I'm starting my search for a 3rd generation RX7. I am looking for a 3rd car/fun car/track car. I don't want a full blown track car that I can't occasionally drive to work. I am noticing that a lot of RX7's have a single turbo conversion and also a PS/AC delete. Is there a reason for the AC/PS delete? Also ABS seems to be common to delete as well. Is there a reason for it? I would like to have both AC/PS as this won't just be a full blown race car for me. As far as market pricing goes what are realistic numbers for picking up a good RX?

 

Most people that have gone to a single turbo for simplicity and possibly for more reliability. The twins can work well with some testing of the solenoid, new vacuum hoses, and new check valves.

The PS/AC delete typically falls into the same category, eliminated for simplicity. The car is light enough that you can live without PS, but I prefer having it to not. AC is usually deleted due to overhearing concerns or incompatibility with the chosen intercooler setup or because it no longer worked. I preferred to keep it because these cars get hot inside from the exhaust heat.

Expect to pay $12-20k depending on condition, mods, color, etc.

If it is modified, check closely at what has been done, quality of parts used, etc. If it is a single turbo, find out who tuned it, hopefully a big name shop/ rotary specialist.

*BIGGEST PIECES OF ADVICE*
1. If you can't work on the car yourself, be prepared to spend $$ to have it worked on by a rotary specialist shop. This is not a car you can take to the dealer or Jiffy Lube.

2. Do a lot of research here or ask questions before you do any modifications. Pretty much anything you can think of has probably been done already, and someone here will know what does and does not work. And READ THE FAQ on this site.

3. These are getting old, can be troublesome due to age, miles, electrical gremlins, etc. I hate seeing people buy one, get frustrated, and then try to part it out. There are not enough of these cars left for this to happen. Just go into this with the mindset that these are not new cars and things will happen.

4. ALWAYS have $ saved for potential repairs. If the engine hasn't been recently replaced, expect that if you keep it any length of time that you will need to replace it. Either due to coolant seal failure from age/ lack of coolant maintenance or just wearing out. You don't want to be the guy I mentioned above. Engine fails, and tries to part out the car because they can't afford to replace it.

SO, if you can live with these conditions, it is totally worth it. I've had mine for 5 years now and can't imagine letting it go. There is really nothing else like these cars. Others will chime in, with similar feelings and regret of selling them for something else.

Good luck.
Vince

 

If I was you I'd make an offer on this car: https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...modelCode1=RX7

Or this car: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1994-Mazda-...darAnI&vxp=mtr

If you want to spend a little extra I have a nice 94 CW PEP. I bought it 9 months ago or so with 47k miles. Currently has 51k miles: https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generati...parts-1117615/ $32k as is or 36k with the 99 parts included. Bring your own wheels for 30k or 30,500 with stock wheels and good tires.

Or this car: https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generati...miles-1067176/ This is another one of my cars. I sold it last May and bought it back recently. Currently has 55,500 miles. $27k

IMO you'll need to spend 20k plus for a decent FD with some nice mods. If you want a nice FD with working AC, good paint, low mileage/fresh engine etc.... that's been well maintained....AND some nice mods you are looking at high twenties to low 30s.

Best deal IMO is the 1st car I listed. That said it's blue on tan or not exactly a high demand car. You just have to decide how much you are going to spend and start making compromises from there.

These are great cars. GOOD LUCK!

 

Vince made lots of good points.

I suspect you are a car guy but if not this isn't the car to take to the track unless you are well funded and have a shop near by supporting you.

PS I haven't seen an FD for sale for 12 to 20k that I would keep in years. So again I'd be looking at 25k especially if you want something that's reliable out the door or modded for track use. Here's another one I'd consider: https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generati...es-ca-1124214/

 

billymild -

Fritz and Vince make excellent points. Trust what they say. There are a lot of folk on this forum dedicated to the preservation of the FD. There just aren't that many left; out of only ~15,000 imported to the U.S. in the three years it was done, maybe 5,000 are left. And of those cars, you pretty much have about half that are worth buying, often owned by original owners or people who know the cars and take care of them and treat them right. The other half of the available cars are, unfortunately, not desirable for a number of reasons including:

• the movie 'The Fast and the Furious' made every wannabe street racer go find a FD, mod it with little understanding of the nature of the car/engine, and within a short while killed the engine, the car, and/or themselves.
• these cars pretty much require deep pockets to keep them happy, and a lot of people who just don't have the money are able to PURCHASE the car, as prices were pretty cheap there for a while, but not maintain them, and so there are lots of them rotting away in back yards, sitting on jack stands, with only dreams of fixing them.
• quite a few FDs end up being used on the track, or at least that's the owner's intent, hence why you see quite a few stripped cars (no A/C, no P/S, no interior, etc) that are offered for sale once the owners figure out they AREN'T the next Stig, lol.

I've had my car now for 18 years, searched for three to find it. Even back in 1997 - 2000 most of the cars I was seeing were just shot...abused and generally in VERY poor condition. 20 years later it is just that much harder to find a good one.
My advice is to find a well maintained model that is as close to stock as possible, with the "reliability mods" completed. I'd stay twin-turbo, personally.
I bought my car with ~60,000 miles on it, replaced the engine at 97,000 miles (along with every single hose and wire), did the reliability mods, and haven't spent a dime on it since then. I just get in it and drive, I'd have no fear of crossing the country...because the car is as good as new or even better, now.

 

Agreed that you need to spend a minimum of 20k.

 

Just a little background on me: I'm an automotive enthusiast that likes to tinker with cars on the side. If there is something I can't do or I don't have the time then that is when I engage a mechanic. Most of the time I am doing the work myself in my garage on jackstands. I have restored motorcycle's in the past and am famaliar with getting a car "up to snuff". My previous "fun cars" were a 924S, 944 Turbo, and a ZR-1 Corvette. I understand the importance of maintenance.

It sounds like my budget might be a little low for these cars. I was hoping to spend $10-15k on the car itself. I was trying to find one with higher miles as I like to refresh the suspension, wheel bearings as that will be required before tracking the car. I like to think of myself as a Wheeler Dealer type that will bring the car back to good running stock condition then mod it. I have done that with my previous cars and it seems to have less headaches down the road. I'm not opposed to buying a modded car as long as it runs well.

I have heard the rotary engine is actually fairly robust with proper maintenance. My concern is when I see a high mileage car with original engine does that mean its close to needing a rebuild? Am I crazy to think a higher mileage example would be a good idea?

 

There are cars out there in your price range. Engine condition itself isn't a big one all things considered - really, with everything on these cars, an engine rebuild is one of the cheaper things you can do.

Tops in expensive to fix is the interior. A ratty interior is EXTREMELY hard to make nice again. So many of the interior plastic panels aren't available any more and good used ones are RARE and EXPENSIVE. Also, all the panels in the interior are different on Japanese/RHD cars so you can only get US parts to replace.

Bodywork/paint can be expensive but it's like any other car in that regard. Nothing special as far as putting paint on. Cars that have half-assed body kits can be REAL pricey to put right again, though.

These cars really aren't THAT hard to work on all things considered and the cars are SUPER well documented on this forum and on the internet in general. You can make an amazing dual purpose track/street car, the FD loves the track.

Another option if you don't mind right hand drive is going with a Japanese import. There's more of them starting to show up in the US and many times they are cheaper than the US counterpart. But, RHD can be awkward and it makes finding some parts a bit more of a challenge.

Dale

 

If you are the wheeler dealer type I'd suggest learning as much as possible about the value, mods, etc.... then pull the trigger on the next good deal. At this time I don't know of any good deals. They usually sell in about 2 or 3 hours or 48 hours max LOL

There used to be a good deal on this forum about every 30 to 60 days. The last good deal was a car I bought about 6 months ago: https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generati...parts-1118407/

 

Some one tell op what 10~15k can get him at this current market. Depends on what he wants. If he wants a track car and not a good street car to keep around for awes and woos then 10k ish can get him a running fd(not good ..just running). Thats it, interior mostlikly be shot and paint needs lots of works but its ok strip the interior , boom track car. Street car with everything to modern standards ? Look to spend about 7k ~10k on top of the initial purchase of said 10k. Or you can just buy a decent sorted one for 18k plus just my thought

 

A higher mileage car with an original engine will almost certainly need a rebuild in the very near future. New turbos and a rebuild can easily run over 10K if you take it to a shop.

Make sure you have some cash stashed away for repairs

 

​​​​I would like it to be a street car first and an occasional track car second. My last ZR-1 was a decent street car. Seats and carpet needed to be done, but it wasn't bad when cleaned up. I would like the RX to be the same. STICKY tires, good brakes, and good working suspension. At the same time something can take to cars and coffee or a trip for work.

I have a shop in town that has built RXs before. They are a local tuner. They told me to watch out for wiring harness issues. I have also read vacuum hoses are a Bit***.

​​​​​​As far as pricing in the neighborhood $15k seemed like I could get a reasonable condition car. I was not aware the plastic interior pieces are NLA. Anyone making repro?

 

Reproduction parts are expensive themselves, it is difficult to match the quality and finish of the OEM parts without a large scale high volume operation and very few vendors actually "take-off" with sales because the demand does not meet the supply needed to make a viable profit. Part outs play a huge role in keeping these cars on the road and nice, the cost to "restore" one is one of the driving factors in the increasing prices of stock low mileage cars, not the rarity IMO.
What alot of guys are getting at here is that with these cars it's often times a better plan to buy a car with a drive-train failure than a bad body or interior.

Fritz Has made some great threads that have opened up quality discussions, here are a few to check out:
https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generati...nners-1010998/
https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-gen-gene...drive-1094821/

One of the easiest things to do with these cars is to go too far in the power department. In the first link above Fritz discusses the sweet spot of 350 whp or less. If you don't have a huge budget that is a good place to stay.

 

Here you go: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1993-Mazda-...JaprIw&vxp=mtr

It looks like it was modded by a 12 year old but there are some decent parts on it and maybe only the engine bay has been repainted, it wasn't wrecked twice, etc....

BOTTOMLINE: that's exactly what 15k is going to buy you.