OP, I'm curious how you come up with the number. Have you been in a stock FD? How about 300, 350 or 400?

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

yeah there is a page of what cars fit, and what damage is ok. basically big rust holes and bad accident repair is a no go. they will replace bolt on easy stuff like fenders. its kind of interesting, they have a process to do the whole car that presumably makes money without like the TV/Youtube ads

ZE Power MX6

iTrader: (157)

It's like those YouTube 5 figures exotics detail job, but just done by Mazda with all new parts, pretty cool.

DaleClark

iTrader: (55)

Going to the original "what's my budget", again you don't know until you see the car. Mint cream puff that just needs some upgrades? Ratty ex-drift car with no interior and hacked wiring? Wildly different pricing.

Also depends on what you can do yourself and what you are using a shop for.

Dale

Ajai Ajayi

Oh man i didn’t expect so many replies! Thank you for all the feedback, i have a budget around 30k for the car and i figured it would be cheaper to build but i guess they’re ab the same, maybe i’ll look into just finding a running one. I just figured it be cheaper to get to 400hp building it myself. The car doesn’t have to be in perfect condition i want one that needs some work so i can kinda make my own if that make sense.

fendamonky

iTrader: (6)

You'd be far better off getting one that already runs and drives well. That's a much better base to start from than a shell. My restobuild is about the equivalent of building from a bare shell based on all the things touched. The costs can spiral upward FAST!

Getting to 400whp can be done with fuel upgrades, pretty much any single turbo, a better IC and a programmable ECU. I want to say that it was mapped out as roughly $10k in costs about a decade ago.

Get the car and build it up in increments, that way you can easily identify any issues as they occur and enjoy the car in the process.

Ajai Ajayi

Yea thank you, i have a much better perspective on how things work now. Also it looks like prices are finally getting back to normal at around 20k-30k so buying one that runs is probably the best option. Thank you all for the help i can’t want to be apart of the rotary club >

Sgtblue

iTrader: (16)

^Agreed.
IMHO, build it to a “fun performance” goal, NOT a horsepower figure. If you want bragging rights exchanging dyno sheets between friends in a parking lot with muscle cars, you’ll be broke and never satisfied.

hadokenny

iTrader: (4)

Your best bet is buy a complete roller with a blown engine. Look for a clean shell with low mileage interior parts.
I built my FD RX7 from a straight FD with around 110k miles and rough exterior after my first one got hit with insurance money. My interior parts from my first FD were low mileage and relatively complete so I lucked out there.

Here is my rough cost....from around 3 years ago.
Running FD (circa 2017-2018) $16k.
Rebuilt engine wuth parts and labor $6k.
EFR 8374 single turbo kit $4k
Fresh paint job $5k
99 spec bumper + spoiler, etc $2k
suspension with new bushings, control arms, etc. $3k
Interior (seats, reupholstery, gauges, steering wheel, etc.) $7k
Along with bunch of other small things I forgot....$???

At at conservative estimate am already at around $50K
I didn't include a bunch of aftermarket parts form my first FD like coilovers, exhaust, wheels, etc.
Re-doing in 2021 what I did will probably cost $60k-70k easy.

silverTRD

iTrader: (37)

I do t want to add up what I’ve spent on my FD haha I’d be conservative in my estimates too!

arghx

iTrader: (3)

Keep in mind that doing a build of this magnitude is basically taking on a second job. Expect 10-20 hours a week researching, buying parts, or wrenching on the car for a year. So expect at least one full day per weekend. You will have to make financial and time sacrifices. Maybe a hobby drops off, maybe you have less relaxation time or even time for family and friends. This can be a source of tension and resentment, especially as financial resources get diverted.

if you don’t have that kind of time you’ll be just another guy with a car in pieces who got in over his head.