Just_Jim

Hi guys! Nice BB... Anyway, I've always wanted a TT RX7 and finally found one locally. It's a '93 with 70,000+ miles and the seller is "letting it go" for $5000.00. He says that it's losing compression but I figured for the price, what the heck. I know *absolutely* nothing about these cars - except I like them. Heck, I don't know anything about any kind of car! I'm a geek - I don't like to get dirty.. what can I say? LOL!

There's really nothing wrong with the car itself- looks good inside and out other than a few dings in the body.

What am I getting into with such a car? I have no idea what a rebuild/replacement block would cost nor do I know where the best place to get one is.

On top of the block, what am I looking at if the turbo's poop out on me?

Any help would be appreciated.

thanks,
Jim

pweizman

First off, find out what "losing compression" means to this guy. The compression should be at least above 6.0 (kgf/cm^2)....better to be above 7.0 @ 250 rpm.

Next, a new engine can cost you any where from 6-8K (dealer installed reman) to about 2.5K (you install pineapple racing reman).

New turbos can cost you 2.5K (brand new from dealer), or $500-800 for a good used set of stock twins. Installation can be done yourself in about 10 hours, or pay a shop to do it.

$5000 for a '93 is a pretty good deal even with an engine going south. If the body and interior look clean, and the carfax checks out...it sounds like a good deal, as long as you are prepared to dump 3-4K into it if you need a new engine and turbos.

Another thing to check is the transmission. If it grinds into any gears, you may need a rebuild. The syncros like to go out.

Check out this site for good information:

http://www.rx7turboturbo.com/robrobinette/

Specifically:

http://www.rx7turboturbo.com/robrobinette/buyaused.htm

Later,
Patrick

Just_Jim

Ya' know.. I've been reading alot of the threads on the BB and it seems that overheating, blown seals, and turbo failure are common.

So my questions would be:

Are these problems common with these cars - like it's just gonna happen?

Orrrr do most of these problems occur from neglect/abuse?


thanks,
Jim

widebody2

5 grand for an fd even with no engine in it at all is a nice deal in my opinion. If you have 10 grand total I'd go for it. If you have like 5500 then definitely don't go for it. If you shop around you can get an installed engine for 4 grand. Turbos you can get for under a grand easily.

legendr35

neglect/abuse.

Just_Jim

If the engine and turbos are bad and i do not have the proper funds to relace them off hand what kind of damages if any may occur to the car besides to the engine and turbos?

Nathan Kwok

Its usually other neglected subsytems that then lead to the failure of the engine and turbos rather than the other way around, usually the car will just eventually be undriveable from a blown engine rather than slowly killing other compenents, but don't think you'll be able to limp it out. If the engine is really losing compression, it needs to be rebuilt, it'll become hard to start, lose power, you'll flood it easily, and it will become all around undriveable. I don't think it'll hurt anything else though, except maybe your cats will get killed since bad engines usually have bad emissions too. I agree with the above post about finding out what "losing compression" means. If it means 6's, hey it could still last a long time, but if it means 0s on one rotor, budget $5000 for a new one.

fd3sman

$5,000 is a KILLER DEAL for an FD. IF YOU DON'T BUY IT TELL THE GUY TO CALL ME NOW!!!!!!

If you do buy it. DON'T EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER take it to a MAZDA DEALER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have personally owned 2 FD's and completely rebuilt my own correctly. I noticed that you are in Mississippi. What part? We have a shop here in Nashville, TN that can do the work for you and do it correctly. They will not burn you on the price either. If it needs a motor then have the turbo's rebuilt while your at it.

Let me know if I can help? rxtra7@mindspring.com

Just_Jim

Thanks for all the input on the car. The seller says he will take 5k as is. Compression is low, the car has trouble starting and when it is finally running it is jerky and hesitant. It appears that 5k is a good price just wondering if i should ask less. Also if the engine is bad does this mean that the turbos have been damaged from the engine?
thanks,
Jim

BlackR1

sounds like he pinged it and broke a seal...the seal just hasnt fallen out yet...if you dont have the funds to repair it immediately, i wouldnt buy it. Once the seal falls out it can maul the rotor housing, rotor, and possibly even the e-shaft if the rotor completely siezes...after that damage is done, the bits of metal can fly through the turbos and cause even more damage. Look into about 7k to fully restore the car with a brand new built and ported engine, new thermo, radiator, turbos

at 12k total to restore it, that is still a killer deal

widebody2

No but turbos ussually blow before engines do so ask him if they are rebuilds or something. Maybe they are which means you shouldn't have to worry about them for a little while. Like I said before 5 grand is an awesome price for an fd, even w/o an engine. Just make sure you have the other 5k at least to fix it up.

skyline622

make sure that the body is in good condition.
make sure that the car has never been in an accident.

Chaz

With the above comment, I hope you realize what you may be getting into. Make sure you do enough research on the car to realize that it will take attention to detail or a large wallet to keep the car happy. If you pay attention and take the necessary steps to maintain the car then you should be able to avoid the big problems. You'll see posts on this forms from guys with original engines with over 100k miles on them, but you'll also see that they all religously keep up with the routine maintenace.

If you don't like to work on cars yourself and have a tight budget you may become frustrated and broke at the same time. Just my personal thoughts. Whatever you decide to do I just hope you take the time to make an informed decision and it looks like you're taking the right steps in that direction already.

I found these two site to be very helpful when I was trying to learn about these cars. Check them out and I hope they'll help answer some of your questions as well.

http://www.rx7turboturbo.com/robrobinette/

http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/index.html

MoparRob

Hi guys...

I really like this BB... it's pretty fast and set up real well - very cool!

Jim has been killin' me about this car so to dispell his speculatory editorials about what these cars can do and can't do, I'm the one that actually found this BB for him, signed him up, and told him how it works.

I'm glad that you guys have told him what it takes to actually maintain/repair/overhaul such a car. Sometimes you have to learn for yourself. Now he has a taste of what it's gonna take to get it running... similar to what I've been telling him even before we found this BB.

As of yesterday, it wasn't looking like he wanted to tackle this project but it seems that today is a differnet story.

With that said, I can help him - HELP, NOT DO - with the labor so his expenses will be for parts.

Now, Jim, GO FIND OUT WHAT THE LOWDOWN ON THE CAR IS AND CALL ME!!!

Rob

Just_Jim

Well guys thaks for the input but i have decided not to buy the car. After looking at the car it had more problems than i want to mess with. Headliner was coming apart, dent in passenger door, also the door handle was missing, the front had some damage to it not to mention the motor needs to be rebuilt. Still looking for one though.
thanks,
Jim

Dyre

Good choice.
With a blown motor AND other problems, 5k isnt that great of a price...